Chapter 30: Help Cleaning (1)
Leonel lost his concept of time. The sun likely rose and set at least twice, maybe three times? He wasn't sure.
He didn't know where he pulled the strength from.
The truth was that kind of time didn't pass. Even if Leonel himself was surpassing the limits of a human, fighting for three days without rest was beyond him. Even when he stayed awake for that long in the Mayan temple, most of the time was spent sneaking around and avoiding large groups of Spaniards.
Still, his illusion of the sun rising and setting wasn't completely off. By the time Leonel slowly dragged his beaten and ragged body out, his spear in one hand, Aina in the other, the high sun had set and the hints of dawn had begun to creep up.
Leonel's spear and Aina's battle ax dragged along the ground, leaving deep marks in the dry land. He had no idea how Aina managed to hang onto that massive thing while cuddling up like a kitten, but the reality was right before him.
"… How'd I end up liking such a crazy woman…"
Leonel looked down at Aina who had her head buried in his chest. Her right arm was pinned against his body, but her left dragged the ax at an awkward angle. Leonel was worried that her frail arm would snap, but she struggled too strongly every time he tried to adjust her.
On the bright side, Aina's temperature had steadily decreased. At least she wasn't scolding to the touch anymore.
Leonel looked up to find General Franck standing before him with a look of fear in his eyes. It seemed he hadn't dared to retreat without Leonel's input.
"… They won't be attacking again…" Leonel started in a voice so raspy he hardly recognized it as his own. "… We can head to Orleans in 48 hours. I need to rest. Don't disturb me."
The general nodded profusely and even led Leonel to his personal tent.
"… Oh." Leonel paused before entering the tent. "Send two or three of your comfort women here."
The general was speechless for a moment but didn't dare voice the questions in his mind. In fact, he even led two of his favorites over and sent them into the tent without the slightest reservations.
When the two French women entered, they carried slight blushes on their faces. Compared to the less desired comfort women, these two seemed to have just stepped out of a salon. Their clothes were simple and cheap, but clean. In addition, their beauty was enticing. It was obvious that they could pass for noble women had their birth not been so unfortunately low.
When they saw the rippling definition in Leonel's bare back, their blush deepened. They seemed not to notice the dirt, grime and blood that covered him. They were used to dealing with the poor hygiene of soldiers. Compared to them, Leonel was an angel.
"Oh, you're here." Leonel turned back and nodded. "Please help her clean up and lay her to rest. I'll wait outside."
After saying these words, Leonel ignored the confused gazes of the two women and walked out of the tent.
"… Just think about it. Have you ever heard a man of God asking for a whore so openly? Maybe they really are the devil just like the Eng —"
The words froze when Leonel walked out bare chested. They shivered in fear, thinking that they'd be punished. But Leonel simply stood there, his arms crossed and his breathing even. He felt like he could collapse at any moment, but he stood tall.
Right now, he felt better than he had in a long time. Maybe better than he had in his entire life.
It was an odd feeling. He didn't like killing. And today, he had killed more people than he had even in the Mayan Temple. But, his heart was as light as a feather.
There were many complicated questions of morality before him. Whether he deserved to be on a battlefield of mortals even when he was effectively a god amongst them, whether his reasons for killing them were better than their reasons for wanting to kill him, even whether Aina's singular life was worth as much as all of theirs…
However, maybe due to his youth, Leonel had a very youthful answer to it all.
Finding the answer to all of these questions was impossible. Too many things were relative, too many outcomes were ultimately unknown. As long as he could protect his own code, maintain his own conscience… He was okay with that.
If there came a day where someone wanted revenge for his actions, he would welcome it.
After an unknown period of time, the two women came out of the tent.
"The young mistress has been cleaned and is now resting, young noble. You can enter now."
"We've also set a tub of water to warm under a fire for you, young noble. We hope our services have pleased you."
"… You are very lucky, young noble." The women said with a light giggle.
Leonel expressed his thanks, not knowing what the two of them meant by that, as the two comfort women bowed.
After Leonel entered, the two women were swarmed. When they heard the purpose for which the two women were called, their faces could only burn with embarrassment. They were certain Leonel had heard them, yet he couldn't be bothered to deal with them.
That said, the Leonel they so very feared was flustered beyond belief at the moment.
The two women had indeed done what Leonel asked. In fact, they went above and beyond, even wrapping some of Aina's injuries. Near the end of her battle, she hadn't managed to remain completely unscathed.
The issue was that they had applied the bandages and did nothing to put Aina's clothes back on. Luckily Aina's lower half was covered by a bear skin blanket, but her upper half was nothing but bandages. Without her normal covering, her chest was far more prominent.
Aina's assets weren't exactly outrageously large, but Leonel was certain that his hand, even with its own size, had no ability to grasp… it fully.
The important bits were still covered, but it was still far too stimulating for a young man who had never seen such things before. Pornography was too regulated, and Leonel had never even been to a beach before considering how rare those things were in this age, where would he have ever seen such things? He had always rejected James when he tried to goad him into going to see the girls' swim team, worried Aina would be disgusted by his actions.
Leonel quickly covered his eyes. "I didn't see anything… I didn't see anything…"
Leonel rushed to Aina's side, fumbling around a bit and finally pulling the blanket up to cover her completely. Only then did he sigh a breath of relief, missing the slight curve in Aina's lip.
After Leonel settled his beating heart and shifted the uncomfortable stiffness in his pants, he found the large bucket of water the two comfort women had rested over a fire. Feeling that it was hot enough, he used the last of his strength to lug it over to the general's wooden tub and dumped it in.
He had only barely gotten in and begun scrubbing himself when his fatigue hit him like a speeding vehicle. Even he wasn't sure when, but his consciousness slipped into a deep darkness.