Chapter 91: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 91
"Miss Scarlet... I'm here..."
Late at night, while sitting on the bed and staring at the stars outside the window, Sylvia, who had changed into pajamas, came into the room after a knock.
Her face was slightly flushed, probably from just having washed up.
If it were any other time, I would have been flustered by her visit in such attire at this hour, but the fatigue written all over her face pushed those thoughts far away.
After the incident, even after returning to the mansion, I hadn't seen her for several days, so I spoke to her cautiously.
“You must be exhausted…”
Sylvia forced a smile at those words, then walked over to my bed, collapsing onto it as she murmured.
"…Yes, I am. It's really tough. Miss Scarlet is the only one who understands how hard I'm working..."
Sylvia lay sprawled face down, her face buried in the pillow, devoid of her usual confidence.
Since childhood, she had always shown a strong front in front of others, but seeing her like this, so vulnerable, in front of someone she trusts made me feel a bit awkward.
Hiding those feelings, I gently asked Sylvia.
“…You seem very busy.”
“It's not just busy… Even though the academy is closed, how can they make me run around from morning till late at night without a single break? Does it make sense that I don’t have time to see Miss Scarlet's face in the mansion? Sometimes, it feels like the elders of the family think my stamina is limitless…”
Sylvia grumbled, her face still buried in the pillow.
Since the incident, the academy has been closed for a while.
Many students lost their families in the incident, and until the city stabilized, even the heroes who served as teachers had to take on various missions.
I heard that Ms. Eve was also busy using illusion magic to treat those who fell into depression after the incident.
Sylvia, being the heir of a prestigious family, must have been running around attending various events these past few days, which explained her exhaustion.
Since the academy was on break and I had nothing special to do, staying cooped up in the mansion, I wasn’t sure what to say to her.
From what I read in books, at times like this, it's good to say something empathetic…
She seemed a bit disgruntled about the excessive schedule imposed by her family, so I decided to agree with her.
“That’s too much... They should give you some time to rest…”
“...Even though it's tough, these are things that need to be done. Listening to people’s voices, showing up at group memorial services like today. If these things can help people feel a bit more at ease or relieve some of their sorrow, I think they are necessary. It's the mindset I should have as an Astra and a hero…”
“…That’s amazing. It must be hard, but thinking like that is commendable.”
I thought she would vent her accumulated complaints, but her response made me admire her anew.
Yes, Sylvia was that kind of person.
Despite having a tendency to be prickly towards people approaching her due to past bad memories, she was someone with the qualities of a hero.
She was a person who truly practiced noblesse oblige.
So, I thought it might be better for her to rest a bit more instead of spending time talking to me, and I gently suggested.
“Hey, Sylvia, you’ll be busy tomorrow too. Shouldn’t you get some rest?”
“…This is resting.”
Sylvia replied, peeking her head out from the pillow with a sly smile.
She looked at me intently for a while before cautiously asking.
“…Hey, Miss Scarlet. If you really think I'm amazing, can you do me a favor?”
“A favor? Sure. If it’s something I can do.”
I owed her a lot, so there was no reason not to grant a simple favor.
When I responded without hesitation, Sylvia hesitated for a moment before speaking in a small voice.
“…Then, could you… pat my head and praise me for doing well?”
Her unexpected request made my body stiffen.
Since childhood, my mother had always praised me by patting my head when I did something well.
I took it for granted, but one time after a successful presentation, I patted a junior on the head to praise her and got scolded severely,
‘Senior, girls are very sensitive about people touching their heads, so please don’t do that again.’
After that, it became a bit of a trauma for me, making me hesitant to pat anyone’s head even if I wanted to praise them.
Seeing Sylvia’s face turn red with anticipation, I realized how much she wanted this.
Imagining how she must have grown up, I suddenly felt a surge of compassion.
Sylvia, who grew up as the heir of a prestigious family.
Despite all her efforts, she probably grew up without a single word of praise, treated as if it were only natural because she was the heir of the Astra family.
Poor girl, she must have been so starved for praise to ask for it like this.
With that thought, I approached her, kneeling beside the bed and placing my hand on her head.
Gently stroking her silken silver hair, I whispered softly in her ear, just like my mother used to do for me.
“Sylvia, you’ve worked hard. You’ve done really well. You deserve all the praise. To be able to put in so much effort, you’re really an amazing person. So, I’m sure you’ll do well in the future too.”
At that, she let out a strange noise and buried her head back into the pillow, her face turning bright red.
She began to tremble slightly, then suddenly started kicking her legs.
“…Sylvia? Are you okay?”
“Nothing! Nothing at all, so please continue!”
Concerned about her odd reaction, I asked if she was alright, but she shook her head vigorously and pleaded for me to continue.
Following her request, I patted her head and praised her for a few more minutes until she stopped moving. Then I gently lifted my hand from her head and asked.
“…Is this enough?”
“Hehe… Yes… That’s enough…”
With a satisfied voice, Sylvia slowly got up.
Her face was completely relaxed, with a silly smile spread across it.
Seeing her so happy, I realized how starved she had been for praise.
Thinking I should do this for her more often if she asked, Sylvia seemed to gather herself a bit and murmured with a sigh.
“This… This will keep me going for a week.”
“Stay strong. You’re an amazing person, Sylvia.”
When I said that, Sylvia bowed her head deeply, trembling as she spoke.
“P-please stop it. There’s nothing amazing about me.”
After a moment, she continued speaking.
“…The truly amazing person would be Yoon Si-woo. He graduated early as a first-year at the academy and was appointed as an official hero, which is unprecedented. You should have seen how people cheered for him at the appointment ceremony today.”
“I watched it on the broadcast too. It was indeed impressive.”
After asking for it, I couldn't miss it.
It was I who advised him to use the Holy Sword of Light.
Even though I intended it, I didn’t expect people to be so enthusiastic.
I suggested it, hoping people could momentarily forget their sorrow, but it had a more significant impact than expected.
The brilliance of the Holy Sword he showed today must have deeply imprinted Yoon Si-woo’s name in people’s minds.
While thinking that, Sylvia spoke again, her voice heavy.
“…No matter how hard I try, becoming that strong seems impossible, right?”
She must have been recalling the night of the incident.
Despite teaming up, Sylvia and I couldn’t even come close to matching Yoon Si-woo’s strength.
Even though she knew Yoon Si-woo was quite strong, it must have been a considerable shock for her.
No matter how strong Yoon Si-woo had become compared to the original, it was beyond ridiculous even for a heroine candidate like her.
“…Yes, I think so. Lately, I've been training alone, and I can’t even fathom how strong he is. But what can we do? We just have to do our best within our capabilities.”
In my opinion, that was the only answer.
Each of us doing our best in what we can do.
Even Yoon Si-woo couldn’t solve everything, so even if we weren’t as strong as him, there would be roles we could play for someone.
Sylvia seemed to realize this too, shaking off her bitter expression and speaking up.
“…Right. We each have to do what we can. By the way, Miss Scarlet. Since the academy is closed, you don’t have anything special to do these days, right?”
As she said, I was currently an idle person.
Sylvia was busy with her work, so I was spending my days training alone in her training room in the mansion.
When I nodded, Sylvia smiled brightly.
“Then that’s good. There’s something I want to do together.”
Something she wants to do?
I tilted my head in confusion, and Sylvia blushed slightly before speaking.
“Miss Scarlet, do you like children?”
I found myself nodding as if enchanted by the question from the beautiful girl asking if I liked children.
there is already new chapter but next button cant work :'(
ReplyDeletesry it was my mistake, added the next button
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