The Martial Unity

"… Aina?"

Leonel suddenly remembered that before he sensed that seven A-grade Invalids, he had also caught the faint fluctuation of someone or something else. But he had lost track of it near immediately. Could that have been Aina?

But if it was, should he feel bitter about the fact she hadn't raised a hand to help him to now?

These thoughts didn't survive very long because though Aina tried to hide it, his senses were much too sharp. He saw that not only was she not in top form currently, but there were small specks of dirt, blood and grime in hard to find areas. There was no way Aina had rolled out of bed like that.

Aina turned back and looked up at Leonel.

"Why did you leave without a word? I already said that it's not safe to work alone."

Hearing these words, Leonel instinctually frowned.

"Are you sure it was you who said that? Or was it your servant Yuri?"

Leonel was shocked by the own snappiness in his voice. But the mixture of resentment and fatigue left him unable to control his emotions very well.

It really had been Yuri who said that her 'Miss Aina' wanted to work together. Those words had never come out of Aina's own mouth. Why should he care about something she couldn't even be bothered to say personally? He was more surprised she hadn't sent her little servant here instead.

"Both." Aina replied with a glare. "You're our leader, you can't recklessly leave on your own. Even if you did it to protect us, don't you think your own safety is important too? If you fall, do you think they would be able to survive for long?!"

These were the most words Leonel had ever heard Aina speak. However, even if he was stunned, he had far more pent up rage that suppressed it completely.

Just as he wanted to respond, a snicker came from a few meters away.

"It's fine if you two want to have a lover's quarrel, but do so after you meet my demands. That ax on your back looks pretty good girl. You can hand it over too."

Aina's head snapped back to the three men.

"Shut the hell up while I'm talking or you'll find yourselves split in half before you can regret it!"

Leonel's gaze trembled at those words. He didn't even have time to register the shock he should have felt about them coming from Aina's mouth. Was this the same shy girl who ran away every time he confessed? The same quiet girl who spoke so few words before?

"How can you keep treating human lives so casually?!"

Aina's head snapped back toward Leonel. "Can't you tell that they want to kill you?! Do you really believe that they'll just back away after all of this?! They saw you kill an A-grade Invalid on your own, you think they want that kind of enemy getting away from them?! Why are you so naive?!"

Leonel's eyes bulged, reddening in a torrent of uncontrollable anger.

"Did you see that?" One of the leading man's partners pointed. "That's got to be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. She's probably one of those noble girls from a big family… I really want to taste one."

It seemed that since Aina immediately faced Leonel when she fell by his side, and the fact her massive ax covered her back view, it wasn't until she turned to curse at them that they got a true look at her.

first dibs last time, though.

I can catch the whiff from here. She's much higher quality than

his lips. "Let's use

"Fine! Rock-paper-scissors it is."

"Ready —."

into a greater darkness. For a moment, it felt that

men turned toward Leonel,

to say

turned a blood red. His whites were swarmed by snaking blood vessels, and his irises, once a

didn't deserve

back into place. Ignoring the twanging pain, he reached to his back and pulled out

flying silver spears. Three cries for help. Three bloody holes. Three

was done, Leonel

a glance toward him, her emotions once more unreadable. She walked forward and took the treasures

"Oof…!"

him to stumble backward and fall to the ground in his fatigue. If it wasn't for his flexible armor, his ribs

obviously knew that she was the one responsible, but he was too

D-grade, but they're still better than

body parts. Of the armors, one was for the shins, another was a helmet, and the last was a chest protector. As for the weapons, there was a

first good look at Aina he had in almost a year. Even when he came back from the Mayan temple, he hadn't had a chance before her arm was suddenly through Conrad's

growing in his mind. Her features were too delicate, too beautiful, for her to be that same woman who all but

belts that surrounded her figure, still doing just as bad a job at hiding her curves as her dresses had.

been before. Whether that was his imagination, or the objective reality, Leonel wasn't

avoided observing her closely over the past few days.

Leave the rest of the things for the others.

enough that if there were A-grade Invalids around drawn in by the Zone opening,

but she didn't say anything in

back." Leonel slowly picked himself

Until it's closed, getting out of this area will be difficult. Invalids have far sharper senses

wasn't in a state to be entering a Zone right

that looked like a pill. She had pulled it out from one of the many pockets

energy despite Aina standing right in front of him. It seemed her pockets weren't

in Leonel's thoughts. He took the pill from her, careful not to

lit down his throat, coursing through his body as through it

his right vanished. Finally, his fatigue trickled away as though he had

[Leonel Morales]

(+0.1); Agility: 0.85 (+0.1); Coordination: 0.99; Stamina: 0.86 (+0.05); Reactions: 0.99;

that had blocked him crumbled and he felt his

[Spirit: 0.11]

was a small change, but Leonel felt

a fool. He knew this pill was more valuable than Aina let on.