After rushing back to the temple and taking a quick shower, Leno forced down the fire in his chest and immediately headed for Cocoyasi Village without stopping.
As for the little girl Aileen, she was sulking and didn't go with him.
By the time he arrived at the front door, Belle-Mère's dissatisfied scolding happened to drift out from inside.
"Didn't I tell you to go find Leno? Why did you come back alone?"
The moment he heard that, Leno's heart sank. 'Crap—Aileen's about to get chewed out again!'
He hurried a few steps and pushed his way inside, raising his voice as he did. "I'm here!"
Seeing Leno arrive, Aileen—who had still been wearing a stubborn, defiant expression just a second ago—immediately ran to his side and spun around to glare at Belle-Mère.
"See?! I told you big brother would be here any second! You just wouldn't believe me!"
Her cheeks were puffed up in anger, clearly hoping her mom would realize she was wrong.
But Belle-Mère only swept her a faint glance and didn't bother with her anymore. Instead, she folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe.
She shot Leno a sideways look, sized him up and down a couple of times, then dragged out her tone and opened with pure sarcasm.
"Oh wow~"
"Well, if it isn't Skypiea's great 'god' himself! What brings you to our little broken-down courtyard today, hm?"
"..."
That single line left Leno frozen on the spot, not even sure how to respond.
All he knew was that she was in a terrible mood, and the best strategy was not to poke the volcano.
However, his silence only made Belle-Mère angrier. What? I can't even speak to you now?
Fine, he didn't bother telling them he was back. But this was already the second day, and they still hadn't even seen his shadow!
Did someone really have to go invite him before he'd show up? Was he that unwilling to see them?
And she'd entrusted her two daughters to this bastard—now it looked like she'd trusted the wrong person!
"Say something! Are you trying to get rid of us poor relatives as soon as possible so you can be your precious god in peace?"
"P-Please stop, Belle-Mère… I was wrong, okay?!"
As her words got heavier and heavier, Leno's heart started pounding along with them, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
His mind spun, and in a panic, he quickly admitted fault and launched into a self-criticism on the spot.
"I really did get carried away—cocky and full of myself. But I promise, I'll never do it again!"
Even he was regretting it now. How the hell had he blanked and thrown everything out of his head like that?
Just yesterday, when he'd sent Hancock back, he'd even seriously reminded her—said she hadn't gone home in a long time and her family must be missing her, and so on.
So how did it come to him, and he forgot something like that completely?
This was way out of line.
"Alright~ He's here now, isn't he? Why say something that harsh?"
At that moment, Genzo walked over. Seeing the atmosphere was off, he hurried to Belle-Mère's side to smooth things over.
Then he looked at Leno with gentle eyes and said with a smile:
"Long time no see, kid~"
It had been so long. No need to blow up over something small and make things unpleasant.
Since her husband had spoken, Belle-Mère didn't say anything more. She only shot Leno a cold glance, then turned and walked away.
"Genzo… big bro~"
His throat felt dry. Leno tugged the corner of his mouth into a smile so ugly it barely counted as one.
Thank god Genzo was here—otherwise, at this meal, he'd have been completely finished.
As if he could see Leno's awkwardness, Genzo stepped up and patted his arm, smiling.
"You know Belle-Mère. She's straightforward to a fault. Sometimes she talks before she thinks—don't take it to heart!"
As he spoke, he placed a hand on Aileen's head—Aileen who'd been pretending to be a quail next to Leno the whole time.
"Come on. Let's go to the dining room—the food's about to get cold!"
"Mm~"
Nodding lightly, Leno followed the father and daughter toward the dining room.
Along the way, Aileen stayed quiet. She didn't say another word, and she didn't demand an apology from her mom anymore, either.
She'd been scared stiff by what she'd just witnessed!
Big brother was so strong he was basically like a god… and her mom had scolded him like he was a little kid for ages, and he didn't even dare talk back!
Remembering how she used to constantly argue and talk back to her mom, Aileen couldn't help but shiver.
After thinking it over for a long while, she finally decided that from now on, she'd try her best to give her mom some slack.
After all… she was her real mom.
Aileen thought that…
When they entered the dining room, they saw Nami and Nojiko sitting properly by the table, their faces a little pale.
Seeing that, how could Leno not understand? Those two sisters probably hadn't escaped Belle-Mère's scolding either.
And he was the root cause of all of it…
He hurried over, reached out with both hands, and held each of the sisters' small hands, apologizing sincerely with a face full of guilt.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault—I made things hard for you!"
By now, Leno understood a little more clearly. The real reason Belle-Mère was so furious was because he hadn't gone home with her daughters.
It was like going to your wife's parents' place—normally, the husband goes with her.
If the wife goes back alone, there's only one message it can send:
Her husband doesn't care about her… or he doesn't love her.
"Leno … my heart hurts…"
Feeling his big hand gripping hers, Nojiko lifted her head, eyes shimmering with tears as she looked at Leno. Even her voice trembled.
Belle-Mère's words just now had stabbed straight into her heart.
She didn't dare imagine it—if Leno didn't love her, what meaning did living even have?
Seeing how close she was to falling apart, Leno's heart ached so badly it felt like it was cramping, and at the same time, he started blaming Belle-Mère in his head.
Fine, scold me—why are you even going after your own daughters too?
That's too much!
But before he could figure out how to comfort Nojiko, Nami at the side was also looking at him with teary eyes, pitiful and wronged.
With both ladies looking at him like that, Leno gritted his teeth and stopped caring about whether this was the right place or time. He bent down and pulled both of them into his arms in one motion.
He pressed their heads to his chest, letting them hear his heartbeat.
"Nojiko, Nami… yeah, I'm a bit of a womanizer, but the feelings I have for you—you should be able to sense them, right~?"
"Don't let a few words deny the bond between us!"
His arms tightened around them. Leno's eyes were bright, his tone firm.
He meant it in his heart as much as he said it aloud.
From the very beginning, he'd decided those two ladies were his women. That thought had never changed!
"Alright, enough with the mushy stuff!"
"Hurry up and eat—the food's getting cold!"
The atmosphere he'd finally managed to build was instantly shattered by Belle-Mère's slightly disgusted voice.
It made Leno a little irritated. What kind of mom does that?
You made your daughters cry. I'm finally about to calm them down, and you come out just to sabotage it?
The meal ended up tasting like nothing. The mood at the table was heavy and stifling, with only Genzo's occasional jokes breaking the silence.
Even Aileen—usually lively and hyper—had become quiet. She could tell something was off.
Everyone around her was someone she couldn't afford to mess with, so she didn't dare act up at a time like this.
After the meal, Belle-Mère wasted no time in shooing Leno and the two sisters out the door again.
Watching Leno walk away, hand in hand with the sisters, Genzo's mouth twitched. He looked at his wife, a little helpless.
"Is this really okay? I feel like the three of them are about to get depressed from how you played them."
"Tch~ You don't get it! You need a strong dose of medicine to make them understand—and strengthen—the feelings between them!"
Waving it off carelessly, Belle-Mère immediately put her hands on her hips, looking proud as she continued:
"Just watch. From now on, that kid Leno will definitely treat those two sisters twice as well!"
"And from now on, nobody's breaking their relationship apart!"
...
...