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“What? This place is already closed?”
Upon hearing that displeased voice, Leo stood up from the doorstep of Chris’s house and addressed the man–
“I’m sorry, dear customer, but we, are already, sold out.” – Said Leo, with an apologetic look on his face.
–But that was a mistake.
The man had a scar on one of his eyes and he was wearing expensive clothes. He also had a sinister tattoo peeking through one of the rolled up sleeves of his shirt.
Without a shred of doubt, Leo knew that guy. After all, those were the features of someone well known throughout Richard.
(Wait a-! T-this guy is the leader of Richard’s second biggest criminal organization, isn’t he!? Why is he here, of all places!?)
There were various “ organizations ” trying to gain control of Richard, after all, it was a city of merchants. And one of those organizations, in specific, were the Sonnebecks.
With Onito as their leader, they became notorious for their brutal ways of extorting money from innocent people. So keeping track of them became essential for a new business to flourish in the city.
(S**t! They’re probably here to collect some of our money! I knew it was a bit risky to sell that much bread, but I never thought they would come this fast!)
When Chris noticed who were those guys that showed up on her doorstep, she and Kai stood up in a hurry to shield Leonora. The two tried to convince Onito that they were just a small bakery and that they were already closed, but the other party wouldn’t have a no for an answer.
“Shut up! My business is with that black-haired girl over there! You outsiders should just stay quiet!” – Shouted Onito, in an angry tone, as he stared coldly at the two.
Because of all the commotion, the nearby people and the stand owners couldn’t help but stare at Leo’s group. They wanted to help the little girl, but that meant they would have to fight against the Sonnebecks. And that, unfortunately, was something none of them had the courage to do. After all, they were all trembling in fear. Even Kai and Chris were trembling in fear–
(Haaah∼, those fu**ers have no shame… they’re even scaring the nearby people. Well, I feel a bit sorry for them, so I’ll see what I can do.)
–But contrary to those two, Leo was raised in Richard, which meant that he wasn’t afraid of thugs.
“So? What kind, of business, do you have, with me?” – Said Leo, in a serious, but uninterested, tone.
However, his defiant attitude made a creepy smile surface on Onito’s face.
“I heard from Hughes that this bakery made a lot of money today… and I want a share of that money.” – Said Onito, with an evil smile, as he pointed to one of the guys behind him.
But the person in question was all beaten up. Leo couldn’t even recognize his face.
“Hey, Brian, bring that guy to the front!”
“Yes, boss!”
Brian, one of Onito’s henchmen, dragged Hughes to the front and kicked him on the back, which made some of the people watching that scene to scream in fright.
Hughes was clearly dressed in civilian clothes. There was no doubt he was one of Leo’s customers. Onito probably interrogated him to know more about Chris’s bakery.
(Tsk! I see… so that’s what happened, huh…?)
Although mugging people for money wasn’t as effective during the day because of all the guards patrolling the streets, the Sonnebecks didn’t care. They conducted their criminal activities in broad daylight, whenever they wanted and without any consequences.
(F**k! At this rate I’ll lose all the money that I worked so hard to earn!)
No one was going to help them. Leo was in a pinch. And his only way out of this situation was for him to, somehow, persuade Onito… the boss of the Sonnebecks.
“We’re just, a small bakery. There’s, no way, we’d have that, much money.” – Said Leo, with a sad face.
Chris might not have that much money on herself… but Leo had. In fact, he had enough money to live a luxurious life for a while. That’s just how much money Leo earned in just one day. But even though Onito knew, albeit roughly, how much money the girl had, he wasn’t here for the money.
“Fufu, is that so∼? Then∼ I’ll have something else instead∼” – Said Onito, as he stared intently at the girl with an evil smile.
The onlookers got taken aback by that statement. It was pretty obvious that Onito was talking about Leo-chan. He wanted something that was hidden inside her shirt… something that all women wanted to hide–
“That small bulge… I want that . It’s more beautiful than anything I’ve seen so far… and you’ll give it to me.”
–But Leo mistook Onito’s perverted gaze as something else.
(N-no way…! Does he want my Kar-sama!?) – Thought Leo, as he took a step back, while also clutching his coin through his clothes.
A small bulge.
More beautiful than anything he had ever seen.
What else could he be talking about, if not Leo’s Kar-sama?
(S**t, he’s good…! To notice Kar-sama’s bulge from over my clothes… so this guy is a Money Enthusiast as well, huh?)
“Hmm, h-how about, I give you, some copper coins, instead?” – Said Leo, with the best smile he could muster.
“Hah!? Do you really think I would be okay with just some cheap copper coins–!?”
(Ugh! Y-yeah, he’s right, I wouldn’t be fine with just some cheap copper coins either…)
“–I want that ! And I’ll rub it everyday before going to bed… . ” – Said Onito, as he pointed at the girl’s chest.
As a fellow money enthusiasts, Leo could understand Onito. He also liked to polish his gold coin everyday before going to bed.
Who knows, they could’ve been best friends in other circumstances. However, Leo couldn’t simply give away his precious Kar-sama… at least, not to a guy like him.
On the other hand, Kai was freaking out already. The situation was getting worse by the second. There should’ve been, at least, 10 knights disguised as normal people protecting his master, but they weren’t doing anything, despite their current predicament… and Kai couldn’t stand that–
(I can’t just stand here and do nothing! I have to help her!)
–Just the thought of his master being degraded by that disgusting thug, was enough to fill him with rage. But even though he had a knife with him, Kai was still an amateur with blades. He couldn’t risk putting his master in even more danger, just because he couldn’t control his emotions.
However, Onito wasn’t over with his harassment. His perverted gaze was still focused on Leo-chan. It was like he was licking her body with his eyes.
“Fufufu, I can’t wait to put that white and puffy thing in my mouth. After all, I’m a man that loves high-quality products, you know?”
When he heard that, Kai snapped. He couldn’t stand those degrading words that were directed at his master, he wanted to punch Onito. But before he could step forward to do so, a small hand grabbed his arm.
“Wait, Kai!” – Said Leo, in a low tone.
He then turned around to look at Chris as well, and said to the two–
“–His business, is with me, so don’t, interfere–”
“–But–!” – Shouted Kai; he was genuinely worried about his master and he wanted to get rid of those thugs.
“–Kai, the conversation, isn’t over yet. I want, to hear what, he has to say–”
“–You can’t, Leonora-sama, he-!”
Kai tried to insist, but his master wasn’t listening anymore.
Leo took a step forward and looked in the eyes of the man standing in front of him.
White and puffy.
High-quality product.
No real money enthusiast would refer to a gold coin like that.
(Maybe that was a misunderstanding on my part—?)
Leo had spent the past four months inside Leena’s body, but unlike a “normal” girl, he never had the experience of being treated like a woman. So he had no idea that Onito was referring to him, when he said those words.
Even in the erotic novels that Leo once helped translating, none of the authors used such a roundabout way to refer to a woman’s chest. So it took a while for him to realize that what Onito really wanted—
(—B-but if he doesn’t want my Kar-sama, then what did he mean by white and puffy, and high-quality product…? Oh, right! Maybe he was talking about that piece of bread that I stored on my shirt’s pocket to eat later!)
—Was actually Chris’s bread!
“Then, how about, I give you, a piece of, Chris’s bread.”
“Who would be satisfied with just a piece of bread, when they know there’s something much better in front of them!? I wanna eat those puffy things! Now!”
Hearing that, Leo released a relieved sigh. Onito was just a late customer… and he wanted an entire bread, not just a piece of it. Yes, he had a scary face, but that was just a misunderstanding. Onito was hungry, so it was understandable that he became grumpy when Leo said they were already closed.
Even what he said in the beginning–
“What? This place is already closed?”
–Was an indicator that he was looking forward to eating Chris’s bread.
Well, of course Leo felt a bit weirded out when he remembered the talk about going to bed with the bread, but one of his soul sisters liked to go to bed with candy, so Onito wasn’t that much of a weirdo.
(He’s lucky, there’s still a bread left from the last batch. But he’s a big guy, so maybe he’d prefer a special bread? Ah, but we don’t have the ingredients! W-what should I do!?)
To make the special bread, Leo would need cooked meat, cheese and vegetables. However, all of his ingredients were gone, so the only option would be for him to buy more from the nearby shops, then sell the finished bread to Onito–
“Okay then, wait a minute, please.”
–But to do that, Leo had to prepare the bread first, so he reached to the side and grabbed a knife that was resting on top of the cart. He wanted to use that knife to cut the bread, but the people around him didn’t know that.
“So you wanna fight back, huh? Then bring it!” – Said Onito, with a cocky smile.
“L-Leo-chan!?” – Said Chris, as she started to panic.
“Leonora-sama!?” – Said Kai, panicking as well.
The surrounding people were panicking too. They wanted to help the little girl, but fighting against the Sonnebecks was the same as suicide… they didn’t have the courage to do that.
“You’re going to use that knife on me, or not!? I’m ready, so bring it!” – Shouted Onito, in a threatening tone.
“N-no, you got, it wrong. I don’t, want to, fight you.”
“Do you want me to believe that!?”
“B-but, I’m telling, the truth. I’m going, to use, this knife–”
‘to cut, the puffy thing.’ – Is what Leo wanted to say.
It was suposed to be a joke… but Leena’s spell kicked in.
“–To cut, the product .”
Kai became pale when he heard that statement. Girls, specially the ones born into noble society, would rather kill themselves, than become the plaything of some vile bandit, or kidnapper.
However, although rare, there are some exceptions. Some girls would chose to attack their assailants and escape. But Leonora was different… she was too kind. She would rather hurt herself and be over with it, than hurt other people.
(No…! I can’t let that happen again–!) – Thought Kai; his expression was grim.
The memories of the day of the presentation were flashing before his eyes.
(–I don’t want to lose Leonora-sama again!)
Kai didn’t care if it would hurt his hand, he had to stop his master… and the fastest way to do that was for him to grab the knife, by the blade if necessary, and throw it away.
But before he could do that–
“I reached my limit.”
–A cold voice resounded throughout the place.