Leo made one critical mistake.
He said the words:
"How hard can babysitting be?"
The universe immediately took that personally.
Nancy looked up from her book slowly.
"…You doomed yourself."
Kai actually winced.
"Yeah, never say that out loud."
Leo crossed his arms confidently while six wolf pups stared at him with terrifying innocence.
"They're children, not tiny demons."
One of the children immediately bit another one.
"HE TOUCHED ME."
"I TOUCHED YOUR ELBOW."
"WITH MALICE."
Leo blinked once.
Nancy stood.
"Well. Good luck."
"Wait— where are you going?"
"Kai and I have council errands."
Kai nodded very seriously.
"Extremely important errands."
Leo narrowed his eyes.
"You're abandoning me."
"Yes," Nancy said honestly.
Then she and Kai walked away while Leo shouted betrayal at their backs.
Peacefully.
Like responsible adults.
Approximately eleven minutes later—
the settlement exploded into chaos.
Nancy heard the screaming before she even reached the storage hall.
She stopped walking immediately.
"…Is that Leo?"
Kai listened carefully.
"…That's definitely Leo."
Then came the children's laughter.
Nancy closed her eyes briefly.
"Oh no."
By the time they reached the clearing, the situation had somehow escalated beyond logic.
One child sat on the roof.
Another was covered in mud.
Two more were chasing chickens for reasons no one understood.
And Leo—
Leo stood in the center of the destruction holding a broom like a man fighting for survival.
"WHY ARE YOU SO FAST?"
A tiny voice yelled from somewhere:
"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE."
Kai immediately turned away because he started laughing too hard to function.
Nancy was not doing much better.
Leo spotted them instantly.
His expression contained the fury of a betrayed soldier.
"You left me with terrorists."
"They're six," Nancy managed.
"They organized."
One of the children sprinted past holding what looked suspiciously like stolen bread.
Leo pointed dramatically.
"THAT ONE BIT ME."
"I said I was sorry!" the child yelled.
"You hissed while apologizing!"
Nancy finally stepped forward trying to regain control of the situation.
"Okay. Everybody stop running."
Shockingly—
they listened.
Six tiny faces turned toward her immediately.
Nancy blinked.
Leo looked deeply offended.
"They obey you?"
One child answered honestly:
"She's less yell-y."
Nancy failed to hide her smile.
Leo looked ready to resign from existence.
The smallest pup tugged Nancy's sleeve carefully.
"Can you tell Leo he can't arrest us?"
Nancy looked at Leo.
"…You threatened arrests?"
"They committed crimes."
"It was flour."
"They weaponized it."
Kai was fully crying laughing now.
Nancy took a deep breath.
Then another.
Trying very hard to sound authoritative.
"Alright. New rule."
She pointed at the children.
"No climbing roofs."
Then toward the chickens.
"No kidnapping animals."
Then toward Leo.
"And no threatening legal action against six-year-olds."
Leo threw his hands upward.
"So I'm the villain now?"
"Yes," everyone answered instantly.
Even Kai.
The betrayal visibly wounded him.
An hour later, the crisis finally settled.
The children now sat around the clearing eating snacks while Leo slumped dramatically beside the fountain like a war survivor.
Nancy handed him a drink.
"You lived."
"Barely."
One child walked over quietly.
Leo eyed him suspiciously.
"What."
The child held out a badly folded flower crown.
"For surviving."
Silence.
Nancy watched Leo's expression soften despite his best efforts.
"…This does not forgive your crimes," he muttered while accepting it anyway.
The child grinned and ran off immediately.
Kai sat beside Nancy watching the scene with amusement still lingering in his eyes.
"You know," he said quietly,
"a year ago we were fighting cosmic horrors."
Nancy leaned lightly against him.
"And now Leo's losing battles against toddlers."
"Honestly? I think this is harder."
Leo pointed weakly from across the clearing.
"I heard that."