They had tricked him.

“I… I think this is far enough?” (S)

The worst part of it? He couldn’t say anything about it!

“It’s over, isn’t it? We’re going to get caught and—” (V)

“Will you shut up?! That is not helping!!” (S)

Something had happened when Leion dozed off.

Something truly terrible.

Walking through the forest that suddenly felt oddly huge, Leion cursed within his heart. These blasted kids couldn’t complete such a simple task! Not only did they not have the requested items, but they had somehow gotten in trouble procuring them!!

“Uhm… What’s happening now? Where is all the stuff?” (L)

Given his act as a friendly, naive kid, Leion couldn’t just yell at the pair to vent his frustrations. Doing so might make the kids second-guess actually helping him and result in being abandoned in this mess alone. Instead, he was forced to ask in an overtly sweet tone, suppressing his heart.

It was so frustrating.

“M-Miss Leion? You’re awake…?” (S)

The girl stopped bickering with her brother. Abruptly, she turned to Leion, spotting the fakest smile a person could imagine.

‘This kid…’

It was one thing to exploit Leion in his sleepy state, but to then act in such a manner was downright shameless.

Who raised these kids?

“O-Oh, we… We just wanted to show you around! Don’t worry about the things!” (V)

“Y-Yep! They are all collected right outside the restaurant!” (S)

The trembling and stumbling their words contained weren’t reassuring at all.

‘Ha…’

While lightly annoyed at the situation, Leion felt the anger rapidly dissipate. Hearing that the items had been all sourced was a great joy. It meant two things. First, he could eat. Second, he could sleep. What’s there not to like about such an arrangement? Whatever these pesky kids did to get in trouble while getting the items hardly mattered to Leion.

If you think about it, he had no involvement in their shady dealings. He told them he had no money. If the kids used unsavoury methods to procure, that was all on them. Assuming those shady dealings came back to bite them, Leion would get off a free man.

He was just an unfortunate victim.

A helpless, hapless soul.

‘Hehe’

“Thank you so much for the help! Unfortunately, I can’t stay… My M—” (L)

“Don’t worry about your mom! We… We got her permission!” (S)

‘Mom?’

No, never mind that. More importantly, what permission? Leion was almost certain that was a lie. His “Master” wasn’t the type to—

“SUIE!! COME OUT, NOW!!”

Leion staggered.

A booming voice tore through the hilly forest. Its high pitch swept the land, kicking up dust and rustling leaves. Small critters, formerly hidden, skirted past the group of children. Terror evident in the bodies.

Clutching his ears, Leion nearly dropped to the ground.

‘W-What on Earth?!’

A sharp ringing assaulted his ears.

“We have to get out of here now!” (S)

A hand grabbed one of Leion’s hands still attached to his head. It pulled him along as it sped up. Disoriented, Leion failed to mount a sufficient defence.

He was dragged along.

It finally stopped.

The ringing had disappeared.

Looking around, Leion slowly became aware of their surroundings.

They were in a cave.

It reeked.

“Where... where are we?” (L)

Countless bones filled the otherwise empty cave, and they varied greatly from one another. Some spotted massive canine teeth of a predator, others flat molars of herbivores, and a few beaks of omnivores. Yet, despite all those differences, one thing was common among all the bones.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Enormous.

They were all stupidly enormous.

“This is our hideout!” (S)

Why did she sound so proud?

Leion frowned.

“We are just resting here for a moment, Miss! Please bear with us…” (V)

“Don’t worry, we’ve been here hundreds of times!” (S)

Leion’s frown deepened.

Do they not see the bones?

This couldn’t possibly be safe.

“Sorry! Please don’t leave!” (V)

“Wait!” (S)

Deciding enough was enough, Leion made way to the exit. He ignored the calls to return. Now that he already had the stuff, there was no reason to keep pleasing them.

‘Isn’t this place a little too bright for a cave…’

A fleeting thought entered Leion’s mind as he came to a pause.

There was a figure standing at the cave entrance.

One that hadn’t been moments ago.

With a large, muscle-packed body, a brown furry bear bearing several scars stood at the entrance. Its sharp gaze was fixed on Leion. Slowly studying him and, seeing this, Leion in turn studied it. He studied the way its eyes were ablaze, the way its body quivered and trembled, and the way it growled in a low, threatening tone.

‘Ah, really?’

Oddly though, Leion didn’t feel the least bit threatened or afraid. Perhaps maybe due to experiencing worse from his “Master” when they first met, the current threat posed seemed small. Comparing with past situations, including the Giant, this could be considered mild.

While lost in thought, Leion watched as the bear approached.

‘Is that really the reason?’

The reason given for his lack of fear made logical sense. After all, experiencing terrible situations only produced one of two results. A gain or a loss of immunity to the given situation. In Leion’s case, since he’s experienced enough and not crumbled, he has gained substantial immunity to the situation. Yet, despite thinking like this, Leion couldn’t believe it true.

Something else was a play here.

The bear had finally reached Leion.

It pulled in its head close to him and gave a light sniff. After a few seconds of silence, it then licked him. A strange reaction for a once mad beast, but, staring at the outcome, Leion was not surprised. This wasn’t exactly the first time this was happening to him.

A pattern was emerging.

‘Why am I thinking so much?’

There was no reason to put effort into such thinking.

It was a waste of time.

“Hey! Bear!” (S)

The clang of a rock reverberated throughout the empty cave.

‘Crap…’

The bear turned to the direction where the rock that had hit it came from.

Standing at the entrance were two kids. One held a pile of rocks in their arms while the other was posed in a throwing motion. A couple more rocks were thrown, and Leion, without even looking at the bear, could feel its fury rising.

‘Darn kids…!’

When had they even left the cave!? And, crucially, why had they bothered to return?!

Leion felt that he should probably do something, but realistically, what could he do? He was no monster like his “Master”. If he were to interfere, he would just add to the bear’s meal. Testing the bear’s goodwill didn’t seem like the smartest idea.

But….

Letting the kids who aided him meet such an end felt a little wrong. Leion had to at least try something despite the hopelessness present. Who knows? If they somehow all survive, the kids would forever be indebted to him. He would finally get the personal maids he always wanted.

Various ideas popped into Leion’s mind as he ran in front of the bear. In this given scenario, the best thing he could do was distract the bear long enough that the kids could leave. Following that thought, the sole thing present that had distracted the bear before needed to be brought back to its attention.

Himself.

Yelling at the kids to leave, Leion hugged the bear’s neck.

The bear completely ignored Leion. Brushing him off with a gentleness that didn’t match its aura.

Leion hugged the bear again.

This time making sure he blocked the view of the kids. The bear didn’t stop moving despite it, though. Leion felt his legs lift as the bear raised its gaze.

‘Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!!’

The bear kept moving, albeit slower than before, towards the entrance.

‘Tch!’

This wasn’t working well.

If only Leion could just properly halt its movements, make it freeze in place, then the situation could actually improve. Clutching on the bear, Leion started unconsciously chanting in his mind. The chanting wasn’t anything sophisticated but a mindless shout. A shout to slow the movements of the bear. A shout to lock its wanderings. A shout to block its steps.

It was then something answered the shouts.

Like a burst dam, Leion suddenly felt a wave of power explode within him. It flowed out from his chest and quickly to his arms. Strength unknown rampaged in Leion’s hands, searching for an exit. It banged on the invisible doors contained within his arms. Pain swiftly blew up from the area, drowning all other senses.

A release was needed.

Needed so terribly.

A foreign instinct screeched madly at Leion to open up.

He did.

It was frozen.

The bear was encased in a glacier of ice.

Leion had frozen it solid.

Staring at the frozen mass, Leion examined the new sculpture as it glistened in the sun provided by the entrance. The damn thing was nothing short of horrifying yet impressive at the same time. The vicious frozen eyes of the bear, the snarl that was stopped mid-way, and the suspended but raised paw of attack all combined to create the image of something truly mortifying.

It was a work of art.

“I see you have led these kids astray.” (M)

‘W-Wha? Huh?!’

A familiar cold voice broke Leion out of his trance.

It somehow sounded a little angry.

Turning around to quickly address the voice, Leion felt the words die in his mouth as he came across an unexpected scene. The indifferent gaze of his “Master” wasn’t the only one to greet him. By the looks of it, more than half the village was here. They stood behind his “Master” at great distance.

How… How did they all manage to get here without him noticing?

“Did you collect the items?” (M)

The nonsensical question abruptly asked caused Leion to freeze. Did she choose to not see the giant sculpture behind him? Seriously, what is wrong with her!? Couldn’t she tell there were more important things to discuss?!?!

Despite thinking that though, Leion didn’t voice any of his concerns. A gut feeling warned him strongly against such a course of action. For some reason, he could just tell she was in a foul mood.

So, instead, he decided to answer the question.

“T-The items are at the restaurant door…” (L)

Leion decided to give a simple answer to a simple question, yet, despite being sure he gave a satisfactory answer. He found the same question reflected back to him, only now the words used were infinitely icier and colder.

“Did. You. Collect. The. Items?” (M)

She had seen right through him.

“N-No…” (L)

Leion immediately conceded.

It didn’t seem wise to play with her now.

As his “Master” walked up to him, Leion felt his heart start rapidly beating.

‘Wait… What the hell is happening?!’

Replaying today’s event in his head, Leion couldn’t help but protest the injustice. Why does it feel like he is about to be punished—not to mention in front of people—despite doing nothing deserving of such? Not only did he complete his assigned task, but he also just saved the lives of two kids.

‘Where are those kids?!’

Searching frantically for an escape route, Leion spotted the two kids tucked away in the embrace of a woman, presumably their mother.

‘Cowards!’

Leion wanted to flee away from his impending doom, yet his legs refused to listen to him.

It was too late.

“We’ll discuss this at home.” (M)

At the cryptic words, a harsh cop landed on Leion’s head. Trying and failing to hide the squeal that came out, he tried to shrink away from his “Master”. A hand grabbed his own.

Without much fanfare, Leion found himself being pulled back into the village.

The people in front of them parting like a sea.