"Why didn't you jump on me yet?" Sarah's question reached Leon's ears as the girl squirmed restlessly where she sat.
For but a moment, Leon's eyes were drawn to the girl's curves, easily noticeable under the thing cloth that covered her.
Sure, Sarah followed Leon's request and came back with a thick, coarse cape. And yet, the front opening of her warm cloth aligned perfectly with the girl's slightly twisted position, leaving only a little to Leon's imagination.
But the girl's question quickly pulled him back to reality.
"Jump on you?" Leon repeated Sarah's question as he leaned his head to the side. He then put a playful albeit empty smile on his lips as he looked right into the girl's eyes. "And why would I do something like this?"
Sarah faltered. It was as if Leon's question caught her off-guard.
"I-I don't know... I just thought you would do it," she said after a brief moment of silence, only to avert her gaze again when faced with Leon's eyes.
"For what, to have you cry, beg for your mother's help, and pray to the gods for everything to end?" Leon then casually replied, pointing out the possible development of the scenario Sarah suggested. "Why would I desire something like that?" he then asked, as if he genuinely didn't understand.
"I-I don't know..." Sarah repeated her words again, somehow managing to make them even quieter. "Y-You are a man... And I'm a woman," she then said, finally managing to raise her head and look into Leon's eyes before averting them as quickly as she could.
Sarah then fidgeted on the bed, unsure of what else to say or do. And right when it seemed that the awkwardness has reached its peak.
"Okay, listen," Mathew brought his back up and sat on the bed's edge. "I'm a man of peculiar tastes. I see no joy in forcing the girl. Instead, I only desire girls that can't stop begging for me to come," he revealed with a straight face. "And you are nowhere near that point."
Sarah blinked in confusion. "B-Beg for you to come?" she repeated the odd words that came out of Leon's mouth, her eyes looking for answers at all directions but failing to find any.
"Don't get me wrong," Leon then continued. "I do see potential in you," he continued, forcing a smile on his lips as he spoke. "But I want it to be mutual. That's why, rather than forcing myself on your body, I would prefer if you voluntarily opened your mind and explained what did you mean by the mobilization."
Sarah hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to speak. "I-It's complicated," she began, her words once again coming out much quieter than before.
"My brother was taken away a few days ago," Sarah revealed after taking a moment to gather her thoughts.
"Taken?" Leon raised an eyebrow at the girl's choice of words.
Sarah nodded her head in response, her eyes glistening with tears as she spoke. "He was one of the best hunters we had," she said through clenched teeth, struggling not to let herself cry right then and there.
"What happened?" Leon asked after a short pause, prompting Sarah to continue her story.
"The mobilization happened," Sarah replied with venom in every word as if cursing the very concept itself rather than revealing information about it. "They came and took half of all the men in the village. If they could hold a weapon, they were forced into service," she revealed with bated breath as if trying to calm herself down by controlling how much air entered her lungs. "They didn't even bother sending anyone from the capital to explain anything!" Sarah then exploded in anger as she recalled everything that happened.
"That's..." Leon hesitated as he listened to the girl's story. "Tough..." he then added, his voice trailing off as his thoughts clouded his eyes. 'For the measures to turn so direct, it's either a sham or a desperate situation.'
To take over most of the able-bodied men from a village meant to sack most of its potential to produce. Be it food, money from taxes, or manpower, whatever the village benefited its lord with would practically vanish for a long period of time.
"The nobles are hiring mercenaries left and right. I heard similar situations happened in other villages nearby," Sarah continued her story. "I even heard they were trying to summon heroes to the court!" she then added, her voice raising to indicate how important this part was.
And Leon properly reacted to the girl's words.
"Summon heroes?" he repeated Sarah's words only to then raise his right eyebrow. "Do you have any idea why would they go so far?"
'I have no other choice but to wing it,' he thought, gritting his teeth while keeping his usual, blank expression. 'There is a limit to how much I can bullshit my way through by claiming to be from far away,' the man reminded himself before regathering his wits.
"Some war in the north," Sarah said and shrugged her shoulders. "The village elder said it was going to be a big war, but one that wouldn't reach all the way home."
'A big war in the north...' Leon repeated Sarah's words in his mind as he thought about what to say next.
"How many men did they take from your village?" Leon then asked. "You said half of all able-bodied men were taken," he then led the girl toward the detail he was particularly interested in.
"There are sixty families here," Sarah finally answered his question after a moment of silence. "Every family has two or three kids and their parents. Most of the kids can't work yet so it all comes down to the fathers who can."
"So, about thirty, forty men went away, right?" Leon came up with a number.
"Mhmm," Sarah muttered as she nodded her head.
"I see..." Leon then whispered, raising his head and looking towards the ceiling. "Then, that will be all for now," he then announced, lowering his eyes back to the girl.
And for the first time since he appeared in this world, Leon allowed a small, honest smile to appear on his lips. The sight of Sarah desperately clutching at the bowl while slowly reaching for more and more meat while fearfully watching out for even the faintest sign of his dissatisfaction was just too much for his heart.
"You can keep the bowl, but pass me the basket and the bottles," Leon then informed only to turn his words into order.
"Huh?" Sarah jumped up, clutching the bowl close to her abdomen. She then turned her eyes toward the nearby nightstand. "Ah," she then shouted in terror, her body paralyzing for a moment only for the girl to then jump down from the bed and rush to fulfill her task.
"Well then," Leon accepted the provisions from the girl only to then shoo her away with his hand. "I'm going to snack a little bit more before catching up on sleep," he announced. "You are free to go back, sleep in the house, or do anything you want right now," Leon informed only to lay down on his bed and close his eyes. "Just make sure no one will disturb me!"