**
"Son, do you know where we are heading to right now?"
"This way is… To forest!" Answered with a lovely smile on his face, the blond kid.
Earned a pat on his head, "Yes, and do you know what we will do in there?"
"Umm… Take a walk?"
"We will do that, too. But today we will do something more special."
"Special?"
"You will see."
Shot a nod, "Alright."
"Tell me, Leon. How old are you today?"
"F-" Stopped for a few more seconds, "Five now."
Clap, clap, clap!
"Hehehe."
"Yes, you were four two days ago. You are five now."
Unlike Leon's happy-as-can-be smile, Mary's face did not have one. She has been smiling until now, but dropped it the moment Leon's face turned towards the path.
Guilt showed on her face for what she was about to do. That's why she couldn't bring herself to smile from the bottom of her heart, only doing so from time to time when Leon turned his head to look at her.
During a summer day, taking a walk under the shades of the trees was one of Mary's favorites. This side of her naturally mirrored in Leon, who loved what his mother loved. After all, some children, like Leon, tend to love what their parents love, at least for a while until they grow up.
They strolled beneath the trees, accompanied by the cheering of birds. Grasses and flowers released refreshing breaths under the dark shade of the mighty trees.
Seconds turned into minutes, and Mary's face hardened just with a look at what's lying on the horizon.
Before she could open her mouth, "Mother, what's that?"
"N-Nothing," yet, galloped to the box-like thing that covered with a sheet.
Observing his mother swiftly moving, Leon followed with steps that were adequate for his small stature, though they inevitably fell short compared to her brisk pace.
"Sigh…" This wasn't a sigh of disappointment, but of relief.
"Mother, is there a problem?"
A single glance at Leon's clueless eyes stirred her motherly instincts, prompting her to embrace him. However, this sudden action left Leon bewildered.
He had no idea what was happening, and his mother was acting strangely. Yet, he could only continue walking alongside her, keeping silent as no explanation came his way.
Then, the same sight unfolded before them. The exact same scenario played out before Leon's eyes. This time, he didn't even utter a single word and simply observed. The cycle of events repeated six times until a voice…
Squeal! Squeal!
A squealing sound, a cry of pain, resonated through their surroundings.
The moment that voice reached Mary's ears, she rushed towards the boxlike, sheet-covered structure. Inside, a pure white, long-eared creature, cute even to the heart of the devil, looked at her with innocent eyes.
It was a rabbit, confined within metallic bars, its legs trapped to prevent movement.
A murmur and teary eyes mirrored the rabbit's pain on Mary's face, "Sorry…"
Since she was a Level 2, her ears were much more sensitive compared to the child Leon's. There's no need to even talk about the speed difference.
Yet, unlike previous instances, Leon reacted as he did during their initial encounter with a rabbit trap—he ran. This time wasn't out of curiosity but from fear. His mother had left him behind, so he had to run and follow her.
Mary attempted to free the rabbit from the cage, taking a deep breath to brace herself for what was about to come. She thought she was ready, yet witnessing the animal in such distress was more than enough to erase her preparedness.
Albeit, these emotional moments dissipated with quick steps and panting sounds approaching.
"Haah… Haah… Haah…"
Right hand holding the rabbit by the ears at the back, doesn't want to show it to Leon yet. While left hand open towards the sheet, using telekinesis to lay it down onto the ground. Since she wasn't strong enough to lay it down in a tidy way, the only thing she could do was drop it down in a rather ungraceful way.
"Just sit there and catch a breath, alright?"
Amidst the panting of his mouth, he had no way to utter a word of agreement, just a nod. After about twenty seconds, his breathing returned to normal, but his eyes darted here and there, trying to locate the source of the squealing.
Then, with a smile on her beautiful face, quietly walked to him, Mary.
"Leon, look what I've caught."
"Isn't that a rabbit?" He coolly answered.
As it wasn't his first encounter with one, he was pretty cool about it. After all, his house was close to the forest, so there were times when he spotted rabbits around his home in the morning.
"Why are you holding it like that, though?"
"Leon, do you know what this is?"
Then she revealed a metallic, white-colored object with a trigger. It was a good old desert eagle.
"I don't know."
"This is a gun."
"But it looks different from guards' guns."
"Yes, it is. This one was used a century ago, before the Gods visited our world."
"I see."
"Now, come here and hold it."
**
'Status.'
[Name: Leon Rastia]
[Race: Human]
[Universal Energy Arts: Level 1]
[Chaos: 1]
[STR: 6 (+4) STA: 0 (+6)]
[AGL: 0 (+7) INT: 0 (+6)]
[Unassigned Stat Points: 4]
[Magic: ----]
'Now, it really really resembles a proper system. Yeah, yeah, that chaos stat must be the thing about this one. Hmm, hmm, it definitely is the thing that will make the most overpowered person alive.'
"Hehehehe…"
Before his brain and imagination could completely take over…
"Why are you standing there like an idiot!?" Hissed, Triss from twenty meters away.
Her anger resonated in her voice. Anyone could sense it even without seeing her face, concealed under the dirty white mask.
They were in a rush to their boots, but Leon was gazing into the air and laughing like a madman. Adding to that, he had just killed a guard a moment ago.
Triss wasn't overly concerned about the guard's death, but the combination of these factors made her question Leon's sanity.
"Sigh, coming, coming."
"We will run for ten more seconds and then quietly walk, alright?"
"Alright, alright."
Their path to the city was lengthy and somewhat narrow. The extended duration was due to trap doors along the way, strategically placed to deter those not affiliated with the Rebellion.
Though this location had remained undiscovered so far, preparation was essential.
After about thirty minutes of walking in silence, Leon seemingly felt it appropriate to break the quietude and ask one of his questions. The boredom of traversing the same metallic path for an extended period prompted this particular query.
"Isn't this place soundproof?" His tone remained low.
Answered in identical way, "So is what the leader said."
"Then why the hell are we walking?"
"Do you want to run?"
"It's getting boring, you know?"
"I know, but we should be careful."
"Wow, are you the one to say that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Who let the guy go?"
"Is that my fault?"
"Then whose?"
"Am I the one told you to kill him? Isn't that the reason we've been walking for this long?"
"And what? Should I've let him call the others and have them stick a rod through our a*sses?"
"Well…"
"You know that I did the right thing."
"I know, but…"
"Whatever, what happened has happened. Let's go to the base."
"Yeah…"
Once again, silence enveloped the atmosphere. They advanced until reaching the entrance to the secret base. Inside, some individuals sat and conversed, played card games, or engaged in sparring matches.
The sparring, however, appeared to be more of a friendly bout, as no one seemed intent on separating those involved.
Everything seemed ordinary to them, even the two children wandering about with masks, clad in muddy and tattered clothes. Yes, completely normal to Rebellious's enormous family. Waiting in front of the leader's door, battle-torn but resolute, was even more so.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Entering as if a cat had committed a misdeed, "Hello, leader…" Her eyes remained on the ground.
Meanwhile, Leon nodded and opted to remain silent until his turn came.
Having already experienced numerous events, "What did you do?" It took no time for him to guess correctly.
"Well, the thing is…"
"I'm listening."
"T-The thing is…"
"I've killed a guard."
Leon's single sentence triggered a myriad of emotions in the leader. Shock surfaced first, followed by a smile, momentary anger, and finally, a neutral expression.
Silently returning to his seat, he used telekinesis to move two chairs from the left side of the room to right in front of him.
"I'm listening."
--
"I see," the leader approached Leon, "You did the right thing. Don't let it get to you, alright?" He placed a reassuring hand on Leon's shoulder.
"I know."
Then, turning his gaze to Triss, "Don't do anything reckless ever again, alright? Your life matters more."
"Alright…"
"If it wasn't for her, I couldn't have killed him, though."
A genuine smile appeared on his face and, "Thank you for standing up for her."
"Hmm?"
"Just take a rest, alright?"
"Sure."
It was time for them to take their leave while passing a woman who Triss only nodded to.
--
"How may I help you, Rosannah?"
"I've been listening."
"And?"
"I wanted to talk about the operation with Markus. But, are you Mark now?"
"I am, but of course Mark. Who is Markus, anyway?"
"Sigh… No one. I will come back later," and took her leave immediately.
--
"Thank you, Leon."
"Sure."
"I'll teach you telekinesis tomorrow."
"That was the promise."
"Yes, it was."
"Don't get it to your head, alright?" Uttered the same words as the leader, but unlike him, he actually patted her shoulder.
"Yes. Thanks."