The Second Strongest Has Returned

Chapter 51

Arias Learns

Leonardo’s Mother

When Leo was around the age of 9 or 10, Ren received a request and left the village.

She had boasted that once this request was completed, they could live comfortably for a few months. Trusting his mother, Leo stayed home quietly.

After a month passed, he thought it was just a particularly difficult job. After all, being a mercenary was full of hardships that one couldn’t truly understand just by hearing about them.

When two months had passed, worry crept up to his throat. Could she have been injured so badly that she couldn’t return? Or… had she abandoned him?

By the third month, Leonardo remembered the promise he had made with his mother.

She had told him that if she didn’t contact him for three months, it was as good as being dead. So, he shouldn’t hold on to any hope.

And so, the boy remembered the promise.

“I’ll be back.”

Leonardo left to find the mother who had disappeared without keeping her promise.

This was when he was still around 10 years old.

* * *

Ariasphil’s jealousy, and even the anger she had felt toward Eilyn, faded away.

It wasn’t due to forgiveness or any merciful feelings like tolerance.

What was left for Arias was only an undeniable, irrefutable despair.

‘…Leo’s parents…’

She had heard everything from Chief Anus. Why Leo had left the village, what he had been searching for over the past three years, despite the toll it took on his body.

“I apologize for prying into your family matters and personal life. But I am sincere about this offer.”

Leo asked in a slightly stiff voice, his tone cold.

“Are you suggesting we make a deal involving my parents?”

“I don’t intend to deny your accusations or contempt. This is an issue that inevitably comes across that way, regardless of my intentions.”

But Eilyn had already steeled herself for this. It wasn’t just because she was an ambitious person.

“However, I genuinely wanted to help you. I can’t even begin to imagine what you must have gone through to acquire such abilities and strength at an age where you haven’t even turned twenty yet.”

Ariasphil had merely thought that Leo’s strength and efforts were remarkable. She believed that the effort he had put in to gain such strength was truly valuable.

But now,

Arias had come to realize.

That there are people who aren’t even allowed to live unless they possess strength and put in effort.

And that while having such a person always by her side, she had simply giggled over love.

“That’s why I didn’t put any conditions on forming ties with our family. As an adult, I wanted to respect your choices.”

Thus, she couldn’t separate Leo from Eilyn. It wasn’t because of some trivial feelings like love or guilt.

She never had the right to interfere in this matter from the beginning, and Leonardo also had the right to make his own choices.

In despair, she closed off her heart.

She was so terrified of hearing anything further that even the aura in her ears and eyes gradually disappeared.

As the sound gradually grew faint,

“I’m sorry, but I must decline your offer.”

His knight had made a decision.

“I see… Was it unpleasant for you?”

“No. I understand that such a favor and offer doesn’t come easily. However, even if the person who knows my family situation made this proposal, I would still refuse.”

Before he knew it, his senses sharpened again.

“…May I ask why?”

Leonardo answered without hesitation, as if it was something he had never needed to hesitate about in the first place.

“Because that’s how I keep my promises.”

“Are you prioritizing loyalty to the family?”

A calculating assessment, one that would logically lead to that conclusion.

“That may be part of it, but it’s also to keep my promises to the people who matter to me.”

But Leo was not driven by ambition, only by strategy.

“The promise I made to you, the promise I made to Chris, and even the household staff who have given me their loyalty and shared bonds with me—they’re all important to me. I cannot betray them.”

The boy now cherished those who had made him who he was.

“What about finding your parents? If you wish, we could consider changing the conditions…”

“And because I must keep the promise I made to my mother as well.”

Leonardo’s mother, Ren, always made one promise before leaving for a mercenary job.

“Three months. No matter what, it only takes three months to confirm if someone is dead. So if I’m not back after three months, think of me as dead.”

A blunt, unfiltered statement to a child. Yet, Leonardo had nodded and made that promise.

Ren had always returned within a week.

“I searched outside the village for a year, looking for any trace of my mother,” he continued.

The first place he went was the mercenary guild. If she had been declared dead, her next of kin would have been notified, so he wanted to ask about that.

“…Ms. Ren was declared missing two months ago. We haven’t found her body, but…”

At the time, that had been enough. As long as there was no confirmation of a corpse, he could hold on to hope.

“On the second anniversary, I gave up. The world, perhaps too afraid of my anger, preferred to use euphemisms rather than give me a direct answer.”

His mother’s body was never found, and those who knew her had long since given up on Ren.

Leonardo had been too young and too exhausted to cling to such a fragile hope.

“Only then was I able to keep my promise to my mother. It just took me too long to accept it.”

Eilyn, Arias, even the Sage, and Leonardo himself fell into a brief silence.

“If I could use the power of the Tempeius family to find my parents’ bodies, it would certainly be a fortunate outcome. I would like to personally lay my mother to rest in her grave.”

Leo’s eyes were filled with a detached sorrow. Though it’s said that parents cannot fathom the pain of losing a child, the reverse was also true—children could not easily let go of their parents.

The boy was steeped in sadness.

“But… if my mother is really still alive…”

In that sorrow, a small bubble of emotion began to rise. The calm surface of indifference was disturbed by this bubble.

“I don’t know how I would face her. If she really did abandon me, all the years of hardship and love might turn into resentment that I could never forgive…”

Leo knew that his mother had died in his previous life. He had no intention of denying that fact.

However, the longing and lingering attachment to his parents had long since taken root deep in Leo’s heart.

“…I’m sorry. My clumsy approach only added to your pain.”

“It’s alright. I wasn’t planning on joining the Tempeius family anyway. I intend to lay my bones with the Reinhardts.”

Despite saying it was alright, his blunt response helped set boundaries and simultaneously alleviated some of her guilt.

“Your loyalty to your family is admirable. It’s a shame that we can’t recruit someone as talented as you.”

“Loyalty to the family, yes, that’s part of it.”

Leonardo flashed a grin and said,

“But I can’t leave Miss Arias alone.”

A bright smile, the complete opposite of the earlier solemnity.

“I want to stay by her side.”

It was a pure, untroubled smile, free of worries or sadness.

From a distance, Ariasphil blushed at his words. When their eyes met, she hurriedly hid her face. However, with the distance between them, Leo couldn’t see the blush she had quickly concealed.

“…The heavens are indeed cruel. If I had met you first, Tempeius could have certainly flourished.”

“Then I should thank the heavens. They granted me the fortune of being by Miss Ariasphil’s side.”

Now blushing down to her ears, Arias hurriedly suppressed the aura around them. Overwhelmed by how endearing Leo was, she couldn’t bring herself to keep looking at him.

“You’re quite the annoying man.”

“I’ve heard that quite a bit. Well then, I should take my leave.”

“Wait, there’s still something left to say.”

At her words, Leonardo seemed slightly taken aback. Could there be another card left to play?

“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to persuade you further.”

She drained the last of her now-cold tea and left him with a small request.

“The Masters of the Magic Tower and I will handle this corruption through the Magic Association. The involved mages will face disciplinary action as well. This is the first time such a large-scale scandal has surfaced in the Magic Tower.”

There had been countless cases of corruption and crimes, but with an incident of this magnitude being reported all at once, a large-scale cleanup would be inevitable.

It would be a complicated and troublesome process for both the family and the Magic Tower.

“It will be quite chaotic.”

“Yes, chaotic indeed. And chaos often leads to greater madness.”

With that, she revealed another piece of information.

“Recently, there’s been an increase in disappearances around the Magic Tower. While the number of victims is still small, the fact that mages are among the targets is rather suspicious.”

“…Black mages?”

Eilyn looked at Leo with slight surprise at his quick deduction. But then, as if realizing there was nothing more to be surprised about, she let out a small laugh.

“That’s the assumption. Normally, I would be the one to investigate, but given the situation, I won’t be able to return immediately.”

“Are you suggesting that the black mages might cause more trouble in the meantime?”

“…I can’t be certain, but it’s definitely a possibility. When the Masters of the Magic Tower are occupied with disciplinary procedures, it’s only natural for crime rates to rise.”

Even so, leaving one of the Masters behind to guard the Magic Tower was not feasible, given the magnitude of the incident. If a problem arose at their respective towers and they were late in responding or defending their actions, the responsibility would fall entirely on them.

“This is just a warning to be cautious. Although I doubt that you or your lady would be easy targets.”

“Thank you for your concern. If anything comes to mind, I will inform you immediately.”

“You’re frustratingly considerate.”

With those words, Leo stepped out of the café.

[Are you alright?]

<…There’s no guarantee that her body will even be found.>

Leonardo hadn’t given up after just two years. He had stopped because the evidence only grew stronger that she was dead.

[Is that so? Then that’s good.]

It was a simple, unremarkable exchange.

And because of that, it was comfortable.

[Isn’t that Arias over there?]

“…Oh? It is, isn’t it?”

Ariasphil was walking nearby in the town, apparently searching for him.

“Miss!!”

Leo cheerfully ran toward her.

“Oh? Leo…?”

But Ariasphil seemed slightly exhausted—more so than Leo, who had just been in a fierce battle.

“…Are… are you alright?”

“Huh…? Oh, yes…”

It was clear she was not alright. She was still panting, and her gaze was unsteady, symptoms resembling mana exhaustion.

‘…Could it be because of me…’

Had she overexerted herself searching for him? Had she really wasted so much mana… for his sake?

“…Miss, let me carry you. In your current state…”

“No, it’s fine. You must be tired as well…”

However, there was another reason for Arias’s exhaustion.

‘I used too much mana focusing on that conversation earlier…’

Arias had simply drained her mana trying to eavesdrop more thoroughly.

“Please don’t refuse… huh?!”

At his words, Arias turned to look at Leo.

A clear moan escaped her lips.

It wasn’t the sound of pain,

Nor was it a scream of fear,

It was a moan of lust.

“Leo…?”

“I-I’m sorry. I must have accidentally… while trying to help you…”

Leo quickly removed his hand from her chest. It seemed he had accidentally touched her while trying to support her.

“Hmm~”

A leisurely smile spread across Arias’s face. Seeing the normally composed and calm Leonardo flustered washed away her lingering fatigue.

“Is that so? But I’m perfectly fine~”

With a playful, mischievous smile, Arias grabbed Leo’s arm.

“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”

Then, she slid his firm arm between her cleavage, fully entwining her arm around his.

The sensation of her soft skin and the fullness of her chest was overwhelming, to the point of being almost intoxicating.

“W-wait a minute…!! This is…!!”

“What? Can’t you even help me like this?”

A question so nonchalant, it bordered on brazen.

This was hardly what one would call helping…

The overwhelming presence pressing against both his arms stimulated all of Leo’s senses.

In just a few short years, the young girl had developed a figure rivaling that of a full-grown woman.

Even the most stoic of boys would be moved.

At that moment, Arias learned something.

The heart of this oblivious young man.