Leon (レオン, Reon, Leon[1]) is a bachelor in Rune Factory 4 and Rune Factory 4 Special.
He is the second bachelor to have a monster form, which the protagonist must defeat in order to unlock him and to continue on with the game's plot. Leon's monster form originally hailed from the tower-like temple dungeon known as Leon Karnak, which is situated far West from where Selphia is.
Profile[]
Personality[]
Leon is earnest in everything he does, from work and research to riling up the townsfolk. Shrewd and light-hearted, he sincerely enjoys chaffing people—especially those who, according to him, take everything far too seriously—but it's assuredly all in good fun. He likes a hint of danger in all aspects of his life to spice things up, and is always on the hunt for something to entertain him. Even so, he remains a grounded individual with an undeniable maturity to him. He easily perceives shifts in mood and atmosphere, which is probably what allows him to so deftly steer a conversation and get everyone caught up in his pace. Many of his friends come to him for advice, and he genuinely listens to them, though he doesn't miss any opportunity to introduce some well timed levity. In actuality, he cares deeply about others.
Out of all the Guardians, he seems to be the one who struggles most with mentally reconciling himself with the dramatic change in era, even as he appears fully integrated into his new surroundings and perfectly mingles with the townspeople. He occasionally slips into quiet, contemplative moments, but he rarely mentions his troubles and avoids putting his heart on his sleeve by pulling on everybody's legs. Whenever the conversation seems at risk of taking a graver, more personal tone, he smoothly changes the topic by teasing the opposite party.
Appearance[]
Leon possesses more traits of his monster form compared to any other Guardian. He has fox ears, a fox tail, and runic patterns on his face.
Story[]
Leon was born hundreds of years before the main plot into an unnamed family. He was childhood friends with a girl named Maria, and even promised to marry her eventually. At some point, he became a dragon priest to Ventuswill and would often listen to people's problems. When traversing the Forest of Beginnings at Leon Karnak, it is revealed that Leon chose to sacrifice himself both for his duties and to save Ventuswill as a friend. After being sent off by his friends and family, his body was fused with the earth's runes to keep sending power to Ventuswill, and he thus became the first Guardian.
He slept for centuries until being awoken by either Lest or Frey upon defeating Sarcophagus. Through using a magic ring, the protagonist sends him back to town, allowing him to reunite with Ventuswill. After being brought to town, Leon decides to stay at the inn run by Lin Fa and Xiao Pai. He finds the antics of both the mother and the daughter amusing and quickly takes to teasing them, becoming fairly close to them in the process. However, he sees them more as friends than as family members.
Rune Factory 4 Leon Town Event - A Day In Leon's Life
Events[]
A Day in Leon's Life[]
A Day in Leon's Life is Leon's town event. Leon can be found speaking with Vishnal. They appear to be discussing a book, and Vishnal suggests that he speaks with Kiel, as he is more knowledgeable than he seems.
The following day, Leon talks with Kiel. Kiel asks how he can be more like him, but Leon teases him by saying that he can’t, unless he starts walking around shirtless like he does! Leon then asks him about the book, and Kiel mentions that he has probably read it, despite it being written in a very old language. He thinks that he even has his own copy, and offers to give it to Leon.
Then, Doug and Dylas can be seen arguing over who spilled Doug’s ice cream. Insults fly, until Leon begins reciting a passage from the book in the background. It tells the story of a happy couple who have “put their hearts side by side” in order to make amends. Confused and irritated, Dylas leaves, and Doug follows shortly after, ending the argument. Leon then muses that Doug and Dylas’ relationship is an example of true “happiness”.
Another day passes and Forte is found confronting Leon about Kiel. Forte worriedly states that Kiel almost walked out of the house shirtless in order to mimic him! Much to her dismay, Leon laughs and insists that what he’s done is harmless.
The next day, Lin Fa asks Leon to go deliver a letter to Arthur. After handing over the letter, Leon explains that the book he translated (from Kiel, called “A Recipe for Happiness”) must have been from a different era than his own. To Leon’s surprise, Arthur says that remakes of the book are quite popular, despite the original being from so long ago. Arthur thanks him for his work, and encourages him to continue translating old texts in order to preserve them. He gifts Leon the modern-day replica of the old text. Leon ponders about how much the world has changed around him during his absence.
Lastly, Leon meets up with Kiel again, giving him the replica as thanks. Kiel suggests that the book may have been written in Leon’s era after all. He states that the author may have chosen to use the ancient language in order to reach out to those who can understand it – ensuring they aren’t forgotten. Lost in thought, Leon changes his mind and asks for the book back, explaining that the book is “calling” to him and asking to be remembered; he wanted to acknowledge its existence.
A Letter From the Past[]
A Letter From the Past is Leon's marriage sub-event. Frey walks into the town plaza to find Kiel, who asks whether she has seen Leon. He says that he’s found pages with text that he wishes to decipher. Some of it is in modern script, but the rest is written in an ancient language. Kiel states that the pages are exact replicas of ones that Arthur owns. Frey offers to find Leon for him. After asking Lin Fa and Xiao Pai, she discovers that Leon - holding two lunchboxes - has gone to Leon Karnak.
Upon arriving at Leon Karnak, Frey spots Leon staring absent-mindedly at the door located at the foot of the tower. She tells him about Kiel and questions him about the lunches, but he explains that there was no one else with him. He just wanted to feel as if someone else was there. He then draws her attention to the old characters on the door and recites their meaning: “Leon” and “Maria”. Maria was Leon’s childhood friend, but she passed away hundreds of years ago. They were very close, and Leon looked after her like they were family. One day, Maria was crying relentlessly, with Leon helpless beside her. In an effort to make her stop, he said that he would do anything for her. Maria asked if she could marry him. He agreed, and so they had carved their names on the door to seal their promise. They were written in the language they were learning at the time. Despite Leon slowly forgetting, Maria had never cried after that, even on the day he became a Guardian. This was the reason why he had told Frey he would never get married, so he wouldn’t trample on Maria’s feelings any more than he already has.
Leon asks Frey whether she still loves him, even after learning about Maria. He wasn’t planning on telling anyone about her, but he wanted Frey to know. Frey reassures him that this is a side of him that she hadn’t discovered yet. She tells Leon that she loves him dearly, so she is open to learning about his past. Leon appreciates her feelings and teases Frey, saying that he’s learnt a lot from being together. But… he is saddened that he cannot get any closer to her.
After some time has passed, Leon receives the pages from Kiel and begins translating the text, but he appears troubled. Two days later, Arthur asks Frey whether something has happened between her and Leon, as Leon wanted to take a break from translating. This is very unlike him to push work aside, so Arthur suggests asking Kiel to see if he knows anything. Kiel mentions that Leon had stopped translating from the first page, so maybe he couldn’t read the rest? Frey offers to retrieve the pages from Kiel’s room in an attempt to read it herself. The contents of the page Leon translated are exactly the same as the events about Leon and Maria. However, they appear to be numbered, as if coming from a story. When Frey flips the pages over, she finds Leon’s handwriting: “I can’t read this anymore”. Confused, Frey decides to ask Leon about it. Shocked to hear how she knows about his translations, Leon tells her that it was mostly likely written by Maria herself, as only they knew about their promise. He admits that he was scared to read any further, not wanting to learn anything about how Maria lived after he became a Guardian. Did she live a miserable life, clinging to that promise they made that day? Leon tells Frey that he has to suppress his feelings for her, but it’s becoming too difficult. He feels as if there’s a war raging inside of him, with no end in sight. Needing time to recollect his thoughts, he asks Frey to leave him alone for a while.
The next day, Frey walks into the inn to see a worried Xiao Pai. She explains that Leon has been very upset lately, but Frey dejectedly admits that she can’t do anything to cheer him up. However, Xiao Pai explains that she should try to help him out in any way that she can, as no one can take on everything by themselves. Determined, Frey heads upstairs to confront Leon about her concerns. At the sight of her, Leon tries to push Frey away again, but she refuses. She couldn’t bear to look at him suffering and just do nothing. She tells him that Maria probably felt the same way: always wanting to do something for him. Leon is taken aback, but then slowly smiles. Her stubbornness gave him a little strength. He decides to find Kiel again and continue his translation.
When reading the text, they find riddles that hint to specific locations. Leon suggests that these pages belong to a book, and if they went to each location mentioned, they would find a continuation of it. Page after page, they begin to piece together Maria’s life story. Even after her parents passed, she never cried. People began seeing her as cold-hearted and mean, unknowing of her promise. Every time Maria felt the urge to cry, she would visit their name carvings. Time passed, until she grew old. A friend of hers asked what would make her happy, and she simply replied: “for ‘him’ to come back”. But, she knew that this would never happen. Nothing she had back then was still with her – not even Leon. With tears streaming down her face, she disappeared, only wishing for ‘him’ to disappear as well.
In a spout of anger, Leon questions why no one was there to protect or understand her. He blames himself for going back on his words, binding Maria to a promise that he didn’t keep. In the end, he felt that it was only natural for her to want him to disappear. He calms down slightly and apologises for the sudden outburst. To Frey’s surprise, he becomes fixated on finding Kiel in order to report his findings. A day passes, and Frey worries about Leon. She asks for advice from Xiao Pai, and eventually finds Leon at the lake. The moment she brings up Maria’s book, he abruptly shouts and tells her to forget everything. To his surprise, she refuses and instead embraces him. Frey repeatedly tells him how much she loves him, and how she only wants him to be happy. Leon falls silent, unable to respond.
Suddenly, Kiel comes rushing in to say that he’s discovered something new about the pages. He states that the page they initially thought was the first, was actually the second. They had found the second to fifth pages, but hadn’t found the first. Leon and Frey then agree to look for the first page, at the most important location to him: Leon Karnak. They dig it up, and find out that Maria had disappeared to pursue her own happiness. She had broken their promise, but had found someone she truly loved. She even became an author, writing the book “A Recipe for Happiness”, which she specifically wrote in the ancient language – the language she and Leon first learned together. Even if Maria had moved on, she wished for him to find what truly makes him happy. The pages were to only act as a reminder of her existence.
Tearful, Leon reminisces the past, saying that “A Recipe for Happiness” was definitely written by someone living a joyous and fulfilling life. He then reveals his true feelings to Frey. He says that he can face her properly now - even when they began dating, his heart was somewhere else. However, Frey also tells him that she felt the same, as she knew that he was burdened by something, but she was afraid to bring it up. They agree to start anew, and Leon asks Frey to marry him. After saying yes, he tells her that he doesn’t want to break anymore promises, and that he would protect her for the rest of his life.
Spell Upgrading[]
Leon can upgrade spells for you once he has been rescued. It should be noted that musical spells (which allow your party members to perform at higher levels) and weapon skills (that allow you to perform a special move based on your current weapon) will be accepted as a gift, as Leon cannot upgrade those. Also, you must have the item in your bag for him to upgrade the spell - this is not treated as a quest, but more of an exchange where the upgrade is performed on the spot or not at all. The costs for upgrading spells to each level are as follows (with the base as level 1):
| Level | Item requested |
|---|---|
| 1 | [Spell base] |
| 2 | 500G |
| 3 | 3000G |
| 4 | Sapphire |
| 5 | Platinum |
| 6 | Orichalcum |
| 7 | Turnip's Miracle |
| 8 | Dragonic Stone |
| 9 | Rune Crystal |
| 10 | Small Crystal |
Requests[]
Relationships[]
Being a former Guardian, Leon is naturally an old friend of Ventuswill, and he teases her only as much as he loves her. He feels that formality doesn’t suit her in the slightest, although it was certainly an amusing sight to him while it lasted. She finds his cockiness insufferable, but cherishes him dearly as a friend.
Leon gets along well with all of the bachelors. Leon often winds up Dylas because he’s so grumpy and finds his squabbles with Doug doubly entertaining. He notes that Vishnal is extremely gullible, which makes him a prime target for his teasing. He shares a business relationship with Arthur, who sees through him more easily than most, but also enjoys his company outside of work. Kiel especially looks up to him, and Leon pulls his leg not only because Kiel’s innocence makes it easy for him, but also because it gets a reaction out of his overprotective sister, Forte. However, it is easy to see that Leon is softer on Kiel than on others.
Because he stays at the inn, Leon also builds a rapport with Lin Fa and Xiao Pai. Since they’re such an eccentric pair, they never fail to amuse him with their antics, and they are just as easy to make fun of. As he does with others, he maintains a relatively polite distance from them, being especially respectful towards Lin Fa, as she is technically an ‘elder’ (which she takes offence at and he regrets ever saying). In spite of that, however, both of them end up learning how to read him fairly well, and while they never become as close as family, they share a good friendship.
Gifts[]
| Loved | Ah...! Are you sure I can have this? I'm surprised you knew that I love this. Ha ha! Thank you! This is my ＋favorite＋ dish. Hmm, when should I have it? |
| Grilled Lamp Squid, Salted R. Trout | |
| Liked | Ah, ＠アイテム９＠. May I have it? Thank you. I ＋really like＋ grilled seafood. Ah, I smell the scent of grilled seafood! Is this for me? Thank you. I find all kinds of ＋cooked seafood＋ to be ＋tasty＋. Ah, thank you. I like item. I find the ＋numbing tingle＋ in the spice to be quite exciting. Ah, is this for me? I ＋like exciting foods＋ almost as much as I like grilled seafood. Thank you. Ah, ＠アイテム９＠! Thank you. If this was grilled and salted, I could ask for nothing more. Ah, ＠アイテム９＠! Thank you! Did you know that this is slightly poisonous to eat? |
 Rainbow Trout, Grilled Snapper, Grilled Gibelio,  Charm Blue,  Rainbow Sashimi,  Lamp Squid Sashimi, Grilled S.Flounder, Grilled Shrimp, Salted Char, Salted Chub, Grilled Snapper, Grilled L. Snapper, Grilled Skipjack, Grilled Mackerel, Salted Pike, Grilled Turbot, Grilled F.Flounder, Grilled Squid, Lamp Squid, Rainbow Sashimi, Pom-Pom Grass
| |
| Neutral | Item? May I have it? Mushrooms can be amusing. Some have poison, some don't. Item? May I have it? Thank you. You want to give this to me? Thank you. Item? If you're giving it away, I'll take it. Ah, item. I'll take it. Thank you. |
 Salmon Onigiri, Pickled Turnip, Hot Chocolate, Boiled Egg, Glazed Yam, Grape Liqueur, Boiled Pumpkin, Masu Trout, Squid, Salmon, Cherry Salmon,  Moondrop Flower, Elli Leaves,  Pink Cat, Cherry Grass, Lamp Grass, Blue Crystal, Ironleaf, Super Ironleaf, 4-Leaf Clover, Noel Grass, Autumn Grass,  Antidote Grass, Ayngondaia Lawn, Char Sashimi, Salmon Sashimi,  Squid Sashimi,  Poison Powder,  Spore,  Poison King
| |
| Disliked | Is this for me? I'm afraid item is too bland for me. ... What do you expect me to do with this? |
Milk Porridge, Hot Milk,  Milk (S),  Milk (M),  Milk (L),  Failed Dish,  Scrap Metal,  Rare Can,  Can,  Object X,  Weeds
|
Battle[]
| Lv | HP | ATK | DEF | M.ATK | M.DEF | STR | VIT | INT |
| 22 | 2950 | 358 | 32 | 150 | 24 | 112 | 48 | 150 |
| Weapon Type | Default | Shield | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spear | Halberd | ー | ||||||
Schedule[]
Leon can be seen fishing during most mornings near the pond in Selphia's residential area.
Gallery[]
Sprites[]
Trivia[]
- Leon is the oldest bachelor in Rune Factory 4.
- Leon shares the same birthday as Mana from Rune Factory 2.
- Leon has the same voice actor as James from Rune Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny.
- During the Buddy Battle, Leon's team is the strongest the protagonist faces. They are an Arch-Daemon and a Little Emperor, both found in Leon's domain of Leon Karnak.
- Leon will upgrade magic scrolls for money, gems and rare items, depending on the level of the scroll. However, he will not upgrade rune abilities.
- The two foxes with Leon at Leon Karnak are named Uno and Sano.
- His full name is Leon Bastet VIII. It was revealed in Rune Factory 4's Official Comic in Nintendo Dream.
- Coincidentally, the name "Leon" is backwards of "Noel", the official name for the potential male child of the player.
- Of all the bachelors and bachelorettes, Leon is the only one not to be listed in the instructions booklet that comes with the game on the heroes/heroines pages. This is likely just an oversight, seeing how the spacing of the bios for each bachelor and bachelorette would have required Leon to be on a completely new page.
- Nicknames the female protagonist can call him after the confession event are Darling, Leo, Mr. Leon, Leo-Leo and Sir Leon. Nicknames he offers to call you are Love, You, Li'l <Name>, My Lady and Princess <Name>.
References[]
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