CW43:

★★34. Take me too★★

After finishing breakfast and while the mercenaries were slowly packing their belongings, Sylvia approached Felix.

“Hey.”

Felix, who was drinking barley tea with ice cubes, turned to look at Sylvia. Without responding, he just stared at her, prompting her to gently ask,

“Can I come with you?”

It wasn’t Felix who answered her question, but Hubert, who was nearby.

“Miss Sylvia, where do you wish to accompany us?”

Sylvia’s head naturally turned towards Hubert as she stood right in front of Felix, who was seated at the dining table, looking up at her from a lower vantage point.

He was still processing the content of her question in his mind.

Sylvia earnestly explained to Hubert.

“I, too, wish to join the demon beast subjugation. My dream is to cook for the mercenary group that sets out to subdue the demon beasts.”

With a determined expression, she conveyed her wishes, leaving Hubert to respond with a hesitant and bewildered look before he turned to Felix.

“Captain?”

At his call, Felix barely managed to tear his gaze away from Sylvia’s profile, troubled by the strange emotions that kept arising. However, his expression gave nothing away, leaving no one the wiser about his inner turmoil.

Instead, he spoke in a stern voice.

“No.”

Sylvia was taken aback by the firm refusal, while Hubert, as if expecting this response, nodded and said,

“It’s too dangerous, after all. Perhaps if you were an offensive mage… but it’s not that we doubt your magical abilities, Miss Sylvia. It’s just that I’ve never heard of a non-offensive mage joining a mercenary group to venture outside the castle.”

As Hubert tried to comfort her, Sylvia wished to tell him,

‘I have… it’s me. Of course, not the current me, but the Sylvia of before…’

Briefly reminiscing about the original body’s owner who had tragically passed away, she realized that now was not the time for such thoughts.

“Why not!”

She needed to persuade Felix, who had refused her request.

Crunch.

Chewing on ice, Felix lifted his gaze again and arched an eyebrow.

His expression said it all.

You’re not asking because you don’t know, right?

…So it seemed…

Desperate, Sylvia looked around, but saw no one willing to challenge Felix’s decision. Noticing everyone hastily turning away, she bit her lip and stared persistently at Felix, contemplating her next move.

‘This can’t be happening. I didn’t think he’d refuse. I thought it would be natural to allow someone who’s willing to cook to come along. What a disappointment.’ 

Biting her lip in frustration, she focused solely on Felix and magically grew a banana.

She plucked one, quickly peeled it, and held the pale yellow flesh right in front of his lips, saying,

“Sylvia wants to go too, pwease.”

Puffing her cheeks and tilting her head was the key. And so was gently waving the sweet scent of the banana right under his nose.

She remembered a friend who used to frequently act cute during their youth.

Her secret weapon.

She even used a third-person perspective.

Sylvia moved closer to Felix, who widened his eyes in surprise but remained silent.

Then, she unleashed her secret weapon again.

“Eat it! Eat it, eat it! Here comes the banana. Omnomnomnom, omnomnomnom.”

Sylvia tried desperately to act cute. But once she started singing, she got carried away.

She bobbed her shoulders up and down as she sang.

“How long will you make me dance this shoulder dance! Ah, look at my shoulder. It’s dislocated!”

Before she knew it, she was using the banana as a microphone, singing into it when Felix suddenly stood up.

And he grasped her shoulder with his large hand.

“Hmm?”

Caught up in her act, Sylvia stopped abruptly. Felix, with a serious expression, gently massaged her shoulder and murmured.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem dislocated.”

His words, mixed with a sigh of relief, made Sylvia’s face flush with heat. The gaze of the entire mercenary group landed on her, making her feel prickly and unsure of what to do next. Deciding to see her crazy act through to the end, she closed her eyes tightly and shouted.

“If I go, I’ll give you delicious fruits every day! I’ll make you ice cream! I’ll make juice from fresh vegetables too!”

She opened her eyes and firmly grabbed Felix’s arm.

“So, please take me with you, okay?”

Although there was no way Felix, much larger in stature than she, would be physically swayed by her tugging, his inner feelings were a different story.

His heart pounded.

Felix was only wearing a thin shirt.

For him, physical contact was a rarity, limited to his birth, his parents, and his servants.

And contact with the opposite sex was absolutely a first.

Covering his flushed face with his hand, he turned away, ignoring his own emotional state, and hesitated before asking.

“Can you ride a horse?”

Sylvia, who thought she was finally getting permission, was taken aback by his question.

“Ah?”

She hadn’t thought about the most crucial mode of transportation.

Holding Felix’s arm, Sylvia responded with her trembling eyes instead of words, conveying a sense of ‘I should have known.’ Felix, about to refuse with a look that said as much, saw Sylvia’s drooping lips and hesitated, merely moving his own lips without a sound before roughly running a hand through his hair.

“Hubert.”

He softly commanded one of his subordinates in place of her.

“Prepare a new saddle.”

Hubert, understanding the brief command, responded formally.

“Yes, Captain.”

Sylvia, not fully grasping his words but intuitively sensing permission, beamed with joy and started jumping around. Felix’s arm, which she was still holding, fluttered along with her movements.

“Yay! Thank you, Felix!”

Felix, deliberately syncing his movements with hers, wasn’t in a bad mood seeing Sylvia’s happily smiling face. In fact, he might even say he felt good about it.

The mercenary group was making silent gestures, similar to Sylvia’s actions, as if they were also pleased she would be joining. They clenched their fists tightly and waved them around in approval.

Sylvia, relieved by Felix’s permission, took a big bite of the banana she was holding.

Preparations went smoothly.

Sylvia hurried out and visited every bakery in sight, sweeping up every kind of bread available. She also bought ample meat and spices, storing everything neatly in her spatial bag.

Considering they didn’t know when they’d return, she thought it best to be thoroughly prepared.

She moved so quickly that she finished all the departure preparations before lunchtime and was waiting for the mercenary group to come down from the second floor.

Around her fluttered seven fairies.

[Sylvia is joining us, I see.]

Lupinus said with a kind smile. Sylvia, captivated by the adorable fairies, nodded in agreement.

“Yes, please take care of me.”

[Sylvia joining makes Asta very happy.]

A fairy with lavender-colored petals vigorously shook them, brushing against Sylvia’s cheek. Sylvia, cheered by the lovely fairy, was smiling broadly when the sound of footsteps came from the second floor.

The clanking of armored footsteps was loud and distinct.

Felix was the first to descend the stairs, his usual languid demeanor replaced by an imposing aura in his black armor.

Sylvia, clutching her spatial leather backpack, looked up at him.

After tidying up the house, she stepped outside with the mercenary group. Before closing the door, she took one last look around the interior, memorizing the many changes since her arrival, and then locked the door.

Securing the key in her spatial bag tied around her waist, she walked confidently towards the waiting mercenaries. Upon her approach, Felix turned and started walking.

As Sylvia followed, she took one last look at the house before turning the corner, feeling unexpectedly reluctant to leave.

‘Somewhere along the way, that house became my home.’

Memories of wandering through the unfamiliar mess inside the house came flooding back.

Eryngium settled on her head as she lingered.

[Sylvia, everyone is waiting.]

Prompted by the fairy’s words, Sylvia turned around. She greeted Felix’s slightly concerned gaze with a broad smile and said spiritedly,

“Shall we depart?”

★★35. Where do you go to subdue demonic beasts and go camping?★★

Sylvia pouted her lips.

Clack, clack.

Even though they had been traveling outside the city for a while, the mercenary group was not in a rush. It was more practical to set up camp a bit further along and move again the next day. They planned to pitch tents in a forest they frequently passed through.

Felix watched the teal locks of hair moving back and forth in front of him as he led his horse.

The saddle Hubert had found was a rare item, not commonly found in the market. They needed a special saddle for two people to ride together, and since such saddles were not usually made, Hubert had been worried when he went to the saddle shop.

Fortunately, a noble had canceled their order, and the shopkeeper was more than happy to sell it to Hubert at a reduced price. Although it was a saddle meant for carrying a child in front, it seemed to fit Sylvia without much trouble.

Hubert had thought he had made a good purchase, but…

Sylvia’s displeased expression upon seeing the saddle had somewhat hurt her feelings.

Despite having volunteered to come along, Sylvia thought it unfair to be fussy about the arrangements, but this seemed a bit too much.

She wondered what she had done to Hubert to deserve such humiliation. Being an adult woman, albeit small in stature, sitting in a child’s saddle with a protruding handle in front and riding with Felix, especially when the end of their journey was uncertain, seemed excessively harsh to her.

However, as the dense forest marking the beginning of the mountain range came into view, Sylvia was too busy admiring the scenery to dwell on her discomfort.

Forests were rare sights during her childhood. When she first arrived in this world, she had been too disoriented to notice her surroundings before being escorted to the castle by the Nakri mercenary group. Thus, the lush greenery filling her view now seemed both unfamiliar and magical.

“Wow.”

She couldn’t help but utter an exclamation of wonder.

The swaying movement made her appear quite fragile. Felix shifted his gaze away from the teal back of her head and steered the horse carefully as they ventured deeper into the forest. Sylvia found it odd, expecting the deeper parts of the forest to be cooler, contrary to what she was experiencing.

Despite the refreshing scent from the trees, the air was not invigorating. It felt increasingly hotter.

Sylvia fidgeted inside her robe, gripping the handle tightly. Felix, sensing her discomfort while sharing the horse, initiated a conversation.

“Are you alright?”

“Huh?”

She turned her head, though his face was not visible from her position just behind him.

“The weather outside the castle is quite different from within.”

Having lived inside the castle, she didn’t fully grasp his meaning but understood the gist of it.

“I see.”

“Yes, it’s summer now, so it’s even hotter outside than inside the castle.”

His tone might have seemed indifferent, but his explanation was thorough. Sylvia nodded, focusing straight ahead.

“Hold on tight.”

At his words, she gripped the handle with more strength. The downhill path made her seat uncomfortably painful.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

After the descent, a flat path emerged, leading to an area enclosed by large trees like a fence, with a spacious interior.

Hiiin.

Felix pulled the reins, bringing the horse to a halt, and commanded in a soft voice,

“We’ll camp here for tonight.”

“Yes, Captain!”

The Croban mercenaries swiftly dismounted and tied their horses to the trees. Felix lightly jumped down from the horse.

Then he extended his hand to Sylvia.

“Grab on.”

Pondering how to dismount from the unexpectedly high horse, she eagerly took his hand.

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