Not only the lake but also the fish was pink. It was a deeper pink than the lake, with a hint of fluorescent. But its shape was familiar. Sylvia finally got down from his embrace.
He sighed softly, watching the back of her head as she went to look at the fish. He found himself slightly annoyed at her insistence on going to see for herself.
The thought caught Felix off guard, and he unwittingly widened his eyes.
‘Why do I feel annoyed?’
He had already considered her ‘my person,’ yet he couldn’t understand why he felt this way.
To him, ‘my people’ were few. They were his subordinates who always moved with him, his uncle in the kingdom, and the steward of his late mother’s house.
Sylvia had found her place among them.
But why did he feel annoyed?
He didn’t know his own heart, and suddenly felt frustrated.
Sylvia felt a bit relieved from her gloom. The appearance of the fish was very familiar to her.
“This is a rockfish.”
It was a type of fish commonly eaten as sashimi in Korea.
By now, she began to wonder.
In the novel, the story revolved around the protagonist, but could there be stories she didn’t know hidden within?
She put the flapping rockfish into a spatial pocket and started walking. Felix closely followed her as she walked towards a tree that reminded her of Lupinus. The large leaves were a bright yellow, similar to an oak tree.
Thinking there might be something fitting for sashimi like at the first lake, she looked carefully around.
She peered into a cluster of pink wildflowers reminiscent of Calmia and examined colorful, umbrella-shaped mushrooms. Bright blue mushrooms, bright yellow mushrooms, and bright red mushrooms were closely gathered, growing together.
The colors were so vibrant that she felt repelled by them at first. She collected some and then circled back to the tree. The tree itself was a very dark bronze color, so dark that it appeared black at a glance.
She knew that the commonly used oil in this place was harvested from oil trees. So, she wondered if something might come from this tree as well.
Standing in a spot where no other mercenaries could see, Sylvia made a small hole in the tree with wind magic.
As she had thought, something black started to ooze out.
Startled, she stepped back but then approached again out of curiosity, dabbed a bit on her finger, and tasted it. Sylvia blinked for a while after tasting it. She had not expected to find something she so craved in this place.
Though she had found a substitute, the familiar color and taste brought her joy.
“It’s soy sauce.”
Staring at the pouring soy sauce, she spoke absent-mindedly, then took out an empty glass bottle from her spatial bag to collect it.
“What’s that?”
Felix, who had been watching her actions from behind, came closer and asked.
“This seems like Galbus oil or something. It tastes the same.”
“Have you eaten that?”
It was unclear when she had eaten it. He couldn’t understand why she would carelessly eat anything. The slight rise in his eyebrows showed his displeasure.
“Don’t just eat anything. What if it’s poisonous?”
His tone was cold enough to feel chilly, but Sylvia knew why he was saying that.
“I got it.”
That’s why she responded compliantly. The sharpness in his eyes softened as her response did.
“What’s its name?”
“It’s called soy sauce.”
“Soy sauce…”
Sylvia responded, looking up at the leaves thoughtfully. If the tree itself contained soy sauce, might the leaves have some effect as well…
At the previous lake, there were flowers containing persimmon vinegar and soy sauce together. Then, what matches with the rockfish isn’t just soy sauce itself.
With a thought that it might be possible, she plucked a leaf. She examined it and smelled it. The faintly sharp scent was very familiar.
“What is this… could it be…?”
Forgetting Felix’s words just moments ago, she bit a small piece of the leaf and rolled it in her mouth.
“You again!”
Felix noticed immediately, and his gaze hardened again, but Sylvia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
He was more surprised by her shocked expression and hurriedly reached out his hand, saying,
“Spit it out.”
“It’s okay.”
She had only tasted a very small amount, so it quickly disappeared from her mouth. There was nothing to spit out. But she had no choice but to explain to him, who was squinting at her.
“I thought if the tree was okay, then the leaves would be okay too. Don’t worry too much.”
“Really…”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He was too worried she might get into trouble.
“You’re not a child, don’t just put anything in your mouth.”
Sylvia, thinking about who had been acting childishly and now hearing him say that, pouted her lips.
“Why am I a child? You’re the child.”
“What did I do?”
He didn’t understand why he had to hear such words when he was just worried, and Felix’s lips twitched.
“I was exploring the taste! I only ate a little!”
“Still, you shouldn’t eat unknown ingredients recklessly. I’d rather eat it myself!”
“It’s not enough to be a problem even if there was poison! Really, I only tasted a very little!”
“Still, you’re talking about poison! Spit it out right now!”
“Hey! Listen to me properly! I said there isn’t any!”
The gloom that had briefly subsided surged back. Sylvia shouted back with a huff.
“Acting like this is what’s childish! You don’t even know what’s real!”
Startled by her own outburst, Sylvia was taken aback. She had been very careful about his sense of taste and did not mean it in that way, but the moment she saw Felix’s surprised and hurt eyes, she was at a loss for words.
The aftermath of Calmia and Lupinus disappearing was still affecting her, making it hard to control her mood. It was exacerbated by the memory of a car accident she had when she was young, after which she woke up to find herself alone.
But seeing him staring at her with a stern face, she realized she had misspoken.
“Sorry…”
Before she could apologize, Felix turned around and walked away quickly with long strides. Sylvia, frustrated, messed up her hair with a gesture of annoyance and flapped her robe for no reason.
The realization that she had lashed out at someone unfairly due to a moment of anger made her feel pathetic. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, Sylvia sat down abruptly on the ground.
It was one of those days when she felt particularly lonely in this world. She thought the loneliness was exacerbated by the fairies, who, trying to be considerate, kept their distance from her.
Felix, swallowing curses, walked briskly. In the distance, he saw the mercenary group giving water to the horses, waiting for the two of them.
“Captain.”
Hubert approached with a question about the presence of the kingdom’s traces in the area but swallowed it upon seeing the captain’s grim expression. He only watched the back of his lord with unfamiliar eyes.
The lord he knew was someone who showed no fluctuations in emotion. He thought, decided, and commanded on his own, and they just had to follow those commands faithfully. He was never one to express anger in such a manner.
Though not particularly attentive to his subordinates, he had never gotten angry over trivial matters.
But to see him so visibly filled with displeasure, Hubert concluded there must have been some incident with Miss Sylvia. Initially, he thought the two had mutual affection, but concluded it was an impossible relationship.
No matter how much Sylvia might be a benefactor to them, a relationship between their prince and a commoner was unthinkable. However, seeing them bicker, Hubert wondered if he had been mistaken.
After Sylvia joined their journey, Hubert noticed a change in Felix’s behavior. He ran his hand through his hair with a troubled expression, unsure of what to do in such a situation.
Felix sat down roughly in a corner where he could be seen. He glared at the green grass as if he would burn it with his gaze, then sighed deeply and washed his face with his hands.
“Is this what being childish means?”
Her words might not have been a big deal, but for some reason, they stung his heart. He didn’t like that she didn’t rely on him. He wouldn’t die even if he ate poison, so he could eat it on her behalf any time.
It was significant that Felix, who had rejected food due to a fear of poison, had such thoughts, but he didn’t realize it himself.
He was just worried about her, yet he couldn’t understand why he reacted so angrily.
The fairies surrounding him were buzzing loudly.
[You should apologize first, Felix!]
[Right! What did Sylvia do wrong?]
[Exactly, exactly.]
[Asta is really worried about Sylvia.]
[Don’t be harsh on our Sylvia, Felix!]
Eryngium, with its triangular eyes, scolded sharply. The fairies were now angry.
They had been saddened by the disappearance of Calmia and Lupinus, and just when Sylvia was starting to pay attention to them and seemed to be forgetting a bit, Felix had ruined it.
Protesting with their bodies in the shape of an 8, they demanded,
[You apologize!]
Felix, already annoyed and overwhelmed by these unfamiliar emotions, was further irritated by the noisy fairies. Grinding his teeth, he released an aura that made the fairies hastily retreat.
He was surprised at how uncontrollable his emotions were. It was as if, just as she said, he had become a child.
When he was young, if something made him angry, he would sulk and throw tantrums at his mother, who would then soothe and comfort him….
Faint memories from a long time ago surfaced.
Rustle.
At the sound of someone stepping on the grass, Felix instinctively drew his sword.
“It’s me, Felix!”
The voice of Sylvia made his sharply moving sword stop immediately.
“Sylvia?”
“The sword is really big.”
Although she had seen it a few times, the sight of the blade shining sharply in front of her truly brought home its formidable presence. He quickly sheathed the sword. Felix stood up briskly, checking if she had any injuries.
Watching him examine her own condition in a flurry, she could clearly feel the mistake she had made moments ago. Sylvia sighed softly and pressed her fingers against her temples as she started to speak.
“Listen.”
“Where does it hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s just that…”
Sylvia caught Felix’s hand, which was floating in the air, and lowered it as she bowed her head.
“I’m sorry.”
She stumbled over her words. Not expecting her to apologize, Felix momentarily froze.
Not only the lake but also the fish was pink. It was a deeper pink than the lake, with a hint of fluorescent. But its shape was familiar. Sylvia finally got down from his embrace.
He sighed softly, watching the back of her head as she went to look at the fish. He found himself slightly annoyed at her insistence on going to see for herself.
The thought caught Felix off guard, and he unwittingly widened his eyes.
‘Why do I feel annoyed?’
He had already considered her ‘my person,’ yet he couldn’t understand why he felt this way.
To him, ‘my people’ were few. They were his subordinates who always moved with him, his uncle in the kingdom, and the steward of his late mother’s house.
Sylvia had found her place among them.
But why did he feel annoyed?
He didn’t know his own heart, and suddenly felt frustrated.
Sylvia felt a bit relieved from her gloom. The appearance of the fish was very familiar to her.
“This is a rockfish.”
It was a type of fish commonly eaten as sashimi in Korea.
By now, she began to wonder.
In the novel, the story revolved around the protagonist, but could there be stories she didn’t know hidden within?
She put the flapping rockfish into a spatial pocket and started walking. Felix closely followed her as she walked towards a tree that reminded her of Lupinus. The large leaves were a bright yellow, similar to an oak tree.
Thinking there might be something fitting for sashimi like at the first lake, she looked carefully around.
She peered into a cluster of pink wildflowers reminiscent of Calmia and examined colorful, umbrella-shaped mushrooms. Bright blue mushrooms, bright yellow mushrooms, and bright red mushrooms were closely gathered, growing together.
The colors were so vibrant that she felt repelled by them at first. She collected some and then circled back to the tree. The tree itself was a very dark bronze color, so dark that it appeared black at a glance.
She knew that the commonly used oil in this place was harvested from oil trees. So, she wondered if something might come from this tree as well.
Standing in a spot where no other mercenaries could see, Sylvia made a small hole in the tree with wind magic.
As she had thought, something black started to ooze out.
Startled, she stepped back but then approached again out of curiosity, dabbed a bit on her finger, and tasted it. Sylvia blinked for a while after tasting it. She had not expected to find something she so craved in this place.
Though she had found a substitute, the familiar color and taste brought her joy.
“It’s soy sauce.”
Staring at the pouring soy sauce, she spoke absent-mindedly, then took out an empty glass bottle from her spatial bag to collect it.
“What’s that?”
Felix, who had been watching her actions from behind, came closer and asked.
“This seems like Galbus oil or something. It tastes the same.”
“Have you eaten that?”
It was unclear when she had eaten it. He couldn’t understand why she would carelessly eat anything. The slight rise in his eyebrows showed his displeasure.
“Don’t just eat anything. What if it’s poisonous?”
His tone was cold enough to feel chilly, but Sylvia knew why he was saying that.
“I got it.”
That’s why she responded compliantly. The sharpness in his eyes softened as her response did.
“What’s its name?”
“It’s called soy sauce.”
“Soy sauce…”
Sylvia responded, looking up at the leaves thoughtfully. If the tree itself contained soy sauce, might the leaves have some effect as well…
At the previous lake, there were flowers containing persimmon vinegar and soy sauce together. Then, what matches with the rockfish isn’t just soy sauce itself.
With a thought that it might be possible, she plucked a leaf. She examined it and smelled it. The faintly sharp scent was very familiar.
“What is this… could it be…?”
Forgetting Felix’s words just moments ago, she bit a small piece of the leaf and rolled it in her mouth.
“You again!”
Felix noticed immediately, and his gaze hardened again, but Sylvia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
He was more surprised by her shocked expression and hurriedly reached out his hand, saying,
“Spit it out.”
“It’s okay.”
She had only tasted a very small amount, so it quickly disappeared from her mouth. There was nothing to spit out. But she had no choice but to explain to him, who was squinting at her.
“I thought if the tree was okay, then the leaves would be okay too. Don’t worry too much.”
“Really…”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He was too worried she might get into trouble.
“You’re not a child, don’t just put anything in your mouth.”
Sylvia, thinking about who had been acting childishly and now hearing him say that, pouted her lips.
“Why am I a child? You’re the child.”
“What did I do?”
He didn’t understand why he had to hear such words when he was just worried, and Felix’s lips twitched.
“I was exploring the taste! I only ate a little!”
“Still, you shouldn’t eat unknown ingredients recklessly. I’d rather eat it myself!”
“It’s not enough to be a problem even if there was poison! Really, I only tasted a very little!”
“Still, you’re talking about poison! Spit it out right now!”
“Hey! Listen to me properly! I said there isn’t any!”
The gloom that had briefly subsided surged back. Sylvia shouted back with a huff.
“Acting like this is what’s childish! You don’t even know what’s real!”
Startled by her own outburst, Sylvia was taken aback. She had been very careful about his sense of taste and did not mean it in that way, but the moment she saw Felix’s surprised and hurt eyes, she was at a loss for words.
The aftermath of Calmia and Lupinus disappearing was still affecting her, making it hard to control her mood. It was exacerbated by the memory of a car accident she had when she was young, after which she woke up to find herself alone.
But seeing him staring at her with a stern face, she realized she had misspoken.
“Sorry…”
Before she could apologize, Felix turned around and walked away quickly with long strides. Sylvia, frustrated, messed up her hair with a gesture of annoyance and flapped her robe for no reason.
The realization that she had lashed out at someone unfairly due to a moment of anger made her feel pathetic. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, Sylvia sat down abruptly on the ground.
It was one of those days when she felt particularly lonely in this world. She thought the loneliness was exacerbated by the fairies, who, trying to be considerate, kept their distance from her.
Felix, swallowing curses, walked briskly. In the distance, he saw the mercenary group giving water to the horses, waiting for the two of them.
“Captain.”
Hubert approached with a question about the presence of the kingdom’s traces in the area but swallowed it upon seeing the captain’s grim expression. He only watched the back of his lord with unfamiliar eyes.
The lord he knew was someone who showed no fluctuations in emotion. He thought, decided, and commanded on his own, and they just had to follow those commands faithfully. He was never one to express anger in such a manner.
Though not particularly attentive to his subordinates, he had never gotten angry over trivial matters.
But to see him so visibly filled with displeasure, Hubert concluded there must have been some incident with Miss Sylvia. Initially, he thought the two had mutual affection, but concluded it was an impossible relationship.
No matter how much Sylvia might be a benefactor to them, a relationship between their prince and a commoner was unthinkable. However, seeing them bicker, Hubert wondered if he had been mistaken.
After Sylvia joined their journey, Hubert noticed a change in Felix’s behavior. He ran his hand through his hair with a troubled expression, unsure of what to do in such a situation.
Felix sat down roughly in a corner where he could be seen. He glared at the green grass as if he would burn it with his gaze, then sighed deeply and washed his face with his hands.
“Is this what being childish means?”
Her words might not have been a big deal, but for some reason, they stung his heart. He didn’t like that she didn’t rely on him. He wouldn’t die even if he ate poison, so he could eat it on her behalf any time.
It was significant that Felix, who had rejected food due to a fear of poison, had such thoughts, but he didn’t realize it himself.
He was just worried about her, yet he couldn’t understand why he reacted so angrily.
The fairies surrounding him were buzzing loudly.
[You should apologize first, Felix!]
[Right! What did Sylvia do wrong?]
[Exactly, exactly.]
[Asta is really worried about Sylvia.]
[Don’t be harsh on our Sylvia, Felix!]
Eryngium, with its triangular eyes, scolded sharply. The fairies were now angry.
They had been saddened by the disappearance of Calmia and Lupinus, and just when Sylvia was starting to pay attention to them and seemed to be forgetting a bit, Felix had ruined it.
Protesting with their bodies in the shape of an 8, they demanded,
[You apologize!]
Felix, already annoyed and overwhelmed by these unfamiliar emotions, was further irritated by the noisy fairies. Grinding his teeth, he released an aura that made the fairies hastily retreat.
He was surprised at how uncontrollable his emotions were. It was as if, just as she said, he had become a child.
When he was young, if something made him angry, he would sulk and throw tantrums at his mother, who would then soothe and comfort him….
Faint memories from a long time ago surfaced.
Rustle.
At the sound of someone stepping on the grass, Felix instinctively drew his sword.
“It’s me, Felix!”
The voice of Sylvia made his sharply moving sword stop immediately.
“Sylvia?”
“The sword is really big.”
Although she had seen it a few times, the sight of the blade shining sharply in front of her truly brought home its formidable presence. He quickly sheathed the sword. Felix stood up briskly, checking if she had any injuries.
Watching him examine her own condition in a flurry, she could clearly feel the mistake she had made moments ago. Sylvia sighed softly and pressed her fingers against her temples as she started to speak.
“Listen.”
“Where does it hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s just that…”
Sylvia caught Felix’s hand, which was floating in the air, and lowered it as she bowed her head.
“I’m sorry.”
She stumbled over her words. Not expecting her to apologize, Felix momentarily froze.
