After an exciting night practicing with his new toys, Leonardo didn't even bother with sleep, and left the room as soon as he finished his morning routine.
The sun was barely dawning, and it was still dark out. Utterly unimpaired by darkness thanks to his new magics, Leo leisurely shuffled his way through the corridors and out the dormitory. Still hungry, he wanted to settle his stomach and check on the traps first. Alas… he ran into a ghost.
"Oh sh—" He covered his mouth just in time to stop himself from either cursing or screaming like a little girl.
Just as he made past a corner, Anabella exited her room. Typical of a ghost, she wore a white one-piece. Her hair was scattered like a bird's nest all over her face, her puffy eyes tainted from black streaks running across her cheeks, and her ghastly groans from having just woken up — it all fit the criteria!
'Phew, that startled me.'
Backtracking behind a pillar and hiding himself in the dark, he watched the ghost pass by and sighed in relief. Having just perused a few books on ephemera, it seemed his imagination was a little too vivid.
Luckily, it seemed Anabella didn't notice him break curfew. After a moment of consideration, he decided to follow and see how she was doing — not that he would openly admit his concern for her.
Trailing her in silence, he watched her go about her morning routine. As the earliest to wake up, she had loads to do. Drawing water, preparing food, tidying the chapel and what not, all time consuming things.
Despite planning to go out and hunt, he instead followed her diligently for an hour, with the girl none the wiser.
Honestly, watching her work diligently while the rest slept gave him a new sense of respect for the girl. Perhaps this also explained why she was so bitter all the time, heh.
Having ensured the quality of his new stealth mode was to his satisfaction, he thought to resume his hunt. But, just as he was about to leave, his ears caught a sniffle.
Much to his dismay, Anabella had started crying all of a sudden just as she'd finished work. The floodgates were opened spontaneously and she wept uncontrollably. Her obligatory work distraction over, perhaps she was once caught up in the events of that night.
Unsure what to do, Leo squinted his eyes in thought, then closed them entirely and focused. Evoking a spell of the newly acquired Animus Dharma, he spread out his psychic senses. In his new 'vision', objects became muddied and dark.
Everything that lacked psychic energy faded into the background. Only Leo and Anabella remained vibrant. Surprisingly, the small statue of Jesus the orphans prayed to also had traces of spirituality, almost sidetracking him.
Anabella's dull colors depicted her current emotional state. With a chaotic influx of gray across her otherwise vibrant white, he vaguely interpreted it as the nucleus for psychotic depression. She was uncertain and irrationally fearful, despite no immediate threat.
Turning off his Aura Sense and dispelling his stealth, he sighed heavily and walked out of the shadows.
"It's over, sis Anne. Don't cry anymore… it's all over," embracing her gently from the side, he once more found himself comforting an adult twice his size.
His voice exhibited a strange, soothing magnetism. As his comprehension of the human psyche increased, Leo's understanding of Animus was reflected subconsciously in his acts. As if a practiced hypnotist, he had much more sway over unaware minds.
Thanks to that, he managed to calm her down much quicker this time. After helping her clean up tear stains for the umpteenth time, he gave her some water and sat next to her.
"I have decided!" Leonardo proclaimed all of a sudden, much to Anabella's dismay.
"I'll help you manage this place. No one should have to do this alone, and that includes you. Not to mention, you're great at cooking and cleaning, but your management over their personal relations sucks ass. Ahem, I mean that it is very poor."
With his distraction seeming to work, or perhaps trying to gloss over his sudden curses, Leonardo flailed his arms enthusiastically as he broke down his plan.
"The living conditions aside, none of these orphans give any semblance of living as a so called family. This is a breeding ground for bullies, and if nothing is done we'll have another Luca grow up in no time."
"I don't know what half of what you said means, but… what do you expect me to do?" she inquired without her usual reproach. Perhaps after being saved by him, she acknowledged he wasn't just a regular boy, and perhaps even developed a sense of dependence.
Leaning in with a mischievous grin, he said, "Simple. We put them to work."
"Work? Who's going to use them?"
Anabella's skepticism was all but palpable, but she had a point. Urchins weren't very dependable, and after years of being malnourished, they were too weak for most labor. Finding work for them would normally be impossible.
"I will, of course," Leo intoned his solution proudly.
She balked, "You? Pff—"
It wasn't surprising she thought he was joking, what with him posturing like a peacock and puffing his chest in her face. It took Anabella a while to realize he was serious and beckoned him to continue.
His enthusiasm doused, he pretended her mistrust didn't hurt his ego and continued on a more serious note.
"That's right. I thought of a plan, but I will need control over the storehouse and the cellar. I need you to pass that authority unto me, preferably in writing.
"I intend to make a workshop there. We'll create wooden trinkets or tools and have them sold on the market, then use the proceeds to put some meat on these runts.
"They'll work by gathering materials for me, and I will feed them in exchange. The more talented ones I'll help train to prefab, and I'll just do the finishing touches.
"As they earn funds together and stop lacking so many things, they should naturally grow closer and have less to bicker about too."
Crossing his hands with a smug grin, he looked into her eyes and demanded. "Well, are you willing to tempt fate and change things?"
Naturally, this preliminary plan hinged on their creations being worthy of being sold. But, with his Materia having advanced to tier II, he could alter normal wood with a simple touch and skillfully toy with any material that landed in his hand. Along with his great self-control as a result of practicing Mortal Transcendence, he was very unlikely to ruin any materials.
Combine that with his library repository and you've got a master artisan. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't want to draw attention, he could pump out inventions that would erase poor DaVinci from history entirely. Speaking of which, the man was set to be born some thirty years later. He could probably befriend or lure him as a subordinate.
"Here, I'll convince you."
Rummaging through his undershirt as if looking for something, his hand spun gently and opened a wormhole to his room. This small teleportation allowed him to whisk away an item directly from his chest. Thanks to his pretense of taking it out of a pocket, Bella was none the wiser about his magic.
Proud of his sleight of hand, he plastered on a shit-eating grin then showed her an ornate flute. Noticing she was more drawn to the instrument than his self-satisfied charade, he wiped his smug smirk and properly played a few crisp notes.
Strumming her fingers across the table along with the tune, Anabella thought for a moment then nodded.