The crowd was eager to see Icarus dance at nighttime; it would be the best event of the harvest festival, and the news of it was already spreading like wildfire throughout the town.
However, Leon should be feeling joy, but life was never that easy.
There are dangers in suddenly possessing this much money, the moment Klaus Feuillâtre bestowed his generosity upon him, it only drew unwanted attention.
"Mister Feuillâtre, I'll do whatever it takes and meet you at the Więźni exam!" Leon shouted, and Klaus Feuillâtre looked at him one last time.
"I'm expecting good things from you, Leon…" he said, before being escorted by his consorts, the sorcerers working for the House of the Phoenix… who were wearing a striking red and black uniforms.
I wouldn't be surprised if this child wastes the coin I gave him; it would be a miracle if he uses this opportunity to pursue his dream.
He'll spend it on some sort of dr—…
Klaus stops on his tracks as Icarus pecks him on the head:
"Hey, hey! Stop it!"
He calmed himself down, then sighed.
"Time will tell." Klaus left the scene, while Leon watched him with vigilant eyes.
Leon carefully examined his money purse; it was overflowing with 20 Złoty coins and 60 groszys.
It did not help that the silver Złoty coins were a little larger than the bronze groszys, making them difficult to pocket.
"I have never seen this much money in my life, how do I explain this to mama and papa?"
It was bulging and suffocating.
Leon snapped back to his senses.
The boy's eyes darted around the crowd, and he realized that his current belongings might have caught someone's interest with malicious intent.
He had to leave, head home, and hide these coins safely.
Leon went out of there as soon as possible, turning street to street, running past bustling shops and children playing with their families.
There was music in the air, the Taniec Ognistego Feniksa; it was a famous folk song that was sung during the harvest festival.
Dedicated to the house of the Phoenix that Mister Feuillâtre was from.
As Leon was rushing away from the crowd, his heart was slowly realizing the danger he was in with its rhythmic beating, while his ear kept hearing the folk song being sung by ladies in dark red and white dresses.
The boy could hear the lyrics "O, Feniksie!" and "Tancerzu w płomieniach!" echoing throughout the streets.
Leon felt their gazes somewhere in the shadows of the crowd, he glanced over his shoulder with every opportunity he could, clutching his pouch with a tight hold, and using stalls to hide his tracks.
"I'm almost there!"
But on his way home… he saw three figures wearing casual clothing blocking his way, one chunky boy and a skinny boy, but those two don't compare to the muscular boy in the middle of them; their attention was all fixed on Leon.
And Leon knows who they are, a bunch of trouble makers.
The town thugs!
"Hey, Obcy! It's the festival! How about you bless us?" The muscular boy named Knuck stepped forward with an imposing presence.
"Sh*t…" Leon said calmly before bolting towards the opposite direction weaving through the crowd without hesitation.
"Obcy is running away!" remarked the skinny fellow named Scarnwy; they sharply followed Leon's behind.
Mister Feuillâtre! I hoped you realized that it was a bad idea to flash coins in public! I'm in big trouble! I was too excited to even notice it much earlier!
Leon screamed internally as he felt the fat stack of coins in his pouch hindering his movements as he fled his pursuers.
I will never see this much coins in my life ever again! I cannot lose it!
The game of cat and mouse prolonged as Leon maneuvered throughout the town of Brzenina; he only wished to go straight home, but with three coordinated thugs coming after him, all of Leon's paths were effectively cut off!
Why won't these idiots leave me alone?!
Leon didn't even realize that he was being lured into an inescapable corner!
The backstreets of a secluded alley!
Leon reached a dead end, ironic really, considering he had been planning to rob someone himself, only to find that today, it was he who was about to get robbed by the thugs.
"Is this what they call karma?!" Leon did something with the coin pouch, as some of it was dropping on the ground; for some reason he opened his pants in a haste.
Leon hid part of the coins somewhere the thugs wouldn't dare check.
He was moaning mad, groaning as he was busy securing something before quickly dressing himself up again, as behind him, the thugs were closing in.
"Obcy! Hand over the money, or we'll squash you like a bug!" screamed the fat thug named Ralts while pointing his finger at Leon.
"Not a fat chance! "Leon replied back sharply, putting his fist in a stance, he was ready to fight for what belonged to him.
Scarnwy and Knuck were getting closer.
"Look, Obcy dropped some of the coins on the ground!" commented skinny Scarnwy, laughing and giggling at Leon's clumsiness.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Leon was smiling, despite being cornered.
Knuck ran his hand through his face out of frustration, "What can you realistically do? You're weak."
"I'm not—" Leon tried to murmur something in return, but Knuck leaned closer, curious to what the boy wanted to say.
"I'M NOT WEAK! I'M JUST MALNOURISHED!"
"The audacity of this brat!" Knuck was the first to swing, but Leon was agile on his feet.
He ducked under the swing and then moved to the side, then, Knuck paused as he felt the coins beneath his feet; they were all the 60 groszys!
He was confused on why Leon would drop all these coins, though it caught his attention just enough to give Leon a chance to get away.
The fattest thug tried to catch up, but Leon kicked his foot, causing him to go off balance and hit the skinny thug with him like a domino.
"Come on! Is that all you've got? " Leon taunted, trying to buy time as he searched for an escape route.
The alley was narrow with walls on either side, but Leon noticed a stack of crates near the far end.
With a sudden burst, he sprinted toward them while knocking over a few to create a barrier, although he was moving weirdly, almost as if something was caught between his pants!
The coins jiggled inside his pouch, but no one could see exactly how many or where.
"Get him!" Knuck bellowed, he was furious.
"This is it! I can make it out!" Leon ran towards the alley's exit, but just as he was reaching freedom, behind the back of an unseen wall, someone put their booted foot out in the way of Leon's momentum, causing him to stumble, crashing onto the cobblestones.
Thud!
"OWWIEEE!" Leon cried out in pain as his face and upper body slammed hard against the ground.
"Where does this Obcy think he's going?" it was Kasia Wiśniewska, who followed them all this time, waiting for the perfect opportunity for payback.
Chapter End.