Chapter 240: Leo’s Past
She was standing there, a dark cloak covering her clothes and a basket in her hands. She was a truly beautiful young woman, with two-toned hair and a gentle smile on her face.
I had to make an effort not to stare at her too much. It was as if her beauty cast a spell on men, because wherever she went, she drew the soldiers’ gazes.
"Hello, Leo."
"Hello," I replied, still surprised by her presence there.
"Hey, Equidna, how’s it going?" Laios asked as she approached us. "What brings you to our humble battalion?"
Laios’s eyes traveled up and down Equidna’s body, without the slightest shame at being caught staring.
"I’m doing very well, thank you for asking," she said, her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face. "I came to speak with Byron and took the opportunity to talk to Leo. I also thought he might like a snack after his arduous training."
She raised the basket to chest height, looking very pleased with what she was carrying.
I scratched my head, not having expected her to do something like that. Her doing this for me reminded me of my older sister.
"You didn’t have to go to the trouble."
"Not at all. I was the one who recommended you for this position, so I feel obligated to check on you from time to time," she replied with a radiant grin.
I felt an elbow jab me in the arm.
"You’re one lucky guy, huh, Leo?" Laios said with a playful smile. "Getting a treat from a beautiful woman. It’s a shame she’s too ol—Aaaah!"
As fast as Laios was, he was caught off guard when Equidna stomped on his foot. I could even hear his bones crack.
Equidna paid no attention to the battalion leader’s reaction as he hunched over, clutching his injured foot in pain. She stared at me with the same unwavering smile, holding out her basket to me.
"Come on," she said softly.
I followed her, since my instructor now had to visit the nearest infirmary because of his injury.
"You’ll pay for this, you old hag!!" Laios shouted in a mixture of anger and pain.
We sat down on a nearby bench. I sat a little distance away from the young woman, thinking she might want some personal space, but she made a point of moving closer to me, leaving only a few inches between us.
Equidna placed the basket on her lap and removed the checkered cloth covering its contents. Inside the charming little basket were several sandwiches.
"Go ahead, take one," she said cheerfully.
"O-Okay..."
I did as she asked, leaning forward to take a sandwich. Only then did I realize what I was doing.
My face was close to Equidna’s, and my nose was quickly filled with the sweet scent emanating from her. Not to mention that reaching for something right between her thighs was rather suggestive.
I swallowed hard, quickly grabbed the sandwich, and bit into it, avoiding looking her in the eyes.
"Does it taste good?" she asked.
"It’s not bad at all," I replied honestly.
"I’m glad," she replied, looking overjoyed. "As the one who made these sandwiches, that makes me very happy to hear."
"You made them?"
She answered with a gentle nod.
At that moment, I remembered what my perverted instructor had said a few moments earlier. The dirty-mindedness he so often claimed I lacked filled my thoughts and helped me connect a few dots.
The way Equidna acted around me was rather flirtatious, as she was always trying to get closer and closer to me. I felt flattered that such a beautiful woman wanted to be close to me, but I simply couldn’t stop thinking about the past—about the girl I wanted to be with.
I avoided her gaze, unsure how I should feel about her. That must have saddened her, causing her bright smile to disappear as she looked gloomily down at the basket resting on her lap.
"You don’t like me, Leo?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
She was so direct that she caught me off guard.
"It’s not like that. You’ve been really helpful. Thanks to you, I can grow stronger by training here. I’m truly grateful to you."
That was true. Thanks to her, my dream of exterminating all monsters was closer than ever before. But my heart still wavered.
"But you don’t like me the way a man likes a woman, do you?" she asked.
I didn’t have the courage to reject her. Not while she was looking at me like that. I felt terrible seeing her this way. After everything she had done for me, I thought it was only fair to explain why I couldn’t return her feelings.
"When I was little, my hometown was attacked by monsters. Many people died back then, including my childhood friend’s mother and my sister, who was taking care of me at the time."
"I’m sorry to hear that."
I didn’t respond to her condolences. I felt tempted to give her the easy answer—that time had healed my wounds—but I still missed my sister, who had taken care of me despite everything.
Needless to say, after that, I developed an overwhelming desire to exterminate monsters. I didn’t want anyone else to suffer the way my sister had suffered in her final moments.
"That night, my sister protected me during a goblin attack, but she ended up being severely injured in the process. I cried and cried as the monsters closed in on us in the forest. I thought I was done for, but then someone came."
Even now, I could remember her clearly. The young woman appeared before us as if she had fallen from the sky and defeated all the Goblins with her fists. She had straight but messy dark brown hair and wore silver gauntlets.
"A Monk appeared and saved my life. She couldn’t save my sister, but she helped me bury her and stayed in town to help with the reconstruction." A faint smile appeared on my lips as I remembered her. "She left such a strong impression on me that, even though I was just a child, I seriously told her I was going to marry her."
"Eh? So direct, and so precocious too!!"
"That’s what she said." I tried to imitate her tone of voice. "’You’re still too young! Grow up, become a strong man, and maybe I’ll reconsider!’"
Equidna laughed at my impression. "Well, if a child asked me to marry him, I’d probably say the same thing. I don’t blame her."
"I joined the Silver Fang because it would allow me to accomplish both of my goals. I could become stronger, and I might also be able to meet the woman I owed so much to again."
"She was part of the Silver Fang?" Equidna asked in surprise.
"Yes, but so far, I haven’t been able to find anyone who knew her. It’s really strange..."
"What was her name?" Equidna asked.
"Teresia. Teresia Limbert."
Equidna paused for a moment, her expression impossible to read. She looked as though she were searching her memory for that person. Although she wasn’t enlisted, she had special permission from the Silver Fang. From what I understood, she carried out jobs for the army despite not being an official member.
I thought someone like her might know Teresia, or at least have heard of her, but—
"Nope, don’t remember her," she finally replied, looking frustrated. "But if she was already an adult when you were a child, she may have retired a long time ago."
"Maybe you’re right," I replied, somewhat disappointed. "Maybe—no, she’s most likely gotten married and moved on with her life by now, but I still want to see her again."
I clenched my hands into fists. Maybe what I truly wanted was to ask her whether everything I had done up to that point had been for nothing. Whether all those years I had spent killing monsters and abandoning my friends...
I wanted someone to tell me that I had made the right decision.
"I can’t promise anything, but I’ll look into it and see if I can find something about her."
"You’d do that for me?"
"Of course!" she said excitedly. "I’d love to meet her too. After all, she’s the woman you admire so much. I’d love to meet my rival."
"Rival?"
"By the way, there’s something I need to discuss with you, Leo," Equidna said, completely ignoring my question about the word "rival."
"What’s the matter?" I asked, accepting the change of subject.
She glanced around. There were indeed a few soldiers near where we were sitting. She leaned closer to my ear and whispered, covering her lips with one hand to keep anyone from reading them.
"I need to speak with you in private," she said, sounding slightly nervous. "It’s about your friends, Sarah and Rick."
My eyes widened when I heard those names after so long. Equidna’s expression was serious.
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