Chapter 17: Good night, Master.
Leon returned to the inn after his first day in the smithy.
Today, he became closer with everyone, including the blacksmith master, Bou, whom he'd surprised many times with his high adaptation.
Leon wasn't scared of flames and followed every command well, his hammer striking every burning metal with precision and perfect strength. It was all because Leon snatched the experience of other young blacksmiths and strikers with a few glances, combining them and taking out the best of the best.
In this way, he's learned basic blacksmithing.
[Blacksmith(Common) - your subclass to forge metal items. It's compatible with your class.]
Having that significantly brought Leon closer to a fire element as this subclass increased some of the fire resistance, which was pretty cute now that he thought about it. He was also closer to forging his own chains, so Leon would need more than just skills.
He needed resources.
'I don't know if I'll get more quests… Since it's a crafting class, I either work under Bou and hope for some income or ask for metal pieces to forge chains. Everything's going smoothly because my body is awakening, and comprehension keeps increasing, so I can promise to not waste any metal, can't I?' Leon inwardly thought while thinking of a few incoming days.
And then, Louise's face flashed in his mind. 'I wonder how she's doing….'
Knowing about Louise's day would turn Leon's schedule into a complete and ready-to-follow plan, so he was interested in her day for both reasons — a genuine curiosity stemming from his affection toward her and his desire to form the best schedule for them.
"Mr. Leon… Glad to see you back." The receptionist woman stopped Leon from returning back to his room. She wasn't during her working hours, too, for she'd been waiting for him by a table on the inn's first floor. Her common clothes were fashionable, mainly her fur coat, as though she had a part-time job at night.
Leon didn't feel that cold, but now that he looked outside, it was night and surely cold for an average human. "Has something happened?"
"Ah, it's just about your partner. A lot happened today, so I want to explain before Mrs. Louise complains to you." The woman started a pretty long talk about the chef and Louise, who had declared confidence on the first day despite knowing she wouldn't start any cooking.
First, Louise's tails appeared to be a problem while moving around the crowded kitchen. She shoved a few plates off the table and prodded some workers, resulting in them making blatant mistakes and more chaos. Secondly, when a chance appeared to make something simple, Louise blanked and did not listen to the chef's words.
She failed and then ran away from the kitchen.
"Mrs. Louise can come tomorrow. I believe nerves took over her. She's the only non-human in our kitchen, so she might have felt alienated and too worried about others' opinions. Please, tell her that everyone, except our chef, finds her adorable, and she's free to face off against him tomorrow." The receptionist woman reassured Leon, then bid him farewell.
"Thank you." Leon sighed and went upstairs to his room. "At least we have a roof over our heads."
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After returning back to his room, Leon found Louise swaying on a chair with a peculiar expression.
She pouted, her cheeks full of anger, and her lips were so pursed up that she magically formed an arrow shape out of them. She trembled with her lovely body while her fluffy tails were brushing the floor, seemingly lifeless. Because of her closed eyes and the chair making screeches, Louise hadn't noticed Leon yet.
He didn't want to butt in, for Louise appeared too adorable. If she looked similar during her time in the kitchen, then no wonder everyone found her cute and wanted her back.
In fact, Leon felt commendable about the chef who focused more on his work and comfort rather than the adorable fluffy fox girl running around his kitchen and her chaos.
"I'm back." Leon feigned ignorance, his exhausted and flat voice reaching Louise.
Opening her beautiful blue eyes, Louise's face became even more adorable, an expression that only Leon could see in the Freya World, and she looked like someone who noticed her savior.
"Master!" Louise exclaimed, then hopped off the chair and ran toward Leon with extended arms, shocking him. Her fox tails waggled, rejuvenated, and she embraced him tightly. Her baby face dug through Leon's chest as she cried. "I was bullied today!"
Leon rolled his eyes, enjoyed her warmth, and reached for her hair, scratching behind her fox ears. "Were you?"
"Yes!" Louise lifted her head, her face exuding too many happy vibes, then replied, convinced, "Everyone blamed their mistakes on me and my tails! But that's not true because the chef was angry at everyone equally!"
Inwardly, Leon questioned whether the chef was actually hiding his feelings for Louise, possibly finding her adorable like everyone else. Nonetheless, it was already good that Louise didn't feel wronged by the chef.
But she still felt angry at the wrong people, didn't she? And how come she hasn't mentioned her tails crushing plates and more of her wrong deeds? If Leon remembered correctly, Louise had also left some hair on a few dishes, which the chef had seen through his keen eye.
Leon turned a blind eye to it, for this girl's confidence couldn't be more shattered.
"The worst is when I see a male, Master! They remind me… of him…" Louise's voice trailed off, and she became weaker in Leon's embrace. It felt like she would soon lose strength in her legs, so Leon pressed her little head against his chest, ensuring she would think of something else.
He wouldn't mind if it were about him, too.
"What happened then?" Leon asked carefully and softly.
Louise weakly replied, "It was hard at the beginning… But I managed to slowly get control over it. I could work and help others, but when the chef said to make a simple dish with him and came closer to me, I couldn't listen to him because bad memories took over me. And then I failed…."
"Wow, did you really conquer one of your fears so easily?" Leon genuinely asked, surprising Louise, who once again had looked up at him. "You spent a whole day with other people, and your fear only worsened when one of them was too close to you. Isn't it amazing?"
"It is…" Louise hid her face and her faint smile. The poor girl couldn't hide her tails, though!
Leon carried on, for it was the only chance to strengthen his friend, "You looked at them, didn't you? Even if it was scary, for some time, you faced them and kept doing that, exposing yourself to your fear little by little. Tomorrow, you'll help them again and even be in close contact, so don't run away but stay close, look at their faces and realize that those guys aren't that man, but someone utterly unfamiliar to you, someone you can become friends with!"
"Ok!" Louise replied with a loud and cheerful voice, greatly encouraged by her master!
Leon felt much better, too, as though Louise's smile dispelled all his exhaustion and warmed his heart with a new portion of energy. He took a quick shower, then returned to her side to share his day. Both giggled after learning about their quests, which were so similar, and Louise was in such a good mood that she didn't bat an eye at the word chain.
When Leon finished his plan and made a perfect schedule for them, he chuckled and said, "We'll start training tomorrow morning. Others' eyes will pop off after seeing your skills. No one will dare to bully you."
"I don't want to scare people with my strength. If the chef learns I can beat him to death, he won't teach me properly, Master!" Louise worriedly whispered, sounding cute, even though her words carried death.
Leon could only agree with her. "Well, we'll have to find a good spot for ourselves, then."
"I'll try asking others, Master…."
"Do your best."
At last, it was time to sleep.
Both stared at the bed with different feelings. Leon took the lead and comfortably laid himself on it, then a few minutes later, Louise did the same. Their backs were far from each other, but Louise's tails filled the gap.
Leon's eyes mischievously shone brightly as it was time to bring his plan into play.
He quietly turned around, grasped Louise's tail, then put his head on it, imitating his first sleep in another world, in which Louise had lent him her tail to sleep comfortably. It was indeed pleasant because of her, and now, Leon decided to pay back for today's rock paper scissors by enjoying it genuinely, hoping he wasn't crossing boundaries.
She'd done it once to him, so Leon believed the second time would be forgiven if it was wrong.
Louise naturally felt him doing that and covered her lips to not let out any sound. She was in a much different mood than before, and her tails were more sensitive, to say nothing of them being in bed in their pajamas.
Moreover, Louise knew how much she owed to him, for Leon had utterly erased The Human Emperor's image from himself, supporting her on every move to turn her into an independent woman without any slave stigma.
"Good night, Master…." Louise parted her lips to whisper those words, deciding to do her best to sleep with him rolling his head on her tail.
Hearing her voice and how different she sounded, Leon chuckled and replied, "Good night, Louise."
Not knowing how beet red Louise became, Leon turned around, letting her tail go, and closed his eyes, going asleep in just a few seconds.
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