By Zephyria “Idiot…. What were you going to do if you got caught?”
Leonardo muttered blankly, fiddling with the ring. He said that, but he couldn’t hide the smile spreading across his lips.
This ring was only given to the Dark Silver of the Empire, and although it didn’t give a great effect, it had the function of helping the Magic Power circulation and fatigue recovery of the wearer.
However, usually, rather than possessing it for that purpose, they placed greater emphasis on the symbolic meaning of the Dark Silver ring. Also, because it was a rare thing that few people had, most people engraved the inside of the ring with an engraving indicating the owner.
The protagonist of this engraving, Nero, belonged to the current military special elite unit, Dark Silver.
He was the last to enter the 11th squad in the past, the youngest, and because he used fire as his main attribute, he was also a squad member that Leonardo once marked and took care of closely.
Of course, he had now grown up wonderfully enough to save the former squad leader and was doing his part as a full-fledged member.
The 11th squad, which was known to the outside world, was temporarily disbanded after the court-martial, and the list of squad members on the documents was also completely blank, but the squad members at the time were all scattered into other squads or teams and were still active as Dark Silver, and the consciousness that they were the 11th squad still existed.
However, after Leonardo, the squad leader, was banished, various restrictions were imposed, and they could no longer move as freely as before.
They were subjected to stronger internal military control, and members of the same squad from the past could not gather in one space in groups of more than a certain number, and the higher-ups constantly monitored their movements, if not every single move.
The reason was simple. If they came into contact with rebellious elements who disobeyed orders, they could be tainted with impure ideologies, and if several powerful Mages with such ideologies gathered, they could plot troublesome things, so it was to prevent unfortunate events in advance.
Therefore, it was usually not easy to meet while avoiding surveillance, but the 11th squad was clearly still continuing.
He didn’t know how Nero had entered the peninsula, but it was certain that he had saved him and Kenneth from the collapse site and moved them here. Thanks to that, he was alive, but he couldn’t erase the thought that it was a little reckless.
Even though they tried to keep it quiet, the news of Leonardo Blaine’s arrest had spread like wildfire, and the Council had suddenly decided to carry out a subjugation of the peninsula, so the rumor that he was already on the peninsula with the Council’s army must have entered the major government agencies.
In that situation, it would not be good situationally if it became known that a former 11th squad member had been on the peninsula even for a short time.
Of course, he thought that Nero would have taken care of things on his own, but Leonardo knew well that he sometimes had sloppy parts, so he felt a little worried.
The joy of the sign left by his comrade was only temporary, and Leonardo, biting his lip and falling into thought, held the ring tightly in his hand as if it would disappear like a dream. Then, when he suddenly felt a presence, he raised his head and saw Kenneth peeking out from behind a pillar a little distance away, looking at him hesitantly.
He had been hiding in plain sight, but he paused when their eyes met, but soon carefully came out from behind the pillar and spoke.
“Um, Blaine… are you… angry?”
He looked like a puppy that had done something wrong and was whining as he asked, watching his mood. Leonardo deliberately maintained a blank expression and stared at Kenneth. At that, Kenneth stammered and began to ramble.
“I, if you’re angry, please feel better…. The scholar is a bit mischievous, but he really didn’t do it with bad intentions. I was also anxious at first, so I kept watching him closely. But all along….”
Leonardo’s gaze seemed to be wary in some way, so Kenneth stood at a bit of a distance and said this and that. But most of it sounded like he was defending the scholar, so Leonardo didn’t pay much attention to it.
Then suddenly, he thought of the scholar’s words, ‘You made it so I couldn’t even touch what’s in your pants pocket.’ Even if the scholar had seen it, he probably wouldn’t have recognized it as a Dark Silver ring, but just in case, he needed to check if he really saw it or not.
Leonardo immediately interrupted Kenneth’s rambling and beckoned with his hand.
“Come here.”
“…Yes?”
Kenneth, who had stopped talking, blinked at the gesture and took a few steps to stand in front of him. He was a little anxious and watched his mood, but this time, when he patted the seat next to him with his palm, he sat down as if he was being controlled. Leonardo held out his clenched fist to such Kenneth.
“Put your hand here.”
“My hand?”
At Leonardo’s sudden order, Kenneth slightly clenched his fist in the same way. He seemed to have seen somewhere that they put their fists together like this when making a pledge of friendship, so he was secretly expecting it, wondering if he was being recognized now.
Kenneth, who had been hesitating, brought his fist to his fist slightly, feeling his heart pounding at Leonardo’s gesture to hurry up. And the moment their fists touched, sparks flew with a crackling sound as if pushing him away.
“Ugh!”
Kenneth was startled and reflexively let go of his hand as a hot and stinging sensation flowed through his arm. On the other hand, Leonardo didn’t seem to be bothered at all.
“What, what is it?”
Kenneth asked, rubbing his hand with a bewildered face. Leonardo, confirming his reaction, lowered the fist he had held out without saying anything. It seemed that magic was cast on it to cause resistance if someone other than the owner of the ring or the designated person touched it.
It seemed that it was true that the scholar hadn’t touched it, so he was relieved, and he put the ring back in his pocket and then grabbed Kenneth’s hand.
Kenneth flinched, thinking that sparks would fly again, but fortunately, that didn’t happen this time. Leonardo stroked Kenneth’s slightly reddened hand and asked with a worried face.
“Sorry. Did it hurt?”
It did hurt, but when he saw his face holding his hand and asking if it hurt, Kenneth couldn’t bring himself to say yes.
“N… No, it’s okay.”
Kenneth was a little embarrassed as he answered, slightly averting his eyes as their hands touched and his gaze was directed at him so blatantly. At that sight, Leonardo’s lips parted slightly for a moment. It was because he had just realized one thing. That he had been overlapping Kenneth and the owner of this ring all along.
When he thought about why he couldn’t just leave this guy alone, it was because he had thanked him for saving him before, but it seemed that the thought that he had to protect him came like a sense of duty because he overlapped Kenneth’s clumsy appearance with Nero’s from the past.
Realizing that, Leonardo’s hand holding Kenneth’s hand gradually tightened. He was going to let go because he thought he would give unnecessary affection, but his body moved in the opposite direction of his head. Kenneth turned his head to him with a puzzled face.
Leonardo, who had been looking down at the hand he was holding for a moment, gently let go of the hand he was holding. Then, he stared intently at Kenneth before opening his mouth.
“Hey, I remembered.”
“Yes? What?”
“Us coming here, it’s true I brought you.”
Kenneth, who had been blinking at Leonardo’s words that suddenly changed the subject, soon smiled and said.
“So Blaine brought us here, right?”
“Yeah, I brought you.”
Soon Leonardo smiled and said.
“You better treat me well? I saved you twice.”
His eyes, which had always been cold, curved refreshingly. It was the first time he had seen his smile in recent times. Kenneth felt his face flush for a moment when that smile was directed at him.
He had been thinking to himself that he was a very pretty person, even though he couldn’t say it out loud before, but Kenneth was momentarily stunned when he saw this side of him right in front of his eyes without any preparation. Then, he startled and belatedly replied.
“Yes, yes! I’ll treat you well….”
Leonardo, with a satisfied expression at the answer that came out naturally as if he was possessed, got up from his seat. He roughly dusted off his pants and asked Kenneth, rubbing his stomach at the hunger he was feeling now.
“That mushroom you brought earlier. Where did you find it? Was it far away?”
Kenneth also got up, following him as Leonardo got up, and replied.
“It’s not that far from here, but are you hungry now? I have some left over just in case.”
“No, I told you I don’t like that. Besides that, do you like something similar to alligator meat?”
Kenneth distorted his expression subtly at his incomprehensible words.
“Something… similar to alligator meat?”