15 Leo gifts his hair. (2/3)

(O3O)/ – Those damned witches are everywhere!!!

(-.-) – How can the auto corrector transform which in witch all the time?

(OwO) – Anyway, it’s properly edited now.

(O3O)/ – Enjoy the 2.0 version of Ch-15.2!!!

 

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After coming out of the confession room, the first thing that Oscar saw wasn’t the altar.

Leonora was there, looking at him with a surprised face.

The corner of his eyes were red, and maybe because of the heated argument Oscar had with Harlet earlier, his face was a mix of anger and regret.

“You heard the conversation, didn’t you, Leonora von Harkenberg…?”

“Ah, h-hmm, that…… yes.”

Leo wasn’t confident that he could fool Oscar, so he decided to say the truth, while looking away a bit embarrassed.

Oscar sneered at Leo.

“You have an awesome hobby….”

“H-hmm, that… I won’t, tell anyone, so…!”

Normally, Leo would use this kind of information to blackmail the other person, but the one in front of him was Oscar Bernstein, the heir of the Bernstein Company.

Oscar wasn’t a person that Leo could mess up with, and besides, if possible, Leo wanted to improve his relationship with Oscar. After all, the Bernstein Company has a lot of connections everywhere.

(How should I comfort him? …I can’t mention his receding hair, so I need to say something that will make him feel better…)

But before Leo could say something that, would probably make Oscar feel better–

“–Well, it’s not a secret anyway… Rolf and my followers already know about it….”

“…………Eh!?”

It seems that Oscar’s hair problems were a well known fact among his friends and followers. But Leo couldn’t help it, since he was a bit worried about Oscar’s condition.

(Hmm, I don’t know if his hair is getting thinner overall, or if it’s becoming M-shaped…)

And as Leo thought about all of those rude things, Oscar dropped the tone of his voice and said–

“–What, is it fun to see me suffering?”

“……Huh?”

Leo wouldn’t laugh about his problem, since baldness is a serious thing and Leo wasn’t that much of an a***ole.

“I would, never laugh, about your–”

“–Hee∼, is that so?”

Leo wasn’t able to finish his sentence, and Oscar was so angry that he couldn’t help but look down with contempt at the restless girl in front of him.

“Even if you’re a good person–”

Oscar’s angry face was rather cold, without any emotion… and it made Leo so frightened that, he started to back off from Oscar, until his back was touched a wall near the altar.

*Kabedon∼♥*

To Leo, Oscar’s body was like a mountain. Oscar’s right arm was pressing against the wall, while his left hand was holding Leo’s shoulder.

“–I still don’t like you, Leonora von Harkenberg…… but I want to apologize for what happened the other day.”

“…Eh?”

Oscar was certainly apologizing for what happened in the cafeteria the other day, but Leo didn’t understand why Oscar was apologizing.

And with the left hand that was holding Leonora’s shoulder, Oscar grabbed a lock of her and said–

“–Even if you have this beautiful black hair, you’re still a High Noble… what a waste.”

‘Now he’s targeting my hair!?’ – Leo thought.

“W-why do you, want hair, if you have, this much, senpai…?”

“Didn’t you hear me saying how valuable it is!? It’s only natural that I would want even more of it!”

Oscar had a sour look on his face.

“It’s expensive to increase the amount of hair someone has, even if it’s just a little bit….”

The amount of hair that Oscar had wasn’t little, but it’s good that he at least didn’t try to hide this fact. And Harlet-sensei accepting gold to treat baldness was really intriguing.

“If you really, want hair, this much, then I can, give you some…?”

“You’re lying! I know how much High Nobles value their own hair–!”

It’s true that Leena said: “Hair is life itself.” But to Leo, his own hair didn’t amount to a pile of s**t. Besides, Leo knew that Leena’s hair would grow faster than normal after being cut, because of her magic power. And if Leo could help someone, he didn’t mind giving it for free.

(Un, I think I’ll do it…)

“–So, before you do anything harsh that can’t be repaired–”

“–Is this, enough…?”

Oscar turned an annoyed look in Leonora’s direction, only to see her grab the short sword that was in the altar.

“Wha-!?”

Leo grabbed a bundle of hair – enough to make a pony tail – and cut it with the short sword.

*Slash*

“Wai-!, you-!”

“Not, enough…?”

Leo inclined his head to the side, he didn’t know how much was enough, so he decided to give a bit more.

“What are you doing!? You’re a High Noble, and you know that…!?”

Oscar then grabbed Leonora’s arm that was holding the short sword, and locked eyes with the girl.

“That’s true… but, I’ll give it, to you, senpai….”

Since he had already cut it, Leo decided to give the hair to Oscar.

“Your hair… the colors, mach….”

Because Oscar is the son of a merchant, the quality of Leo’s hair was a bit different, so he decided to emphasize that they had the same color.

“Even I, understand that, the hair is, something important, to you. So don’t, lose your hope, senpai….”

“\\\Leonora… you…\\\”

After hearing those words, Oscar’s cheeks flushed, and he hugged Leo.

“Hiyah…!”

Oscar is bigger and stronger than Leo, so the difference in height proved to be, almost, fatal… because the hug was too tight and Leo was suffocating.

(Maybe Oscar-senpai is happy because he can make a wig now…?)

However, Leo decided that he wouldn’t complain… because Oscar seemed to be needing this hug, the hands holding Leo were trembling and he was sobbing.

“…*Sob*…Thank you…! …*Sob*…Thank you, Leonora…!”

 

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After recomposing himself, Oscar took a deep breath and placed both of his hands on Leonora’s shoulders…… his eyes were still a bit red.

“Leonora von Harkenberg… how should I repay you.”

At first, Leo was unaware of doing something worth of receiving such gratitude, but the words: “How should I repay you,” resonated in him like a bell.

(I-is this really happening!?)

On the surface, Leo was acting normal… but internally–

(I can’t be too greedy! But this is a unique opportunity!)

–He was rejoicing. After all, that’s one of Leo’s MAX-level abilities: To rejoice internally!!!

‘What I can and can’t receive from Oscar.’ – Those were the thoughts going through Leo’s head. But with the way things were going, Leo wouldn’t be able to stay away from the academy for too long, Albert would surely notice his absence.

Leo needed an accomplice, and the right person for the job was right in front of him.

“Then… can you, cooperate, with me, senpai?”

“Cooperate…?”

Oscar wanted to repay Leonora, but he found the sudden request to be a bit suspicious.

“I have to, leave the academy….”

“And why do you have to leave the academy?”

“…I need to, go to Richard.”

Leo was wondering if Oscar would ask for the real reason behind of the sudden request.

But, to Leo’s surprise–

“I understand… I’ll cooperate with you….”

–Oscar easily agreed to help him.

“Really!?”

But this time, Leo wasn’t able to suppress the huge smile that appeared on his face, and Oscar was caught off guard by that smile.

“I-I need, a map, please…!”

“\\\I-it’s okay, I’ll hire a carriage and find a good inn for you to stay the night\\\”

After learning that he would stay in a good inn, Leo became even happier.

However, Oscar wouldn’t simply help Leonora–

“Well… you said that you’re going to Richard, right? Are you coming back to the academy, or….”

–He wanted to know if this was a one way trip to Richard. If it wasn’t a one way trip, then Oscar would be more than happy to help.

“I’ll, be back…!”

It’s possible that Leena wouldn’t be able to use the spell to switch them back to normal. And Leo didn’t want to be stuck in Richard, were he couldn’t eat those expensive sweets that Bianca always gave him.

“Really? Haaah….”

Oscar sighed in relief. If something were happen to the granddaughter of Lord Harkenberg, Oscar would probably lose his head….

But Leo wasn’t aware of this–

(Lucky∼! I’ll finally be able to leave this place∼)

–After all, he didn’t have to pay for the carriage.

“It will take a week to arrange everything for your trip… but, if you want to leave the academy without anyone noticing, it’s better to wait another two more weeks. There will be a sorcery presentation that day, so it’s gonna be relatively easy to sneak you out.”

And because Oscar is the son of a merchant, he asked Leonora if those conditions were good enough… but Leonora was looking a bit down.

“…Oscar-senpai, can I, ask you, just one, more thing?”

“And what is it?”

Leo was a bit apprehensive at first… but he stepped forward, lifted his head and said–

“–Can you please, believe me, and don’t ask, why I’m, going there…?”

It was a bold request… and Leo thought that Oscar wouldn’t comply with it.

“I see, then I won’t ask.”

But now, Leo was a bit more relieved… Oscar could be trusted and the reason for the sudden trip to Richard would remain a secret.

“Leonora von Harkenberg–”

After being called, Leo lifted his head and looked directly into Oscar’s eyes.

“–I’m sorry for the other day, I really am. You’re even more kind and benevolent than the rumors say. I gave up too soon, I should’ve waited a bit more before judging you.”

“It’s okay….”

Leo didn’t mind at all, he had received a lot of things from Oscar.

*Whisper*

“Well… you’re a bit crazy though.”

“…Uh?”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

It was a monologue, so Oscar wasn’t going to repeat it.

Oscar then squeezed the bundle of hair in his hand and said–

“–After my sister recovers, I’ll let you meet her.”

For some reason, Oscar suddenly started talking about his sister.

“……Huh?”

‘It may be a merchant custom to introduce his family members to someone who helped you.’ – Leo thought, he wanted to meet the rest of the Bernstein family anyway.

“Ohh, I’m really sorry, but I have to go now. I have to bring this hair to Camilla, before it’s magic power is completely gone.” (Tl/n: Kami and Cami sound alike, right?)

“………Eh?”

Leo felt that he had heard something strange, and blinked his eyes in surprise.

“I will contact you when I have everything prepared.”

Oscar then kissed the bundle of hair–

“Hang on, hair.”

–And left the church like the wind.

‘Ah! This must be an Oath of Friendship, no doubt!’ – Leo thought.

Because Oscar kissed his hair, now they were hair friends.

“…Eheheh∼”

The procedures for leaving the academy were going as planed.

With a new hair cut, Leo left the church feeling proud of himself.

Sometimes you can help people even while being greedy.

 

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