I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

170 – Life (3)

＊

It was almost half a day later that Alice and I saw Sylvia again.

Sylvia was sitting on a large rock far away.

Finally, Sylvia found me and my older sister Alice, smiled brightly, waved her hands loudly, and shouted.

“Ash!”

“… haha,”

I waved my hand with an awkward smile.

It was because Alice, who was right next to him, looked too upset to shout out happily.

Of course, I was so happy to see Sylvia greet me with a bright smile after watching Sister Alice all day, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Sister Alice behind and run towards Sylvia.

This is especially true in a situation where it is almost certain that the reason Sister Alice was in a bad mood was because of me.

My sister told me I was dull, and in reality I had no idea what Alice was thinking, but at least I had that much insight.

Luckily, I didn’t have to run out.

Sylvia ran towards me and my sister with a brighter smile than usual.

“I’m sorry for leaving you without saying anything this morning. Are you surprised that I’m not here?”

“… I was surprised.”

Actually, I’m still a little surprised.

It was because Sylvia’s tension was unusually high.

Sylvia, who usually smiled brightly whenever our eyes met, seemed strangely bright and lively today.

Sister Alice looks even more upset than usual.

Sylvia looks much happier than usual.

Why are the personalities of these two people so opposite even in a place like this?

I said with a faint sigh.

“Why did you go alone?”

“Ash seemed pretty tired yesterday, so I thought I’d clean things up a bit today.”

“I need to get used to fighting too. Even if I get hurt a little, it’s okay because I have Sister Alice…”

“What, you were sad when you opened your eyes and I wasn’t there?”

Sylvia said with a bashful smile.

I frowned slightly, wondering at Sylvia’s strangely cheerful appearance.

Sylvia caught the change in my expression and hurriedly opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, I just had to vent a little something that was making me feel like going wild.”

Are you saying that you were going wild because you were happy or because you were venting your anger?

“From the morning?”

“From dawn, to be exact.”

“…”

“Why, Ash, have you ever been like that? Have you ever been so excited and happy that you wanted to jump around?”

“What on earth is so godly…”

I immediately shut my mouth.

I was worried that when Sylvia said something pleasant, she might mean the s*x from last night.

I guess I shouldn’t bring up that topic with Sister Alice right here with me.

I shook my head at Sylvia and glanced at my older sister Alice.

Sylvia tilted her head and said.

“Huh? Alice knows too.”

“No… ha,”

I see.

Because it was Sister Alice who found me lying naked!

As I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, Sister Alice spoke in a cold voice.

“You’re the only one who doesn’t know, Ash.”

“uh?”

Sister Alice repeated what she had said a moment ago.

What I don’t know.

What on earth does that mean?

At that moment of hesitation, Sylvia also nodded in agreement with Sister Alice’s words.

“That’s right, Ash doesn’t know yet.”

“… what?”

“Ash Staff! I have good news for you.”

“…?”

Sylvia slowly approached me, stretching out both arms as if to hug me.

And then he slowly opened his lips, which were trembling with anticipation.

But at that moment, Sister Alice put her arm between me and Sylvia and said,

“Have you finished organizing everything?”

“… Huh,”

Sylvia looked at her older sister Alice, who had interrupted her, with her eyes wide open.

A cold air began to spread between the two once again.

Eek, are you trying to fight again?

I was slowly observing the two people’s expressions.

However, I soon realized that there was not even a hint of anger in Sylvia’s eyes.

Although I may not have been with her for a very long time, considering that most of that time was spent together in a small cabin, it was unlikely that I could have misread her expression.

Sylvia’s red eyes, looking at Alice with half-closed eyes, were filled with laughter rather than anger.

A murderous smile, like the leisurely smile of a beast watching its struggling prey.

“… You’re so impatient! Alice. I wonder if you handled it well on your own. It’s not like you don’t trust my skills.”

“Tch,”

The anger was even darker in Sister Alice’s eyes.

Then, in the end, he lowered his gaze and turned away, and it seemed as if he was harboring terrible emotions like defeatism or inferiority complex.

Sylvia said, hiding her smile slightly.

“I didn’t see many monsters, but there were a few ambush-type monsters waiting for their chance to attack. I took care of them all.”

“Those things disguised as trees?”

“Yeah, those annoying little buggers who spread hallucinogenic powder.”

“… okay,”

Sister Alice nodded, lowering her arms.

As if that were a signal, Sylvia wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.

“Hmm, I have something to tell Ash, but I guess I’ll have to wait until later.”

“… uh?”

“Since it’s between the two of us, I’ll tell you when Alice isn’t listening.”

“…”

Before I could answer, Sister Alice asked Sylvia.

“How about the front?”

“At least within sight right now, there isn’t a single baby ant. That’s for sure.”

“…Okay, let’s move.”

“I’m tired. Should I rest for a bit?”

“…”

“Okay, okay. Okay, stop it.”

Sylvia kissed my cheek lightly and let go of my arm.

“Then, Ash, do your best today too.”

＊

The sun set again and night came.

Almost as soon as the bonfire was lit, Ash fell asleep.

It was because I was tired from the long distance I had traveled thanks to Sylvia leading the way, but at the same time, I was also worried that Sylvia would ask me to sleep like she did yesterday, so I quickly fell asleep.

Sylvia looked down at Ash lovingly and gently stroked his sleeping ashen hair.

“Even if the baby is born, I don’t think he’ll be cuter than my baby’s father.”

Sylvia whispered softly.

Even if Ash was awake, the word “baby daddy” that he said as if holding it in his mouth was so lovely that he couldn’t hear it.

Sylvia smiled lovingly, feeling her chest swell with excitement.

At that moment, a rustling sound was heard from afar.

It was the sound of Alice returning from her scouting trip.

Sylvia looked up at Alice and said.

“It only took this much time.”

“…”

“Then you must have been watching it from almost the beginning yesterday.”

“…”

Alice didn’t respond.

It must be because he knows that the more he talks back, the more he loses.

Sylvia lowered her gaze back to Ash, enjoying the quiet yet regular sound of his breathing.

Alice spoke to Sylvia as if deliberately breaking her silence.

“What time are you leaving today?”

“A little later.”

Sylvia answered dryly.

Alice asked again.

“You won’t die if you don’t sleep. Don’t you need to take care of your condition?”

“It’s true that my condition is getting worse, but I don’t have many ups and downs depending on my condition.”

“… I see, it seems like you’re being relaxed even though you have the Demon King right in front of you.”

“You’ve been up for two days already and you’re fine, and since when have you been worrying so much about my condition?”

“…”

“Your heart is beating so hard that I can’t rest. Shouldn’t you at least be grateful?”

Sylvia snapped at Alice.

Last night, Sylvia, who couldn’t contain her excitement at the news of her pregnancy, set off ahead of time just to let off steam, but the result was much more efficient than expected.

The distance traveled today was much longer than the distance traveled in the past two days.

It was possible because if Sylvia finished all the fighting and found a safe route first, Ash and Alice could just follow her footsteps without having to be careful.

So Sylvia and Alice decided to use this method until they reached the Demon King’s Castle.

Ash was initially against it, but Alice convinced him that he might not have much time left, so he eventually agreed.

“Of course, I’ll adjust my pace as I get closer to the Demon King’s castle. Do you think the title of Hero is something you can earn just by brute force?”

“…”

Alice licked her lips, then finally closed them tightly and lowered her head.

It was because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to bear the yelling and swearing if I tried to refute something.

Alice, who was shaking all over with her hot body, unable to relieve her rising anger, spoke in a trembling voice as if trying to make a mean provocation.

“Can you just leave Ash and me behind like that?”

“What, are you trying to seduce me? With your skin that’s melted like lava and your body that’s on a time limit?”

“… b*tch.”

“Ash has eyes too.”

“shut up.”

Alice, who had given it back for no reason and received it back with words, shut her eyes tightly and swore.

Sylvia spoke to Alice in a low voice.

“I don’t think you’d mind me leaving you and Ash alone.”

“…”

“Do you know why I leave you alone?”

“…”

“Because I trust you? That’s funny, because you’re going to die soon anyway? Of course not. Because it’s bad for the prenatal care of the child in my stomach? No.”

Sylvia suddenly lowered her head and pressed her lips to Ash’s forehead.

It was a gentle yet affectionate movement, as if he was showing off to Alice.

Raising her head again, Sylvia glared at Alice and said:

“Because I trust Ash. I don’t doubt for a second that Ash loves me.”

“… Yeah. I know.”

“Even if you use your dying situation to make a confession that he can’t refuse, and even if you use your worn-out body to flirt with cheap temptations, Ash will never choose you over me.”

“I knew that, you son of a b*tch.”

“So I’m warning you, keep your mouth shut like you originally thought. Don’t upset Ash for no reason.”

“…”

“Ash is kind, so he’ll probably be hurt by you even after rejecting you…”

Alice made no further reply.

However, Sylvia thought that the silence was actually proof that Alice completely understood her intentions.

Because Alice is the kind of person who refutes when she has something to say.

Sylvia looked at Alice, who was silent like a mute who had eaten honey, with satisfaction, and gently stroked Ash’s sleeping head again.

Alice, who had been silent for a long time, slowly opened her closed eyes and opened her mouth.

“Can I tell you now?”

“what.’

“About the Demon King.”

“Your skill at changing the subject is a mess.”

“… That’s not it, so just answer me, you idiot. Stop losing your temper and just answer the question, you idiot.”

Sylvia asked, holding back her laughter.

“I wonder what.”

“You saw the Demon King in person. Rumor has it that he’s different from what we learned at the Academy.”

Sylvia nodded.

“Yes, at the academy we learned that the Demon King was a horned demon, but in reality he was a demon with scaly skin.”

“… That was the rumor. Why did the Academy give such wrong education?”

“I knew that the Demon King’s position was hereditary like a kingdom, so I naturally thought that he would be similar to the previous Demon Kings recorded in history books.”

“So it wasn’t actually hereditary?”

Sylvia shrugged her shoulders in response to Alice’s question.

“I don’t know, it’s hereditary, so maybe there was a coup, or maybe we just had the wrong information. How can I know? But if I had to guess, I think the Demon King is hereditary. The current Demon King probably usurped the previous Demon King’s position.”

“Why do you think so?”

“A few years ago, when the warrior party entered the Demon King’s castle, there were hardly any demons among the numerous demons that stopped us.”

Alice was surprised by Sylvia’s words and asked back.

“… what?”

“Perhaps, all those who followed the previous Demon King were either executed, or they left without acknowledging the current Demon King. That’s what I think.”

“There is no evidence, only circumstantial evidence.”

“It’s unfortunate, but that’s true.”

Although it was only circumstantial evidence, Alice was able to convince Sylvia’s guess more easily than she thought.

Although the Demon King did not die, he suffered damage that was almost equivalent to death.

If Sylvia and the warrior party had had just a little more luck, the Demon King would have died four years ago.

From the Demon Tribe’s perspective, there is no reason not to protect the Demon Tribe’s leader at that moment of crisis when they might be defeated.

If there is a reason, it is because they are already dead or gone.

And if it is true that he left, it is probably because he does not acknowledge the current Demon King.

“Then, did all your comrades get hurt by the Demon King who didn’t even have any subordinates?”

“I said there were few mines, I didn’t say there were no subordinates. On the contrary, a large number of types of demons that I’ve never seen before appeared.”

“… Haven’t you seen it?”

“To be exact, they’re the ones I didn’t pay much attention to. Like minotaurs, ogres, and giants, they’re low-intelligence but incredibly strong.”

“The warrior party was defeated by something like that?”

“Something… had been modified. In fact, it was closer to a haphazardly modified bioweapon or biobomb than a subordinate.”

“…”

Sylvia frowned as she recalled that time.

A cold anger that seemed to slightly dampen Alice’s enthusiasm gushed out from Sylvia.

“Traps, lots of traps, and hundreds, thousands of bio-bombs waiting inside those traps.”

“It seems that this Demon King used all the Demons like objects.”

“If it was true that the mines left, then that might be the reason.”

Alice was silent for a moment, then asked Sylvia again.

“What was the Demon King himself like? Was he strong?”

“Yeah. Scarily so.”

“What kind of a fighter was that guy.”

“He was a wizard.”

“… That doesn’t make sense,”

Alice tilted her head.

“If the opponent had been a wizard, Maria would not have been able to defeat him.”

“…”

It was exactly as he said.

Maria was a genius, even if talent did not imply brute force.

If you were to pick out just one genius among the hundreds or thousands of people with countless talents and outstanding achievements, no one would be chosen ahead of Maria.

Even if the subject of the comparison was the warrior Sylvia, the difference between Sylvia’s swordsmanship talent and Maria’s magical talent was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

“Maria knows all the dispel spells for all magic. But how…”

“Even Maria couldn’t interpret the Demon King’s magic.”

“…what?”

“Yeah… what you heard was right.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Can’t Maria interpret it? There’s no way such magic can exist.”

“Really. Even Maria said she had never seen or heard of the Demon King’s magic, and that she didn’t even understand it.”

Magic was a discipline often likened to ‘a calculation using a language that had power.’

This discipline, which required both a sense of letters and mathematical thinking, was a strange discipline that required artistic sensibility, bold imagination, and at the same time sophisticated calculation skills.

When so many people are struggling with these confusing requirements and studying hard,

Maria already knew everything.

Not something I learned, but rather an instinct.

She was almost like a native speaker of the language of magic, and from birth she was like a fish swimming in the sea of ​​magic.

Therefore, the magic that Maria did not understand was essentially a contradiction and a sentence that could not exist.

At least that’s what happened in Alice’s head.

“Thanks to that, Maria couldn’t use the dispel magic spell.”

“… I see.”

Sylvia spoke briefly to the agitated Alice.

“doesn’t care.”

“…”

“No, it’s better this way. Neither you nor I are casters anyway.”

“Yeah, you and I are both just sword-wielding blockheads anyway.”

“All we have to do is drive our swords into that scrotum without giving it a chance to recite a spell or make a gesture. No, this time we have to split it apart until there is no trace left. And if you are still alive by then…”

Alice nodded slowly.

“Burn it with divine power.”

“… that’s right.”

Sylvia snickered and slowly stood up from Ash.

Then he continued, preparing to leave.

“Stay alive and well until then, and I’ll let you at least see my sleeping husband’s face.”

.