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

187 – Companions (4)

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Actually, there were a lot of things I wanted to say to Sylvia when I met her.

Balder appeared and manipulated Sister Maria to attack us, Sister Alice died together with Sister Maria, and for the first time in my life, I killed someone of my own free will.

The whole situation came so suddenly that I didn’t realize it at the time, but after it was all over, I wanted to tell her how sad and painful it was.

But that couldn’t be done.

Because Sylvia had been through so much harder times that it made me feel like what I was going through was something like that.

Seeing all this blood and flesh everywhere, and Sylvia’s expression looking like she was on the verge of collapse to anyone who saw it, I could never be a spoiled brat to her.

Instead, she hugged me and cried like a little child.

I hugged her waist with all my might, while at the same time thinking about my relationship with her.

When I look back on the time we’ve spent together since I first met her, I see that we’ve always been like this.

A relationship where they lick each other’s wounds with their bodies and minds completely torn apart.

I could now see that she had relied on me as much as I had relied on her.

That’s why she, who is superior to me in every way, fell in love with a lowly man like me.

It was funny.

Wasn’t comfort an act of the better off sharing the burden of the less fortunate?

We, both physically and mentally a mess, shared each other’s burdens and, overwhelmed by it, leaned on each other’s bodies.

If our love were to be shaped into a form, it would look like a stone statue, barely standing with a strange balance.

But because of that exquisite balance, we need each other and cannot live without each other.

I kept my mouth shut as I thought about that.

“…”

For a long time Sylvia walked down the hallway without saying a word.

Actually, it wasn’t a situation worth making a fuss about.

It was as if we were walking through the Demon King’s gaping maw.

The reason they had been holding each other until just now was because they desperately needed each other’s body heat for comfort, but it was also undoubtedly a reckless action that did not fit the situation.

A pitch-black hallway where you never know what might pop out at any time.

A malicious trap or an assassin preparing a dastardly attack could exist anywhere.

Of course, such shallow tricks might not be a problem for Sylvia, but not for me.

Knowing that, Sylvia will also not let her guard down again.

At that time, I was thinking like that.

Sylvia opened her mouth slowly.

“… excuse me.”

It was a voice so small that I almost missed it, as the sound of our footsteps echoed in the hallway.

But it wasn’t because of shame or emotional turmoil.

I noticed that Sylvia had intentionally made her voice very quiet, so I answered her in the same quiet voice.

“Yeah. Why is that?”

“Alice… is dead?”

“…”

I thought about it for a moment.

The question was simple enough, but the answer wasn’t as simple as I thought.

Clearly, her body was nowhere to be found, but her mechanical heart inside my waistband was still emitting a faint heat.

Moreover, at the moment she died, Malice’s necklace also began to glow and have some kind of effect.

In fact, I had no way of figuring out what all this meant or what it signified.

All of these strange phenomena may not necessarily mean the resurrection of Sister Alice.

No, it’s more like an unlikely hopeful observation.

However, I didn’t want to say outright that Sister Alice was dead and would never come back to life.

And, since it was neither the time nor the place to explain my complicated feelings and complicated situation in detail, I answered very briefly.

“For now…”

“…”

Sylvia kept her mouth shut.

You might be surprised.

Because Sister Alice was someone that even Sylvia couldn’t kill.

Even if he were the Demon King, it would be impossible for him to kill Sister Alice.

“I see…”

But we all knew the paradoxical situation where she was someone no one could kill, but on the other hand, it wouldn’t be strange if she died right away.

Sister Alice had constantly reminded us that her heart was broken, and had urged us on our journey, so her death itself did not seem to be such unexpected news to Sylvia.

Sylvia asked softly again.

“…you killed him?”

“what?”

“… no?”

“Why do you think such ridiculous things? Why me?”

Although it was absurd, I asked Sylvia in a voice as quiet as possible, and she pointed at my armor with her finger.

The armor was completely covered in blood.

“Because your armor was like that before you hugged me.”

“… there was an attack.”

I opened my mouth, prepared.

This blood is Balder’s, not Alice’s, but if Sylvia asks any more, it will be difficult for me to hide the story about Maria.

Originally, I had planned to confess without her asking, but with Sylvia’s current state of instability due to cutting down her colleagues, it would not be a good thing to hear about Sister Maria.

So, I quietly waited for her next question, hoping she wouldn’t ask any more.

“…”

“…”

“okay…”

Sylvia looked ahead quietly and said.

And then he asked me another strange question.

“That demon boy. Did you meet him?”

“Huh? Oh, I met him. He showed me the way.”

“Then, did you come together?”

“No? That kid… is collecting the bodies of his colleagues.”

Sylvia frowned slightly, then opened her eyes fiercely with a hard expression.

“Sylvia?”

“then…”

“…?”

“The footsteps following us from behind are neither Alice nor the boy.”

“… what?”

Sylvia stopped and turned around, drawing her sword.

I too stopped dead in my tracks and hurriedly looked back.

But all I could see was a dark hallway, and I couldn’t hear anything.

“…”

There was only me, Sylvia, and Pia in the hallway.

Pia looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I tried to ask Pia if she felt anything.

At that moment, Sylvia slowly moved her arm holding the knife.

“There’s someone here.”

And then he aimed straight at Pia.

“… uh?”

“Oh, wait a minute… Are you… Ash’s spirit?”

“Oh, yeah…”

Sylvia snickered and slowly lowered her sword-holding arm.

I asked her, unable to hide my embarrassment.

“Can you see the piano?”

“Yeah… I can see it. It’s blurry, though.”

Of course, Sylvia cannot see Pia.

No matter how great she is, she is not related to spirits.

“In the past, I could only feel its presence, but now I can see its shape, even if it’s vague. It feels like the surrounding space is slightly distorted…”

No, it’s crazy enough to feel something.

I know full well that spirits are not beings affected by the laws of physics.

Unless you are a spirit wizard, you will not be able to sense any sign of spirits.

Even I was unaware of the existence of Pia, who had been by my side my entire life, until I became aware of the spirits.

“how…?”

“…”

Sylvia hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said.

“Well, I have reasons to be suspicious, but… I won’t say anything right now.”

“… why?”

“I’ll tell you later… It’s not a bad story.”

“Sylvia?”

“It’s just… It’s not a story that can be told in a place like this… It’s also a story that can be told comfortably only after killing the Demon King.”

Sylvia smiled faintly and walked forward.

I looked back and forth between her and Pia for a moment.

Pia was sweating profusely.

“Oh, but Ash.”

“… huh?”

Sylvia said with a smile.

“She seemed like a much more attractive woman than you described.”

I also started to break out in a cold sweat.

＊

“Sylvia.”

“huh.”

“Do you know where you are going now?”

The hallway was longer and more complicated than I thought.

Sylvia opened the door without saying a word and walked along the fork in the road without stopping, choosing a direction.

Up until now, I had followed Sylvia without question, but I was starting to wonder if she was on the right path.

“The path we’ve taken so far has been quite complicated. Does Sylvia know the layout of this castle?”

“know.”

“… how?”

“Because it’s a road I’ve walked before.”

Sylvia spoke in a calm tone.

But, because of the determination and deep emotions that were difficult to explain in that calm tone, I couldn’t say anything more.

At that moment, I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe.

No, to be exact, it might be closer to the feeling of being immersed in a thick mass of magic that makes it difficult to even breathe.

“Cluck, cluck,”

The air was filled with a thick magical energy that even made the spirit Pia cough.

Sylvia said.

“I’ve arrived.”

Sylvia pointed ahead with her hand.

I followed her hand and looked around.

I opened my stinging eyes and looked ahead. In the distance, a huge door faintly revealed itself in the pitch-black darkness.

“Ash,”

Sylvia said, grabbing my shoulder.

It was a voice of unparalleled determination.

Sylvia opened her mouth slowly, her tone reminiscent of Mr. Millwood, who had warned her not to look at her face for months now that seemed like a distant memory.

“Stay behind me, no matter what. You’re not a close-quarters fighter.”

“Yeah… I know…”

“No, listen carefully to what I say. Stay behind me at all costs. You must never come between me and the Demon King.”

“okay.”

“No matter what comes flying at you, even if it feels like I’m about to be hit by the Demon King’s magic, you must never come in front of me. You must not even think of getting hit instead. Got it?”

“… Okay,”

“Knowing isn’t enough. So promise me.”

“…”

“You will never come forward, and you will never try to save me.”

“I’m saving Sylvia? I’m much weaker than Sylvia. What are you talking about?”

“Shut up and make a promise!”

Sylvia screamed, and I froze in surprise.

I could feel that behind Sylvia’s stern face there was great despair and sadness.

It was because even in the firm hand that held my shoulder and in the firm, low voice, there was a subtle tremor that was difficult to ignore.

Sylvia was genuinely afraid.

It was as if he had forcibly held himself back while he wanted to run away because he was scared.

I have seen many different sides of her so far.

I had even seen her look afraid before.

But the current Sylvia felt a little unfamiliar.

The only fear I’ve seen in her so far is the fear of me disappearing.

It may still seem similar at first glance.

Because she’s afraid of me dying.

But now, the way Sylvia looked to me was a little different.

“Sylvia?”

“You are… Maria’s younger sister…”

“…”

It felt like I had been hit hard in the back of the head.

It was only then that I realized that even Sylvia’s two legs were shaking.

Up until now, whenever she was in a situation where she felt like she was going to lose me, she tried to avoid the situation.

If there was a threat, she tried to remove it, if it seemed like I was going to run away, she tried to tie me up, and if I had thoughts she didn’t like, she used that body to direct my attention towards her.

“I can’t lose you, just like I lost Maria. No. Absolutely not… So promise me.”

But now, things are different.

It was the first time she had to walk into a situation where she might lose me.

That’s why Sylvia is so afraid.

The appearance he was seeing now was closer to that of a soldier who wanted to run away from war at any moment.

“…”

I gently held Sylvia’s trembling arms without saying a word.

Then I slowly swept up her arm and slowly moved my fingertips to her shoulder.

Soon, the hand that had been on her shoulder moved down her back, slowly reaching her waist.

I just hugged Sylvia’s waist tightly.

“I promise.”

“…”

“If Pia thinks I’m in danger, I’ll tell her to move me to a safe place immediately.”

I looked at Pia standing next to me and said.

“You’ll do that, right?”

Pia nodded.

“Sylvia. Are you relieved now?”

“huh…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of myself.”

“Of course… Ash, it’s better for me to die than for Ash to die. Got it?”

“I don’t want Sylvia to die either…”

“There is no objection. It is unconditional. Ash must live unconditionally.”

“I told you… Right,”

I said, patting Sylvia on the head.

“I’ll hide behind Sylvia and worry about what we’ll eat and live together when everything’s over.”

“Ha, you’re joking like that again…”

“I’m not joking. The outside world is a mess. This is something to be seriously considered.”

“… fool.”

Sylvia gave me a quick kiss on the lips and said:

“There’s no way I’d starve Ash.”

“Okay, I’ll believe you.”

Sylvia slowly stepped away from me.

Then he turned towards the Demon King’s residence and said.

“Three steps. Walk three steps behind me.”

“okay.”

Sylvia started walking.

I opened my mouth quietly.

“Pia… Please.”

“huh…”

Pia said with a stern expression.

“I know… what Ash is thinking…”

“…I will believe you.”

I walked after Sylvia.

Sylvia, who had reached the door, took a deep breath, exhaled the acrid magic, and slowly began to push open the large door.

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