Chapter 203
Leona approached from behind like a real beast without any sign. Me and Marie were stunned as they watched Leona appearing from behind without a sound.
I don’t know if they even heard our story, but there is urgency in their golden eyes shining like wild beasts.
“…Leona? It’s Leona right?”
As the subtle air current subsided, Marie asked for confirmation in a shaky voice. She thought it was because of the atmosphere different from her usual Leona and her golden eyes.
Unlike usual who had blue eyes when he was a schoolboy, he now has eyes that are a bit rough and gleaming like a wild beast. Her Marie, who doesn’t know her very well, may be stunned.
However, Leona does not say anything and is still looking at me, asking for an answer. I glanced at her softly and looked around her.
There aren’t many passersby now, but it’s not appropriate to talk about it here. It would be difficult for her to clearly state her position, too.
You can’t go out with Marie though. Up until now, we had been enjoying a date, but Leona suddenly broke in.
I’d like to say I’ll see you later if possible, but Leona’s expression was so urgent that it was too vague to do so.
“Are you in a hurry? If you are in a hurry, it might be better to go somewhere else and talk. However, provided that you are accompanied by Marie.”
“… …”
At my suggestion, Leona turned her gaze to Marie without saying a word. Marie couldn’t understand the situation, so she had an expression that she didn’t understand, while Leona had a slightly complicated expression.
No one knows who I am but me, but if this happens, I will have to reveal it to Marie as well. But it seemed like my help was desperately needed, so I’m likely to accept it reluctantly.
And that prediction came true.
Leona sighed and nodded as if in agreement.
“…Okay. It’s your female, so it doesn’t matter if you tell me.”
“Oh, female?”
“Oh, sorry. Not a female, but a girlfriend.”
Leona waving her hands to make corrections. It seems that the words came out without my knowledge.
Anyway, I must have accepted the conditions, I decided to move. Although it is a pity that she cannot enjoy the long-awaited date, Leona’s expression is unusual.
Since such a major incident occurred in the Animers, it must have had an effect on her, who moved to Halo Academy.
Above all, it seems that it is quite urgent to see me even asking for a request from a third person without even entering the class.
“Have you eaten?”
“No. I haven’t done it yet.”
“Then let’s go to that restaurant. Do you know where it is?”
Me and Marie ate, but Leona eats everything. Because she can easily handle her three servings by herself.
So, around the time I started to move towards the restaurant, Marie, who still did not understand the situation, whispered to me.
“Isaac. Can you explain what’s going on? Why is Leona asking you all of a sudden?”
“Um… you’ll find out when you go. It’s hard to explain now. Do you believe me?”
“Of course I believe it. It was just a little strange.”
Marie whispered and glanced at Leona who was going ahead. She must be Leona with good hearing like Suin, so she must be listening to us all.
I shrugged Marie, who was suspicious of Leona, and gently took her hand. It feels soft like a baby.
Marie flinched at first, but then grabbed my hand like a hug.
“Isn’t it because the date went strangely and I was pissed off?”
“Absolutely not. And there’s still night left, isn’t it?”
She smiled softly and gently came out and folded her arms. As it was her growing age, I could clearly feel the touch of her breasts, which had grown rapidly.
Maybe this is why he grows up like Cecily. I smiled softly and caressed her hair, as white as her eyes.
When I pat my hair, Marie acts aegyo like a puppy and rubs her face in my arms. Very cute.
After that, after arriving at the restaurant, I had a private room with thorough soundproofing and went inside.
“Is it okay if I reveal it now?”
“yes.”
“What are you talking about?”
pong-
Around the time each was seated, Leona answered Marie’s question by making her hidden ears pop out.
Not a human ear, but an animal ear.
Marie blinked her eyes a couple of times as the animal ears popped up above Leona’s head, then opened her eyes and shouted.
“Ear, ear? Oh, no. Wait a minute. Leona, you must be…”
“That’s right. It’s a beast. A member of the brave lion.”
“You really were a beast…”
After a brief moment of surprise, when Leona proudly revealed her identity, Marie looked at her with a look of surprise and half wonder.
It must have been a big shock to her that Leona, who was usually a model student, was a Suin.
Because externally, the perception that Beasts were warlike and savage was deeply ingrained. No one would have thought that he would have been admitted to an educational institution like Halo Academy.
Marie looked at Leona’s face for a while, alternating between her ears and her ears, before turning her gaze to me.
“Isaac, did you know?”
“I knew.”
“Since when?”
“A few months ago. But then, it was really a coincidence. There was nothing good to tell people around, it only made the situation complicated, so I just stayed still.”
As I got to know the information, traditions, and various cultures about the beasts, I got a lot of benefits.
Of course, the serious situation of the Animers came to the surface because of the release of 15 books of Xenon’s biography based on that information.
Leona looked around at Marie and I who were sitting opposite her, sighed once more, and opened her mouth with a complicated voice.
“…Thanks to you, I was able to lead a normal life. But now I think it will be difficult. I may have to go back to my hometown soon.”
“To the Animers?”
“yes.”
“I said you were a member of the lions earlier? The newspaper said the warchief and his members were lions, so maybe…”
He blurted out at the end, but Leonardo would have noticed what Marie was saying. me too
As you can see from the news from the newspaper, the original warchief is a lion beast, that is, a quadruped like Leona.
Moreover, keeping the current tradition was also a lion beast, so maybe it has something to do with Leona. I think so.
Leona listened to Marie’s question and looked worried for a while, but then quietly came up with an answer.
“…I’ll tell you right now. Polygamy is tolerated even if Suin isn’t a warchief. A strong male has several females. My mother is the third wife.”
“Ah… I understand. After all, she was the warchief’s daughter.”
It was expected enough, but it was also as expected. As usual, she had a high pride for being a lion beast, so there’s no way she’d be unaware.
But things seem a little more complicated than I thought. If she is the daughter of the third wife, she is in fact a far cry from the monarchy. But she said that Leona may have to go back to her Animers.
In other words, there is a high probability that her family is in big trouble. In the worst case, all her but her could be dead.
Knock- Knock- Knock-
Just as a serious conversation was about to take place, someone knocked outside. Apparently the food has arrived.
Marie and I had already eaten, so we didn’t really need to eat, but Leona was there, so we just ordered all three. If you hand it all over to Leona, it won’t matter.
Of course, I ate some soup to appease my bored mouth.
“So why do you have to go home? Is there any problem?”
Leona, who was murmuring the steak with a depressed expression at my question, was startled.
Then he lifted his head, looked at me, and swallowed the steak in his mouth and said:
“…the only problem is what’s in the newspaper. Not all of my brothers and sisters are dead, I just have a duty to attend as a member of the family.”
“Yeah? That’s good luck.”
“But the problem is that the members have high expectations of me. As you can see, I’m smart enough to enter the academy. Ha…”
While taking a deep breath, the act of eating the steak does not stop. It seems that the body and mind are playing separately, and the absurdity disappears a little.
However, it is clear that the situation is quite serious. Otherwise, Leona with a cynical personality wouldn’t make such an expression.
I raised the question while looking at her, who didn’t know whether she was eating the steak deliciously or not.
“Did I tell you to look at me and answer me earlier? It seems like you cut off the front and back, but can you give me a detailed explanation? Tell me what kind of situation you are in and why you entered the academy.”
“Do I have to say that?”
“Otherwise you won’t have to listen to me. If you valued tradition, you would have left the Holm River as it is. Isn’t it?”
“… …”
Leona only murmured at the steak, not knowing what to say at my sharp point. Complex and subtle emotions permeate the golden eyes shining like a wild beast.
She must have received a delicious bribe (?) of a steak, as if she couldn’t help it, she nodded and picked up a chunk of steak with a fork.
Then he opened his mouth wide and ate the rest of it, and he honestly confessed his feelings.
“You’re right. I hate that crappy tradition.”
“… …”
“Tradition is also a good tradition, and the dead are bound to rot. The world changes quickly and the way people live, but if we stick to tradition, we will have no choice but to go back to that time. It’s a tradition too. Even if you don’t like it, you can’t throw it away.”
Leona had brought out the sincerity she had kept inside with a complicated yet frustrating feeling. In fact, not only Leona but also other beasts would feel the same way.
The Holm River is a barbaric tradition. A unique tradition that can take the life of the other person as well as deprive him of his authority.
However, after the country was founded, its traditions began to gradually corrode the country. The murder of the warchief is a prime example.
Looking at this alone, the Holm River is not a tradition, but an evil that should be eliminated immediately, but this is a story from a third person’s point of view. Like Leona, it is a tradition that can never be abandoned even if you hate it.
In a good way, it is ironic, and in a bad way, it is a tradition that is no different. As time goes by, the tradition will harden and sharpen, hurting millions of people.
“My mother said. In order to lead the country in the future, intelligence is more important than force. It means that you cannot rule forever by force alone. That is why I entered the academy.”
“Who didn’t stop it? It’s nothing else, it’s coming to the land of men.”
“Rather than blocking, they only ridiculed them. They made fun of them saying that they would practice while gaining knowledge.”
The sound of grinding teeth could be heard up to here, as if he had been severely insulted at the time. However, what they can understand is that only 300 years have passed since the founding of the Animers.
Strictly speaking, it means that the ‘state’ itself was founded. The human kingdom existed even before the tribal wars, and the first nation was established 3,000 years ago on record, just before the outbreak of the demonic war.
However, since the Animers have just built their own country, there are many shortcomings. One of the biggest examples is tradition.
How many countries could boldly abandon the traditions that helped build them? It can be concluded that there is no
The best solution here is time. As time passes, people’s way of thinking will change, so there is a strong possibility that the tradition will also change smoothly. Right now, Leona and other beasts have such an aspect.
I listened to her story and thought deeply, then glanced at Marie sitting next to me. She, too, is showing signs of being deeply concerned about her own serious subject.
“Marie. What do you think?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah. What would you like me to do?”
“Well… it’s a problem because there’s no proper way. To be honest, even if I’m a beast, I don’t think I can throw away the Holm River. In fact, my identity is disappearing.”
“Identity…”
That’s right. For Suin, the Holm River is the identity itself. It is a tradition that cannot be left behind.
Perhaps Leona was also aware of this, and lowered her eyes with a sign of pain. Seeing that even the ears that had protruded are slumped down, it looks like the current situation is stuffy and going crazy.
Still, it’s a little funny to eat a steak while moving a knife and fork.
“…that’s why I asked you. I can’t think of anything right now.”
“Well…”
“Can you continue what I said before? You said there was a way.”
“It is, but… because it’s easy to say.”
I took a bite of the soup and looked straight into Leona’s face. There is a hint of hope, anxiety, and impatience on her face.
That means it’s a big deal for me. A lot of luggage rests on Leona’s shoulders, who looks like she’s not even an adult yet.
It wasn’t a very friendly relationship, but nevertheless, he asked me for a helping hand, and he couldn’t ignore it.
It’s a reward, you can get it later.
“You said you don’t like hard traditions? It’s simple. Try to refine those traditions to make them softer.”
“softly?”
“Yeah. Let’s say your heart has a problem. You have to solve the problem, you can’t remove the heart itself. It’s a similar principle. You have to solve the problems in the tradition, you need to abolish the tradition itself. I mean no. For example…”
I paused for a moment and then showed you a very simple method.
“Would you like to change the Holm River to a once-a-year competition?”