After just a few minutes of walking, the girls finally found Leon. However, what they saw truly surprised them: he was standing in the middle of a field without his shirt on.
Why? Well, there were two clear reasons.
First of all, the day had turned out to be unusually hot. The sun was mercilessly beating down, and Leon had quickly started sweating, unable to cope with the stifling heat.
Second, he'd been working out in the fields, and the physical labor only made the overheating worse. That's why he decided to get rid of any extra layers, ending up shirtless.
Both girls immediately blushed. Olivia quickly looked away, feeling her cheeks start to burn. She did like what she saw, but at the same time, she believed it was improper to stare at someone half-dressed without their permission. Then again, she briefly forgot that Leon was out in the open, where anyone could see his torso — which meant, really, he was the one putting it on display for the whole world to see.
But when Olivia glanced at Angelica's face, she was surprised to see that the girl simply couldn't take her eyes off Leon.
"A-Angie… That's kinda rude," Olivia whispered, trying to bring her friend back to reality.
Hearing her voice, Angelica seemed to snap out of it. She quickly wiped the corners of her mouth, realizing that she'd actually started to drool. Her face turned crimson as she covered it with her hands and mumbled:
"Damn… I didn't think I liked muscles this much… especially his muscles…"
Feeling temptation tug at her, Olivia also snuck another peek at Leon. But her attention was caught by something else — standing right next to him was Colin. And, as it turned out, he wasn't wearing a shirt either.
In that moment, everything clicked. Olivia realized what was going on: Leon had probably taken off his clothes because of the heat, and Colin had simply followed his lead.
Angelica, hearing that, commented with a smile:
"Yeah… it really is unbearable out here. And we're just wearing light kimonos. Even in these, it feels like we're stuck in a sauna."
"Should we go say hi to Leon?" Olivia asked, still a little flustered.
Angelica hesitated for a second, then shrugged and replied:
"Sure, why not? So what if he doesn't have a shirt on?" She gave another shrug. "Sometimes the academy holds events by the sea, and the guys just walk around in swim trunks. They're shirtless all the time. No big deal."
Olivia nodded silently, agreeing with her friend's logic, and the two of them slowly made their way toward Leon.
---
"Whew… This heat is brutal," Leon exhaled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He'd just finished the latest stretch of fieldwork. His back was slick with sweat, and his hair clung to his temples.
"Yeah…" Colin muttered tiredly. He crouched down, breathing heavily, and glanced up at the sun beating down from above.
Damn that old man… Gonna have to get him back somehow, Leon thought with a smirk, standing upright. Now I'm soaked because of him. Who even dumped all this work on me in the first place?
As he mulled over various ideas for "payback," a sudden thought popped into his head — and a wide grin lit up his face.
"Hey, Colin," he began, "you know, it's been a while since we all played a game together, hasn't it?"
The moment he said it, Colin — who'd looked like he was about to collapse from exhaustion just a minute ago — suddenly sprang to life. His eyes lit up, and he practically shouted:
"Yeah! YEAH!"
"I've got a perfect idea for one. And with this heat, it's just the thing. You and me, same team," Leon added with a conspiratorial grin.
Colin practically jumped with joy, happiness radiating from his face. He was already picturing the fun they were about to have.
Just then, Leon noticed two familiar figures approaching at a slow pace. Wearing light kimonos, it was none other than Angelica and Olivia. They'd just arrived, but were close enough to hear him clearly.
"Hey, Leon! What're you up to?" Angelica called out. There was a slight tremor in her voice that she tried in vain to hide. Her eyes flicked to his bare chest again, and she blushed all over. No matter how hard she tried to stay composed, her flustered expression, unsteady walk, and tense smile gave everything away.
Catching on, Leon quickly reached for his shirt and threw it over his shoulders.
"Sorry," he said with an awkward smile. "It was just too hot."
"Oh, no need to apologize," both girls said almost at once, forcing cheerful smiles.
Still… a careful observer might've caught a trace of disappointment in their voices. Clearly, they'd enjoyed the view — even if they'd never admit it out loud.
"Anyway, girls," Leon said, moving things along, "we're getting ready to play a game with the family. Wanna join?"
He shot a quick glance at Colin, who immediately nodded to show that the offer still stood.
The girls perked up at the invitation.
"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" Angelica replied eagerly.
Olivia, more reserved as always, simply nodded in agreement.
"Awesome!" Leon beamed. "Alright then, go change first… put on something black."
"Black?" both girls echoed in surprise.
"Yup. You'll have to drop a little hint later, but trust me — it's gonna be fun."