The Ten Righteous Thieves and the Elf Lady (2)
The chirping of birds outside the window gently drew my eyes open. Staring blankly ahead with bleary vision, I abruptly sat up, wiping the drool from the corner of my mouth.
“Tch.”
I'd been glued to my desk all day, determined to catch the culprits, and must've dozed off without realizing it. No one had seen me sleeping, but I still felt a flush of embarrassment. Clearing my throat and slapping my cheeks to shake off the drowsiness, I rummaged through the scattered papers and pulled out a map.
It marked the three districts of the city with special sections circled—places I'd arbitrarily pinpointed as the likely spots for the next crime, after poring over the testimonies from the territory's residents yesterday and spotting inconsistencies. There was no guarantee they'd hit exactly those areas, but the odds were highest there.
The problem was that there were nine such spots circled.
'If we threw in all the count's private guards plus every available knight from the order, catching them wouldn't be hard...'
But that could stoke the residents' anxiety. A massive movement of soldiers and knights would weigh heavily on the whole territory. It was just about nabbing ten bandits—I didn't want to cause unnecessary uproar. And if we deployed that many private troops and knights only to come up empty, my reputation would tank.
I needed to be cautious.
'I should go talk to the nobles who've been hit and hear their stories.'
Testimonies from commoners alone weren't narrowing it down enough. That meant hitting the pavement to get solid eyewitness accounts.
'I'll call Maltaro and have him patrol with me.'
As I resolved myself and gathered the papers, a sudden knock echoed through the room. The Elf? I stayed silent, hoping, and a deep baritone voice came from the other side.
“Regent Excellency. This is Hildes Proheim. I apologize for interrupting during your busy time, but might I have a moment of your time?”
Hildes Proheim. Captain of the Blue Flag Knights, newly formed by the Pelgaroin count's family, and a figure recognized by the imperial swordsmanship guild 'The Unceasing Falcons' with Provost Meister rank. In the Orc Subjugation War eight years ago, she'd been appointed a banneret knight and commanded countless troops, so pretty much everyone in the county knew her name. For such a battle-hardened veteran to seek me out had me on edge.
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.
“Of course. Come in.”
At my permission, the door swung open, and in strode Hildes with her neatly trimmed goatee. A friendly smile played under the seasoned crow's feet around her eyes. Even in peacetime, her polished greaves spoke of iron discipline. Tucking her helmet under her arm, she approached briskly and bowed her head.
“On behalf of the Blue Flag Knights, I pay my respects to the Regent Excellency. My apologies for the late greeting.”
“N-no need for that. I know better than anyone how busy the knights are with this bandit business. Raise your head.”
“Your magnanimity leaves me in awe, Regent Excellency.”
Hildes lifted her head, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.
“It's been a while since we've seen each other face-to-face. You've grown into quite the fine young man. If the late elder could see Lord Theorad now, he'd surely be proud.”
The sudden praise left me flustered.
“It's not that big a deal.”
“Such humility. I hear you've been holed up in your office without stepping out once since you arrived. Anyone can see you're devoted to your duties—how could that not be admirable?”
“Well... Are you teasing me right now, Captain?”
As regent visiting the count's castle, burying myself in work was only natural. Praising something so obvious felt like ribbing me from my position.
Hildes chuckled at my prickly tone and set her helmet on the desk.
“In an age where nobles chase rights and shirk duties, you deserve high praise, Excellency. If you take my sincerity as mockery, there's nothing for it.”
“Enough buttering me up. But...”
My gaze swept over her breastplate, and I tilted my head. Etched crudely into the edge was a deer leaping through a forest—scratched in with something sharp like an awl, not professional engraving.
“What's with the forest on your breastplate? I never heard you were into woods, Captain.”
“Oh, this? Yesterday I was exercising sans armor near the training grounds. When I went back for it, your slave had doodled on my breastplate. Quite the audacity, eh?”
Hildes barked a laugh. I, on the other hand, sucked in a sharp breath in panic.
Was the Elf's “little mistake” from yesterday this—defacing the captain of the Pelgaroin knights' breastplate?
'That wasn't a mistake at all!'
Anyone could see it was deliberate, you crazy woman! Breaking into a cold sweat, I shot up from my seat and bowed deeply to Hildes.
“I-I'm sorry! It's my fault for not managing my slave properly!”
“Excellency? No need to apologize.”
“But it's my responsibility! I'll make it right and compensate you—send the bill to the Deharm viscountcy!”
“I-I understand your intent, Excellency, but I actually rather like it.”
Eh? She liked it? Puzzled, I looked up to see Hildes tapping the drawing on her breastplate with a serious expression.
“Isn't it well done? The forest looks like it'll sway in the breeze any second, and the deer's leap is full of dynamic energy. Drawing something this beautiful on a curved breastplate—not even a master painter could pull it off on paper.”
“Now that you mention it...”
She was right—it was skillfully rendered. Where'd she learn to draw like that? As I stared blankly, Hildes retrieved her helmet from the desk and tucked it under her arm.
“Anyway, I should get back to work. Just stopped by to say hello.”
“Work meaning the Ten Righteous Thieves?”
“That's part of it, but first I need to calm the labor dispute between the witches living in the county. Better handle it before the Balance Church sticks their nose in—avoids needless noise.”
“Ah, got it. Tough job.”
“The real headache's on you, Excellency, racking your brains over those bandits. I'm just moving my body. Why do all the annoying stuff pile up these days?”
Hildes let out a short sigh and flashed an awkward smile.
“I said it before, but taking on the regency in times like these must be stressful. If those thieves turned themselves in, it'd make your job easier.”
“Surrender... I'd love that, but guys plotting crimes this meticulously aren't likely to.”
“True enough.”
Tsking sympathetically, Hildes paused as if struck by a thought.
“Oh, just in case—when you catch their leader, interrogate him yourself. His methods match the killer you tracked three years ago.”
Three years ago—the bastard who brutally murdered that woman's husband and torched their house? Fragments of memory surfaced, and I nodded uneasily.
“Understood. If we nab him, I'll look into it.”
*
In the basement tavern of the Black Wheat Pub, the ten bandits—known collectively as the Ten Righteous Thieves—inspected their weapons while chuckling idly.
“Boss, did you see those knight punks come up empty yesterday? They got right up close but left with nothing.”
The one-eyed second-in-command snickered, and the hooded boss grinned, flashing crooked teeth.
“We sprinkled some of that noble loot money around, and the dumb locals ate it up, calling us righteous thieves. Righteous my ass—they got no clue how much we're bleeding 'em dry.”
“Damn right. What do those idiots know?”
Laughter erupted in the basement at the second's quip. The boss downed a shot of moonshine amid the mirth—sweet with a sharp bite, top-notch stuff.
'Dumb knights.'
A whole month of fleecing nobles, and they hadn't even a clue, let alone a proper investigation. Not surprising—we'd bribed some locals for false testimonies to stonewall them and spread the extorted cash to win hearts and minds. They'd even coined that idiotic “Ten Righteous Thieves” title for us.
Still, tails get caught eventually. One more month of this, then bolt to the duchy. As he plotted mentally, the second leaned in with a lecherous grin.
“Boss, that girl who gave us milk last week to say thanks? Nice rack, pretty face—wanna track her down and have a go before we ditch the county?”
Horny bastard. The boss tsked but nodded.
“Yeah. Time to end the righteous act with a bang. Slaughter her family and fuck her all day.”
The crew whooped at his words, thrilled at the prospect of raping a beauty. But the cheers didn't last.
Bam!
The board barricading the basement door flew off, rolling across the floor. The startled boss whipped around to see a woman with stunning silver hair and flashing red eyes standing in the doorway.
'An Elf?'
Pointed ears like from a fairy tale. Stunned speechless at the sight, the Elf brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and spoke.
“You guys broke my toy. I'm here to fix it, so don't resist. Go to the count's castle right now and confess your crimes. Just say you're turning yourselves in 'cause you're scared of Theorad.”
What nonsense was this? The boss let out a hollow laugh, and the Elf blinked impassively.
“What're you waiting for? Go confess.”
Easy chuckles spread among the men. Confess? If they were gonna, they wouldn't have committed the crimes.
“Crazy bitch must wanna get raped to death.”
The boss scowled, raising his weapon, and the second and others grabbed theirs, snickering. Sighing at the sight, the Elf spread her hands wide.
“Ten.”
Ten? Giving them ten seconds to drop their weapons? It was so absurd he couldn't even laugh.
Ten seconds was plenty to chop off her limbs—
“Nine.”
Boom!
The second's head exploded, brains splattering everywhere. Blood fountained from the neck stump before the body crumpled.
'Wh-what the—? What just—?'
The ridiculous scene short-circuited his brain. As everyone froze in shock, the Elf folded another finger.
“Eight.”
Bang!
A lackey's head at the back burst, spraying blood on the wall. The headless body staggered into the wall and collapsed.
“Gaaah!”
“Hiiik!”
Terror-stricken thugs screamed and fell one by one. Finally grasping it, the boss trembled, turning to the Elf.
'Th-this...'
She hadn't been counting down seconds with ten fingers. She'd just been marking their lives—one per finger.
Each fold meant someone here died. It could be him. Legs giving out, his mind screamed only to live.
Her third finger slowly bent. The horrified boss dropped his weapon and slammed his knees to the floor.
“M-m-mercy...”
His voice shook too hard to form words. Tears streaming from wide eyes, he wailed desperately.
“We'll surrender, please spare us—pleeease!”
At his horrific plea, the rest threw down their weapons and surrendered without hesitation.