Chapter: 91
“Miss Scarlet… I’m here…”
Late at night, while sitting on my bed and gazing at the stars floating beyond the window, Sylvia, dressed in her pajamas, entered the room after knocking.
Her face was slightly flushed, probably from just having a shower.
At any other time, her appearing like this at such an hour would have made me flustered, but the exhaustion clearly etched on her face pushed those thoughts far away.
After the incident, I hadn’t seen her face for days even after returning to the mansion, so I spoke to her cautiously.
“You… You must be exhausted…”
Hearing those words, Sylvia forced a smile, then staggered over to my bed and flopped down, murmuring softly.
“… Yes, I’m working really hard. It seems that only Miss Scarlet knows how much I’m struggling…”
Buried face-first in the pillow, Sylvia was far from her usual spirited self.
Since childhood, she had a habit of showing only her strong side in front of others, but seeing this unguarded side of her, which she only showed to someone she opened up to, made me feel a bit awkward.
I hid those feelings and gently asked her.
“… You seem really 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 moment’s rest? Is it reasonable that I don’t even have time to see Miss Scarlet’s face at the mansion? Sometimes it feels like the elders of the family think my stamina is infinite… sigh”
With her face still buried in the pillow, Sylvia grumbled.
Since the incident, the academy has been closed for a while.
Many students lost family members during that event, and until the city stabilizes, even the heroes who were teaching have to carry out various duties.
I heard that Miss Eve is also busy treating those who fell into depression using illusion magic because of the incident.
In any case, being the heir to a noble family, Sylvia must have been racing around attending various gatherings these past few days, which explained her exhaustion.
As the academy was closed and I had nothing special to do locked up in the mansion, I had no idea what to say to her.
I remembered from books I read that during such times, it is good to express empathic words…
Since she seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the excessive schedule imposed by her family, I decided to simply agree with her.
“That’s a bit too much… They should at least give you some time to rest…”
“…Even if it’s tough, they’re all things I need to do. Going around listening to people’s voices, showing my face at group memorials like today. If those things can reassure people or help them alleviate their sadness, I think it’s something I must do. That’s the mindset I need to have as the Astra hero…”
“… You’re amazing. It must be hard, but it’s impressive that you can think that way.”
I thought she would express her pent-up frustrations, but I was again impressed by her response.
Yeah, Sylvia was that kind of person.
Due to the bad memories from her past, she tended to be prickly towards those who approached her, yet she definitely had the qualities to become a hero.
She was, indeed, someone who put noble obligation into practice.
So, thinking it might be better for her to rest a bit more instead of spending time talking to me, I subtly suggested.
“Hey, Sylvia, you’ll be busy again tomorrow. Shouldn’t you go rest a little?”
“… This is me resting, you know.”
Sylvia replied playfully, peeking her head slowly out from under the pillow.
She looked at me intently for a moment before carefully asking.
“…Um, Miss Scarlet. If you really think I’m amazing, could you do me a favor?”
“A favor? Sure. If it’s something I can do.”
I owed her so much that I had no reason to decline even a simple request.
When I answered without hesitation, Sylvia seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking in a small voice.
“… Then, could you… stroke my head and praise me?”
At such an unexpected request, my body stiffened.
Since childhood, whenever I did something good, my mother would stroke my head and praise me.
I had taken that for granted, but once, during an after-party, I absentmindedly patted a junior’s head to congratulate her for completing a presentation successfully.
And then I got yelled, “Hey, senpai, girls are very sensitive about people touching their heads, so could you please not do that next time?”
After being thoroughly scolded, I had that memory etched in my mind not to touch others’ heads, even when there was something to praise.
Amidst that, I saw Sylvia blushing and sending me a hopeful look.
Had she been so thirsty for praise?
As I contemplated this, the thought of how she had grown up hit me, suddenly flooding me with compassion.
Sylvia, raised as the heir of a prestigious family.
Surely, despite all her efforts from a young age, she’d been nurtured without a single word of praise, treated as if being the Astra heir was something that was expected from her.
Poor girl, how desperate must she have been for compliments to make such a request?
With that thought, I approached her, knelt beside her, and placed my hand on her head.
And slowly, as I stroked her silken silver hair, I whispered softly in her ear, just like how my mother used to do for me.
“Sylvia, you’ve really worked hard. You did an excellent job. You absolutely deserve praise. To be able to try so hard, you’re really an incredible person. So I believe you’ll definitely do well in the future.”
Upon hearing that, she let out an odd gasp, turning her face a bright shade of red as she buried it back into the pillow.
In that position, she began to tremble slightly.
“… Um, Sylvia? Are you okay?”
“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong! Please keep going!”
As her bizarre behavior made me question if she was alright, Sylvia shook her head vigorously while demanding me to continue.
Following her request, I kept stroking her head and showering her with compliments for a few minutes until Sylvia’s movements finally came to a stop, so I gently withdrew my hand and asked.
“… Is that enough?”
“Ehe? Yes? Yes… That’s enough now…”
With a satisfied voice, Sylvia slowly raised her body.
The expression on her face was completely relaxed, displaying a wide smile.
Seeing her so delighted, I could understand just how starved she was for compliments.
I decided that I should do this more often if she asked, and Sylvia seemed to get a hold of herself as she sighed and murmured.
“I think I can power through for a week with this.”
“Hang in there. You’re an amazing person, Sylvia.”
As I said that, Sylvia lowered her head and trembled slightly as she spoke.
“P-please stop it. What’s so amazing about me?”
After a moment, she continued.
“… The truly amazing person is Yoon Si-woo. He graduated early from the first year at the academy and was officially appointed a hero, which is unprecedented. You should have seen how people cheered for him during his appointment ceremony today.”
“I saw it too, on TV. It was certainly impressive.”
Having asked her, I couldn’t just ignore it.
After all, I was the one who had advised him to use the Holy Sword of Radiance.
Though I had intended it, I didn’t expect such a degree of fervor.
It was advice given in hopes of helping people forget their sorrow, even if just a little, but it seemed to have an impact far beyond what I imagined.
The brilliance of light he exhibited today must have etched the name Yoon Si-woo deeply into people’s minds.
While I was lost in thought, Sylvia seemed to recall something as she spoke in a heavy tone.
“… No matter how hard I try, it’s impossible to become that strong, isn’t it?”
She likely remembered the night of the incident.
Even if Sylvia and I joined forces, we couldn’t come close to just Yoon Si-woo.
Even though she probably knew Yoon Si-woo was quite powerful, it seemed to be quite a shock for her.
After all, the strength Yoon Si-woo had attained, now stronger than the original story, was astonishing even for a heroine candidate like her.
“… Well, I guess so. Recently, while training alone, I’ve been realizing how little I grasp his strength. But what can I say? All we can do is give our best within our means.”
In my view, that was the only answer.
Everyone should do their best in what they can.
No matter how strong Yoon Si-woo is, he won’t be able to solve everything; thus, even if we’re not as strong as him, surely there’s a role that someone like us could fulfill.
Sylvia seemed to grasp that too, as she shook off the bitter look on her face and spoke up.
“… That’s right. We all just have to do what we can. Speaking of which, Miss Scarlet, since the academy is closed, you don’t have anything special to do, do you?”
As she said, I had currently found myself as a jobless person.
While Sylvia was busy working, I was stuck training alone in the mansion’s training room.
When I nodded, Sylvia smiled brightly.
“Well then, that’s just perfect. I wanted to do something together.”
Something she wanted to do?
Tilting my head in confusion, Sylvia slightly blushed before saying.
“Miss Scarlet, um, do you like children?”
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