Right now, Luca was staring at a massive boulder in front of them—easily twice his height and weighing dozens of tons at least.
It sat in the middle of the forest like a formidable sentinel, and since there were no other boulders nearby, it was quite distinctive.
Leona stood beside him, also studying the rock—though she had a sledgehamr in her hands that she was clearly struggling to hold.
She’d even put on the safety glasses Luca had given her during their gun shooting training, and with her determined expression, she suddenly looked like a construction worker ready to demolish a building.
Luca stared at the boulder for a long mont, then turned to her with clear confusion written across his face.
"Leona...why exactly are we here?" He asked, gesturing at the giant rock.
"I thought we were supposed to help out the village by doing so unfulfilled deed or whatever the elders wanted. What does staring at this thing have to do with anything?"
Leona nodded confidently.
"Yes! That’s exactly why we’re here, Luca." She pointed at the boulder with conviction. "One of the village’s strongest wishes is breaking down this massive boulder right here."
Luca blinked, completely caught off guard.
"Wait, what?"
Seeing his confusion, Leona patted the boulder’s surface.
"You see this rock? It’s actually been here for hundreds and hundreds of years. Even my grandmother rembers seeing it in this exact sa spot."
Then she frowned as she added,
"But no one in the village likes it. They want to get rid of it at all costs."
Luca raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite himself.
"What kind of grudge do they have with this boulder? Don’t tell it crushed soone and now everyone wants revenge or sothing."
Leona shook her head with a small smile.
"Oh no, nothing that drastic." She took a breath. "It’s just that gor a long ti, the elders in this village have believed in the placent of certain objects and the spirituality behind it."
"They think the life vitality of the forest flows in specific patterns—so a ho should be built in one location but never in another, that sort of thing."
"Like feng shui." Luca said, recognizing the concept from his own world.
"Exactly—even though I don’t what that is."
Leona said before looking at the rock and said in an annoyed manner,
"And apparently this rock is completely out of place and shouldn’t be here at all."
"According to the elders, there should be a flower garden here instead, which would boost the village’s luck and potential for growth."
She crossed her arms.
"Since this boulder has been here for so long, the elders have convinced themselves that it’s been the reason behind every problem the village has ever faced."
Luca gave her a peculiar look. "Don’t tell you actually believe this nonsense."
Leona imdiately shook her head, waving her hand dismissively.
"Of course not! As much as I respect the elders, even I know this is complete nonsense. They’re just trying to shift the bla onto this poor boulder."
She looked at the rock almost sympathetically, as if she felt bad for all the negative thoughts directed its way.
Luca couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculous the sight was.
"But of course..." Leona continued with a sigh. "...there’s no convincing the elders otherwise."
"And since the village has been going through problems recently, everyone’s been on edge and genuinely believes this boulder is the cause."
She adjusted the hamr on her shoulder, which she was surprisingly managing to hold despite its obvious weight.
"So that’s why we’re here—to break this rock down and smash it into pieces. The villagers have tried before and failed, but now..."
She grabbed his hand with a proud smile, looking like she’d secured the best worker possible.
"Now we have you by our side! With your incredible strength, we can tear this boulder down together!"
Luca looked at the boulder, then at the hamr in her hand, then around the clearing like he was searching for another tool before saying,
"Wait—if we’re supposed to smash the boulder, where’s my hamr? There’s only one here."
Leona’s face turned awkward, a blush creeping across her cheeks.
"Well...the truth is, the village only has one sledgehamr, and this is it."
She patted it sheepishly and said,
"So you’ll have to...deal with this on your own."
Luca looked at her in complete dismay.
"But—!" Leona said in a fluster, waving her free hand. "You don’t have to worry about tools! After all, you’re a Hero!"
She patted his back reassuringly, then threw a few practice punches into the air.
"You can just punch the boulder and smash it into pieces—just like you did with that log the other day! It shouldn’t be a big deal!"
But as she was punching with one hand while holding the heavy hamr in the other, she lost her balance completely.
She stumbled forward, and for a horrifying second, she realized both she and the hamr were falling—and the hamr was falling directly toward her.
Just as she thought her day was going to end in the most embarrassing way possible, Luca moved.
He caught her with one arm, pulling her safely into his embrace, while his other hand effortlessly caught the falling hamr.
Looking down at Leona, who was deeply flushed with embarrassnt, Luca gave her a teasing smile.
"You’ve never actually used a sledgehamr before, have you?"
Her ears turned bright red.
"Well...I tried to use one in the past." She admitted in a shy voice, fidgeting with her hands. "But the other villagers wouldn’t let . They said I was the future Matriarch, that I was royalty, so I shouldn’t be doing such work." She looked away. "This is...actually my first ti holding one."
Luca chuckled softly, the sound warm and fond.
"Well, that’s more than enough to tell I’m not letting you use the sledgehamr."
He said and casually tossed the heavy tool aside, letting it thud harmlessly into the soft grass a few feet away.
Leona blinked, still a little flustered as she steadied herself on her own two feet.
"But at least you can use the hamr, right, Luca?" She asked quickly. "I think there’s no need to throw it away."
Luca shook his head, stepping over to the boulder. He reached out and gently touched its rough surface, running his fingers along the dense stone.
"Even if you use the hamr, it won’t really work out." He told her.
"What?" Leona followed him, surprise written across her face.
"This is basalt or sothing like it." Luca explained, tapping the rock.
"It’s an extrely dense and hard volcanic rock that absorbs impacts really well. Without specialized equipnt, breaking a boulder this size with just a hamr would be basically impossible."
Leona’s face fell, worry clouding her features.
"What are we going to do now? I thought we could finally fulfill the elders’ wish today and get rid of this rock..." She looked genuinely upset. "Now they’re going to keep worrying about it constantly."
Before she could spiral into anxiety, Luca waved his hand reassuringly.
"It’s all right. We don’t need the hamr."
He pointed at himself, then at her, a confident smile spreading across his face as he announced,
"Instead, both of us can just lift it together."
Leona looked at Luca like he’d just said the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"Luca...what are you even talking about?"
She gestured at the boulder in utter dismay saying,
"How is that even possible? Just look at it! Look at how massive it is!"
"This entire thing probably weighs more than ten thousand chickens—or—or a hundred thousand individual eggs! How are we supposed to lift sothing like that?"
Luca tilted his head, montarily distracted.
"Do elves not have proper asurents for weight? Do you actually asure everything by chickens and eggs?"
Leona’s cheeks flushed a soft pink. She fidgeted with the hem of her dress, suddenly looking anywhere but at him.
"Of course we do have proper asurents." She muttered, embarrassed. "But...I’ve been recently influenced by Lulu and her ridiculous love of chickens. It’s rubbed off on quite a lot."
She gave a small, sheepish smile and added,
"Besides, it’s much more fun to asure things in weird ways. It gets so boring doing the sa old calculations over and over again."
Luca couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped him.
This was such a stark contrast to the usual cold, composed matriarch he knew—seeing her suddenly sound so playful and childish made sothing warm bloom in his chest.
Leona shook her head quickly, forcing herself back to the point.
"Anyway." She said firmly. "Lifting this thing is impossible. We can’t do that."
But Luca just looked up at her with calm, steady eyes as he said,
"What you’re saying is true, Leona. I really can’t lift this thing alone. It’s way too much even for ."
For a heartbeat, Leona thought everything was over. Her shoulders sagged in defeat.
But then Luca stepped closer, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. His gaze held a quiet resolution that made her pulse skip.
"But when you’re involved—when you’re helping —I’m pretty sure both of us can lift it together."
She blinked, stunned.
"What do you an?" She asked, voice rising. "How am I supposed to lift sothing like this when I’m so weak?"
Hearing this, he had a look of exaggerated offence like he heard the most ridiculous lie and couldn’t help but exclaim,
"What are you talking about, Leona?! How could you call yourself weak?!"
"...Just look at those arms of yours!"
He pointed at them admiringly, then reached out and poked the slender muscle beneath her sleeve.
"Look at how toned you are! You may look slender, but I’m pretty sure if you really flexed, your muscles would bulge so much they’d rip right through your clothes!"
"Stop it, Luca!" Leona laughed, thoroughly embarrassed. "That’s ridiculous! There’s no way sothing like that could happen!"
"Just flex for ." Luca said confidently. "Co on, give a pose like this."
He struck a classic bodybuilder pose, both arms raised and flexed.
She wanted to refuse. This was absurd. She was the matriarch, not so village strongman showing off at a festival.
But his grin was infectious, and before she knew it, she had bent her arms awkwardly and squeezed her biceps.
Luca’s eyes immidietly went wide.
"There! See that? Those muscles are BULGING! If I didn’t know you were the village Matriarch, I’d think you were a professional bodybuilder!"
Leona’s face burned, but she couldn’t help smiling.
"I-It’s really not that impressive."
"Not impressive? Not impressive?!" He stepped back, gesturing for more. "Give another pose. Sothing stronger. Show what you’ve really got."
She hesitated for only a mont before striking a pose of her own—arms raised, muscles tensed, her whole body radiating confidence she didn’t know she had.
Luca applauded. "AMAZING! Look at that definition! You’re incredible!"
He asked for another, then another.
And each ti she obliged, growing bolder, and each ti he showered her with genuine complints—how toned her shoulders were, how powerful her back looked, how she carried strength like it was second nature.
Finally he clapped his hands together, beaming.
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! You truly are a woman among won. Not only are you gorgeous, but you’re so strong as well!"
Leona was completely swept up in the praise. Her confidence soared to the moon, and she puffed up her chest, hands on her hips like a mighty warrior.
"Well, it’s not that big of a deal!"
She said nonchalantly, even as her heart swelled with pride.
"It’s only natural I’d gain muscle—I’ve been helping everyone out in the village, and there’s a lot of physical work that demands strength."
She rubbed her nose, trying to look casual.
"I’ve been trying to hide it until now, but it seems like you’ve figured it out. What can I do?"
She sighed like it was such a burden, even though she was glowing with happiness inside.
Luca watched her, barely holding back a grin at how adorably she was soaking it all in.
But then reality crept back in. Leona’s expression faltered. She looked at the boulder again, suddenly nervous.
"But still...no matter how strong I may be to the extent that I think maybe I got the bloodline of an orc or a giant in ..."
She trailed off with a thoughtful frown.
"I don’t think I can lift this. This is too much even for ."
But Luca quickly cut her off, voice warm and reassuring.
"Don’t worry about it, Leona. Just trust when I say that you’ll definitely help out."
Before she could argue, he crouched down beside the boulder and slid both hands underneath its massive base, positioning himself like he was truly about to lift it.
"Now go on to the other side." He instructed. "We’ll both lift it together at once. Bring it up together—and it can be done."
He said it with such full confidence that Leona, despite her hesitation, decided to go for it.
She moved to the opposite side and gripped the rock as firmly as she could.
"Ready, Leona?" Luca asked.
She nodded, heart pounding.
"Now lift!" He burst out, voice full of energy. "Lift! Lift with all your might!"
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