Editor: Areth Kyntaul
Leah sat next to me, again, at dinner time, after a long period of not sitting next to me.
Veirya looked at her, somewhat surprised. She had tried to sit next to Leah, but Leah would run away every time. Veirya looked at me. It seemed that she was saying "what a pity."
I shook my head with a helpless smile.
Veirya didn"t do anything wrong this time.
Leah didn"t react that way because of Veirya, but because there was a beheaded succubus corpse in front of her.
Leah was very scared, at the moment. She remembered her parents had been slain by Veirya when she heard that one of her own kind had died such a brutal death. She also recalled Veirya"s pursuit, where Veirya rested her blade on her neck, at the end. She had forgotten it; no, she deliberately avoided recalling the memory, but she couldn"t stop herself from recalling it today.
"I need to comfort Leah. Leah clings to me without letting go, now. I still need to mention it to Veirya at night, though. I don"t think Veirya is too happy right now, either."
The two of them ate in silence. Although we had just resolved an issue, the atmosphere was still heavy.
Leah ran upstairs after dinner, instead of lingering around in the dining hall. Veirya, who finally reacted, followed Leah upstairs. I was so frightened that I stopped washing the dishes and sprinted upstairs. I was truly scared that something might happen between the two of them.
I heard a loud crashing sound and Leah"s high-pitched scream from upstairs as soon as I had reached the stairs.
Leah"s voice then disappeared.
My heart stopped beating for a moment.
"What"s going on? What happened between them?!"
I rushed upstairs. Once I got upstairs, I saw Veirya"s white cape.
In front of it was Leah, who was kicking the air. Leah tried to scream out in a painful voice.
I thought Veirya was strangling Leah, but I noticed that Veirya was actually hugging Leah, tightly.
I looked at Vierya, stunned.
Vierya hugged little Leah very tightly. She picked Leah up from the ground and pressed her up on her chest.
Normally I wouldn"t see it, but I could clearly see Leah"s face buried deep within her gully right now.
Leah struggled desperately, but Veirya didn"t care for her small hammer fists. She hugged Leah and shoved her head in between her valleys with an expressionless look.
I remember that whenever female characters have those scenes in Manhuas where their b.r.e.a.s.t.s bounciness is emphasised, they"d say, "These b.r.e.a.s.t.s are as big as a person"s head."
I now finally saw b.r.e.a.s.t.s roughly the size of a human head.
Leah"s head looked the same size as Veirya"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s, now that I saw her head in between them…
"I"ll be honest. I want to switch with Leah."
It looked as if Leah was in a lot of pain, though. I believe this is the crux of the problem with b.o.o.by face washes.
Leah couldn"t breathe.
It felt the same as being strangled by Veirya, except that a b.o.o.by face wash felt better. But that only applies to me. It"s probably despair-inducing for Leah.
I quickly pressed my hand down on Veirya"s shoulder.
Frankly, I don"t have any idea what Veirya"s trying to do. An expressionless hug like that wouldn"t make me feel warm. If Veirya wanted to comfort Leah, this would only cause Leah to suffocate until despair filled her, wouldn"t it…?
"Veirya, what are you doing?" I tapped Veirya on her arm, and she let go.
Leah gasped for air and fell to the ground, powerlessly. She rolled on the ground and then ran over behind me, before turning back to fearfully look at Veirya.
Veirya looked at me and sincerely replied, "Comforting Leah."
"Hmm? Comforting Leah?"
Veirya looked at me solemnly and calmly replied, "She… is not in a good mood. You do this every time."
"Erm… I don"t think my hugs are like that…"
"Do I have to crouch down?" Veirya crouched down in front of me.
She looked at Leah with eagerness, but Leah hid further behind me, as she felt terrified, instead. She was afraid Veirya would use a Chest Burial Fatality again.
After seeing Leah"s reaction, Veirya resentfully stood up. She looked at me and asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, it has nothing to do with you."
I shook my head and then turned around to pick Leah up in my arms. She immediately leaned onto my chest and sobbed, softly. I stroked her back while looking at Veirya and in a quiet voice, explained, "The townsfolk brutally killed a succubus, when we were absent, so Leah is a little scared, right now."
Veirya didn"t say anything. She walked up to me, but I didn"t step back. I couldn"t, even if I had wanted to, since I was carrying Leah. Veirya tried to wrap her arms around my neck.
I didn"t step back, though, because I knew that Veirya wasn"t hostile. More precisely, I was very happy to hear that Veirya had tried to comfort Leah.
"Veirya is someone who strongly lacks emotions, so for her to take the initiative to comfort Leah, can I presume that she has started to develop some emotions?"
Veirya pressed her hand gently on Leah"s shoulder, causing her to shudder.
She was so frightened she didn"t even dare to budge.
Veirya, who was now looking at Leah, went silent for a moment before finally saying, "I will protect you." Veirya still had her expressionless look. However, her expressionless look was very rea.s.suring at this moment.
I don"t know why she did this or said this today. Perhaps it"s because she doesn"t want to revert back to the way she was.
Veirya isn"t emotionless. She just doesn"t know how to express her feelings. Sometimes, you just need to express a single sentence, though.
Leah stopped shaking so intensely and then turned her head to look at Veirya.
However, Veirya didn"t add anything. Instead, she let go after Leah turned her head to look at her and then went back downstairs.
Leah didn"t look away. She kept her eyes in Veirya"s direction.
Veirya"s back view looked the same as always.
However, Leah"s gaze showed her immense surprise. She seemed very surprised as to why Veirya did what she did. Maybe she was asking herself why she was different from her usual self.
"Would she feel less panicked, after learning that Veirya would protect her? n.o.body protected her in the past, but she now had Veirya and me to protect her."
I softly said, "She really will protect you. Papa will also always stay by your side. Papa won"t let you be in danger again. Papa promises."
After a moment of silence, I kissed Leah on the side of her face and said, "Let"s head back, Leah. Want to go back to the dining table?"
"… Uhm." Leah grabbed my collar.
I wiped her tears with my hand.
She no longer had tears on her small face, and her eyes didn"t show the fear of a rodent anymore. This was the first time she calmed down. She grabbed my collar, as though she was embarra.s.sed, as she snuggled up on my shoulder.
I placed her down, gently.
She looked at the steps and then back at me.
I looked at her and revealed an encouraging smile. Once she takes this step, I guess we can consider it a step forward for her.
Veirya went to comfort Leah for the first time and hugged her for the first time today. The result wasn"t too good, but she took that step, nevertheless.
Now it was Leah"s turn.
Leah took the initiative to return to Veirya"s side for the first time.
Leah looked at the dark coloured floor in front of her and bit down on her lip. Her gaze contained some nervousness and determination. She sincerely took this step…