Trust

Leonel and Aina stepped out hand in hand. Leonel didn't seem worried about whether or not Aina could handle the Dream Force as well. Even if she hadn't benefited from his comprehension, just the fact she had Soul Clairvoyance would have made it a simple matter for her to deal with, even if Dream Force was bombarded at her.

"This place is beautiful," she said with a smile.

"And empty."

Aina giggled at the slight annoyance in Leonel's voice. She knew that he probably really wanted to round up those bastards and teach them a lesson, but they weren't in a position to do so. At least not yet.

On the way out, Leonel had conveniently given Eamon and Goggles the Forgetful Orbs. He needed two more Deacons and one disciple.

Luckily, Aina had just become a master herself, one worthy of becoming a Pavilion Head, even. So now, he just needed one more Deacon and one Disciple.

He believed that Eamon would be able to reach the threshold for Deacon soon, and Goggles would be a worthy disciple to take in.

Leonel had met Eamon in the mutated Evolution Ore Mine. He had proven himself to be meticulous and sharp, albeit extremely cautious to maybe even his own detriment.

Could Leonel trust him? Probably not as much as Goggles. After all, although Goggles' memory had been wiped of their time together, he knew and understood Goggle's temperament while he only knew a little about Eamon.

Goggles was a man who seemed cowardly, but was willing to put his life on the line for his friends, ultimately. He had been right there alongside them all as King Alexandre killed them one by one. It was a failure that Leonel still remembered clearly to this day.

Eamon was a person that Leonel could feel was kind and genuine, but there was only so much you could tell by normal means. His Dream Force did help with that, though.

Regardless, there was no doubt that he trusted Goggles far more.Leonel sighed.

"What's on your mind?" Aina asked. "He's really not so bad, you know. He has a stern face, but he's just a big teddy bear."

Leonel chuckled. He wasn't thinking about Aina's father, though maybe he should have been.

He couldn't be as flippant as he was in the past. His getting along with Miel was a matter of Aina's happiness, and he took that very seriously.

Without his tranquil Dream Force he could feel himself bending a little. But he couldn't help but admit that he was still fiercely stubborn.

It felt like the more these Forces changed around him, the more he was beginning to understand his true self. But the reality was that this true self was more annoying than he liked to admit.

All he had to do was apologize to the old man, right?

The problem was that that apology would never be sincere, and he didn't think that just lying to Miel and swallowing his feelings was the way either.

Miel, maybe rightfully, hated him for how cruel he had been to Aina back then. But there was a whole swirl of emotions and context that surrounded his reply of "So What?".

If he apologized and pretended like he was entirely in the wrong, it just wouldn't be genuine.lights

Did he regret so brazenly ignoring Aina's outpouring of love?

A little.

But if he was honest with himself, that was his true and raw reaction back then. To him, her betrayal was deep and it wasn't something that he got over easily. In fact, he never truly got over it until Aina began to trust him to the extent she did now.

Back then, his psyche had been built on absolute confidence in himself. The idea of the woman he loved so dearly not having that same confidence in him hurt.

Was it true that he was reckless with his life? Yes. Did he carelessly throw his life around that mattered quite little in the grand scheme of things? Also yes…

But he was also starting to understand that he wasn't as logical of a creature as he tried to think himself out to be.

He wanted his woman to trust in his abilities, to believe that he could hold up the skies with a palm if he had to. He wanted her to hold that belief even if it looked like he was on his last breath.

In kind, he wanted to be the same sort of emotional support for Aina. He would choose her over the world itself, so why couldn't she reciprocate with trust?

Those were his raw emotions about the matter and the reason he and Aina had reached this point was because their ability to support one another on an almost spiritual level was perfect.

Aina never tried to excuse her actions of back then. In fact, she had stayed silently by his side until he was ready to be over it.

In his view, Miel was a third party who had a clear and understandable bias, but would only serve to tip the scales and ruin something that was otherwise perfect.

Leonel felt a light squeeze on his palms from Aina's hand. He looked over and met her gaze.

"We can wait longer if you want," she said softly.

"Aina, how much do you think about what happened back then? Does it still bother you? That I could be so callous? Do you worry that I could do that to you again in the future?"

Aina fell silent.

"… I trust you, Leonel."

These were all the words he needed to hear, and they were much deeper than what he had wanted them to mean.

To him, trust had just meant that she looked up to him like some fantastical action hero who didn't bleed or fear.

To her, trust meant placing her heart in his possession. If he wanted, he could tear it to shreds and leave it beaten and battered with bruises.

But he wouldn't.

Leonel smiled. "Let's go."

That smile vanished when he stepped out of the Dream Pavilion.