2nd Rank Has Returned - 2nd Rank Has Returned chapter 267
267 – Your Choice-4
[…If you explain it that way, they will listen to you.]
“…I’m sorry.”
This time, Leo sat still and lowered his head in response to the wise man’s bitter words.
He was so drunk and overflowing with emotion that he unconsciously blurted out the words he had in mind without a proper explanation.
Anus was not senile enough to just accept a phenomenon that did not make sense in terms of causality and time and space, even if the build-up and filtering were properly explained.
[Well, I’m glad that covering it up with something similar to a dual personality worked. Why can’t I even say it’s fortunate?]
From Noble mtl dot com
Following the wise man’s precise instructions and orders, Reinhardt and his party were able to quickly complete the protection and defense of Leo, who was being threshed like a harvest.
When Anus was openly shouting and hitting her, asking if she was proud of having cheated on him, and even the villagers came out and threshed their hands, it was reminiscent of a rural laborer.
There was no way that dozens of untrained old people could hurt Leo.
The crouching Leo looked so pitiful and unfairly beaten that he couldn’t help but pretend not to notice.
[Ariaspil, you are now being treated as a mentally ill person by your parents. Are you okay?]
In order to pick up what Leonardo said, Ariasviel vaguely stated that he had acquired a dual personality as a side effect of being chosen by a hero and using the holy sword.
Although it is not completely wrong, it may be more humiliating to Aria than she thought.
If you think about it, Leo’s return has increased her number to two, and since her grandmother-in-law has been treated as mentally ill, it must not be a very good feeling.
“It’s okay. “Sage.”
“…I…I’m sorry Aria… The drink I had earlier was so strong that I didn’t realize it…”
Despite shaking off his drunkenness with his divine power, Leonardo apologized to Aria with a completely red face.
Showing such disgrace in front of not only Reinhardt’s immediate family, but also Ameri and Eileen, who followed in haste, was a humiliation that I had never experienced even in the first episode.
“It’s okay. “It’s a relationship you can understand without having to say anything.”
Ariasviel, somehow acting like a mature woman, gently pressed Leo’s lips with her index finger. When she was a succubus or a witch using the world of beauty, she immediately snapped her wrist, but when Aria did it, she felt the irritating pressure of her lips and her blood.
Although she was natural, she was clumsy and irritating, so I was able to guess the cause.
“If I, who am ‘right next to you,’ get angry, who will comfort Leo?”
“…Uh…I guess so.”
Well, it’s definitely a good consolation, but why does it feel like it’s keeping me in check?
I don’t think it was an illusion that she was subtly glancing at the holy sword. Even if you are insensitive, if you don’t know this, it would be the same as not having visual cells.
Slap!!
Her holy sword, which must have been firmly strapped to her chest, struck Aria’s buttocks with its entire scabbard.
“…Ha…Ugh…”
White Aria is forced to endure it, and Black Aria is shaking as if she is indignant.
Originally, White Aria and Black Aria were equal in terms of heavy love, but now [White], Who had a physical body, had the advantage.
You can also comfort Leo with warm physical contact.
You can also physically attack yourself, your lover.
Now Baek Aria had the advantage because she had a body.
[…But if you think about it, it doesn’t even seem wrong…]
{Sage, don’t say such things! Yes!}
[Hey! Get out… Ugh…!]
Leo once again felt fortunate that Anus did not see the wise man and the saint as a definite form.
It was simply because the spirit master had accumulated enough years of experience to be able to feel the spirit body that had even degraded his cognition.
[uuu…Ugh…]
{Ha… This is happiness, right? Isn’t that right?}
I truly felt like it was a blessing not to be able to openly see the depravity of the behavior and actions of the two heroes, whose mental age was already over 300 years old.
In fact, if many people here could only see the sense of the soul like Anus, they would absolutely choose that.
“…What on earth did I spend so much time on…”
Feeling a flood of despair, Eileen turned her eyes away from the first wise man whom she admired and the saint who showed even more disgrace to him.
The feeling of the only romance she had left as a wizard in her own right being trampled by vomit-covered feet is eating away at her mind.
“…Still, I’m a little fortunate.”
“Chris?”
Chris, who thought he would be even more shocked by this sight, smiled at this bizarre sight more calmly than Eileen.
“The God of Pure Love has lost a lot of his nervousness. “Is there anything happier than this in our church?!”
The words were overstated (in a very positive way), but the direction itself was the same as Chris’s opinion.
Everyone was worried when she rushed to her hometown to find out definitive information about her mother.
I was worried that he would immediately activate teleportation towards the Demon King once he became confident about the information, so I couldn’t bear to acquiesce and wait.
But
“I’ve definitely gained a more human-like face. “Like someone his age.”
Leo’s face returned to such a level of vitality that even Marken acknowledged it. The awkward feeling of disconnection between my body and mind was stabilizing me, even if just for a moment.
“You must have had a hard time because of your lack of grandchildren. “It’s dinner time, and if I had known so many people would come, I should have prepared a meal in advance.”
Although so many people who had taken good care of Leonardo instead of her came to visit, Anus felt mixed feelings about not being able to treat her to a meal properly.
“No. “We were the ones who came unannounced, and we benefited greatly from the fact that you did your best to raise our grandson.”
“…Your grandson has grown up so well. “That’s probably not thanks to us, but to Anus.”
Reinhardt’s head and leader bowed down to a grandmother who raised a hero named Leonardo.
Ren, whom she thought of as her own daughter, and Leo, who she thought of as her real grandson, were all selected as vessels for the Demon King.
No wonder ordinary people get excited to the point of blaming themselves.
Nevertheless, the reason Anus is calm and cool-headed is probably because he has a great personality that allows Leo to grow upright.
“…This is excessive praise. “He’s such a stubborn child that he doesn’t even want to receive help from others, let alone my own help…”
“We also agree with that.”
All the older generations present nodded at Leo’s symptom of not only not wanting to receive help, but even refusing the help that was being offered.
“…Have you finished the story?”
Leonardo, who had finished the story before he knew it, looked at the middle-aged people who were talking, leaving behind the arias they had temporarily reconciled, and asked a question.
“Ah… The participation has just ended. “Do you have something to say?”
Maybe it’s because he’s nervous, but it reminds him of Raynald’s time, and Gladio’s speaking style is awkwardly mixed between formal and informal.
If I hadn’t developed speaking skills in social circles, I might have made even worse mistakes.
“There is a place I would like you to go to now. “I want everyone to go together, is that okay?”
A lively expression shows a strong determination. He always showed his determination as a knight, but it was too ‘instrumental’ to be considered human.
“Okay. “I was just about to see your hometown.”
Marken agreed with Leo’s opinion in an unexpectedly friendly manner. I really wanted to know what Leo’s hometown was like, not just because Anus was in front of me.
“Then, please follow me.”
But the place Leo will show you is not the spectacular scenery of his hometown. He had nothing to say even though he thought it was a place that would give the worst first impression when you first arrived.
“I feel like there is no time other than now.”
He had to go to this place in order to pledge his selfish resolve in front of everyone.
* * *
The place Leo walked to was, in a way, the last place the villagers living in Doron went.
It is located in the deepest part of the village, but Anus made it a sunny place so that there would be no unclean grudges.
“…It’s a cemetery.”
The cemetery was an essential place in Doron, which has a large elderly population and is located in a rural forest.
Because the sunlight was at dusk, it did not create such an eerie atmosphere, but as Doron has a long history, there were more than one cemetery and grave marker.
“…Yes. “It’s a cemetery with my mother’s tombstone.”
Despite all the gazes, Leo does not stop his steps and only stops in front of a grave marker.
[Ren sleeps here.]
It was a simple epitaph, but the piled up dried flowers seemed to express Leo’s love and hate.
Perhaps this tombstone was a symbol of Leo’s resignation and abandonment of his mother.
“Aria, can you lend me the holy sword?”
“…Stand…The holy sword?! Why all of a sudden…?”
“I have something to do. “I think fighting is going to be hard anyway, so I’ll carry it if possible.”
Leo could at least lift the holy sword, and considering the fantastic bond that black and white Aria showed, the request was quite reasonable.
“…But…”
Baek Aria looked at her holy sword and held it with an uncertain expression. Her slight quivering vibration, her own heart rate speeding up slightly, makes her pulse beat with this beat.
‘…I’m paying for everything I want while saving little by little.’
She told me to stay away from her like that.
This 100 year old self is cowardly lusting after Leo in this roundabout way.
If it weren’t for the Holy Sword, it would have been a monster that would have been thrown into a warehouse, wrapped in iron chains, and left until it rusted to dust.
“Well… I’m sorry, I guess this is my role as a hero…”
Slash!
“Kyaaan…!!”
The buttocks were shaken by the sudden and strong blow. Although it was not actually hit, the pain was definitely conveyed to Baek Aria.
“…Well…That’s why I said I’ll take it quickly.”
Leo, who seemed embarrassed by the unusually soft moan, stepped forward seriously and raised the holy sword with a slightly red face.
If I had known this would happen, I could have used a black stone or destroyed it with my bare hands.
‘…But it must be meaningful this way.’
As he said that, Leo raised the holy sword with both hands.
No matter how hard I swung it, cutting something with the current holy sword and Leo was close to impossible.
Quang! Quad deuk…!
There was no choice but to execute it absolutely well. The sacred sword, which never breaks, cracks and shatters the tombstone of resignation.
[…Suddenly the atmosphere changes…?]
{It’s not like that! You are always like this…!}
Leo didn’t pay any attention to the awkward jokes that came out during his embarrassment.
“I want to tell you properly here. “What do I want?”
This was a problem that had already been decided even before the tombstone was destroyed.
“I plan to save my mother somehow. Even if she is encroached upon by the Demon King, we will find a way to save her.”
Action that forces opinions rather than asking for opinions.
In some ways, you could think of it as an irrational choice based on emotions, but he wanted to push for this choice.
At least this was the reason I first went out into the world.
Persuasion even if there are those who oppose…
“…Isn’t it obvious?”
“…Uh…Huh?”
Aria confirmed the truth with a very detached expression.
The hero now felt a sense of duty in his quest to rescue one of the Demon King’s vessels.
“Looking at the circumstances, Leo’s mother is more likely to be a victim rather than on the side of the Demon Lord or a shadowy figure… Moreover, if she is an immortal who fixes time, it would be difficult to even kill her, so it would be better to rescue her. “
This is the first time, including the first and second rounds, that Aria has been given such a reasonable objection.
Since becoming the head of the family, Aria has been revealing her hidden intelligence in terms of her intelligence.
“Of course, this time I agree with the opinion of warrior Ariasviel. Even if she is sealed, at least the process of capturing her alive is necessary, and it is not strange even if the Demon King has some kind of trick.”
Even Eileen, who cool-headedly pursued rationalism at any time, was in favor of his coercion.
If it had been the first time, I would have taken a safe measure, even if it was using extinction magic, but as of now, I was not ignoring the emotional realm.
“In reality, it would be better to bring your mother to figure out the full story of the Demon King.”
“It is necessary to prevent additional vessels of the Demon King from appearing…! “I will study well and try to find a way to get out of this situation…”
“Furthermore, with its nickname Hellsing, there is a possibility that it may become an ally in some cases. “I would rather agree.”
The other people were all nodding their heads to Leo’s opinion.
Anus, who was behind him, smiled.
Because she directly expressed what her happiness was.
Now, they are definitely on their side.
“Thank you. Really… Everyone…”
With that said, Leo escapes to the broken tombstone.
Her mother wasn’t dead yet, so there was no need for her tombstone.
“…But Leo.”
Blinking her eyes blankly, Aria soon looked at herself and asked a question.
Could it be a problem with the Holy Sword?
“Uh, is there something you want to say?”
“…Uh. “To be precise, this is a request. Is it possible?”
There was nothing difficult for her.
Now that she had let go of her heavy burden, she had a duty to fulfill Aria’s request to some extent.
Of course, political issues will be difficult.
“…Is it okay if I stay here for a while?”
“…What?”
“I want to receive proper tuning of elemental magic from Anus. “I’d like to use the house just for a little while… is that okay?”
Stillness flows.
Normally, this would be a problem that would end with, ‘Oh, then I’ll give you the house key.’
Excluding the thoughts and gazes that are gathering now.
Something about being a man was stimulating me.
They are tempting you with an opportunity.
And I passed on.
Honestly, I couldn’t stand it.