Lucrezia was scared out of her wits by this sudden turn of events. She reflexively gripped Leo's arm with a death grip, her nails sinking deep into his flesh.
At that moment, as the tension in the air grew so taut it was about to snap—
"Hahahaha!"
Arno’s signature hearty laughter suddenly erupted from the tent. He didn't sound panicked at all; instead, he sounded... joyful?
Immediately after, the tent flap was thrown open.
"These white-feathered herons are really hard to hunt! They're so alert; they flap away at the slightest rustle! Good thing Talen is fast!"
Arno strode out, and in his hand...
He held a large, snow-white bird that was still flapping its wings.
He was followed by Talen and Raz, both wearing the excited smiles of hunters returning from a successful trip.
"Heh, the meat on these things is the most tender. We can even get a few silver coins for the feathers back in town!" Talen scratched his head with a grin, holding another slightly smaller heron whose neck had already been snapped.
Arno seemed completely oblivious to the eerie, frozen atmosphere outside.
He glanced at the dead one in Talen's hand, then at the live one in his own, and waved a hand grandly:
"Alright, let's do as we just discussed! We'll slaughter the big one for tonight’s meal so our two distinguished guests can have a taste! The smaller one is in good condition, so let’s leave it alone. We’ll save it to sell for a good price back in town!"
"You got it, Boss! I'll go boil the water right now!" Raz replied with a grin.
"..."
The expressions on Leo’s and Lucrezia’s faces froze simultaneously. Their defensive posture now looked incredibly ridiculous.
Kill the big one... to eat?
Keep the small one... to sell?
In Lucrezia’s wide-eyed rose-red eyes, the look of grim determination instantly shattered, replaced by utter blankness.
Then, an unspeakable sense of embarrassment slammed into her face like a tsunami.
'So... they were talking about birds?!'
The violent mana she had been gathering halfway instantly deflated, leaving behind only the cold sweat seeping from her palms due to tension.
'Oh god!'
'She was a dignified princess of the kingdom! A highly educated lady!'
'She had actually... actually eavesdropped on others and mistaken their picnic plans for a murder plot? She had even nearly made the first move to kill them?!'
"Ah..."
Her originally pale face suddenly flushed into the color of a ripe tomato, turning so red it looked like it might drip blood.
This 'social death' scene of being caught red-handed made her wish she could just faint on the spot and play dead.
Leo’s movements also paused.
His originally cold eyes didn't relax completely like Lucrezia’s. Instead, they quickly scanned the flapping bird in Arno’s hand.
'A white-feathered heron? These water birds are indeed very alert and difficult to catch alive.'
'Killing the big one for meat, keeping the small one for money... the logic holds up.'
'Was it... really just my misunderstanding?'
Leo’s brow twitched imperceptibly.
Even though everything before him was explained away, that feeling of unease, like a maggot in his bones, hadn't completely vanished.
However, Leo was best at taking the out he was given.
"Ah, this..."
Seeing the awkward situation, Lucrezia was so embarrassed she didn't even know where to put her hands. She could only look at Leo as if for help.
Leo relaxed his tense muscles. The icy killing intent on his face vanished like a magic trick, replaced by a perfectly calibrated, gentle smile filled with a hint of apology and bashfulness.
He took the opportunity to pat Lucrezia’s stiff back and said in an extremely natural tone:
"We heard Miss Lily had been out for so long without returning, so we were a bit worried she might have encountered some troublesome magical beast."
Leo turned around and faced Lily’s scrutinizing gaze calmly, shrugging his shoulders:
"We were just thinking of coming to discuss with Captain Arno whether we should go provide backup. I didn't expect... it seems we were overthinking things. Miss Lily’s skills are indeed impressive."
These words not only perfectly explained why they were there but also threw in a compliment, whitewashing their eavesdropping as concern.
"Ah! Yes! Right, right, right!"
Lucrezia snapped out of it, nodding repeatedly like a chicken pecking at grain, as if grabbing onto a lifeline:
"Li-Lily! It's so good that you're okay! I... we were worried sick about you!"
"Yo! Everyone's here?"
Arno, holding the white-feathered heron, scanned the three of them. His gaze finally landed on Leo and Lucrezia as he asked curiously, "What’s going on? I heard you mention something about a magical beast?"
"Oh!"
Lucrezia blurted out, trying to cover up the embarrassment of being caught eavesdropping.
Her face was flushed as she spoke rapidly, "It's Miss Lily! She heard... um, the cry of a marsh prowler just now and went to scout it out. We... cough, we weren't at ease, so we came over specifically to see if any help was needed."
"There was indeed the cry of a marsh prowler."
Lily toyed with the tip of her bow, shrugging with her usual expression.
"But it was very far away. From the sound of it, it was heading deeper into the swamp, avoiding us. It was a false alarm."
From an angle Leo couldn't see, she and Arno exchanged an extremely subtle look.
Both saw a hint of relief and playfulness in the other's eyes.
"That's good then." The lizard demi-human Buman also emerged from the shadows, flicking his forked tongue with a hiss. "Prowlers even on the outskirts? Hiss... damn it."
"Alright, let's not scare ourselves."
Arno spoke with finality, his face once again wearing that hearty and hospitable smile. He walked over and clapped Leo heavily on the shoulder, the force so great that Leo had to shift his body to absorb the impact.
"Since it was a false alarm, don't just stand there! Come on, back to the campfire! Tonight's a feast; let's have a good meal to calm our nerves!"
Rate on N.U.
