It seemed that he and his comrades had been separated from the Captain for too long. To think such words would come out of the mouth of someone who had been strong, smart, and wise.
"Captain..."
Nero was filled with pity beyond shock. Because of that, he couldn't be as outraged as when he had seen the Commander's handkerchief.
Instead, he blamed himself and his incompetent comrades for not raiding earlier and rescuing the Captain. Leonardo Blaine was a person with outstanding abilities that wouldn't lose to anyone in the world. But in fact, his inner self was a human being who was unnecessarily full of affection and had no match in being soft-hearted. So he must have fallen for it like this just because the kidnapper who had abducted him had treated him a little well.
"Captain, ...I'll do better."
Nero rationalized that Leonardo had only temporarily relied on that guy because he was in a mentally difficult situation with the addition of loneliness. Otherwise, there was no way he could evaluate the head of the pro-emperor faction as a "good person." It was because he knew the Captain's cynical reaction when mentioning that person in the past and the complexly intertwined ideologies.
At Nero's voice tinged with mixed feelings, Leonardo looked at him with eyes that said it was out of the blue.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Instead of adding unnecessary words, Nero moved his bottom to sit next to him. In doing so, he pressed his body against Leonardo's more than necessary.
Leonardo's body, which had been sitting with his arms resting on his knees, tilted to the side as Nero pushed against him. Barely placing his hand on the grass, he asked in a dazed tone:
"...Why are you sitting so close?"
"We've been apart for a while, so it's okay to stick together a bit, isn't it?"
"No, there's a limit. It's been creepy since earlier."
"What's creepy? Me? Wow, I'm hurt."
"That's not it."
It looked quite comical for two grown men to be sitting tightly together in the middle of a wide cemetery. Leonardo deliberately hit Nero's shoulder, saying it was uncomfortable. But Nero stubbornly stayed put without budging. Rather, he leaned his head towards Leonardo and just bit into the remaining sandwich with a chomp.
As the unwavering intention not to move was conveyed through his heavy head, Leonardo stopped giving Nero looks despite finding it absurd. He was worried that the person eating might choke if he bothered him. However, he quietly stared at Nero's expression that seemed somewhat sullen.
Looking at the red eyes that had blazed up and then subsided, he felt like he knew why the guy leaning on him was suddenly acting this way. But thinking he should clearly address this one thing, Leonardo continued in a calm tone:
"It's true that the Commander is a good person. He's the one who helped me get an acquittal at the trial."
As Nero extremely disliked outsiders interfering in their solid relationship, he deliberately avoided Leonardo's eyes, pretending to look forward.
"That's something he should have done anyway. Did you do anything wrong, Captain? No, you didn't. Rather, they should be grateful that you fought risking your life for their side."
He should be thankful that it changed from "that bastard" to "that guy" at least. At Nero's constantly grumbling tone, Leonardo furrowed his brows and tried to admonish him but stopped.
"Well, that's true. But that person also risked his life. Without the Commander, I might have died on the peninsula."
"..."
"Of course, your help was crucial in defeating the mother body. But there was a bit of a problem inside the barrier afterwards. I don't remember it well, but it occasionally comes back to me in bits and pieces. The voice of that person who chased after me to the end, calling my name. The desperate face shouting at me to come to my senses, not to give up."
At Leonardo's quietly reminiscing voice, Nero slowly raised his head that had been bent at a 90-degree angle. Then he blankly stared at the sorrowful profile.
"I'm not trying to rank who was more helpful. We've already saved each other and fought together numerous times, so it's not a relationship that can be compared to someone else. But if you think about it, that person was a complete stranger with no connection at all. Yet he used his life, position, power, money, everything to free me, and in the end, he made it possible for me to meet you again."
Leonardo's gaze, which had been wandering the blue sky, returned to Nero once more.
"You know well that it's not an easy thing to do. Moreover, even though that person knew about you, he kept silent until the end and even had those around him keep their mouths shut."
"...What?"
Nero, who had been listening silently, asked back with more surprised eyes than ever.
"Besides the Commander... there's someone who knows about us? And the Commander had them keep their mouths shut? Didn't you say he didn't say anything earlier?"
"It's a bit long to explain... The Commander didn't tell me directly, but Meterion Clinder, that bastard, informed me. You know him too, right? The 3rd Battalion Commander."
As the familiar name was heard, Nero's head momentarily felt numb. He began to massage the back of his neck with a frowning face as if his nape was getting tighter.
It was because the presence of the 3rd Battalion Commander, who had suddenly appeared the moment the Captain who had escaped outside the barrier lost consciousness in front of him, had been suspicious all along. The person whose face he had borrowed also belonged to the 3rd Battalion, and when he had left Fidele territory while being chased by the Commander, he had briefly felt an aura similar to the 3rd Battalion Commander nearby.
Seeing Nero's appearance as if something was clicking, Leonardo inwardly sighed. Then, rather than scolding him who had done his best, he stroked Nero's back with his palm, meaning to resolve the situation together in the future.
"It's true that the Commander is also a target of vigilance, since the fact that he's an outsider who knows of our contact doesn't change. But Meterion Clinder is a bigger problem. He's the one who directly threatened me while mentioning you."
"That bastard threatened you, Captain?"
"Yeah. One fortunate thing is that I also have one of his weaknesses... but honestly, if we compare, I'm at a greater disadvantage. Our lives are at stake, you know."
"..."
"At least he doesn't seem to have any intention of revealing it, so that's probably why he's kept his mouth shut so far. No, actually I don't know what he's thinking. Sometimes he approaches secretly and tries to persuade me as if he'll take my side, and other times he acts like a jerk while getting on my nerves. He should act consistently, damn it. What the hell is he trying to do?"
Recalling the unpleasant situations he had been entangled with Meterion, Leonardo gritted his molars. Sometimes he wouldn't stick to his side, and then this time he had eighteen tails armed with weapons follow him.
However, Leonardo didn't particularly tell Nero the fact that he had a round with the pursuers sent by that guy. As expected, the red eyes filled with murderous intent peeked out and casually asked:
"Should I kill him for you?"
The force applied to the hand resting on his forearm was cautious but conveyed sincerity. Leonardo glanced at Nero's flashing eyes. Then he tapped his arm away and shook his head.
"Don't stir up trouble. If we attack now, he'll be convinced it was my doing."
"Why? Did you try to kill him first and fail, Captain?"
"No, there's no such thing."
Leonardo brushed his bangs while burying his words appropriately. At the Captain's answer that was like a riddle, Nero's lips twisted.
"Let's just watch for now. We need to lift the magic on that guy Felix Montero who was unjustly involved, right?"
"Ah."
With a short sigh, Nero scratched the back of his head. It was because he remembered casting magic on Felix's tongue to keep him quiet while borrowing his face. Having caused a lot of troublesome issues without properly cleaning up, Nero felt sorry beyond losing his spirit.
Though it had been done to somehow help the Captain, in the end, it seemed he had only hindered him. He should have left the peninsula without looking back as soon as they had defeated the mother body, but his greed to stay by the Captain's side a little longer had ruined things, so he felt particularly bad.
Perhaps because of such self-blame, Nero's words drastically decreased, and Leonardo slightly examined his darkened complexion. Then, as if telling him not to worry, he put his arm around his shoulder and touched their heads together. His fingers messed up and roughly ruffled the red hair.
"Still, you did well. That was the best you could do at the time."
"..."
"We can think about what to do from now on together, step by step."
Nero's face, which had been either sullen or gloomy, was painted with an unexpected look. He stared at Leonardo from the corner of his eye while leaning his head.
"Captain, why have you become so warm?"
"...What has?"
"You should be punching me by now, that's how it used to be."
"Should I do it now?"
"No."
A giggle leaked out from Nero's answer that followed immediately. At the sight of the guy laughing pointlessly as if pleased by something, Leonardo also let out a small laugh.
However, Nero's next question made Leonardo's loosened lips instantly stiffen.
"Captain, then... can't you continue to think about it with me here, step by step, from now on?"
"..."
"Why do you have to go there? You're going to go back to where those people are again, aren't you?"
Nero had already straightened his head that had been tilted and turned his body to face Leonardo directly. Grasping the other's angular shoulders without hurting him, he held his gaze with earnest eyes. It was because he knew his next destination.
"Can't you just live quietly? You told me, brother. That you don't want to run away anymore."
The moment Leonardo heard Nero's words, he recalled a scene he had seen on the peninsula. It was something he had said to Nero, who had chased him to the middle of the wasteland where the battle was in full swing, urging him to run away together.
The golden eyes looked at his comrade with a bitter yet pitiful gaze. After keeping silent for a while, Leonardo clicked his tongue and lowered his eyes to his feet.
"Nero, you know."
Leonardo covered the back of Nero's hand on his shoulder with his own hand. Then he slowly raised his eyes and added softly:
"It's something only I can do. They need me."
"..."
"And, this is also for our sake."
Nero moved his lips but soon closed them tightly. His eyes glared at the other coldly, filled with resentment.
His mouth was full of bitterness. In the end, it seemed the Captain was going to leave him again and go to them. Whenever he asked to be together, he always brushed it off, but only at times like this, he gave a confident answer.
Though it was so disappointing, Nero didn't want to ruin the mood today. He slid his hands that had been gripping Leonardo's shoulders. Holding the Captain's wrist that seemed like it would scatter away like light, he muttered in a voice mixed with resignation:
"I admit now that you're stubborn, Captain. You're worse than me."
"..."
"Since it's something you've been saying for a long time, I won't stop you now. But even if you go, stay with me for about a day today before leaving. I've found a good place to stay. There aren't many people either."
At Nero's action of tightly grasping his wrist and speaking as if he wouldn't let go even if rejected, Leonardo answered with a loose smile:
"Okay."
"And today—"
"Let's sleep together today. And talk about old times for a bit."
As Leonardo added a word while trying to get up and dust himself off, Nero's face immediately brightened.
"Really?"
Nero lightly pulled Leonardo by applying force to the hand he was holding. Led by the force, Leonardo naturally rose from the grass. Nero meticulously brushed off the grass leaves stuck to the Captain's clothes and led him towards the lodging he had checked out in advance, holding his hand and the backpack that had been rolling around. An uncharacteristically innocent smile never left Nero's lips.
"It's not far from here."
A face that was hard to believe belonged to someone known as a terrifying existence in the world, a member of Armsilver. His footsteps leading the way on the grass were very light. Nero waved his arm to urge Leonardo.
"Captain, do you want to wash together after a long time?"
"Are you crazy? Why would we wash together?"
"Ah, why—. We used to do it often before."
On the hill of memories where the fresh sunlight was shining down, the two tombstones gazed at the two people moving away. Leonardo gave a curt reply to Nero, but turned his head to look at the tombstones. The wind blowing there enveloped his golden hair and gently brushed it back.