Leon: I'm a Good Person

"I'm not a bad person."

Leon looked at Hughie with utterly sincere eyes.

Seeing this,

Starlight, who had wanted to continue holding Leon accountable, felt too embarrassed to keep pressing him after he had sincerely apologized to Hughie.

Instead, she looked at Butcher in astonishment and mouthed, Are you kidding me? Is he really Soldier Boy? Isn't he a good person?

Starlight had never seen a Superhuman with such a normal personality.

And he was so handsome. How could he possibly be a bad person?

He must have been slandered by rumors in the past!

Who knew~

Butcher shrugged, merely curling his lip without saying a word.

To be honest,

he was beginning to doubt whether the information Mallory had given him about Soldier Boy was even true.

After all,

so far,

there was no concrete evidence that Soldier Boy was an asshole. It was all Mallory's one-sided account, without any video or audio records at all.

It had been too long ago.

Even if there had been any, they were probably unusable now.

"Then... something like hurting people for no reason won't happen again, right? Since you're a good person and all... right?"

Hughie asked cautiously.

"Of course."

"Unless they bring it on themselves."

And Leon alone held the standard for that judgment. He did not say it aloud; the perfect lie was one made entirely of truth.

"That's great."

"Leon, thank you."

"Stark, you're such a damn good person."

"..."

Upon hearing that, the members of The Boys immediately felt more than half the weight in their hearts lift.

They even began to think Soldier Boy was a good guy they could fully bring into their team. Only Mother's Milk, who had a blood feud with Soldier Boy, kept a dark expression and said nothing more.

"Leon, I should apologize to you too."

Starlight walked up to Leon somewhat awkwardly and held out her hand.

"I shouldn't have raised my voice at you before I had fully understood what happened. You're a good person. Welcome to our team, even if it's only temporary."

"Understanding is everything."

Leon did not shake Starlight's hand. Instead, right in front of Hughie, he boldly wrapped an arm around her and gave her an open, generous hug.

"Uh..."

At that moment, Starlight did not know whether she should refuse or go along with it. Her hands remained frozen in midair, not coming down onto Leon's back for a long while.

Hughie was right beside her, after all, but it probably did not matter, right?

After all, Leon seemed to only want to give her a gentlemanly hug. He had not gone any further in an offensive way.

As for Hughie himself, he had even less of an objection. He was immersed in the joy of Soldier Boy joining them and wished Leon would hug her tighter. He even wanted to go over and lend a hand.

Anyway—

Leon was a good person, wasn't he?

The mental imprint Hughie had of Leon was quietly established amid the stark contrast between how Leon had treated him before and after.

At that moment,

Leon only wanted to say: A persona was such a damn useful thing. Even if only one idiot in a hundred believed it, he was still making a killing.

"Oh, sorry. I got a little carried away."

"You know, Annie, I haven't met a girl in a very long time, much less such a cute, petite, and understanding good girl like you."

After hugging Starlight for several seconds, Leon took the initiative to let go with impeccable restraint.

"It's... it's fine."

Starlight's face flushed slightly. "If it's just a hug, then hug me whenever you want. Hughie and I don't mind."

"Y-yeah."

"I don't mind."

Although he inexplicably started to feel that something was strange, Hughie still nodded in agreement with great generosity out of trust in both Starlight and Leon.

Hearing that,

the corners of Leon's mouth lifted slightly without anyone noticing.

Wonderful~

He actually said he did not mind.

In that case, Leon would not hold back.

Thus,

Leon got along with nearly every member of The Boys.

Only Mother's Milk was left in a wounded world.

The key was that even he was somewhat lost: Was this Soldier Boy really the demon he wanted revenge on?

Vought Tower.

The Seven's conference room.

Maeve had vanished for a day and a night without warning.

Although it was not a major matter, Homelander, as both her ex-boyfriend and current captain, still came to express his concern the moment she reappeared.

However,

when Homelander approached Maeve, he immediately covered his nose and backed away as though avoiding a mop smeared with shit. Then he said disgustedly,

"Oh, shit!"

"Maeve, take a good whiff of yourself. I'd bet you spent that entire day and night soaking in perfume made from hawthorn flower extract. The smell has seeped into your bones!"

"Are you trying to get back at me by giving up on yourself like this?!"

Homelander said furiously.

"So what if I am?"

Maeve rose from her chair and walked toward Homelander step by step.

However,

the scent on Maeve's body seemed to have a natural deterrent effect on Homelander. As she advanced, his face twitched and he retreated step by step, until he soon reached the end and pressed against the wall.

"Maeve, you've seemed a little disobedient lately."

"You'd better not let me find out that you're plotting against me!"

With that,

Homelander thrust his hand through the conference room wall as easily as if it were tofu, then fled the scene at once.

It was because

he instinctively resisted breathing the same air as Maeve. The sensation made him nauseous, and even... afraid?

Heh~

An evil narcissist with persecution delusions, and a coward too!

Maeve sneered inwardly.

Then she raised her hand and smelled herself... Strange, there was no odor. She should have washed herself very cleanly, so how could Homelander still smell it?

And besides,

judging by how panicked he had looked,

could he have been afraid of Soldier Boy?

Like some kind of special territorial marker left by a powerful beast?

Maeve could not help but wonder.

Just then,

her phone rang.

Beep beep beep—connected!

"Talk."

"Darling, I miss you."

"..."

After answering the call, Maeve's silence was deafening. But on second thought, this seemed like a perfect chance to verify her earlier suspicion?