127 Two Bread Sandwiching Cheese
Will didn’t think of himself as a thief.
He never stole from ordinary people. No, he only targeted the wealthy, especially the noble folks who strolled around the Central District.
So, what he did was commonly known among the people as—
Robbing the rich to give to the poor.
Of course, Will was only robbing the rich to help his own poor self.
Just like that couple showing off their affection on the street, they certainly looked like they came from an upper-class family.
They might even be royalty!
Despite their ordinary clothes, every gesture of theirs screamed elegance and decorum.
After ten years in the Central District, Will could easily spot the rich from a mile away.
And once again, the fact proved that “thief” Will had hit the jackpot.
Thanks to his stellar grasp of maps, he easily shook off the two bumbling fools.
Before ditching them, he overheard the guy yelling something about lightning and whirlwind—
Ha, how cringy!
“I’m past those teenage fantasies, and he hasn’t moved on yet.”
That was Will’s sincere opinion about the man who had just face-planted into a pile of cardboard boxes.
After putting some distance between them, making sure they weren’t hot on his heels, Will found a corner and opened the newly acquired wallet.
The sight of it brimming with gold coins almost blinded him.
“Wow, no way! I won’t make this much even after twenty years of being a warehouse manager!”
Will chuckled smugly, “Told you this time I didn’t steal wrong. This must be the bl**d and sweat money those royal jerks are squeezing out of us common folks!”
Just as he was about to stash away his bounty from this glorious robbery, he suddenly recalled what that mysterious man had said to him:
“Kid, wanna join the Lionheart Association? Pull off something big as your initiation.”
Initiation.
Will knew what that meant.
Back in his street-rat days, when he was around eleven or twelve, joining a gang meant doing something big to prove yourself. Otherwise, forget about it.
Rumor had it that the Lionheart Association was a revolutionary organization established by the Empire’s previous strongest Dragon Slayer, Leon Casmod.
It was filled with ambitious folks daring to defy fate.
Though the Empire had marked them with charges like “treason” and “rebellion,” everyone knew how the Empire treated common people.
Will had always admired Leon Casmod’s reputation, which was why he wanted to join the Lionheart Association.
But this organization was shrouded in mystery; for a long time, he only knew that a beggar named Nacho, who often hung around the Central District, might be a member.
So he had been pledging his loyalty in front of Nacho all this time.
But Nacho always brushed him off with a laugh.
But this time—
Will weighed the wallet in his hand.
“This initiation sure carries some weight, Nacho. Let’s see how you reject me this time.”
Just as Will was gloating, he suddenly heard a male voice from above,
“Hey kid, have you had enough, or are you going to give the wallet back?”
Will jumped and quickly looked up.
There stood the dummy whose wallet he had stolen, perched on a low wall, arms crossed, looking down at him like a hawk.
Will instinctively took two steps back, a cold sweat trickling down his brow,
“d*mn… how did he catch up so fast?”
The speed wasn’t the main issue; the real problem was that this guy had managed to show up silently right in front of Will.
This made Will, who fancied himself a “master thief,” feel a little pressure.
“Ha, if you want it back, let’s see if you have what it takes.”
With that, Will turned to make his escape.
But just as he took a step, he saw a tall, elegant figure blocking his path ahead.
With black hair swaying in the wind, a straight-backed beauty stood with her arms crossed.
Even though her face showed no expression, the silver in her eyes radiated a formidable aura.
Will nervously swallowed, then quickly changed direction, dashing down another path.
Roswiser sauntered over in her high heels,
“Looks like he doesn’t know when to hit a wall head-on.”
Leon jumped off the low wall, hands on his hips, joining Roswiser in watching Will’s fleeing silhouette.
He narrowed his eyes, gauged the distance, and said,
“Do we need to keep this going? I feel like I’ve already won.”
“Don’t jinx it or you might trip over your own tongue.”
“Please, I found him first! If I hadn’t cared about your experience, I would’ve ended this race ages ago.”
Roswiser rolled her eyes at him, “Until it’s over, nobody knows who will win. Keep going.”
With that, she turned to head down another path.
Leon chuckled and also turned to move in the opposite direction of Roswiser.
Meanwhile, Will was still running for his life.
“Looks like I underestimated these royal folks. They must have had training; otherwise, there’s no way they could catch up to me so quickly!”
Thinking this, Will quickened his pace, trying to put as much distance between him and those two as possible.
Unfortunately, the once-famed master thief was stumbling now.
A few minutes later, Will dashed into an alley.
Just when he thought he had successfully shaken off the man and woman, a familiar voice called out from around the corner,
“Running, huh? Why aren’t you running anymore?”
As soon as the words dropped, Leon appeared right in front of Will, blocking his path.
Will clenched his teeth and spun around to flee.
But his retreat was already blocked by the black-haired woman.
The couple had trapped the thief like a sandwich of bread around cheese.
Will looked left and right, and then pressed his back against the wall, trying to avoid a sneak attack from either one.
Little did he know, the couple didn’t even need to sneak attack him to take him down.
They slowly approached each other, ultimately standing side by side, then turned to face the cornered Will.
“Looks like I win,” Roswiser declared.
“Nonsense, I won!”
“Hmph, then… rock-paper-scissors?”
“Bring it on, I’m not scared of you!”
And just like that, an absolutely dumbfounding scene unfolded.
These two morons could smoothly chase him down and still have the energy for a game of rock-paper-scissors!
Are you even human?
I’m here playing tag with you!
As the couple played rock-paper-scissors, Will sneaked a glance at the alley exit.
He knew he couldn’t outrun these two, but at that moment, someone appeared who could potentially save his skin.
“N-Nacho!!”
Will lunged towards the beggar who just happened to be passing by, as if he had found a lifesaver.
Originally, Nacho was just wandering around the Central District in disguise as a beggar, hoping to gather some useful intel.
But hearing Will’s voice, he felt an intense urge to throw himself off a cliff.
What was up with this hot-blooded kid who just wouldn’t give up!
“Nacho!”
Will reached Nacho, hurriedly pulling out the wallet he had just stolen from Leon,
“Look, look at this! I stole it from a royal. It can serve as my initiation into the Lionheart Association, right?”
Nacho eyed the wallet, suddenly stunned.
This wallet… looks strangely familiar.
“Where are the ‘royals’ you mentioned?” Nacho asked.
“Over there! Those two!” Will pointed deep into the alley.
The couple, momentarily paused from their rock-paper-scissors, turned their heads toward Will and Nacho.
Seeing that it was Leon and Roswiser, Nacho’s previously disguised face suddenly froze, not knowing what expression to display.
Leon and Roswiser were also puzzled—how did Nacho end up here?
The three looked at each other, none of them saying a word.
Finally, it was Will who broke the silence.
“Hey! You two were just so confident a moment ago; what happened? Feeling shy now?”
“…Hey—” Nacho attempted to stop what could go wrong.
But Will acted like he hadn’t heard, continuing his boastful spiel,
“Let me tell you both, I’m actually a member of the Lionheart Association, dedicated to robbing the rich and helping the poor. If you two just walk away like nothing happened, maybe when Leon Casmod and I help overthrow the Empire, we could leave you a little inheritance!”
“Leon… Casmod?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong? You haven’t heard of this guy’s name?”
Leon grinned wide, “Well… never heard of it.”
“Wow, you really must have long hair but short knowledge!”
Leon: …
“Anyway, just know that Big Brother Leon will lead us into a new era.”
“Will, I strongly suggest you shut your mouth.”
“What’s wrong? Oh, right, right, right, we’ve got to keep the secrets of the organization on the hush-hush outside. I get it.”
Will quickly turned his brain back on, glancing back at the couple in the alley.
“But they already know our identities; how about—”
As he said this, Will made a slicing gesture across his neck.
Nacho covered his face in silence.
“Seriously, I beg you, please keep your mouth shut.”
Will scratched his head, “What’s the big deal?”
Nacho slowly raised his hand and pointed at Leon,
“He is not a royal.”
Will blinked, momentarily confused, “Then who is he…?”
Before he could finish, a battered hand thudded down on Will’s shoulder from behind.
Will’s small body trembled, a jolt of electricity shot down his spine, and goosebumps prickled his skin.
“I am Leon Casmod; can I have my wallet back now?”
