By Zephyria “Use whichever you’re comfortable with. I don’t mind either way.”
Leonardo, looking around the inside of the tent, chose the cot on the left without much thought at Hugo’s words and sat down heavily. It wasn’t exactly the same arrangement as the first night in the peninsula, but he felt more comfortable on this side, perhaps because he had used the left side then as well.
As if anticipating his choice, Hugo firmly closed the entrance of the tent and immediately headed to the right. Then, he neatly placed small items such as a small radio and gloves on the bedside table.
The metal button of the protective gloves clattered against the wooden bedside table. The outside was still noisy and bustling, but the inside of the tent felt like a different space, isolated from the outside world. There was almost no movement of air or sound, as if they were the only two people there.
The only noise permeating the quiet space somewhat loosened the taut tension. Thanks to this, Leonardo’s neck and shoulders belatedly complained of stiffness that he hadn’t been aware of all along.
Leonardo decided not to bother distinguishing whether the source of the comfort he felt was from being away from the gazes or from being with that person.
He leaned back against the head of the cot and massaged his left shoulder with his right hand. As he lost focus and stared blankly at the encroaching fatigue, he met Hugo’s eyes, who had already finished tidying up.
He tilted his head slightly, conveying a ‘why?’ with his languid eyes. As if that was the trigger, Hugo, who seemed to take a few steps with his long legs, was already approaching him in no time. Leonardo’s hand, which had been touching his shoulder, moved to his neck, which had become stiff from looking up at the large man.
Hugo glanced at that hand and then met his eyes again, saying.
“Thank you, Leonardo.”
It was a thank you that might have felt out of the blue, but Leonardo knew immediately what he was talking about.
But he pretended not to know.
“For what?”
Guessing that the conversation would be long, Hugo pulled a wooden chair next to him and placed it next to the cot he was sitting on. Sitting facing each other at a lower eye level, Leonardo’s hand, which had been covering his neck, moved back to his left shoulder. He looked a little more comfortable that way.
A few minutes ago, there had been quite a commotion outside.
Rainer, looking at the affiliation engraved on the armband Kenneth had handed him, smelled the rotten blood from the stains and his eyes changed. He immediately asked Kenneth sternly where he had found it.
Kenneth replied that he had wandered around and found it, so he didn’t remember well, but Rainer pressed him somewhat forcefully, telling him to remember at least the direction.
Hugo and Bruno, who had turned their heads at his loud voice raised in excitement, mentioned that Kenneth Weaver had also been a missing person and stopped Rainer, saying that it was not respectful to a survivor who had returned with a comrade’s belongings.
At that, Rainer immediately looked back at himself and apologized to Kenneth for acting rashly, but also requested Hugo and Bruno to release a search party to find the location.
Bruno, seeing the tattered clothes and the bloodstains that had been there for quite some time, judged that there was no hope and suggested that it would be better to conduct the search after dawn, as it was dangerous now that the sun had set. However, Rainer stubbornly insisted that his subordinate might be dying at this very moment.
And then, it was Leonardo who told him the location where he had found the belongings.
Amidst the questioning gazes directed at him, Leonardo specifically described the location to Rainer, mentioning the exact coordinates and the approximate time it would take. He also described the scene he had seen and added that he shouldn’t expect anything in the end.
Rainer, who had been watching silently with a dubious expression, left a thank you with a hardened face. Then, he disappeared from the spot in no time.
Hugo’s consciousness, which had been recalling the situation for a moment, returned to the tent. Then, looking at Leonardo’s shoulder, which looked emptier than before, he opened his mouth.
“I couldn’t see your cloak, so I wondered if you had lost it, but it turned out that it was covering our member’s belongings.”
“……”
“…I mean, thank you for bringing your comrade back to our side. Whether it’s Kenneth Weaver or the owner of those belongings.”
Leonardo’s eyebrows twitched slightly at Hugo’s words.
This person seemed to already be convinced that Kenneth and he, who were found separately, had been together at that point. It was reasonable to infer, since he had said the location where he had found the belongings himself, but it was unexpected that he had even noticed that the black cloth was his cloak.
He was worried that his words might get twisted later, but he didn’t think it was necessary to deny it, so Leonardo pointed out the other part.
“I couldn’t bring back the owner of the belongings… I told you not to expect him to be alive.”
“I’m not expecting anything, as you said. You, who saw the scene directly, would know best about whether he’s alive or dead. But there’s a clear difference between losing a comrade without knowing anything and finding even a trace. I’m just thankful to you for making that difference.”
Hugo blinked slowly and stared straight ahead.
“Not just me, but all of us will be grateful to you.”
The lamp hanging on the wall flickered, and the blue pupils in the shadows under Hugo’s brow bone glowed faintly. Leonardo’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the blue color, which seemed both gentle and bitter today.
Honestly, he hadn’t done it to hear words of gratitude. He didn’t know the situation would turn out like this, and it was just a matter of ethics.
But if the traces of death he had found had lessened the sadness in those eyes even a little, he suddenly thought it was really fortunate that they had caught his eye. At the same time, he understood why he was a respected commander who knew how to express quiet sadness at the death of his subordinate.
However, he didn’t like this atmosphere of mourning and the depressed air that seemed to dig down to the ends of the earth. Leonardo glanced away and habitually stroked his left shoulder and collarbone. He wanted to get through this moment by answering appropriately.
“Well…”
“Is your shoulder not feeling well?”
Hugo suddenly changed the subject and asked, seeing his actions. He had been concerned about his behavior of constantly touching his shoulder.
If it had been before, he wouldn’t have even thought of asking, assuming that he wouldn’t get an answer, but this time he decided not to beat around the bush. He was worried that he might have been injured in the process of holding onto the two people who had lost consciousness at the collapse site in the canyon, as his arm must have been strained a lot.
Hugo leaned forward slightly, sitting on the edge of the chair as if to check on Leonardo’s condition. As he approached, Leonardo moved back as if trying to get away.
However, since he was sitting, he couldn’t go back as much as he intended, and he suddenly felt something touching his leg. Leonardo reflexively looked down.
One of Hugo’s long legs, which was difficult to handle, had slightly squeezed between Leonardo’s legs. It was just that the knee was slightly touching, but the feeling was quite unfamiliar. Even though they had even rolled around in the forest together, it felt as sensitive as if it were a place that shouldn’t be touched.
Slightly flustered, Leonardo quickly lowered the hand that had been touching his shoulder. Then, he supported himself with one arm behind him and blocked Hugo’s chest with the other hand. He tried to maintain his composure and answered casually.
“No, it’s not so bad that I can’t use it.”
Hugo paused for a moment at the action of maintaining distance as if telling him not to come closer. His handsome brow furrowed at Leonardo’s words, which described his body as if it were a part.
“I saw a big scar before, too. Leonardo, if you have any injuries, you have to tell me right away. The later the treatment, the slower the recovery.”
“It’s nothing. And everyone has one of these.”
Hugo couldn’t tell whether he simply didn’t want to show it or wanted to hide his weakness, as he even curled his upper body as if trying to hide it afterward.
So, with a more certain method, he reached out his hand unhesitatingly towards Leonardo’s left shoulder. Of course, he was stopped before long.
Hugo’s unexpected action made the tension inside the tent, which had been loosened, taut again. Leonardo’s pupils, which had contracted sharply, stared fiercely at Hugo’s hand, which had come close, and then slowly moved to his blue eyes.
His cold golden eyes, which had become chilly after a long time, looked up at him and said.
“I didn’t say you could touch me.”
His low voice clearly warned. Hugo stopped his outstretched hand and looked down at him quietly as the strong grip tightened on his wrist as if he would break it if he came any closer.
He gets closer when he thinks he’s gotten a little closer, and then moves away again. He sharpens his edge again when he thinks the guard has loosened a little. He couldn’t figure out how to handle him at all.
But he couldn’t help but worry about him because he was too reckless and foolish to just leave him alone while maintaining the distance he wanted. He acted like a child left out in the water.
Hugo, staring quietly at his fierce eyes, let out a small sigh that could barely be heard. Then, he slightly changed the direction of his outstretched hand.
“Then here?”
His fingertips touched his soft cheek. He felt the soft texture that he would never have known until he touched it and rubbed it lightly. His touch, which carefully caressed his skin, contained its own affection.
Leonardo made a dumbfounded expression when his long, cool fingers suddenly brushed against his face. He was the one who suddenly changed course, but he himself was not normal for not being able to stop the hand that was heading for his face, even though he had instinctively blocked his shoulder.
He didn’t know how to react to the hand that was now approaching him without hesitation, so he stayed still, and the hand that touched his face stayed there for quite a long time, as if leaving a mark that it could go.
Leonardo frowned slightly and looked up at him, not knowing what he wanted from him with his indifferent and cold face and the increasingly persistent touch, and laughed in vain.
As if he was about to cross the line. The precarious touch lingered and was withdrawn when the medical team outside the tent announced their arrival.
The medical team came all the way to the tent where the Legion Commander was staying, but they didn’t do much other than give Leonardo simple treatment for bruises and spray him with a muscle pain relief spray.
This was partly because he didn’t like other people’s hands touching his body, but also because his condition was better than expected.
The medical officer who examined his body exclaimed that it was nothing short of a miracle, but also nagged the Legion Commander, saying, “How is it that you get hurt more than the members?” This was because he had come back with a blue bruise on his abdomen this time, even though his right arm, which had been stitched up before, had not fully recovered.
Leonardo, who was a little surprised to hear that Hugo had stitched up his arm, soon realized that he was also the cause of the bruise that the officer was talking about and glanced at him with a slightly apologetic look.
Hugo chuckled during the treatment, as if his face was quite worth seeing, and the medical team thought that the Legion Commander must be very tired, and quickly left after a simple treatment.
Thanks to this, Leonardo tried to apologize for kicking him in the gap where they were left alone again, but Hugo put on his clothes again and said, “Don’t go anywhere and rest here,” and immediately went out of the tent.
He hadn’t heard anything in particular, but Leonardo intuitively predicted that a meeting would be held among the Council Commanders who had gathered earlier, judging from his hurried appearance. And he thought that there might be someone in there who would question his whereabouts during his disappearance.
Leonardo, who was left alone in the huge tent, clasped his hands behind his head and flopped down on the cot. All sorts of doubts and anxieties crept in, wondering if his words that he wouldn’t put handcuffs on him would still be valid after the meeting, and whether he could just let it go because he had returned safely.
Honestly, he wanted to stop thinking now, but his current situation didn’t allow it. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, and decided to organize his messed-up head while he was left alone. Now was not the time to rest comfortably.
‘I’ve moved too much in the last few days. If there’s a lot of movement, there will definitely be gaps.’
When he squinted his eyes again, the first thing he saw was the lamp hanging in the center of the hexagonal ceiling. Leonardo blinked slowly, staring blankly at the light of the lamp.
‘Let’s think. What should I organize first, what will be an obstacle?’
The light spreading from the lamp illuminated the inside of the tent dimly, but also made the supports that stretched out from the center of the ceiling in six angles more visible. Leonardo, staring at it quietly, began to retrace his past actions, experiences, and what he had learned, assigning them to each line one by one.
He was rescued from the collapse site by Nero, and then met Alex Siles and made a contract after regaining consciousness. Then, in order to let them know that he was alive, he headed to the mining team’s hideout with footprints left in the swamp to find Etaid, and in the process, he caught the circumstances that the Council Battalion Commander was involved in illegal mining.
After getting out of there, he heard the hidden secrets and history of the Eldermilli Peninsula in the forest, and the hypothesis that it was being deliberately neglected, and then…
His brow furrowed slightly as he blinked and thought carefully. He had listed them one by one, but he felt like he was missing something.
‘What is it? There was something unsettling.’
Leonardo, who had been staring at the last of the six lines spread out before him, suddenly rolled his eyes towards the tent entrance. A figure was flickering in front of it.
For a moment, he wondered if Agrizendro had already returned, but judging by the size of the shadow and the bustling movements, it was definitely not him.
Leonardo narrowed his eyes and slowly sat up from the cot, making sure not to make any noise. He glanced around, wondering if the medical team had left something behind, but there was nothing that seemed to fit the bill.
As he stared at the figure outside the tent again, a familiar voice was heard.
“Blaine, are you there?”
Leonardo’s expression quickly relaxed, his wariness fading away. He immediately got up from his seat. The owner of the voice was Kenneth.
He quickly walked to the tent entrance, grabbed the fabric of the entrance, which was closed like a curtain, and slightly pulled it to both sides. Then he saw Kenneth, who was looking around as if to say, “I have business here.”
“Hey.”
When he called out in a small voice, Kenneth turned his head in surprise, then made a happy expression.
“Blaine!”
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah, well… Could I come inside and talk to you?”
Kenneth seemed to know that he was the only one in the tent right now. From his words, Leonardo could tell that he was deliberately waiting for this timing to have a private conversation. He was already looking for an opportunity to talk alone, so it worked out well.
“Wait, before that, do you know where your Legion Commander went?”
“He’s in a meeting with the other Battalion Commanders right now. It looks like it’ll take a while.”
He wanted to check the meeting site with his own eyes, but unfortunately, this tent was covered by other tents, so he couldn’t see the outside situation properly. However, thinking that other people’s eyes wouldn’t reach here either, Leonardo looked around and nodded.
“Come in.”
In principle, it was the tent used by the Legion Commander, and a regular soldier shouldn’t enter due to various safety and security issues, but it occurred to him that this was the only place where he could secretly meet Kenneth alone while Agrizendro was away.
Thinking of finishing the conversation as quickly as possible and sending him out before he returned, Leonardo slightly lifted the entrance and gestured for him to come in.
Kenneth, who had been very nervous, hurried inside at the sign. As he entered, Leonardo looked outside one last time and then closed the entrance of the tent.
It was right after he firmly closed the entrance that he realized Kenneth was the last of the six lines that hadn’t come to mind.