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Bermuda Chapter 73
🕑 Added 2024-04-27 11:05:06 +0000 UTCChapter 73
Leonardo frowned deeply and roughly pulled out his caught wrist.
"Do you think I can't even distinguish whether there are people or not?"
He rubbed his wrist and retorted without hiding his displeasure.
"It's true that it came out a bit strong, but not to that extent. Rather, it turned out like that because I was startled when you grabbed me."
Hugo stared at him silently, then shifted his gaze to look at the smoke rising from the distant peak. Before long, he turned his head back to the front and opened his mouth, pointing behind him.
"It seems quite strong for that."
"..."
"I'm saying this just in case, but it's natural for your control to suddenly become unstable since you've been wearing the handcuffs for a long time. So if you feel overwhelmed by yourself, you must report it to me. That way, I can control you."
At Hugo's words, Leonardo looked up at him with a slightly dumbfounded expression. Then, with a dissatisfied face that seemed to have quite a lot he wanted to say, he moved his lips, then let out a short sigh as if to vent his emotions.
"I understand what you're saying, but there's no such thing for you to worry about."
Leonardo said that and gestured with his chin towards the peak on the other side.
"In the end, they all ran away, didn't they?"
As he said, the monster cries were no longer heard. It seemed that all the monsters nearby had fled due to the huge explosion a moment ago. However, Hugo soon looked at the base camp below and said,
"Yes. That's fortunate, but it seems everyone has woken up as a result."
At that remark, Leonardo also looked down. Quite a few people had come out of their tents and were observing from a distance the place where he was standing and the peak where the attack had just flown.
Leonardo frowned slightly. He also knew well how much waking up from sleep in the early morning affected one's condition the next day, and he knew that it would slow down the procession's speed.
Leonardo, who made eye contact with those gazes directed at him, closed his eyes tightly once with furrowed eyebrows, then opened them.
"Ah- I get it, I get it. It's my fault."
He retorted as if suppressing his emotions, biting his teeth, and headed straight to the base camp. Hugo followed right behind him.
Leonardo, who had gone down, entered the tent first without even glancing at the members who were gathered and staring at him. Eventually, just as Hugo was about to follow him in, Meterion approached him.
From his cold expression that didn't seem like he would say anything good, Hugo honestly wanted to ignore him. However, Meterion, who didn't seem to back down, looked at the distant peak that was emitting smoke as if he had been waiting and said,
"Is the cause of that Leonardo Blaine?"
Hugo remained silent for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"There were Dermocas nearby."
"If they appear twice, he might even blow up a volcano."
Meterion let out a sneer as if mocking.
"You said I couldn't control him, but it seems the same goes for you."
"..."
Hugo answered him with slightly tired eyes.
"There won't be any problems, so I'll be going now."
Meterion stared as if he would keep an eye on him, then soon returned to his own tent. However, behind him, even more members were looking this way with confused eyes. Hugo, who let out a sigh without showing it, ordered them,
"There was a brief commotion, but it's nothing to worry about. Since we're marching early, everyone go back and rest."
"Yes, understood."
The members who answered Hugo's words immediately dispersed to their own places. As the majority of the personnel went back into their tents, Hugo also lifted the entrance of the tent and went inside. Naturally glancing at the left bed, Leonardo was lying on the bed with his back to the entrance.
Hugo quietly stared at his back.
It must have been something he really didn't want to admit that his mana control was unstable, as he was a powerful mage and had tremendous control to the point of being able to perfectly conceal his own mana. Moreover, he would have a strong pride in his own mana.
However, Hugo hoped that he wouldn't cause any problems by asserting his pride. Aside from the fact that he would be responsible for the problem, it could also worsen the negative perception the members had of Leonardo.
Hugo wanted to continue the conversation inside, but judging by the atmosphere that had settled around the young man, it seemed better to just leave him alone for now. Blinking slowly, Hugo soon returned to his place without saying much.
Then, as he sat back on the field bed, he spoke softly to Leonardo, who was lying with his back turned,
"Sleep well, Leonardo."
*
Although the morning sun had risen, a grayish sky covered by clouds could be seen. Leonardo, who had been sitting on a makeshift chair in front of the extinguished bonfire, blankly looked at the opaque sky filled with clouds, then soon turned his eyes to Flynn's shadow that approached in front of him.
"What are you looking at like that?"
Flynn glanced at the sky where Leonardo's gaze had been lingering and asked. In response, Leonardo stared at the sky again as if it was meaningless and said,
"Nothing."
Flynn had been wondering if something had happened, seeing his appearance that seemed to have low tension somehow, along with the loud sound that had occurred in the early morning. But suddenly, the breakfast in his hand belatedly caught his eye.
"You cleaned it all up yesterday, but you didn't eat much today?"
At Flynn's question, Leonardo blankly looked down at the meal in his hand.
"I don't have much of an appetite."
"Are you done eating?"
"Yeah."
Although Flynn had many things he wanted to ask since the Commander didn't particularly tell him anything, Leonardo's mood didn't seem very good, so he collected Leonardo's utensils without saying much.
Leonardo watched Flynn's back, then soon crossed his legs and slightly shifted his gaze to where Hugo was.
There, the commanders who had gathered for a meeting yesterday and the liaison officers from the Southern Branch who had come to the base camp location of the Central Branch were gathered again, holding a pre-departure meeting. It seemed they had urgent matters to discuss from the morning.
And the reason Leonardo was sitting here now was because today, Hugo didn't call him to his side.
He wasn't a member of the Council's commanders, so he didn't have to attend the meeting, but until yesterday, he had been there, and today he was left alone here, so he felt really strange. It was like a feeling of being deprived of something.
As Leonardo was looking there while ruminating on unpleasant emotions, Hugo, who had been listening to someone else's words at the meeting place, suddenly turned his gaze. As a result, he made direct eye contact with Leonardo, who had been looking that way.
When the drooping golden eyes were directed at him, Hugo slightly raised one eyebrow. Leonardo flinched at the unexpected situation, then naturally turned his head, feigning nonchalance.
After meaninglessly watching other members packing up their tents for a while, he slightly turned his head and looked in Hugo's direction again. Then, Hugo had his head turned to the front as if he had never glanced this way and was having a meeting with the people in front of him.
After blankly staring at that sight, Leonardo suddenly shifted his gaze to his own hand and repeated clenching and unclenching it a few times.
His mana that had flown towards the distant peak yesterday was indeed strong because Hugo had grabbed his wrist, but as he said, it was also true that it had gone out strong because it was less controlled than expected.
It was clearly his own mistake and a problem he himself had been concerned about, so he should rather be grateful to Agrizendro.
However, what had upset Leonardo was not that he didn't want to admit it, but Hugo's behavior of trying to take responsibility for his problem himself.
His words that he would control Leonardo's unstable mana problem made him feel like he was being treated as a helpless child who couldn't do anything without him or a heavy burden that had to be carried, so he didn't feel very good.
But he couldn't entirely blame Hugo for that. There was probably no one here who wouldn't treat him that way.
Leonardo, whose thoughts had reached that point, slowly raised his head and stared at the group in the midst of a meeting far away again.
The fact that he could stand there as if it was natural yesterday. And the fact that he could voice what he knew and thought. Leonardo suddenly realized that all of that was because Agrizendro called him, stood him by his side, talked to him, and asked for his opinion.
With so many thoughts entangled, he quietly observed the side profile of the Commander. And somehow, he felt that it was unfamiliar.
The reason it felt unfamiliar was because whenever he looked at him, Hugo always turned his gaze to meet his eyes, so there were hardly any occasions to see his side profile.
At that moment, from his actions that he had thought were somewhat lenient towards him since the capital, to the fact that he had gathered everyone in front of him right before departure and told him to give the operation briefing himself, to his incomprehensible actions of suddenly removing the handcuffs and entrusting him with the rear, quickly flashed through his mind.
And the last thing he remembered was,
'I will give you a chance.'
What he had thought was a petty and contradictory sympathy,
'Make up for it. In this expedition.'
It was a chance he was giving him in his own way.
Comments
Monmon
Granted the choker thus far is acting as a big mystery surrounding Leo. We know the bare minimum about it, and it doesn't seem like a method of control that's consistently limiting his mana output to a point where he can just get used to it and ignore its effects. As of right now we know it restricts his mana to some extent, but knowing that the person put it on him is still nameless, we can safely assume that it's more complex features are being left ambiguous as well for the time being. We don't even really know when that choker was put on him either, and I doubt he's been using his powers to these extremes since he's been in hiding (cause he'd give up his position immediately if he was, we saw how sensitive Hugo was to just the tiniest burst of his energy while in the frost territory) Leonardo being able to control his mana to the point of hiding it vs him outwardly using his strength appears to me like two separate "skills" that utilize his mana differently. We've even seen early on when he practically blasted the impersonator "Blaine" away that there were signs of a lack of control that he brushed off as him being a bit "pent up". I don't think this is a sudden problem that came out of nowhere, as much as it's a problem Leonardo may not have had the opportunity to focus on until recently
Jesse Gibson
Hmmm it still doesn’t make sense that Leo all of sudden can’t control his mana. He’s been wearing that choker for many years and it didn’t seem to hinder him much since he was skilled he could completely hide his mana, but now he can’t because of the choker? Maybe having the handcuffs on sure might have messed it up for a bit but they are saying it’s the choker… it doesn’t make sense. And I still don’t like that Hugo is playing the babysitter when they are the ones who asked Leo for the favor. Ugh. He’s not a criminal but they treated him like one from the beginning.
