“O-OW! That hurts, Leo!” Aki cried out next to his ear when he hugged her too tight and aggravated her injuries.
Whoops! Leo immediately eased his grip. His feelings had gotten the better of him, removing any thought of her wounds.
“Sorry,” he rushed out, pillowing her head with his hand as he laid her back down.
Aki’s unfocused eyes met his and she stared up at him like a child clinging to their mother after waking from a seemingly unending nightmare. She must’ve been terribly distraught for the moment she finally registered Leo, crystalline tears began streaming down her bloodied cheeks and she started sobbing.
Wanting to comfort her, Leo tenderly scooped the hair off her face and soothed, “Aki, you’re okay now. Don’t cry. We’ve gotta get you cured first. You’ve been poisoned, right?” he asked in his softest voice. She gave a small nod between sobs.
I’m glad I got to her before the poison ran its full course. Leo was filled with more relief than he thought possible.
“I got you covered. Wait just a sec. I’ll give you an antidote.”
Leo shoved his hand into his robe’s inner pocket and pulled out a transparent vial. A sticky cerulean liquid capable of curing any poison swayed within the glass.
Buying some antidotes beforehand was a good move.
He had stopped by the item shop and bought cures, antidotes, potions, and anything else that may come in handy before heading out to the Quest location. Mages relied on items to heal themselves and their allies because they didn’t have access to a Heal Spell Tree like Priests did.
Leo popped the cork out and brought the vial slowly to Aki’s mouth. He gingerly tipped the glass, steadily pouring the sappy liquid into her slightly parted lips.
Aki grimaced from the foreign liquid sticking to her tongue and gagged. Leo put his hand over her mouth to prevent her from spitting it up.
You can do it, Aki! You’ll feel a million times better if you put up with this one pain!
After all, Leo had bought a famous elixir capable of instantly curing almost any status ailment. The results should be immediate as long as she swallowed the whole thing.
His silent wish was granted when Aki’s throat moved and she gulped the medicine down with his hand still pressed against her lips. Color returned to her pallid complexion before his very eyes.
Good. Looks like this bad boy’s doing its job. Unclenching his jaw, Leo removed his hand from her mouth.
Reopening her eyes after the elixir’s bitterness faded, she looked right at Leo without any of the poison’s haze clouding her vision.
Still supporting her head in his hand, he studied her face from above. “Aki, how do you feel? Any better now?” he asked, worry coloring his tone.
She reassured him with a weak smile. “Yes…thank you, Leo. I can’t believe the pain vanished just like that… I think I’m going to be okay.”
Overcome with relief to see her smile, Leo felt all the energy drain from his body with the tension.
Aki pushed herself up with her own strength, and when her eyes met Leo’s sitting across from her, she threw her arms around him and hugged him with the full force of the feelings she had kept locked up.
“Whoa! What’s gotten into you—”
Ignorant of the flustered state she put him in, she rattled off, “Leo, thank you so much for saving me! I couldn’t do anything! I thought it was over for us…” she gasped for air. “And that’s when you came to the rescue, Leo! It’s like you shined the light of hope in just as I gave up…” she muttered the last part in a ghost of a voice, burying her hands in his robe as she wept.
Leo stared down at the woman clutching at his chest, his hands aimlessly hovering in the air until he decided to wrap them around her back. “…It’s okay now. You’re okay. I’ll protect you,” he whispered into her shoulder, tightening his hold on her.
He knew she had feelings for Elias. And that there was no space for him to weasel into. But he couldn’t help finding her endearing and unbearably lovable for relying on him and hugging him.
Time and time again he shut off the voice in the back of his head that needled with his feelings for her. He stomped out his beating heart, yelling at it for harboring feelings for the woman his best friend loved. He pretended the feelings didn’t exist, denying them—but he had reached the limit for pretending.
What would happen if I told her how I feel while Elias isn’t around? Leo violently shook his head. Didn’t I decide to watch over them forever? I’ll only add to her misery if I use this disaster as a chance to tell her.
I know better… Loving her and telling her that I love her—she doesn’t want any of that from me.
Leo placed his hands on Aki’s shoulders and gently pushed her away along with the feelings he had for her. When she blinked up at him with watery eyes he formed the brightest smile he could muster.
“…Aki, I’m now gonna heal up that cut on your cheek and the gash in your shoulder. I can’t cast awesome heals like Johann, but I bought a buttload of potions.” He grinned, fished through his robe, and pulled out a vial filled with a mossy liquid.
Potions had the same effects as Cures used by Priests, but the potency paled in comparison to magic, making it more of a stopgap than a long-term solution. Still, being able to seal the wound and suppress the pain was better than nothing.
“Uh, and the thing is…this ointment needs to be applied directly to the injury…” Leo trailed off, his eyes hesitantly going to her bloodied right shoulder.
She needed to remove her top—in front of him—so he could apply the medicine directly to her shoulder.
…N-Not a good situation. Sh-She definitely won’t be up for strippin’ in front of me, and the blood will rush to my head if I touch her bare skin.
How can we get around this?
Now wasn’t the time to let his feelings get the better of him, but Leo hesitated, cold sweat dripping down his back. Meanwhile, Aki yanked off her jacket and began boldly stripping in front of him. Leo nearly fell over backward.
“H-H-Hey! Wh-Wh-Wh-What’re you doin’…?!”
“You can’t tell by looking?” she said drolly. “I need to take off my clothes to get healed, correct? Sorry for putting on a strip show, but the clothes are coming off! I can’t be of any help if I’m oozing blood everywhere.” She gnawed her bottom lip and lamented, “I won’t be able to stop Elias or rescue Mina and Louis.”
She was beating herself up over not helping Elias, Mina, and Louis despite being there when everything happened.
Tossing aside her suit jacket, Aki began undoing each of her white blouse buttons from the top down.
Internally freaking out, Leo told himself it wasn’t that kind of situation and silently averted his eyes from the bewitching allure of her hands. He kept his head down while the sound of buttons popping and rustling clothes filled his ears.
“…All done, Leo! Thanks for waiting!” Aki called out, getting him to finally return his gaze to her.
Blood spilled ceaselessly from the nasty gash in her exposed right shoulder and streamed down her arm.
Leo had prioritized curing her poison status, but her injuries were more severe than he had realized. He could be flustered later; treating her wounds came first and foremost.
“Sorry, Aki, I need to take a better look at that shoulder. You mind?”
“Go right ahead.”
Receiving her permission, he scooted closer to where she sat with her legs out and thoroughly examined her right shoulder. A blade had been stabbed into her shoulder to cause that wound. Whoever attacked her had held back because the gash wasn’t as deep as the blood loss made it seem.
✦ ✦ ✦
She should recover pretty well with just a potion then.
Leo popped the lid off the vial and gingerly spread the healing ointment onto her sliced cheek and right shoulder. Aki shuddered from the numbing pain caused by the liquid, but she tenaciously endured it by digging her fingers into her skirt.
A dull light radiated from the spots the ointment touched before the open skin sealed shut, taking away the pain by several degrees and softening Aki’s clenched jaw.
Once the injuries completely healed, Leo pocketed the empty vial and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Okay, you should be all set now. How’s it feel, Aki?”
She was already in the process of happily tugging her jacket back on. “I feel great. I’m all better now thanks to you, Leo!” A bright smile bloomed on her face. “I didn’t get hurt much in my world so I never knew being stabbed hurt that bad! Ehehe!”
“Oh yeah, swords, magic, and monsters don’t exist in your world, right?”
She came from a world where she didn’t need to protect herself from constant threats to her life. I’d love to live in a world like that, Leo mused when she leaned in close with her still-pale-but-much-healthier-looking face.
“Leo, there’s so much I want to tell you! Would you mind listening to the short version of what happened to me and Elias before you showed up?”
“Give me the simple version of everything you can remember. We’re the only ones who can do anything about this stalemate. It’s just us who can stop Elias and save Mina and Louis for the time being.”
Until Johann receives my SOS and comes running… Putting all his hope on that gamble, Leo held out his fist and Aki bumped it with hers. This is the first time Elias has ever left our party.
It took Elias being gone for them to realize just how much they blindly relied on the Hero.
A piece of me has always taken advantage of Elias’s strength. I’d always believed that no matter what happened, he’d never lose. That no matter what, he’d save us. Because he’s the HERO.
But by doing that, I’ve been unknowingly pushing all the responsibility onto him, adding to his burden.
I can’t believe it took having him as my enemy to realize it.
I’m a horrible friend. And here I’ve been stupidly hoping I could be that friend he relies on the most.
…I’m sorry, Elias. I’ve put everything on your shoulders and didn’t even realize it. That’s why, this time… Leo clenched his fists. This time I’ll be there to save you.