Leo stared blankly at Kelly, who was holding an M60 with several grenades hanging from her body, looking like she was about to head straight to the battlefield. He couldn't help tilting his head, while Tsunade, who was lying face-down on the pillow nearby, let out a strange, muffled groan.
"Hey… couldn't you have picked a different time to come over?"
Leo couldn't help complaining. Kelly always had a knack for barging in at the strangest times and places, and somehow always managed to overhear things related to herself. It was… honestly hard to even know how to complain about that kind of luck.
"Tch, that's because you two were all lovey-dovey! Don't you even look at the time? It's already this late and you're still not up doing missions, farming skill points and rewards—what are you trying to do?! Hurry up and finish it! I'm waiting to see how you send Tsunade back!"
Kelly flipped Leo off impatiently, then turned around, walked out, and slammed the door shut.
Leo stared at the closed door, then instinctively squeezed and felt that perfect, rounded backside beneath his hand. He took a sharp breath, because he suddenly realized something: he hadn't heard any footsteps at all, and Kelly's face had been bright red when she came in.
Which meant—
"Kelly, you bastard, you were listening the whole time, weren't you?!"
His roar echoed through the room.
————————
Half an hour later, Leo stood by the campfire with a lollipop in his mouth, staring at the slop in front of him that Kelly—arguably the best cook among the remaining three—had made.
Even though Leo himself had to eat it too, he would rather call himself a pig than refrain from condemning Kelly's cooking.
It genuinely wasn't food meant for humans.
Seeing Rias and Lux, who looked a bit uneasy as they stared at the pot, Leo clicked his tongue, casually took out a piece of grilled meat from his inventory, and placed it on the makeshift grill.
But right now, no one really cared about that.
After putting the meat on, Leo glanced at Tsunade, who hadn't spoken a word since everything ended. He sat down on a bench they had made, then pointed toward Tsunade.
"I really can send Tsunade back now. But, how should I put this…"
Leo took a deep breath.
To be honest, he didn't want to send Tsunade back. Even if she couldn't fight, she was still a massive help in basic construction. Not to mention her body helped him release a lot of pressure, in every sense of the word.
He genuinely liked that full, mature body. And the relationship between the two of them had undeniably changed.
But tragically, if Leo really wanted what was best for Tsunade, then sending her back was the right choice.
What worried him was whether he could trust this system of his. What if the repatriation wasn't reliable?
"I don't even know if it's completely reliable. The first time I used it, I didn't have time to look closely—Erina just disappeared. At that time, I couldn't even afford to pay attention to her, so…"
Leo chewed through his lollipop as he voiced his concern.
"There's no need to worry about that."
Tsunade interrupted him.
"There's no need. This was my own choice. Even if something goes wrong, that's on me."
She looked at Leo.
"But are you sure you really don't need me anymore?"
A strange light flickered in Tsunade's eyes. Leo crushed the candy in his mouth and avoided her gaze. The massive increase in energy clearly showed that Tsunade's mindset had changed significantly—but so had his.
"Yes. With Rias here, combat power and healing aren't an issue anymore. I can also barely manage building the steel house myself. If you go back now, it won't affect our survival."
Leo took a deep breath.
"So I can send you back right now."
"..."
Tsunade fell silent, staring at Leo intensely. After a long moment, she finally spoke.
"Is that really true?"
"What?"
"The energy."
"Absolutely. Last night, the energy between you and me surged dramatically."
"Why didn't you lie to me? Only you know the exact amount of energy, right?"
"I've had enough of a life built on lies."
Leo answered seriously.
"I'm sick of flattering people, apologizing to picky clients and saying 'that's our fault' even when it's not, saying 'no problem' when I clearly don't want to work overtime. I'm sick of going home and pretending everything's fine no matter how miserable I am. I'm sick of people clearly having solutions but refusing to tell me. I've had enough of that life. So when it comes to things that truly decide someone's fate, I won't lie—unless I really hate that person."
Leo tossed away the plastic stick from his mouth, looking indifferent.
"Unfortunately, I like you quite a bit. Your personality, your body—both. But sadly, you don't belong here. No one does in this hellhole. We'll probably be doing dangerous things soon, and we can't keep you here. Even though we were just… very close, the truth is, the sooner you go back, the better it is for you."
Tsunade clenched her fists. She knew exactly what he meant—investigating that factory. If there really was a way back there, they might be able to return through it.
But the odds weren't high.
And there was another issue.
Her safety.
No one knew what else might appear in this world. Leaving someone behind to protect her wouldn't work unless they were strong enough—and if they were strong, then there wouldn't be enough manpower to explore the factory.
The only other option was surviving another Blood Moon and recruiting more newcomers.
But just thinking about facing that nightmare again made Tsunade's heart go numb, her body go weak.
Still, she forced herself to speak.
"I can stay through one more Blood Moon before leaving."
Leo rejected her immediately.
"No. I'm afraid you'll really break. Ask yourself honestly—do you think your current mental state is suited to living here? Tsunade, even for just a few more days."
Leo could clearly feel how tormented Tsunade was in this place. Corpses everywhere. Unstoppable waves of monsters every few days. For someone in her mental condition, it was crushing pressure.
Especially the Blood Moon. Leo could tell that after it, Tsunade's mental state was extremely unstable. Otherwise, she wouldn't have jumped him like that or had such an emotional outburst.
If she stayed any longer, even if her hemophobia somehow improved through their physical intimacy, her mind and will would be destroyed.
And this world was truly full of hidden dangers. No one knew what other horrors might appear.
"And we agreed from the start, didn't we? I was just a passerby in your life. And we agreed that once there was enough energy to send you back, I would."
"..."
Tsunade took a deep breath and nodded.
"If you really don't need me anymore."
"I really don't."
Leo stood up and walked over to her, looking at her beautiful face with a sense of melancholy. Such a great bed partner—and now he was sending her away.
After a brief thought, he suddenly grabbed the breast near her heart with one hand and her firm, shapely hip with the other, kneading both at once.
"…Is this also part of the repatriation?"
Tsunade's expression instantly changed.
Leo nodded calmly.
"Yes. One last touch. Just as a souvenir. After all… if nothing unexpected happens, we probably won't meet again. So—one, two, three? Repatriation?"
"…Do as you like."
"One."
"Two."
"Three…"
As Leo said "three," he opened the interface and activated repatriation. But in the next instant, Tsunade suddenly hugged him and lightly kissed his lips, then turned into a fading silhouette right before his eyes.
She staggered, passing through his body, and the surroundings shifted into a surreal scene completely different from this world.
Leo turned around and saw Tsunade also turning to look at him. Her instinctive attempt to grab him passed straight through his body, and whatever she said, he couldn't hear.
The illusion lasted a full three minutes before slowly fading. Leo watched as Tsunade reunited with others, then saw her being tightly hugged by an excited black-haired little girl.
This time, Leo felt it clearly. While inside that phantom scene, there was a sense of dislocation—as if he could manipulate it and step into Tsunade's world, yet something was still missing.
But as Tsunade's image completely disappeared, Leo realized something else.
"So… was it the same with Erina last time? That means she watched me blow myself up with explosives? No wonder she thought I was dead."
The thought made Leo feel a bit heavy. But when he remembered that only two more women were needed before he could go look for Erina, his mood instantly lifted. He turned to the three women present and spoke.
"So, repatriation should be real. Anyone else interested?"
Even though it was phrased as a question, Leo was clearly looking at Kelly.
Kelly's lips twitched. She knew full well this bastard had long wanted to get handsy with her—he'd never hidden his appreciation for her long legs and revealing outfits. And honestly, their interactions were the most fun he'd ever had, even compared to Erina.
Kelly's personality was just that good.
Still, she slowly raised her hand.
She really did have reasons to go back—and she was curious to try it. Chances were she'd die on the battlefield once she returned, so she wanted to experience this kind of thing at least once before the end.
Staying wasn't an option. Not unless the war in the Heavenly Realm ended.
But Leo's smug, confident look annoyed her to no end.
So she decided to tease him a bit, then use some tools when the time came, to teach him that a Ranger Gunner wasn't someone to mess with.
Besides—why should she be the only one getting screwed?
Why should the one doing the screwing always be the one in control?
That wasn't fair.
She wanted to screw Leo too.
However, just as Kelly was about to raise her hand fully and state her conditions, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Please use me, and send me back to my world! Mr. Leo! I have something extremely important to do! Please!"
It was Lux.