By Zephyria A moment of silence flowed at the unexpected words.
“……?”
Leonardo’s brow furrowed as if he had heard a strange sound.
Hugo, who was staring at his face, suddenly approached him by about three steps at a thought that came to mind. Then, he naturally sat down next to him, resting his hands on the ground.
He wondered how long it had been since he had just sat on the bare ground without anything to sit on. If this wasn’t the Peninsula, all sorts of practitioners would have been shocked and rushed over.
When he put his hands behind him and looked up at the sky, which seemed particularly high, it wasn’t too bad. It also seemed like the guy sitting next to him wouldn’t have as much neck pain.
The question mark that didn’t disappear from his widened eyes was quite a sight to see.
“Why… are you sitting here?”
“…Why, can’t I?”
“No, it’s not that, but….”
‘Why are you sitting so close to me?’
He swallowed the rest of his words, but his face was full of reluctance. As if reading Leonardo’s mind, Hugo leaned his upper body forward a little and said.
“It’s better to be close to talk. I think this is more comfortable for you than looking up.”
The stream of water that sprang from his palm surrounded his entire large hand and rippled. The clean stream of water wiped away the dirt that had been buried on the ground and disappeared without leaving a single drop of water.
Leonardo watched the scene silently, then blinked his eyes a couple of times before slowly lifting his eyelids again. He wondered what he was going to talk about, and he was uneasy that a difficult question like before would come out. In the midst of that, being too close was a perfect distance to read his expression.
“What are you going to talk about?”
His voice was lower than before. His eyes shone faintly as if he was exploring. Alec’s note and the bumpy Nero’s Ring rustled as they brushed against his fingertips in his pocket. He hoped it wasn’t about that.
“Well… this and that. It seems like I’ll be busy soon, so there are things I want to say before that.”
Hugo said that and turned his head to the front. The huge mountain range at the end of his gaze soared so high that its end could not be seen.
In fact, the illegal mining team and the informant, and whether the words were true or not, were not things that could be judged and decided right now. So Hugo, who was looking into the distance, pushed the thoughts about things that could not be answered immediately into a corner of his mind.
In this Peninsula, where the issue of survival today and tomorrow is more urgent than compliance, the previous concerns were not so important in a way.
What he had to consider most important now was ‘that existence’ that might be there.
Hugo was planning to go directly into that place with the Battalion Commanders within at least three days to confirm the existence. This was because it was suggested at the meeting earlier that the cause of the strong wave that occurred during the day was most likely ‘that’.
‘As a result of analyzing the location of the wave that occurred about five hours ago, the first shock wave occurred in the area of No. 112 peak to No. 119 peak, which are located in the due south direction from the current location, and No. 118 peak is the most likely epicenter. We tried to enter the interior 10 minutes after the wave occurred to find out the cause, but we temporarily withdrew due to the occurrence of additional shock waves and the appearance of a large number of Illaptors.’
‘After installing an energy detector near No. 118 peak and analyzing the data collected in real time, the value went up and down in response to an unknown force, and then it went dead. This phenomenon usually occurs when the device far exceeds the limit that it can detect….’
Far exceeding the limit that the device can detect. That alone made it possible to predict that it was an existence of a different dimension from the demon beasts he had seen so far. So tonight was like the eve of a storm.
He didn’t know when he would be able to face this silence again after today. Hugo stared at the foot of the mountain in the dark and glanced to the side.
He felt like he had to say the words he had been putting off due to various situations now. That was why he had asked him to come out together in the first place.
After hesitating several times, Hugo hardened his heart and slowly opened his mouth.
“Leonardo, is it very hard being here?”
Leonardo, who was looking at the high mountain range following his gaze, turned his head at the sudden question.
“What?”
His elegant eyebrows were raised as if he had heard something strange again.
Hugo looked at him and recalled the moment when he had set foot in this base camp with him.
His appearance, which seemed particularly tired in front of others, was as delicate and sharp as broken glass, as if his inner self was completely exposed. Not the exterior that he was packaging as if nothing was wrong, but his true inner self that came out when he had no room to care about anything.
Leonardo’s eyes narrowed slightly at Hugo’s appearance, who had thrown a question that he couldn’t understand and was quietly waiting for an answer. After grasping the situation for a while, he soon asked back in a much colder voice.
“You know that now?”
That one word made him feel a stinging pain, as if the thorns of resentment were strongly piercing him. Because of that, a bitter smile hung on Hugo’s lips.
“No, I knew it.”
“Then why are you asking all of a sudden?”
As cold eyes and words continued, Hugo lowered his gaze a little. Then he turned his eyes to the sky above the base camp and said.
“I’m going to tell you to endure a little longer. A lot has happened while you were gone.”
Leonardo’s head tilted slightly to the side with a frown. It was because he didn’t understand the meaning of the words. Hugo, who didn’t know that because he was looking elsewhere, quietly stared at the members who were moving busily. As he organized the words he wanted to say for a while, he slowly opened his mouth.
“In the past few days, we’ve gained new possibilities and a purpose. The Council’s exploration team has uncovered numerous truths hidden on this peninsula, and those truths have led to new hypotheses that didn’t exist before. Thanks to that, the direction we need to take has become clearer. …Perhaps, we can shorten the time required by a significant amount.”
His lingering gaze turned back to Gold Eyes.
“It means our subjugation is not far off.”
The long eyelashes that framed his eyes trembled, slowly opening and closing. It was a reaction as if he had been waiting to hear those words.
Hugo, who had been silently watching him for a moment, gently brushed the golden hair that had grown long enough to prick his eyes, and said,
“It must be very difficult being here. I understand completely. If I were in your situation, receiving uncomfortable gazes from people and forced to continue an inescapable companionship, and if I had to fight for them… No matter the circumstances, I would hate that moment so much I couldn’t bear it. I would just wish for everything to end quickly.”
“……”
“…I’m sorry that I, who brought you here, am such a flawed and immature adult who can’t even properly protect you in that situation.”
Leonardo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He was a little surprised and felt alienated by Hugo’s words, as he tried to understand his situation and humbled himself.
The brushed-aside golden hair fell back down. Hugo tried to sweep it back again, but his hand stopped in mid-air. He thought it would contradict what he was about to say.
“I know that I play a big part in that uncomfortable situation. I also know that my actions and judgments before betrayed your trust.”
“……”
“You must have hated, disliked, and loathed me.”
The silent red lips parted slightly. He seemed to have something to say, but Hugo felt inexplicably afraid of what might come out of his mouth. So, instead of waiting for him to speak, he quickly grabbed his hand, which had already slipped out of his pocket, and added,
“But Leonardo… I won’t say it’s for your sake this time. It may sound shameless, but I have a favor to ask.”
Leonardo, who had lowered his gaze to the sensation of his hand being enveloped, looked up again at the word “favor.”
The large hand gripped his hand tightly. The strength conveyed a sense of desperation.
“Please trust me and endure a little longer. And until this subjugation, which is not far off, is over, please, don’t go anywhere and stay by my side. So that I can take responsibility for you until the end.”
The blue eyes that met his pleaded calmly.
“So that I can let you go.”
The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy with his serious story.
His eyes were calm, but the words he conveyed did not come across as calmly, so Leonardo could only stare at him for a while without answering.
“……”
Stay by his side so he could let him go?
It was very paradoxical. In many ways.
The confusion it caused was considerable, and he had quite a few thoughts.
It was ironic that an adult, who was bigger and stronger than him in many ways, called himself inadequate, and that he asked for something Leonardo had taken for granted.
But thanks to that, he could vaguely guess why Hugo hadn’t asked him about his actions in detail.
‘This person thinks I didn’t come back because of him.’
The man in front of him seemed to know that he had deliberately not returned after escaping from the collapse site and had been hiding. He had even intentionally drawn attention and ran away after being discovered, but he hadn’t asked why.
He was relieved but also uneasy. Now he realized that this person seemed to think that he hated him and didn’t return because he was upset by the previous test of his unstable control.
And he seemed to have decided to understand his deviation, which seemed to stem from such resentment, and therefore hadn’t asked.
Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t have such feelings at all… but frankly, it wasn’t a big part of it. He thought Hugo was misunderstanding something, and suddenly he remembered the words he had heard on the way back to this base camp.
‘In the first place, the reason you got separated from the group is largely my responsibility for not holding onto you properly.’
He had wanted Hugo to blame himself, but at the time, he had wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, which was contradictory.
It was clearly he who had let go of his hand, but he wondered why Hugo was suffering from unnecessary responsibility, and there was an unwise aspect that was unlike his usual cool self. That tiring mindset was similar to his, so it was hard to ignore.
Uneven warmth was transmitted through the hand he was holding. He could feel a subtle Magic Power, as if he was deliberately keeping his originally cold hand warm, but unlike his usual composure, the warmth felt somehow clumsy. But that made him realize once again that this warmth, which he had felt before, was Hugo’s consideration.
Leonardo closed his eyes tightly. Then he recalled the paradox that Hugo had spoken of.
He didn’t want to make the atmosphere heavier at a distance where his expression could be easily read, so he soon opened his eyes and faced him with an indifferent expression. He wanted to answer calmly in the same way, but the tone that came out was different from what he intended, and it was curt.
“Do I look that thoughtless?”
Hugo’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Leonardo lightly shook his hand, which was entangled in Hugo’s large hand and unable to move, in front of his eyes and added,
“I was going to stay put even if you didn’t ask me to. I told you, I let you catch me, not you catching me. That’s why I’m staying quiet like this.”
Hugo’s gaze briefly touched their clasped hands. Seeing that he wasn’t pulling away, it sounded like a confirmation that he would stay by his side, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
However, the tightly intertwined hands were soon pushed aside by Leonardo. Instead, his shining golden eyes leaned in, bringing his face even closer.
“But don’t get me wrong.”
Then he said as if to make sure he understood clearly.
“The reason I’m fighting here is for Major Hares, who suffered because of the demon beast, and her people, and because of that promise you made to me. Not for you or the Council.”
It was as if he was telling him to wake up from unnecessary thoughts. Hugo’s lips, which had been slightly curved, returned to their original position. His eyes hardened slightly.
Leonardo, facing that face, straightened his upper body again. Then he pulled his hand out of the entangled hands and swept his hair back, following the breeze blowing from afar.
“…When I was locked up in the Council prison, you swore to me on your name. That if I participated in this subjugation and helped the Council, you would release me and never look for me again. Then and now, the only thing I can hold onto and rely on is that oath.”
The faint eyes, which had been wandering in the distant sky and reminiscing about the past, reached Hugo again.
“So I will trust you. No matter what you do.”