CH 11

Speaking of which, Leone seemed to be able to say a few short words.

“Leone. What words do you know how to say?”

Leone looked at her quietly, as if he didn’t understand her question very well. When did Leone start acting like that? Who taught him some worlds, and who taught him to speak? If only he had already been in that state since she came into the world. Could he have been taught by a teacher? Why was he in that state in the first place?

It was strange that she wondered that at the current moment, but she couldn’t help but to do so. She wondered what kind of life he had gone through.

“Well… What is it?”

And how far he understands.

“Yes.”

He seemed to recognize his name. What is he used to? She pondered for a moment and then remembered what he had said.

“Damn it… Article? Who were you referring to?”

“Damn it, knight.”

It was very clear and accurate.

“Maybe that’s Adler… Wouldn’t it?”

“Damn knight.”

“Mmm. The damn knight is called Adler.”

“Damn knight.”

“Adler.”

“…”

“Yes. I know you hate Adler.”

‘Ok. Call it whatever you are comfortable with. Where do you know who Adler is?’

“I hate it.”

He seemed to only react to negative words. Spies, damn it, die… She thought of the words he had said and pointed her finger at herself.

“Trixie.”

“…?”

“You’re Leone.”

She pointed to Leone once. Leone seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Leone.”

He speaks clearly as if he knows his name.

“Trixie.”

She said, pointing at her once more. Leone nodded.

“T.”

“Trixie.”

It was repeated for a long time, and he frowned as he stared at the shape of her mouth carefully. Leone slowly pronounced something similar to her name.

“Tree…”

“Exactly. That’s my name. Trixie.”

“Trish.”

“Yes, Leone.”

“Trixie.”

Leone’s voice rang low. She had never heard my name so low and gentle before.

“Trixie.”

Leone, who finally could say her name, smiled faintly with satisfaction.

‘Are you laughing? Leone, are you smiling now?’

She had never seen him smile before. It was such a strange and curious scene. Looking at his face, it seemed that her name was the most precious treasure in the world. So she wondered, ‘Are you laughing now?’ and looked at him without even asking.

She stared blankly at him for a moment, but her cheek tickled and she came to his senses. The late spring breeze contained a lukewarm warmth. There was also the scent of fresh greenery at the end, and he seemed to whisper that summer was coming soon.

As she turned her head in the direction of the wind, she saw the trees trembling and shaking in small pieces. The sound of the leaves was similar to the sound of a river. It was a beautiful sight.

“Trixie.”

“… Oh, yes, Leone. That’s my nam… Ugh!”

She tried to convey the swirling emotion in my heart and say, ‘Yes, that’s my name,’ but she couldn’t finish because he pulled her close and put her on his shoulder. She closed her mouth in surprise.

Her cheeks touched his chest and abs without a top. She could feel the hot body, firm abs and wide chest. When he picked her up earlier, she didn’t know why he touched her like that. She felt like she was doing something wrong with the gentle man’s body that touched her skin.

“Leo… what ar…?”

“Kr.”

As if to be quiet, he hugged her tighter. Barely opening his eyes upwards, he was glaring at the swaying bushes.

“Whoops… Monster, beast.”

The foothills of Mount Meto were clearly free of dangerous animals. but the bush shook once more. She instinctively hugged Leone’s waist. She felt like she should never fall away from him.

“Okay.”

Then Leone whispered affectionately and patted her on the head just like she did for him. The touch was very warm.

“Hmm!”

She shouted in surprise. It wasn’t that something had popped out of the bushes or that she was scared. Suddenly, her vision increased.

Before she realized it Leone was hugging her again.

“Whoops…”

His arms wrapped around her back and hugged her tightly, as if he would never let go of her. 

‘Hmm. In the original, it was said that it was safe here.’

『There are no wild beasts living at the foot of Mount Meto. It was just a peaceful place that was like a paradise on earth for herbivores. 』

‘There must have been such a passage! Original novel, give me strength.’

No matter how much he had gritted his teeth, she didn’t have the confidence to survive if a wild beast appeared. Then, as if something was about to pop out, the sound of leaves clashing against each other was heard fiercely.

‘It comes out, it really comes out…!’

“Kr…!”

He shivered and managed to turn his head. Then the identity of the sound entered her eyes. It was clearly visible even as darkness fell. With pure white fur shining in the moonlight… It was a rabbit!

“It’s a rabbit, isn’t it?”

“…”

“Fuu… Leone is just as timid as I am.”

She laughed and slapped Leone on the shoulder. But Leone was still frowning and baring her teeth.

Leone. It’s a rabbit, a weak animal. It’s alright! It’s just cute. You can calm down.”

She gently soothed him. He did frown, but he let her sit on a rock as she asked.

“Haha. We’re real cowards. It’s stupid.”

“Cowar…?”

She smiled softly and gave him a smile, and Leone quickly became wary.

“Nope. Don’t learn that.”

She stretched out his palms in front of him like a stop sign and shook her head resolutely.

“I think it’s a young rabbit, it’s very small.”

She heard that rabbits living in the wild were quite large, but they were still young and very small. She felt like she could have it in the palm of her hand. Perhaps because it grew up in an overly peaceful environment, the rabbit was not surprised or ran away when he saw us. Instead, he jumped with his chubby legs and quickly approached the water’s edge. It wasn’t that far away. Even when the time he chose to appear was kinda scary, he still had crispy white fur, two pricked ears, a lovely mouth that looks like the number 3 turned upside down, chubby cheeks…!

“Ugh… It’s cute.”

“Yes.”

“Look at those paws, it’s crazy! Isn’t that crazily cute? Oh, so cute. How can it looks so cute? It’s really cute…”

With his tiny mouth, he gnawed at the grass, then raised his head once in a while to look around. Meanwhile, the rabbit’s ears shook a little, as if looking for something.

She clasped her hands together, possessed by the look. Her fingers clenched and her stomach tightened. She wanted to scream right away. So cute. The rabbit’s cheeks and lips twitched, and his beard shook slightly. She just wanted to give it a kiss. Really.

“Oh. It’s cute.”

She felt like she could sit here and watch it all day, but they’d better just go.

“Leone. It’s better to go. Let’s go back now.”

“…?”

“Oh, um… Let’s go to sleep. Like this.”

Not understanding the words, she gestured and made hand gestures, picking out as many words he must have heard as often as possible. She was a little embarrassed when she pretended to sleep with her hands together on her cheeks. Leone shook his head at her. His swaying gold hair glowed as if stardust was falling from it.

“You don’t like sleeping?”

“I hate it.”

He nodded. For the first time, she felt understood. But she wasn’t sure if what he hated was sleeping or going back. Leone lowered himself and moved on all fours.

In the woods, a topless man was walking on all fours, which somehow seemed more obvious than funny or bizarre. It looked comfortable. There he was different from being trapped inside a mansion. Even though he was human, the manor’s artificial structures didn’t blend in with his body at all.

“Leone? I think the rabbit will be surprised if you go that way.”

“Kr.”

His answer was much sharper than the voice in the conversation we had just shared. No way.

Could it be Leone, are you trying to hunt now?

“Oh, no!”

As if about to rush quickly, his arm muscles swelled.

She jumped towards him.

As Leone lifted his feet off the ground, she hugged him by the waist tightly. One of her shoulders was injured, and as soon as she reached out her hand, she felt a lot of pain. At the end the two of them fall to the floor at the same time.

They were in the woods and the ground was wet. After falling she closed her eyes tightly, ready for a wound. Her shoulder already hurts, but it won’t change if it hurts a little more. Or so she thought.

It was at that moment…

“Uh…!”

Something solid hugged her tightly. Warmth came through her body. That was the end of it. It was quite loud, but it didn’t hurt at all. She slipped open her closed eyes and saw a rabbit grazing peacefully. Fortunately, it seemed to dry him off in time.

“Huh, huh. Don’t be surprised…! Leone! What if you hunt it?”

She couldn’t breathe, but when she saw Leone lying on the floor with her in his arms, she woke up startled. Wrapped me up, now?

“Leone!”

“Trixie.”

“Are you okay? Aren’t you hurt? Oh my god.”

It’s a big deal. She was dressed, but Leone had a naked upper body. The floor was not a fluffy carpet. What if he was swept away by grass or stones? He looked at her. His round transparent eyes checked her face and soon relaxed.

“Okay.”

“Nope. Aren’t you hurt? Where does it hurt?”

She lifted Leone’s arm, flipping his body over to check his back. Her shoulder hurt and it was difficult to use her arm, but Leone didn’t hold on or rebel, so she could see it quickly. Fortunately, the grass was soft so he didn’t have much more wounds. She was upset though. Originally, there were a lot of wounds, but she thought falling added more to it. She was going to fall, but he hugged her and protected her…

Is it that Leone who broke her shoulder? After looking for a while longer, she grabbed his torso to check his side one last time, but Leone made a strange noise.

“Nope.”

He sounded surprised, and he looked embarrassed. She noticed at once when she saw Leone getting up from the floor and sneaking away from her.

“You… Ticklish?”

When she saw Leone’s eyes wide, she unknowingly remembered a vicious smile.