Cynthia was pouting, her cheeks puffed up in annoyance.
Cynthia:
"Why do you even want to leave? Isn't living rent-free in my house enough…?"
Saturo stayed silent for a moment.
(Now I understand why people say girls are impossible to understand…) he thought.
He slowly removed his Black Glasses and looked directly at her, almost as if he were staring into her soul.
"Huh…? Why do you want me to stay?"
He grabbed her hand lightly, teasing her on the surface—
but in reality, he was trying to read her thoughts to understand her better.
Cynthia:
"Hmph! It's not like I want you to stay. I only want Escanor to stay. He doesn't even like you anyway."
(Her thoughts: Just shut up and listen, idiot. You can't even stay in one place without causing chaos. You'll definitely get hurt out there without me…)
Saturo:
"Oh no… I don't want to part with Escanor either."
He paused dramatically.
"But can you at least let me take Oriana? It'll get lonely without her…"
Cynthia:
"Shut uppp! I'm not going with you!"
Suddenly, a memory resurfaced in her mind.
Flashback
Nurse Joy:
"I heard Saturo is leaving, huh?"
Cynthia:
"So? What does that have to do with me?"
Nurse Joy smiled so widely it looked suspicious.
She started rambling about "childhood sweethearts."
Cynthia:
"Huh? What does childhood sweetheart even mean?"
After explaining for a while, Nurse Joy leaned closer with a grin.
"Well, if he said something like that to you, it probably means he wants you to go with him."
She smiled like a demon finalizing a contract.
Cynthia simply nodded, still not fully understanding the conversation.
Then Nurse Joy leaned in even closer like a neighborhood aunt.
"You two have a crush on each other, don't you? Go for it—I support you."
Before she could continue, Blissey karate-chopped her from behind.
Cynthia immediately started blushing and denied the entire accusation.
Present
Saturo accidentally read through that entire memory.
His face instantly turned red.
He stepped backward in panic, completely flustered, while Cynthia herself also started avoiding eye contact after remembering the embarrassing moment.
Nearby—
Oriana and Escanor were casually eating popcorn.
Saturo: "N-No, no, no! I didn't ask you to come with me! Y-You're becoming delusional!"
Cynthia crossed her arms proudly.
"Put it in the bag. I already said I'm not coming with you, so stop trying to gaslight me."
Saturo looked away awkwardly."…Then why don't you come with me anyway?"
Cynthia:
"Because I want to study and improve properly. I'll take the examination route, unlike someone who wants to become a servant."
(Inner thoughts: …Though if you really wanted to, you could just become my servant. Then we could go on adventures together…)
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Cynthia covered her mouth in horror.
After seeing Saturo's expression, she panicked internally.
(Wait—did I just say that out loud?!)
Her face turned bright red again.
Ever since Nurse Joy introduced the concept of "crushes" to her, things had been going very wrong.
Saturo:
"(°=°)"
(Wait… WAIT WHAT?! She wants me to become her servant?!)
After a few seconds, Cynthia somehow recovered her usual composure.
Escanor stared blankly.
"(….)"
Oriana:
"What happened?"
Escanor quietly explained the thoughts from both sides.
Oriana:
"(….)"
Then she immediately whispered:
"Go for it, Mom. You can do it."
Cynthia cleared her throat and changed the topic.
"Anyway, what's so great about serving in some rundown minor gym?"
Saturo:"No, no. I'm going to Charizard Valley.""I'll spend a year there learning how to properly take care of a Charizard."
Cynthia blinked."…Why the hell do you want to go there?"
Note : Cynthia and Saturo doesn't fully understand what childhood crush's mean..