This man...
What on earth was wrong with him!!!?
Was he even listening?!
So infuriating!
Kureha, whose nerves were already fragile from having just woken up, was overwhelmed with rage. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted clean away again.
Leon: "..."
...
"Uh... so anyway, that's basically what happened."
Leon sprawled across the sofa, arms splayed out, meeting everyone's stares with an innocent shrug.
A few of them blinked, Jeanne and Rose in particular.
They exchanged a glance, both catching that shared flicker of exasperation and amusement in the other's eyes.
Rose sighed and shook her head, getting up to head for the guest room.
"You, honestly. The three of us rotate, so there's only a one-in-three chance it'd be your turn on watch, and poor Miss Kureha just had to have the rotten luck of waking up while you were the one home."
Jeanne crossed her arms, examining Leon with a less-than-friendly expression.
"Leon, you didn't do anything dangerous to Kureha while the rest of us were out, did you?"
The temperature in her eyes dropped by degrees.
"..."
The image of him scooping Kureha up flashed through his mind and vanished just as fast. Leon rolled his eyes.
"Please. She woke up dehydrated after a full month in a coma, smashed the water cup reaching for it, and couldn't sit up on her own. I propped her against the pillows and got water into her. Was I supposed to stand there and let her choke?"
"..."
Jeanne held his gaze for a long moment, then huffed.
"Hmph. I'm going to check on Kureha first. Then you and I are going to have a nice long chat about what exactly you've been up to."
With that parting shot, Jeanne stood up and walked out.
The reception hall was left with just the two elven girls leaning over the second-floor railing, enjoying the show.
"Keep laughing, you two. Get back to studying. Especially you, Laurier. Finish Introduction to the Dungeon and Its Monsters. You're not stepping out of this house until you're done."
Leon glanced up at the pair, tone flat.
"What!?"
"No way! I don't want to read some book!"
"Tough. Push me on this and you're banned from the Dungeon until I say otherwise."
"..."
Aura shot Laurier a sidelong glance, then turned and headed back toward her own room.
Sure, she was getting dragged into this because of Laurier, but to her, it was just studying. Nothing to make a fuss about.
As for her friend Laurier?
Sorry, no help to offer here.
Watching Laurier trudge off down the second-floor corridor muttering something despondent under her breath, Leon's mouth curved up in smug satisfaction.
That's what you get for slacking off, brat.
...
Inside the guest room.
Kureha had drifted back to consciousness once again.
When Leon walked in carrying a tea set...
He was dumbfounded to discover that Jeanne, Rose, and Kureha were already chatting away like old friends.
The easy rapport between them was already set in stone.
Friendships between women, honestly... where did they even come from? How exactly did they communicate? How had they gotten this close in such a short span of time?
Leon had no answers.
"Ahem..."
He cleared his throat lightly, reminding the three ladies of his presence.
"Oh, it's Leon."
Jeanne glanced at him.
"Just set the tea set and snacks over there. If there's nothing else, why don't you head out first?"
Leon: "..."
See that? What kind of response was that?
Why did the whole atmosphere in the guest room suddenly turn awkward and still the second he walked in?
Kureha especially. She was clutching the blanket to hide half her face, cheeks tinged pink, eyes darting around, not daring to meet his gaze at all.
Noticing her small reaction, Jeanne and Rose immediately sent meaningful looks his way, locking onto Leon like a target.
Leon clicked his tongue.
"You three chat. I'll go start dinner."
Under the twin beams of Jeanne and Rose's scrutiny, he gave them an unbothered wave and turned for the kitchen.
...
The kitchen.
Chop chop chop!
"I didn't even do anything. Just picked her up for a second."
"Force majeure."
Leon muttered to himself as he worked through the prep, hands moving a shade faster than usual.
"Just recovered from serious injury, body still weak... I'll make chicken soup. Good chance for everyone to get some nourishment in too."
"Hmm, bread and rice both, better prepare some of each as staples."
"As for side dishes..."
...
Dinnertime.
As Leon brought out one carefully prepared dish after another and laid them on the table, the mood finally settled into something warm and harmonious.
"Delicious!"
Kureha carefully sipped a spoonful of the thick chicken soup, her eyes lighting up at once, her face glowing with happiness.
"Orario-style chicken soup. The chicken is a special breed raised exclusively by Demeter Familia. Extremely high nutritional value, tender and flavorful meat, and most importantly, perfect for stock."
Leon introduced the dish with pride in his voice.
"Oh... so you have this sort of skill too. And, well... a man handling the cooking..."
Hearing Kureha's quiet murmur, the others exchanged amused smiles.
"Jeanne and I were just as shocked by that at first."
Rose smiled gently and topped off Kureha's soup, setting the small bowl steadily back in front of her.
"That's why I said it's strange. In my home kingdom..."
At that, Kureha's words cut off abruptly, her expression falling.
Leon caught her dip in mood at once, and immediately shot a glance at Jeanne and Rose. The two got the message and smoothly steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Kureha, let me tell you about Orario! There are so many demi-human races here...!"
"See, Laurier and Aura are both elf girls!"
...
After the meal.
Though the mention of her homeland had cast a shadow over Kureha's mood, she quickly pulled herself back together.
Back during her afternoon conversation with Jeanne and Rose, she had already come to understand her current situation.
An entirely new world...
At its heart, the Labyrinth City Orario...
A Dungeon whose depths no one had ever reached...
Monsters and Adventurers...
This world was no less filled with chaos and danger. There were no demons here, but there were gods who had sealed away their divine power and descended from the heavens to the mortal realm!
A world both wondrous and full of challenges!
A quiet resolve welled up inside Kureha.
She decided to make a clean break from that dark kingdom, and here, in this place, to open a brand-new chapter of her life.
Here, she would atone for her past through her actions.
And the first step...
"Mr. Leon, please let me join the Familia!"
Seeing the firm resolve in Kureha's eyes, everyone knew she had crossed the threshold in her heart and was stepping onto the road of her new life.
Leon's mouth curved upward, and he rose to his feet.
"As you wish, Miss Kureha Clyret."
With that, he extended a hand in an inviting gesture, leading her toward the bedroom to begin the Falna ceremony.
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