Chapter 82

The members who had finished their meal were erasing traces of their stay in the cave and were scattered relatively freely, organizing the remaining luggage. However, some, including the 8th Platoon leader, stood at a distance and kept an eye on Leonardo.

It was because during the meal, he had suddenly jumped up and tried to go outside, causing an incident where the members of the 8th Platoon all got up in a rush, worried that he might escape. Because of that, Leonardo couldn't go far and plopped down on the low, flat rock where he had sat with Hugo yesterday.

Except for the few watching him, the other members who had finished their meal gathered the tableware and approached near the crater lake. As the water was so clear and transparent, they judged it suitable for rinsing the tableware or filling the water bottles.

As they reached the water's edge, ripples occurred on the tranquil surface of the lake and gradually spread far.

Leonardo meaninglessly fixed his gaze on those ripples and fell into deep thought, biting his lips.

'I have a mountain of things to do, can I really finish the subjugation and return by then at this pace? If only I could wander around alone... No, even if Agrizendro doesn't know anything else, there's no way he'll allow me to wander around alone.'

When he was too anxious to pay attention to his surroundings, Flynn slowly approached him. Flynn carefully spoke to him, who seemed to be in deep thought since earlier, while putting down the luggage he had organized a little distance from Leonardo.

"Aren't you hungry?"

It was because he had barely eaten again after jumping up and going out of the cave, only to be stopped by the members. Leonardo narrowed his brows and just bit his lips, then glanced at Flynn and turned his head back towards the lake, saying,

"You really like me, don't you."

Flynn's face was filled with perplexity and he asked back as if saying what kind of absurd remark that was.

"What? What are you suddenly talking about?"

Leonardo, who had abruptly made such a remark, spoke without taking his eyes off the water surface, with a face showing no emotional fluctuation at all.

"Because you keep talking to me."

It would be funny if Leonardo got along well with the Council members, but Flynn was very concerned about him trying to be alone all the time and not eating properly.

Of course, he himself wasn't entirely comfortable with him either. However, because the other members were quite wary of Leonardo, Flynn felt a sense of responsibility that he should at least take care of him.

But his answer just now sounded as if his goodwill was bothersome, so Flynn glared at him and said,

"Then should I stop caring?"

Leonardo had a lot on his mind and his head was complicated, so he was going to just ignore it. However, feeling Flynn's blunt voice and gaze still directed at him, he had no choice but to turn his head. The clear and fresh light green eyes were looking at him with a quite disappointed air.

This fellow's thoughts were clearly visible just by looking at his eyes since they first met. Perhaps because of that, his appearance of talking to him, getting hurt, and being disappointed was fully exposed, so from his perspective, he was a quite tiring type.

But seeing him not backing down and continuing to talk to him, it seemed to be just his original nature.

Leonardo shook his head and tapped the spot next to where he was sitting.

"Sit down. Don't just stand there blankly."

Flynn's expression that had been captivated loosened and he approached and sat next to Leonardo with a newly surprised face as if fascinated. In fact, he might have been waiting for him to say this.

However, as soon as they sat side by side, Flynn pondered what to say to him in the flowing silence. In the meantime, seeing his expression that seemed to be seriously worrying as well while continuously staring at the lake, he casually asked,

"Is something going on? You look very serious."

"Things?"

Leonardo let out a small hollow laugh.

"A lot."

Although it could seem arrogant, the way he said it with a grave face made it seem like he was really troubled by having a lot of things to do. However, Flynn could intuitively know that even if he asked about it, Leonardo wouldn't answer, so although he was curious, he didn't ask further.

In fact, although he hadn't told him, Flynn was quite certain that Leonardo had helped Brianna Dixie, who had been the grand master of Delberg in the Frost Territory, escape.

However, the reason he was keeping his mouth shut was not because he thought Leonardo was an accomplice in the monster smuggling, but because he thought that Leonardo knew the circumstances that Brianna Dixie had been used by the merchant group, regardless of how he knew.

So he even speculated that perhaps he had been going around solving cases that hadn't surfaced on the outside. He was skilled at changing or concealing his appearance, so it wouldn't be strange even if there were other cases he had been involved in among the numerous cases the Council had solved.

Suddenly, Flynn recalled asking Leonardo, who had been acting as Tergio, about his future destination when they parted in the Frost Territory. At that time, he had said he was going where he was needed.

Flynn, reminiscing about that conversation, quietly thought while glancing sideways.

'The Council is the place that needs you the most.'

In the Council, one could face a really wide variety of affairs. The world was full of extraordinary cases, and there were many things to be solved and people who needed help.

Some people say the world has become a better place to live in after the war ended, but some people are living in an invisible turbulent time even in this peace.

And the hero who blooms in such turbulent times was a being everyone desired.

In fact, to the point where it felt fascinating to be sitting next to him, the image of Leonardo that Flynn remembered from the past was like a hero who was hard to approach. The military command center that Armsilver frequently visited was also in the capital, but even so, it was quite difficult to see Armsilver in the capital.

Moreover, Leonardo Blaine, who was mentioned as one of the strongest among Armsilver, could only be seen during large-scale expeditions, and he always wore a helmet on the expedition, so Flynn had never even imagined that he would one day sit right next to the face inside that helmet.

Now, he no longer has the same glory as back then due to some incident, but Flynn could sufficiently feel that he wasn't a bad person just by spending this short time together with him. That's why he felt even more regretful that he was left with the image of a criminal.

So Flynn thought it would be nice if he could belong to the Council and become a hero of the world once again.

Just like back then, when asked who the most respected person was to a child at a specialized Bermuda orphanage in Agrizendro Territory, the name Leonardo Blaine would come out first without hesitation even with Hugo Agrizendro in front of them.

However, knowing it was his own greed, Flynn swallowed it bitterly alone instead of speaking it out loud.

At that moment, when Flynn was reminiscing about his feelings towards the one sitting next to him, Leonardo stared intently at the lake in front and opened his mouth.

"Hey, was that originally like that?"

Flynn snapped out of his thoughts and turned his eyes to the lake following his gaze. The center of the lake, which had clearly been only clear and transparent, could be seen dyed black by something huge.

It was gradually approaching closer to the members sitting by the water's edge rinsing the tableware.

Flynn narrowed his eyes, thinking he might have seen wrong.

"What... is that?"

It seemed as if something huge was hiding in the lake. Just as Flynn jumped up from his seat at the unusual movement, the 8th Platoon leader rushed over and shouted,

"Get away from the water!"

At the same time as she shouted urgently, the black shadow that had been in the water suddenly shot up above the surface. Thick and long limbs came out of its body and instantly snatched two members who had been by the water's edge.

"Aaaah!"

"W-What is this!"

The unidentified monster had the shape of a mollusk with multiple limbs, and its size was so vast that it was questionable how it had been hiding in the water without being noticed until now.

The red and dark mottled skin was not only slimy but also surrounded by a sticky liquid, and in the center of the body where the limbs were attached, dozens of sunken holes had eyeballs embedded in each of them, making it extremely hideous.

One limb that looked particularly thicker and sturdier than the others had something like a venomous stinger attached to the end like a scorpion's tail, aimed at the captured members.

One of the members being dragged up immediately drew the sword at his waist and forcefully stabbed the limb of the monster that was binding him. However, far from the sword piercing the creature's skin, the blade slipped and didn't cut at all.

The 8th Platoon leader was the first to rush towards the monster and shouted to her subordinates,

"All members of the 8th Platoon, attack!"

At the platoon leader's command, all the members rushed out and leaped into the air, charging at the creature. The monster agilely swung its huge limbs to catch the members who were obscuring its vision, but the movements of the members avoiding it were even faster.

Those wielding swords dove in first, avoiding the monster's limbs, and struck down the flesh on the side where their comrades were caught. However, as if mocking that attack, the limbs that looked slimy didn't even get a scratch and instead deflected the blades.

Seeing that physical attacks didn't work at all, the 8th Platoon leader frowned and stretched out her hand towards the monster, chanting a spell.

"Brute Force."

A grayish-white magic circle was generated from her hand, and immediately, invisible compressed air flew and mercilessly pierced into the monster's body.

As the creature's movements slowed down while it let out a scream, this time the other members wrapped mana around their blades and swung their swords again. Then, the blades dug into the monster's flesh and completely severed the violently writhing limbs.

Taking advantage of the momentary loosening of the pressure binding his body, the tied-up member quickly escaped. However, the surface of the severed monster's limb wriggled grotesquely, and a new limb quickly grew from inside. The 8th Platoon leader shouted,

"The creature has regenerative abilities. Preemptively attack before it fully regenerates!"

"Yes, understood!"

Immediately, the members who could use long-range magic distanced themselves in the air and aimed their hands at the monster. And just as they were about to pour out attacks all at once, the tail of the limb that had been simply regarded as a venomous stinger opened up, and a sticky mucus-like substance was shot into the air from inside.

"Dodge it!"

As it flew this way, Flynn cast a barrier in front of himself and Leonardo. He didn't know what the identity of the mucus-like substance was, but it definitely didn't feel safe.

The other members also hurriedly spread barriers to defend, but one who couldn't cast it in time was completely doused with that liquid.

However, just as he was relieved that there was no physical impact, the creature's tail that had opened up changed back into the shape of a sharp venomous stinger and shot out towards him who was covered in the mucus-like substance, grazing his arm.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Ken!"

The member called Ken screamed and fell from the air. Another member immediately followed and descended, successfully catching him, but his torso was already tightly wrapped by the monster's limb.