Ch.35Corpse Collecting (2)

Another morning arrives.

Sylvia woke up, roughly rubbing her stiff eyes as if trying to crush them.

Judging by the sunlight reflecting through the window, today’s weather would be exceptionally clear, but contrary to the weather, her mood was at its worst.

It was because her dreams had been extremely turbulent last night.

Sylvia lowered her gaze to look at Ash’s face, sleeping peacefully in her arms.

She had been supporting his head with her arm all night, yet her arm wasn’t numb at all.

Ash was that small and light of a being.

This fragile boy, who seemed like he might die with just a tight squeeze, was sleeping contentedly between Sylvia’s arm and embrace.

Annoyed by his overly peaceful face, Sylvia gently covered the sleeping Ash’s nose.

“…Pfft”

Oblivious to the world, Ash remained still for about three seconds before shaking his head and then exhaling through his mouth with a “poof.”

Sylvia chuckled and released his nose.

Half-asleep, Ash rubbed his nose and buried his head into Sylvia’s embrace with a smacking sound.

Ash’s breath traveled along Sylvia’s cleavage, tickling the tip of her chin.

Sylvia gently patted Ash’s head and whispered very softly.

It wasn’t meant for Ash to hear, but rather a grumbling soliloquy.

“Why did you say such things yesterday, making me have bad dreams?”

Even with Ash’s sweet breath beside her, Sylvia had clearly had a nightmare.

Of course, it was somewhat different from the nightmares she’d been having before.

Until now, Sylvia’s nightmares had always been about someone’s death.

Soldiers who melted away without a trace from the Demon Lord’s magic, and adventurers torn apart by vicious traps.

Comrades who held back the Demon Lord’s minions—who charged forward screaming as if their lungs would burst with poison—shouting for her to go on.

And when everything was over, Sylvia herself collapsing upon discovering that they were all dead.

The Milwood Village, transformed into ruins overnight because of her, when she arrived with her exhausted body.

The countless villagers she cut down with the same sword that had slain the Demon Lord.

The sight of herself strangling a toothless infant as it crawled with bloodshot eyes toward another child in the next bed, intending to kill it.

Once again the sole survivor, realizing all this was the Demon Lord’s curse, Sylvia spewing forth a beastly metallic sound that could have been either laughter or crying.

Until now, her nightmares had been about guilt.

It was the worst torture inflicted upon her—wanting to atone through death but unable to die due to that cursed curse.

However, last night’s nightmare was different.

It was a nightmare filled not with guilt, but with fear.

A dream where Ash left her.

“…Ash, you stupid idiot.”

Although they had shared a comfortable and warm atmosphere sleeping together last night, nothing had changed.

Sylvia was still not Ash’s family.

Even Ash had given an uncharacteristically firm answer on that point, so it was an undeniable fact.

In the end, Sylvia still carried the anxiety that Ash might leave her someday.

Sylvia puffed her cheeks and pressed her index finger firmly against Ash’s soft cheek.

Ash’s cheek, soft like freshly baked bread, gently received Sylvia’s finger.

Sylvia gently rubbed the back of her hand against Ash’s tender cheek, which had turned red from her pressing, and whispered:

“Now I… I don’t think I can sleep properly without you.”

It had been about a month and a half since Ash came to this forest.

Compared to the four years before that, these days had been remarkably full of diverse emotions and fulfillment.

Partly because Ash was very cute and they communicated well, but even before that, simply having one more mouth to feed had subtly increased the things she needed to do.

A day would quickly pass just thinking about what to cook for Ash or what to hunt that he might like.

Having something to focus on had reduced the days she spent suffering from guilt alone.

Of course, the guilt that occasionally visited had grown frighteningly large in proportion to how much she had forgotten about them.

The desire for atonement and destruction that could only be resolved by strangling her own neck.

Still, Sylvia was grateful just for not having to suffer from guilt every day.

“I… I don’t think I can live alone anymore…”

Suffering from guilt and imprisoning herself in this forest until her life ended, Sylvia was sometimes gripped by a terrifying thought.

That thought was, ‘What if the Demon Lord’s curse prevents even death from old age?’

She had jumped off cliffs and broken her neck, stabbed knives into her own throat.

She had gone without water and food for over half a year, and stayed submerged underwater for five days.

All of these were painful enough to die from, but she never reached death.

She hadn’t become undead.

Because through all those processes, she could feel the pain as vividly as it was horrific.

Surprisingly, when she actually tried it, the most painful thing was sinking underwater.

Being unable to die while suffocating from not breathing was more painful than having a broken neck or having her entire body burned.

Of course, even in the physical pain that seemed to drive her insane, the mental anguish from that damned guilt still shone with its presence, torturing Sylvia.

She had even impulsively tried to gouge out her own brain.

That’s why Ash was so precious to her.

A being who comforted her loneliness, made her forget her guilt, and provided something to immerse herself in.

Although the time they had spent together was just a month and a half, Sylvia felt she couldn’t endure even a single day without Ash anymore.

Sylvia quietly whispered again the words she had been pondering all day yesterday.

“…How can I become family with you?”

Actually, when Ash asked to sleep together last night, Sylvia thought she had found a clue.

Another way to become family, and almost the only way for people without blood ties to become family besides adoption.

Love.

Marriage.

“I knew it all along, but…”

Of course, Sylvia wasn’t very confident about whether Ash liked her.

From what she had overheard adventurers whispering back in the day,

She knew well that women like her—tall and muscular—weren’t usually the objects of men’s romantic interest.

Most men preferred small, cute girls like Maria.

Moreover, it was also a problem that Sylvia herself wasn’t sure if she liked Ash.

She just thought she wouldn’t mind living with Ash for the rest of her life.

Or more precisely, she thought she really disliked the idea of not living with Ash.

Of course, if that’s not love, what is? But Sylvia herself wasn’t aware of it.

Still, Sylvia had definitely felt something yesterday.

She felt relieved when Ash apologized, and her heart raced when he embraced her tightly with both hands.

“Marriage…”

Ash had said this yesterday.

Sharing the same time and space, sharing the same experiences, feeling the same emotions.

That’s what family is.

Sylvia thought love was the same.

Romantic feelings also bloom between people who share time and space.

If so, the reason she and Ash couldn’t become family was because they hadn’t shared enough time yet.

Conversely, it meant time would solve the problem.

Sylvia had been imagining the future that she and Ash would build together while listening to Ash’s family stories last night.

Until the mention of a fiancée.

*

Last night.

That evil word from Ash’s mouth instantly drove away the drowsiness that had been creeping in.

“What?”

“…Hm? Sylvia?”

Sylvia lifted Ash’s chin with one finger.

Ash, lying on his side in Sylvia’s arms, was forced to look up at her face.

In the darkness that had been warmly nurturing comfort, Ash saw those ominous red eyes flash.

“What’s wro… wrong?”

“You have a fiancée?”

“Uh… yes…? Ah, we haven’t had an engagement ceremony, so she’s not officially my fiancée.”

“… Details.”

Ash explained with a puzzled expression.

After receiving the baronet title, the Count proposed an engagement to welcome Ash’s family as relatives.

The Count said that if Ash hadn’t received the baronet title, he would have adopted him, so this was probably out of the Count’s pure goodwill.

Of course, it was only a verbal agreement, and they hadn’t formally held an engagement ceremony.

The ceremony couldn’t proceed because the young lady who was to become his fiancée wasn’t in the territory.

To Ash, the young lady was his sister’s friend and someone he had known since childhood, but there didn’t seem to be any sparks of romance between them.

“She probably doesn’t like me much anyway.”

“… Why do you think that?”

“Well… when I was… young…”

“Hmm?”

“I… put a lizard on her back… and ran away.”

“…”

“…”

Sylvia momentarily forgot what to say because the reason was so silly.

She only had a fleeting thought, ‘Ah, so Ash was quite mischievous when he was young.’

“… Heh,”

“… Huh,”

“Hehe, she’s probably still afraid of lizards.”

Thwack!

Sylvia lightly clenched her fist and gently struck Ash’s head.

Though she only flicked her wrist and hit him lightly, the sound rang out louder than expected.

“Ow!”

“You startled me.”

“Ugh… what was that for?”

Ash asked, rubbing his head with a tearful expression.

Sylvia slowly opened her mouth.

“…That’s not a fiancée.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Anyway, she’s not. If you didn’t have an engagement ceremony, she’s not. Idiot.”

“Oh… is that so?”

Ash asked back like a fool.

Sylvia felt a surge of irritation.

“What, did you want to marry that woman so badly?”

“No, it’s not that… I just wanted to become family with the Count’s household…”

“You can’t anymore.”

Sylvia said decisively.

She slightly regretted speaking so coldly without realizing it.

It was an inconsiderate remark toward Ash, who had fled for his life without knowing what danger might have befallen the Count’s family who had been helping his household.

Sylvia carefully looked down at Ash.

Ash burrowed into Sylvia’s embrace with a sulky face and grumbled.

“…I know that.”

“…Yeah.”

Though she hadn’t eaten much, Sylvia felt somewhat uncomfortable in her stomach, but she quietly embraced Ash who had nestled into her arms and patted his forehead where she had just hit him.

Sylvia, now fully awake, wanted to hear more of Ash’s stories.

But Ash had reached his limit.

He was already quietly breathing evenly, asleep in Sylvia’s arms.

.