Leo stood directly behind Johann and looked down at him from above. “Yo, Johann. Good to see you’re still alive after yesterday.”
“And it’s good to see you are still able to bounce back like it’s nothing… Then again, even I am surprised we made it through this one alive,” Johann responded with a shrug. Then a smile softened his face. “It is thanks to everyone here that we were able to come back safe and sound. You have my heartfelt gratitude.”
Scared senseless by the suddenly sweet face he was making, Mina rushed behind him and flicked him in the back of the head. “Oh my Goddess! Johann is being sweet and modest for once!”
“Hey! That hurt!” Johann huffed, his face nearly smacking into the table with how hard she flicked him. “You’re such a jerk,” he added with a small laugh.
Louis reached out from where he sat opposite of Johann and grabbed Mina by the belt, pulling her toward him. “Behave, Mina. Why are you always so wild?”
“Who are you calling wild, mister? You act too old for your age!”
“I would prefer it if you said I’m calm and thoughtful.”
“I can’t believe you can praise yourself like that.”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough you two! Take your lover’s spat outside. You’re stuffing up the place.” Sutcliff stood up and spread out his arms between Louis and Mina to stop their endless banter.
Wow. It looks like these guys have really hit it off while I was out. Did they have a heart-to-heart while I was clonked out or something? Wish I could show Elias. I wanna prove to him what good friends he has.
Sutcliff slipped from the group and came to stand in front of Leo. Disregarding the look of confusion on Leo’s face, he bowed as deep as he could go. “Master Leo, I am deeply sorry for endangering your friends through my careless actions…!” He remained motionless with his neck exposed as if he were ready for Leo to punch him.
The others quietly watched from the table, considerately giving the two their moment to talk things out.
Leo pressed a hand to the back of his neck in thought before laying his hands on Sutcliff’s shoulders. Sutcliff lifted his head in surprise and saw Leo’s impish grin.
“Your actions might’ve triggered the chaos, but I’m not gonna hold it over your head. I know how hard you tried to help us after the fact.”
Considering everyone else in the room treated Sutcliff like a friend, it seemed they had also forgiven and welcomed him into the group. Leo didn’t feel like blaming him now, especially when he could tell Sutcliff sincerely regretted it.
“So let’s stop bringing it up, okay? If that’s not good enough for ya, I’ll slug you once for Elias,” Leo said jokingly, but Sutcliff’s eyes glistened and he presented Leo with his right cheek.
“P-Please do! Punch me more than once!”
“Gimme a break. Not another overly serious type,” Leo sighed. “Okay, how about you help out Elias and Aki instead of letting me beat ya up?” he suggested as if they were bargaining over Sutcliff’s repentance. Sutcliff blinked several times in response.
Embarrassed by the absurdity of his suggestion, Leo continued as he scratched his cheek, “I know it’s unheard of for the Shadow Tribe to help the Hero. But to be honest, having even one of you on our side will make our lives that much easier. We still don’t know if Elias and the Dark Lord are going to go to all-out war or not.”
The Shadow Tribe possessed excellent physical and magical capabilities that made them a serious threat to the Hero Party. The battle ahead would shift drastically in their favor if they could win any of them over.
“We’re countin’ on you,” Leo said with a friendly smile, patting Sutcliff on the arm.
“Th-Thank you!” Sutcliff exclaimed, overcome with emotion. “Please tell me what I can do for Hero Elias, Boss Lady Aki, you, or the others!” He sucked in a deep breath and dropped into another dramatic bow. “Thank you very much for forgiving me!”
Sutcliff’s next level of trying to atone had the opposite effect of making Leo uncomfortable and uncertain of how to interact with him. Leo made eye contact with the rest of the group who watched on as Sutcliff kept his head lowered.
It was true Sutcliff was the cause of a great many problems, but he seemed likely to become an even greater ally. This alliance was likely going to play a key role in the future.
Leo patted Sutcliff on the shoulder for the second time and then walked back to the dining table. “So? What were you all doing down here? Just chatting?” he asked.
Johann shook his head and looked at what was laid out on the table, urging Leo to do the same.
Leo put a hand on his hip and leaned over Johann to get a better look at the thick book opened on the table. The aged pages had yellowed and torn in places. Could this be…? He gasped.
Johann nodded, answering his unspoken question. “It’s just what you think. This is a copy of the Book of Creation. We were just about to read it together. Still, I can’t believe there was a copy out there. Sanctuary was wrong to think they had the only copy in existence.”
A copy? Then this is what Aki was talking about. Leo recalled his conversation with her in the cavern. Supposedly Sutcliff set up that quest to deliver this book to Elias per the Dark Lord’s orders.
Sutcliff stood beside Leo. “Obviously. This is a precious treasure that the Shadow Tribe has hidden from Sanctuary for ages. By the way, the original was written by Ivan Clarence, and this copy was written by Lenard Gaines.”
Louis turned to the last page and pointed out Lenard’s scrawled signature. The ugly letters reminded Leo of his bad handwriting.
This was written by my ancestor, huh?
Lenard Gaines was one of the revolutionaries who played an active role during the Creation Era, a user of the Holy Relics, and a close friend of Ivan Clarence.
What feats did he accomplish during the Creation Era?
Why was he less known to the world than Ivan Clarence?
And what in the world could Leo do as his descendant?
Presented with the Book of Creation he had wanted so bad he could taste it, Leo reached out, everyone’s eyes on him, and then dropped his hand with a shake of his head. Clearly, no one expected him to do that.
Johann raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s wrong? Haven’t you been foaming at the mouth to read this?”
“Ah, well…” Leo mumbled, scratching the back of his head. “…You see, now’s not the time for it.”
“Something happen?” Louis asked, worry edging into his voice.