On the other side, Fleur held Gabrielle close and stared at Leonard, torn.
He had promised to save their parents, yet he was still leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, giving nothing away. She couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.
If they waited any longer… would there even be time to save them?
The thought made Fleur's stomach twist.
Any competent wizard could Apparate, crossing a huge distance in the blink of an eye. If the people who'd taken her parents Apparated away, finding them again would be like searching the ocean for a single drop of water. How could she not be anxious?
And this boy, Leonard, had promised. But he'd only sent that sickly-looking man, while he himself hadn't moved an inch.
Could that man really rescue her parents? Fleur didn't think so.
Compared to Leonard, that man was nowhere near as capable. Leonard's ambush had left one dead and the other captured, and the companion's corpse was still lying nearby.
So why wasn't Leonard doing anything?
Unable to hold it in any longer, Fleur gathered her courage, walked up to him, and spoke softly.
"Um… Leonard. When are you going to save my parents?"
Leonard had already heard her footsteps. The moment she spoke, he opened his eyes on instinct.
A faint green sheen colored his gaze, a lively, vivid hue that seemed to pull at Fleur's attention the instant she saw it.
"What are you panicking for? If I said I'd do it, I'll do it," Leonard said sharply.
He was keeping tabs on both Moen and Lehende at the same time. Coming over to talk now was doing nothing but breaking his concentration.
After snapping at her, he closed his eyes again and refocused.
Watching two different places at once already put a heavy strain on him. If he kept his eyes open on top of that, he was afraid his brain would overheat.
Fleur's face went pale.
In all her life, no one had ever raised their voice at her. People always spoke to her carefully, afraid of leaving a bad impression.
Even other girls would hesitate in front of her looks and bearing.
But in front of this boy, none of it mattered in the slightest.
A wave of frustration rose in Fleur's chest, and the flare of anger made her want to slap him.
Then she thought of those eyes, so full of natural vitality, and hesitation crept in, tangled and uncomfortable.
Maybe Leonard really was doing something she couldn't see. Maybe he was only angry because she'd interrupted him.
That idea left Fleur with a small stab of guilt. She glanced at him once more, then quietly returned to her sister.
"Sister, what did the big brother say?" Gabrielle asked in a whisper.
"He's busy. Don't bother him," Fleur whispered back.
"Sister… do you think he can do it?" Gabrielle asked, worry plain in her voice.
Fleur was just as uneasy, but she forced herself to smile anyway.
"Weren't you the one who asked him for help? Why are you asking me?"
"Because I feel like Big Brother Leonard is really amazing."
"Hmph. I think he's just so-so."
"Heehee. Sister, you were the one who went to him first. You think he's amazing too, don't you?" Gabrielle teased.
Fleur hesitated, then muttered, a little too quickly, "…We didn't have any other choice."
She absolutely refused to admit that the boy who had just yelled at her might actually be impressive.
Suddenly, a boom rolled in from the distance.
The unexpected blast made both Fleur and Gabrielle jump.
At the same time, Leonard, still leaning against the tree, curved his mouth into a smile and slowly opened his eyes.
It worked. The Chomping Cabbage had self-destructed.
At that range, it wouldn't kill a half-breed Giant, but it would definitely leave him badly injured.
Among Leonard's talent enhancements, the number of times he could negate magic was four. After devouring the fourth spell, the plant would self-destruct.
The funny part was that [Ability Sharing] gave the plant the ability to cast magic, and that magic could be used three times.
A very convenient number.
It meant each of Leonard's plants could "charge" itself with magic three times, then hop off to find someone to crash into like a walking self-destruct bomb.
That was why Cappadocia's Disarming Charm had triggered the Chomping Cabbage's self-destruction. One blast had nearly taken half of Cappadocia's life with it.
If not for Cappadocia's Giant blood, that hit probably would have finished him.
Leonard released the Forest's Eye talent, and the green faded from his eyes.
He showed no disappointment at all that Cappadocia hadn't died.
That outcome was within his expectations. He'd only used one Chomping Cabbage, and no matter how confident he was, he'd never believed a single self-destruction would be enough to kill someone like that.
If he'd had more Chomping Cabbages, it might have worked, but Moen, the skinny man assigned to cover their approach, simply didn't have the space. His belly wasn't that big. Stuff in more, and it would bulge so obviously it would be impossible to miss.
That would have put the Third Senator on alert, and Moen wouldn't even have been able to get close.
Leonard had already been suppressing the temporary plants' splitting ability. Otherwise Moen wouldn't have managed at all. Three Chomping Cabbages would have swollen him until he burst.
Even if he somehow forced them in, Moen alone still wouldn't have been enough for more Chomping Cabbages. Add one more, and it would basically mean emptying out his abdominal and chest cavities.
No organs left, just a hollow shell. How was Moen supposed to stay alive? How was he supposed to walk up to the Third Senator like that?
Leonard was a wizard, not a necromancer. He couldn't puppeteer a corpse into assassinating someone.
What was truly a shame was that the anti-Apparition Charm in that area hadn't faded yet. Otherwise, Leonard could have grown a whole batch of Chomping Cabbages and used Apparition to launch a suicide-style attack.
If he could have done that, the Third Senator wouldn't have been able to escape.
But with the anti-Apparition Charm in place, the foolproof plan was off the table. Leonard could only force the Third Senator to retreat, buying Fleur's parents a chance to get away.
"All right," Leonard said, turning toward Fleur and Gabrielle. "Your parents have already made it out."
The two sisters were clinging to each other, staring uncertainly toward the rising dust in the distance. That sudden explosion had frightened them half to death.
"What happened over there?" Fleur asked in a small voice.
"Who knows," Leonard said with a shrug. "Probably a gas leak."
Fleur stared at him, offended.
A gas leak? In the middle of nowhere?
Did he think they didn't know how Muggle gas pipes were laid?
Who would run a gas line out here, in the wilderness? So the animals in the forest could cook their dinner?
Couldn't he at least say something reassuring?
With hurt in her eyes, Fleur glared at Leonard.