Bonus chapter...
We went to a park near the theater with Leon and others.
The spacious park is filled with a variety of playground equipment such as swings and jungle gyms.
Usually, there are many children running around in the park, but since the sun had already started to set, the park is sparsely populated.
I sit down on a bench placed at a little distance from the playground equipment. And Urza immediately tries to sit next to me, but I restrain her with my hand.
"Sorry, Urza, but could you go get me a drink or something?"
"Huh... desu~no?"
"Look, you see that 'Rango fruit juice' from the food stall we sometimes go to? Get me some of that."
Urza's red eyes twinkle as I hand her a few silver coins.
"You can buy whatever you like with the change. But you don't have to come back for half an hour."
"Eh, umm... but, desu~no...?"
Urza looks at me and at Leon alternately.
To Urza, Leon is the antagonist who once tried to attack me at the school. She can't think of leaving my enemy alone while she goes shopping.
"Nagisa, go with her"
"Understood. Uranus too, let's go!"
"Ah! Why do I have to come too...!?"
Nagisa grabs Ciel's hand behind Leon's back and tries to drag her away.
Ciel tries to resist the sudden move, but Ciel, who is a magician, cannot shake off Nagisa, who is a warrior.
"It's not worth it to get involved in a conversation between a man and a man. Uranus, if you want to be a 'good woman', you should know that."
"Hey... I won't forgive you if you do anything strange to Leon!"
Ciel shouts at me as Nagisa leads her out of the park.
Urza looks back several times, but she can't disobey my order and follows her.
Now, Leon and I are the only two people left in the park.
Leon is looking at his childhood friend who is being taken away with a stunned look on his face, and I call out to him in a nonchalant manner.
"Why don't you sit down quickly? How long are you going to stand there like a fool?"
"Eh... umm...?"
"If you don't want to be next to me, you can sit on the ground. It's even better if it's kneeling (seiza)"
I tell him, and Leon sits down on the edge of the bench where I am sitting with a slight frown on his face.
Leon, the hero, and Zenon, the villain, sit side by side on the bench, creating a mysterious scene.
"......"
"......"
We were silent for a while, not speaking a word.
For some reason, Leon only looked uncomfortable and did not seem to open his mouth, even though he was the one who seemed to have something to say.
"......Tsk."
I don't know what he is keeping silent about, but if I wait for Leon to start talking, the three people who excused themselves from this place will come back.
Even if I don't care about them, I should start a conversation.
"It's been a long time since we've talked like this, Brave. Is it since you had a fight with Urza at the school?"
"Ugh...!"
Leon grimaces and presses his crotch with both hands.
It seems that he has been traumatized by Urza's kick.
"Don't tell me you're not here to make a fuss about that time, are you? That was your fault. You know that, right?"
"Yeah... That's what the teacher told me at school. I'm sorry about that."
Surprisingly, Leon readily admitted that he was at fault.
I had expected him to complain again, but this is an unexpected turn of events.
"But, don't get me wrong. I would never admit that enslaving such little girl is the right thing to do......, but I can tell from the exchange earlier that this Urza girl is not forced to be a slave."
Leon's gaze turns outside the park.
Earlier, Urza was sincerely concerned about me, hence her caution toward Leon.
After seeing her like that, even Leon, who has a strong sense of justice, could not believe that Urza was unwillingly serving as my slave.
"...Baskerville. I think I misjudged you."
Leon said this to me with his eyes slightly downcast.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"It's not just about the little girl. I heard you rescued Centorea-san when she was abandoned in the dungeon. And there's also a rumor that you've revealed the corruption of a bad teacher, and that you've been taking on some not-so-profitable quest at the guild."
"Hmm..."
"To be honest, I thought you were a villain. I thought you were a member of the evil Baskerville family and that you yourself hurt innocent people... but I was wrong. I'm sorry."
"...You're very open-minded. It makes me a little uncomfortable."
When I give him my honest opinion, Leon scratches his head with a frustrated expression on his face.
"...I know. I know that I sometimes get out of control. I also understand that I'm causing trouble for someone else."
"......"
"But... I just can't help myself. When I see someone in trouble, I want to help them. When I see something wrong, I want to correct it. Even when I know that I'll cause someone else trouble as a result, I can't help but lose my temper."
The protagonist, filled with a sense of justice, monologues.
I see, so this is how Leon thinks and acts.
"Well... that's an interesting story."
The boy 'Leon Brave' in the game of [DunBrave] is a mirror of the player outside the monitor. In a bad way, he is a 'puppet'.
His actions are under the player's control, and no one knows where Leon's intentions come from or where they end.
But now, he is not controlled by the player... He is the real 'Leon Brave' who has been thinking about itself in such a way.
Come to think of it, Leon is also a victim of the game's settings created by the game's creators.
Just as I am destined to be a 'villain character'. Just as Aeris is given the role of a 'self-sacrificing saint' and Nagisa is given the role of a 'female swordsman seeking revenge' - Leon Brave also exists in this world with the character of a 'reckless hero with a burning sense of justice'.
Leon, like us, may be struggling with the setting given to him by the creator.
"I understand why you went out of control. Anyway, I accept your apology."
"...I see, thank you."
Leon's shoulders slump as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.
Perhaps Leon had been worried about this for a long time.
He had believed Zenon Baskerville was a bad man, had been hostile... and now he realizes he may have been mistaken, and he struggles with his mistake.
He was looking for an opportunity to apologize to me, and today he finally did it.
"...Surely, he's not a bad guy, but he's a clumsy one."
I sigh and feel relieved that I have settled the score with Leon for the time being.
Leon is the man who will become a hero. He is the hero who will defeat the Demon King.
As long as the Demon King exists, there is nothing but destruction in this world and nothing good will come from fighting with Leon.
"That being said... I'll have to do something for my own reasons this time."
"Huh...?"
Leon's eyes go black and white as I get up from the bench.
I bare my fangs at my classmate, who is looking at me with a puzzled look on his face, and said.
"Leon, fight me. Right now, right here."
