It was around 8 PM, and since Laura ntioned she had sothing important to discuss, Leon decided to excuse himself from dinner with Hazel and Lily. They had already been there for about an hour, so it seed like a good ti to wrap things up anyway.
The eting spot was the sa park where Leon had last t Laura, on the long bench beneath the dim glow of street lamps. It was winter now, though the snow was still thin on the ground. Despite the cold, Laura had chosen this place for their eting.
As Leon approached, he saw Laura stand up from the bench, bundled in a thick coat and scarf.
"Hi," she greeted him softly.
"Hi, Laura... this is pretty sudden," Leon replied.
"Uh... yeah," she murmured, handing him a cup. "I brought you so coffee. It's warm."
Leon took the cup with a grateful smile, and they both sat down on the bench. The park lights glowed softly around them, casting a serene ambiance despite the bite of the approaching winter.
"So... Laura... you said there was sothing important, right?" Leon asked, turning to her.
Laura nodded slowly, offering a hesitant smile. "Uhm... I want to..." she trailed off, her uncertainty evident.
"Yes?" Leon encouraged, sensing her hesitation.
Laura's lips trembled as if struggling to find the right words. Finally, she spoke quickly, almost as if forcing herself to get it out. "Leon... I want to apologize."
"Apologize?" Leon asked, confused. "Why?"
"Leon... I'm so sorry, truly. I didn't an to hide this from you. I was just confused and unsure how to tell you... Please, don't think badly of , I didn't intend to deceive you," Laura said, her words coming out in a rush.
"Laura?" Leon looked at her, baffled. "What are you talking about? Can you start with what exactly you're trying to tell ? I an..."
Was she still talking about the past?
"Leon... I need to confess sothing."
"Yes?"
Laura took a deep breath, clearly steeling herself for what she was about to say.
"I'm actually Charlyn," she finally admitted.
"Huh? What?"
Leon was stunned, completely frozen. Charlyn? Wait... what? He hadn't expected this revelation to hit him so suddenly. Sure, he'd once suspected that Charlyn might be soone who knew him in real life, but Laura? All this ti? How had he not realized it?
She couldn't be joking, right? Charlyn and Laura had different voices, but that could easily be a feature of the ga. And since Charlyn had never revealed her face, there was no way anyone could have figured it out without being told.
Leon sat there, trying to process the information, still in shock. It was too much to take in all at once, and he remained silent, his mind racing to make sense of it.
Seeing Leon's silence, Laura panicked and hurriedly continued. "Leon... I know I kept this from you on purpose... but it wasn't because I wanted to deceive you, I swear. I was just scared... back then, our relationship wasn't great, and when you ca to the Ass Guild, I didn't want you to think I was deliberately hiding Charlyn's identity from you."
Leon was still processing everything, letting her talk as she tried to explain herself.
"I was scared... I was afraid you'd think I was lying to you. That I was keeping this secret, and that Charlyn-soone you know in real life-was , but I didn't co clean. But I swear, I didn't an to deceive you, or trick you... I really didn't... I—" Her words ca out in a rush, ssy and frantic.
"Laura." Leon tried to interject, but she kept talking, her voice shaky as she scrambled to explain.
"Forgive for infiltrating the expedition to Hell. I took the initiative on my own... I just..." Laura hesitated for a mont, looking at Leon. "I..." she struggled to continue.
"Laura, listen to ," Leon said.
"Yes..."
"You didn't really give ti to be shocked or to process this information. But hey... it's not as bad as you think," he reassured her with a smile.
"Really?" she asked, her voice still uncertain.
"Yeah, I was surprised to learn that you're Charlyn, but what's even more unexpected is finding out that you, Laura, soone I've known for so long, are one of the key mbers of the Ass Guild. That's seriously impressive, you know."
Laura was stunned by his response, clearly not expecting his calm reaction.
"Yes... and seriously, you're amazing. I had no idea you were the top assassin from the Ass Guild, feared by so many. I've watched you fight a few tis, and you're incredible with those daggers. You're fast, precise-the real deal. How did you even get to that level?" Leon asked, genuinely impressed.
"So, you're not disappointed?" Laura asked hesitantly.
"No, not at all," he replied. "Actually, I'm glad. It makes sense now that Charlyn, the assassin who helped in Hell, turns out to be soone I know. Now I understand why such a powerful assassin suddenly ca to my rescue," he added with a small laugh.
"But... we lost the fight earlier," Laura reminded him.
"No worries... in fact, this is great because now we can easily discuss our next plan. And honestly, it's better that it's you... at least we already know each other."
Laura smiled, nodding. "That was my mistake... I'm really sorry."
Leon nodded. "Yes, we have to learn from that mistake. Later, we'll discuss it with Marlene and carefully plan our next move. We need to win this fight. It won't be easy-our opponent is a Nad Demon."
"But, Leon, I'm not sure Marlene will be willing to settle things. I an... I infiltrated the expedition. She probably hates that," Laura admitted, sounding unsure.
Leon sighed. "You're aware you did sothing wrong, but you still went ahead with it,
right?"
Laura was silent.
"And..." Leon paused, thinking for a mont. "Are you really a Divine Champion?"
Laura nodded imdiately. "Yes, I'm a Divine Champion-Envy Champion. I took this blessing from the original user," she explained without hesitation.
"Wow..." Leon was genuinely impressed, intrigued by how she obtained such a status.
But for so reason, he felt it wouldn't be appropriate to ask for the full details. She might
not want to share that secret.
"And you haven't told anyone else about this?" Leon asked.
Laura shook her head. "I was planning to tell Elincia and the others, but I wasn't ready. I felt
guilty."
"Guilty?"
"Yes... I feel ashad for receiving this blessing," she admitted softly.
"And why is that?"
"Uhm..." Laura hesitated. "Because I got this blessing in a way that wasn't right... in a bad way. That's why I'm ashad to tell the others... I'm afraid they'll see as unethical or
dishonorable."
Leon furrowed his brow. Unethical? He wondered just how bad it was for her to feel that way about how she got the blessing.
"Well... to be honest, I'm curious about how you got this blessing, Laura. But if you don't feel comfortable sharing, you're not obligated to tell ," Leon said gently.
Laura nodded and smiled softly. "I'll tell you," she replied, her voice steady. "Yes... I'll try to
explain it to you."
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