She asked why she wasn't even allowed to talk freely now. It wasn't like she had shown him anything. But he insisted that kind of talk was improper.
Curious, Leona asked why he was acting like he was seeing her as a woman. After all, she only saw him as a dumb mage, not even as a man. The thought briefly crossed her mind. Was he a virgin? But she dismissed it just as quickly. With Rean's face, there was no way that could be true.
Meanwhile, Rean was internally losing his composure. Being alone in a room with a woman who wasn't his nanny was a first for him, and she didn't seem to understand just how reckless she was. Even earlier, when she had casually sat on top of him, right on that hard part, of course. He forced himself to stop thinking about it and pull himself together.
He needed to focus on repaying his debt to that idiot for saving him from the demonic bullet.
Looking at him, she asked if he was trying to start another fight and told him he'd better drop it. He awkwardly asked if he had said something to upset her, or if there was anything she wanted, since she had helped him earlier. He said he'd repay her so they could call it even. She could even pick something expensive like jewelry, since girls usually liked shiny things.
She asked how the conversation had suddenly turned into money. Still, if she had to name something, she quickly requested an absurdly rare item: the newly released SSS rank product, Roar of the Otherworldly Black Dragon.
When he looked confused, she told him to forget it if he didn't know. She'd just send the bill to the Clanford family. Rean agreed and told her to do whatever she wanted.
Once they had both finished changing, they glanced at each other. Leona asked what he was wearing. Did he think he was some kind of actor in a theater troupe? Rean shot back that she looked like a beggar. She countered that even royalty wouldn't dress like him. Irritated, he asked if she always slept in filthy clothes.
Leona corrected him. They were training clothes, because she had to do her nightly exercises. As for mages like him, Rean said he needed plenty of rest to properly calculate magic formulas.
But that night, sleep wasn't even an option for Rean. There was no way he could get any rest like this. While Leona was swinging her sword with her free hand and training non-stop, she told him to endure it, because she still needed to sharpen her skills to save the world. Training didn't stop just because the day had gone completely off the rails.
So he gave up arguing. Fine. If sleeping was impossible, he'd just read a book and wait it out.
Except that didn't work either. Without realizing it, he found himself looking at her. This was probably the first time he had ever watched her train. Leona was completely locked in, so focused that it felt like the rest of the world didn't exist, him included.
Her footwork was solid and clean, each step controlled. Her stance never wavered, and every swing of her sword followed a precise line. When she focused, that red ether, so similar to her hair, gathered around her as if responding to her will.
Rean caught himself thinking she looked beautiful. The thought hit him so hard that he smacked himself in the face with his book as a wake-up call.
Leona stopped and teasingly asked why he was hitting himself. Rean stiffly blamed a mosquito. She looked unconvinced and asked if he was bored, suggesting they head back to his room.
Just then, another voice cut in. He commented on the room and asked, very pointedly, whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, or if the two of them were really holding hands.
Rean immediately noticed that the gaze directed at him was anything but friendly. Leona lit up at once and happily greeted the newcomer as her senior. Nathan smiled widely and slung an arm around her neck like they were old pals, saying it felt unreal to be welcomed back by Leona after his mission.
Rean watched the exchange, instantly suspicious. Who was this guy?
Nathan noticed him right away and casually asked who the man holding Leona's hand was. He even said that maybe she had gotten a boyfriend without telling him. Leona elbowed Nathan in the chest, saying that wasn't funny at all, and introduced Rean as a fellow rookie and mage, while Nathan Starlight was her senior from the department of knighthood.
Nathan's next question was why they were still holding hands. So she explained that there had been an incident during a mission and that they were stuck like this for the day. Her senior then offered, completely straight-faced, to cut Rean's arm off for her, which earned him another whack. Leona laughed and said he'd gotten better at joking.
Eventually, they parted, as Leona cheerfully waved Nathan goodbye. As they walked away, she told Rean not to mind him too much. Nathan was a bit goofy, but not a bad person.
Rean couldn't help but wonder just how dense Leona was.
Once they reached the training grounds, Leona said she'd keep practicing there and told Rean to just stand around. He agreed, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Nathan, who was clearly not acting friendly toward Leona just because she was his junior. In fact, Nathan had been glaring at him like a rival male guarding his territory.
Even Rean had to admit Nathan was good-looking and capable. So why would someone like him be interested in a woman like Leona? A woman who was basically a gorilla? Maybe there was some hidden appeal he just wasn't seeing.
Objectively speaking, Leona's looks weren't bad, though obviously not better than his. Red hair was rare in the Empire. She had a high forehead, straight eyebrows, ruby red eyes, a sharp nose, soft cheeks and fair skin. Even the way her red hair clung to the nape of her pale neck, paired with her faint sweet scent...
He slapped his forehead. He had practically been drooling over the very woman he'd just called a gorilla.
Desperate to deny it, he blamed his feelings on divine interference. Obviously, this had to be the angel's doing. Some kind of enchanted prank to mess with his head. Rean suddenly shouted, asking if the angel and the gods were pulling weird tricks again.
Nothing happened, and the angel didn't appear, which meant everything he had just felt came from him. He was officially losing his mind.
A few minutes later, Leona finally sheathed her sword and told him they were done for the night. It was time to head back. She tapped his back with her hand. Blushing, Rean quickly warned her not to touch him. He claimed he might be suffering from hypersensitive magic sensory syndrome, and asked her not to make physical contact without permission.
She stared at him in confusion and muttered about what was wrong with him now. Then she pointed out the obvious problem. She was drenched in sweat and asked if she could take a shower.
Rean immediately asked if she was crazy. She said she'd just lean into the bathroom doorway and wash herself. He shut that down instantly, saying anyone's shower was off limits and telling her not to argue. Leona asked if he seriously expected her to go to bed soaked in sweat.
His imagination immediately ran wild again at the word sweat, and he got a nosebleed on the spot. Finally, he told her to just cut off his arm.
In the end, Leona managed to clean herself using a magical cleaning tool. And that same night, Rean silently vowed to invent a spell that would allow people to shower without taking off their clothes at all.