Leo let go of her hand and forcibly pressed down her disobedient arm.
He looked up, his face showing a perfectly timed trace of an apologetic, harmless smile.
His face was naturally fair and delicate; though it was currently smeared with dirt, it only served to make him look more pitiful.
Coupled with the thin frame under those funny pajamas that clearly lacked exercise, he perfectly fit the image of a "sickly young master from a fallen noble family."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Captain," his voice carried a hint of weak raspiness, sounding exceptionally polite.
"It’s just... my sister..." He glanced at Lucrezia. "Her stomach has always been weak, and she’s quite shaken. She hasn't had a bite to eat or a drop to drink for two days. I’m afraid... she can’t handle such heavy food just yet."
The hearty smile on the bearded captain’s face paused visibly.
His eyes, which looked somewhat cloudy in the firelight, lingered on Leo’s "sincere" face for two seconds, seemingly scrutinizing whether this was genuine daintiness or some form of vigilance.
Leo met his gaze calmly, his eyes clear and foolish, devoid of any ulterior motives.
"Haha... Hahahahahaha!"
A moment later, the man burst into hearty laughter again, reaching out a large hand to pat Leo’s shoulder with appreciation.
"Good lad! You’re right!" the captain shouted admiringly. "You can’t eat hard food right away after starving for so long! I was being careless! Hahaha, caution! I like that!"
He withdrew the jerky, the flash of gloom in the depths of his eyes perfectly concealed beneath his laughter.
Although Lucrezia didn't understand why he would refuse food offered to them, the strength in the hand pinning her wrist and Leo’s obvious "acting" made her instinctively choose to keep her mouth shut.
Like a startled quail, she shrank behind Leo’s narrow back, revealing only her eyes. She tugged at the hem of Leo’s clothes in embarrassment and frustration, hissing in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"You... you rude fellow! What the hell are you doing?!"
Leo ignored her completely. He naturally took the blanket handed over by the female archer and gently draped it over Lucrezia, playing the part of the "good brother" to the fullest.
Then, he turned around and pulled the crystal button he had used to start the fire from his tattered pajama pocket.
In front of everyone, he used his sleeve to carefully—even somewhat pretentiously—wipe away the dirt from it.
Under the firelight, the multi-faceted crystal reflected a brilliant, pure light.
"Captain, though my sister and I are in a sorry state, we know the rules. We can't take your things for nothing."
Leo presented the button with both hands, his tone sincere. "This thing might not be worth a fortune, but it should be worth a gold coin or two. We’d like to use it... to exchange for some supplies and two sets of clean clothes to cover ourselves."
The captain’s eyes lit up.
These adventurers who lived on the edge of a blade had sharp eyes.
The quality of this button was excellent; it was definitely a high-grade item.
"Easy enough! Easy enough!"
The captain’s smile instantly became three times warmer, as if the slight unpleasantness from his kindness being rejected had vanished into thin air.
He accepted the button without hesitation, weighed it in his rough palm, tucked it into his pocket with satisfaction, and then gestured to the lean man with the daggers.
"Raz, go, get a backpack for these two. Supplies and water are no problem!"
He then turned to rummage through another bulging large pack. "As for clothes... we only have some old ones on hand. Don't be picky, just make do with them in this wilderness."
Soon, two sets of neatly folded clothes were tossed over.
One was a pair of coarse trousers with a thick old shirt, and the other... was actually a faded maid’s dress.
Leo took the clothes, his fingers brushing against the fabric.
The material was dry and had no moldy smell. Instead, it had a faint... scent of soapberry, as if it had been washed repeatedly to cover up some original smell.
His gaze swept imperceptibly over the five people present.
The captain was a brawny man standing 1.9 meters tall, the scout was as thin as a monkey, the female archer had a fiery figure, and the other two were demi-humans.
And these two sets of clothes in his hands...
The male outfit was sized for a medium build of about 1.75 meters, while the female outfit was suited for a petite woman around 1.6 meters.
Interesting...
Leo sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he looked immensely grateful, waving his hands repeatedly.
"No, no! We are more than grateful just to have clean clothes to change into!"
"Come on, Lucie, let’s go behind those trees and change," he called out the fake name he had just fabricated, taking her arm and half-dragging her toward the bushes at the edge of the camp.
"Huh? You’re making me... me wear this crudely made trash..." Lucrezia wrinkled her small nose at the rough touch of the fabric, muttering discontentedly.
"Enough." Leo’s grip on her arm tightened slightly as he warned in a whisper, "Something’s wrong with these people. Be careful."
"Huh? What’s wrong?" Lucrezia argued defiantly while awkwardly pulling on the dress. "They gave us food, water, and clothes. I think you just have a dark mind..."
"The clothing sizes are wrong."
Leo put on the shirt, his fingers moving fast as he buttoned it up. "These clothes don't belong to them. This is a team that operates in the wild long-term; who would carry spare clothes that don't fit? Especially a maid outfit?"
Lucrezia’s hand stopped while tying her belt, her expression changing slightly. "Are you saying..."
A chill ran up her spine.
She instinctively looked back at the warm campsite.
The five people seemed busy with their own tasks.
The bearded captain was flipping the roast meat, the female archer was wiping her arrows, the lean man was drinking water, and the two demi-humans were squatting to the side, laughing as they talked in low voices.
"They seem like good people to me... are you overthinking it?" she whispered back.
"It’s always better to be safe than sorry." Leo shook his head and said no more.
The moment they turned around, the lean man who had been drinking water with his head down raised his snake-like eyes and exchanged a silent look with the bearded captain.
The captain nodded slightly, his smile unchanged, while the lizard demi-human stuck out his forked tongue, licking his lips with a hiss, his greedy gaze sweeping over Lucrezia’s petite back.
When the two returned to the campfire, they looked completely refreshed.
Although the clothes still didn't fit—the neckline of Lucrezia’s maid dress was a bit wide, revealing her delicate collarbones—it actually enhanced her fragile beauty as a noble in distress.
"Come, come! The roast meat is ready!"
The captain greeted them warmly. With a flick of his dagger, he cut off a large piece of sizzling, tender leg meat and handed it over.
"Sit down and eat while it’s hot! This is top-quality wild boar meat!"
To the starving pair, this was undoubtedly a fatal temptation.
The aroma of the fat hit them directly. Lucrezia’s eyes instantly turned into stars, and all her previous restraint and fear were thrown to the wind as she instinctively reached out to take it—
"Wait."
That damned hand, once again, stopped her with precision.
Rate on N.U.
