Ch.159Heart (1)

*

As is the case with most things in life, you can’t truly know anything until you experience it firsthand.

Thorough preparations can become useless in an instant, and the many worries you’ve anxiously imagined can turn out to be nothing significant.

I was so consumed with anxiety and fear that I greeted the day our journey toward the Demon Lord began with sleepless eyes.

However, making my concerns seem foolish, the first day ended quickly without any incidents.

“It’s getting dark. Let’s camp here for tonight.”

“That sounds good.”

As soon as Sylvia received Alice’s agreement, she snapped her fingers and chanted a spell.

After gathering dry branches to make a fire with the flames that appeared instantly, Sylvia removed her thick leather shoes and placed them beside the fire.

“Ash, come over here quickly.”

Sylvia sat gently on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest as she called for me.

Perhaps because I had been following behind the two of them all day, the sight of Sylvia’s face was incredibly welcome.

I approached her slowly and said, “You worked hard today.”

“You too, Ash. Was it difficult for you?”

“It was… better than I expected. The path was rough, but I managed to keep up. How was it? Was I in the way or…”

Sylvia shook her head slowly, then tilted it to the side as she spoke.

“You kept up better than I thought. I expected to suggest taking a break at some point, but you followed along quietly and well.”

“…I don’t think I was that quiet, considering how much I was panting.”

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

“Well, that’s a relief at least…”

I smiled awkwardly as I spoke.

Honestly, it had been somewhat challenging.

Because the path was so rough, it felt like I spent more time jumping over obstacles or climbing than actually walking.

If I hadn’t built up my stamina beforehand, I would have certainly fallen behind during the journey even before fighting any monsters, but even with all my training, it wasn’t an easy course to overcome effortlessly.

“Still, it seems the past month’s efforts have paid off.”

“Hehe, our cute Ash is becoming a man.”

“…”

Despite Sylvia’s playful laughter, I could only respond with another awkward smile.

Her platinum hair, gleaming like gold in the orange light of the campfire.

Between those strands of hair, as fine as the highest quality silk, Sylvia’s playful expression bloomed fully toward me.

Yet somehow, that beautiful smile felt a little unfamiliar to me.

“…”

“Ash?”

Sylvia’s large round eyes looking at me were incredibly cute, but that only made them feel more unfamiliar.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Alice and Sylvia.

The two people I saw today were vastly different from what I had known before.

The sharp tension they maintained even while running and jumping,

The fighting spirit or killing intent they quietly emitted while skillfully controlling it.

All day long, I felt that formidable pressure emanating from their backs without pause.

The posture of professionals who never let their guard down for a moment.

A clear warning to any monsters that might have spotted them from afar.

Their nerves were so on edge it was as if they were trying not to miss even the sound of an ant’s footsteps passing by.

‘So this is what a hero is.’

That’s what I thought all day.

I had finally caught a glimpse of Sylvia’s true self—the one who had been at the center of the hero’s party.

And Alice, who was not at all inferior to her.

“Hmm, that’s right. Ash has been a man for quite some time already.”

As I was lost in thought, Sylvia spoke with a sticky tone, as if demanding my attention.

She half-closed her eyes and slowly rubbed her lower abdomen with seductive gestures.

“Huh…”

She seemed like a completely different person from the Sylvia I had seen during the day.

I turned my face away from her, letting out a small sigh, and slowly sat down beside her.

As soon as I sat on the ground, Sylvia immediately rested her head on my shoulder.

The fierce Sylvia from the daytime and this cat-in-heat Sylvia now—there was such an enormous difference between them that they hardly seemed like the same person.

“Ash, take off your shoes too and dry them.”

Sylvia spoke while rubbing my leg with her bare white feet, slowly inserting her big toe inside my boot.

The sensation was somewhat clumsy yet subtly stimulating, less precise than hands would be.

I quickly shook my head, which was threatening to turn red, and answered.

“Ah… no, I’m fine. My feet might swell, making it hard to put them back on, and they might get cold.”

“Oh, doesn’t Ash know?”

“Huh?”

Sylvia smiled broadly and said:

“Since we’ve been walking where there are no paths, our shoes are covered in mud. If you leave it, your feet get heavier, and when mud fills the grooves of your soles, it becomes easier to slip, so you need to clean it off, but it’s hard to do that.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, so we put them near the fire like this to dry. When the mud dries hard and cracks, you can just tap them against something like a tree, and all the mud falls off.”

“Oh…”

I looked at Sylvia with slight admiration.

I had only thought she took off her shoes because her feet felt stuffy, never imagining there was such a reason behind it.

The knowledge Sylvia had just shared was certainly not something I could have learned from books or classes.

Experience, or in cruder terms, wisdom that comes only with time.

It was refreshing and surprising to discover yet another aspect of Sylvia as an adventurer, already several times today.

I stroked her hair that was leaning against me and said:

“Sylvia, you’re really amazing today.”

“Hehe, I’m so happy to be praised by Ash.”

Sylvia threw herself into my arms energetically.

Her arms wrapped around my body perfectly.

The strength was exquisitely controlled—not painful enough to hurt, yet strong enough that I could never shake her off—it fit me perfectly.

I closed my eyes quietly and embraced Sylvia.

“Ash did well keeping up today too. So I’ll give you a reward.”

Sylvia whispered that in my ear and then gently bit my earlobe with her lips.

That’s when it happened.

“Could you tone down the shameless display a bit?”

Alice approached from the darkness, casting a look of contempt.

I waved my hand toward her and said:

“Ah, sis. You should rest too. Come over and warm yourself by the fire.”

Sylvia muttered in a sullen voice:

“Anyone who interrupts a sweet moment between lovers deserves punishment, don’t they?”

“That’s rich. What about couples who display their affection without considering their companions?”

“You two really don’t get along.”

Sylvia and Alice glared at each other for a moment.

When Alice sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, Sylvia deliberately kissed my cheek and slowly pulled away.

Alice twitched her eyebrows dramatically, then spat on the ground and said:

“I don’t see any traces of monsters around. There probably haven’t been any monsters in this area for quite some time.”

“That’s good news.”

“Ash? Are you feeling alright?”

I nodded.

“Yes, I’m fine. Both of you seem quite concerned about my stamina. You’ve each asked me if I’m okay.”

“That’s not it.”

“Hmm?”

Alice extended her index finger toward the sky and twirled it in the air twice.

With just that gesture, I could understand what she was trying to say.

“Ah… yes, I’m fine. I can tell we’re in an area with magical energy, but I don’t feel it accumulating in my body.”

“Hmm, so we don’t need to offer a purification prayer.”

Alice nodded briefly in acknowledgment and slowly approached the fire to sit down.

Then she slowly took out some dried jerky and a handful of fruit from a small pouch at her waist and held them out.

“Eat. It should be enough for a light snack.”

“Nothing for Sylvia?”

“Yes, you wicked woman, nothing for me?”

“…It’s for both of you to share. When you need to keep moving for days, you shouldn’t eat until you’re full. Eating too much just makes your legs heavy.”

I reached out and took the food Alice offered.

Sylvia seemed to agree with Alice’s words, as she took a few small berries from my hand without complaint and put them in her mouth.

“It just occurred to me, but you both seem very experienced.”

“With what?”

“Well, that strange tension you showed during the day, and what Sylvia said about the mud, and what you just mentioned, sis…”

Sylvia slowly leaned back and sighed.

Lying back, supporting herself on her elbows and looking up at the sky, she slowly began to speak.

“That’s right… we are experienced.”

“…”

“Others may call us heroes or whatever, but in the end, to avoid dying, you have to get used to sleeping outdoors; to avoid starving, you have to get used to bargaining; to survive, you have to get used to preparing for ambushes…”

Sylvia paused briefly, then continued with her eyes closed.

“And even when you’re used to everything, when a life-threatening crisis comes, you still have to die.”

“…Sylvia.”

“Like my companions… You know how they say adventuring men are promiscuous?”

“Yes.”

“That’s all because they don’t know when they’ll die. Not knowing when death will come, they want to leave descendants somewhere.”

Sylvia gave a bitter smile.

“Well, when you’re in a hero’s party, you have to be careful about your conduct… In the end, my companions died without even being able to do that.”

“…”

Alice slowly untied the bag strapped to her waist and spoke.

“That’s enough chatting for now. We need to leave early tomorrow morning, so Ash, go to sleep quickly. Sylvia, let’s decide on the watch shifts…”

Sylvia shook her head.

“No need, I’ll just do it. You sleep too, Alice.”

“…”

“I don’t need to sleep, I’m used to it anyway.”

“…Fine, do as you wish.”

Alice didn’t even pretend to dissuade her as she slowly raised one arm to untie the knot under her armpit.

The breastplate covering her from neck to solar plexus slowly fell away.

The inside of her breastplate, red-hot like heated iron, was clearly visible even in the darkness.

“Ugh.”

Alice threw the breastplate down beside her and dusted off her hands.

It seemed as hot as it looked.

Indeed, glimpsed through the flickering campfire, her upper garment had melted and was sticking to her skin in a sticky mess.

“Are you really okay, sis?”

“Ha… somehow made it through today.”

She snorted and lay down on the ground.

She looked remarkably carefree for someone facing an uncertain death.

That appearance, far more masculine than most men, was as unfamiliar as what I had seen of her earlier today.

“…”

The Alice I had known was already gone from this world.

And even this changed Alice was about to disappear from the world.

I felt suffocated by fate’s cruel torment.

Even without me swallowing it, this terrible pain forced its way into my throat, filling my lungs and weighing heavily upon me.

In the suffocating darkness and magical energy, I slowly squeezed my eyes shut.

“You must be tired… Good night, Ash.”

“Good night, Sylvia. Good night, sis.”

“Yeah… tomorrow… see you tomorrow.”

Alice pronounced the word “tomorrow” somewhat vaguely.

Perhaps she wasn’t certain she would be alive in the morning.

I tried to force down my unsettled feelings and make myself fall asleep.

I needed to sleep.

I couldn’t afford to fall behind on this journey.

For the sake of Alice, who was striving to leave meaning at the end of her life that would soon fade away,

I had to reach the Demon Lord before Alice’s life was extinguished.

.