Chapter 28: Meigen Tolomir
The next morning, we stumbled upon a scene.
Leone and Meigen were facing each other.
“Meigen, why are you so pathetic?”
“Huh… Leone?”
Leone looked at Meigen with a serious expression, while Meigen looked puzzled.
We hid and watched their conversation.
“Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s getting incredibly tense.”
“That’s fine.”
They were facing each other in the familiar courtyard.
We watched them from behind the bushes.
While anxiously watching their interaction, Flare repeatedly expressed her concerns.
Meanwhile, their conversation continued.
“W-What’s wrong all of a sudden? Leone, did I do something? If I did, I’m sorry, I apologize.”
“. . .sigh.”
Leone let out a big sigh in response to Meigen’s apology.
Leone’s eyes were still cold.
“That’s who you are, Meigen.”
“Huh?”
“Meigen, what are you to me?”
“W-What do you mean… I’m just me?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m asking you what you mean to me.”
Meigen tilted his head in confusion at Leone’s question.
“Aren’t we just friends?”
“Friends… huh.”
Leone laughed recklessly.
Meigen flinched at his smile.
“Leone?”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
And then, Leone looked down at him again.
It wasn’t about their height difference.
It was about his attitude, gaze, and tone of voice, as if he were speaking to a commoner from his past.
“A commoner born noble with no clear role or mission, just attending school as told…there are plenty of guys like that. Meigen.”
Leone points.
At Meigen’s face.
“You’re one of them.”
“What are you talking about…”
“You’re friends with that kind of guy? Don’t make a fool out of me.”
“Well, um…”
Leone sighs at Meigen’s confusion.
“Don’t you get it yet? Then let me be clear.”
“…”
“I don’t consider you a friend.”
“――!”
Leone said it clearly, without any pretense, directly to Megan.
Those harsh words…
We watched it all unfold.
“Is it really okay?”
“It’s fine. It’s what I asked for.”
“Slayer-san?”
“…It’s necessary. For him… to confront Leone.”
I had already explained the situation
about the problems that Meigen was facing to Flare.
But it’s understandable that she still feels anxious.
After all, the scene was too shocking.
“Le-o…Ne?”
“what, Meigen.”
“W-Wait a minute!”
Meigen stopped Leone from leaving.
Leone stopped abruptly, but he still had his back turned.
“I don’t understand! You can’t just say something like that out of nowhere and expect me to accept it!”
“There’s no need for understanding. It’s a fact.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me before? Were you pretending to be my friend all this time?”
“That’s not. . .no.”
Leone was about to say something, but swallowed it.
That’s fine.
If he said those words, this conversation will go back to square one.
He endured it and slowly turned around.
“Do you still want to be friends?”
“Well, of course. I――.”
“Then prove it.”
Leone snaps his fingers.
It’s the signal we had agreed upon.
I immediately activated the isolation barrier, covering a corner of the courtyard.
“T-This. . .”
“Meigen, prove that you’re worthy of being my friend. Fight me here and now.”
“W-What, fight. . .with you?”
“That’s right.”
Leone psyched himself up, punched his own fist.
He’s already prepared to fight.
But his opponent was still confused.
“I don’t understand. Whats wrong. . .”
“I already gave you the reason. ‘Prove it,… You should know that I value strength. So it should be obvious, right? Show me your power.”
“Leone. . .You’ve been acting strange since earlier. Even this barrier――.”
“Meigen!”
He shouted,
calling his friend’s name.
Meigen trembled and covered his mouth.
“Just tell me what you want.”
“I. . .”
“Fight or don’t fight.”
“Fine… I understand.”
Meigen’s expression finally changed.
While still uncertain and confused, he looked straight at Leone with a firm determination.
“I’ll fight with you.”
“. . .I see.”
Leone’s mouth seemed to loosen slightly.
He must be pleased.
I can tell.
But he suppressed that emotion and faced Meigen.
“Come on, Meigen.”
“Okay!”
The two began to fight.
And then――
It was over.
“Ugh. . .k. . .”
“. . .Meigen.”
The defeated one fell to the ground, while the winner looked down upon him.
Leone looked down at the battered Meigen with a sad expression.
“You. . .are weak.”
“. . .”
The fight lasted only about five minutes.
The outcome was decided in an instant.
As evidenced by how unscathed Leone was, it was a one-sided fight, barely even worthy of being called a fight.
Meigen couldn’t do anything.
He wasn’t allowed to do anything.
The difference between them was so apparent.
“To think a man like you was my friend. . .I was mistaken after all.”
“Leone. . .”
“It’s over, Meigen.”
Leone turned his back on the fallen Meigen and left.
The isolation barrier had disappeared without Meigen noticing.
Megan could only watch him leave.
Was it because he couldn’t stand up due to the pain?
No, it must be something else.
“Damn it…”
He was frustrated and couldn’t stand up.
He shed tears.
He tasted the bitterness of defeat and couldn’t bear the pain.
In that state, I approached him.
“How pathetic, Meigen Tolomir.”
“You…are…”
I look down on him.
From the same position as Leone, with the same eyes.
“Slayer…san?”
Now, this is where my role begins.
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