"Haha, really? Klee is such a good little girl."
Leon touched the cheek that had just been kissed by the little girl, thinking that, up until now, that couldn't possibly be considered a crime, right? After all, he hadn't been the one to make the first move.
But Klee really was the cutest!
If it had been Jean, Barbara, Alpha, or any of his other girls, a kiss like that would've easily ignited a fire in his heart. But an innocent and adorable little girl like Klee only made Leon feel a deep, genuine happiness.
Gently patting the head of that angelic girl, Leon couldn't help but feel delighted to spoil her.
"Come on, Klee, let's go play somewhere else."
"Yayyy!" Klee jumped up joyfully, celebrating.
She really liked Leon.
In fact, aside from Jean and a few of the Knights of Favonius, very few people were willing to play with her. Even children her own age tended to keep their distance.
But that was perfectly natural.
Any parent with the slightest bit of common sense—and a concern for their child's life—would never allow them to play with someone carrying live bombs. One careless moment could mean disaster.
The only reason Klee hadn't blown herself up yet was sheer luck.
Once, while trying to make a new kind of bomb, she accidentally blew up her little workshop. No one had been spared—not even her, standing right next to the blast.
In short, to the parents of Mondstadt, Klee was not the kind of child they wanted their kids spending time with. Still, under the Knights' protection, she had managed to stay safe from malice and gossip.
But for safety reasons, most knights avoided her too. After all, the tiny girl casually carried around explosives powerful enough to destroy the Knights' headquarters. Even Jean had to be careful when dealing with her.
Thus, the only person who had ever talked about launching bombs so openly and cheerfully with Klee… was Leon.
And when you add Leon's natural charm and good looks to the mix, even a child like Klee was bound to be fond of him.
It would've been stranger if she didn't like him.
"So, where are we going to play? Oh! Do you want to fry fish with Klee?"
"Why do you like fried fish so much?"
"Because fish are yummy! And as long as you can fry them secretly without Captain Jean finding out—"
Klee suddenly froze.
At first, she wanted to take Leon to a small lake somewhere up in the mountains where she usually fried fish.
But at that moment, she realized she couldn't recognize the way. She had visited this mountain many times before… yet everything around her looked unfamiliar.
And the reason why soon became clear.
"Looks like… we might've gone a bit too far," Leon muttered.
The two of them looked around, baffled, then immediately realized the problem.
The mountain area that had been bombed for two whole hours was now completely unrecognizable. Massive craters stretched out everywhere.
No wonder Klee felt disoriented—every landmark had been obliterated.
Her eyes widened in horror.
Her legs grew weak, and she nearly fell to her knees.
Cold sweat dripped down her face as she crouched, holding her head in despair.
"It's over. It's really over this time. I'm doomed! I'll never get out of solitary confinement again!"
She remembered Jean's usual punishment rules all too well.
Now that the entire mountain had been blown apart, a full terrain survey would have to be redone.
Klee looked up at the blazing sun in the sky and felt that today might very well be her last day of freedom.
"Big brother, Klee is going to die for real this time… I'll give you all my jumpy bombs. Please, take them and fry some fish in my memory."
Tears welled up in her bright red eyes.
She knew perfectly well that not even the Minor Protection Act could save her this time. The sentence would undoubtedly be life imprisonment.
So, she decided to entrust all her remaining bombs to this big brother she'd met less than half a day ago—hoping he would carry on her fish-frying legacy.
"Well, I'm not really that into fried fish," Leon said, twitching his lips as he politely declined.
If he ever wanted fish in the wild, he could simply reach into the lake and use his thunder element.
"Alright, alright, Klee, don't be so sad. Jean won't punish you this time."
"Huh? Really?"
"Actually, nothing bad will happen to you as long as I'm here. After all, Jean listens to everything I say."
"!!!"
In that instant, Leon felt something—a wave of pure adoration radiating from Klee's sparkling eyes!
Though she thought Jean was a good person, Jean was also a little scary. Whenever Klee messed up, her only options were to get locked up or run away. She had never even imagined standing up to Jean.
But Leon said that Jean obeyed him.
To Klee, that was almost divine. Even Leon's modified magical rocket launcher, capable of shattering a ten-meter boulder in one blast, hadn't impressed her this much.
"Jean is the one who can spank Klee," Leon said with a smirk, "but I'm the one who can spank Jean. Got it?"
"Yes! Big brother is stronger than Captain Jean!"
"Exactly—but that's not the full truth. I'm stronger than anyone in the world."
"Wow! Big brother is the best!"
Klee's eyes sparkled like twin stars.
"Come on, Klee. Let's go fry some fish."
"Can I?"
"Of course!"
"Okay!"
And so, Leon and Klee held hands as they walked toward the lake at the foot of the mountain…
The fish swam peacefully beneath the surface, blissfully unaware that two explosive demons were approaching.
(End of Chapter)