103 – Picnic
“This way~!”
I followed Krysia’s guidance and walked into the dense forest of trees.
“hehehehe~♪”
Krishia is walking lightly down a small path, humming her song with excitement.
The sight of Krishia, who had changed from her rough work clothes to a white dress that went down to her thighs, was so attractive that all eyes were drawn to her.
Her appearance, combined with her usual liveliness and the innocence that comes from her neat clothes, is literally a beautiful and pure fairy playing in the forest straight out of a fairy tale.
If a painting like that was displayed in an art museum, wouldn’t it always be full of customers?
“Hmm~?”
Kryshia tilted her head as if she felt my gaze, perhaps because she was looking at me a little slyly, and then approached me with light, bouncing steps.
“Seonwoo~? Is there something on me?”
“No, I just looked happy.”
“hehehe, that’s right~. It’s my first time being alone with Seonwoo, and I’m really happy right now~!”
“Huh? Is that so?”
When I looked back on my memories, we were always together during class or meals, but it seemed like the entire group was together each time.
Before she knew it, Krishia was next to her, quietly taking her hand and saying with a smile.
“We have to walk a little further to get to the secret place, so shall we have a little chat in the meantime?”
“Okay. Then what should we talk about…”
As I was thinking about the topic, the reactions of the elves I met at the botanical garden suddenly came to mind.
If you think about the ordinary fantasy novels you read in modern times, elves are basically proud of their race.
‘How dare humans!’, ‘Short-lived species that harm the forest!’, ‘I’ll make you fertilizer!’, Bow to the mercy of the World Tree!’ A chosen people ideology that looks down on other races (especially humans) while saying the same thing? Racial supremacy? There were many works that showed the same aspect.
However, although the elves I met at the botanical garden were surprised to see me walking with the high elf Krysia, none of them looked at me with any negative emotions. If you watched it with favorable feelings, you saw it.
Although Nut was the only one who disliked me. Nut-senpai also disliked me for personal reasons, not for racial discrimination reasons, but simply because she was jealous of her older brother for losing her younger brother.
So, I indirectly told Kryshia about the image of elves that contained modern people’s prejudices.
“Aha, ahahahahaha!”
As if Krishia had heard a funny story, she burst out laughing.
“Seonwoo, it’s true~. I don’t know where you heard it, but there are no elves like that~. You wouldn’t have known in the past~.”
“Have you been there before?”
“Yes~. This is just what I heard from the elder, and surprisingly, it seems like there were quite a few elves with that kind of thinking before the Demon God War broke out~. Isn’t that strange~?”
“…That’s right.”
I was speechless as I thought about the fact that even in modern times when there were only humans, there were various discriminators.
“Anyway, after the elves lost their world tree and their home and fled to the kingdom that became the predecessor of the empire, there were a very small number of elves who were discriminatory. And it is said that those elves caused some trouble.”
“Hmm.”
“But at some point, everything suddenly disappeared.”
“…Huh? He suddenly disappeared?”
That is not something that can suddenly disappear… ?
“Yes~. For some reason, the elder said that elves who were known to be discriminatory suddenly went ‘missing’ after leaving a message saying they would donate all their assets, or that they fought without taking a single step from the front line and were ‘killed in battle’~. “
“Ah (enlightenment)”
I was appalled when I caught a glimpse of the bloody darkness of war in the words of Chrysia, who tilted her head in wonder.
Did a friend once say this as a joke?
‘To eradicate discrimination, you just have to kill all the discriminators.’
When I heard those words, I laughed because they were absurd, but I was a little speechless at the brutality of the past empire that actually carried out those words.
“…Well, that could be true. Ah, Krishia. Come to think of it, last time…”
“Oh, about that~…”
Feeling that there was nothing good to be gained from digging too deeply, I quickly changed the topic, and I guess Kryshia wasn’t too worried, so I moved on to another story.
After talking about trivial things for a few minutes, the end of the trail came into view.
“I’ve arrived~! This is my favorite place~!”
Leaded by Krishia’s hand, I escaped the dense forest.
“…Oh.”
I let out a small exclamation of admiration at the moment when the view that had been obscured by the trees was opened up.
A beautiful flower garden with dozens of flowers swaying in the breeze, illuminated by vivid sunlight that fills the field of view.
In the middle of a flower garden where nature and human touch are in harmony, the scenery of a large tree with thick leaves blocking the sunlight and creating a resting place was like a painting.
“I always stop by this place every time I come to the botanical garden. Taking a nap in the shade of that tree is the best.”
As I looked around with admiration, Krishia smiled.
“Well, since it’s lunch time, let’s eat!”
While saying that, the basket Kryshia held out to her was full of various kinds of sandwiches.
It would have been enough for 10 people by modern standards, but considering the increased amount of food since coming here, it wasn’t a large amount.
“Thank you, Krishia. I’ll eat well.”
“Yes, please!”
In front of Krishia, who was looking at me with eyes filled with anticipation, I took a big bite of the sandwich she had picked up.
Crunchy-
The rich taste created by the crunchy texture of fresh lettuce and onions, bread made with high-quality wheat flour, fragrant potatoes like rich milk, and sweet fruit dressing spread throughout my mouth.
Mumbling-
As I was savoring the taste, I put the rest in my mouth and ate the whole sandwich.
“How are you… Mr. Seonwoo…?”
Chrissia looks up at me with a slightly nervous expression as I eat my sandwich in silence.
I licked a little dressing off my finger.
He smiled and said to Krishia.
“It’s so delicious.”
“Ah!”
Wow!
At my words, Krishia smiled so brightly that it felt as if the surroundings became brighter.
“I’m glad! It was rewarding to make it myself!”
“Huh? Did Krishia make this sandwich herself?”
I looked down at the sandwiches filled in the basket with surprised eyes.
It would have taken quite a while to make this amount…
“Ehm! I woke up early in the morning and made it myself!”
“Hmm. Then I should never leave it behind.”
“Yes! I made it for you, so please eat as much as you want~!”
“Yes, thank you. Oh, should I make it for you next time?”
“Four?! Mr. Sunwoo, can you cook?”
“I can’t cook very complicated dishes because I didn’t learn it, but everyone who tried it said it was delicious, so I guess I can’t do it?”
“Wow! Then I definitely want to try it!”
After that, I finished the meal chatting amicably with Krishia.
******
“Huh. It was a good meal.”
I patted my full stomach and smiled contentedly.
“hehehe, I’m glad you ate everything~”
“Because it was delicious. …Ha~am.”
I couldn’t help but yawn at the pleasant feeling of languor coursing through my body.
“Oh, are you sleepy?”
“Ah, yes. The sun is warm, the wind is cool, and I’m full, so I feel hungry for a moment….”
“Then lie down here~!”
“…Lie down there…?”
Krishia with a bright smile said, tapping her white thigh.
No matter what, it still didn’t seem right, so I shook my head and declined.
“Oh, no, I’m fine.”
“…….” Crack-tap-
From Noble mtl dot com
“If you stretch a little, you’ll fall asleep.”
“…….” Crack-tap-
“If I can’t figure it out, I can lean against a tree and take a nap…”
“…….” Crack-tap-
“……Okay, stop staring at her and silently hitting her thigh.”
It reminded me of a game I played in the past where there was an endless loop until you chose a given option.
“Phew… Then, please excuse me.”
I sighed and carefully laid Krysia’s head on her thigh.
‘…… ‘It’s much better than I thought.’
I was impressed by the pleasant feeling of falling asleep the moment I became nervous.
Skin as soft as silk on the back of the head, moderate elasticity, and subtle warmth.
In addition, the clean, refreshing, aroma-like scent of Krishia’s body drifted to the tip of her nose, naturally relaxing her tense whole body, making her feel at ease as if she were in a natural forest.
“Now that I think about it, Krishia. I have a little question….”
“Yes~?”
I felt like I would fall asleep at any moment if I just lay there in silence like this, so I asked Krishia about something that bothered me a little.
“Did you really call me today because you needed me? To be honest, I think it would have been okay even if I wasn’t there.”
I said this, thinking of senior Nutt, who showed off her skillful skills, and seniors Krishia and Liz, who showed off their skills just as well.
I helped and it was finished before noon, but even if the three of us had taken our time without me, it would have been finished before evening.
Then I guess there was no need to call me…….
“…hehehe, that’s actually true. There was no need to call Seonwoo for some reasons.”
“But why…?”
“That’s right, it looks like Seon-woo needs a little rest.”
…… Rest? I?
As I blinked, lost for words for an unexpected reason, Krishia looked down at me with her concern for me in her kind green eyes and said,
“Do you know that, Seonwoo? Unlike Seonwoo at the beginning of the semester, these days, Seonwoo always looks tired?”
“…Me?”
“Yes~. It’s so small that most people don’t know. Still, everyone close to Sunwoo, like Mr. Miris and Mr. Nice, will know.”
…… After thinking about her words a little, I realized that she couldn’t remember sleeping more than 30 minutes a day since she started working as a mercenary. There was no break time either.
[Class → Training → Mercenary work (dungeon raid, slaying the demonic cult) → Short sleep → Class →….] It has been over a month since I repeated this routine.
Thanks to my superhuman body and [Sleep] Gift, I didn’t have any problems physically, but I guess I was mentally tired enough that my close friends noticed.
‘If it weren’t for , I might have collapsed a long time ago…….’
… No, rather, I didn’t know that I was mentally tired because of .
Krishia continued her words by gently brushing her bangs with her chalcedony fingers.
“You can see it when you see it ~. I don’t know what’s going on with Mr. Seonwoo, but he is trying very hard ~.”
“…….”
“But no matter how important effort is, I think some level of rest is absolutely necessary. If you keep trying, won’t you be unable to move at some point? Because people are not tools. Our botanical garden can also be a resting place. Since it’s famous, I used Harvest Day as an excuse to invite Seonwoo to get some rest.”
“…For me?”
“Ugh~. About half…About half?”
“…Huh? What’s the other half?”
“The remaining half…”
Krishia paused for a moment and playfully stuck out her tongue.
“I want to monopolize Mr. Sunwoo, even if only for a moment~.”
“hahahaha, that’s an attractive reason…”
I let out a small laugh as I looked at Krishia, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, probably because she was a little embarrassed.
“…….”
“…….”
A quiet but not uncomfortable, peaceful silence that came after the laughter stopped.
I felt my eyelids gradually becoming heavy due to the gentle breeze, the warmth of sunlight shining through the shade of the trees, and the chirping of birds resting on the branches of the trees.
“~♪”
Chrissia smiled as she saw me slowly closing her eyes and began to sing a song with a clear and beautiful voice and a kind and warm tone.
‘Sorry, Krishia. You won’t be able to rest as much as you want.’
I apologized to her in my mind as I listened to the fairy’s gentle lullaby, which contained her wish that I could rest in peace.
I feel sorry for her for telling me that I can rest, but I have to continue with the same overcrowded schedule from now on.
If you roll the snowball as hard as possible from now on, your chances of preventing a hopeless future will increase.
No matter how hard it is, I know that a drop of sweat now can reduce a drop of tear or blood from people in the future.
I have no choice but to continue this marathon.
Still.
Still… ….
‘… It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a break like this once in a while…….’
With Krishia’s warm singing voice as a lullaby, I surrendered myself to the cozy darkness.
******
“…You fell asleep.”
After finishing her song, Krysia looked down at her man, who was asleep on her lap, letting out a small gasp.
“hehehe. He’s usually so cool, but the way he sleeps is so innocent and cute like a child~”
Krysia carefully touched her man’s clear and handsome features with her delicate fingers and smiled softly as she felt her heart beat faster every time she looked at her man.
“…A mysterious person.”
As the words came out of her mouth while she was looking at her sleeping man’s face, Chrysia thought about her man.
The first time I became aware of him was when I was shielded from Professor Casimed’s secrets in a combat studies class.
Even now, my cheeks turn red when I think of the arms of a strong man who threw his body to block an attack for me, whom I didn’t even know at the time, and hugged me tightly as if he would never let go even as I was flying.
And the moment I smelled him.
Chrissia’s interest in the man increased uncontrollably.
The ‘scent of sacred wood’ that only high elves could smell, and that only high elves could smell, that was gently emanating from him, stimulated her curiosity about the man to no end.
Why do ordinary people in modern times possess the ‘Blessing of the World Tree’, which can be said to be proof of high elves, and has been unable to receive it since the World Tree dried up 600 years ago.
Currently, as one of the only two remaining high elves, there was no way I wouldn’t be concerned.
So, in order to find out, I tried to close the distance by clinging to him every time I saw him, half-liked and half-curious…….
“…hehehe. At some point, the sacred tree became an excuse~.”
At some point, he stopped caring about the world tree and was troubled every time she clung to him. Eventually, he found himself smiling bitterly at her and enjoying her gentle caress as if he couldn’t help it. There was.
“I put in a lot of effort today… So it’s okay if I get a little reward… Right…?”
Krysia’s face moved closer, little by little, to the face of her sleeping man.
Sarak-
The fresh green hair flowed down, gently hiding the girl’s youthful actions from the curious eyes of the birds watching the two.
Side-
After hearing the sound of something touching.
Krishia’s head was raised and her green curtains were pulled back.
There was a man who was still soundly asleep and Krishia who was smiling happily.
“An elf’s passion is deep? Seonwoo.”
Krysia felt the lingering touch of her lips and smiled as innocently as a girl with her first love.