Chapter 249

Although he had showered earlier under the pretext of feeling uncomfortable due to sweating, he hadn't had the presence of mind to bring a change of clothes. So he had picked up and put on Agrizendro's clothes that he had been wearing originally and came out.

While it was a battle uniform, the material was much better than the Imperial Army's uniform, and since the owner of the clothes was quite large in build, it was roomy and didn't feel particularly uncomfortable.

Even when he took off his top and was examined by the medical officer, after the bandages were fully wrapped, he was handed that same clothing without fail. Above all, since Agrizendro, the owner, hadn't said anything, he had naturally been wearing it until now as if it were his own clothes. 

However, he knew that the medical team coming and going inside and outside the cabin occasionally glanced at him. He also knew that they looked at the Commander's insignia on his chest with strange gazes.

Not only was someone else wearing the highest commander's clothes, but that person was also an outsider who didn't even belong to the same organization. If they were part of the Council, it would naturally be concerning. Amidst such gazes, he felt a bit embarrassed to keep wearing this.

Leonardo, who had been looking down at his sleeve, shifted his gaze slightly to Hugo. As he happened to be looking this way too, their eyes met and he hesitated for a moment.

In that state, instead of saying anything, he just blinked blankly. His eyes seemed to be asking, "Should I take this off?" but the other seemed to have understood it differently. As if thinking he meant to explain how he came to wear these clothes, he briefly recounted the earlier situation.

"When we arrived here, your clothes were already quite dirty. For hygiene reasons, we removed them before proceeding with the surgery, and after the treatment was finished, I arbitrarily put my clothes on you."

Although he hadn't asked, Leonardo naturally nodded at the explanation. He knew better than anyone that his mage robe had become like a rag, so he had guessed that was the reason for the change of clothes. However, the questions "Why your clothes?" and "Who put them on?" kept lingering on his tongue. But he missed the timing to ask due to Hugo's continued words.

"The mage robe you were wearing before probably won't function properly anymore. If you're okay with it, it might be better to discard that mage robe... Instead, I'll arrange a new one for you."

"Huh? Really?"

Leonardo asked back as if he hadn't expected it. Yet his voice clearly revealed an undisguised pleased tone. Hugo nodded as if it were natural, but after turning to look at Flynn, he asked Leonardo again.

"By the way, Leonardo, do you have any spare clothes?"

"...Spare clothes? Why?"

"You might be uncomfortable if you keep wearing that. I was wondering if you had any clothes in your artifact that you could change into."

Leonardo also turned his head towards Flynn upon hearing Hugo's words. Before entering Peak 118, he had put items that shouldn't be lost into the artifact and entrusted it to Flynn. Of course, he had locked it so that no one but himself could open it, so there was no way anyone else could have opened it.

After briefly organizing his thoughts, Leonardo's lips moved slightly as he turned his eyes to Hugo and said:

"I don't. That mage robe was it."

At this answer, Hugo's eyelids blinked slowly. For a moment, his blue eyes went up slightly and then down. Soon, without showing any particular reaction, he added:

"Then wear that for a little longer until we can get new clothes. It's a chaotic time for the subjugation force and all of Fidele, so it might be difficult right away... but I'll get them for you as soon as possible. If necessary, you could change into Flynn's clothes."

At this, Flynn interjected with a somewhat awkward nuance:

"Um... Wouldn't my clothes be a bit small for Blaine? His arms and legs are much longer than mine.... Or, I could go out and borrow clothes from another member with a similar build. Even in just the 1st Battalion, there seem to be about two suitable people."

"...That wouldn't be bad either."

Hugo more or less agreed with the alternative Flynn suggested. However, Leonardo, who had been watching their conversation, suddenly furrowed his brows and said:

"I don't want to."

At his firm voice, Hugo and Flynn turned their heads towards him. Leonardo was momentarily flustered by his own outburst of inner thoughts, but he maintained a composed expression. Clearing his throat with a cough, he continued with a reluctant face:

"I don't want to borrow clothes from some guy I don't know. I'd rather just keep wearing this."

Although it might seem picky, Leonardo crossed his arms, asserting his stubborn intention. In the imperial capital, he had sneered when the jailer said the Commander had specially bestowed a battle uniform, but he hadn't expected to end up wearing it like this, so he wasn't particularly pleased. Nevertheless, it was far better than putting on the battle uniform of some Council member he barely knew.

As Leonardo frowned as if he'd rather die than do that, Hugo, who had been staring blankly, suddenly let out a small laugh. Then, pressing Leonardo's furrowed brow with his hand, he spoke with a faint smile in his voice:

"Alright. There's no need to borrow someone else's clothes if you don't want to. Do as you please."

Although the nuance was that he really meant for him to do as he wished, not mocking him, to Leonardo it sounded like he was coaxing a stubborn child. Because of this, he narrowed his eyes and rubbed his brow where Hugo's hand had passed with the back of his hand.

Yet he lowered his gaze for no reason and mulled over his inexplicable statement from earlier.

'Why did I lie?'

He had a lot of clothes stored in his artifact for disguise while living in hiding. He had even shown these two people himself wearing different clothes while acting as a low-ranking merchant group member in Frost Territory.

Fortunately, neither of them seemed to have noticed anything strange, but he wondered why he had lied about not having clothes to change into.

Leonardo unconsciously touched his nape with a complicated expression. Then, suddenly, Agrizendro covered his hand with his large one. Startled by this, Leonardo looked up at him, and Hugo's gaze, its meaning unclear, settled on his eyes.

Leonardo, staring into the blue eyes, tilted his head in puzzlement.

It was because the other's expressionless face seemed to be tinged with an inexplicable joy.

***

Flynn, having finished cleaning up, went outside to compile reports in place of the tired Hugo. As the situation of being left alone with him returned once again, Leonardo felt as if the soup, which had nothing to settle on, was firmly stuck in his solar plexus.

Being alone with that person in one space made him extremely nervous. It was uncomfortable, this situation.

As an extension of needlessly being self-conscious earlier, now all his senses were focused on that person.

However, Hugo himself was sitting cross-legged in a makeshift chair next to the deck, continuously looking at a map with something marked on it. He seemed to be concentrating quite intently, making Leonardo hesitant to break the awkwardness by saying just anything, thinking he shouldn't disturb this quietness, and became careful with even a single action.

Thanks to this, only the sound of turning pages occasionally brushed by, and Leonardo checked things like the range of motion of his arm while holding his shoulder and rotating it.

Honestly, he had thought he could go outside after taking all the prescribed medicine. But that was a big miscalculation. First of all, setting aside the fact that he couldn't finish the soup, even after taking the medicine and confirming that his condition was fine, Agrizendro didn't let him go outside.

The reason was that he needed more recovery before going out and about, but although it was said to be for protection, it felt like he was being forcibly confined.

But time kept passing, and his worry about Nero kept growing. Feeling that this couldn't go on, Leonardo finally called out to Hugo cautiously.

"Agrizendro."

Leonardo always drew attention first by saying "Hey" or calling the name when he was curious about something or had a request. Hugo, who now knew his way of expression quite well, guessed that he had something to ask from the gentle voice calling his name.

Sure enough, when he raised his head, Leonardo approached quietly with a weak expression. Sitting on the edge of the deck, he leaned his upper body forward and muttered in quite a gloomy tone:

"I want to go outside. It's stuffy in here."

How could one ignore when such a pretty face was pleading? Hugo, who had been quietly looking at Leonardo, slowly shook his head.

"It's better to rest inside for now. Even if your recovery is fast, you shouldn't forget that you're a patient."

"But I want to get some fresh air. I already feel like my muscles are atrophying from just lying down."

Leonardo grumbled as he gently placed his hand on Hugo's forearm resting on the armrest. At the light touch pressing down as if whining, Hugo's gaze went down to that spot and then met the golden eyes again.

Although he still looked weak, it seemed his exceptional cleverness hadn't gone anywhere. He wanted to go along with it somewhat, seeing him properly using his strengths.

But there was something he needed to hear first. As they happened to be alone, it seemed they could talk comfortably.

"Leonardo."

"Yes?"

As Hugo folded the map and straightened his upper body that had been leaning back, Leonardo looked at him with expectant eyes. 

However, his voice setting the mood that followed instinctively gave him a bad feeling.

"Earlier, there was something you said you'd explain to me. I'd like to hear about that."