By Zephyria The coldness of the hand ruffling his hair cooled his flushed scalp. It was a playful yet gentle touch.
Leonardo, who would normally have pushed him away for treating him like a child, didn’t respond at all. He simply lowered his head slightly following the touch, and then looked up at Hugo when he was about to pull away.
‘Use it together…?’
He felt inexplicably shy and only moved his lips. In a short moment, all sorts of imaginations flashed through his mind.
Could it be? So soon…? He was taken aback by the sudden proposal, but the desire not to miss the opportunity also coexisted. There are still a lot of reporters outside, wouldn’t they follow him? But since the owner himself had invited him, it wouldn’t be polite to refuse.
Hugo, seeing that his answer was delayed due to various thoughts, asked calmly.
“Do you have any plans after this?”
Leonardo covered his mouth with the hand holding the gauze and replied.
“…No.”
“That’s a relief then. I wouldn’t want a Duke to be stood up on his birthday.”
Hugo, with a faint smile, tapped his cheek a couple of times. Leonardo was dumbfounded by his confidence that he wouldn’t be rejected, but he didn’t bother to deny it. Instead, he had a sullen face as if he was pondering something, and then suddenly threw out a question.
“Is there a bathhouse there?”
“Hmm?”
“A bathhouse big enough to swim in.”
Gold Eyes asked cautiously, watching the man’s reaction. Hugo’s eyebrows slowly rose and then slowly nodded.
“Of course.”
“Then, is there anything delicious? I want to eat steak. And turbot and octopus dishes, grilled in butter.”
“There are all kinds of delicacies.”
As if he was going to evaluate whether it was a place worth going to, Leonardo listed a lot of elements that he thought were good. Each time, Hugo willingly answered. As if he had gathered all the rare things in the world there, there was no sign of hesitation at all.
After several rounds of questions and answers, Leonardo answered as if he had finally decided to go, as if he was doing a favor.
“Then… let’s use it together.”
Clearly, he was the owner, but it looked like the other person was giving permission. Hugo let out a small laugh.
“Okay.”
He then neatly swept back the hair that he had messed up with his own hands. He bent down slightly, rested his hand on the bed table, and approached his round forehead with slow movements.
Leonardo, who had reflexively sensed the action that would follow, squeezed his eyes shut. As soon as his breath touched the center of his forehead, a tingling current flowed through him.
Just as his lips lingered for a moment and moved away, his trembling eyelids reopened.
“…What was that, all of a sudden.”
“It’s an honor.”
The ‘honor’ that Hugo’s curved blue eyes offered always weakened his heart. Leonardo deliberately made a sullen expression and looked up at Hugo. He had already done worse things, but he found it ridiculous that he was closing his eyes just because he had received a kiss on the forehead.
Hugo, who had been touching his forehead where the residual heat remained, moved his upper body back. Then, without any further comment, he simply nodded.
“See you later.”
Leaving behind a simple promise, he walked out with the drooping cloak over his arm. Leonardo’s eyes followed the afterimage until the door closed with a click.
As the outside noise that had briefly entered was completely cut off, he was reminded that he was alone. Only then did reality hit him.
His tense Adam’s apple involuntarily swayed. Another bitter taste of blood passed over, but he had no time to care.
Leonardo, who had been making a blank expression, grabbed his bangs as if he was confused. With that gap, his forehead, which had been reddened, was revealed.
‘…What should I do?’
As soon as he went outside, Hugo instructed the guards to strengthen their security and turned the corner, he encountered the members of his team coming from the opposite side.
“Commander, good evening.”
“Good evening.”
He quickly moved on, greeting his subordinates, who seemed to have something to say.
“Yes. Good work.”
Normally, he would have patted the shoulders of those who were working late, but he only gave a fleeting answer and passed by in a hurry.
The team members, who had been deliberately putting on bright faces, became embarrassed and looked at each other. Then, they recalled the Commander’s attire, which was far from his uniform, and understood on their own. He must have been very busy with the big issue that had happened earlier, and the Commander must have been very tired, being human.
Moreover, even though there was an opening ceremony, it was a bit much to work all night until his birthday.
The team members busily moved, saying that they should hurry up and finish their work and go home.
Meanwhile, Hugo, leaving them behind, entered a bathroom in a deserted hallway. He checked that there were no signs of anyone inside and closed the door.
After freezing the doorknob so that it couldn’t be opened from the outside, he passed the urinals lined up in a row and entered a stall.
Bang―
He roughly closed the door and threw the cloak he had been carrying over his arm on top of it. Then, his lower body, which had been hidden all along, was revealed.
The shape, which was bulging as if he had been holding it in for a long time, was thick at a glance. Hugo immediately unbuckled his belt with both hands.
Clang, the sound of metal clashing echoed in succession. The moment he opened the button fly that had been fastening his front, he felt a sense of liberation. The heat and excitement that had been stagnant for a long time were ejected outward at once.
The blue eyes that had been looking down dryly were tightly closed and then opened. Veins that shouldn’t have been there stood out on his neat temples.
“…I’m out of my mind.”
Knock knock―
“Excuse me. I’m from the Xenogrant League Operations Headquarters. May I come in for a moment to deliver the match results?”
Leonardo, who had been pacing back and forth in the lounge, lost in thought, suddenly raised his head. He looked at the clock and saw that it was well past midnight, but it was earlier than he had expected. He tried to approach the door, but then he scrambled back into bed.
Then, as if he had been in that position all along, he leaned his upper body on the table, crossed his arms, and replied,
“Come in.”
As soon as the permission was granted, the door opened, and unlike the expectation of a staff member appearing, a familiar face was seen first. It was Ero, whom he had parted ways with while being chased by reporters. Leonardo’s eyes widened at the unexpected appearance.
“Brother―!”
Ero rushed towards Leonardo as if he had heard tragic news about a sworn brother. Then, he fussed over Leonardo in his patient gown, looking him up and down.
“B-Brother. What happened? Were you badly injured? No, a nosebleed….”
“…I didn’t tell you to come in.”
“Oh, Brother! Don’t be like that between us!”
“Lion has also worked as a sparring partner and has been constantly worried ever since, so I brought him here.”
The staff member from the Operations Headquarters added that Ero had helped them apprehend the reporters by driving them all to one place. Therefore, although there should be a penalty for the two who had entered a restricted area, it was taken into consideration that they did not have malicious intentions such as leaking league information, and they would not face any disadvantages related to the match.
“We are also at fault for not protecting the two of you who strayed from the restricted area, so this matter will be overlooked, but in fact, the entry of outsiders into the Operations Headquarters is a very serious issue. Today, a large number of personnel were inevitably moved to repair the arena’s interior walls and maintain the safety of the audience, creating a void. Therefore, we ask that you cooperate with the movement radius restriction measures so that this situation does not occur again in the future.”
A polite lecture followed. Leonardo, relieved that there was no penalty, casually listened to the endless sermon and nodded, saying he would keep it in mind.
“So, the result?”
In fact, he never thought he would be eliminated. Even the Council would regret eliminating him. He had so much more to show.
Besides, Ero’s lips had been twitching as if he was trying to hold back a smile, so he had a rough idea. The smiling staff member calmly announced.
“Congratulations, both of you. You have both passed the final round of the first part of the test match.”
“Waah! Brother!”
Ero made his own sound effects and burst into celebration. He grabbed Leonardo’s left hand and shook it up and down, expressing his joy.
“It’s all thanks to you, Brother! Hehe, I look forward to working with you during the league!”
“Who said I’d be with you again….”
Leonardo was about to playfully push him away, saying, ‘Who said I’d be with you?’, but he remembered something more important and immediately asked the staff member.
“Ah, what about that whip? Is that guy eliminated?”
“If you’re referring to the league alias ‘Appendix’, he voluntarily withdrew and was eliminated.”
“What?”
“Since there was one less passer who needed judgment, all the final Portal passers were ultimately passed without further discussion.”
Leonardo blinked several times. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Wait, wait. That guy who was so desperate to get through gave up? That doesn’t make sense.”
“The operations team also wanted to ask about the circumstances leading up to the withdrawal declaration, but the participant himself signed the withdrawal confirmation and expressed his intention not to cooperate with the investigation.”
“…Where is that guy now?”
“Information regarding the personal details of participants is prohibited from being disclosed externally, so I cannot provide you with details. We ask for your understanding.”
Leonardo frowned.
‘This makes it even more suspicious.’
He was acting as a gatekeeper throughout the match, and as soon as I appeared, he threw himself at me to confront me. But in the end, when it looked like he was going to pass, he voluntarily withdrew and disappeared?
That was the moment he became even more convinced of the guy’s purpose.
‘Does he know who I am? Is he trying to eliminate a potential winner in advance? Or….’
Suddenly, he remembered the stalker who had been following him recently.
‘Does he have a grudge against me?’
Ero, noticing his increasingly serious expression, changed the subject to lighten the mood.
“Brother, forget about that guy. We’re in a good mood, so how about we go out for a drink? There are a lot of good pubs around here. I’ll treat!”
“According to the medical team, Lion currently has a ruptured nasal mucosa with bleeding, so it would be best to refrain from drinking.”
“Ah, then I’ll treat you to a meal….”
“No.”
Leonardo, who had been deep in thought, glanced around. He then took his feet off the bed and got up.
‘If I ask the Legion Commander, I can get information about him or anything else.’
He ran his heated hand through his hair, revealing half of his forehead with a cool breeze. He turned to Ero, shrugged, and grabbed the memo in his pocket.
“I have a prior engagement.”