Ch.194Sylvia’s Happy World (2)

*

When had she fallen asleep?

Silvia pondered this question as she slowly rubbed her sleepy eyes and raised her upper body.

The soft touch of the cloth blanket, warmed by the sunlight streaming through the window, brushed against her skin before slowly falling away.

Her body, hidden beneath the blanket, was completely naked, but thanks to the warm sunlight, she didn’t feel the slightest bit cold.

No, rather, the warm sunlight together with the slightly cool breeze blowing in from the window felt so pleasant that it brought an involuntary smile to her face even in her drowsy state.

The neat wooden walls, not as shabby as a cabin but still exuding a cozy atmosphere, were adorned with hand-woven knotted cords, and beneath those knots hung cute pots with fresh green leaves growing in them.

Growing plants, which had been her only pastime when living alone in the forest, remained as Silvia’s hobby.

It was quite modest, but to Silvia, who had spent all her time focused on swords and training, it felt like an incredibly luxurious hobby.

Silvia closed her eyes gently at the savory bread aroma wafting from somewhere.

It was a beautiful morning, more perfect than anything could be.

“… Hmmph.”

Silvia stretched her arms upward, extending her body.

As vitality returned to her stiff body, the drowsiness disappeared without a trace, falling away from her body.

She felt refreshed and invigorated throughout her entire being.

At that moment, the savory scent of bread gently brushed past her nose.

Click.

Simultaneously, the door opened quietly.

“Oh? You’re awake. I was just about to wake you up.”

The perfect character for a perfect morning naturally entered Silvia’s blissful space.

The young man appeared carrying a silver tray with steaming freshly baked bread and a teapot of fragrant tea that had been carefully brewed, along with dainty cups. He approached Silvia with a bright smile that resembled the morning sunlight.

“Good morning, Silvia.”

“…”

“Silvia?”

Silvia tried to say something, but words wouldn’t easily come out.

Overwhelming emotions that couldn’t be fully expressed by the word “happiness” welled up in Silvia’s beautiful eyes, which had regained their original color.

Those clear, transparent eyes were filled with Ash’s face.

“Ash…”

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

Silvia felt a sense of dissonance.

Something was strange.

It wasn’t that Ash’s appearance was strange.

Nor was there anything strange about her own appearance.

Everything was perfectly right.

But precisely because of that, Silvia couldn’t help but feel a sense of dissonance.

She had never imagined that such happiness could exist in her life.

No, she had certainly felt happiness in that small cabin where she stayed with Ash.

However, this sensation of everything being perfect, without any deficiency or lack, was extremely unfamiliar to Silvia.

“Hmm…”

Ash carefully placed the tray on the small bedside table, then slowly sat down on the bed and moved closer to Silvia.

Then, with his long, slender fingers, he slowly brushed back Silvia’s disheveled hair and said:

“Did you have another nightmare?”

“… Nightmare.”

“It’s all over now. All the problems that troubled us are gone…”

“…”

“No, that’s not right.”

Ash smiled gently.

“We overcame them. Together.”

“… Ah.”

Silvia let out a small sigh.

The Demon King was dead.

The terrible curse that had tormented her and Ash was gone.

Ash, who had stayed by Silvia’s side because of the curse, remained with her even after the curse disappeared.

The two, who had saved the world but wanted no reward, settled down together in a place far from the humans who were busy rebuilding the world.

However, they weren’t completely isolated from the outside world like in the fallen forest, so the couple occasionally went out to purchase necessary items, enjoying a kind of outing.

Silvia smiled slightly and said:

“I’m sorry, I was a bit out of it.”

“… Still?”

“Don’t make such a gloomy face. Since Ash is here, I can get through this much. If I hadn’t met Ash, I might have killed myself after slaying the Demon King.”

“Hey now, where did such bad words come from?”

Ash lightly poked Silvia’s forehead with his finger.

Then he picked up the bread from the tray and slowly tore it apart with both hands.

The soft yet elastic texture of the bread tore open, releasing its savory aroma like a bomb.

Silvia unconsciously made a growling sound.

“Ugh.”

“Ahaha, you’re hungry.”

“Ugh, how embarrassing.”

“I didn’t know Silvia still had things to be embarrassed about with me.”

“… D-don’t tease me too much.”

“Why? Look at this.”

Ash, with his hands full of bread, used his lips instead to slowly pull away the cloth covering Silvia’s body.

Her fair skin, gleaming white in the sunlight, was fully revealed.

“What’s there to be embarrassed about when we sleep together like this every night?”

“Stop it.”

Silvia slowly grabbed the edge of the blanket with her fingertips and wrapped it around her shoulders while glaring at Ash.

Ash smiled, set down one half of the warm bread, and tore off a piece from the other half with his thumb and index finger, bringing it to Silvia’s lips.

Silvia, despite her sulky expression, silently opened her mouth.

Ash smiled as he carefully placed the piece of bread into Silvia’s mouth.

The tip of his finger lightly brushed the inside of her lips as it passed.

“Is it good? It’s my own creation this time.”

“…Yes. It’s delicious.”

Honestly, Silvia couldn’t tell what the bread tasted like at all.

All her senses were focused on Ash’s finger that had briefly touched her lips.

She felt a tingling, warming sensation in her lower abdomen.

Silvia tried to hide her excitement as she tightly gripped the edge of the blanket with both hands.

Ash poured tea into a cup and said in a gentle voice:

“Now we only have happiness ahead of us.”

“… Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, I understand why you might feel anxious.”

“… You do?”

“Yes, it’s unavoidable.”

Ash slowly put down the bread and teapot, then carefully moved his hand to Silvia’s stomach.

Then, very gently rubbing her belly, he whispered:

“I’m scared too, becoming a father for the first time.”

“…Oh.”

“Silvia will be a strong and beautiful mother, but it must be your first time too. Of course you’d be scared.”

Silvia slowly placed her hand on her own stomach.

Indeed, her abdomen was unnaturally protruding.

And she could clearly feel something, a small life, stirring inside.

“But we’re the couple who defeated the Demon King. We can overcome this too, right?”

“… Ugh.”

Silvia was startled by the sudden tears that began to flow, and she lowered her head.

She was happy.

So happy that she felt her head might break from the feeling.

Ash silently embraced Silvia’s shoulders and patted her head.

Tap tap,

Each time Ash’s fingertips touched the back of her head, an indescribable happiness spread throughout her body.

Silvia whispered in a tear-filled voice:

“I love you… Ash.”

“…”

Ash didn’t say anything.

“Ash?”

“I want to say something cool in return, but nothing comes to mind.”

“… Idiot.”

A smile spread across Silvia’s tear-stained face.

“Just say anything, you fool.”

“Okay, I love you.”

Silvia wrapped her arms around Ash’s neck and pressed her lips against his.

*

Ash was chopping firewood in the backyard.

But Ash, unfamiliar with physical labor, couldn’t possibly be skilled at chopping wood.

Of course, he had confidently gone out, leaving the pregnant Silvia sitting inside the house, but Silvia, accustomed to physical labor, could easily tell how much her husband was struggling just from the sound of the axe hitting the wood and Ash’s flustered voice.

It was dangerous enough that the wood wouldn’t split, or that the wood chunks would bounce the axe back, and sometimes he would miss entirely.

Eventually, Silvia sighed and got up from the rocking chair in the living room.

She walked to the kitchen and mixed lemon juice with honey, then added ice cubes made with magic one by one, pouring the drink into two cold metal cups.

“It’s been a while since I made this.”

Silvia took a sip of the drink she had made, smiled with satisfaction, and then picked up a cup in each hand.

She slowly walked to the backyard where Ash was.

Ash, unaware of Silvia’s approach, was struggling to pull out an axe that was stuck in a log.

It might have seemed pathetic for a man, but Silvia, who knew all of Ash’s strengths and his masculine side, just found her husband’s appearance cute.

Silvia called her beloved companion in a gentle voice:

“Husband-“

“Ah, Silvia? Why did you come out? Just rest.”

Silvia silently shook the cups in her hands.

She had made the drinks as an excuse to let him rest, knowing that if she said “I’ll chop the wood instead,” it might hurt Ash’s small pride.

And as Silvia had planned, Ash put down the axe stuck in the log and slowly approached her.

“Here, drink this.”

“What is it?”

Ash brought the cup to his lips before Silvia could answer.

Up close, Ash’s face was glistening with sweat.

There was also a slightly musty smell of sweat, but to Silvia, that scent was an enchanting fragrance that reminded her of the love they shared at night.

Silvia clutched her collar slightly and looked at Ash with fondness.

“Oh, it’s been a while since I had this.”

“Huh?”

“Why, Silvia, you brought this to me before. Don’t you remember?”

“Ah… did I?”

“Yeah, when Silvia still wouldn’t show me her face.”

“Wow, that means when we first met. That’s such a long time ago.”

Thinking back, she definitely had such a memory.

That day when she gave her dagger along with a drink to Ash, who was struggling with an old carving knife to carve Laila’s emblem.

The fact that Ash remembered that day from so long ago, which now seemed like ancient history to her, appeared incredibly cute to Silvia.

Silvia smiled broadly and said, bringing the cup to her lips:

“It’s different from back then, now I can drink beside Ash.”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

Silvia drank the beverage.

The sweet and tangy liquid pleasantly stimulated the tip of her tongue and palate.

“Delicious.”

“Yes, really delicious.”

Ash, who had already emptied his cup, responded to Silvia’s mutter.

He must have been quite thirsty.

Silvia offered her half-full cup to Ash.

Ash took the cup and asked:

“Aren’t you going to drink it?”

“No, you looked thirsty.”

“I am… hehe.”

“Rest while you drink that.”

Silvia slowly walked toward the firewood.

Ash followed her, whining:

“Ah, you’re not alone anymore, I can handle this kind of thing.”

“It’s fine, you’re not even good at it.”

“What if you get hurt?”

“Hurt?”

Silvia easily pulled out the axe stuck in the log with one hand, rested it on her shoulder, and said:

“Who?”

“…”

“I find it cute when Ash makes that dumbfounded expression.”

“This… well, it came out easily because I had already loosened it.”

“That kind of foolish stubbornness is also lovable.”

“… Like how Silvia always threatens to squeeze me but surrenders first and whimpers at night?”

“…”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s right.”

Silvia pushed a log upright with her foot, then swung the axe with one hand, splitting it in one go.

“Ash doesn’t need to do anything.”

“… Well, I wanted to be reliable for Silvia.”

Silvia chuckled at Ash’s seemingly sulky response.

“I do rely on you. Much more than Ash thinks.”

“… Really?”

“Yes, I couldn’t live without Ash.”

Ash nodded.

“…Me too. I couldn’t live without Silvia either.”

Silvia approached Ash and lightly kissed his cheek before smiling broadly.

Then she gestured for Ash to step back.

“Ash, you support me. I like that about you. So leave the physical work to me, and if you keep supporting me, I’ll protect you.”

“… Silvia.”

“Understood, Ash?”

Once Ash had stepped back far enough, Silvia easily split the firewood with the axe and said:

“I will protect Ash.”