Mobuseka:Leon's Adventure

When Leon returned home, he was greeted by every single member of his family. This pleasantly surprised the young man, as it wasn't every day that his entire family gathered together, let alone for his sake. Their faces reflected a mix of relief and concern, though some tried to hide it.

"Leon!" cried Lucy, his mother, her eyes filling with tears. She hadn't slept for several nights while waiting for her son to return. However, her exhaustion seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by pure joy.

Jenna and Nyx, his older sisters, were also there, even though they studied at a prestigious academy. Leon was shocked to learn that they had taken time off just to find out what had happened to him.

"Don't tell me you were all that eager to see me?" Leon joked lightly, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Don't flatter yourself, dumb brother," Jenna grumbled, crossing her arms. "I'm only here because Nyx dragged me along. I actually wanted to go shopping." But it was obvious she was lying.

Nyx, standing beside her, couldn't hold back any longer and hugged her brother tightly, despite her attempts to maintain an air of strictness.

Barcus, their father, had also set aside all his responsibilities to be there. For a while, he seemed to forget about his duties as a baron, focusing entirely on Leon.

"Son, no matter what happened, we'll figure it out. The important thing is that you're home," he said warmly, patting Leon on the shoulder.

The most touching moment, however, was when Leon's younger brother, Colin, ran up to him. The ten-year-old boy idolized Leon, seeing him as a hero to emulate. Colin had barely managed to hold back tears when Leon was taken away, and it seemed he had almost broken down several times over the past week. Now, seeing his brother, he couldn't contain himself.

"Leon!" he shouted, throwing himself into his brother's arms.

Leon smiled and hugged his younger brother tightly.

"Take it easy, Colin. You're going to squeeze the life out of me!" Leon said with a laugh.

Colin looked up at him and suddenly noticed something odd. His gaze grew sharp, and he glanced back at the others. To his surprise, every family member had also frozen, their expressions reflecting mild shock as they studied Leon.

"Big bro… did you get taller?" Colin asked hesitantly. "And more muscular? Your face… it looks different too."

Barcus frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why do I feel like you look older than your fourteen years, Leon?" he asked suspiciously.

Lucy, despite her happiness at her son's return, also noticed the changes.

"Leon, what happened to you over these days?" she asked, her voice gentle but insistent as she examined him closely.

Leon felt a pang of awkwardness. Scratching the back of his head, he let out a nervous laugh.

"Heh… Honestly, I'm not entirely sure myself," he admitted, trying to avoid giving too many details.

For a moment, silence filled the room, but it was quickly broken by Barcus's deep voice as he stepped forward.

"Son," he began, looking Leon straight in the eyes, "we have important work to do."

"What kind of work?" Leon asked, puzzled by the sudden seriousness in his father's tone.

Barcus let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"The work of a baron and a viscount. I've had to put all my baronial duties on hold because of you, and while you were recovering, a mountain of documents piled up in your viscounty. None of them can move forward without your signature. You're going to help me with my workload as well since I got behind worrying about you."

Hearing this, Leon instinctively tried to make a quick escape, but Barcus, knowing his son all too well, was prepared. He grabbed Leon before he could take even a single step.

"Were you about to run away again?" Barcus asked sternly, his grip firm on Leon's shoulders.

"No, I just… suddenly remembered I might've left the iron on back in my territory," Leon blurted out, attempting to sound convincing. However, his nervous tone and darting eyes betrayed his true intentions.

Watching this scene, Duo—the AI assistants Luxion and Cleare—resumed their tasks with light-hearted sarcasm. Their teasing voices echoed through the room.

"Whether you like it or not, you'll have to get to work!"

"I don't wanna!" Leon nearly wailed, struggling against his father's iron grip.

But Barcus was unyielding. Eventually, Leon was dragged, almost kicking and screaming, into the study and seated at a massive oak desk buried under an intimidating pile of paperwork. When Leon saw the mountain of documents, he nearly fainted.

"Am I supposed to fill out all of this?!" he exclaimed, his voice trembling with despair.

Barcus smirked. "Exactly."

Leon stared at the papers in horror, feeling as though his soul was about to leave his body. Both versions of Leon hated paperwork, and together, that hatred was doubly strong. But then an idea struck him. Glancing around to make sure his father wasn't paying attention, he whispered, "Luxion, Cleare, help me deal with this nightmare!"

The two AI immediately emerged from their cloaked mode, their spherical forms glowing softly with blue light. But to Leon's disappointment, they merely shook their spheres side to side.

"No, master," Luxion said in a tone that was both kind and firm. "You must handle this yourself. It's beneficial for your development in all aspects."

"Especially for improving your cognitive processes," Cleare added with a slightly teasing lilt to her voice.

Leon realized he couldn't rely on these two. He quickly switched to calling the third AI, Legion, using a built-in communication device since Legion was already off attending to his duties far from Leon.

"Legion, can you come help me with these papers? Please!" Leon begged, clasping his hands together as if in prayer, his eyes shining with hope.

But even Legion, who was usually the most helpful, delivered disappointing news:

"Apologies, master, but I cannot assist. Luxion and Cleare insisted I refrain from intervening in such situations."

Legion's response filled Leon with frustration. His gaze shifted sharply to the two "conspirators," who seemed to be enjoying his irritation.

"All for your own good, master," they chimed in unison.

"Haaaa…" With a long sigh, Leon reluctantly started working. But suddenly, a thought distracted him from his misery.

He turned sharply to Luxion, his expression serious, his voice cold.

"Luxion, you carried out the second Leon's order to kill Zola, didn't you?"

The AI froze for a split second before responding curtly, "Yes."

Leon narrowed his eyes, trying to read the emotions of a being that had none.

"How did you kill her?" he asked, his voice laced with curiosity and hidden tension as he locked eyes with the AI.