LHAHS Chapter 532
Shaking pupils, tightly pressed lips, and clenched fists.
Eiran's face, visible in the darkness, was filled with anxiety.
"When was the last time you slept properly?" Leo asked.
"…A week ago," Eiran replied.
Leo let out a deep sigh, then got up and turned on the magic stone lantern hanging on one side of the tent. Grabbing a towel hanging nearby, he began to dry Eiran's damp hair.
Eiran immediately protested, "Ah, I…"
"Stay still," Leo said indifferently, roughly drying Eiran's hair. Only when most of the moisture was gone did he walked over to his sleeping bag, sit down, and ask, "Are you really that worried about Velkia?"
Eiran lowered her head and whispered, "I know I have to stop her, but I have no idea what to say, how to stop her." Hugging herself, Eiran trembled. "So I'm really scared, that she won't be the Lady Velkia I know. That she'll never wake up again. That Lady Velkia might hurt Sir Leo."
For her, it was overwhelming. The downfall of the person she admired and aspired to be, and the fear that one of the people she respected might harm the other. Her head was filled with anxiety, making sleep impossible.
For the past week, she had tried to collect herself, but she had failed. That was why she had come to Leo.
Leo let out a deep sigh as he looked at Eiran. Of course, it's hard for her.
For Eiran, it was an almost unbearable situation. Calling it weakness would be unfair, this situation was simply too much pressure.
Lunia and Chen Xia were in a slightly different position. What if Chen Xia had to defeat Kyle, who had returned as an undead? What if Lunia had to strike down Luna?
For Eiran, this must feel the same.
For a young girl like Eiran, the pressure was immense.
Leo silently observed Eiran. What should I say?
Should he tell her that if he fought Velkia, he would definitely win?
No words would truly comfort her right now.
He couldn't recklessly promise that Velkia would return to who she was, and Eiran knew well that such a thing was nearly impossible.
Anxiety wore down the mind. The silence and darkness of the night would have only made Eiran's fears worse, yet, she couldn't talk about this with Lunia or Chen Xia. Though they tried not to show it, both of them were just as anxious about the current situation.
Eiran didn't want to burden them while they were trying to stay strong. She had tried to endure alone, but in the end, she couldn't suppress her fears and had come to Leo, the only person she could rely on right now.
Trembling, she raised her head and met Leo's red eyes.
"Is it hard?" Leo asked.
Eiran clenched her teeth, trying to pull herself together.
I can't rely on Sir Leo either.
She knew that Leo didn't just see her as another hero candidate. Since he was a Great Hero, he would inevitably face Erebos and Tartaros in the future, and he had chosen her as a hero to fight on that battlefield.
That's why I can't afford to be weak.
If she kept depending on Leo whenever things got tough, she would become nothing but a burden.
I have to endure this on my own.
Eiran forced a smile. "It's hard, but I'll try my best…"
"If it's hard, just sleep here."
"Huh?"
"You don't have to force yourself to endure everything."
"But I can't always rely on you…"
"That's true, but for now, it's fine." Leo said indifferently. "Helping when you're struggling is what adults do. So? Want me to tell you an old story you like?"
Eiran, who had been in a daze, unconsciously giggled, "Pfft! Sir Leo, I'm not a little kid anymore."
"So you don't want to hear a story?"
"No, I do, actually," Eiran answered in a slightly brighter voice.
Leo watched her, then pulled an extra sleeping bag from his subspace.
Eiran was about to slip into the sleeping bag…
"Hmm~ Looks like nothing suspicious is happening," a voice said from behind.
"Hiik!" Eiran flinched and turned around.
There, crouching and watching her with half-lidded eyes, was Chen Xia.
"X-Xia, how long have you been here?"
"From the start." Chen Xia grinned. "When a man and woman are alone at night, you never know what might happen."
"Do I look like that kind of guy?" Leo clicked his tongue.
Chen Xia shook her head. "I trust Sir Leo. The one I don't trust is Eiran."
Eiran's eyes widened at that, filling with tears. "Th-That's so mean! Just because of my reading preferences, doesn't mean I'd do anything weird! Do I really look like an elf who would sneak in at night to seduce Sir Leo?"
"Yes, you absolutely do." Chen Xia answered without hesitation.
Eiran teared up.
"Can I sleep here too?" Chen Xia asked Leo.
"Why?"
"If Eiran ends up pouncing on you, that would be a disaster."
"I-I'm not that kind of elf!" Eiran wailed, grabbing Chen Xia and shaking her furiously.
Leo burst into laughter. "This brings back memories."
Bihar used to tease Velkia just like that.
As he looked at the descendants of his students, Leo reminisced about the past and said, "Want to hear the story of how I first met Velkia and Bihar?"
Eiran and Chen Xia, who had been bickering, immediately sat in front of Leo.
As they listened to the tales of their ancestors, time passed.
Early dawn. At some point, the blizzard had stopped.
Lunia, having woken up, took a deep breath.
I wonder if Eiran is okay.
As a close friend, Lunia also knew that Eiran was not in a good state.
I want to cheer her up somehow.
However, Lunia couldn't carelessly try to comfort Eiran. She, too, sincerely respected the ancestor of the Lunda family.
Her own ancestor who had dedicated themselves to passing down the flames of Holy Fire to future generations had always been a source of pride for her.
What if such an ancestor were to be resurrected as an undead due to the schemes of the Lich King?
She couldn't even begin to imagine how that would feel.
If I bring it up carelessly, I might end up hurting her even more.
Lunia took a deep breath and unzipped her sleeping bag.
Ziiiiiip…!
After opening the zipper and getting up, Lunia's face stiffened in confusion.
"Eiran? Chen Xia?"
The two of them had completely vanished.
Just as Lunia was starting to panic, she heard voices outside the tent.
"Can't we stay a little longer?"
Ah. Lunia, who had feared something had happened overnight, let out a sigh of relief.
Eiran's voice even sounded much brighter.
As Lunia was about to get up, her ears perked up at a sudden voice.
"No, Sir Leo needs to get some sleep too."
"Can't I just sleep with him?"
"I told you, no. We were with him all night. He couldn't sleep because of us, so we should at least let him rest for a little bit."
"No, it's his fault that we couldn't sleep. How could we, after everything he did for us?"
"Mm… That's true. It really was a good time."
Hearing the conversation outside, Lunia froze completely.
The tent flap opened, and Eiran and Chen Xia entered.
Seeing Lunia sitting there stiffly, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, Eiran blinked. "Lunia, you're up early."
"Uh, y-yeah… Eiran, you seem a little better?"
"Yes! I'm sorry for making you worry, Lunia."
Looking at Eiran's apologetic expression, Lunia forced an awkward smile. "Ah, no, it's fine. By the way… were you coming from Leo's tent?"
"Yes. It's embarrassing to say, but I was comforted by Sir Leo all night. Thanks to him, I was able to let go of a lot of my worries and fears."
"Because of Eiran's whining, Sir Leo couldn't get any sleep, though."
"But you were there too, Xia!" Eiran grumbled in a sulky voice.
Listening to their conversation, Lunia's voice began to tremble violently. "Y-y-y-you two! Do you even realize what you just said?!"
"Huh? We just spent the night with Sir Leo… Oh! Should we have invited you too, Lunia? I'm sorry! I didn't think of it… Next time, let's go together!"
Eiran looked sincerely apologetic, but Lunia's face had already turned as red as her hair, and she started having a meltdown.
"You two! You're students!"
"Lunia?"
"Students! Do you even realize what you've done?! Leo! I mean, even if he's an adult! No, wait! That's not even the issue! Three?! Three of you?! A-a-all three of you?! All night?! And next time, with me too?!"
"L-Lunia? What's wrong? C-calm down!"
"Calm down?! You two are top students of Seiren and Lumene! You should be setting an example! And yet, you act like you don't even understand what's wrong with what you did?!"
As Lunia's flushed face contorted in shock, Eiran, looking frightened, stammered, "B-but all we did was listen to Sir Leo tell old stories?!"
"No matter how many of those kinds of books you read… Wait, what?!" Shouting, Lunia suddenly stopped, her face freezing in realization.
And then, her face went slightly pale, and her shoulders began to tremble.
"Ahh, so that's what you were thinking." Chen Xia beamed. "Lunia, you have quite the imagination. I never expected you to take it that way."
"N-no, I mean… that's not… I…"
As cold sweat dripped down her face, Eiran finally understood the situation, her eyes widening.
Then, she narrowed them.
"Lunia."
"S-sorry! I mean!"
"You're dirty-minded."
"……" Lunia hung her head in shame.
Her shoulders trembling, she suddenly lashed out and lunged at Eiran.
"This is all because you keep reading weird stuff!"
"How is this my fault?! It's your mind that's weird, Lunia!"
"Aaah! I don't care! It's your fault! It's all your fault!"
As the two elves shouted at each other, Chen Xia smiled pleasantly. "Shh, Sir Leo might hear everything."
The two instantly fell silent.
Chen Xia smiled brightly and approached Lunia. "I'm glad we cleared up the misunderstanding."
"Y-yeah."
"But just out of curiosity… how far did your imagination go?"
Lunia's shoulders started trembling again. She wanted nothing more than to grab that grinning mouth and pull on it.
"Come on, tell me. Hmm?"
She has a surprisingly mean streak.
Seeing Chen Xia smiling mischievously, Lunia could only clutch her face in embarrassment.