"Here you go, open up."
Wondering how he got in this ridiculous situation, Leo speechlessly stared at the spoon filled with porridge standing in front of his mouth…
"Do I really have to do th-"
"Uh uh. No complaining, we agreed that you would fully listen to me till you recover! No taking back your words!"
The source of the hand that was holding the spoon, Ria, simply used her finger to deny Leo any more talking. Although only a smile was pasted on her beautiful face, a scary aura seemed to radiate behind that warmness.
"O-ok, I got it. Ahum…"
Helplessly agreeing, Leo could only open his mouth and accept the spoon into his mouth, smiling awkwardly to show his obedience.
"Good, that's the Arthur I know."
Although getting spoon-fed by a beauty was always a jealousy-inducing event that caused his 'fellow readers' to curse the protagonists often. Leo's experience of it felt pretty awkward, even the thought of returning to the night of confrontation instead of enduring this crossed his mind.
"As long as you are happy, I guess…"
Despite his thoughts, Leo decided to simply accept it. After all, he wasn't the only one that sacrificed for the sake of the other.
Surprisingly enough for Leo, after storming into the town's medical facility the day before, Ria didn't ask about the details of the night he survived from, only asking about his health and how the wound was going. It was already obvious that something big had happened as rumors spread, but Ria acted with consideration.
In return, she just asked for him to behave well until his wound healed. Naturally, Leo couldn't find it in himself to deny her request.
'Thankfully, Crane took care of the rest.'
After Leo spent half of the day with Ria and his siblings, Crane came over once again after they left and explained what happened after Leo left the Blackbird and how he found him.
Having done a great job persuading Ria to stay the night with the children in the inn that accompanied the opposite restaurant, Crane had gone to sleep, satisfied with his accomplishment of the favor.
However, perhaps under the effect of the children's purifying souls, Crane's sleep, which wasn't even affected by the screams that night, broke under the guilt as he woke up in sweat.
With his sword in hand, Crane dashed towards the small Orphanage which he had a hard time reaching, only to find Leo collapsed and surrounded by ghastly corpses…
'When did I actually do that…?'
According to Crane, some bandages which were cut from the roll of the Orphanage were already covering Leo's wound when he went there. Still, Crane quickly picked him up and sent him to the doctor.
However, Leo himself didn't remember doing much after killing the last enemy, everything that he did after that seemed to be what he set as necessary. Even then, Leo didn't expect that he managed to do that much, his hazy memory didn't help with that either.
'Perhaps something else came out that night?'
Fortunately, after Crane moved Leo to the doctor, he went back prepared. Wearing safety cloth, he took out the traps which he personally made before digging the dirt full of poison that surrounded the little Orphanage and burying it deep in the forest along with the bodies mixed with it.
Despite owing nothing more to Leo, Crane not only managed to save him before he lost too much blood, but he also completely cleaned the aftermath, allowing Leo's heart to rest with ease.
'You can't die before I properly repay your debt… huh?'
Although Crane didn't confront the Fanged Wolves' team, which he could have easily crushed, thus saving Leo the trouble, Leo was more than happy with the help Crane had shown, especially since he could feel the character growth that Crane had gone through.
Remembering the sketchy words that Crane had awkwardly said at the end, Leo could almost see the protagonist aura radiating from him...
'Should I finally check it now?'
As Ria had already left the medical facility after feeding him and staying by his side for a bit to go take the children from the Blackbird, Leo looked around the empty room as he considered.
Thanks to his siblings storming the facility after Ria to check on him, Leo never got the chance to check the personal book till now.
[ Plot change confirmed. Impossible event occurrence has been detected. ]
[ The Reader's character has managed to counter a fixed event of Book 1 by eliminating all of the events' element characters under his influence. ]
[ Calculating the value of the plot change according to its impact… ]
[ Calculating the Reader's contribution to the plot change… ]
[ Calculation complete. You have received 100 Reading Points! ]
[ As the event's rating exceeds requirements, a bonus will be given. ]
[ Bonus randomization in progress… ]
[ Your reading of 'Basic Swordsmanship' has deepened as a bonus! ]
'Impossible…?'
`~~~`~~~`~~~`
Elsewhere…
The leaves danced with the wind as they fell from the trees that surrounded the big courtyard, uncaring of the world.
However, before they managed to reach the ground, the leaves were torn into equal pieces. A blade that seemed to dance along with the wind precisely cut the leaves, letting out a soothing song.
Observing the young man dancing with his sword, a stunning young girl took careful steps as she tried not to interrupt the beautiful song of the blade.
Even so, before she got too close, the sword dance suddenly stopped as the young man sheathed his sword, turning to look at the girl…
"Is something the matter, Tianna?"
Despite feeling apologetic to have stopped the young man's training, the girl nodded as she handed a folded piece of paper to the young man.
"Yes, The shadow that was stationed 'there' has something urgent to report."
Taking hold of the paper, the young man unfolded it as he scanned it with his eyes, his nonchalant expression turning angry all of the sudden.
"We will set out now, please prepare the minimum package that we will need for one quick trip."
"Understood."
Hearing the young man's stiff words, the young girl simply nodded before leaving the courtyard, simply acting as if the furious expression on the young man's face was nothing....