Chapter 33

EP.33 3-Week Vacation-4

“Ha... So, to sum it up simply...”

[1. Leo explained everything that had happened so far and what happened after he started working for the family in his letter.]

[2. However, there was a bit of a misleading phrase when he introduced Aria.]

[3. So, Leo and Aria were thought to be a couple in Doron Village.]

“...Is that it?”

“Yeah. Everyone in the village knows it that way.”

Thinking back, his words were a bit strange even a year ago. The reason the village chief and Dean had smiled strangely back then must have been because of this.

[You... are really clueless, aren't you? Normally, you would have noticed when you visited a year ago.]

<...Don't say it's all my fault. There were many other things to talk about back then.>

The misunderstanding with Aria was quite a big topic, but even more so, returning to the village after being away for several years was a topic that could be talked about for at least ten years.

And since he was only in the village for about two hours, there wasn't much time to catch up.

“Miss, what do you think? You must be in a difficult situation too.”

Ariasphil had always lived with a blank expression. After the regression, she smiled more, but her lips didn't move unless there was something particularly joyful.

“Huh? What...? Hm...”

But now, she was smiling too much. To the point where a whistling sound could be heard between her words.

The phrase "her lips curled up to her ears" might have been coined just for Aria now.

She was so beautiful, but the sense of dissonance from her previous life made her shiver.

<Why is she smiling like that...?>

[...I don't know. Maybe you used some joke assassination technique on her.]

<Is that what you call a joke?>

[...Sigh...]

He didn't understand why he was the one feeling flustered while the sage sighed in frustration.

Now, he couldn't tell if the world had gone mad or if he had.

“...Anyway, I need to go and set the record straight.”

He needed to tell the truth before it was too late.

“But are you really not dating?”

“No, we're not. Besides, how could I ever date a noble lady?”

Leo's status was that of a commoner.

Not even a wealthy farmer, but a mere mercenary who had barely become a knight.

For someone like him to be dating Aria, the noble lady of the hero family, would mean that the head of the family and Marken would never let him be.

“Indeed, that's true. We didn't know the lady you serve is from the hero family.”

When Dean accepted this, Aria's smiling face suddenly darkened.

Even the sage, who had seen much of the world, had never seen such a mix of emotions so clearly before.

The clueless brothers, however, didn't notice.

“But what can we do... If the village chief hears this, will he fall ill again?”

“...Fall ill again? Wasn't it just a cold?”

Dean scratched his furry cheek with his sharp claws.

“So... the day you wrote the letter, it was just a cold, but the next day, you asked Nimbus for a rain ritual due to the drought, and got struck by lightning because you offended Inis.”

“Sigh... That old man, when he catches a cold, he should just rest. So, what's the situation now?”

“He was groaning, but when he heard you were coming, he jumped up. He's still grumbling, though.”

“Just like the village chief.”

Aria, in shock, could only blink her eyes. It wasn't that she was calm about the lightning strike.

She had just met Dean, and now names like Nimbus and Inis, which she had never heard before, were being mentioned one after another.

And they were all...

‘...all women’s names...’

There was no way a man would have names like ‘Nimbus’ or ‘Inis’. It was hard to imagine such an open culture in a village like Doron.

“...Who are Nimbus and Inis, exactly?”

She deliberately emphasized the word “women.” If they weren't, they would correct her with a laugh and explain.

“Women? Leo, should we consider them women?”

“I don't know... They look beautiful, but their actions are as rough as an orc's... But does it matter to them? Brother?”

“It's just my opinion.”

It was more like idle gossip, backbiting.

The point of the conversation was that they didn't live up to their appearances.

Boom

At that moment, a loud thud echoed.

Neither Leo, Dean, nor even the sage noticed the sound.

Only Aria could hear it. But she didn't realize it was a mental explosion.

‘...They look beautiful...’

‘...They look beautiful...’

‘...Look beautiful...’

The phrase “look beautiful” echoed with the boom. Her eyes lost their vitality, and for some reason, her hand moved towards the hilt of her sword.

“We've arrived.”

As the murderous aura grew, the village's silhouette began to appear through the trees.

“It's been a while. Here too.”

A familiar place, where the scent of grass and the sound of cursing always filled the air.

His long-lost hometown.

“Kids!! Leo's here!! Come out!!”

At the sound of the familiar dialect, people started to rush out of their houses.

It was almost like refugees fleeing during a war.

“Leonardo!!”

No, that was an understatement.

The energy that rushed out was like that of an elite militia, piercing the sky.

“Why are you so late?!”

With a rough face, the man raised an axe. The bloodstained blade was quite terrifying.

“There were circumstances. Uncle Jeff.”

But Leo, who had seen Jeff get excited many times, knew this was a relatively friendly reaction.

“The food is cold! Oh, it should be eaten hot!!”

There was no need to be afraid of someone getting angry over such a reason.

“Honey, he's come a long way, so be a bit more welcoming.”

Jeff's wife, Sue, who was a butcher and a cook, showed a warm smile as she calmed her violent husband.

“Welcome back, Leo. It's been a year, hasn't it?”

“Yes, I should have come more often, but I was busy.”

“Don't worry about it. What about the things you prepared?”

“Of course, I prepared them. Madam.”

Leo started rummaging through his bag like a big shot in a black market.

“...Huh? Why isn't it here?”

But soon, his expression turned blank.

“Leo?”

“...Did I leave the chocolate set on the train...?”

He had definitely packed it when he took his leave and left home. But when he got off the train in a hurry, he must have left the chocolate set behind.

“Honey~ Can I go back in?”

Swoosh

At his beloved wife's request, Jeff raised his bloodstained butchering knife. In that tense moment, Leo's hand found something.

“I found it! I put it in the inner pocket of the bag!”

A beautifully packaged black box proudly emerged from the bag. The knife naturally lowered.

“But what did you say? Such hurtful words...”

“Oh, our Leo! Thinking of me! How thoughtful!!”

Sue, having rescinded her order, warmly welcomed him. Worried that Leo might ask about the order, she grabbed his cheeks with enthusiasm.

“What about the village chief?”

“The village chief is at the hall. He's not feeling well and... he's not very honest, is he?”

“He's just gruff.”

While they were catching up on the year that had passed, the gazes of some of the villagers who had finished greeting him turned to a beautiful girl.

“That girl is...”

“Let me introduce her. She's the noble lady I serve...”

“Leo's girlfriend!!”

Leo's grand plan to correct the misunderstanding from the start was derailed.

The word "girlfriend" made all the villagers focus their gaze on Aria and Leo.

“There's some misunderstanding...”

“That's right! Leo's girlfriend!!”

“It's just like what was written in the letter!?”

“What a blessing!! Jeff! Quickly, catch another chicken!!”

Leo's words were as meaningless as reading a sutra to a cow. The villagers, like silly relatives, continued to spin their own stories.

“That's not it!!”

“This isn't right! Take them to the village chief quickly!!”

“Yeah!! Let's do it!!”

The villagers, already convinced that Leo and Aria were a couple, started to drag them to the village hall.

In their minds, the fact that Leo and Aria were a couple was already a truth.

“So...! Let me speak...!”

There was no chance to point out the mistake.

The knight and the lady, already confirmed as a couple, were pushed into the village hall. The villagers, out of consideration, decided to wait outside the hall to let them talk to the chief in private.

Leo was about to explode from the unexpected consideration.

[They're too forceful, aren't they?]

The sage, who always criticized the hometown people, looked like a fairy. It was probably the same principle as how a cockroach might look a bit cute after seeing a mouse.

“Leo...?”

In the slightly dark hall, an old woman sat at a round table. With her unkempt white hair, the village chief asked in a hoarse voice.

“You sound very hoarse. Chief Anus.”

Anus coughed repeatedly and glared at Leo, who had returned after a long time.

“You don't answer my questions and talk about other things, so it must be Leo.”

“After all the worry, you start with insults, so you must be healthy.”

Warm-hearted insults were exchanged as the village chief and Leo confirmed each other's existence.

The chief's ability to hold his own against a sage who had lived for over 300 years was impressive.

“This old woman, struck by lightning, is still healthy.”

“Has Inis ever done that just once? So, you should rest when you're sick.”

At the mention of Inis, Aria's eyes turned ominous again. Noticing this, Chief Anus pointed at Aria and asked.

“So? Is this girl a pitiful lady who chose a fool like you as her lover?”

“But I've been saying...! That's...”

“Leo is not a fool.”

This time, Aria cut off Leo's words.

Unaware of this, Aria glared at the chief with a firm tone. It was certainly impolite to an elder, especially the village chief.

But perhaps impressed by her spirit, the old woman tilted her head and glared back at Ariasphil.

“Huh... Why does a greenhouse flower from the hero family think that?”

Aria's eyes wavered. She hadn't even mentioned her name, yet the chief had immediately recognized her as from the hero family.

“Leo practices magic and swordsmanship every day. He is the strongest among the family knights and has now obtained a mid-level magic license from the magic tower...”

“Ultimately, all he knows is how to fight. He probably just got lucky with magic.”

The sage nodded in agreement beside her. If he could, he would have slapped her in the face.

“And he teaches me many things...”

“Knowledge gained as a mercenary is not reliable. It's just based on personal experience.”

Aria's eyes gradually filled with venom. She wanted to refute the old woman's words somehow.

“I know that much too. I probably know more than you.”

She couldn't argue with that.

The total time spent with Leo was overwhelmingly more for the chief.

“So, I'll ask you. What is Leonardo to you?”

“...That...”

Ariasphil couldn't speak immediately.

She wasn't sure herself.

He was too close to be just a personal knight,

too distant to be just a friend,

and she wasn't sure about his feelings or her own to call him a lover.

“See? Even if you call him a lover, a naive little lady like you probably just needs some memories. If you really get married...”

But she couldn't keep silent at that insult.

“I will get married!!”

There was no time for silence.

“I will get married as soon as I turn twenty!! I will have two children, a boy and a girl!! I've even decided on their names!!”

Her daydream on the train had already turned into a vigorous honeymoon.