The next candidates — Leon already had a pretty good idea who they'd be.
It was ti for the combo streak to start rolling.
"You already know what I'm going to say."
"Hmm?" Hysilens tilted her head.
"I like you."
"Thank you. I like you too."
[Quest Progress: 14/24]
"That's not how this is supposed to go."
That wasn't how confessions worked in any drama he'd ever seen!
"You were supposed to ask where this place is first, then whether I was the one who dragged you here, then ask why I'd go to all this trouble when we see each other every single day. Then I confess. That's the correct order."
Not that he was complaining. It saved him the effort.
"You're here."
Hysilens smiled — a soft, tranquil curve of her lips — and with those two words, ended the match entirely.
You're here. What an impossibly versatile answer that was.
As if every question in the world could be answered by those two words.
The world is frightening — but not if you're here.
You're here, so there's no need to ask anything more. If sothing goes wrong, you'll co to save . If I disappear, you'll co to find . Where this place is doesn't matter at all — because you're here, and you'll take care of everything.
Leon clicked his tongue softly.
Right. For the Golden Progeny, all the words that needed to be said had already been said — long before he'd ever set off for the Swarm Disaster.
"I suppose I should thank you for liking too, then?"
As he spoke, Leon rose to his feet, clearly intending to leave.
He found himself thinking of soone who used to tell him that keeping fish was easy.
Hm.
Looking at Hysilens right now — yeah, that checked out. Not bad at all.
"You're welco," Hysilens said with a smile.
She could tell it was a joke, so she played along.
No matter when, no matter the occasion — she was the one who should always be grateful. That much would never change.
"See you in a bit, then."
Leon raised a hand in farewell and left.
"See you in a bit."
No further questions. No extra words.
If her Lord chose not to speak, then it was a retainer's place to hold her silence and ask nothing.
That was Hysilens's loyalty.
——
Room Fifteen.
Of the ten remaining, Leon had a clear picture in his mind.
So whoever he encountered from here on out would co as no surprise. The blind box phase was well and truly over.
"Hyacine."
After giving her the brief rundown on this space and everything leading up to it, Leon's expression turned serious.
"What I'm about to say — please don't be frightened or caught off guard."
Hyacine nodded along obediently. "Don't worry, I'm a doctor. Whatever Leon says, I can handle it!"
She patted her chest confidently.
"Good. I like you."
"?"
The expression on Hyacine's face froze — and she was, in the end, caught off guard anyway.
"When Leon says 'like'..." She paused. "Which kind do you an?"
She was worried about misreading the situation, so she figured she'd better confirm.
"To be clear upfront — this is a confession."
And Leon really did an this one.
"Toward... ?" Hyacine pointed at herself, uncertain.
The look on her face was pure: ?
"Yes, you." Leon nodded. "What's wrong — surprised?"
"A little..."
But not entirely.
They had already t her parents back on Amphoreus, after all.
"So — do you want to refuse?"
"No." Hyacine shook her head, her answer completely sincere. "Why would I refuse? I can't think of a single reason I'd ever say no to Leon."
And that was the honest truth. She genuinely could not find a reason to refuse him.
They already held feelings for one another — and their very lives were wound tightly together. Even if she searched the entirety of the galaxy, Hyacine was certain she'd never find a better choice.
[Quest Progress: 15/24]
"That warms my heart to hear."
A top-tier support like her — she deserved to belong to soone worthy.
"Is that so?" Hyacine smiled gently. "Then I can say it every single day for you, if you'd like."
If it truly did so good for Leon's physical and ntal wellbeing, then whether as his doctor or his partner — she wouldn't mind whispering sweet nothings to him every day.
"Sounds wonderful."
Leon smiled, rose to his feet, and headed for the next room. "See you in a bit."
——
Room Sixteen.
Tribios — the last of the Golden Progeny.
Of the remaining eight, Leon could guess six. The other two, he'd have to wait and see.
He took the seat across from her.
He let out a barely perceptible exhale — the kind that cos with genuine fatigue.
Confessing to this many people was sohow more draining than fighting an Aeon. He truly had no words for that.
"Tribios—"
He opened his mouth — just about to introduce her to the situation and slip in his confession — when the woman in question cut off whatever he was about to say before a single word could escape.
"You must be tired, Navigator."
Tribios smiled.
"I'm not sure what the reason is, and I'm not sure where this place is either — but I can tell from the weariness around your eyes, Leon."
She paused, then continued to lay out her deductions.
"When you entered just now, you weren't in a rush. If anything, you were quite calm — the sa as when you're on the train. That tells you have no concerns about anything going wrong on my end."
If she had truly been in any danger, Leon could never have been this composed. Knowing his temperant, if anyone had dared to threaten her, he'd have punched a hole in the place before he even walked through the door — and calling that restraint would be generous.
"From that unbothered attitude of yours, I'll take a shot in the dark — this place, and the invitation I received, were both arranged by you?"
Tribios seed to want to spare him the effort and simply laid it all out herself.
"And given that you ca in clearly about to say sothing important, and went to all this trouble to set the stage — I'd guess it's sothing significant you wanted to deliver with a bit of ceremony?"
She turned her questioning gaze toward him.
She felt fairly confident she hadn't guessed wrong. Even if she wasn't a perfect ten, she was close to it.
Even with a smaller body, her mind was still sharper than most —
Unfortunately, that particular complint no longer applied to Tribios in her Saint-maiden form.
"You guessed correctly. All of it," Leon said, giving a nod.
Well. He'd be damned — she really had gotten every single thing right.
"I understand, then."
Tribios, upon hearing this, made her declaration with the utmost gravity.
"Leon, you don't need to say anything more. Whatever it is — I agree."
[Quest Progress: 16/24]
666. She's actually going to let this slide?
Leon was montarily speechless.
Tribios was just a little too considerate. She'd even cut the confession part for him entirely.
Could you believe this?
"I'm here to confess to you."
Leon decided he still needed to say it.
Letting her agree without actually knowing what she was agreeing to didn't feel right.
"A... confession?"
At those two words, Tribios doubted her own ears for a mont.
"When you say confession — you an the kind where soone expresses romantic feelings to another person?"
Was this real? Leon was actually confessing to her?
"Yes."
With her answer confird, Tribios fell into a daze — the sa reaction, almost beat for beat, as every person before her. Whatever was going through her mind remained a mystery.
Why would he suddenly think to confess to ?
A question probably shared by every single person here.
But that didn't matter.
"I like you, Tribios."
Leon delivered the final blow.
Tribios pressed her lips together — then broke into a smile.
"Received and understood!"
Why he was confessing wasn't even a little bit important. What mattered most was whether she wanted to say yes.
And needless to say — her answer was the sa as everyone before her.
If anything, everyone who had received this invitation and co to this space had never, from the very first mont, harbored any intention of refusing.
Tribios, like all the Golden Progeny before her, could not think of a single reason to refuse Leon.
"What's your favorite thing to say?" Leon asked, rising from his chair before he left.
"'We'll see you tomorrow!'" She smiled brightly.
"'We'll...'" Leon echoed the word quietly.
He turned and walked away without another word.
"Tomorrow, then."
——
Room Seventeen.
Right — no more Golden Progeny.
But also not soone Leon had anticipated.
The person waiting for him was none other than Firefly.
"Don't tell — you ca looking for ?"
Firefly was visibly surprised to see who had walked through the door, and cut straight to the point.
"Yes." Leon didn't deny it. He crossed the room and sat down across from her.
"Where... is this place?"
Firefly had originally tried to find a way out on her own — only to discover that in this space, she couldn't summon Sam at all.
That was strange. But with that constraint in place, she had no choice but to sit tight and wait.
"This place, and the invitation you received," Leon said plainly, "were both made by ."
"There's no danger here. I just wanted a chance to talk to you alone about sothing."
"Talk about what?"
Firefly's heart gave a small lurch.
Talk alone about sothing — what did that an? What could it possibly be?
*...Could it be...?"
"Firefly — I like you."
Zero-fra startup, sa as always. Leon said it plainly and without preamble.
Firefly's brain short-circuited on the spot.
That was exactly the could it be she had been thinking.
"Y-you — you like ?"
By the ti she snapped back to herself, a deep scarlet flush had already spread across her cheeks.
Leon nodded. Still direct. Still unapologetic about it.
"...You're not joking?"
She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and asked.
"No. I'm serious."
Hearing him say that, Firefly's face went even redder.
Serious...
Was that okay? Could she really have that? Could soone like her truly be worthy of his love?
"I — I like you too!"
Her voice ca out small — but with a firmness that surprised even her.
He had risked his life for her. How could she ever refuse him?
[Quest Progress: 17/24]
"Thank you."
Leon was genuinely running on fus at this point. He couldn't be bothered with much more.
"Clean and clear. No loose ends."
With that, he turned and left — launching into his final speedrun.
——
Room Eighteen.
Ruan i. No surprises there.
"How have things been lately?"
Perhaps "Have you eaten?" would have been the more authoritative opener — but since he hadn't eaten either, Leon settled for asking after her well-being instead.
"The sa as always."
Ruan i's voice was still asured, still cool — but the faint indifference that had once colored her tone when it ca to him was simply no longer there.
"Science has a way of making you forget to eat and sleep." She answered his question. "An Aeon even more so."
She had to keep herself occupied. She couldn't afford to go idle — idleness made her mind wander, and she didn't particularly enjoy it when her more sentintal side beca too active.
Leon raised an eyebrow with mild curiosity.
"Oh? Have you found a new 'research subject'?"
Last ti they'd parted, she had said she wanted so quiet. But from the sound of things, quiet hadn't quite found her.
Ruan i shook her head, eyes drifting downward.
"I don't know what I should be doing right now. But I thought — at the very least — I ought to work out what exactly an Aeon is, as a form of life."
Now that her parents had both found peace, she had montarily lost her sense of direction. The drive to resurrect them had always been her 'research subject.' With that resolved, she no longer knew what to pursue.
Ruan i had thought it over many tis.
In the end, her gaze had settled back on the Aeon — the very thing she had originally chosen as her subject. The legacy of that choice.
She had once believed that if she could only reach the level of an Aeon, she could accomplish anything. And in practice, that belief had proven correct — an Aeon truly could accomplish anything.
But if she never unraveled the question of what an Aeon truly was as a form of life...
She felt she would be doing herself a disservice.
"That's good."
As long as she wasn't staying sunken in lancholy — though Ruan i didn't really look like soone who would anyway.
"Was there sothing you needed from today?"
Ruan i looked up, taking the initiative. "That invitation — it was your doing?"
"Yes."
Leon gave a small hum of acknowledgnt. "What do you think I ca to find you for?"
"I don't know."
Leon was just as difficult to read as the Aeon itself. Nobody ever knew what he was planning — this man operated entirely on impulse, before becoming an Aeon, and even more so after.
"I'm here to confess."
Leon stated it plainly, in exactly the tone of a man announcing he was quitting the band.
"...A confession?"
See — Ruan i had always said. He was entirely an impulse unto himself.
"Yes." Leon smiled lightly. "If I were to say I like you — what would you do?"
"Nothing in particular."
For that question, Ruan i was, surprisingly, completely composed.
"But — if it's you, then... yes."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her voice warm and unhurried.
She didn't dislike him. In truth, among all the people in this vast galaxy, he was the only one she found herself leaning toward sothing closer to affection for.
He had done so much for her.
If she was being honest — he'd already t her parents. Was there really still anything left to discuss?
[Quest Progress: 18/24]
"Damn. That actually moved to tears."
Leon said it exactly like that, then rose to his feet and rolled out the kinks from his marathon-run body.
"Thank you, Ruan i."
He offered his thanks, then turned and stepped back toward the door.
He pushed it open, left Room Eighteen, and headed for Room Nineteen.
——
Room Nineteen.
Leon pushed the door open with practiced ease and stepped inside.
The remaining six — he could figure out every single one without even trying.
Saying it one last ti: it was ti to put the pedal to the floor.
"You had better have a reason that satisfies for dragging to a place like this without any warning."
Herta sat with her arms folded, her sharp gaze landing imdiately on the person who had just walked through the door.
Her tone was exactly the "just as I expected" variety.
Say what you will — a genius's mind was still a genius's mind.
"Herta — what would you say our relationship is right now?"
Leon took the seat across from her and asked, with an unusual degree of seriousness.
"What do you think it is?"
Herta leaned forward, closing the distance between them in an instant.
That face of hers — which she herself had once declared so beautiful that even Idrila would have to yield — was now only a breath away from his.
"What do you want it to be?"
Close enough that each of them could feel the other's breath.
____
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