Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 281

TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!

Enjoy~

ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 281 – Her Battle

Unfortunately, she had no memory of it.

When exactly? Or rather, why did she think that?

Chris’ face flushed, and she opened and closed her mouth like a fish.

She made eye contact with Sylvia, who was asking her something cheerfully, for over ten seconds.

Chris looked down, her lips trembling with shame. She opened her mouth.

“Wh-what are you saying, Sylvia-sama?”

She tried her hardest to cover it up.

But her inability to look up only emphasized her typical self.

Looking down revealed the leaves and roots.

“Eeeeeh… Wh-why…!?”

She suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“Fufu, you’re truly adorable. There, calm down.”

“Y-yes… I’m afraid I’ve shown you an unseemly sight.”

“Don’t worry about it. Now then, may I examine one more thing?”

“…Yes?”

Sylvia slowly reached out a hand toward Chris’ shirt.

She undid one button and placed her hand between her breasts.

“I thought it was certain since you could produce leaves like this, but indeed, you’re connected to Ain-kun.”

It took less than a few seconds.

She immediately withdrew her hand, which was clutching something faintly glowing green, like an aura.

As always, Sylvia, the Elder Lich, did strange things.

“Sylvia-sama!? W-what on earth…? Wait, what is this…?”

“Maybe it’s a fragment of Ain-kun’s visualized magic power. It’s a lovely color, isn’t it?”

It felt like staring intently into the deep sea.

Like gazing at clouds drifting across the sky.

Most of all, it was like gazing at Ain himself.

The warm light was like the distillation of all those feelings, instilling a sense of reassurance.

Beyond the pale green, it evoked the kind of mental calm one feels in an elf village.

“It’s incredibly beautiful.”

“Well, of course. It is his magic, after all. So, when did this happen?”

“T-That’s—I mean, I don’t remember it happening… Ah.”

“Ara, ara. So you do remember.”

It was right after they left Strohm.

That was the only possibility. Unfortunately, it was the only one.

Did it take root from just that? Was it an accident? Did it take root on its own?

A flood of emotions—bitterness and anxiety—tormented her.

There was simply too much to think about now.

“I-is it really taking root?”

She frantically pulled out her status card and looked at the section that should have said “Elf.”

There, the most undeniable proof was written.

Written in the same letters as Krone’s was the word “Dryad.”

“Sylvia-sama… I… What should I do?”

“Arara… I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Chris pressed her lips tightly together and looked up at Sylvia with tear-filled eyes.

Just as a single tear rolled down her cheek, Sylvia embraced her.

“Now, why did you start crying?”

“Because this happened without any consent… What if he hates me?”

“Hate you? Hmm. I think Ain-kun losing to a slime is way more likely.”

Sylvia gave an indescribable wry smile.

But Chris’ anxiety ran deeper than others might have thought. It revealed her true nature—the girl who had risked her life to save Ain.

As Sylvia wiped her eyes, she gradually began to calm down.

Maybe it was Sylvia’s magic or something else that soothed her.

“You know that boy isn’t like that, right? Have you forgotten how he risked his life to save you from the Sea Dragon when he was young?”

“I-I haven’t forgotten!”

“Well, I did make the sword back then, but that’s not really relevant here.”

A single dagger was stored in the castle.

The black dagger shattered when Ain defeated the Sea Dragon, but it’s important to remember that Sylvia crafted it.

“More importantly, Chris-san? What was the trigger that made it rooted?”

“…An accident. It was an accident.”

“An accident? Are you saying you came together by accident?”

A one-night stand was out of the question.

Sylvia was shocked precisely because she believed that.

“N-no! I told you, we didn’t sleep together!”

“Then what happened?”

When Sylvia took her hand, Chris felt calmer.

Her kindness clearly had an effect. In fact, she felt more like herself than she had before she started crying.

So, Chris calmed down and told her what had happened the other day after leaving Strohm on the water train.

“So, it really was an accident…”

“Ara ara… So that’s what it was.”

An accident caused by her own carelessness.

She’d been too focused on the past, which only increased her guilt. But…

“But then, that’s just perfect, isn’t it?”

With an enchanting smile to match her lustrous black hair, she said it in a way that made Chris swoon.

“Just perfect?”

“Let’s make it clear what you want, shall we? What do you want with Ain-kun?”

“…That’s…”

It’s obvious.

“I want to… get closer to him.”

“I see. I knew elves were patient, but I was getting impatient, wondering when you’d finally decide how you feel.”

It had been about ten years since she met Ain.

At first, he seemed like a boy who looked like Olivia, but after starting at the academy, he matured.

Then, during the Sea Dragon incident, Chris’s life was saved, and that was when she started to become aware of her feelings.

There was an age difference, but she hadn’t cared about that.

“But Ain-sama already has… Krone-san!”

“The next king will only marry one person? Just because the current king did that doesn’t mean past royalty or Ain-kun would do the same, right?”

If anything, Sylvird was the exception.

Having only one queen wasn’t the best choice for the future.

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“From the people’s perspective, though, having only one queen might feel unsettling. But yes…”

Sylvia pressed her hand to her lips in thought, then quickly gathered her thoughts.

Like a wise sage, she presented her opinion on what Chris should do.

“Those two—Ain-kun and Krone-san—are the type to stick to their principles. They understand their roles as royalty, but that doesn’t mean they’d just agree to have more queens. I absolutely don’t think they’d do that.”

“…Yes, I think so too. Their hearts are strongly bound together.”

“So, Chris-san, if you want this to continue, you might need to stick to your principles.”

In other words, she must act openly and honestly and confess her feelings to Krone.

Chris didn’t want to interfere in their relationship.

“When you return to Strohm, just tell her. Tell Krone-san that you like Ain-kun too.”

She told Chris to speak with Krone before taking any action regarding Ain.

“Huh!?”

“She’s always been a big-hearted girl. Even in her unique position as queen, she will surely think wisely in her own way.”

So Sylvia urged Chris to take a new step forward.

“Staying like this must be painful, right? You’re definitely not going to live long with Ain-kun. If you want to be together, you should stop living in that hell.”

Given that it’s already taken root, Chris probably wouldn’t leave Ain. Speaking under that premise, it was a living hell, just as Sylvia said.

She might eventually get used to it, but Chris would gain no sense of accomplishment or satisfaction.

“…”

So she quietly nodded.

If revealing her feelings counted as a step, then this was undoubtedly her first.

—But,

“More like, since everyone already knows, there’s nothing to hide, right?”

It was something Chris thought she’d kept secret.

Being told it was common knowledge left her flustered.

“—Wh-what!?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Think back to everything up until now. It’s way beyond just being a loyal dog.”

“Could it be… Krone-san and the others know, too!”

“Well, it’s a bit late to be told something so obvious now. I took things slowly with Cain, but I suppose you’re similar…”

Upon hearing this final revelation, Chris flushed crimson, pressed both hands to her face, and nearly fainted.

She had never imagined declaring such a thing to someone who was likely aware of her feelings.

But once she got home, she wanted to find time to talk one-on-one. Chris resolved this in her heart.

In the end, she couldn’t calm her feelings until the last moment before Ain returned.

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!