Weiss And Leopin (7)

Leopin suddenly noticed a gaze.

Weiss was staring intently at Leopin’s body.

“Wh… what?”

“It seems your body has fully recovered now. Not even a scratch remains. How about your memory? Have you remembered anything?”

Leopin had been so immersed in his happy feeling of fullness that he had completely forgotten what he had remembered.

When Weiss asked him, his face twisted as though stomach acid had risen up.

“Th… that’s right…! I went to the chapel in the slums…! And there, I tried to stop that girl from being kidnapped by adults…!”

“And that is why you were beaten so badly.”

“Wh-who the hell were those guys…!?”

Weiss answered as though striking a bell, “Saint hunters.”

“Saint hunters?”

“Yes. Apparently, incidents of Saints being kidnapped have been increasing recently. They say there is a group that specializes in kidnapping poor Saints.”

“Why poor Saints…?”

“Because even if they are poor, Saints still have a certain product value. And even if people find out they were kidnapped, if the victims are poor, the guards will not search properly. Of course, rescuing them would become an achievement, but it is not worth the effort.”

“Th-then the kidnapped Saints are…!?”

“They will likely be sold as slaves to a distant country and never return.”

Perhaps Weiss had read Leopin’s next move, because he had placed a hand on Leopin’s shoulder.

Leopin had tried to spring up from the bench, but his shoulder was firmly gripped, and he was made to sit down again.

“Wh-what are you doing!? I have to hurry and go save her…!”

“Calm down. Where exactly do you intend to go save her?”

Asked in a sharp voice that restrained him, Leopin was at a loss for words.

“As I thought, you were about to run off with no plan.”

“B-but it’s not like sitting still will do anything!? While we’re doing this, that girl might be sold!”

“Leopin, I understand painfully well how you feel about that girl. But there are things that cannot be solved by passionate emotion alone.”

“You can stay calm because you’ve never met that girl, Weiss! That’s why you can talk like it’s someone else’s problem!”

“Yes. It is true that I have never met her. But I know this: that girl has not been sold far away yet.”

“H… how can you know something like that!? Even if you say random things to reassure me…!”

With nowhere to direct his anger and impatience, Leopin had become completely emotional.

In contrast, Weiss continued speaking quietly, like a calm sea, yet with powerful words.

“When I found Leopin collapsed on the main street, there was a little girl nearby. She stayed close to Leopin and kept calling his name. She was wearing a dull robe, so I think she was probably a Saint.”

“Th-that girl is Corone! What happened to Corone!?”

“So her name is Corone. When I approached, she ran away. I thought Leopin must have told her to run away. Am I wrong?”

“Ugh…!” Leopin froze as though Weiss had hit the mark.

“So I was right. I told the fleeing Corone to return to the chapel. At first, I thought Leopin had been retaliated against by the Hero’s followers. But because Corone was nearby, I thought there was another possible opponent.”

“Another… opponent…? Does that mean…”

“Yes. The ‘Saint hunters.’ You can think of this as a kind of slave hunt. As I said earlier, captured slaves are sold to distant countries so their tracks cannot be traced. That is why sea routes by transport ships are used, rather than land routes by carriage and the like. And to save on transport costs, they ship them once a large number of slaves have gathered. Until then, they hide them somewhere.”

Weiss’s flowing explanation had such great persuasive power that even Leopin, who had been so eager to stand up, listened intently.

That was how convincing it was.

“So, just to be safe, I took measures while you were asleep.

I ordered the servants to contact the harbor.

I told them that if there was any suspicious ship carrying cargo that looked like children, they must inform me without fail.”

Weiss’s glasses caught the light coming in through the window and shone keenly.

“That report has not yet come to me… Which means it is safe to assume that girl is still being held somewhere nearby.”

It was truly a brilliant deduction and excellent command, flawless enough to be worthy of being called a genius.

It was enough to completely calm even Leopin’s impatient feelings.

The genius boy looked straight at the other boy with eyes that carried both calmness and passion, like a sea dyed crimson by the setting sun.

“Listen, Leopin. Earlier, I made soup with passionate emotion. But it turned out like that. When Leopin’s calm judgment was added to it, it became the finest soup. You understand now how important it is to possess not only passionate emotion, but calmness as well, don’t you?”

“Y… yeah…!”

“And Leopin, you are worried about that girl’s safety, but there is no need to worry about that either. If Saints are injured, their product value drops, so they will not assault her.”

“But that girl is a crybaby, so by now…”

“She will be fine mentally as well. She knows Leopin tried to save her, does she not? For her, as someone waiting to be rescued, that should become an irreplaceable support for her heart.”

“Y… you think so…? Even if someone like me was there, that girl…”

“Leopin. How do you feel about having me by your side?”

“Huh? Well, I feel like it’s incredibly reassuring…”

“Exactly. That girl has Leopin with her. And Leopin has me with him.”

Weiss grinned, as if to say, “No more words are needed.”

“Now then… let us go punch the ones who kidnapped that girl.”