BMD 556

Leonardo needed time to process the situation.

Sensing this, the child first introduced this garden as the backyard they had mentioned. Of course, the structure was somewhat unnatural for what people typically consider a backyard, as there were no visible buildings or paths connecting it to the child’s cottage.

This land existed in isolation, like a cottage sitting lonely in the middle of a vast lake, as if it were the very first stepping stone of a world currently being created.

In all directions, the unfinished background was dyed in a pale pink, reminiscent of a sunset sky. The Swamp of Thoughts and the Hiatus Temple had already been headache-inducing spaces, but with something even more surreal unfolding before his eyes, Leonardo gave up on trying to gauge the true nature of this place.

Still, the cozy vegetation—the lily-of-the-valley by the pond and the short wild strawberry bushes—brought a sense of stability to his mind.

Light, descending from an unknown source, illuminated the grass, making it look like a brilliant golden field. Only then did he notice the distortion in the space between two stone pillars. Leonardo instinctively sensed that this was the Spatio-temporal Passage through which he had crossed while carrying the child.

His comrades, who had defied his order to wait patiently and crossed over, were not repentant; instead, they were eyeing the child warily, like beasts with their hackles raised.

“I told you it’s fine. Nothing happened.”

“Nothing happened because we came. Do you want to keep acting so naive?”

Nero and Taylor were particularly prickly toward the child. It was understandable, given that she had caused them to lose consciousness whenever she took them away. However, when he heard that he could have spent more time there if these two hadn’t interfered… honestly, he felt a little, just a tiny bit, disappointed.

He had wanted to personally watch over Theodore until the moment he safely left the peninsula. If possible, until the very moment his life ended.

But he couldn’t spend a lifetime there. He couldn’t simply ignore the comrades who were waiting for him.

‘I don’t even know how much time has passed.’

And when he heard about that ‘time’ from the child, Leonardo couldn’t help but be surprised once again.

“Only two hours have passed?”

“Yes. To be precise, it’s been a bit longer, but not that much time.”

“Not that much? Who knows how many hours it would have taken if we hadn’t come looking for you?”

Taylor, who had wrapped her arms around Leonardo’s neck from behind, growled in disbelief. It was a natural reaction, as there was no way to know how many days had passed in the past during those mere two hours. Leonardo placed a hand on her head and spoke.

“Is this also because the flow of time is different? Or was everything I saw just a dream?”

He asked casually, but the corners of his lips trembled. He didn’t want to believe that the things he had experienced were merely a dream.

Though they weren’t as precious as the comrades by his side, the soldiers he had shared joys and sorrows with, the spirited silver knights, and even the Sun King who led them—even if it was a world viewed through Nomon’s body, he wanted to believe that he had truly existed within it and fought alongside them.

As if reading his heart through his expression, the child, who had been silent, spoke.

“It is not a dream. If you had only watched, it might have remained a mere dream, but you poked around quite a bit.”

“…You were watching me?”

“I can also see glimpses of what you saw and experienced. Much like uncovering the memories of residual thoughts.”

“Wait, why are you two having another conversation that only you understand!”

Nero, who had Leonardo’s right arm tucked under her side, massaged his palm while complaining.

“Was there really another life for the Captain? Tell me too.”

A subtle strength went into her acupressure. Feeling it as a sort of pressure, Leonardo gently gripped Nero’s fingers and brushed it off.

“There’s nothing much to talk about. It was a war over there, too.”

“Huh? So it really existed? For real?”

“No way, again…? Captain, you’re so consistent.”

As Taylor added while glancing at the child, Leonardo simply let out a hollow laugh to lighten the mood. He intended to tell them about what he had seen, but a sudden hesitation touched the tip of his tongue, and his eyes shifted.

The child didn’t seem to have any intention of mentioning the past first. After a moment’s pause, Leonardo looked back at his comrades.

“Um… listen. Could you give me a moment of privacy?”

The eyes of the two clinging to their captain widened.

“Eh?”

“Why?”

“There’s something I need to discuss with them. And something I need to ask.”

The moment he gestured toward the child, the look on Taylor and Nero’s faces changed so drastically that Leonardo [unauthorized copy]suddenly felt as if [Read on Read BL Novels]he had done something terrible to them. Their faces, a mix of affectionate disappointment and betrayal, made him feel [visit our site]like a failure of a captain for treating these formidable warriors like mere background scenery.

“It’ll only take a moment. Okay?”

“Alright, let’s move. It’s the Captain’s order.”

Finder led the two away. While pulling up Taylor, who was reeling from the shock, Finder looked down at the seated Leonardo and set a clear condition.

“In exchange, give us a proper explanation when you’re done. Sharing the situation within the unit is basic. You have no idea how much these two worried about you.”

At Finder’s rational coordination, the other two nodded vigorously. Watching them, Leonardo replied seriously.

“I understand.”

“Finish as quickly as possible. I’ll be watching. And once it’s over, let’s get out of here.”

Nero, finally issuing a threat, pointed two fingers at her [visit our site]eyes and [Read on Read BL Novels]then repeatedly made a stabbing gesture before being dragged away. [unauthorized copy]Taylor also reluctantly walked away, her haughty, cat-like eyes still fixed on him.

As soon as they were gone, the child stirred the air with a wooden ladle. It seemed they were casting a barrier to prevent the conversation from leaking.

“You seem reluctant to speak in front of your comrades.”

At the child’s insight, Leonardo hesitated to answer.

“…It’s not just them. Unless anyone sees what I saw for themselves, they probably wouldn’t believe it. Even I find it hard to believe right now.”

“Why is it hard to believe? You saw it clearly.”

“Just….”

He was at a loss for words. His lips parted, and he turned his gaze toward the pond in the center of the garden.

The ripples had vanished as if they had never been, and not even a small wave disturbed the surface. Thus, it visit our sitelooked like [unauthorized copy]a mirror reflecting the opposite side.

“That pond… it’s not an ordinary pond, is it?”

“It is called a vessel through which one can look into intertwined lives and ties. Did you see something?”

Recalling the silhouette he had seen in the water, Leonardo slowly nodded.

“I saw the old man. The old man who brought me here. But he didn’t seem to be alive. Well, I did attend his funeral myself.”

Leonardo spoke about the faint afterimage of Grimbleton and the world he had glimpsed through the bracelet he held.

“The man called the Sun King in the past had the exact same face as me. I entered the body of a soldier named Nomon and observed him from a third-party perspective. Somehow, we ended up having a long conversation… he was similar to me, yet different. Not just his status, but honestly, he was cooler, and he knew how to handle people. Even when he tried not to show it, he was deep-thinking… he was a strong and wise king, so many followed him.”

Recalling everything step by step, Leonardo asked the child.

“That’s why Nomon would have sworn loyalty to him. Did you know about this?”

“About what?”

“All of this.”

To the question laden with meaning, the child shook their head.

“I also have limits to what I know. I simply found out along with you while following the path where your consciousness drifted.”

“Then what about the old man? Did Grimbleton know who he was, and who I was?”

It seemed too exquisite to be just a bracelet received to match a price during a trade. The letter he left at the end of his life, and the ring enclosed with it.

“Nomon definitely… looked exactly like the old man in his youth.”

Even now, it was hard to believe that he and the man had been stolen contentin a lord-vassal relationship, but there was no other way to Read on Read BL Novelsexplain this [Read on Read BL Novels]situation other than the operation of that bond. Just how far ahead had that resourceful and calculating man seen?

Then, the child gave an unexpected answer.

“Grimbleton likely did not know either. It was simply that his drifting life touched your moving life. There is no way one who passes through dimensions would fully retain the memories of a previous life.”

In short, it meant that while he had once been Nomon, the man he met in this life was simply Grimbleton, the owner of a general store. Leonardo found this hard to accept.

“Then how did we meet? And what about the things he gave me?”

“In this world, there is something called Kiyeon. A small coincidence, or an inevitability disguised as a coincidence, can shift the course of a life. Kiyeon gives birth to other ties. Or perhaps, as he drew closer to death, the control of memories became meaningless to him. Thus, the memories of his body acted out of habit to complete the task of his life.”

The child concluded, leaving room for interpretation.

“The roots of possibility are many.”

A small coincidence or an inevitability disguised as a coincidence. A task.

The word ‘task’ appeared in Grimbleton’s letter and in the conversation with Theodore. Leonardo felt that this was not a clue to be ignored.

What if Grimbleton’s task was to meet him, deliver the bracelet and the ring, and lure him here? Did he live such a long life just to fulfill that task, and only closed his eyes after finally completing it?

Leonardo laced his fingers behind his neck.

‘What on earth is this?’

His mind was a complete mess.