A Moment of Solace
"Scarlet...... I'm here......"
It was late at night. I had been sitting on my bed, gazing at the stars through the window, when a knock sounded at the door. Sylvia entered, already changed into her pajamas. Her face was slightly flushed, perhaps from just having washed up. Under normal circumstances, I would have been flustered by her visiting me at such an hour in such attire, but the sheer exhaustion etched onto her face made such thoughts vanish instantly. Since the incident, she had been so busy that I hadn't seen her for days, even after returning to the estate. I spoke to her cautiously.
"Th-thank you for your hard work......"
Upon hearing those words, Sylvia managed a weary smile. She walked over to my bed, collapsed onto it, and muttered, "......You're right. I am working incredibly hard. It seems you're the only one who truly understands how much I'm suffering, Scarlet."
With her face buried in the pillow and her body limp, the usual confident Sylvia was nowhere to be found. Because of her upbringing, she always projected an image of strength in front of others, but seeing her this vulnerable—a side she supposedly only showed to those she had opened her heart to—felt a bit awkward. I hid my discomfort and asked her quietly, "......You must be very busy."
"'Busy' doesn't even begin to cover it...... Even though the academy is closed, they have me running around from dawn until late at night without a single moment of rest. It’s ridiculous that I don't even have time to see you here at the estate. Sometimes I think the elders of the family believe my stamina is infinite......" Sylvia grumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.
Following the incident, the academy had been under a temporary closure order. There were many students who had lost their families, and until the city stabilized, even the heroes who served as teachers at the academy were tied up with various missions. I had heard that even Eve was busy using her illusion magic to treat those suffering from depression after the tragedy. As the heir to a prestigious family, Sylvia was clearly being dragged to countless events, which explained why she was so drained. Since the academy was closed and I had nothing special to do, I was holed up in the estate, and I didn't quite know what to say to comfort her.
I had read in books that in times like these, it was best to empathize with the other person's situation. Since she seemed frustrated with the family members who imposed such excessive schedules on her, I decided to agree with her.
"That’s a bit too much...... They should at least give you some time to rest......"
"......It’s tough, but these are all things that need to be done. Listening to the voices of the people, showing my face at events like the memorial service held today. I believe these are things I must do if it helps people feel even a little bit safer or helps them process their grief. That is the mindset one must have as a hero of Astra."
"......That’s amazing. To be able to think that way when you're so exhausted."
Honestly, I had expected her to vent her accumulated frustrations, but her answer caught me off guard. That’s right—Sylvia was that kind of person. Even if she tended to be prickly toward others due to bad memories from her past, she possessed all the qualities of a true hero. She was someone who truly embodied the concept of noblesse oblige. Thinking it might be better for her to get some rest rather than spending time talking to me, I asked tentatively:
"Hey, Sylvia, you'll be busy again tomorrow, shouldn't you go get some rest?"
"......This *is* me resting."
Sylvia replied, lifting only her head from the pillow to peek at me. She stared at me intently for a moment before asking cautiously, "......Hey, Scarlet. If you really think I'm amazing, could you do me one favor?"
"A favor? Sure. If it's something I can do."
She had helped me so much that I couldn't refuse a simple request. When I answered without hesitation, Sylvia hesitated for a moment, then whispered in a small voice, "......Then, um, my hair......"
"Your hair?"
When I asked, she blushed and muttered, "......Please praise me by patting my head and telling me I did a good job."
I stiffened at the unexpected request. When I was young, my mother would always pat my head and praise me whenever I did something well. I had taken it for granted, but once, after a junior successfully finished a presentation, I had patted their head without thinking to praise them, only to be scolded severely: "Hey, Senior, women are very sensitive about people touching their hair, so could you please never do that again?" Ever since that trauma, I had made it a rule never to touch anyone else's hair, no matter how much they deserved praise, so I was completely flustered.
In the midst of my confusion, I saw Sylvia looking at me with eyes full of anticipation, despite her blushing face. Had she been craving praise that much? As I thought about how she must have grown up, a sudden wave of pity washed over me. Sylvia, raised as the heir to a prestigious family. She must have worked incredibly hard since she was young, yet she likely grew up receiving no praise, treated as if it were only natural for the heir of Astra to succeed. Poor girl—how starved for praise she must have been to ask for this.
Thinking this, I moved to her side, knelt on the floor, and placed my hand on her head. I slowly stroked her silky silver hair and, just as my mother used to do for me, whispered quietly into her ear:
"Sylvia, you've worked so hard all this time. You did a really good job. You deserve to be praised. To be able to put in this much effort—you are truly an amazing person. So, I'm sure you'll continue to do well in the future."
At that, she let out a strange squeak—"H-hyeh?!"—and buried her face back into the pillow, her face turning bright red. She trembled, then suddenly started kicking her legs in the air.
"......Hey, Sylvia? Are you okay?"
"Nothing! It's nothing, so please keep going!"
When I asked if she was alright because she seemed to be acting strangely, Sylvia shook her head violently and begged me to continue. Following her request, I spent a few minutes stroking her hair and praising her. When she finally stopped moving, I pulled my hand away and asked, "......Is this enough?"
"H-hyeh? Yes? Y-yes...... That's enough now......"
With a satisfied voice, Sylvia slowly sat up. Her face was completely relaxed, and she was wearing a goofy, happy smile. Seeing her joy, I realized just how starved for praise she had been. I made a mental note to do this occasionally when she asked. Sylvia seemed to have regained some of her composure, exhaling as she muttered, "I think I can work hard for another week because of this."
"Do your best. You're an amazing person, Sylvia."
When I said that, Sylvia hung her head and shivered, saying, "S-stop it now. What’s so amazing about someone like me?" She paused for a moment before continuing, "......The truly amazing person is someone like Yoon Siwoo. He’s a one-of-a-kind person who graduated early in his first year of the academy and was appointed as an official hero. You should have seen the people cheering when he was appointed today."
"I saw it, too. On the broadcast. He was certainly impressive."
I couldn't exactly *not* watch, could I? I was the one who advised him to use the Radiant Holy Sword. Even though I had planned for it, I hadn't expected the people to be quite that enthusiastic. I had given the advice hoping it would help them forget their grief, but it seemed to have had an impact beyond my imagination. Just as the brilliance of the light he showed at the appointment ceremony today, the name 'Yoon Siwoo' must have been deeply etched into people's minds. As I was thinking this, Sylvia seemed to recall something and spoke in a heavy voice.
"......No matter how hard I try, it's impossible to become that strong, right?"
She was likely thinking of the night the incident occurred. Even with both of us working together, we couldn't even come close to Yoon Siwoo's level. Even though she knew he was quite strong, it must have been a significant shock to her. After all, the strength of Yoon Siwoo, who had become even stronger than in the original work, was at a level that was absurd, even for a heroine candidate like her.
"......Well, I suppose so. I've been training alone lately, and I can't even fathom how strong that guy really is. But what can we do? We have no choice but to do our best with what we have."
In my opinion, that was the only answer. Doing one's best at what one can do. Since even Yoon Siwoo couldn't solve everything, there had to be a role for someone else, even if they weren't as strong as he was. Sylvia seemed to realize this, shaking off her bitter expression as she spoke.
"......You're right. We have no choice but to do the work we can. Come to think of it, Scarlet. Since the academy is closed, you don't have anything special to do lately, right?"
As she said, I had been an unemployed person with nothing to do. Sylvia was busy running around working, so I had been spending my time training alone in her training room at the estate. When I nodded, Sylvia smiled brightly.
"Then that's perfect. There's something I want to do with you."
Something she wanted to do? As I tilted my head in confusion, Sylvia blushed slightly and said, "Scarlet. Um, do you like children?"
To a beautiful girl asking if I liked children, I had no choice but to nod as if bewitched.