Chapter 158: A Delicate Balance of Trust and Tension
Rocco sighed in his heart.
Sure, Laxus was a schemer—that much was undeniable—but wasn’t Sylas being a little too harsh on someone who had risked his life to protect him?
As Rocco puffed out his cheeks in frustration, Sylas reached out and pinched them again with a firm squish.
Sylas continued to knead and squish Rocco’s cheeks mercilessly, leaving him flustered and teary-eyed, as he fixed a sharp glare on Laxus.
"In any case, I have no intention of accepting your nonsense. You’ll pay for dragging Rocco into this, you worthless scoundrel."
"Oh, come on... ’dragging him into this’ is such an exaggeration. Sure, Rocco’s ended up on the enemy’s radar, but isn’t that all the more reason to rely on the Del Fiore family?"
As the cheek-squishing punishment finally ended, Rocco’s reddened cheeks puffed up as tears welled in his eyes.
Sylas effortlessly scooped him up into his arms as if Rocco weighed nothing.
It seemed Sylas intended to leave, though he maintained a murderous glare at Laxus, as though he would shoot him dead at the slightest provocation.
The Sylas standing there now bore no trace of the original story’s tsundere protagonist.
This was bad... Rocco thought with a sinking feeling.