Chapter 7: Leo’s Feelings

Chapter 7: Leo’s Feelings

Leo closely assessed the man and woman standing before him. By their gear alone, he could tell the man was a Minstrel and the woman a Thief. Both appeared skilled, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that tackling a high level quest with two low damage dealing classes was foolish at best.

Which can only mean they have other party members somewhere?

As Leo was assessing the situation from every angle, the Minstrel clapped his hands together as if he just struck upon a new realization after hearing his name.

“Ooh, you must be the famous Mage, Sir Leo Gaines, who graduated at the top of his class at the Academy and was selected to serve alongside the current Hero, Elias Leland. It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Gaines.” The Minstrel held out his hand with an amicable smile.

Boy, I must be gettin’ famous to run into people who know my background in random dungeons, Leo mused. He stuck out his right hand and shook the Minstrel’s hand with a grin.

“I’m surprised you know me so well. Just call me Leo. You’re a Minstrel, right?”

“Indeed. I’m the Minstrel Louis Neal. The lady with me is—”

“The Thief Mina Russel! Nice to meet ya!” The red-haired woman casually inclined her head and flashed a big smile.

She came across as a delightfully cheerful woman—a perfect match for the Thief class. Was she around the same age as Aki?

Mina intently studied Leo’s face while he was comparing her to Aki. “By the way, you’re Elias’s friend, right? We actually took on this quest after forming a party with Elias and Aki. So we’re acquainted with them, too, but…even though Elias gives off this immaculate-beauty-that-can’t-possibly-exist-in-this-world feel, you’re still quite the hottie yourself, Leo! I’m getting all nervous just looking at you! Hahaha!”

Louis quickly threw out, “I think I stand on par with them in terms of looks,” and pouted.

But Leo was so caught up by what Mina had said he stopped paying attention. They teamed up with Aki and Elias to take on a quest? Whoa, hold on. He rubbed his chin. That means they’re already acquainted and traveling with ’em! He fist-pumped in the air.

After parting ways with Elias and Aki at the Adventurers’ Guild, Leo had struggled alongside Johann to infuse their magic into the mirror capable of teleporting them to the Dark Lord’s castle. Once they had finished with that task, Leo left the inn to bring them back from the Guild, only to discover they had taken on a high level Quest. He only went out alone because he felt healthier than a horse despite pouring more than a week’s worth of magic into the mirror.

Johann, on the other hand, lost what little color his already stark white face had after using up so much of his magic to replenish the mirror and was rendered incapable of speaking, much less moving. Leo had Nako stay behind to look after him in case there were any severe side effects from draining his magic supply dry.

Leo’s magic recovered at a baffling, monstrous speed, so he took it upon himself to get the others. The idiocy of them accepting a Quest now of all times gave him a headache, but he knew they were two big softies who couldn’t say no—they’d probably been drawn into something complicated they couldn’t avoid. Knowing his friends well enough, he decided to head to the same Quest location. He’d just help them finish it off, and return to the inn with them in tow.

And of all the luck, he happened across Mina and Louis, a pair of Adventurers who’d formed a party with his friends, within the Quest ruins.

With his prospects of finding the others increasing tenfold because of his lucky start, Leo optimistically asked Mina, “Hey, I had some other business to handle so I’ve been acting independently from Elias and Aki, but I’ve come to get them now. We’re in a rush, so I wanna quickly wrap up this Quest and drag ‘em back with me. Can you tell me where they’re at?”

They should be somewhere close by. Leo cupped his hand over his forehead and gazed down the straight stone path, but he didn’t see Elias or Aki. All he saw was the vast darkness spreading out on either side of the narrow passageway and merman corpses.

Unease began to settle in the back of his mind when he turned toward Louis and Mina. “Where are they? Did they go on ahead without you?”

Or did Elias and Aki have a reason to send Louis and Mina on ahead while they stayed behind to deal with other business? Leo should’ve seen them on the way there if they had though.

Mina pressed her lips together and dropped her gaze from Leo scratching his head. “…Honestly…we got separated from Elias and Aki…”

“Separated how?” Her unsettling choice of words furrowed his brow.

Louis directed his gaze down the gutter. “Monsters attacked us from behind before you showed up, and Aki, who happened to be at the back of our group at the time, ended up encountering their ambush first. She slipped and fell off the ledge while blocking an attack.”

“Elias leapt in to save her, so they’re somewhere below…” Mina knelt down and peered over the ledge.

She fell down there…? Leo crouched down beside Mina and trained his eyes on the dark hole. At a glance, it appeared like an extremely deep pit. He could only hope that there weren’t any dangerous traps lying in wait for them.

Staying crouched, Leo drew a small magic circle in front of him and erased it with his fingers, giving birth to a small ball of light in his palm. He tossed the light ball into the gutter, shining a beacon of light into the darkness with a flick of his wrist.

The ball slowly descended, gradually growing smaller without impacting anything before eventually disappearing from view. His spell directed the ball to explode upon contact, and since it hadn’t, the pit was too deep for them to see when it finally did.

How freakin’ deep is this pit? Elias can get by somehow with his superhuman strength, but how did Aki fare with her low level? She must be traumatized by getting attacked and then falling into a bottomless pit. Did she get hurt? Is she safe?

The air ripped from Leo’s lungs as he imagined Aki plummeting to her doom and screaming at the top of her lungs, her face frozen in fear. What the heck? What’s with me? I’m more shaken up by this than I realized. Just thinkin’ about something bad happening to the adorable woman who always calls my name with a smile makes me—

“I…” he rasped between clenched teeth. Mina and Louis eyed him curiously, but he had lost too much self-control to care. “I could’ve protected her if I had been here…!”

Frustration and regret tore at him. He hated himself for not being there for her when she needed him most. Aki only came to this world to find her sister, but he’d used his summoning spell to draw her into this world’s problems. He had summoned her weapon, forcing her into the dangerous predicament where she was fated to fight monsters to save a world that was not her own. For all that, she never complained, but rather bravely did her best, igniting a desire within Leo to support her in any way he could.

Dammit! Leo slammed his fists into the ground.

Louis and Mina exchanged looks. “Leo, calm down,” Louis softly urged him from behind. “Elias’s enchanted item activated a float spell during their descent. We can be fairly positive they safely reached the bottom.”

“He’s right. Aki was wearing Elias’s cloak at the time, so his magic charm likely protected her. Knowing Elias, he took the best course of action using that protective spell… With my high detection skills, I should’ve noticed the surprise attack first. I’m sorry for not proving useful when it counted most…” Mina bowed her head, her expression twisting with the regret and guilt plaguing her.

Leo rested his hand on her shoulder. “Sorry. I’m not blamin’ you for it… I don’t really get it myself, but I’m losin’ my head thinking about her—’bout Aki being in danger where I can’t reach her.”

What’s wrong with me? Why am I so concerned about Aki? Perplexed, he twisted his bangs between his fingers. Why do I get so worked up when it comes to her?

Mina gave Louis another look and gently tapped Leo’s arm. “You really care for Aki a lot, huh, Leo.”

“…Huh?”

Where’d that come from?

Mina’s face softened into an understanding smile as he stared back at her like a boy lost in the woods. “You love Aki, don’t you?”

“Wha—” His face instantly reddened and he slammed both hands on the ground to distract from it. “N-No way! I’d never fall for a klutz!”

Yep, it was impossible. She was such a klutz in everything she did. Also weak, meddlesome, and a big pain for making him worry about her all the time.

…No, that’s not true, is it? Leo let out a long breath as he tried to face his feelings. …Be honest with yourself. What good comes of deceiving myself here?

Honestly, when I first summoned Aki, I grew worried for the future thinking I’d summoned the weakest possible support. But as I came to know her, I learned she’s a hard worker, a caring person, and someone who possesses an innate kindness not many people have. I’m glad I summoned her.

I grew fond of her optimism over learning more about this world and how hard she was trying to support Elias as his Right-hand. Before I knew it, I found myself thinking she was cute for getting angry and laughing at the things I say.

And now, I’ve completely lost my ability to think after hearing she’s in danger. I can’t help wanting to be by her side, protecting her so she never has to go through such a scary experience again.

When it’s all said and done, these feelings add up to…me havin’ fallen for her.

“Ugghhh.” Leo pulled at his hair.

A part of me struggles to believe I’ve fallen for that scatterbrain, but fact is, I’m drawn to her, without even realizing it. They say the more you like a girl, the more you want to tease her. Looking back, I’ve picked on Aki from day one and enjoyed her entertaining reactions.

But she’s… Scenes of Aki and Elias laughing together crossed his mind. She’s got…Elias.

I know that Elias and Aki love each other. I don’t want to do anything as crude as get between them. Besides, Elias is my best friend. There’s nothing greater than him finding happiness with her.

Leo shook his head, burying his feelings in the process, and looked from Mina to Louis who were waiting for him to work things out. “Like Mina here said, I…find myself drawn to Aki. Didn’t realize what that meant till you pointed it out to me…”

His youth was free of romance as studying his butt off to maintain his grades at the Academy left him with no time for love. He never thought the day would come where he fell for someone this way.

Leo smiled like he had already given up on his feelings and scratched his right cheek. “But Aki loves Elias, yeah? He feels the same for her. So I don’t plan to do anythin’ with these feelings. I don’t need anything else if Elias and Aki are happy together.”

Ha! Can’t believe the second I became aware of my feelings I’d instantly be struck with a broken heart. I feel like mockin’ myself, but the situation is kinda inevitable. Not so unusual for best buds to fall in love with the same lady.

He gave his knees a good slap, rose to his feet, and flashed the others a halfhearted grin.

Louis shrugged, a sympathetic look on his face. “Love is complicated.”

“…You sound like you’re goin’ through the motions yourself, Louis.”

“I happen to be in the midst of a one-sided love myself,” Louis said with a deeper meaning as he glanced at Mina dusting off her shorts beside him.

Mina froze in his gaze for but a second before glaring up at him and stomping on his foot. “C’mon, quit uselessly flapping those lips and start moving your legs! We have to meet up with Elias and Aki! Leo, we’ve got the same goal, so would you mind teaming up with us? Having you on our side is like recruiting an army of one thousand!” She threw her knife into the air and caught it.

“Sure thing,” he agreed on the spot. “Not to be arrogant, but I’ll be a huge help to you. Though I’m currently suffering the status ailment of heartbreak and emo feels,” he joked, flicking his chest for extra effect.

Louis laughed. “There’s no elixir for a broken heart. Only natural recovery over time can help you there. Setting aside the jokes, I’m looking forward to partying up with a world-renowned genius Mage. We had better use every skill at our disposal not to be outdone by him, Mina.”

Mina firmly nodded.

You found some good friends, Elias.

Unique and talented people had a tendency to gather around him. Leo was dying to introduce them to Johann the moment their Hero Party membership became official. Johann had been nagging his ear off about finding a Minstrel, so this should shut him up on that front.

Mina pulled a map from the pouch hanging from her belt. “Leo, can you take a look at this? Here’s our current location…”

Leo peered over her shoulder at the map. “Okay. Looks like advancing north on this straight path is the fastest and only real route there...” He looked up from the map and down the dark passage, glancing over the ledge into the abyss below. “Unless we want to pull an Elias and jump?”

His light joke drew a chuckle from the group.

Partying with high level Adventurers means we can prioritize speed and wipe out every monster in our way without worrying about their MP hitting rock bottom. Defeating lots of monsters will increase Elias and Aki’s odds too. Stay safe, you two. Leo silently prayed for his friends.

Thinking about them made him feel like he hadn’t seen their faces in a long time. Perhaps it felt that way to him because they’d never been apart for any length of time before.

I want to see them soon… My best friend and the woman I fell for.

He had become aware of his feelings for Aki, but planned to never say anything. He was content watching over them from the sidelines, helping them stay together and find happiness forever.

Leo slapped his cheeks, then whacked both Mina and Louis on the back before raising his hand into the air. “All right, let’s march on to where we can reunite with Elias and Aki!”

Mina and Louis held their hands up next to his. “Aye, aye, sir!”