Free Web NovelChapter 45: the newcomer
The one who had just called out was Rex.
"Hey! You guys are having a party here and didn’t even invite me."
He placed a hand over his chest and sighed dramatically.
"I’m hurt."
Danny and Linda looked at each other speechlessly.
They didn’t even know the man.
Why would they invite him to dinner?
Leo let out a helpless sigh.
The annoying fellow was back.
From his previous encounter, Leo had already figured out that arguing with Rex was pointless. The more you responded to him, the more energetic he became.
Turning to Linda, he said,
"Just make enough for one more person."
Linda simply nodded.
Rex, however, pouted.
He had come over fully intending to argue with Leo, but Leo had agreed so easily that he suddenly didn’t know what to say.
Feeling somewhat unsatisfied, he shrugged his shoulders.
He dragged over a nearby stool, placed it beside Leo, and sat down.
Just as he was about to start another conversation, a childish voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"Rex, you bastard!"
"Where are the materials I told you to bring me?"
Rex’s body visibly flinched.
Leo raised his head toward the speaker.
Standing a few meters away was a girl who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen.
Barely four feet nine inches tall, she had one hand planted firmly on her hip while the other impatiently twirled a heavy wrench.
Her shoulder-length blonde hair was tied into a messy ponytail, with loose strands sticking to her sweat-damp forehead.
Dark streaks of grease covered her cheeks and the tip of her nose, making it obvious she had been buried in mechanical work for hours.
She wore oil-stained mechanic’s overalls over a faded shirt, while a worn tool belt around her waist was stuffed with wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, and other well-used tools.
Despite her small frame, the fierce glare in her bright eyes and the confidence in her stance made her seem far more intimidating than her size suggested.
Rex immediately put on an innocent expression.
"Why are you asking me?"
"Isn’t the Captain supposed to handle those things?"
The girl’s eyes narrowed.
"The Captain is away ."
"He told me that whatever I needed, I should ask you."
She took another step forward.
"I asked for those materials this morning."
She pointed the wrench at him accusingly.
"And I still haven’t received a single screw."
Then, puffing out her chest, she marched right up to Rex.
"Don’t tell me..."
"You forgot."
"Ha... ha... ha..."
Rex laughed nervously as a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
Seeing his guilty expression, the girl’s patience finally snapped.
She raised the heavy wrench.
"You useless—"
Smack!
"Aah!"
Before she could swing it down, someone behind her had smacked her butt.
She froze.
Clutching the spot where she had been hit, she slowly turned around to look at the culprit.
"Grandpa Jiro! How many times have I told you not to do that?!"
Nina spun around, her nose flaring as she glared at the culprit.
"Hmm... the same smell and the same reaction... hehehe."
The old man brought the hand he had just used up to his nose, gave it a sniff, and let out a thoroughly creepy laugh.
Leo looked at the newcomer.
The man appeared to be in his late fifties, perhaps sixty at most. Deep lines marked his weathered face, yet there was nothing frail about him. His lean frame carried the quiet strength of someone who had spent a lifetime training his body. Silver-streaked black hair was tied into a short ponytail, and a neatly trimmed beard framed a face that wore a carefree, almost mischievous grin.
But his eyes were different. Beneath the playful glint lay the sharp calm of a veteran who had seen far too much. A well-maintained sword rested diagonally across his back in a worn leather scabbard, its hilt polished smooth by years of use. Even while laughing like an incorrigible old fool, he gave off the unmistakable aura of a seasoned warrior. freewёbnoνel.com
Nina looked as though she had dealt with this countless times before. After a brief glare, she gave up on arguing with the old man.
Unfortunately for Rex, her anger still needed somewhere to go.
She slowly turned toward him.
Rex’s smile froze.
"N-Now, Nina, let’s talk about this—"
Pak!
"Ouch!"
Her kick landed squarely on his side. Rex flew off the stool and hit the ground with a heavy thud.
"Hmph."
Without another word, Nina claimed the stool for herself.
Only then did she notice Leo watching the scene.
She narrowed her eyes.
"What are you looking at?"
She raised the wrench a little.
"You want a piece of me too?"
Leo merely shrugged.
Rubbing his sore side, Rex climbed back to his feet. This time, he wisely decided not to provoke Nina any further. Experience had clearly taught him how that would end.
Clearing his throat, he spread his hands toward the newcomers.
"This cranky—"
He stopped the instant he felt Nina’s murderous glare.
"Ahem. This beautiful young lady is Nina, and the old gentleman over there is Grandpa Jiro."
"They’re the backbone of the Freedom Convoy."
Not wanting to create another awkward situation, Leo gave a short nod.
"Leo."
That was all.
Then he opened his book again and returned to reading, as if the small circus around him had nothing to do with him at all.
Grandpa Jiro casually walked over and sat cross-legged on the ground.
He sniffed the air a few times before his eyes landed on the pot simmering over the fire.
"So, what’s going on here?"
"Hmm..."
He took another deep breath.
"Smells good."
His experienced eyes quickly recognized the ingredients inside the pot.
"Oh?"
"Meat and vegetables?"
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"That’s some rare food to come across these days."
He turned to Rex.
"Where did you lot get all this?"
Rex pointed his thumb toward Leo.
"Him."
"He probably got it from the military."
"He’s the one who sold them the intelligence about those aliens."
Hearing that, both Grandpa Jiro and Nina paused.
Their expressions became noticeably more serious.
For the first time since arriving, the two carefully sized Leo up.
The young man, however, remained completely unfazed.
He simply turned another page of his book, as though the attention directed at him had nothing to do with him.
