By Zephyria He had taken a shower earlier under the pretext of feeling uncomfortable from sweating, but he hadn’t been in the right state of mind to bring clothes to change into. So, he had picked up Agrizendro’s clothes that he had been wearing before and came outside.
Although it was a combat uniform, the material was much better than the Imperial Army’s uniform, and the owner of the clothes was quite large, so the fit was generous, and he didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable.
Afterwards, when he took off his top and received treatment from the medical officer, he was invariably handed the clothes again after the bandages were all wrapped. Above all, Agrizendro, the owner, hadn’t said anything, so he had been wearing them until now as if they were his own clothes.
However, he knew that the medical team that came and went inside and outside the cabin occasionally glanced at him. He also knew that they looked at the insignia of the Supreme Legion Commander on his chest with strange eyes.
The highest commander’s clothes were being worn by someone else, and even that person was an outsider who didn’t belong to the same organization. If they were affiliated with the Council, it would be natural for them to be concerned. He himself felt a little embarrassed to continue wearing this in the midst of such gazes.
Leonardo, who was looking down at his sleeves, glanced at Hugo. At that moment, he was also looking at him, so their eyes met, and he paused for a moment.
In that state, instead of saying anything, he just blinked his eyes blankly. It was a look that asked, “Should I take this off?” but the other person seemed to have understood it in a different sense. As if he thought he was asking him to explain how he came to wear these clothes, he soon briefly told him about the situation that had happened earlier.
“When you arrived here, your clothes were already very dirty. For hygiene reasons, you were undressed before the surgery, and after the treatment was over, you were arbitrarily dressed in my clothes.”
Leonardo, who hadn’t asked, naturally nodded. He knew better than anyone that his magic robe had become a rag, so he guessed that he had been changed for that reason. However, the questions of ‘Why your clothes?’ and ‘Who put them on?’ kept lingering on his tongue. However, he missed the timing to ask because of Hugo’s continued words.
“The magic robe you were wearing before will probably be difficult to function properly now. If it’s okay with you, I think it would be best to throw away that magic robe… Instead, I’ll get you a new one.”
“Huh? Really?”
Leonardo asked back as if he hadn’t expected it. Yet, his voice clearly revealed his unconcealed delight. Hugo nodded as if it were obvious, but turned to Flynn before asking Leonardo again.
“By the way, Leonardo, do you have any spare clothes?”
“…Spare clothes? Why?”
“You might be uncomfortable if you keep wearing that. I was wondering if you had any clothes in your Artifact to change into.”
Upon hearing Hugo’s words, Leonardo also turned his head towards Flynn. Before entering Zone 118, he had entrusted Flynn with the items that shouldn’t be lost in his Artifact. Of course, he had locked it so securely that no one else could open it.
After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Leonardo moved his lips and turned to Hugo, saying,
“No. That magic robe is all I have.”
At the returned answer, Hugo’s eyelids slowly blinked. It was fleeting, but his blue eyes slightly lifted and then lowered. Soon, he added without showing any particular reaction.
“Then wear it a little longer until we get you new clothes. The subjugation force and the entire Fidele are in a chaotic period right now, so it’ll be difficult for the time being… but I’ll get them to you as soon as possible. If necessary, you can change into Flynn’s clothes.”
Then Flynn interjected with a slightly troubled nuance.
“Um… wouldn’t my clothes be a bit small for Blaine? His arms and legs are much longer than mine…. Or, I can go out and borrow clothes from another member with a similar build. There seem to be about two suitable people in the 1st Battalion alone.”
“…That’s not a bad idea either.”
Hugo grudgingly agreed to the alternative suggested by Flynn. However, Leonardo, who had been watching the two people’s conversation, suddenly frowned and said.
“No.”
At the firm voice, Hugo and Flynn turned their heads towards him. Leonardo was momentarily embarrassed by the innermost thoughts that had popped out without him realizing it, but he maintained an indifferent expression. Clearing his throat, he continued with a reluctant face.
“I don’t want to borrow clothes from some stranger. It’s better to just wear this.”
It might seem picky, but Leonardo crossed his arms, asserting his stubbornness. He had laughed when the warden told him that the Legion Commander had specially bestowed combat uniforms even in the Zodiac, but he didn’t feel good about wearing it in this way. Nevertheless, it was much better than wearing the combat uniform of some Council guy he didn’t even know.
As Leonardo frowned as if he absolutely hated it, Hugo, who had been staring at him silently, suddenly let out a small laugh. Soon, he pressed down on Leonardo’s furrowed brow with his hand and opened his mouth in a voice mixed with a faint smile.
“Okay. There’s no need to borrow someone else’s clothes. Do as you please.”
It wasn’t sarcastic, but rather a nuance of really letting him do as he pleased, but to Leonardo, it sounded like he was coaxing a stubborn child. Because of that, he narrowed his eyes and rubbed the spot on his brow where Hugo’s hand had passed with the back of his hand.
Even so, he lowered his gaze for no reason and replayed his earlier statement.
‘Why did I lie?’
He had a lot of clothes piled up in the Artifact for disguise while living in hiding. He had even shown the two people in front of him wearing different clothes while acting as a low-ranking merchant in frost territory.
Fortunately, neither of them seemed to notice anything strange, but he himself wondered why he had pretended that he had no clothes to change into.
With a complicated face, Leonardo unconsciously touched his neck. Then, Agrizendro suddenly covered his hand with a large hand. Startled by it, Leonardo looked up at him, and Hugo’s gaze, which he couldn’t understand, fell over his eyes.
Leonardo tilted his head in bewilderment as he gazed into the blue eyes.
It seemed as if an inexplicable joy was lingering on the other person’s indifferent face.
^
Flynn, having finished cleaning up, went outside to collect the reports in place of Hugo, who must be tired. As the situation where only the two of them were left returned again, Leonardo felt as if a soup with nothing to cause indigestion was firmly stuck in his solar plexus.
He was very conscious of the fact that he was in the same space with that person. This situation was uncomfortable.
As an extension of the fact that he had been looking at him on his own earlier, now all his senses were focused on that person.
But Hugo was sitting cross-legged on a makeshift chair next to the desk, constantly looking at only the map on which something was marked. He felt that he shouldn’t disturb this silence because he seemed to be concentrating quite a bit, so he became careful in every action.
Thanks to that, only the sound of turning paper occasionally brushed by, and Leonardo grabbed his shoulder and spun it around, checking the range of motion of his arm.
Honestly, he thought he would be able to go outside once he had taken all the prescribed medicine. But that was a big miscalculation. First of all, he hadn’t finished the soup, and even after taking the medicine and confirming that his condition was fine, Agrizendro wouldn’t let him out.
The reason was that he needed more recovery to go out yet, but although it was for protection, in reality, he felt like he was being forcibly confined.
But time was passing more and more, and his worries about Nero were slowly growing. Leonardo, who thought he couldn’t go on like this, eventually cautiously called Hugo.
“Agrizendro.”
Leonardo always alerted those around him by saying ‘you know’ or calling their name first when he had something he was curious about or wanted. Hugo, who now knew his way of expressing himself quite well, guessed from the gentle voice calling him that he had something to say to him.
Sure enough, when he raised his head, Leonardo approached him with a listless expression. Sitting on the edge of the deck, he leaned his upper body forward and muttered in a rather sullen tone.
“I want to go outside. It’s stuffy here.”
How could he ignore such a lovely face pleading? Hugo, who had been quietly looking at Leonardo, slowly shook his head.
“It’s better to rest inside for the time being. Even if your recovery is fast, you shouldn’t forget that you’re a patient.”
“But I want to get some fresh air. I feel like my muscles are atrophying because I’ve been lying down all the time.”
Leonardo grumbled and gently placed his hand on Hugo’s arm hanging on the armrest. At the light touch of pressing down as if urging him, Hugo’s gaze went down to that spot and then met Gold Eyes again.
He still seemed to lack energy, but his inherently outstanding cunning didn’t seem to be going anywhere. He wanted to let it go appropriately at the sight of him properly using his strengths.
But there was something he wanted to hear first. It seemed like he could talk comfortably since it was just the two of them.
“Leonardo.”
“Yeah?”
As Hugo folded the map and straightened his upper body that had been leaning back, Leonardo looked at him with expectant eyes.
But his voice, which then set the mood, instinctively made him feel a bad premonition.
“There was something you said you would explain to me before. I’d like to hear about that.”