Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: End of Vacation - 1
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Her eyes blinked.
Aria's blue eyes and Leo's red eyes blinked in the same rhythm.
The difference lay in the fact that Aria's face, which she had tried to undress him from, was incredibly flushed, while Leo, who had nearly been stripped, wore an unexpectedly serene expression.
"...Um, could you turn around and face away for a moment?"
"...Huh?! Oh... yeah...!!"
She hastily pulled her hands away from his pant legs and turned around. Her overheated face was even dripping with hot sweat.
"...The clothes... are here, huh."
In the meantime, Leo was changing behind her. The constant rustling sounds were putting all of Aria's nerves on edge.
It was enough to tempt her to turn around even just a little, so no further explanation is needed.
"...D-Done...?"
Aria, who had squeezed her eyes shut due to various impulses and dark desires, slowly opened them.
"Yes, I'm all changed."
When she turned around, Leo stood there in his new pants and underwear. To the side, his coffee-stained pants and underwear were neatly folded.
Unfortunately, the underwear was tucked under the pants, so even enhancing her eyes with aura wouldn't reveal it.
"Miss."
Leo was staring at her. No, it was more like a glare.
Of course it was.
Imagine lying in a hospital bed and someone pulling down your pants.
And that someone was a member of the opposite sex who, without getting caught, had even lifted his underwear to peek at Leo's most precious and sensitive area.
"...That... I mean...! I wasn't trying to do that...!"
"I'm fine."
"...Wha... what?!"
Fine? What exactly was fine?
Did he mean he forgave her for trying to undress him, or that it was okay to show even that part to her...?
"No burns. The coffee was lukewarm, so I survived."
"...Oh... good..."
It was embarrassing in several ways. She had harbored such delusions inside, but even more so, she was ashamed to remember again that the coffee had been lukewarm.
"I understand you panicked, but next time, call a nurse. It'd help even if it were a real burn."
She truly owed Leo's insight and understanding in that instant, but she couldn't bring herself to agree.
'...All the nurses here are women...'
Aria's jealousy was burning more fiercely than expected. Even for purely medical purposes, she overflowed with dissatisfaction at the thought of changing his clothes.
"...How's your body?"
"Fully recovered after some good rest. I could discharge right now."
"Rest a bit more anyway. And honestly, I'm mad too."
Saying he wouldn't die and then taking a lightning bolt head-on—what kind of lie was that?
"I have resistance to lightning, so it's fine."
"...You sure couldn't lift a finger after taking it, though?"
There was no excuse for that. If Rios hadn't come then, and if Aria hadn't fed him the potion...
The scene from that moment flashed in her mind.
Her face suddenly heated up, and she couldn't meet Leo's eyes.
A strange ticklish feeling in her chest, like feathers brushing it nonstop—even being in the same room felt hard.
"...Um... Miss... back then..."
The moment he tried to bring up that time,
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the hospital room door. Leo, eager to escape this mood and situation, responded quickly.
"Come in."
"...Oh... excuse me..."
The person who entered was unexpected.
"...Um... hello...?"
Irina Retai.
The woman threatened by Jehard, the girl who had faked a date with Leo to match stories.
"Ah, Irina."
"...You remember me?"
"Hard to forget."
Leo lightly lifted the corner of his mouth as he spoke. Irina, who had been tense, relaxed a bit at the smile.
'...That woman... how dare she come here...!?'
But Aria beside him had eyes blazing with rage and hatred.
That detestable girl had gotten to have such a sweet meal with Leo, and beyond that, even survived.
She couldn't hold back her anger.
"Um... I have something to say..."
Irina glanced cautiously at Aria. The hostility in her gaze was obvious, like she was looking at an enemy.
"Miss, could you wait outside for a bit?"
"...Why."
She was genuinely angry. Thinking back, hadn't it been like this last time during dinner too?
Leo couldn't understand what she saw in that girl. His own face was better, his figure and skills several times superior.
'...Maybe her hairstyle?'
Come to think of it, Rios had once mentioned in a pure love novel that men secretly had preferences for women's hairstyles.
'...I thought it was nonsense then...'
Otherwise, there was no way he'd lose to such an unremarkable girl. All she had going for her was that ponytail, probably.
"Miss?"
"...I'll step out first."
But that was something she could easily compete with. So she'd yield this spot for now. For the record, Leo wasn't particularly concerned about such things.
"...Phew... huff..."
But she didn't promise not to eavesdrop. Her aura-wrapped ears clearly picked up sounds through the door and wall.
"Is your body... okay?"
"Thanks to Miss Aria. I got lucky."
She clenched her fist in a victory pose. As expected, he was her knight.
"...That is..."
Whoosh!
The moment she focused more on the conversation, a puff of breath tickled her ear.
"Eek!!"
Instinctively, Aria swung her fist toward the source of the breath.
Thwack!
"Guhk...!"
Rios's face crumpled from the blow to his ear.
"Rios!?"
"...Brother?"
"Hey, sis...!? I came by since I'm feeling better, but... my nose feels stuffy again...?"
Rios, whose cold symptoms had eased a bit, had returned to the hospital room for a visit. If not for the punch to the face, he surely wouldn't have that nasal voice.
Clutching his miraculously unbroken nose bone, he waved. The mask over his mouth and nose had acted as a cushion.
"You okay? Rios?"
Ameri hurriedly removed his mask. Inside was already bloody.
"...S-Sorry."
Aria apologized instantly upon seeing it.
"...Wait, why so much blood but no bruise?"
Rios's face was pristine aside from the blood. As if he hadn't taken the punch at all.
"Ah, just a nosebleed. Happens when I get excited sometimes."
He had blocked the punch with a barrier from the start. The nosebleed was from his own excitement.
"Come on, is that important? The room inside is what matters now."
She was certainly curious why he bled like that without a hit landing, but Aria lacked the rationality for such calm judgment.
"...Somewhere..."
Rios engraved a small magic circle on the hospital room door. Then he activated it with his hand.
This way, voices inside the room transmitted through the magic circle on the door and reached their minds via telepathy magic.
It was a downgraded version of the telepathy magic Leo had modified when acquiring the Sage's legacy.
"Is this... okay to do?"
"It's fine. Our Leo is so loyal!"
"...It's about protecting privacy..."
"Wait, I can't hear the conversation."
"...Oh... yeah..."
The siblings synced up perfectly only at times like this, ignoring her to focus. Ameri rode the wave and soon concentrated on the room's talk too.
-[...That is...]
After hesitating, Irina spoke up again.
-[...Contact me later...!]
-[...This is...]
A rustling sound like paper; even without seeing inside, they could guess what was handed over.
-[My... contact info...! Anytime is fine... please...!]
After a shy pause, she dashed out the door. Probably too embarrassed to stay longer.
Thud...!
-[Wait a moment.]
From the context, Leo had grabbed Irina; Aria imagined the scene like a movie still and bit her lip until it turned blue.
-[But I... can't stay here longer...]
-[Ah, take this before you go.]
Naturally, Aria's fist clenched. What was so good about that girl that he gave her extra care? If it were her, she'd do way better...!
-[...Huh? Why this...]
-[Take it back. No intention of contacting you.]
An unexpected twist left everyone speechless. Even Irina inside the room was stunned.
-[...What... why...?]
-[I don't like you.]
Straight balls kept coming, unleashing verbal assassination without pause.
-[Anyone with common sense or manners would apologize first before this nonsense, right? Who do you think caused all this?]
In truth, Leo's hospitalization partly stemmed from the fight with Jehard. And Irina was one cause of that fight.
-[Th-That... I did it because I wanted to...!]
-[Yeah, sure. You wanted to live too. So you sold out lives to the demon, right?]
A very gentle tone clashing with harsh content.
-[Seems you're mistaken, but I helped back then because you were a victim too. There was no personal favor or connection from the start.]
Before long, Rios munched popcorn; even Ameri, who had scolded him, now shoveled in caffeine concentrate and popcorn.
-[Handing me your contact without an apology—what am I supposed to do with it? If I hadn't noticed and died there, were you planning to leave it at my funeral?]
Vitriol close to scolding; its scariest part was that it was all logical and fact-based.
-[Just go. While I'm in a good mood.]
Leo exuded killing intent. Even without telepathy, the chill seeped outside the room.
-[If you'd scarred the miss's body, you'd have to meet me whether you liked it or not.]
With that, Leo withdrew his killing intent.
-[Go. Don't do this next time.]
The conversation ended on that gentle note. As Irina's footsteps approached, Aria's group stepped aside.
Irina's face was paler than when she saw Jehard.
Watching her, Aria's group satisfactorily entered the room.
"Ow~! How's your body?!"
"Fine. More importantly, how's your cold?"
"All good. Colds always clear up after a pure love novel anyway."
And what they'd just witnessed rivaled a famous scene from a long pure love novel.
"True~ After our Aria poured so much love into treating you, it'd be weirder if it didn't heal."
At that, both Aria and Leo flushed. Clearly, the potion's taste felt through their mouths and the memory of their lips lingered vividly.
"...I-It wasn't like that...! I helped because Leo was in danger...! Don't make trouble for Leo...!"
Normally, something Leonardo would say; Aria inwardly expected him to chime in.
"...W-Was it...?"
But Leo's face was especially red that day.
"...Leo?"
"...S-Sorry. I know it wasn't your intention... but it's my first time with something like this...! I can't help being aware...!"
The shy boy's confession gave Rios material for a year's worth of pure love fantasies.
"It's fine~! Aria's first time too, probably."
"Do you have to phrase it like that?"
All eyes turned to Aria. Naturally, they assumed it was her first kiss too.
"...Th-That... I mean... in a sense..."
But Aria hemmed and hawed, hesitant to give a clear answer.
And rightly so—Aria had a clear memory of her first kiss. The beautiful scene and sensation from the dream were vividly remembered even in reality.
"...Sis, no way..."
"No...! It's not that...! I mean...!"
The surrounding gazes cooled; a silent communication implying 'Didn't peg you for that type.'
"...Leo...! I mean...!"
"It's fine, Miss."
Leonardo smiled brightly.
His smile brimmed with fresh, vibrant energy.
"Shall we take a walk? I miss the 'Pasture of Truth and Facts' after so long."
Of course, it was a smile infused with fresh, vibrant killing intent.
That day, Aria truly learned what fear was.