48 Leo apologizes. (2/3)

(O3O)/ – Here is Ch-48.2!!!

(-.-) – It took me a while to finish this monster, but it’s here.

(OwO) – Enjoy the chapter∼♥

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[T-there’s nothing inside you! You don’t have magic power in your body!]

[Eeeehh!?!? N-nothing!?]

Leo was so surprised by the sudden turn of events, that he couldn’t help but let out that confused, and panicked, scream. However, the one who was really confused right now, was none other than Leena herself.

[Y-you! What did you do!? Did you use a large-scale spell again!? How could you let your magic power reserves reach this state!?]

[I-I also don’t know what happened, okay!? I’m just as confused as you!]

[Bulls**t! It’s impossible for a person’s magic power to simply deplete itself out of nowhere, unless someone, or something, forcibly absorbs it from you! That’s a basic magic principle!]

After hearing that, Leo froze in shock; he also started sweating a lot.

[H-hee∼, so your magic power needs to be f-forcibly absorbed for that to happen, huh∼? I didn’t know that∼, t-thank you Leena∼] – Said Leo, in an awkward tone, while doing his best not to look into Leena’s brown eyes.

When Leena saw the way Leo was acting, a sudden thought came to her.

(Leo is so easy to read… it’s obvious he’s trying to hide something…)

However, she wasn’t the only one who had noticed that. Bruno also knew that Leo was trying to hide something from them, so he took a few steps forward, and said–

[–Hey, Leo, try jumping a bit…]

[Huh…? Y-you want me to jump…? R-r-right now…?]

[Un… right now…]

[H-hmm, can’t we do this s-some other day? M-maybe on my n-next visit to the orphanage? H-how about that…?]

[If you don’t wanna jump, then I’ll make you jump…] – Said Bruno, as he continued walking towards Leo with a serious look on his face.

[W-wait, please! W-we can talk this out like civilized people! Y-you don’t have to do this!]

Leo tried his best to change the mind of his childhood friend, but that was to no avail. Bruno just continued marching forward until they were face to face, then he lifted Leo by the armpits, despite all of his protests, and started shaking him up and down.

*Clink!* *Clink!* *Clink!*

Soon after Bruno began doing that, a lot of different things started falling out of Leo’s pockets, like copper coins, silver coins, odd trinkets… and a small shard of a destroyed golden bracelet.

[No! My collection!]

[So… when exactly were you going to tell me about this, Leo?] – Said Leena, in a cold tone, as she pointed at the small lump of gold that was once part of a bracelet.

Even though she was standing a considerable distance away from the piece of the golden bracelet, Leena knew, just from looking at it, that the thing was dangerous, so she couldn’t help but ask Leo what was that ominous thing–

[T-that’s just a normal lump of gold… I-I swear there’s nothing w-wrong with it…]

–However, instead of telling the truth right away, Leo gave Leena and Bruno an ambiguous answer, which made the two stare at him coldly, since they knew, for certain, that he was telling them a bare-faced lie.

Not being able to stand all the pressure of those cold gazes from such a close range, Leo gave in fairly quickly and told them the truth.

[T-that lump of gold is a shard of a m-magical golden bracelet…]

[And?] (Leena)

[Ugh…! T-the Emperor used that bracelet to seal away Prince Albert’s magic power! T-that’s all I know! I swear I’m telling the truth this time!]

After hearing that, Leena finally understood why there wasn’t even a drop of magic power inside of her body. However, instead of taking that new piece of information calmly, she snapped at Leo.

[You retarded piece of garbage!!! Do you understand what that thing is!? Huh!? Are you stupid!?]

[I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know that thing could still absorb magic power! I-I only took that shard of the bracelet with me because it would be a waste to leave it there! This wasn’t my intention!]

After Leo finished greeting the citizens with Albert, he noticed that the maids who cleaned the floor had left a shard of the broken bracelet behind, so he decided to take it back with him, since it would be a waste to leave that lump of gold there.

The small lump of gold became something like a mental-stability amulet to Leo, when he learned that he was forcibly engaged to the evil prince. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that polishing it everyday was the only thing keeping him sane during these past two weeks.

[So you didn’t notice, for even a second, that the thing was sucking your magic power!? Are you kidding me!? You didn’t notice anything!?]

[W-well… I noticed that I was a little bit sluggish lately, but I thought that was due to all the stress I went through during the festival, so I wasn’t that concerned until now, to be honest…]

Honestly, Leena wanted to punch Leo right now, but since she couldn’t do that to her own face, she just let out a sigh. After calming herself, she then raised her head to look at Leo, and said–

[–Since we can’t go back to our original bodies due to your stupid mistake, we’ll have to postpone that to some other day… any complaints…?]

[No… I’m okay with that…] – Said Leo, in a sad tone, as he hanged his head down with a defeated look on his face.

Although Leo was feeling a bit depressed because he wouldn’t be able to go back to his original body, he soon recomposed himself after remembering something really important.

[…*Whisper*…Well, maybe it’s better this way…]

[Maybe it’s better this way…? What do you mean by that…?] – Asked Leena, with a confused look on her face.

Leo wasn’t really expecting Leena to hear what he said, so he felt a bit awkward after being asked that. Nonetheless, he still answered her question a moment later.

[If we changed bodies right now, you would be the one in danger of being executed by the prince, instead of me, right? I mean, it’s quite obvious that Albert was the one who sent all of those knights and assassins to the mansion. I’m sure he would’ve used them to dispose of me, if your grandparents hadn’t done something. And that’s the reason why I said maybe it’s better this way. I can’t give your body back to you while I haven’t resolved any of these issues yet.]

After listening to everything that Leo had to say, Leena couldn’t help but facepalm internally. There was a limit to how many misunderstandings a person could have at the same time, but surprisingly enough, Leo had surpassed that limit a long time ago.

Even if Albert was really the one who sent all of those knights and assassins to the Harkenberg estate, he probably did that to keep Leo safe, not to kill him.

However, even though it was quite obvious to everyone how much the prince cared about him, Leo was still oblivious to all the good will that Albert directed at him.

(Aaaahh!!! This guy! I can’t deal with him! Just how dense do you have to be, to not notice that the prince of your country is madly in love with you!?)

Leena’s headache was getting worse by the second. She really didn’t want to ruin Albert’s eventual confession, but at this rate, things would get out of control… however, after seeing how serious Leo was about protecting her from the “evil” prince, Leena couldn’t bring herself to do that.

(Haaah∼, this guy is so dumb…) – Thought Leena, as she felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

Leo was very greedy–no, he was probably one of the greediest people in existence… but he was also a really good guy. A perfect example of that, was the fact that he cared way more about Leena’s safety, than the deal he made with her… which is why Leena herself couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for keeping the truth away from him. However, in the end, it was his fault for having such a fertile imagination, not hers.

(Leo may be a bit dumb and greedy, but I’m a coward… which is even worse…)

Another reason why Leena didn’t want to tell the truth to Leo, was because she was afraid of losing her new life. Sure, explaining everything to him would be the best thing to do if she didn’t want him to create another huge misunderstanding… but what if Leo demanded his body back after learning the truth? Leena didn’t want to risk losing everything that she worked for, just because of that.

(To think I was actually a bit glad when I learned he was out of magic power… there must be something wrong with my head…)

Well, eventually, Leena would have to return to her own body, after all, a deal was a deal. But until then, she wanted to keep things like this for just a little longer… at least until she was ready to face her life as a noble.

[Haaah∼, you can do whatever you want in your spare time, but for now, we’ll have to think of a way to solve the mess that you found yourself in.] – Said Leena, in a tired tone, as she looked at Leo with a soft smile.

[Huh…? Y-you’re going to help me?]

[Yeah, but I can’t do much though. Your magic power just started returning moments ago, so the least I can do, for now, is to cast a weak spell that can help you in your daily life.]

[T-then, can you please undo that Polite Speech spell!? I can’t stand that thing!]

[Believe me, I would do that for you if I could, but that spell also needs a lot of magic power, so I can’t cast it right now… sorry…]

Leena was genuinely apologetic this time. The Polite Speech spell was categorized as advanced magic because it consumed too much magic power, so she really couldn’t cast it right now–

[–However, I can cast something else that will help us a lot. Here, give me your hand…]

[Well, if it’s going to help us, then I don’t see why not…]

With Leo’s consent as the cue, Leena then grabbed his outstretched hand and started chanting in the common tongue.

“Appear before me, Spy Crystal, and be divided in two.”

As soon as she finished chanting the spell, a familiar crystal appeared between the two of them, then it divided itself into two smaller ones.

Leena took one of the crystals for herself and handed the other one to Leo, however, the latter didn’t understand why she decided to go with that spell, so he asked–

[–Hmm, are you really sure this spell is going to help us? Because I don’t think the crystal will be able to record too much if it’s this small. Besides, why did you make two of them? Isn’t one crystal enough if we’re going to spy on the prince?]

[Ugh, use your head a little. I divided the crystal in two because we’ll be able to talk with each-other, even when we’re far away, if we use the reproduce recorded image function.]

[Rally!? The spy crystal can do that as well!? Woah… this spell is way more useful than I thought, huh? I think we can earn a lot of money if we sell more of these crystals to other people.]

[Don’t even think about doing that, you hear me? Now that you’re engaged to the crown prince, these crystals are our hidden trump card. I’m sure we won’t be able to meet as often, or exchange as many letters as we did before, so we’ll use these two crystals to communicate with each-other when the need to do so arises. Also, we can’t use the crystals too much. I used too little magic power to make them, so they will break easily if we’re careless. In other words, don’t call me if it isn’t important, okay?]

[Got it! I won’t use the crystal unless something really, really important happens! I won’t disappoint you again, Leena!]

[Hmm, you know what the word “important” means, right, Leo? You can’t hoard the crystal away along with your other stuff. You have to use it if something happens, okay–?]

Knowing Leo, Leena was afraid that he wouldn’t use his crystal because “it would be a waste to do so.” That’s why she double-shecked the plan with him to make sure that he really understood what she meant by “only use it when it’s important.”

When Leo nodded to show that they were on the same page, Leena heaved out a relieved sigh, then she looked up, and continued.

[–Anyway, now that we’ve dealt with the communication issue, we can focus on the more important matters. For example, you can tell me what’s going on in the academy first, and then we’ll see what we can do about the rest.]

Leo was about to agree with Leena’s proposal and move on to some other subject, but before he could do so, Bruno raised his hand and said–

[–Hey, hmm, you’re not as angry as you were before, right, Leena? So… is it okay for me to leave now?]

[[Huh…?]]

Upon hearing that, both Leo and Leena turned to the side and stared at Bruno with surprised looks on their faces. Bruno was Leo’s best friend, so it was rare for him, of all people, to want to leave first without hearing what they were going to talk about.

[Why do you want to leave early? Oh, maybe you’re late for work? Is that why?] – Asked Leo, as he stared at Bruno with an understanding look on his face.

The children of Hannah’s Orphanage usually had to work to buy their own food and clothes, so it wasn’t uncommon to see some of them worried about the time. However, instead of agreeing with Leo’s assumption, Bruno quietly shook his head to the sides, before continuing.

[No, I’m not leaving early because of work. It’s something else.]

[It’s not work? Then what is it…?]

Bruno hesitated for a moment, but after seeing the genuine look of curiosity that Leo had on his face, he decided to answer his best friend’s question truthfully.

[I’ll be out of town for a while starting next week, so I have to tell Hannah where I’m going.]

[Oh, you’ll be out of town for a while? Are you going to work under someone as a peddler, or something like that?]

[No, that’s not it either……… I’m going back to Eland for a bit.]

Bruno wasn’t really that good at lying. He would rather not answer a question, than lie to someone he knew. However, even though Leena knew that, she couldn’t help but find that small moment of silence before he answered Leo a bit odd, so she looked deep into his eyes, and asked–

[–You’re going back to Eland? The same country that you fled from? What’s the point of going back now, after all this time? Are you going to visit your long lost family, or something?]

[Wow… I never thought you cared that much about me, Leena. I’m shocked.]

[\\\\\\H-huh…!? I don’t really care about you, or anything! I-I was just curious! That’s all!\\\\\\]

Leena had completely lost the track of the conversation after being teased by Bruno… but Leo didn’t notice that; his emotion were on an all time high after hearing the news.

[Eh!? You’re going back to Eland!? If I’m not mistaken, the famous Elandian Contract Festival will be held pretty soon, right!? There will be a lot of tourists there during the festival! And they will spend a lot of money! Ahh∼, I can already smell all the gold that will be circulating in that place! Please, you must take me with you, Bruno!]

Although the birth place of the spirit faith, Eland, was now part of the Weiz Empire, they were left with a bit of their previous autonomy. That’s why they still occasionally held many of their famous celebrations, like the contract festival, which symbolized the renewal of the spirit’s blessings upon the human world.

Many people, including high nobles and members of other royal families, would visit Eland during that time frame… which is why Leo wanted to go there so badly, after all, where there’s rich people, there’s also a lot of money.

Leo was so excited about Bruno going back to his homeland, that he already started making plans for what he was going to sell during the contract festival. But, as if to throw a bucket of cold water over his head, Bruno shook his head, and said–

[–No, before I take you with me, you should first try to fix all the problems that you caused.]

[C’mon, please∼! Everything will be alright even if I go with you! Think about all the money we’ll make during the festival! Until now, you never wanted to go back home for a visit, so I thought you hated that place… but if that’s not the case anymore, then we can’t waste this golden-!]

[I… don’t really want to go back home…] – Said Bruno, in a low tone, with a downcast gaze.

After Bruno said that, the air inside the room got a little heavy.

The mood was so awkward, that Leena even thought about asking Leo if the big guy was okay, since that topic left him unusually shaken. But, before she could do so, Leo said “I see… then I’m okay with not going,” in his usual, cheerful tone.

Surprisingly, the heavy mood loosened a bit after Leo did that. However, as if not caring about what just happened, he then started begging Bruno to bring some souvenirs with him, before coming back to the orphanage.

[You have to bring some souvenirs for everyone, you hear me? Oh, but you can’t just bring anything either, okay? I will send you a letter with a list of what you have to buy.]

[That’s rude. I know how to choose souvenirs.]

[Oh, really? Then what about that time Anne asked you to buy her a stuffed toy bear, and you came back with a dead baby bear instead?]

[It was tasty though?]

[W-well, I can’t deny that… but that’s not the point! The thing is, Anne got traumatized because of your present, so this time, you’ll buy what I tell you to buy!]

The two continued rambling on and on about souvenirs for a while, until Bruno finally agreed to do what Leo said and buy specific gifts for everyone in the orphanage. After that, he then exited the room to go talk with Hannah, leaving Leena and his best friend alone in the attic.

[You know, what you did earlier really surprised me, Leo…] – Said Leena, as she stared at the soundproof curtain that was covering the door of the attic with a smile.

[I surprised you? What do you mean?]

[Normally, you’d never give up on the possibility of making a lot of money, right? But you didn’t do that this time, which is why I said you surprised me… I thought you would insist on going to Eland with Bruno a bit more…]

[Well, everyone has a thing or two that they don’t want to talk about… and that matter is also a bit of a sensitive topic for him, so it’s better if I don’t touch on that subject too much…]

[I see… but that’s a bit weird, don’t you think? Even though he fled from that country to escape the war, why would he choose to settle on the capital of the enemy country?]

[Even I don’t know why… although, I think it was on a whim. He never talks about his past, so it’s a bit hard for me to go up to him and ask that…]

[That’s… also a bit surprising… in many ways, actually. You guys are such good friends, that I thought you knew everything about each-other.]

[Even if we’re best friends, it’s not good to overstep each-other’s boundaries, you know? That’s why I still don’t know much about his past, even though he’s like family to me… and besides, his eyes were way blacker than normal today, weren’t they? That’s how I noticed I had to stop pestering Bruno about going to Eland with him.]

[Wait, what!? H-his eyes can change color!? Elandians can do that as well!?] – Asked Leena, with a look of confusion plastered all over her face.

[Huh? What are you talking about? That’s pretty normal, you know? When Emily gets excited, her light green eyes becomes a little bit darker. Marcel’s gray eyes also becomes a bit bluish when he’s happy. If you pay attention to their eyes, I think you’ll understand what I’m talking about.]

[No way, really!? I never noticed that…!]

Leo shrugged after hearing Leena’s surprised reply, after all, knowing that wasn’t really that big of a deal. That piece of information wouldn’t change anything in her life either. However, he still decided to tell Leena how she could notice when there was something wrong with Bruno.

[In Bruno’s case, his eyes go from dull black, to polished obsidian sometimes. But that wasn’t always the case, you know? When we were younger, Bruno had dark grayish eyes, however, as we grew up, they became black before I even noticed it. And from what I understood, after observing him all these years, his eyes only become polished obsidian when something important happens, so…]

[So…?]

As Leena urged him to go on with the explanation, Leo couldn’t help but let out an awkward chuckle, before continuing.

[So, this time, I think he’s probably scared of going back home…… or he just really, really, really doesn’t want to go back. I think it’s one of these two.]

The word “scared” didn’t really go well with the image that Leena had of Bruno. It was actually quite hard to imagine him, of all people, being scared of something, so she asked Leo how he could be so sure about that.

[You see, many years ago, Bruno got into a fight with some kids who lived nearby. He wasn’t badly injuried after the fight, so, at first, I believed him when he told me it was nothing. Although, later on, I noticed that he was just scared of involving me in one of his problems. And today, he had that same concerned look on his face. That’s why I think he’s probably scared of going back home–]

The fact that Leo could understand Bruno so well, without knowing a thing about his past, was really amazing… however, Leena couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of their close relationship, after all, she wasn’t really that good at making friends.

[–But, well, even if I don’t stick my nose into his personal problems, that doesn’t mean I’m not worried about him… which is why I want to ask you something, Leena–]

Leo had such a serious look on his face, that Leena quickly forgot about her jealousy and paid full attention to what he had to say.

[–Can you look after him for me, please?]

After hearing that, the first thought that came to Leena’s mind was: “Why would I want to look after him?” But after thinking for a moment, she decided to accept Leo’s request.

[Haaah∼, I just have to look after him, right?]

[Yes, please look after him.]

[I see… well, if you’re going that far, then it can’t be helped! While you focus on restoring your magic power back to normal, I guess I can do at least that much for you! You should be grateful that such a good person is taking care of your childhood friend!]

[Leena…] – Said Leo, in a moved tone, as he stared at Leena with a surprised look on his face.

[What is it? Do you have any complaints?]

[No, I don’t have any complaints… it’s just… you can be really cute sometimes, huh?]

Leena’s reaction was a bit delayed because she had to process what Leo said, but once she did, her cheeks were dyed in crimson red.

[\\\\\\H-huh!? Y-y-you’re talking about me!?\\\\\\]

[Yeah. I used to think you were just a selfish prick, but after talking with you a bit more, I realized that I was wrong, so… yup, you’re really cute.] – Said Leo, as he stared a Leena with a playful grin.

You’re cute. After being told that repeatedly, Leena became so embarrassed, that she ended up getting angry, so she glared at Leo, whith her cheeks still dyed in red, and said–

[\\\–The meeting is over! It’s time for you to go home, Leo!\\\]

[Huh!? Just like this!?]

[\\\Yes! I’m in a bad mood right now, so that’s all! Now get out of here! Shoo! Shoo!\\\]

[B-but we didn’t even talk about my marriage with Albert yet! What are we gonna do about that!?]

[\\\We can continue the meeting later using the crystals! But for now, I want you out of here!\\\] – Said Leena, while pushing Leo out of the room by force.

Upon exiting the attic, the two came face to face with Kai, who was waiting for his master in front of the room, so Leena took that as an opportunity, and said–

“–Sorry for making you wait out here all this time, Kai. We finished our business meeting, so it would be best if you sent Leonora-sama home as quickly as possible.”

“But, I don’t want, to go, home yet…!”

“Oh, right, how untactful of me. The toilet is near the entrance of the orphanage, Leonora-sama. You can take your time there.”

“No, that’s not, it…!”

“Is that so? My apologies then. I was worried that you might want to use the toilet, since the meeting took longer than we expected, but if that’s not the case, then you should send her home right away, Kai. The security around these parts isn’t really that good, and at night it gets even worse, so it’d be dangerous to let Leonora-sama stay here much longer, don’t you think?” – Said Leena, in a worried tone, while staring at Kai with a troubled look on her face.

Safety issues.

Dangerous place.

The young butler’s eyes started burning with a sense of duty to protect his master after hearing what Leena said. Kai didn’t even double check the information, like he normally did. Protecting “Leonora” was his highest priority. Nothing else mattered to him right now.

“Don’t, let him, fool you, Kai! We don’t, have to, go back, right now! This place, is safe! We stayed, here before! So, it’s alright, if we, stay just, a bit more!”

“I know you want to play a bit more with your friends, Leonora-sama, but I can’t let you risk yourself like this. What Leo-kun said is true, this place is really dangerous at night, so I’ll take you back to the academy before something happens.”

Leo had a bad historic of keeping himself safe. That’s why Kai didn’t listen to what he said. The young butler wanted keep his master safe more than anything in the world, so he couldn’t risk exposing her to danger just because she wanted to stay in the orphanage a bit more.

“Excuse me, Leonora-sama.” – Said Kai, as he lifted Leonora, or rather, Leo, in a princess carry, before walking with him towards the carriage.

(Ha! Look who’s the cute one now! Serves you right!) – Thought Leena, as she stared at that scene with a mocking grin plastered all over her face.

That grin was the last thing that Leo saw, before Kai closed the door of the carriage.

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