León stopped. He couldn't beat a man to death in public.
Barcelona might be chaotic, but it was still a society under the rule of law. León had no wish to go inside the Modelo Prison and end up bending over for the soap in the showers!
Wasn't a beauty like Catalina Ferrer sweeter than that?
The fight was over, and all three chancers were on the floor!
Seeing the show was over, the people around drifted off one after another, leaving only the wreckage of the café, and the owner's face turned green at the sight.
"You bastard, don't you know how to walk away from a fight!"
"Look at the state of my shop, how am I meant to do business!"
"Your wages for this month are gone! Eat shite!"
…
A minute ago, when his staff were being bullied, this fella had pulled his head in and not dared come forward, and now he was full of himself.
The more he went on, the angrier León got. He turned sharply, his eyes fixed on the owner.
"Um~"
The owner's voice stopped dead. His face trembled and he couldn't speak. At that moment he finally understood how Tomás el Podrido had felt.
Like being stared at by a wild beast, as if cold water had been poured all over him!
León stared at him coldly, and just as he was about to throw a punch, a pair of warm hands gripped his arm tightly.
"León, don't do anything rash!"
Catalina Ferrer said anxiously, holding León with both hands, her body practically pressed against his.
"Phew!"
Feeling the two soft mounds against his arm, much of the anger in León's heart melted away just in time.
Over the past few days he had found his temper getting shorter and shorter.
Maybe it was this body. After all, it had fought in the Civil War and been left with psychological scars, the so-called after-effects of war, and they were affecting him.
But to get rid of this feeling, he'd have to work on it slowly!
Without another word, León walked straight out of the café. He understood he'd need to find a new job.
"Bloody lad, don't come back once you're gone!"
Watching León's figure walk away, the owner cursed under his breath, making sure León couldn't hear him!
…
"León!"
"Wait for me!"
Walking down the busy street, watching people come and go around him, feeling lost, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
He turned to look. It was Catalina Ferrer, running after him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Why did that skinflint let you leave when the café's busy?" León asked.
"I quit as well!" Catalina said, as if it were obvious.
Under León's odd look, Catalina lowered her head a little in embarrassment and murmured, "After all, it's because of me you lost your job!"
"Sorry!"
"It's fine!" León shook his head and smiled, unconcerned.
Even without this, he wouldn't have stayed there long!
"Don't blame old Puig. He did it for your own good!"
"That Tomás el Podrido is with the Ribes gang. After you beat him like that, his boss won't let it go!"
"If you stayed on at the café, they'd definitely hack you to death!"
"It's better you leave. The Barceloneta's a big place, and it's not all Ribes turf!"
"And the boss asked me to bring you your wages for the last few days as well!"
Catalina walked side by side with León and explained softly.
Hearing this, León nodded slightly and understood what the owner meant.
The fella was a bit tight, but he wasn't a bad man.
The reason he didn't dare step in was that he was afraid for his café. A man with a family and a business who crossed the gangs would never be able to keep his café open.
A man whose rough edges had been worn smooth by life!
Though he'd said he'd dock a month's wages, in the end he'd quietly had Catalina bring León the money!
León had worked at the café for just under ten days; at three hundred pesetas a day, that came to exactly three thousand pesetas!
It could be counted as León's first income in Barcelona in this era!
But it was by no means his first real fortune!
"Where will you go now?"
Catalina asked, walking down the street beside León.
León was 1.85 metres tall, and Catalina was close to 1.7 metres herself. Good-looking as they both were, they looked like a couple, and drew glances every so often.
"I don't know. Find another job first!"
"I'm a man. Anyone with two hands and two feet will never starve!"
León said casually. What bottom-rung job was there that he couldn't do!
A few hundred pesetas a day was only enough to scrape by. If he wanted to get anywhere, he'd have to find opportunities.
"But with no job you can't pay rent. Where will you sleep tonight?"
"The station, the docks, the hospital, a park, anywhere! It doesn't matter!"
In fact León didn't need to rent anywhere; he could rest in his own warehouse, but Catalina didn't know that!
She said urgently, "How can you do that? You'll get sick if you keep that up!"
Then, as if thinking of something else, she slowly lowered her head, looked at her toes as she walked, and said quietly, "Otherwise, you can come and stay at my place for a few days!"
"Eh?"
León stopped and looked at Catalina in surprise.
Had he heard that right?
Catalina was letting him stay with her?
And if you'd looked up from below, you'd have seen Catalina's face had gone a little red, and she didn't dare meet León's eyes.
León looked down, but he couldn't see her face.
"D-don't get the wrong idea!"
"You can sleep on the floor! And once you've found a job and have the rent, you'll leave!"
"After all, you lost your job because of me!"
Catalina explained in a rush, her voice getting smaller and smaller and her face redder and redder!
León: "…"
That night, in a room of about eight square metres, the flat Catalina rented, León lay on the floor.
The floor was cold, but his heart was burning, and he couldn't sleep.
"Catalina, are you asleep?"
"I'm asleep!"
"Rubbish, how are you talking if you're asleep!"
"I'm talking in my sleep!"
"Then I'll sleepwalk tonight!"
"I don't believe you!"
"Want to try?"
"Try it and you're dead!"