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Bermuda Chapter 67
🕑 Added 2024-04-23 12:12:51 +0000 UTCChapter 67
The sound of water dripping from the ceiling echoed through the quiet interior of the cave. Only Flynn and Leonardo were there.
It seemed they had entered quite a distance away from the procession, taking detours through the side paths of the cave. They wouldn't get lost since they had left a sensor at the gathering point, but Flynn was contemplating whether he should stop Leonardo, who was going deeper and deeper.
Leonardo floated flaming orbs on both sides, illuminating the darkness. Then, he took out a piece of paper from his inner pocket and compared it with the minerals embedded between the rocks, continuously searching for something.
Occasionally, he would draw the dagger at his waist, stab it into the wall to extract a mineral, and make a mark on the paper he was holding. Flynn quietly watched him and followed behind.
'Huh? The footsteps...?'
Suddenly, Flynn realized that only one person's footsteps could be heard echoing in the cave. To confirm, he stopped walking for a moment, and indeed, even though Leonardo was walking ahead, his footsteps couldn't be heard at all.
Instead, as the presence following him ceased, Leonardo instantly looked back. Flynn thought he wasn't paying attention at all, but it seemed he had been listening to the footsteps the whole time.
After staring blankly for a while, he eventually turned and walked forward again. Flynn also quickened his pace to catch up with him as he moved away.
'They say the Armsilvers don't even make footsteps... Impressive.'
While he was inwardly amazed, Leonardo suddenly stopped walking and stood still. Flynn also stopped in his tracks.
A faint smile appeared on Leonardo's lips and quickly disappeared. His gaze was fixed on a particularly soft, glowing blue mineral among the numerous minerals embedded in the wall.
He immediately approached the wall, took off the glove on his right hand, and gripped the dagger. Then, while floating in the air, he pressed himself against the cave wall and thrust the blade deep into the rock.
After stabbing the wall forcefully a few times, the deeply embedded blue mineral fell onto his hand.
After extracting the mineral, Leonardo lightly jumped down from the cave wall to the ground and held the mineral up to his flame floating in the air. The blue mineral, which glowed softly as light passed through it, was something Flynn had seen before, and as far as he knew, it was a relatively rare substance.
Leonardo seemed to have known from the beginning that this rare mineral was here. He had said he had come to the peninsula a few times before, and it appeared to be true.
Leonardo immediately took out a pen from inside his mage robe, made a brief note on the paper he was holding, and put the mineral into a small pouch tied to his wrist. Then, suddenly, he quietly looked down at the pen in his hand, turned his gaze, and held it out to Flynn.
"Thanks for the pen. It was useful."
"Ah... Yeah."
That pen was the one Flynn had handed to Leonardo when he was explaining the operation. At the words of gratitude, Flynn dazedly nodded and took it.
It was the first conversation they had since coming here alone. His hand, which briefly touched Flynn's as he handed over the pen, was warm as expected.
Leonardo took the paper again, looked around, and went deeper inside. Flynn followed him and casually asked,
"What are you going to use the minerals for?"
Leonardo, who had been walking while looking at the wall, stopped and glanced back at Flynn. As Flynn just blinked, a smile seemed to appear on his pretty face, but it quickly returned to a blank expression.
"Why do you need to know?"
Flynn's expression slightly crumpled. He had mustered up the courage to strike up a conversation, but what he got in return were words that seemed to draw a line with a smile. It felt like he had been quietly feeling a sense of closeness alone and was suddenly pushed away. It was a moment when he slightly regretted handing him the pen.
Flynn still had unresolved feelings towards Teo, or rather Leonardo Blaine, who had deceived him in the Frost Territory.
He knew well that the situation Leonardo was in left him with no choice but to deceive him, but he wanted to believe that he wasn't the only one who felt they had gotten closer in that last moment when they said goodbye in the square.
However, Flynn couldn't clearly distinguish where Leonardo's actions as Teo ended as an act and where they began as genuine.
Moreover, he couldn't understand at all why the Commander had paired him with Leonardo. He had thought they would part ways there, so he hadn't expected to keep seeing him like this, and honestly, it would be a lie to say it wasn't awkward.
When he received a chilly response, Flynn turned his head, vowing never to initiate a conversation with him again. Leonardo saw his reaction but focused on searching for minerals again without saying much.
After walking a few more steps, his gaze still didn't turn towards Flynn, but Leonardo spoke in a rather loud voice as if telling him to listen.
"I'm going to make an amp stone."
Flynn turned his head again to look at his back. Since there was no one here but him and Leonardo, those words were indeed directed at him.
"You're making an amp?"
"Yeah."
Leonardo answered like that while carefully looking around, and then, as if he had found another one, he approached the cave wall. He pried open the rock and extracted another mineral, then tossed it to Flynn. Flynn hurriedly caught the small mineral flying towards him with both hands.
"Keep that well. It would probably be really expensive if you sold it outside."
Leonardo grinned and quickly moved to another spot. Flynn blankly stared at the blue mineral he had thrown, then grasped it in his hand and followed him.
An amp was, simply put, a type of amplifier. The subject of amplification could be an electric current, sound, or even mana. And based on Flynn's guess, the energy Leonardo wanted to amplify by making an amp stone seemed to be mana.
Numerous scholars in the world had conducted long-term research to amplify mana, but usually, the catalyst used as an amplifier would quickly shatter, so there was a limit to the amount.
Moreover, if an amplifier could endure for a bit longer, its price would skyrocket unreasonably. Because of that, there were also people who directly obtained minerals, cast magic on them to create mana stones, and used them as amps.
Flynn thought Leonardo was also one of those people. It was because, as he had said, this mineral was mainly used for the purpose of amps. However, although it had good instantaneous expansion, it couldn't serve the role of a solid catalyst, but it was still considered rare, so it was quite expensive.
But Flynn felt there was a contradiction in Leonardo's words. Unable to contain his curiosity, he impulsively asked,
"But why do you want to make an amp? Your mana is strong enough that you don't need such a thing."
Leonardo, who had been moving a bit further inside, flinched and glanced at Flynn again. He pondered for a moment, then tapped the black choker hidden under the collar of his mage robe and answered,
"Because of this."
Seeing that, Flynn couldn't continue his questioning.
Flynn also knew to some extent about the black choker Leonardo was wearing since he had attended the briefing of the Council. And even though he hadn't mentioned that fact, Leonardo seemed to have guessed that Flynn already knew about the choker.
That thing, presumed to have been put on by the military. That thing, which suppressed mana, although not as much as mana restraining stones.
"When I have this on, I can't properly use my mana."
Although his tone was nonchalant, Flynn couldn't help but be mindful of him, knowing it was a sensitive topic. As if sensing that, Leonardo, who had been looking into Flynn's eyes, soon approached him with a chuckle. Then, he abruptly put his arm around Flynn's shoulder as if they were close friends.
"That's enough questions for now. I've answered a lot, so don't be sulky anymore, okay?"
Flynn was extremely flustered by Leonardo's sudden action and made a dumbfounded expression. At the close, even intimate distance between them, he felt a fluffy scent like something well-dried in the sun amidst the humid and damp air of the peninsula.
Flynn, who had been inwardly admiring the long eyelashes and transparent skin right in front of his eyes, soon came to his senses and recalled Leonardo's words, flaring up as if it was absurd.
"When was I ever sulky?"
"When were you sulky? You've been pouting ever since Agrizendro paired you with me."
As he hit the nail on the head, Flynn's face turned red, feeling like his inner thoughts that he had tried not to show had been exposed. Leonardo laughed slightly as if it was amusing.
Seeing the pleasantly raised corners of his mouth, Flynn was reminded of the smile Teo had shown him during their last goodbye in the square of the Frost Territory. Those pretty eyes that curved softly as he smiled brightly at him.
Flynn quietly gazed at that, then made a sullen expression and straightened his gaze forward. It was because he had no choice but to admit it.
He sincerely wished for Teo to be well wherever he went, hoped to meet him again if fate allowed, and those feelings were the same for Leonardo now.
So Flynn had no choice but to acknowledge his desire to get along well with him.
"..."
At that moment, a strange sound suddenly came from deep inside the cave. At the unidentifiable echo that couldn't be distinguished as a monster's cry or something else, Flynn and Leonardo simultaneously flinched.
Flynn, who had been quietly observing the darkness, eventually lowered the arm on his shoulder and stood in front of Leonardo to block him.
"It would be better to go back now."
Leonardo looked into the cave once more, then readily nodded at Flynn's words.
"Okay."
Comments
Jesse Gibson
Yep, totally like him soooooo much more than Hugo
