Aina shifted in Leonel's arms. When she realized where she was, she began to blush profusely. But, as much as she wanted to run away, she didn't dare to at this point. She really regretted throwing all her clothes away now. And why was this damn water so clear?

Leonel's chuckling awoke Aina from her own thoughts. By now, her entire body had turned into a deep shade of red. Unfortunately, the only place she had to hide was Leonel's chest.

"Oof… Don't squirm so much…"

Though Leonel was laughing at Aina, he too wanted to shed tears. Didn't this girl realize where she was sitting? He had displayed enough will power for a lifetime today.

Aina blinked, peaking up from Leonel's chest. A bright smile spread across her lips, her embarrassment suddenly vanishing.

"It's not like this is the first time I've seen it."

Leonel almost choked on air again.

"That wasn't me!" Leonel defended himself.

It wasn't his fault. It really wasn't. Back then, the primitive man had had control over his body.

Damn, by now, he had already forgotten about that embarrassing moment, only for Aina to bring it up again. He felt as though he had suffered a lethal combo.

Aina giggled. Only she knew that that wasn't what she was referring to. But, if Leonel knew that she was referring to a certain event that happened in the Joan Zone, it was unknown how he would react.

Leonel was unconscious back then, so he had no way of knowing what happened. And, even if he had been conscious, at this very moment, he was suddenly very much aware of two soft mounds pressed against his chest. So, he couldn't quite focus on anything else.

"I'm sorry."

Aina's sudden words caught Leonel off guard. The lewd thoughts he had had vanished like the wind soon afterward.

Leonel brought a hand to Aina's cheek, forcing her to look at him.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He said seriously. "In fact, I'm sorry. I was so focused on other things that I didn't even realize so much time had passed…"

Leonel didn't think that Aina would think he had abandoned her. Back then, he purposely left the Segmented Cube with Aina as a sign of exactly that. He had only taken the Segmented Cube with him before he left to the Demon Empire. holds text © rights.

But, things hadn't worked out as he had expected.

Leonel was a person who could break things down into their simple details and analyze them logically. If he was in Aina's place, he would have seen through the fact he left behind the Segmented Cube as a good sign. But, that didn't mean that Aina herself would see it as such…

In fact, when he thought about it, Aina could have easily seen the Segmented Cube as a sign of pity. After all, it had the only cure to her scars within it. So, who knew how she really saw such an action?

Aina furiously shook her head at Leonel's words.

"… I'm the one who pushed you away. I couldn't even answer a simple question…"

When Aina thought back to it, even she couldn't quite explain why she had dodged Leonel's questions like that. He had only been worried about her…

Though back then she had only tried to downplay things to reassure him, the more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt.

She had wanted to say she was fine and that she had made it out alive, so it wasn't a big deal. But, her words had come off like Leonel shouldn't care so much…

When a stranger or an acquaintance asked you how your day went, most would give a perfunctory answer even if your day really had been terrible. Only when in the presence of those you truly trusted would you give a real answer…

Aina's words back then had practically treated Leonel as though he was an acquaintance she was sharing a few words with rather than a man she could give her heart to. It was no wonder Leonel had chosen to pull away at that moment.

Leonel shook his head and smiled, gently stroking Aina's cheek.

"Forget it. It's not a big deal."

"No." Aina shook her head again. "It is a big deal. I…"

Aina took a deep breath and began to speak. She didn't allow Leonel to cut her off or say that it was fine again. She knew that Leonel cared too much about her, if she really allowed him to say that it was fine, he would simply never ask about such sensitive topics again.

From observing Leonel for so long, she had realized that he was simply too good at separating his emotions from his logic. And, he almost always let logic dictate his actions first and foremost.

She didn't want such an artificial barrier to exist between them because even if she hadn't said it in but so many words… She too cared about Leonel. In fact, she had cared about him for a long time already.

So, she spoke.

She began with what happened when she was randomly teleported to a wasteland of Terrain, to how she ran into the Variant Zone, to her run in with the Heirs and Heiress of the three Powers.

She told Leonel about how she had escaped them and then she began to describe how she ran into the Mountain Sands Range and about how she entered the maze of tunnels.

When she got to the appearance of the Puppet Master, her body began to involuntarily tremble once again. But, this time, within Leonel's arms, she gained the strength to speak.

She looked into Leonel's eyes from start to finish, finding a steady calm within their fathomless depths. She watched as a spark of rage lit within them and observed as it boiled over like a frightening eruption of magma.

Anyone else, beneath such pressure, would feel as though their souls were being crushed and that their hearts could no longer beat. But, Aina hadn't felt so comfortable in her life.

Watching Leonel become infuriated for her sake made her heart beat wildly and filled her stomach with butterflies. By now, Leonel's rage had superseded his lust, so his member was no longer at attention. But, it was now Aina's turn to feel a fire light her lower belly.

She felt that Leonel was exceptionally attractive when he was leading men like he had his teammates just a couple months ago. But now, she found it hard to decide which version of him she liked more... The leader version? Or this protective version?

Her thighs couldn't help but squeeze down slightly on either side of Leonel's hips.. She had a feeling that if she tried to break past that certain barrier now… it would be much easier and not nearly as painful.