Chapter 100: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 100
"Hey, Leonor. Do you think I'm an embarrassing father to be seen by your juniors... Is that what you thought?" Leon Lionelle asked cautiously, watching Leonor's reaction.
Leonor sighed and replied to him, who looked utterly dejected.
"...It's just a short holiday. You’ve been working hard, so I wanted you to rest without being disturbed."
"Is that so... Right, my good daughter wouldn’t think like that. Ahaha, I worried for nothing again..."
Leon’s face brightened instantly at Leonor's words.
Seeing his reactions to his daughter's every word, he seemed like an ordinary dad found in any household.
Anyone who expected him to be charismatic, considering he was one of the greatest heroes, might be disappointed, but heroes are just people, aside from their strength.
No matter how strong a hero is, they become endlessly weak in front of their daughters; that's just the nature of fathers.
"By the way... The juniors you mentioned are ladies. We met once before, right?"
Leon turned his head toward me and Mei as he said that.
"Yes. I'm Mei, and I’m in the same club activities as Leonor-senpai. I couldn’t thank you properly back then due to the chaos, but I’m really grateful."
"I'm Scarlet Evande. I should have come to thank you earlier, but it’s only now that I have the chance. Thanks to your timely help, we were able to save our lives."
If he hadn’t appeared in the gym at that moment, both Mei and I might not be here now.
As we bowed our heads and introduced ourselves, expressing our gratitude, Leon responded in an embarrassed tone.
"...It's embarrassing to be thanked when I didn't even arrive in time. You can stop now..."
As we lifted our heads at his words, Leon had a bitter expression.
He was looking at my left arm.
After staring at my arm for a moment, he spoke to me in a complicated voice.
"...Honestly, I wanted to apologize to you. I’m known as the fastest hero, yet I couldn’t protect you properly. If only I had been faster back then... I could have protected you. Every time, I'm just too late..."
Leon spoke with eyes full of sorrow.
Was he feeling guilty about me losing my arm?
It seemed to be more than that, as if he was blaming himself for always being late, feeling a deep trauma.
It was as if he had lost something precious because he was late.
Seeing Leonor looking at her with pity, I could guess there was another reason she had asked him not to come out.
Watching him, I extended my left arm, the metal prosthetic, toward Leon and said,
"Pretty cool, right? A friend made this for me, and I really like it. I don’t regret losing my arm at all."
It wasn't a lie.
If I didn’t have this arm, I wouldn’t have been able to shoot fireworks into the sky to call for Sylvia’s help or see the name engraved on my arm and regain my senses when I was almost swallowed by the witch.
Losing my arm to save people allowed me to get a new arm to save more people.
So there’s no way I would regret it.
Of course, there was another reason for saying that, and Leon, perhaps understanding that, smiled faintly and said,
"Thank you for saying that. My daughter has made a wonderful junior."
"Right? She's so pretty I could die!"
Leonor, looking deeply moved, shouted and hugged me tightly from behind.
Due to our height difference, something large and soft kept touching the back of my head!
Terrified, I struggled to get out of Leonor’s arms, which made me feel conflicted, but she didn’t seem to want to let go, so I gave up.
So soft... Is heaven like this...?
Meanwhile, Leon, who was watching us fondly, spoke up.
"So, why did you call me?"
"Oh, right. She asked how to get stronger, and there aren't many people as strong as you. I’m sorry to bother you while you’re resting, but could you help us?"
I worried if it was too much of an ask to disturb his rest after working for several days.
I spoke cautiously, thinking it was inappropriate to take time from a resting father.
"Well, I'm fine, so there's no need to go that far..."
"It's okay. No need to refuse. If you’re a student of Aegis Academy before being my daughter’s junior, then you’re also my junior. I’m happy to help a junior."
"...Thank you."
Since he accepted so willingly, it would be weird to refuse, so I decided to accept his help quietly.
Leon nodded and started walking, saying,
"There’s a suitable place to move our bodies, so follow me. It seems the lady next to you is interested too, so I’ll help both of you."
At his words, Mei’s face brightened.
Muttering in a small voice, "I can't believe I’m getting personal training from Leon Lionelle..." she seemed deeply moved, suggesting she had admired him for a long time.
"Think of it as luck from having a good senior."
"Thank you, Senpai... Ah, past me who joined the cooking club. You did great..."
Mei nodded vigorously at Leonor's words, still holding me and not intending to let go.
Well, given that he is one of the top five heroes, it made sense that Mei, who always valued heroism, was this happy.
It must be an opportunity she would have wanted even if she had to pay a fortune for it.
Anyway, as we all followed Leon through the spacious house, we saw photos of his family hanging everywhere.
A black-haired, fair-skinned, beautiful woman was photographed with Leon and Leonor.
She was probably Leonor’s mother, who passed away a few years ago.
Noticing my inadvertent glance at the photos, Leon, who was walking ahead, murmured quietly with a voice full of longing.
"That’s my wife. Doesn’t she look like Leonor?"
At his words, Mei made a subtle expression.
It was understandable, as frankly speaking, except for their large chests, they didn’t look alike at all.
Leonor inherited her skin and hair color from Leon, and unlike her pure-looking mother, she had a slightly wild appearance, the type who seemed like she’d have fun.
People who didn't know better wouldn’t think she was Leonor's mother.
But Leon continued with a proud smile.
"She's just like her. Kind and considerate. She’s grown up so well. Leonor is my pride and joy."
"Eek! What are you saying in front of the kids!"
Blushing with embarrassment, Leonor ran up to Leon and hit him on the back.
Leon, even as he was hit by his daughter, was smiling brightly.
As Mei watched them, she smiled softly. The sight was so warm that it made everyone watching smile too. It conveyed a deep love for his child.
Having lost his wife, the only family Leon had left in the world was Leonor.
To Leon, Leonor was probably his everything.
Because of this, I couldn’t just sit back and smile at this scene.
I remember how, in the original story, Leonor died fighting a beast, and Leon, crying bitterly, slaughtered beasts until his last breath, not caring about becoming infected with miasma.
Those who fail to protect what they truly want to protect forget how to protect themselves.
In the original story, most heroes died like that.
I didn’t want such things to happen here.
I didn’t want those who became heroes to protect people to regret their chosen path.
That's why I wanted to become a bit stronger.
*
We arrived at a fairly spacious open area in Leonor’s backyard. Leon walked to a weapon rack set up on one side of the clearing, picked up a long wooden training staff, and said,
“First, I need to see how good you are, so we’ll do a simple test.”
He stood about 10 meters away, swinging the stuff around with one hand while keeping the other hand behind his back. Then, he slowly raised the staff toward me and said,
“So try to dodge as much as you can.”
As soon as his words reached me, I felt a sharp sensation and twisted my head to the left with all my might.
The stuff pierced through where my head had just been, like a beam of light.
“Oh, you dodged it? You’re pretty good,” Leon’s surprised voice echoed right in front of me.
The person who had thrust the stuff while speaking was now back in his original spot, assuming a stance as if nothing had happened.
Leon smiled slightly and moved a step forward.
“Then I’ll go a bit faster this time.”
I quickly bent my knees and ducked.
I felt the tips of my hair that remained in place get pierced by the air.
But before I could adjust my stance, Leon had already moved back to his original position, taking another step forward.
“You’re doing well. Here I come again.”
I gritted my teeth and threw myself sideways in the same crouched position.
The stuff narrowly missed my body and slammed into the ground with a sound of the wind tearing.
I caught a glimpse of Leon assuming his stance a step ahead of where he was just moments ago.
“Again.”
I was still in mid-air, so I reached out my arm to touch the ground and change my direction to avoid the incoming attack.
But instinctively, I knew.
Damn, I can’t dodge this one.
I barely saw the stuff swinging in front of me like a flash of light.
And then,
“Ouch...”
I felt a slight impact on my forehead.
Damn it, he adjusted his strength so easily even though I could barely see it?
Shocked, I looked ahead and saw Leon smiling joyfully, flicking my forehead.
...Honestly, it’s a bit much to say this to my friend’s father, but that expression really made me want to punch him.
“Wow, to think you could dodge this much. You’re no ordinary person.”
“...Is that so.”
Leon said as I stood up, brushing myself off.
It felt weird, like watching adults praise a baby for walking on two legs.
As I glared at him in dissatisfaction, Leon, still smiling, spoke.
“You seem competitive too. Now, it’s your turn to attack since I attacked first.”
“...There’s no way my attacks will hit anyway...”
How am I supposed to hit someone that fast?
As I spoke bluntly, Leon laughed heartily and said,
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I said it’s a test, right? I won’t dodge, just block, so hit me with all you’ve got.”
“...You won’t dodge, right?”
Hearing that, I unbuttoned and took off the coat I was wearing.
Well, it doesn’t mean I’m a nudist or anything. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt underneath.
Having long sleeves can be bothersome when fighting, as I have to worry about burning my clothes, so I’ve gotten into the habit of wearing sleeveless shirts just in case.
Leon, still smiling leisurely with one hand behind his back, holding the stuff, looked at me.
I growled at him,
“...Then I’ll go all out.”
With those words, I lunged at Leon.
With my coat off, I wrapped my fist in intense flames and swung it with all my might.
Leon seemed slightly taken aback by the sudden burst of flames from my fist.
But no matter how old he is, I won’t show mercy with my punches!
Take this! Ultimate Flaming Punch!
My super fiery punch exploded on my friend’s father.
she’s not even EMBARASSED for calling it that??
ReplyDeleteHa. Girl's got attitude
ReplyDelete***
ReplyDelete"Think of it as luck from having a good senior."
"Thank you, Senpai... Ah, past me who joined the cooking club. You did great..."
***
If you know that senior is a suitable replacement for senpai, why use senpai right after?
Also surely Leon is holding a staff, not "stuff"
Delete