Chapter 236: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 236

"Why did you come, you idiot!!"

"Why did you come?" I shouted at Sylvia.

Sylvia, startled by my sudden outburst, looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.

"N-No, you scared me, Miss Scarlet. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"

She asked in a flustered voice, confused by my abrupt change in behavior.

Her words became the trigger that caused my emotions to explode.

"You’re asking why? Do you really not understand?"

Seeing her standing there as if she didn't realize how serious the situation was, frustration and a mix of complicated emotions surged within me.

With a twisted expression, I raised my voice at her angrily.

"What were you thinking coming here...! This place... do you even know how dangerous it is...?!"

As I yelled, I took in the scenery behind Sylvia.

The entire area was tainted, engulfed in dark, corrupted energy. The land was barren, not a single blade of grass in sight, making it an extremely hostile place, almost malicious toward humans.

And yet, Sylvia had set foot in this place.

But just look at her.

Here I was, feeling like I was about to lose my mind because of this situation, and she had such a clueless expression on her face.

How could I not be burning up inside?

As I continued fuming silently, I saw Sylvia, who had been staring at me, sigh and shake her head.

"Haah... Seriously... I mean, this is so typical of you, Miss Scarlet."

With a somewhat exasperated look, she murmured under her breath, then looked straight at me and spoke.

"Miss Scarlet, I know. I know how dangerous this place is. But I didn’t come here without any preparation. Believe it or not, I’m capable of taking care of myself. Look, can't you see?"

Sylvia dramatically spread her arms wide.

As she did, the light faintly surrounding her body grew stronger, and I could feel the corrupted energy around us being purified.

"You don’t need to worry. I’ve gotten stronger, so I can handle being in a place like this, filled with dark energy. And if any monsters attack, I can always fly away."

She seemed to be saying that everything would be fine, but I couldn’t ease my expression.

"...It’s not just that kind of problem. This place is uninhabitable. What about food and water—"

"I brought plenty of that, too."

Before I could finish, Sylvia interrupted and pulled out a water bottle and some small, round emergency rations from a pouch tied to her waist.

"This is a magical canteen that produces water, and these rations provide all the nutrients you need with just one bite. I packed enough to last for several weeks."

Sylvia glanced down at the emergency rations in her hand with a slightly odd expression, then, as if she’d made up her mind, squeezed her eyes shut and popped one into her mouth.

Immediately after swallowing it, she shuddered for some reason, letting out a silent scream.

After quickly gulping down some water, Sylvia made a face as if she were about to cry and said,

"It... it tastes awful, but... at least now you know you don’t have to worry about me, right?"

She tried to reassure me, telling me not to worry about her.

But even though she seemed somewhat prepared, I still couldn’t relax.

It wasn’t just because she was in a dangerous place.

I—

"...You say you’re fine, but what’s with that expression?"

I looked up to see Sylvia pouting, wearing a dissatisfied expression.

What should I say?

When I stayed silent, unsure of how to respond, she mumbled in a sullen tone.

"...I don't even need to ask, do I? You’re probably thinking about how much trouble you’ve caused me again."

Her words made me flinch, and my shoulders trembled.

She’d hit the nail on the head.

Earlier, the people from Astra had said it.

They claimed that Sylvia had gotten into trouble because she helped me escape from the city.

They even thought it necessary to kill me for Sylvia’s sake, meaning I’d already caused her enough harm.

I didn’t want to burden her any further, but now this had happened.

Thinking about it, Sylvia had faced trouble just for helping me escape, and now she’d run out of the city to help me again. I couldn’t even imagine how others would treat her from now on.

It was clear that she wouldn’t be met with kindness, and the thought suffocated me.

It wasn’t just that I had led her into such a dangerous place.

When I thought about the things she’d sacrificed to help me, and what she’d have to give up in the future...

How could I not feel guilty?

I lowered my head and said quietly,

"I’m sorry... because of me."

Then,

"...Don’t."

Sylvia shouted.

"Don't apologize!"

She told me not to apologize.

"I didn’t come here, eat this disgusting food, and face all this danger just to hear you say sorry...!"

Sylvia raised her voice, more upset than I’d ever seen her.

"Why did I come? Isn’t it obvious I came because I was worried about you? You nearly died, and even then, you were more concerned about others than yourself! Of course I was going to come and check on you...!"

I listened quietly, still with my head lowered.

I understood how she felt.

I understood everything.

Of course, I knew she had come because she was worried about me.

But that wasn’t what I wanted.

I didn’t want Sylvia to help me at the cost of her own safety. I would rather endure worse myself than have her sacrifice so much for me.

I lifted my head to ask her not to do this again, but—

"Hic... I thought you were dead... I... I was so... so scared..."

I stopped mid-sentence when I saw what was in front of me.

Sylvia’s eyes were red, and she was crying, tears streaming down her face.

She was sobbing uncontrollably, overwhelmed by sadness, worry, and frustration.

Seeing her like that, my heart softened instantly, and I realized something.

In the end, I couldn’t be harsh with her.

The words I was about to say dissolved in my throat as I reached out and gently pulled her into a hug.

As soon as I did, Sylvia buried her face in my shoulder, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

I felt my shoulder grow damp, and I heard her tearful voice close to my ear.

"Hic... Who’s the idiot here? You’re the one who doesn’t understand anything, Miss Scarlet..."

"I’m sorry... I’m sorry, Sylvia. It’s all my fault..."

"I told you... don’t apologize..."

Still burying her head in my shoulder, Sylvia mumbled and clung to my arm tightly.

"Do you want me to apologize every time I receive help from you?"

"...No."

"Then you know you’re the one at fault, right?"

"Yeah... you’re right... I’m sorry... Oh..."

I let out a startled noise after accidentally apologizing again, making Sylvia laugh softly through her tears.

"Apologize properly for that one... You’re completely at fault for that..."

Did my actions really hurt her that much?

Sylvia’s grip on my arm tightened as she spoke, and I could only respond.

"...Yeah. I’m sorry. That was my fault."

"Please don’t do it again. Promise?"

I hesitated for a moment.

She wanted me to promise I wouldn’t do this again.

When I didn’t respond, I felt her hand tremble slightly.

I had no choice but to answer as I gently stroked her head.

"...Alright, I promise."

Sylvia nodded softly, looking relieved.

After a brief moment of silence, as Sylvia began to calm down, she seemed to realize something and, with a small gasp, said,

"Now that I think about it, Miss Scarlet, you’re speaking informally to me now?"

"Oh... I guess I am."

Her words made me realize that I had been speaking informally to her, which left me flustered.

I had been so overwhelmed by everything that I had forgotten to use polite speech with her.

As I apologized and switched back to formal speech, Sylvia shook her head wildly and exclaimed,

"No! I like it better this way! Could you keep talking like this? Please...?"

She looked up at me with pleading eyes, much like a kitten begging for attention.

Her expression made me laugh.

The reason I’d been using formal speech with her until now was because I wanted to maintain some distance between us.

But after today, I realized.

Sylvia already considered me someone close to her, more than I had realized.

At this point, formal speech no longer held any meaning, so I slowly nodded my head.

Seeing me agree, Sylvia clenched her fists in victory, then looked at me curiously and asked,

"Miss Scarlet... Up until now, you’ve kept a distance from me, right? You said we shouldn’t be friends."

"Well... yeah."

When I answered, Sylvia hesitated for a moment before asking,

"Can I ask why you were so conscious of keeping that distance? Was it really just because you didn’t want to be friends?"

Her question made me smile bitterly.

"Sylvia, I kept my distance because of moments like this."

"Huh...?"

Sylvia tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what I meant.

"I told you before, didn’t I? That I couldn’t be your friend because I was afraid of burdening you. And now, look. You’ve sacrificed so much to help me, Sylvia. I didn’t want that to happen."

"You said you didn’t want to owe me anything or burden me... Is that really all? You did it

 just because of that?"

Sylvia asked if that was really the only reason.

Her question made me pause and think.

It was true that I had used that excuse to keep my distance from her, but was that really the whole story?

It wasn’t entirely wrong, but something felt incomplete.

After thinking for a moment, I realized the truth.

Oh, I see. That’s what it was.

I had finally discovered the real reason, one that I hadn’t even noticed until now.

"It was because I was scared."

I must have been a coward.

PREVIOUS | TOC | NEXT