Ch. 7: Sharing Courage (MOON)
An unidentified bird cried out as I ran into the garden of the night, rushing up to Leonie.
I was glad I had somehow managed to fend off the toy soldier, but Leonie still looked terrified.
Leonie: "Oooo…is it safe now? Did they leave?"
OO: "Yeah, we’re safe. Leonie, are you hurt?"
Leonie: "N-no…I’m fine."
Knees plastered with mud, Leonie stood up.
He looked at me as if impressed.
OO: "What’s wrong?"
Leonie: "Nothing, just you. Even though you’re small, you were so courageous…"
His lips quivered as if he wanted to say something, and he turned his eyes away.
OO: "Leonie…?"
Curious, I called his name…
Leonie: "Hey, OO…!"
OO: "Eh…!? W-what!?"
His eyes were suddenly serious as he grabbed my shoulders.
Leonie: "Share a little of your courage with me! Please…! I want to be courageous, more than anything!!"
OO: "Share my courage? But…"
At a loss, I put my hand near my mouth and Leonie stared at me with earnest eyes.
What should I do, sharing courage…
I thought for a while, but I couldn’t think of a way to do it.
Leonie: "…"
Leonie…
His eyes seemed to be holding on to me, and I knew I couldn’t leave him hanging…
Leonie: "…OO!?"
I gently embraced him.
His slight frame shifted within my arms, and as if surprised he kept blinking.
We were like that for a while…
OO: "Well? Did it…go through?"
I ended the slight embrace, and looked up at him.
Leonie: "…"
Motionless, I looked into his almond-shaped blue eyes.
Caught in his gaze, my heart skipped a beat and sped up.
OO: "…did it not?"
I asked one more time, and his blond hair shook violently back and forth.
Leonie: "…ah, no! That’s not it. …it’s amazing, my body’s all hot…! Now I can do anything!!"
OO: "…really?"
Leonie: "Yeah!"
Leonie gave me a reliable smile as he looked at me.
A strong light that I’d never seen before dwelled within those eyes.
Leonie: "All right, now I need to exterminate those weird toy soldiers. I won’t give them the run of the castle!"
OO: "Yeah, but don’t push yourself."
Leonie: "I’ll be fine!"
Thumping his chest, Leonie gave a deep nod.
And so we set off to exterminate the toy soldiers.
The castle of the night was wrapped in a strange eerie aura as I looked up at it from the courtyard.