After finishing my shower and smelling like Sylvia, we gathered again in Yoon Si-woo’s room.

In the meantime, for some reason, Yoon Si-woo attempted to jump out of the window, but fortunately, he seemed calm now.

“Now that you’re all clean, I guess it’s time to talk about what happened while Yoon Si-woo was passed out. You’re curious, right? About everything that happened in the meantime.”

The reason we all gathered here was to discuss Yoon Si-woo and the events that had transpired during that time.

Although Yoon Si-woo hadn’t been asleep for years, a lot had indeed happened during that period.

If I were to write everything down, I could easily fill about 100 web novel chapters.

“Hearing that makes me curious. What the hell happened while I was out…? No, more importantly, Sylvia, what are you spraying all over the room?”

Noticing Yoon Si-woo seemed intrigued by the events but also distracted by Sylvia’s constant spraying of something around the room, he asked.

In response to Yoon Si-woo’s question, Sylvia continued her busy work with the spray bottle and replied nonchalantly.

“Oh, this? It’s a deodorizer. I’ve changed the bed sheets and cleaned, but if the room itself still smells, that would be problematic. I’m not blaming you, Yoon Si-woo, so don’t worry about it.”

After hearing that, I couldn’t help but be shocked by the cruelty of her actions.

Sylvia might have answered without much thought, but to dig at such a recently healed wound was indeed too much.

Just look at Yoon Si-woo sniffing his own body to check.

Is he really concerned that he might smell bad?

It’s hard to realize the smell coming from your own body, so he must be troubled by it.

Anyway, if things continued as they were, Yoon Si-woo might try to throw himself out the window again, so I wanted to reassure him and said,

“Hey, Yoon Si-woo. What are you so worried about? If it bothers you that much, I can check for you.”

“What?! Ah, Scarlet, wait…!”

“Ah, it’s fine. Just stay still. Sss.”

I grabbed Yoon Si-woo to keep him from resisting and pressed my nose to the nape of his neck, taking a deep breath.

At that moment, perhaps feeling shy about possibly smelling bad, Yoon Si-woo’s face turned bright red, and he stiffened up.

Why is he so worried about smelling bad when he just took a shower?

I couldn’t help but laugh at his silly reaction and said,

“Ha! You don’t need to worry. You don’t smell at all. So stop stressing about it, okay?”

“Uh… uh…”

After I confirmed that for him, it seemed he finally felt reassured, and Yoon Si-woo nodded dumbly.

Meanwhile, Sylvia was still muttering, “I still feel like there’s a faint smell… is it just me?” while continuing to douse the room with deodorizer.

Honestly, I thought Sylvia was being overly dramatic.

After all, I hadn’t sensed any smell when I had just hugged Yoon Si-woo a moment ago.

Hmm… Is it because elves have a sensitive sense of smell?

Or maybe my nose got used to Yoon Si-woo’s smell while staying close to him, and I didn’t even notice it?

Thinking back, I had a similar experience during military training.

There was a time I hadn’t showered for almost a week due to training, and when I returned, one of the guys who had come back earlier than me went on about how I smelled and needed to wash up.

Curious about what smell they meant, I reluctantly washed up, only to realize the smell coming from my military uniform afterward, and I was shocked.

The sense of smell can become horrifyingly dull when you get used to a scent.

Anyway, as I was lost in thought, Sylvia seemed to feel that continuing to spray deodorizer was pointless, and her expression shifted to one of resignation as she halted her spraying.

Sylvia then left the spray bottle and walked towards Yoon Si-woo and me sitting together on the bed, suddenly looking at me with a strange expression and murmured,

“…By the way, Scarlet, I’m just curious, but why are you holding onto Yoon Si-woo’s hem like that?”

“…Huh? Oh, sorry…! I didn’t even realize I was holding onto this.”

Upon hearing Sylvia’s comment, I checked my hands in surprise and apologized to Yoon Si-woo.

I hadn’t noticed I was tightly gripping the hem of Yoon Si-woo’s clothes.

Realizing this, I immediately released my hold, but…

“…Oh.”

As soon as I let go, I felt a strange sense of longing and fidgeted my fingers, then cautiously asked Yoon Si-woo,

“…Um, is it okay if I hold on again?”

“Uh? W-why…?”

Yoon Si-woo seemed quite taken aback by my request.

It would be surprising to suddenly have someone ask if they could hold onto the hem of their clothes.

I knew it was an odd request.

Still, wanting him to agree, I presented my reasoning and asked again,

“Well, when I hold on, it helps me feel a bit calmer… as long as I’m holding on, I feel like I can’t just leave you behind and that’s reassuring for me… so, can I hold on?”

“Of course!”

“Thank you!”

As soon as Yoon Si-woo permitted me, I immediately grabbed the hem again.

The moment I grasped it, I felt a wave of calm wash over me.

It was like lying on my bed on a Friday night, where I could forget all the anxiety and worries, and just by holding the hem, my body relaxed.

Yet, there was something about my actions that seemed to bother Sylvia, who muttered with a pout,

“Is that so? So, is it just Yoon Si-woo who gets to be by your side…?”

Seeing Sylvia’s haughty attitude, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

I felt like I had seen a similar expression on someone else long ago…

Ah, I remembered now.

Yes, it was the day I ran into a close friend who had gone abroad for study when we were back in school.

We were both so happy to see each other and were asking each other when they had returned, and at that moment, another friend present had made a face just like Sylvia’s.

That person had said something like if they liked that friend so much, they should just play with them instead of me.

If I recall, that friend must have felt a bit possessive, thinking they were losing their good companion, but that was just ridiculous.

How could that even work?

“Sylvia is the same…”

I said while gripping the hem of Sylvia’s dress with my other hand.

“Sylvia is also a precious friend to me, just like Yoon Si-woo… so if you leave me behind, I wouldn’t like it. Stay by my side, okay?”

“Ah, hehehe…! Of course! I’m Scarlet’s precious friend, after all! So I would never leave you behind!”

With my words, Sylvia smiled widely and sat right next to me.

Just moments ago, she seemed a bit sulky, but seeing her smile like that, I could tell her mood had brightened.

Well, either way, I held both of their hems as we sat on the bed, and I began to share the stories of what happened while Yoon Si-woo was unconscious.

Starting from the day Yoon Si-woo saved me as I fled from the city.

“I almost got into serious trouble because everyone thought I had hurt you. If it weren’t for Sylvia and the others, it might have been a disaster.”

“I’m glad it all worked out…”

“Well, I did my best!”

I recounted how the Aegis Academy hunting squad pursued me and how Sylvia provided support and the revival of the World Tree.

“Essentially, it’s like I’m the one who saved you from danger, Scarlet!”

“That’s something I have to sincerely thank you for. Thank you, Sylvia, for protecting Scarlet while I was out.”

“Oh, it’s actually kind of embarrassing to hear it said like that… but honestly, without Yoon Si-woo’s help, it would have been impossible.”

While sharing stories, the Holy Sword of Truth would pop up occasionally, sparkling as if to boast of its own contributions.

“My help? I don’t recall that…”

“Huh? Wait a minute, wasn’t it Yoon Si-woo who lent me the sword?”

“Ahaha… These guys might listen to me, but really, they have their own personalities too…”

“Ah, really! I thought that while Yoon Si-woo was unconscious, you were helping Scarlet! Give me back my emotions!”

Sylvia expressed her disappointment upon realizing the truth.

Since the happenings had been quite tumultuous, Yoon Si-woo’s reactions to the stories were also quite intense.

“I see, everyone recognized that you’re not bad, Scarlet… It’s really, really good news…”

When I recounted how I was acknowledged as part of the city, he became emotional, almost feeling it like his own.

“Oh… Eve, Captain Leon, and Captain Natalia… so that’s what happened…”

He even teared up when hearing about the sacrifices of Eve and the captains in sealing the gluttonous witch.

As we continued to chatter about the stories, suddenly…

-Bwayk!

“Ah, Ari.”

The open window revealed Ari flying in and landing softly on my shoulder, which caught Yoon Si-woo’s bewildered gaze.

“What’s this bird…?”

“Oh, this is Ari—”

Just as I was about to introduce Ari to Yoon Si-woo,

“Oh, Yoon Si-woo, I’m sure you’ve never seen her like this before, right? Can you believe it? This small, adorable bird is actually a high-ranking demonic beast of rage, the Bird of Ending, Finis!”

Sylvia exclaimed, looking at Yoon Si-woo as if she were in awe.

“……A high-ranking beast of rage?”

“Yes. Yoon Si-woo saw it too, remember? When Scarlet was kidnapped by that witch? We all witnessed it in the northern forest back then.”

“……So, this beast is her?”

Yoon Si-woo’s expression hardened upon hearing Sylvia’s explanation.

And at that moment, I felt a peculiar sensation seeing Yoon Si-woo’s reaction.

What was this…? I felt like I was forgetting something important…

I looked at Yoon Si-woo again, feeling on the verge of recalling something.

Then, seeing Yoon Si-woo glaring at Ari with icy eyes, the forgotten memory suddenly resurfaced.

Yoon Si-woo’s parents, the being that killed them…

Ari on my shoulder cried out with a chirp!

I felt darkness enveloping my vision and muttered inwardly.

Shit, this is bad.