“What?”
The significance of what he had just said finally dawned on her.
“Why.”
“No!”
Sylvia jumped up in surprise.
Though she didn’t know much, dragons were beings shrouded in mystery. Her knowledge of black dragons came solely from novels she had read. Since arriving here, she had never heard the word “dragon” mentioned by anyone. In the novels, the existence of the black dragon was a secret known only to royalty.
Therefore, Sylvia couldn’t dare admit she knew about the black dragon. Talking about dimensional travel was fine.
However, revealing that this world was like something out of a novel was an absolute secret she couldn’t share. Thus, she swallowed the word “black dragon” which almost slipped out, and added another reason.
“No, how can you give away something that looks so expensive so carelessly?”
After glancing once at the bracelet now snug on her wrist, Felix replied nonchalantly.
“What’s the big deal? There are plenty of those where it came from.”
Of course, he was referring to the black dragon’s lair, a very secret space that only the direct descendants of the Capitis royal family could enter.
Sylvia, taken aback, moved her mouth without making a sound. Felix, seeming bothered, waved his hand dismissively and turned away.
“Just keep it.”
The national treasures he had scooped up from the palace, still filling his subspace, were not too precious to give away a part to Sylvia. Even if those treasures had deep historical significance.
Sylvia, unable to walk properly and dragging her feet as if in a daze, was eventually picked up by Felix, who had grown impatient. Riding the wind, they sat on a tree branch above, where Felix hummed a tune, watching the slowly emerging moon.
Sylvia, sitting beside him, stared intently at the black diamond bracelet on her wrist and the ring she had received earlier.
The sudden heaviness on her left hand seemed not to be an illusion.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch…”
Sylvia muttered quietly, to which Felix leaned slightly down and asked.
“What did you say?”
Looking up at his face, which seemed pleased, she sighed deeply.
“Nothing…”
She felt as if a hierarchy of superior and subordinate had formed between them, with Sylvia, of course, being the subordinate.
“Siri, the moon has risen.”
The silver moon took the center stage in the sky, replacing the completely vanished sun. Sylvia and Felix quietly watched the aurora unfold across the black night sky alongside the moon.
★★54. Overwintering★★
Shivering in the cold, Sylvia woke up in the makeshift hut she had barely managed to set up between the tents.
“Brr, it’s cold…”
As they spoke, a cloudy breath long spewed forth.
“Damn it!”
Pulling the blanket up to her head, Sylvia grumbled.
“I really have to sew this mouth shut. I can’t live like this! Really!”
The worries of yesterday had come true exactly as spoken. The worries she had harbored had smacked her in the back of the head, showing off as winter was brought along.
“It’s too cold……”
Her teeth chattered so much that her body shook. Sylvia, without even thinking of washing up, dressed and draped a robe over herself. Only then did the cold seem to subside. The robe Felix had given her seemed not only to cool but also to keep warm.
“Thank goodness.”
She tried to wake up by gulping down the barley tea she had steeped in a short time. She yawned long while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Ah, now’s not the time. Are the others okay?”
Sylvia finished drinking all the barley tea and put away the wooden cup. She pushed to open the makeshift house door, but, as expected, it didn’t budge.
“It must have snowed a lot already. A lot!”
She stamped her feet, trying to exert force.
[Sylvia!]
Eryngium, who had been caught by Felix just before falling asleep yesterday, called her from outside the door.
“Eryngium! The door won’t open.”
[Just wait a moment!]
The fairy flitted about the makeshift house, woven with vines, eventually finding a gap and pushing her head through it.
[I’ll help you! Wait, Sylvia!]
Eryngium, straining with difficulty, finally made it inside and settled on Sylvia’s head with a wide smile.
[I’m here!]
Sylvia, who had been watching the entire process, crossed her arms and sighed in disbelief. She had thought that help should have come from outside, wondering what the point was if she came inside.
“Well, thanks……”
Still, the fairy looked cute as it worried and flew to her, so she couldn’t help but smile a bit.
“Siri!”
As she wondered how to get outside, Felix’s voice came through.
“Felix!”
She called back happily, but no answer came. Instead, a sound like water flowing trickled through.
“How is it outside? A lot of snow?”
Curiosity made her stick to the door and ask, but no reply came. After a while, Felix spoke in a soft voice.
“Call me by my nickname, and I’ll open it.”
Felix, clearly miffed that she hadn’t been calling him by his nickname, spoke in a displeased voice.
“What? Is that really important right now?”
Sylvia raised her voice in disbelief. But with no reply coming again, she sighed deeply. Then, with a ‘here goes nothing’ attitude, she called out his nickname.
“Feri.”
It felt awkward. And it made her feel bashful.
Perhaps there’s a reason it’s called a nickname. It moved her tongue much more smoothly than calling him Felix…
Despite her voice not being loud, it was heard well enough, and the door immediately swung open. In front of her makeshift house, the ground was soaked with water. Felix had melted all the snow away with fire magic.
“Siri.”
Seeing his face melt away like snow, Sylvia blushed. The morning sunlight, reflected in her eyes, made his face even more dazzling.
‘It’s not like he’s using a reflector used during celebrity photo shoots, what’s with that halo around him?’
She thumped her wildly throbbing heart inside her robe with her hand.
“Captain, Miss Sylvia! Are you all right?”
Hubert ran along the path Felix had made.
“Phew, Miss Sylvia’s treehouse is intact. The tents where the members were sleeping have completely collapsed, and we are currently rebuilding them.”
The tents had collapsed at dawn, and the members, who had been rudely awakened, were struggling to rise through the snow, gathering the remains of the tents to set them up again. The work was not going smoothly due to the massive amount of snow that had fallen silently in the meantime. The beginning of winter immobilizes everything with its tremendous snowfall.
However, the Crovan mercenary group, not new to spending winters outside, was familiarly clearing the snow and setting up new tents.
Sylvia pondered his words and then stepped outside.
She surveyed the members who were adeptly erecting tents with wind magic. The armors they all wore did not seem to be cold, but the exposed areas were indeed reddened.
“Siri.”
Felix flew to her side, his voice laden with curiosity.
“Umm……”
Sylvia, having surveyed the collapsed tents, exclaimed.
“Everyone, I’ve got a great idea! Would you help me out?”
“Miss Sylvia! Did you sleep well?”
“Ha-ha, look at us, welcoming winter like this!”
“What’s the great idea?”
The members, noticing Sylvia floating above, greeted her. Felix, with a face full of curiosity, moved even closer to ask.
“What’s the great idea?”
Sylvia had made up her mind to do something she had always wanted to try.
“See, it’s about building a house out of snow! Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“With snow?”
Felix looked intrigued, his gaze shifting to the snow piled up below.
“Now, use wind magic to shape the snow like this into squares and soak them thoroughly with water!”
Excited, Sylvia demonstrated first. Then, she lifted the snow with wind magic and moved it aside. She erected the snow brick she had created on the bare ground revealed.
“Come on, quickly make them and pass them to me!”
She busily began to shape snow bricks with magic and started rolling them around. The members, leaving the tent reconstruction and their luggage behind, began to create snow bricks and passed them one by one to Sylvia.
Felix also quickly made and passed them over. He was eager to see what new marvel she was about to demonstrate. Sylvia, meticulously stacking the snow bricks, instructed Hubert and Dennis.
“Please gather all the tents. Let’s split up and get moving! We need to finish quickly and have breakfast!”
At the mention of food, the members quickly divided and started moving. Members with wind and water magic abilities made snow bricks, while the rest gathered the tents and began placing their belongings into their spatial bags.
Sylvia also made her treehouse disappear. Fairies trailed behind her, chattering.
“What?”
The significance of what he had just said finally dawned on her.
“Why.”
“No!”
Sylvia jumped up in surprise.
Though she didn’t know much, dragons were beings shrouded in mystery. Her knowledge of black dragons came solely from novels she had read. Since arriving here, she had never heard the word “dragon” mentioned by anyone. In the novels, the existence of the black dragon was a secret known only to royalty.
Therefore, Sylvia couldn’t dare admit she knew about the black dragon. Talking about dimensional travel was fine.
However, revealing that this world was like something out of a novel was an absolute secret she couldn’t share. Thus, she swallowed the word “black dragon” which almost slipped out, and added another reason.
“No, how can you give away something that looks so expensive so carelessly?”
After glancing once at the bracelet now snug on her wrist, Felix replied nonchalantly.
“What’s the big deal? There are plenty of those where it came from.”
Of course, he was referring to the black dragon’s lair, a very secret space that only the direct descendants of the Capitis royal family could enter.
Sylvia, taken aback, moved her mouth without making a sound. Felix, seeming bothered, waved his hand dismissively and turned away.
“Just keep it.”
The national treasures he had scooped up from the palace, still filling his subspace, were not too precious to give away a part to Sylvia. Even if those treasures had deep historical significance.
Sylvia, unable to walk properly and dragging her feet as if in a daze, was eventually picked up by Felix, who had grown impatient. Riding the wind, they sat on a tree branch above, where Felix hummed a tune, watching the slowly emerging moon.
Sylvia, sitting beside him, stared intently at the black diamond bracelet on her wrist and the ring she had received earlier.
The sudden heaviness on her left hand seemed not to be an illusion.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch…”
Sylvia muttered quietly, to which Felix leaned slightly down and asked.
“What did you say?”
Looking up at his face, which seemed pleased, she sighed deeply.
“Nothing…”
She felt as if a hierarchy of superior and subordinate had formed between them, with Sylvia, of course, being the subordinate.
“Siri, the moon has risen.”
The silver moon took the center stage in the sky, replacing the completely vanished sun. Sylvia and Felix quietly watched the aurora unfold across the black night sky alongside the moon.
★★54. Overwintering★★
Shivering in the cold, Sylvia woke up in the makeshift hut she had barely managed to set up between the tents.
“Brr, it’s cold…”
As they spoke, a cloudy breath long spewed forth.
“Damn it!”
Pulling the blanket up to her head, Sylvia grumbled.
“I really have to sew this mouth shut. I can’t live like this! Really!”
The worries of yesterday had come true exactly as spoken. The worries she had harbored had smacked her in the back of the head, showing off as winter was brought along.
“It’s too cold……”
Her teeth chattered so much that her body shook. Sylvia, without even thinking of washing up, dressed and draped a robe over herself. Only then did the cold seem to subside. The robe Felix had given her seemed not only to cool but also to keep warm.
“Thank goodness.”
She tried to wake up by gulping down the barley tea she had steeped in a short time. She yawned long while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Ah, now’s not the time. Are the others okay?”
Sylvia finished drinking all the barley tea and put away the wooden cup. She pushed to open the makeshift house door, but, as expected, it didn’t budge.
“It must have snowed a lot already. A lot!”
She stamped her feet, trying to exert force.
[Sylvia!]
Eryngium, who had been caught by Felix just before falling asleep yesterday, called her from outside the door.
“Eryngium! The door won’t open.”
[Just wait a moment!]
The fairy flitted about the makeshift house, woven with vines, eventually finding a gap and pushing her head through it.
[I’ll help you! Wait, Sylvia!]
Eryngium, straining with difficulty, finally made it inside and settled on Sylvia’s head with a wide smile.
[I’m here!]
Sylvia, who had been watching the entire process, crossed her arms and sighed in disbelief. She had thought that help should have come from outside, wondering what the point was if she came inside.
“Well, thanks……”
Still, the fairy looked cute as it worried and flew to her, so she couldn’t help but smile a bit.
“Siri!”
As she wondered how to get outside, Felix’s voice came through.
“Felix!”
She called back happily, but no answer came. Instead, a sound like water flowing trickled through.
“How is it outside? A lot of snow?”
Curiosity made her stick to the door and ask, but no reply came. After a while, Felix spoke in a soft voice.
“Call me by my nickname, and I’ll open it.”
Felix, clearly miffed that she hadn’t been calling him by his nickname, spoke in a displeased voice.
“What? Is that really important right now?”
Sylvia raised her voice in disbelief. But with no reply coming again, she sighed deeply. Then, with a ‘here goes nothing’ attitude, she called out his nickname.
“Feri.”
It felt awkward. And it made her feel bashful.
Perhaps there’s a reason it’s called a nickname. It moved her tongue much more smoothly than calling him Felix…
Despite her voice not being loud, it was heard well enough, and the door immediately swung open. In front of her makeshift house, the ground was soaked with water. Felix had melted all the snow away with fire magic.
“Siri.”
Seeing his face melt away like snow, Sylvia blushed. The morning sunlight, reflected in her eyes, made his face even more dazzling.
‘It’s not like he’s using a reflector used during celebrity photo shoots, what’s with that halo around him?’
She thumped her wildly throbbing heart inside her robe with her hand.
“Captain, Miss Sylvia! Are you all right?”
Hubert ran along the path Felix had made.
“Phew, Miss Sylvia’s treehouse is intact. The tents where the members were sleeping have completely collapsed, and we are currently rebuilding them.”
The tents had collapsed at dawn, and the members, who had been rudely awakened, were struggling to rise through the snow, gathering the remains of the tents to set them up again. The work was not going smoothly due to the massive amount of snow that had fallen silently in the meantime. The beginning of winter immobilizes everything with its tremendous snowfall.
However, the Crovan mercenary group, not new to spending winters outside, was familiarly clearing the snow and setting up new tents.
Sylvia pondered his words and then stepped outside.
She surveyed the members who were adeptly erecting tents with wind magic. The armors they all wore did not seem to be cold, but the exposed areas were indeed reddened.
“Siri.”
Felix flew to her side, his voice laden with curiosity.
“Umm……”
Sylvia, having surveyed the collapsed tents, exclaimed.
“Everyone, I’ve got a great idea! Would you help me out?”
“Miss Sylvia! Did you sleep well?”
“Ha-ha, look at us, welcoming winter like this!”
“What’s the great idea?”
The members, noticing Sylvia floating above, greeted her. Felix, with a face full of curiosity, moved even closer to ask.
“What’s the great idea?”
Sylvia had made up her mind to do something she had always wanted to try.
“See, it’s about building a house out of snow! Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“With snow?”
Felix looked intrigued, his gaze shifting to the snow piled up below.
“Now, use wind magic to shape the snow like this into squares and soak them thoroughly with water!”
Excited, Sylvia demonstrated first. Then, she lifted the snow with wind magic and moved it aside. She erected the snow brick she had created on the bare ground revealed.
“Come on, quickly make them and pass them to me!”
She busily began to shape snow bricks with magic and started rolling them around. The members, leaving the tent reconstruction and their luggage behind, began to create snow bricks and passed them one by one to Sylvia.
Felix also quickly made and passed them over. He was eager to see what new marvel she was about to demonstrate. Sylvia, meticulously stacking the snow bricks, instructed Hubert and Dennis.
“Please gather all the tents. Let’s split up and get moving! We need to finish quickly and have breakfast!”
At the mention of food, the members quickly divided and started moving. Members with wind and water magic abilities made snow bricks, while the rest gathered the tents and began placing their belongings into their spatial bags.
Sylvia also made her treehouse disappear. Fairies trailed behind her, chattering.
