This teleportation was remarkably smooth. Acheron didn't even feel the usual strange spatial dislocation.
By the time she processed it, she was already standing right in front of Sylvia.
Sylvia's mouth was still slightly agape, the words she had been speaking seemingly frozen on her lips.
Acheron's eyebrow arched slightly as she savored the echo of that call that had just sounded within her heart.
She smiled at Sylvia.
"..."
"...What are you smiling about?"
It was already mortifying enough that she'd hidden in her room and whispered, 'Help me, Big Sister Acheron.'
She'd been terrified that the two thin walls between them wouldn't be enough to block Acheron's sharp hearing.
But before the last syllable of her plea had even faded, Acheron was already before her, wearing that meaningful smile.
Sylvia was half-afraid the woman would turn her head and start with a 'Let me see!'
Acheron was never one to beat around the bush, so with a trace of amusement in her voice, she said:
"I heard exactly how you called me, didn't I, little sister Sylvia."
"Ah—!"
The moment 'little sister' left Acheron's mouth, Sylvia let out a wail, clapped her hands over her ears, and then face-planted straight into the bed, trying to escape reality.
She knew it!
Acheron had definitely heard!
Finding the whole scene quite entertaining, Acheron sat down on the edge of the bed and gave Sylvia's backside a light pat.
"And it rang directly in my mind. I suppose that's the mechanism of this ability. But I never expected you to call me 'Big Sister' in private."
As she spoke, it seemed to occur to Acheron that since Sylvia had called her Big Sister, leaving her hand on the girl's rear might be a tad inappropriate.
So, after giving Sylvia's upturned posterior a thoughtful glance, she reached out instead and gently ruffled the hair on top of Sylvia's head.
Sylvia lay face-down, quietly enduring the head-patting for a good while before something suddenly clicked.
She pushed herself up on her arms, lifting her torso, and twisted to look back at Acheron.
"Wait a second... you heard it directly in your mind??"
"That's right. And the moment I thought of responding to you, I appeared right before you. This ability is truly convenient. We should thank that Stellaron Hunter."
Acheron was genuinely pleased at the moment.
If this skill could summon her to Sylvia's side so effortlessly, then Sylvia's safety was significantly more assured.
She wouldn't have to worry about being unable to reach the scene in time if, say, Phantylia were to launch a sudden attack.
"Uh... yeah..."
Hearing Acheron's words, Sylvia blinked a few times and chose to remain silent.
"However..."
Acheron continued, raising her hand again to pinch Sylvia's earlobe.
The brush of fingers against her earring made Sylvia tense up all over again.
"Call me 'Big Sister' one more time."
"...Since when did you develop such a twisted sense of humor."
Sylvia didn't pull away from Acheron's hand, but her mouth remained stubborn, her neck stiff as she tried to refuse.
"You'll be calling me that again in the future anyway. Might as well get used to it by saying it a few more times."
"..."
Guilt.
Sylvia's earlobe was still being toyed with by Acheron's fingers, a constant reminder of the token hanging from her ear, the one she'd put on with Silver Wolf.
Even though! The fact remained.
Acheron didn't know that her 'ceremony' with Sylvia was a contract signifying a certain... intimate relationship.
Sylvia herself had never, because of this, considered Acheron her... partner.
And the contract with Silver Wolf was more akin to a transaction; Sylvia would definitely lend her aid for those three 'marriage contracts' in the future.
But still...
How to put it... she just felt this inexplicable pang of guilt for no good reason.
Fortunately, Acheron wasn't actually dead-set on forcing Sylvia to say 'Big Sister'.
Frankly, she was just teasing her.
Watching Sylvia's conflicted little expression twist for a while, Acheron seized the moment she was distracted, pulled out her phone, and with a click, captured the image.
By the time Sylvia realized what had happened, it was too late.
Acheron had already withdrawn both her phone and the hand that had been pinching Sylvia's ear.
She gave Sylvia no chance to protest or snatch the phone away.
Sylvia was left momentarily stunned, feeling both annoyed and amused. 'Since when did this woman become so... unserious?'
"Was that really necessary? When have I ever tried to grab your phone?"
"Hmm, fair point."
Acheron nodded dismissively. In short, she didn't believe it.
In that split second, Acheron had a premonition that Sylvia would make a grab for the phone; otherwise, she wouldn't have withdrawn her hand so quickly.
And Acheron had always trusted her martial intuition implicitly.
"..."
Sylvia was speechless.
Okay, maybe she had a 1% fault for that fleeting thought of grabbing the phone, but didn't Acheron bear the other 99% of the blame?!
"Show me, quick. What on earth did you take a picture of?"
"Here. Quite cute, really."
Acheron flipped her phone around, screen facing Sylvia, who was then treated to the sight of her own guilty, slightly foolish expression.
"Why do you always take such unflattering photos..."
Sylvia wasn't that hung up on her image, but seeing her own silly face was still a bit hard to take.
But Acheron clearly didn't share that opinion.
"It's not unflattering. I think it's adorable."
"The moment you label it 'adorable,' you're completely disqualified from judging, as far as I'm concerned..."
Sylvia let out a long sigh.
Honestly, she really didn't think of herself as a '0.' She was clearly a mighty '1!'
But there was no helping it. Faced with someone like Acheron—a high-combat-power 'kuudere' type—it was really hard to hold your ground.
Fortunately, thanks to the system's help, Acheron's 'kuudere' attributes were gradually fading.
She was, after all, the 'Raiden Mei' of this rail universe. Sylvia refused to believe she wouldn't get to 'top' someday.
--+--
Aside from the matters concerning the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, nothing else particularly noteworthy happened for the rest of the day, right up until evening.
That night, as usual, she lay in bed and logged into the game.
As for how Acheron might manhandle her in reality, Sylvia decided not to think about it anymore.
Today, quite unusually, Silver Wolf wasn't around. Only Firefly approached, her face wearing a mix of curiosity and slight embarrassment.
"Good evening, Sylvia."
"Good evening."
Sylvia raised a hand with a smile to greet Firefly, then asked curiously,
"Where's Silver Wolf? She didn't run off to play something else by herself, did she?"
Hearing this, Firefly couldn't help but giggle, covering her mouth with one hand, her eyes crinkling into lovely crescents.
"I called for her when I came. 'Let Sylvia play by herself! Don't bother me!' That's how she replied."
Firefly imitated Silver Wolf's tone, repeating her words, but her own gentle voice and completely flat, emotionless delivery made it sound more like a coquettish whine.
Sylvia smiled wryly.
No wonder all the messages she'd just sent Silver Wolf were left on 'read' with no reply.
How come she hadn't gotten over it after all this time?
That shouldn't be right. Since when was Silver Wolf the type to hold a grudge like this?
Meanwhile—
Silver Wolf was currently grinding her teeth, furiously working her controller, making the character on screen pummel the opponent into oblivion.
Venting her frustration.
It wasn't just simple shyness that had lasted the whole day.
The main reason Silver Wolf hadn't logged on was that she was still fuming. Her, the genius gamer from Punklorde, had once again utterly humiliated herself in front of Sylvia!
Even though today's incident didn't technically count as a game, she still couldn't accept it!
As she mashed the controller buttons, Silver Wolf was secretly scheming, thinking of ways to pay Sylvia back for this humiliation.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.