C131: Iona O’valley
Leo didn’t intervene because he was worried about the girl in front of him, it was rather the opposite.
“How did you know?”
“How can you not know when you are showing it openly? Of course, the idiots just now didn’t even know the blade was near their necks.”
“I didn’t an to kill them. I was just going to set an example.”
“Oh, really? So you ant to kill at least half?”
“……So, what are you going to do now?”
Leo frowned at Iona’s wary question. She did not seem to realize it, but before she knew it, her golden pupils were vertically divided, like a beast.
“Hey, don’t stare at like that. Do you think I was trying to blackmail you?”
“Weren’t you?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Then why did you stop ?”
“I shouldn’t say anything but if you are going to do it, at least don’t do it in public in broad daylight.”
“…….”
Iona’s eyes returned back to normal. She looked at the little boy, who spoke with annoyance before her, with a questioning stare.
Leo was furious at the gaze.
“What?”
“Aren’t you scared of ?”
Leo suddenly wondered what it was, but imdiately understood why she asked this question.
“Did you think I’d discriminate against you because you’re a Suin?”
“Most people here hate or are scared of .”
“That’s because they don’t know anything.”
Leo answered grumblingly. He wasn’t like that originally, but after hanging out with Aidan, his personality changed.
“Fear cos from ignorance. On the contrary, if you know sothing, you don’t have to be afraid of it. You said your na was Iona O’valley, right?”
“Yes.”
“You’re a Suin but have a surna so you must be from a very powerful family. Considering that the average Suin is hostile to humans, your coming here is probably not the will of the whole tribe.”
“Right.”
“Nevertheless, coming to Theon…….”
Iona listened to Leo in silence. There was even a feeble expectation to what the little boy was saying.
“You’re here to learn about humans and about the wider world, aren’t you?”
“…….”
Iona was silent at Leo’s words because everything he said was correct.
“Right, how the hell did you know?”
“Well, that’s easy to understand. I’ve heard how the Suins live.”
“It’s amazing. Ordinary people think of us as barbarians.”
“That’s because there’s still less information about ethnic groups. Now a racial discrimination law is about to be implented, but the dirty aristocrats are desperately trying to prevent it.”
Leo’s tongue twitched as if his teeth were grinding just by thinking of the nobles. For him, who loathed the nobles, it was natural to stand against racial discrimination, which the nobles hated the most.
“So, don’t get wrong because I only helped you because I don’t like them.”
“Pequina Solda, you are a good person.”
“What?”
“You are a good man…….”
“No, not that. What one said before, Pequina, what does that an?”
“Pequina Solda. It’s our tribal language. In your words, it ans little brave warrior.”
“What?”
A vein popped on Leo’s forehead at Iona’s honest words. She only complinted purely, but what she said touched Leo’s heart.
“Hey, I’m warning you, don’t say that I’m small or sothing.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
Are you asking because you really don’t know that? Leo tried to say, “Look at .” There is nothing more miserable than to explain it with your own mouth.
Leo was always shorter than children his age due to the lack of proper nutrients from an early age. Born to be small and unable to eat much, he had no choice but to have a small body, which was nothing short of Leo’s complex.
“Are you saying that even after seeing my condition?”
“Ah.”
Iona also noticed the aning of Leo’s words.
“I do not understand. Why are you so obsessed with such trivial things?”
“It’s trivial?”
Leo laughed at the remark.
“That’s because you’re a Suin. Suin people are naturally tall and have superior physical abilities. Do you even know how small people feel?”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re short or tall. It’s the strength of the heart that counts”
The strength of the heart. What kind of fairy tale are you talking about? Leo stared at Iona with suspicious eyes, but her expression was more serious than before. Those unshakable eyes were telling him that Iona was serious now.
“Pequina Solda, you just helped even though it was a dangerous situation where I could’ve fought other students.”
“If I would’ve left it alone, sothing worse would have happened. Besides, it was just because I hated them.”
“If you were a really bad person, you would have left alone. Rather, you could have encouraged to harm the nobles.”
“…….”
Each word of Iona penetrated Leo’s heart. Leo felt sothing ticklish on his skin. It seed unpleasant but sohow pleasant, which was quite a familiar sensation. Yes, it was similar to the sense he had often felt since he was close to Aidan, that idiot who’s uselessly nice and nosy.
“So you don’t have to worry too much about being small.”
“……OK.”
Leo sighed while getting angry at Iona, who imdiately closed her mouth when he said it was okay.
“Just call Leo.”
“What?”
“I an my na. I’m not Pequina Solda. If you are going to call in the future, please call by my na.”
“From now on?”
“All right, all right. Anyway, I’m done with my business, so I’ll go.”
Leo tried to leave, waving his hands moderately. He thought he’d feel weird if he was with her for no reason.
Doesn’t it matter if you’re short? What’s important is the strength of your heart? He laughed at the words, but ironically, they were the words that most penetrated Leo’s essence and comforted him.
The fact that she was comforted by the manly girl who ca alone to a faraway country touched Leo’s long-hurt pride.
‘She doesn’t seem to care about that.’
He didn’t intend to pretend to know much after anyway, so he just pretended he didn’t.
Leo’s footsteps, which were moving with that intention, recognized who was approaching from a distance and stopped at the welco cry.
“Oh! Leo! You’re here!”
Aidan was approaching him with a smile like a big dog and Next to Aidan was Tessie with a coy expression.
“Aidan.”
“I’m on my way back from receiving the frawork with Tessie. Oh, of course not , Tessie. But when I heard that you received it first, I thought you might be nearby, so I followed you right away…….”
While speaking, Aidan found Iona standing behind Leo.
“Oh, co to think of it, your na is……Iona?”
“It’s Iona O’valley.”
“Oh, I see. Nice to et you, Iona.”
“Hey, Aidan, what are you doing?”
“Huh? She’s a friend who listens to the sa lecture.”
Leo’s face twisted at the word “friend.”
“What do you an friends? We’re just classmates.”
“Isn’t that a friend?”
“What do you an….?”
“Ah! Do you want to co with us if you don’t mind? We’re supposed to have lunch together. Since we’re eating together, it’s better, right?”
He already knew that Aidan was nosy but Leo didn’t expect he would say sothing like that.
Leo looked back at Iona with a slightly uneasy look.
“Well, wait a minute, Aidan. You want her to go with us? That’s not right, is it?”
Tracy also tried to dissuade Aidan.
“Huh? Why?”
“It’s just that it’s kind of weird to eat all of a sudden with soone you’re not close to…….”
At Aidan’s innocent face, Tracy shoved the words into her throat. It wasn’t because she was scared or hated the Suin people. It was just that she didn’t want Aidan to naturally encourage another girl to eat with him.
“Wait. Why don’t you like ?”’
When Tracy, who didn’t understand why he was annoyed, was torn, Aidan waited for Iona’s answer.
Iona nodded to Aidan’s suggestion.
“Good.”
“Really? That’s a relief! Let’s go together! It will definitely be more fun if there are many people.”
“Oh!”
“This.”
Tracy and Leo, who couldn’t find the right ti to stop Aidan, exclaid with regret. But it was already spilled water.
This was the mont when a new mber was added to the usual three musketeers.
* * *
Elisa Willow was constantly busy processing the paperwork that filled the president’s office. The docunts floating around with mana circled around Elisa and her golden eyes moved quickly and scanned the passing docunts at once.
Several pens erged and signed the docunts. Normally, she would have done it with ease, but the amount of docunts that she has received has more than tripled recently, so if she doesn’t do this, the work will not be finished.
The morning work ended only when the floating docunts piled up one by one and approached the high ceiling of the president’s office.
“Whew!”
Elisa stretched out her arms vigorously and Wilford, who had been waiting calmly, approached.
“Are you done with your work?”
“Not yet. I’ve only done half of it but I’m going to rest a little now.”
“You’re going through a lot.”
“I’ve prepared myself to be in the position of president. But I can’t deny that it’s been particularly difficult because of recent events.”
Elisha grumbled but grabbed so of the papers she had set aside and waved them.
“I’m telling you, I don’t know why they’re asking for help with a case they have to deal with.”
It was a direct request from the city of Leathervelk to Theon.
“Is the situation that serious?”
“It’s certainly a big deal that the Beast of Gévaudan has appeared, but that doesn’t an they should just ask for help. Not just students, but graduates and teachers with whom they have connections.”
Elisa let out an irritating sigh and wrinkled her forehead.
“That’s a little too much. It seems they’re in a hurry.”
“How can they be lazy when such an incident occurred. Even so they have crossed the line.”
The atmosphere in Leathervelk was quite chaotic after the Beast of Gévaudan appeared. Citizens were afraid that the Blood Nightmare would suddenly co back, and as a result, the vitality of the city itself was bound to decrease.
“But isn’t it better now?”
“Hopefully, I didn’t know that they would have the support of the Bretus Kingdom.”
After calling for help from the capital, a group appeared in Leathervelk. The people who wore white uniforms were not from the Exilion Empire, but from an island country far away.
The Holy Knights of Bretus.
With white and warm energy, they imdiately road the city, reassuring and invigorating the citizens.
“Isn’t that a relief?”
“It will be fine for now. But the problem is The Bretus Kingdom has started moving.”
“That’s true.”
The image of Bretus would usually be reverent and beautiful, but in reality, it was not. Bretus was an outdated nation and their true self emphasizes a doctrine and makes people reluctant because of excessive fanaticism.
Therefore, the first emotion she felt when she heard that the Bretus Holy Land supported Leathervelk was anxiety, not relief.
“If the atmosphere in the city is bad, we will be affected, too. No matter how much Theon is recognized as a separate administrative district, it can’t be completely separated from Leathervelk.”
“The students and the employees were quite upset, too. That’s why the paperwork has increased a lot.”
“Yeah, we’ve got a lot of work to do at once.”
“Well, then, since you’re taking a break, would you like to see this?”
“What’s that?”
Elisa looked at the paper Wilford handed her, and her eyes stood out.
“Oh, this is Rudger’s class material”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for taking care of , Wilford.”
Elisa smiled and checked Rudger’s class materials handed over by Wilford.
Recently, Elisa has a hobby to relieve work stress and relax and that hobby was to directly check Rudger Chelici class materials. It was her favorite thing possible under the authority of the president.
“Wow. Such a magic circle.”
Just a mont ago, Elisa, who was frowning and organizing the docunts, began to check the materials joyfully like a child who received candy
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