"Well, I have to admit—it's a perfect plan."
Leon mentally reviewed their strategy.
After confirming there were no apparent flaws, he nodded in agreement. If every step could be executed flawlessly, the Grand Sage could indeed be defeated.
But even if the plan was perfect, there was still another limitation.
"The risks of this plan are far too high. You must ensure that every single step is followed perfectly for it to succeed. If you make even one mistake at any stage, all the planning will be wasted."
"........." XN
Lumine and the others were immediately left speechless.
Although it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, what Leon said was absolutely true.
Their plan was like walking a tightrope—its risks were extremely high. If a problem occurred at any stage, it would lead to the collapse of the entire operation.
For example, what if the [Golden Brigade] suffered heavy losses when they were deliberately captured as prisoners?
What if Nilou failed to draw the people's attention?
What were they supposed to do if they couldn't find a way to infiltrate the palace where Kusanali was confined, or if the Grand Sage wasn't deceived?
On the surface, it seemed like a perfect plan.
But in reality, every step was far too idealistic.
Reality is not a game. There is no guaranteed happy ending, nor can it be repeated endlessly in the case of failure.
Not to mention that their plan was overly complicated and consisted of too many steps.
From Leon's experience, there would definitely be one or two accidents in a plan of such scale.
"So… what should we do? Should we revise our plan starting now?"
"But that will take time…"
Lumine and the others began to discuss anxiously.
Leon's words had brought them a strong sense of crisis.
At that moment, they replayed the seemingly perfect battle plan in their minds again. Everyone felt it was unreliable—accidents could happen anywhere.
But the time they had left was no longer enough to come up with a new plan, and even if they did, there was no guarantee it would be better than the current one.
The one trying to seize the throne from Lesser Lord Kusanali was that damned old man, and he was no longer even pretending.
This year's ban on the festival celebrating Kusanali's birthday was a clear sign—and proof—of that.
"Th-this… what should we do… Your Highness?"
Lumine was extremely anxious.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find a perfect solution, and so… subconsciously, the girl thought of her beloved master.
[That's right! His Highness must have a way!]
Leon was the one who devised the Dragon Disaster plan in Mondstadt—he had to have a way to break this deadlock!
"All right, all right. I was just trying to scare you. Don't worry—leave it to me."
"Really?"
"Of course. You and your friends can proceed according to the plan, and you can also start preparing for the celebration banquet."
Leon smiled and gently patted the girl's golden hair.
"No matter how bad the situation gets, it doesn't matter. If anything happens, I'll take action."
"Your Highness~~!!"
Lumine's heart began to race.
She looked at Leon's relaxed and confident expression, and felt there was no reason to worry anymore.
"Prince Leon, what are your plans? Could you explain them to us?"
Alhaitham, a scholar and secretary of the Order, asked with a slight frown.
Leon looked at the muscular man again.
His gaze lingered briefly on the black, tight-fitting shirt he was wearing.
Using thin fabrics and showing plenty of skin—Sumeru's clothing style was truly avant-garde.
By the way… was this guy really a secretary? His muscles looked like they were about to burst out of his clothes.
Honestly, I suggest you don't make any plans at all. Just invite the Grand Sage out as 'secretary,' then storm out in a rage and do everything yourself.
"Sorry, it's not convenient for me to reveal my plans here. In any case, you do things your way, and I'll do things mine. If you make any mistakes, I'll have my people help you fix them."
Leon shook his head as he spoke.
His relationship with Night Raid still couldn't be exposed. Although these people were Lumine's friends, he still couldn't fully trust them.
"…"
Alhaitham frowned, but eventually nodded.
After all, they had no other choice now but to be careful and cautious while executing the plan, doing their best not to make mistakes.
"Yay, woohoo! Just trust the prince and everything will work out!"
Lumine was completely relieved and started eating.
She began sharing the fruit provided in Leon's luxurious suite with Paimon, eating with great enthusiasm. With her cheeks puffed out, she looked just like a squirrel…
"Hey~ pay a little more attention to your image. I said I was going to give you the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. I don't want the image of my kingdom to be ruined by you, silly girl."
Leon looked at Lumine helplessly.
He picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth, then… very mischievously pinched her face—especially her cheeks, which were swollen like a squirrel's.
"Mmm, Your Highness, no! Stop it, I'm going to spit everything out!"
"Don't spit. If you spray it on me, I'll fine you three months' salary."
"No!!"
Looking at the relaxed and playful interaction between the two, Nilou and the others didn't know how to react. It felt like the tense atmosphere from before had been completely unnecessary.
Were these two really a couple? Even though Paimon said the prince was Lumine's boyfriend, he treated her more like a little cub.
Nilou: "Is this how lovers usually get along? It's different from what I imagined…"
Dunyarzad: "Yes, it's completely different from what's written in novels."
Alhaitham: "I don't know much about this, but perhaps, just as some questions have more than one answer, there are many ways to express love."
Tighnari: "I advise you not to take this too seriously."
After that, everyone chatted for a while.
Regarding Lumine and the others' plan, Leon pointed out a few areas that could be improved, yet he still didn't say a single word about his own plans for Sumeru.
When Lumine and the others were about to leave, they were already preparing to make some notes based on his suggestions.
"Prince Leon, could you spare us a bit of your time? We have something to discuss. It won't take long."
Alhaitham, Tighnari, and Cyno stayed behind and spoke.
"Hmm, all right. But I have something else to do soon, so I can only spare five minutes."
Leon narrowed his eyes as he spoke. There was no hostility in the eyes of those three, but they were alert and cautious.
He immediately understood—they were intelligent people.
Intelligent people were good.
Leon: [I love dealing with intelligent people… but I hope you're worth my five minutes.]
(End of the chapter)