Meanwhile, Kazuma had completely switched into scumbag mode. His eyes were shining, and his trembling hands reached toward his pockets.
"S-Sylvia-san! Since you put it that way, I won't hold back either! I-I'm very patient, so we can start by getting to know each other's body structures!"
Deep in the forest, the air itself seemed to grow thick and heavy from Sylvia's body heat, now close enough to touch.
Kōichi felt like his heart was about to leap out of his throat. Those magnificent curves swayed faintly right before his eyes, radiating a soul-stealing allure.
"Hehe, Sylvia-san, since you're being so enthusiastic, then I won't hold back either..."
Kōichi reached out with trembling hands, his mind already playing all kinds of restricted Fantasy World anime scenes.
His palm slowly slid down Sylvia's stunning waistline. He had only meant to confirm whether that dreamlike sensation was real, but just as his fingers brushed past the root of Sylvia's thigh and accidentally touched a certain spot, an extremely out-of-place, hard, weighty sensation shot from his fingertips straight to the top of his skull.
Kōichi froze on the spot.
It was not a fold in the fabric. It was not some dagger hidden on her body either. That shape, that scale, that thing no man could ever mistake as anything else...
"W-wait... this feeling... this location... this weight... Something's wrong! This is absolutely wrong!!"
Kōichi's pupils shook violently, and his face, burning red with desire moments before, turned deathly pale in a tenth of a second.
He stiffly raised his head and found himself looking straight into Sylvia's face, still breathtakingly beautiful and even faintly flushed.
"Oh my, young man, where are you putting your hand? That spot is... very sensitive, you know~"
Sylvia licked her lips, a red gleam of teasing and some kind of feverish excitement flashing through her eyes.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!!" Kōichi yanked his hand back and leaped three steps away as if he had been electrocuted, his entire body shaking like a leaf. "U-um! Sylvia-san! I just remembered... I-I haven't fed my cat today! Right! The cat I'm raising is called Chomusuke, and if I don't feed it on time, it'll self-destruct! I need to hurry back to the village!"
As he shouted, Kōichi desperately signaled with his eyes at Kazuma Satou, who was still drooling over Sylvia. His eyeballs were practically about to fly out.
"Run! Kazuma! Run! It's a trap! That's an abyss more terrifying than Explosion Magic!!"
However, Kazuma had already entered full scumbag sage mode, completely blocking out every outside disturbance.
Seeing Kōichi's terrified expression, he not only failed to sense any danger, but even gave him a look of contempt.
"Hey, Kōichi, aren't you being a complete killjoy?" Kazuma accused him with righteous indignation, edging even closer to Sylvia as he spoke. "Feeding a cat? Since when did you become such a caring person? I think you're just choking at the critical moment! Sylvia-san, don't mind him. This guy's probably just scared because it's his first time seeing something this intense. Come on, let's continue our in-depth discussion about body structure..."
"In-depth discussion, my ass! Kazuma, listen to me. That place... that place has..."
Kōichi was sweating buckets from anxiety, but he did not dare say it outright in front of Sylvia. What if she got embarrassed and angry enough to silence him on the spot?
"What does it have? Treasure? I know there's treasure. I'm about to start digging!" Kazuma waved impatiently and even began the preparatory motion for [Steal]. "Hurry up and go back to the village. Stop being a third wheel here! Sylvia-san, let's ignore that coward. I noticed the buckles on your leather armor seem a bit tight. Would you like me to help you..."
Sylvia watched the two humans interact and could not help letting out a low laugh. In the empty forest, it sounded especially eerie.
"Hehehe... It's all right, young man. If you want to leave, you may go first." Sylvia turned her head, her eyes locking firmly on Kazuma, while her hand lightly settled on his shoulder. "As for this brave young man, I'll love him properly... until even his soul melts away..."
Kōichi looked at Kazuma's idiotic, blissful face, even with death right in front of him. Then he oiled his feet, turned, and ran, moving so fast it looked like he had activated a sprint skill.
But just as he had rushed several dozen meters away and was about to leave this place of trouble entirely, his troublemaking heart, long steeped in Axel's chaotic atmosphere, suddenly gave a violent thump.
"Wait... If I just leave like this, won't I miss the most glorious and most despairing turning point in Kazuma Satou's life? This is a legendary scene I could mock him with for the rest of his life. If I don't witness it with my own eyes, I'd be failing as his terrible friend!"
With that thought, Kōichi slammed on the brakes and, with the practiced movements of an old monkey, slipped into a dense bush nearby.
He held his breath and quietly parted the leaves, revealing two eyes gleaming with strange light as he stared fixedly at the pair in the clearing.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the clearing had grown so suggestive it felt like it might start dripping.
"Oh my, that bothersome young man finally left."
Sylvia spoke in a coquettish tone, her body going limp as if she had no bones as she melted into Kazuma's arms. Her slender arms circled his neck, and she breathed against his ear.
"Now... it's just the two of us here. So, brave young man, what was that you said earlier... about how we should get to know each other?"
Kazuma had completely floated off to cloud nine.
Feeling the astonishing softness and heat in his arms, breathing in the scent that numbed his brain, he smiled like an idiot who had just won a five-hundred-million prize.
"Heh, hehehe! Sylvia-san, you're so direct!"
As Kazuma spoke, his hands roamed that tempting body without a shred of self-awareness. He even shot a provocative glance toward the direction Kōichi had fled, though he had no idea Kōichi was hiding nearby.
"Kōichi is just some clueless brat who's never seen the world. I'm different. I'm a man who's been through countless storms! Come on, Sylvia-san, let's discuss the philosophical topic of the origin of life in greater depth..."
Sylvia giggled, her deep eyes flashing with the playful cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.
Kazuma had completely lost his mind. Like a cat that had found the perfect nest, he blissfully buried the back of his head deep into Sylvia's surging chest and let out a satisfied sigh.
That expression, so euphoric it looked like his soul was about to ascend, made Kōichi roll his eyes from behind the bushes. A complicated, indescribable feeling welled up inside him.
It was partly gloating over the revelation Kazuma was about to face, and partly a tiny bit of envy, jealousy, and resentment toward that simple happiness.
"Oh... oooh... Sylvia-san, you're... you're just... incredible!" Kazuma was so happy he could barely speak, his whole body going limp like mud. "I've never met a woman as... as charming as you! You're practically the embodiment of a Goddess! No, even better than a Goddess! Trash like Aqua doesn't even compare to your toes!"
She gently combed her slender fingers through Kazuma's messy black hair, her eyes full of amusement.
"Hehe, is that so? You really do have a sweet little mouth." Sylvia's voice grew even sweeter, almost like honey. "But I should correct you on one thing, young man. This is the first time I've met a boy... a boy as interesting as you."
She deliberately emphasized the word "boy," her tone carrying a subtle meaning that was easy to miss.
Kōichi heard every word clearly from behind the bushes. He almost burst out laughing and had to bite hard into his own arm to keep from making a sound.
"Kazuma, Kazuma, I've hinted at it this obviously, and you still can't fit anything into that head of yours besides big boobs?!"
Kōichi ranted wildly in his mind. Seeing Kazuma's clueless, idiotic look, he even started to feel a little sorry for him.
However, Kazuma's brain, currently drowning in pleasure, was clearly incapable of processing such advanced wordplay.
He simply took Sylvia's words as a compliment and became even more carried away.
"Hahahaha! Really? I'm interesting? To receive praise like that from Sylvia-san is such an honor!"
Kazuma was grinning so widely his mouth would not close. He even lightly patted Sylvia's shapely rear. "Actually, I have lots of even more interesting sides to me. I guarantee I'll open your eyes, Sylvia-san! For example, in bed... Ahem, I mean, as an Adventurer, I'm a real all-rounder!"
Sylvia's smile remained perfectly curved, but the fingertips of the hand resting on Kazuma's shoulder tightened slightly without her realizing it.
"Oh? Is that so? Then let me see just how eye-opening this interesting side of yours can be."
Sylvia's voice suddenly turned low and husky, carrying a pressure that sent chills down the spine.
The hand resting on Kazuma's shoulder began to slowly slide toward his waist, while the gaze that had once been gentle as water gradually sharpened.
Sylvia's hand at Kazuma's waist was now moving gently and slowly downward with uncanny precision.