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Bermuda Chapter 81
🕑 Added 2024-05-02 12:01:38 +0000 UTCChapter 81
"Captain, how long are you going to sleep? Wake up already."
Leonardo ignored Bey's voice waking him up and shivered in the cold air, pulling the sleeping bag closer. Seeing him mumbling, Bey sighed with a displeased face.
"You said we have to finish quickly and go. Are you going to keep sleeping?"
"Just a bit more..."
As Leonardo answered in his sleep, Bey turned his head to the other members.
"He's not waking up at all? Taylor, you try waking him up."
"What? No way. Last time I woke him up, he got really angry. Nero, you wake him up."
"I got hit once, you know?"
They pushed the task of waking Leonardo onto each other, saying they had it worse. Eventually, Bey looked at them as if he couldn't help it and turned his eyes back to Leonardo.
"Captain, if you don't wake up, should we leave you behind?"
Leonardo frowned as if annoyed, but remembering the reason Bey mentioned that they had to finish quickly and go, he had no choice but to try to get up.
But for some reason, contrary to his will, his body suddenly wouldn't listen. When he tried to open his eyes, his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he couldn't muster strength in his arms and legs.
Bey, who had been in front of him, didn't wait long and turned around, leaving him still lying there.
As his footsteps gradually faded away, Leonardo resented his teammates for mercilessly leaving their captain behind and struggled with all his might to lift his upper body.
However, no matter how hard he tried, his body kept not moving, and when he tried to call out to the members, strangely, no voice came out. Leonardo was engulfed in a sudden sense of anxiety.
At that moment, when he was battling his unmoving body, another set of footsteps approached closely. Those footsteps stopped in front of him and seemed to be silently looking down without moving.
Worried that his teammates might leave him behind again, Leonardo desperately tried to convey his situation to the person standing in front of him. However, even opening his mouth wouldn't go as he wished, and his pretty brows furrowed deeply.
Then, as if the member had noticed Leonardo's situation, he bent down and sat in front of him. And he reached out his hand and lightly stroked Leonardo's furrowed brows as if soothing them. Leonardo felt relieved at that touch.
As the sensation touched his skin, Leonardo slowly escaped from the restraints that had been constricting his body. He grabbed the hand in front of his face and opened his mouth urgently.
"Don't go."
The buzzing sounds around him gradually became clearer. Leonardo opened his eyes halfway.
He saw his hand pulling and tightly grasping someone's hand. But the feeling of that hand was a bit strange.
'Were their hands this big?'
Still struggling to open his heavy eyes weighed down by drowsiness, he fiddled with the hand he was holding. The owner of the hand flinched as if startled.
'It's a bit cool, though.'
Leonardo, holding the cool hand tightly, turned his head slightly while still lying on his side and looked to where his squad members would be. After blinking his sticky eyes a few times, he saw a large figure in front of the open tent door.
He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand to see which admirable fellow had come back alone. Then, as his vision gradually became clearer, that face started to come into view.
However, when the blurry image in his eyes completely settled into place, Leonardo had to feel a chill running down his spine.
It was because Hugo Agrizendro was looking down at him with a slightly strange expression.
In an instant, the eyelids that had felt heavy as a thousand pounds suddenly became light, and the drowsiness that had been pouring over him completely vanished. Confirming whose hand he was holding, he let go as if throwing it away in surprise. He also reflexively sat up from his lying position.
"...What?"
Leonardo was confused about the situation. In his consciousness, he was clearly with his teammates until just now.
But as if it were just a mere dream, the vivid appearance of Hugo Agrizendro directly dragged Leonardo's hazy consciousness into reality and threw it away.
His dazed mind and memories began to return quickly as if splashed with cold water. The fact that he had been caught by this man in front of his eyes in the Frost Territory after 3 years, dragged to the capital, and now came together to the Elder Millie Peninsula came to mind.
He had clearly fallen asleep with the thought of just closing his eyes for a bit as there wasn't much time left until dawn. Judging from the situation briefly passing behind him, it seemed that while everyone had woken up and was organizing the tents, he alone had still been deeply asleep.
Hugo refrained from speaking as the fellow in front of his eyes looked quite confused. The dazed face right after waking up was quite a sight to see, but at the same time, he felt a bit sorry as he seemed to be quite startled.
After a while, as his blank gaze returned to his eyes, Hugo thought he had come to his senses to some extent and opened his mouth.
"I'm glad you seem to have slept well. We'll depart right after the meal, so get ready."
Having briefly conveyed only the business, Hugo got up with an indifferent face and headed out of the cave. The members, who had been looking at where the two were, turned their heads as if they hadn't seen anything when the Commander came back this way and did their own tasks.
Leonardo couldn't take his eyes off Hugo's receding back. Then, suddenly, as his gaze met the members who were glancing back this way after Hugo passed, he felt so embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole in the ground and go in.
'Fuck, what did I do?'
Leonardo was ashamed that he had grabbed his hand in his sleep, but he was very confused with himself for not even sensing someone approaching and sleeping until then while being with these untrustworthy Council fellows. Moreover, in the unknown Elder Millie Peninsula where anything could pop out.
Usually, even when he went on missions, he couldn't sleep deeply unless it was a situation deemed safe with reliable teammates always guarding him. Of course, the problem was that once he fell asleep, it was hard to wake him up...
In other words, the fact that he had slept deeply meant that he had subconsciously felt 'safe'.
Leonardo, whose thoughts had reached that point, recalled the last scene he remembered before falling asleep, where Agrizendro had sent the night watch member in and sat in that spot.
He soon asked himself a question.
Did he feel a sense of security because he was guarding? Me? In this Elder Millie Peninsula?
Leonardo blankly stared outside the cave, then murmured as if talking to himself, letting out a hollow laugh.
"You've gone crazy, Leonardo."
*
Leonardo, who immediately tidied up his spot and got up, headed towards the clear lake shimmering in the sunlight. And he scooped up a handful of water with both hands and splashed it on his face to wash up. He rubbed his skin until it turned red as if trying to come to his senses.
After doing that for a long time, he swept his hair back with water on his hands and quietly looked down at the rippling lake water. A water droplet hung on the tip of his sharp chin, then fell and blended into the vast lake.
At that moment, Flynn, who had been organizing the luggage left outside the cave, spotted Leonardo and approached him.
"Oh, Blaine's awake? You wouldn't wake up at all when I tried to wake you up earlier."
Leonardo flinched and looked back at him with a chilly face. At his expression that seemed to have received a shock, Flynn also hesitated and stopped his approaching steps. Leonardo, who had stiffened, asked Flynn.
"You... also tried to wake me up?"
"You didn't know? You even answered."
Flynn simply replied as if it was obvious, not knowing why he was acting like that. Leonardo couldn't continue his words and sighed deeply as if the ground would cave in. Then, with a heavily frowning face, he roughly ruffled his golden hair and got up from his spot.
"Ha... Fuck, this is driving me crazy."
Having murmured that, he walked away with a confused face.
Flynn had gone to wake Leonardo up earlier at the Commander's order. It was because while everyone had woken up and was organizing the tents, only the tent he was in was quiet.
As Flynn carefully approached and slightly opened the tent door to peek inside, there was Leonardo, deeply asleep without a care in the world. Flynn found his appearance with his eyes closed beautifully somewhat fascinating, and he felt a bit sorry to wake him up as he looked quite tired, only making small breathing sounds without moving.
However, as they had to prepare to depart soon, Flynn fully opened the tent door, half-entered, and casually spoke to him a few times. But when there was no response at all, he lightly shook him and said,
"Blaine, how long are you going to sleep? Try to wake up."
"Just a bit more..."
As he mumbled in his sleep and hugged the sleeping bag, Flynn pondered for a moment on what to do. Then, knowing it wouldn't work but still attempting a threat that wasn't a threat, he said,
"If you don't wake up, should we leave you behind?"
Leonardo's brows, who had been sleeping soundly, slightly narrowed. As he quietly watched that sight, Hugo, who had instructed him to wake Leonardo up, soon spoke to Flynn from a distance.
"Flynn, if he doesn't wake up, leave him and organize the luggage first."
"Ah, yes, understood."
And so, Flynn had left Leonardo and was in the middle of moving the tents and luggage outside the cave to organize them. A moment later, he discovered Leonardo washing up by the lakeside, having woken up at some point, and spoke to him who seemed to be somewhat troubled, but the response he got back was that irritated remark from earlier.
At the sudden curse, Flynn blankly followed his back, then murmured as if he couldn't understand, frowning slightly.
"Why is he suddenly in a foul mood?"
***
"I'll go look around for a bit and come back. Wait here until I return."
"Yes, understood."
Hugo got up from his seat first after finishing the meal. Leonardo was spacing out and putting food in his mouth bit by bit, and an energy bar was suddenly pushed in front of his sight.
Leonardo's gaze, which had been staring only at the bonfire, turned that way. It was Agrizendro.
It seemed to be from his rations, but he wasn't eating it himself and was giving it to him.
Leonardo blankly stared at the energy bar and his wrist with the watch, then accepted it. Hugo firmly instructed him as if warning.
"Finish your meal before eating it."
Then, he went out with two other members who had finished their meal early to scout the surrounding routes.
Leonardo alternately looked at where he had gone and the energy bar a few times, then roughly shoved it into his pocket. Then, he tried to cut the omelet with a fork and eat it again, but suddenly felt that the watch on his wrist kept unconsciously bothering him as he handed over the energy bar.
To be precise, it seemed to be related to the conversation they had while looking at his watch rather than the watch itself. However, he couldn't specifically remember what it was, so only a vague uneasiness remained. As if something important was about to come to mind but didn't.
Leonardo, who had been thinking deeply for a moment, asked Flynn beside him about anything that came to mind from the conversation he had with Agrizendro, without much thought.
"Hey, Flynn."
"Yeah?"
"Does your Commander have a lover?"
The gazes of the members sitting around the bonfire having a meal all turned towards him. They all had faces as if they had heard something strange. Feeling that, Leonardo looked around once with an expression asking what they were staring at.
Flynn was also taken aback by his sudden question, so without even realizing that it was the first time he had called his name in his original appearance, not Teo's, he opened his mouth with a displeased look.
"...Probably not? But why?"
"Really? No, it's nothing."
Although Flynn asked with a doubtful face, Leonardo answered nonchalantly as if he really had no thoughts. However, Flynn's mind was already in a state of utmost confusion. It was because only one intention usually came to mind when asking such a question.
'Why did he ask? Could it be...'
Leonardo, who had picked up his fork again, saw Flynn's serious expression and tilted his head, then soon chuckled as if he knew what he was thinking.
"Why, are you worried I might devour your Commander?"
At that moment, a sharp sound of metal being crushed was heard.
Leonardo and Flynn simultaneously turned their heads in that direction. The water bottle in the hand of the 8th Platoon leader sitting across from them was crumpled by her grip. Her eyes were very cold, glaring at Leonardo as if she couldn't forgive him for insulting her superior.
The smile also disappeared from Leonardo's face as he met those eyes. Flynn got up from his seat to stop them, looking at the two's reactions.
"Haha, Platoon Leader. He probably didn't mean much by it. Right, Blaine?"
Flynn tried to stop her with a forced smile. Nevertheless, her sharp gaze was still directed at Leonardo, but as Flynn continued to try to calm her down, she turned her eyes away again without a word. Leonardo frowned deeply, dumbfounded as to what he had done wrong.
But looking at that cold face, Leonardo suddenly remembered that he had been in a hurry for something when she had been persistently chasing after him while pursuing him. Of course, there were more than one or two reasons for that, but one of them seemed to be oddly connected to what he had been trying to recall while looking at Agrizendro's watch.
"Someone precious."
The words Bey had said to him in the dream he had in the morning also fleetingly passed by.
"You said we have to finish quickly and go."
At that moment, Leonardo's eyes opened wide and he urgently asked Flynn beside him,
"Hey, what's the date today?"
"Huh?"
At the voice that sounded quite serious, Flynn was startled but soon calmly answered,
"The 23rd."
"The 23rd?"
Leonardo asked back with a shocked face. Flynn, who had been watching the 8th Platoon leader's reaction, also carefully observed his expression, wondering why he was acting like this again. His expression looked very anxious.
Leonardo bit his lip hard and swept his hair back with a frown.
'This is really driving me crazy. After being caught, my sense of time completely disappeared, so I had forgotten.'
Then, he suddenly jumped up from his seat. Flynn just blinked and looked at him.
Comments
Jesse Gibson
Someone coming for him? Someone he was supposed to meet? Hmmmmmm… whattttttttt is it??
