"Here, it's this one," As he spoke, Will took out a folded paper lantern from his pocket.
Because the Lantern Festival required a large number of paper lanterns, they were designed in a foldable style for easy transport and storage.
To use, one simply needed to expand both sides.
"Sure enough, the monkey entered the peach orchard."
Nacho said faintly, "Then I bet you didn't just steal one, did you?"
"Nacho bro, I only stole this one!"
"Hmm?"
"Okay, five."
"Keep going."
"Maybe a dozen or so. Hey, anyway, there are so many paper lanterns in that warehouse. No one will even notice how many I take."
Will explained, "I planned to steal a few and sell them for money, just as compensation from the Empire for the rent they owe us."
"You sure dream big, huh."
"Right, Nacho bro?"
"Step aside."
"Ow."
Will drooped his head and silently moved to the side.
Nacho then walked to Leon's side and lowered his voice, "I'm guessing you're thinking the same thing I am right now."
Leon glanced at Will in the distance. His hands were stuffed in his pants pockets, boredly kicking pebbles on the ground.
"You mentioned Will last night. I asked Rebecca, and she said this guy's background is hard to look into. I'm worried this brat might crack under pressure and betray us in the heat of the moment," Leon expressed his concern.
Though he didn't particularly dislike this brash, self-proclaimed phantom thief of a hot-blooded youth, the matter was important, and Leon couldn't let personal judgment decide the big picture.
"He definitely won't betray us," Nacho said, "Even though it was hard to investigate, I still managed to dig up Will's background in the past few days. Besides his age and impulsive personality, he's actually quite suitable to join the Lionheart Society."
"Is that so...", Leon said thoughtfully.
"So, what's the plan?"
Nacho asked, "This is the fastest way for us to get our hands on paper lanterns."
After thinking for a moment, Leon spoke calmly, "Take a small team tonight, not too many, to avoid accidents that could harm the Lionheart Society."
"Then bring enough illusion stones. We don't need to steal the paper lanterns out of the warehouse. Instead, we'll hide the illusion stones inside the lanterns right in the warehouse and conceal them using illusion magic. That will save a lot of time."
"Lastly, tally up the number of paper lanterns we collected from other sources. Our goal is to cover every district of the Empire."
Nacho nodded, "Got it. I'll take care of it right away."
"Mm, try to get it done by 3 a.m."
"No problem."
After receiving the order, Nacho turned and walked toward Will.
The two exchanged a few brief words, and then Will excitedly jumped three feet in the air.
"Thank you, Nacho bro!"
Then Will turned back and waved his arm toward Leon, "And thank you too, Leon bro, for giving me this chance."
"Alright, go on now," Nacho pushed his shoulder toward the alley's exit.
"Eh? Leon bro's not coming with us?"
"Obviously. When have you ever seen a boss personally do frontline work?"
"Oh, that's true."
The two gradually walked farther and disappeared into the crowd.
Rossweise turned her eyes sideways toward Leon, smiling warmly, "Honestly, I also thought you were going to handle this yourself just now."
Leon shrugged, "You taught me, being a leader doesn't mean doing everything yourself."
"But you also have to—"
"But you also have to be prepared for the plan to fail and take full responsibility for the consequences," Leon interrupted.
"Hmph, at least you remember well."
A good leader never snatches credit from their followers.
Like this warehouse operation.
Leon was only responsible for devising the plan and strategy. The ones actually executing it were the members of the Lionheart Society.
If the plan succeeded, it was a collective effort by Leon and everyone in the Society.
But if it failed, Leon would not shift the blame onto Nacho and the others.
Just like what he and Rossweise discussed earlier, this was the pressure of being a leader. He would take full responsibility for failure.
And Rossweise would always stand by his side.
"So, what are we doing now?", Rossweise asked.
Leon thought for a moment, "Let's go check on Teacher Caroline and the others again."
———
[Casmodeous Welfare Home]
The children and several nuns had carried two full crates of paper lanterns to the entrance.
"Good job, kids. We're having stew for dinner~"
"Yay!"
"Teacher Caroline is the best!"
Everyone cheered and ran to the cafeteria, ready for the once-a-year stew dinner.
Caroline withdrew her gaze from the children and turned to look at Leon at the doorway, "These are the paper lanterns you ordered, sir. We worked overtime and made plenty."
"Mm, thank you for your hard work, Teacher Caroline."
Caroline looked at the disguised old friend before her. Though it was just a fleeting moment, it was enough to bring her comfort.
She didn't know what Leon was planning.
But just like Sharon said, Brother Leon is back. We're saved.
"Teacher Caroline!", Just then, Sharon's voice rang out behind them.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw the little nun running toward the entrance, holding a paper lantern in her hands.
"I... I finished the last lantern. Please, Sir Leo—Sir, please accept it!", Sharon held the lantern out with both hands.
It was already unfolded.
The outside of the lantern was covered with the names of all the teachers and children from Casmodeous Welfare Home, densely packed, nearly filling the whole space.
At the top of the lantern, however, one line was left alone.
That line held only a single name: Leon Casmodeous.
"This paper lantern is..."
"Very meaningful, sir!"
Sharon explained excitedly, "All of us wrote our names on it, and the name at the top... it... it's..."
Perhaps because she was too excited, Sharon began to stutter a little.
Leon naturally noticed the only name written separately at the top of the lantern.
From the handwriting, it looked like it had been written by Teacher Caroline.
At that moment, Leon seemed to realize something.
'Could it be that the teachers have already... recognized me...'
"He is our hero, sir."
Teacher Caroline reached out and gently supported Sharon's wrist, pushing the lantern a little closer to Leon.
"Past, present, and future, he always will be."
"So please accept this paper lantern, it carries the hopes of everyone at Casmodeous Welfare Home."
Leon was certain of the guess in his heart.
But now was not the time to reunite. Too many people, too much attention. Once everything settled, there would naturally be time for an embrace.
Leon looked at the name-covered lantern, and his pupils quivered slightly.
After a moment, Leon reached out and solemnly received it.
"I understand. Thank you, Teacher Caroline, and thank you, Sharon."
"You're welcome, sir."
After a pause, Teacher Caroline smiled, but her tone turned serious and solemn, "Victory in battle."
As a nun, she rarely said the words "Victory in battle" during farewells.
Over the years, only one person had made Caroline say those four words every time they parted.
His name was Leon.
He was the most outstanding child she ever taught.
———
In the early hours before dawn, Nacho returned to the Lionheart Society with a group of people.
Will followed behind.
Judging by the smug smile on the phantom thief's face, it looked like they had succeeded.
"Walker, take this kid to get familiar with the place."
"Got it."
Walker left with the curious baby Will.
Nacho went straight to find Leon, who was studying a topographic map of the Empire's five main zones.
"It's all done."
Nacho said, "We embedded illusion stones into every lantern in the warehouse. We also got the exact placement locations for the lanterns on the day of the Lantern Festival: imperial city, upper district, and central district."
"They didn't cover the lower and slum districts?", Leon asked.
Nacho shook his head, "Probably because those two areas aren't 'worthy' of dedicated lanterns in the eyes of the royal family."
Hearing that, Leon snorted.
It sounded absurd, but then again, considering it was the Empire, everything suddenly made sense.
"No worries. The lanterns we gathered through other channels should be enough to cover the lower and slum districts too."
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