Ch.30Family (2)

As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a ceiling that was slightly different from the one I usually saw.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar ceiling either.

“Silvia’s room…”

It seemed I had fallen asleep in Silvia’s room.

Slowly retracing my memories, I realized they cut off from the moment I received Silvia’s unexpected attack yesterday.

I must have passed out right then and there.

“…I must have failed the test.”

I muttered with a sigh.

The flame magic I had reacted with quite quickly, even by my own assessment.

The clever use of tumbles.

And finally, the giant flame fox that surprised even me.

If I had been crushed helplessly under a gap that seemed impossible to bridge, I might have accepted it with some closure. But somehow, it felt like I had missed by such a narrow margin that my regret lingered more intensely.

I had tried my best, but I guess I still fell short.

Still, I couldn’t help thinking that Silvia’s final strike was a bit too underhanded.

Pretending to cry and then launching a surprise attack? That was just…

Well, it’s only ugly for the loser to complain.

I humbly accepted the result.

Fortunately, there wasn’t any bet riding on the match, so it wasn’t really a big deal.

I just deeply realized how far I still had to go.

Damn it.

After slowly collecting my thoughts, I tried to get up, but my body felt unusually heavy.

It was as if a heavy stone had been placed on my stomach.

What’s this?

Did I overexert myself yesterday?

Well, I did receive enough of a shock to pass out, so I must have pushed myself too hard.

I lowered my head to look down.

There was Silvia, sleeping with her head resting on my chest.

“…Huh?”

I was too shocked to even make a sound.

“Sil…via?”

Her arm was draped over my chest, her cheek resting on that arm.

And between my upper and lower body, in a precarious position, her chest was pressed against me.

Had she fallen asleep while taking care of me after I passed out?

But do people normally straddle someone’s body to provide care?

It was such a bizarre situation that my brain seemed to take a moment to process what was happening.

I raised my hand and poked her cheek while saying:

“Excuse me… Silvia?”

“Mmm…”

Perhaps she hadn’t been asleep for long.

She seemed tired, frowning and shaking her head slightly, but not waking up.

Being someone who loves sleeping in, I understood that feeling of not wanting to get up, and I would have preferred to leave her be. But there were two problems with letting her stay like this.

One was that my legs, pinned under her body, were starting to go numb.

The other reason was that my precious area was almost in contact with her two soft mounds of fat.

I could hear her gentle breathing.

Her crown rose and fell slowly with my breathing.

Each time, her chest pressed firmly against my legs, squishing softly and then slightly separating again.

What is this—hell, no, heaven?

The only disappointing thing was that she was wearing a thick robe rather than pajamas.

She must have fallen asleep while caring for me without even changing her clothes.

No, wait a minute.

What am I disappointed about? You crazy fool.

First, I want to make one thing absolutely clear.

I was not feeling any lust toward her voluptuous figure.

No matter how lowly a commoner I might be by birth, I’m still a nobleman of sorts.

I’m not so uncultured as to harbor inappropriate feelings toward someone who saved my life—that would be the height of ingratitude.

Besides, I wasn’t deranged enough to lust after a sleeping woman, nor did I have some strange fetish for satisfying my desires using a woman’s rounded chest.

Her breathing synchronized with mine, and each time, her chest pressed firmly against my waist.

…I really am not that kind of person.

The evidence of sexual excitement in my lower half wasn’t proof of my base desires, but merely the morning change that inevitably happens to any man.

It’s also worth considering that for the past month—no, even before entering this forest—I hadn’t had any opportunity to relieve my sexual urges for several months due to being on high alert about the kingdom’s turbulent situation.

In other words, what I’m trying to say is that this physical change happening to me now is just a small accident stemming from the operational mode of a body designed to maintain its ability to leave offspring and prosper—an irresistible force that any male of the human species would inevitably face.

Fortunately, Silvia was still asleep.

What brave fool in this world would dare sexually harass a hero who had accumulated achievements and power that most men wouldn’t even dare to look at?

Probably none, and there never will be.

And of course, I had no desire to be the first such fool.

But contrary to my desperate wishes, blood was increasingly rushing to my lower half, causing it to swell significantly.

I think it’s because I kept being conscious of it.

I needed to make a decision.

Why she had fallen asleep on top of me was something to think about later.

The most important thing for me right now was to make sure Silvia didn’t notice this physical change that was too irreverent to even mention.

I deliberately made a loud noise and shook her shoulder.

“Silvia!”

“Mmm… mmm,”

She let out a sweet voice swallowed by sleep and buried her head against my solar plexus, rubbing her forehead against it.

Surprised by her cute behavior, something I’d never seen before, I held my breath.

The Silvia I knew had an imposing and inclusive demeanor that perfectly matched her title as a hero.

Strong, kind, with a mischievous sense of humor.

She was closer to a veteran soldier or experienced adventurer than a cute girl or beautiful maiden—something I had come to understand well during my time with her.

Of course, Silvia occasionally showed unstable and strange behavior, but considering the great misfortunes she had endured, it was understandable.

Even on the night she slept embracing me with all the buttons of her nightgown open, I felt the warmth of her embrace before any sexual desire.

And on the morning when she woke up from a nightmare and pulled me into her arms, I felt pity and sympathy for her rather than thinking she was cute.

How many men could find a woman who could cleave a large bear in half with a single stroke cute?

But now, her behavior—throwing a tantrum in her sleep like a seventeen-year-old girl—was both unfamiliar and refreshing.

To be honest, it was incredibly cute.

‘Should I just let her sleep like this?’

Just like the feeling of wanting to hoard something rare and precious even if it has no practical use.

While I had no intention of doing anything to her, my honest feeling was that I wanted to see this rare “cute Silvia” a little longer.

Besides, if she didn’t wake up right now, I could wait until my swollen area subsided, and everything would be neatly resolved.

I slowly pulled back my head to look down at her.

Her large hand was tightly gripping my top, and her face was completely buried in my embrace, only her crown visible.

The hard bone and calluses protruding from Silvia’s clenched fist remembered the many battlefields she had traversed, but at least right now, her consciousness seemed to be nothing more than that of a cute girl who just wanted to sleep more.

I smiled at the contrast and dropped my head back onto the pillow.

Her hair gleamed white in the morning sunlight that quietly flowed in with the chirping of birds from the window.

The warm sunlight brightened the room and warmed my chest where she was resting her head.

It was a warmth seeping into my body, which had worked hard yesterday.

“Nice weather.”

I slowly closed my eyes.

The death of my family, threats to my life, the curse binding me.

The terrible trials that had been relentlessly swirling around me for the past month or so.

In the midst of all that turmoil, which could only be described as fate’s persistent torment, I had been helplessly adrift.

But now, as if I had entered the eye of the storm, this moment felt incredibly quiet and peaceful.

The sunlight illuminated the room just enough—neither too bright to be dazzling nor too dark to be gloomy.

The birds’ songs that chirped just enough not to be noisy, the sound of cloth slightly fluttering in the gentle breeze,

And Silvia’s slow, rhythmic breathing.

The sunlight dyeing the dark brown wooden walls yellow.

It was all so beautiful.

Feeling drowsy from the pleasant warmth, I quietly stroked Silvia’s head and drifted back to sleep.

*

“Ash, wake up.”

“…Uh, Silvia?”

I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of Silvia waking me.

It seemed I had taken a nap after basking in the pleasant morning sunlight.

Looking at the sun outside the window, it appeared to be just past lunchtime.

“Sorry. You were sleeping for so long that I got worried. I was concerned that maybe you got hit somewhere bad yesterday…”

Silvia was looking at me with a worried expression.

Since I had passed out from her surprise attack, she seemed concerned.

Despite still being half-asleep, I smiled broadly and answered:

“Ah… it’s okay… It doesn’t hurt anymore. And I already woke up once this morning before falling back asleep, so you don’t need to worry.”

“…Really?”

“Yes-“

When I answered with a slurred pronunciation, she slowly smiled and stroked my head.

The weight of her rough hand pressing down on my head gradually woke me from my sleep.

“Yesterday’s test was a close call.”

“…Ah, that.”

“I almost passed, but…”

“No, you did pass, Ash.”

“What?”

Silvia smiled and gently embraced my head.

I was startled by her sudden action and tried to push her away.

Of course, she didn’t budge at all.

“Ash, as you probably know, my final strike yesterday was cheating.”

That’s what she said.

So pretending to cry and then launching a surprise attack was indeed too underhanded even by her standards.

I shook my head slightly while caught in her strong arms, trying hard to lower her arm from my head to my neck.

After a brief effort, her arm wrapped around my neck, and I looked up at her.

However, her face was hidden behind her chest.

Looking at it this way, it really is big.

Such large breasts were pressing against my waist earlier…

Ah, that’s not it.

“Well, pretending to cry was a bit underhanded, wasn’t it?”

“Hmm?”

“…What’s wrong?”

“Ash… didn’t you know?”

“Know what?”

“That thing I threw at the end, it wasn’t ice.”

“…What?”

“I thought you had noticed,”

She apologized while stroking my head.

The final blow that had knocked me out yesterday wasn’t ice but a stone she had picked up from the river.

Of course, it wouldn’t have melted in the flames.

No wonder it seemed strange.

I bumped my forehead against her stomach and grumbled.

“Well, I guess you just hate losing.”

“That’s not it. I’m sorry.”

“…Hmph.”

“I said I’m sorry… Anyway, you passed the test. Well done, Ash.”

It did seem a bit much, but I didn’t feel too bad about it.

It meant I had grown enough that she had to resort to cheating.

Of course, it was a test where she had the handicap of only using ice magic, but still, landing a hit on her, a hero, was something.

For someone like me who had been overshadowed by my sister’s talent all my life, it was a moment to feel proud of learning magic for the first time.

I leaned my cheek against her stomach and said:

“I forgive you.”

“Hehe, thank you. As an apology, I made lunch today.”

“You cooked, Silvia?”

“Yes, go wash up at the river. I’ve made lunch.”

“…You didn’t use the leftover bear meat, did you? Even I can’t get rid of that smell…”

“I just caught some fish and grilled them on sticks. Let’s keep it simple today.”

“Ah, that sounds good.”

Anything but that smelly bear is fine.

She smiled, released one hand from stroking my head, and slowly left the room.

I was also slowly pulling back the blanket to follow her.

As Silvia crossed the doorframe, she quietly said one more thing.

“Oh, and Ash.”

“Yes?”

She grinned.

Ah, that smile.

It was that mischievous smile she had when she teased me by revealing her naked body a few days ago.

Silvia slowly opened her moist lips and said:

“It’s quite impressive, contrary to appearances.”

“…What?”

She giggled and left the room.

I was confused, not understanding what she meant, but suddenly looked down and realized.

“…Ah, damn it.”

A man’s morning was standing proudly.

I nervously threw off the blanket with a bright red face.

She’s going to tease me about this for a while.

Thinking that, I sighed and slowly moved my feet.

When I went out to the living room, Silvia was humming a tune while wearing an apron she had found somewhere—something she had never done before.

It was a bit surprising to see her like this, but I couldn’t keep Silvia waiting when she had almost finished preparing the meal, so I hurried to the riverside to wash up.

It was an afternoon filled with embarrassment.

Perhaps that’s why I didn’t notice until now.

Looking back, I think it was from this day.

That Silvia started to change.

After that day, she began to behave more and more strangely.

.