Chapter 269

Instead of answering Leonardo, whose bewilderment was evident, Hugo nodded. His gaze was directed solely at one person, leaving no room for confusion. His gesture parted the nearby adjutants to either side like the sea.

As a result, Leonardo, who had been standing blankly amidst the crowd, was left alone with Flynn in that spot.

Although he knew Hugo was calling him, he couldn't readily step forward into the crowd. He thought it strange that Hugo was suddenly calling him after saying he should sit apart because the attention might be burdensome.

However, before he could show reluctance, Flynn abruptly cleared away the chair and made a path. With a hand pushing his back saying, "Go on," Leonardo turned around with a perplexed look.

"Hey, hey, don't push-"

Meanwhile, Hugo approached the hesitating Leonardo. He took Leonardo's hand, which was flailing without direction, and gently pulled him towards himself.

Leonardo, turning his head with a surprised expression, took a step forward, pushed by Flynn and led by Hugo. The Commander's face, welcoming him with a gentle eye-smile under the clear sky, was so fresh and cool that he dared not turn his eyes away.

"Let's go."

Hugo embraced Leonardo's shoulder, who was still dazed, and gestured with his chin to the opposite side. As this action was completely different from the person who had been frowning earlier, Leonardo could only look up at him with a blank stare.

His legs moved diligently as they were led, and the two crossed through the gap between the retreating commanders towards the head seat.

Thinking that everyone's attention must be focused on them in the silence, Leonardo wanted to shake off Hugo's hand right away. But before he could act on it, they arrived in front of the empty chair. Hugo appropriately positioned Leonardo between himself and Bruno.

Then, pulling the shoulder he had been holding, Hugo turned to the commanders and solemnly declared:

"I believe we cannot discuss the process of how we came to stand here safely today without mentioning Leonardo Blaine's contributions."

Hugo gently rubbed Leonardo's casted forearm, careful not to hurt him. Although it was a gesture meant to ease tension, Leonardo's upper body stiffened even more.

Trying hard to hide his flustered appearance, he slowly met the many pairs of eyes. Knowing why Agrizendro had placed him here, it was quite uncomfortable to face them.

Just as he was starting to feel an urge to flee from this place, Hugo spoke again.

"Although he participated in the subjugation as an outsider, Leonardo took responsibility for the members' safety at every moment, no less than our commanders. When faced with monsters, he was the first to rush at them, and with his outstanding abilities, he always helped us from the side so that the subjugation could proceed smoothly."

Delua, who had barely restrained herself from clapping alone, tightly clasped her hands together. She recalled the deep valley gap she had walked through with Leonardo in the early stages of the subjugation.

Amidst the falling blood clots of monsters, the image of the brilliantly shining man appeared before her eyes. From that moment until the time he drove away the mother body that appeared on the plains, the back view of someone trying to protect others passed by like a panorama.

"'Plan 5,' which most considered impossible, became the decisive key that allowed us to protect our lives and territory. If you're a commander present here, you'll clearly remember who first came up with that idea."

Hugo said this while looking down at Leonardo. Leonardo averted his gaze from the embarrassing attention.

Bruno, watching the two, recalled the eccentric fellow who had gesticulated during the meeting, insisting on erupting the volcano. At the time, it had been such an outlandish and impossible statement that he remembered himself trying to persuade the Commander until the last moment that Plan 5 was not feasible.

Reminiscing about that time, Bruno inadvertently let out a small laugh. It was because he still couldn't believe that such an impossible thing had actually succeeded.

Although Leonardo was at the center of everyone's attention, he couldn't miss that laughter coming from right beside him. As he glanced at Bruno and tensed his shoulders, Hugo continued in a solemn voice as if to say not to mind:

"He appeared at the most desperate moment when courage was most needed, and fought on the front lines risking his life while enduring pain that felt like his breath would be cut off. Responding to him, our members stood up at the threshold of death, propping themselves up with swords using their broken limbs."

Hugo's solemn gaze asked the commanders:

"If the one who made this possible is not a hero, then who on earth is?"

A quiet silence flowed among the hundred or so commanders. Leonardo didn't know what they wanted to say. He just disliked the suffocating atmosphere and unconsciously fidgeted with his fingertips, taking half a step back.

However, Hugo firmly held his back and arm to prevent him from escaping. Although he knew Leonardo was uncomfortable in this situation, he intended to officially establish this once.

Hugo signaled to Bruno beside him and removed his hand from Leonardo's shoulder. Soon, understanding his intention, Bruno first descended from the head seat and stood next to the commanders.

To Leonardo, who was confused about how the situation was unfolding, Hugo gave a look as if to say stay here. Yet he bowed his head lightly with a gentle smile.

"So, I hope you would accept our greeting."

Hugo, speaking more formally than usual, moved three or four steps away from Leonardo. As he turned his body to face the commanders with his back to Leonardo, Leonardo's view was filled with the sight of everyone, including Hugo, looking only at him.

Feeling unfamiliar with his position at the center of those gazes, Leonardo couldn't muster his usual brazen expression today. Seeing him like this, a pleased smile settled on Hugo's lips. But the smile quickly faded.

Instead, he lowered his voice considerably and firmly instructed his subordinates behind him:

"Everyone, attention."

The sound of mud-covered combat boots moving in response to the supreme commander's voice filled the square like a single echo.

These weren't just ordinary members; each person standing there was a commander who led at least dozens of people under them. The sight of such individuals moving in unison to a single voice was quite spectacular to observe.

As Leonardo was absorbed in such thoughts, Hugo, who had been standing alone with his hands behind his back, commanded in a low voice:

"Salute to the national hero."

Leonardo's eyes widened greatly. It was an honorific title he had lived forgetting for a long time.

At that moment, the commanders' right arms moved in unison. Their arms formed a neat diagonal line with their fingertips touching their eyebrows, creating a sharp angle.

Simultaneously, their voices rising from their core shouted a single slogan in unison:

"Glory to Raina Logia-!"

Perhaps because the sky was clear, the resounding cheer spread particularly far. Like being shocked by a faint electric current, a tingling chill ran down his spine.

It was a respectful slogan that he had come to hate and resent at some point, but strangely, it didn't bother him much today. Rather, his head felt numb as if he had been hit. Leonardo blankly stared at Hugo saluting him from the front for about 5 seconds.

Ironically, his first thought was this:

'Should I be receiving something like this?'

Soon after, he noticed Meterion Clinder reluctantly raising his right arm on the left side. Looking around the square clockwise from him, everyone present was offering their respect to Leonardo.

Suppressing the overwhelming emotions, Leonardo clenched and unclenched his right hand, wondering how he should act. Whether he should place his fist on his left chest as he usually did, or whether he should receive the salute by placing his hand edge to his eyebrow like them.

However, even while pondering such unnecessary thoughts, his brow, crossed with mixed emotions, gradually furrowed out of control. Leonardo was unaware that his lips, which he had unconsciously bitten, had turned red as if bruised.

It would be a lie to say it felt like all his past experiences were being compensated, but at this moment, he felt the resentment built up inside him subside, if only for a while.

Surprisingly, even the pain in his left arm that had been lingering constantly was not felt at this moment. The strange emotion spreading subtly in a corner of his chest seemed to be making his sensory organs behave oddly.

Leonardo lowered his gaze for a moment, then quickly composed his lips that were about to twist. Then, just as he was about to raise his head again and respond to those facing him, Hugo, who had lowered his arm, stepped forward and grasped Leonardo's right hand.

He smiled with narrowed eyes, then bowed his waist and lightly kissed the back of Leonardo's hand.

It wasn't as intense a kiss as last time. However, a hot sensation touched deeply enough to make his fingertips twitch once again before pulling away.

Hugo's eyes, smiling refreshingly, whispered to Leonardo:

"Glory to your future."