Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Narakje's Guest #1
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─Why the hell was this mission assigned to our party?
When we received it, Hammer had recoiled in horror.
Now I understood why.
The kid in front of me was part of the Emperor's family.
‘From the moment someone on Director Jeremiah's level personally issued the order, I had a bad feeling.’
I'd nearly died several times already from getting tangled up with nobles.
Let alone the imperial family?
I couldn't even begin to grasp how exalted that was.
This kid right here was probably the highest and most impressive person I'd ever met in my life.
‘So why is someone that incredible in Cunning Town?’
There's only one reason a kid from a fancy family hangs out with thieves.
Right answer—!
Kidnapping—!
This kid was probably a kidnapping victim.
A mission to snatch an imperial family member kidnapped to the thieves' city and escape.
Yeah, that made everything click perfectly.
So what was I supposed to do now—?
First things first, I had to hole up somewhere with this kid.
“Find them!”
“The brat who dared dip into my pockets!”
There were tons of people gunning for the kid.
“This way.”
“L-let go of me!”
Of course, the kid was thrashing around, trying to wrench free from my grip.
I couldn't exactly stuff them into my Black Satchel.
“Come here already!”
I pried open a nearby sewer grate.
Then I jumped down, kid tucked under my arm.
Splash—!
The sewer water came up to my ankles.
My shoes were soaked in an instant.
But who gave a damn.
I hushed the kid, who was flailing like a chicken bitten by a dog.
“Shh, I'm here to rescue you.”
“Rescue?”
“Let's head back beyond the Great Wall.”
“Three people have already said that to me—and sold me out.”
Hmph.
Not one to fall for it easily, huh.
I actually kind of liked that.
If they'd started bawling for Mommy, I'd have been way more thrown off.
So now what—.
My rendezvous with the party was still 24 hours away.
No clue where anyone else had gone.
Protecting this kid for the next 24 hours was all on me.
And right when I was starting to feel the pinch, the kid shot me a sly glance.
“Even if you really are here to rescue me, I'm not going back beyond the Wall.”
“Huh?”
What the hell?
I was so dumbfounded I let out something straight out of Felix's playbook.
In response to my question, the kid glanced around cautiously before letting out a deep sigh.
“My family got nabbed by some bad guys. I have to save them.”
“Your family?”
“They're holed up in the gambling den.”
The girl standing before me was probably imperial royalty.
‘If her family are imperial too...’
To be honest, I didn't want to get mixed up with these people.
I knew my place.
Like I'd said before, this job was way too big for a small-time crook like me.
Stuff your pockets too full, and they just weigh you down and rip open for nothing.
On the flip side, the payoff could be massive.
If I played my cards right with this kid and wrapped up the mission safely?
‘I might score a huge haul of Ether.’
‘Or get tax breaks as an outstanding citizen!’
With 24 whole hours until I linked up with Hammer.
And I'd found the mission target way too early, leaving me with nothing to do.
“Alright, I'll help you find your family.”
“R-really?”
“But you have to follow my orders without question. It's the only way we all make it out alive.”
I pulled a length of rope from my Black Satchel.
And handed it to the kid.
“Tie this around your neck. You're my slave now.”
“Sl...slave? You're just another filthy thief after all!”
The kid's eyes filled with distrust and revulsion.
Cunning Town was a despicable city.
Crawling with pickpockets, robbers, rapists, and raving murderers.
A girl around ten years old wandering around alone?
That was no easy feat.
Which was why I'd put a leash on the kid.
“From now on, we're a ruthless human trafficker and his captured brat. Got it?”
I even sloshed some sewer muck over the kid's head.
“Eww, gross. Ptoo! Ptoo!”
The kid's face turned filthy in an instant.
So grimy it was unpleasant just to look at.
‘Fuck, even if the mission succeeds, I might end up with a noose around my neck.’
I started feeling uneasy.
So I explained again.
“By the way, this is all just to keep the two of us alive?”
“I've heard that story four times already!”
Four times wasn't enough.
At least twenty!
“This is all just to keep the two of us─.”
“Ow, enough already! I get it!”
I headed topside with the kid in tow.
Anyone who saw me now would peg me as a vicious criminal dragging a child around by a leash.
No way would this grimy little mess pass for imperial.
“Hurry it up!”
“Ugh... can't breathe...”
The kid clutched at their neck, looking miserable.
Damn, had I tied it too tight?
“Hey, you okay?”
“Idiot! I'm acting too!”
Talk about sharp and quick on the uptake.
She'd even fooled me for a second there.
Definite con artist's potential.
“Your family's that way, right?”
“Yeah. Turn the corner up ahead.”
And so we prowled through the vile city.
Cunning Town on my first visit.
I'd planned to take it slow today, wandering around to scout the place.
But this sudden encounter had thrown all that out the window.
“Why not pay back what you borrowed.”
“Thought we couldn't track you to Cunning Town?”
“Cough... cough...”
Stabbed bodies littered the ground everywhere.
Everyone ignored them like it was nothing, so I did too.
That was just daily life in this city.
No one pays attention to park pigeons, and here, murderers were just as common as pigeons.
A city without laws or rules.
Was there any better land of opportunity for making a buck?
‘Just sell this kid off?’
‘Could I make a killing here?’
That's when I spotted some real eyesores.
“Filthy Rendo scum everywhere.”
“Why do these bastards always stink so bad.”
“That's what you get with soulless beasts.”
Long-eared Erdari.
The Erdari were casually strutting through the city without a care.
Fuck, did that even make sense?
What the hell was going on?
A few guys approached the Erdari.
“Whoa, pretty as a fairy.”
“How about grabbing a drink with us today?”
Crazy perverts.
No women around, so they hit on Erdari?
The Erdari burst out laughing.
“Fine, lead the way.”
“Bore me, and you're dead.”
Gasp—. Unbelievable.
Erdari, sitting down for drinks with humans.
The lawlessness ran that deep?
Fuck, places like this shouldn't exist.
In that moment, I realized just how precious the law really was.
And any ambition I'd had about making it big in this city evaporated clean away.
‘No compromising with Erdari in my life.’
Erdari extermination.
We kept walking and soon reached the gambling den.
Its name: ‘Cunning Town Casino’.
Simple enough.
It felt weird heading in there with the kid's leash in hand.
My heart was pounding—.
Right then, a guard twice my size shoved my shoulder.
“You fucker, you know where you are? Got a ticket?”
The crude insult hit like a slap, utterly degrading.
Not a shred of thought for how it'd make the other guy feel.
‘Heh heh heh, kinda nostalgic for some reason.’
More importantly, a ticket was required?
Nobody told me that.
The kid was trembling too, clearly in the dark.
No helping it.
Time to improvise.
“How much for a ticket?”
“Damn hick. Ten million Ether!”
Fuck, ten million?
The curse slipped out of me too.
‘No way I have that kind of cash!’
I scowled as hard as I could.
Then spat on the ground—ptui.
“Ten million? You know who I am? Those eyes look purely decorative. Ugly as sin anyway—want me to carve some stripes on 'em?”
Shing—.
I drew my dagger.
Snickers rose from the guards all around.
“Ugh, calls the eyes ugly.”
“Tako, told you not to be so damn ugly.”
The humiliated guard Tako turned red as a ripe octopus.
He growled at me.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Can't tell? I'm a distant relative of Narakje. See this Black Satchel, Gauntlet, and throwing knives? All Narakje gear.”
Among thieves, anything Narakje had used was prized like a luxury brand.
Guys would jump you just to steal it.
What could be crazier than flaunting it around?
You'd get nothing but death stares.
But nothing guaranteed your identity like it.
“Thunder Gauntlet and Thunder Throwing Knives.”
“Real Narakje stuff.”
Luckily, these guards weren't total amateurs with no eye for quality.
Which was why they were guarding Narakje's own casino.
Tako grinned.
“Can't charge Narakje's ‘distant relative’ a ticket fee. Go on in.”
Looked like my gamble had paid off.
“But. Leave the brat here.”
Goddamn it—the one crucial thing—.
The kid started shaking.
No way I could leave her behind.
So I scowled even harder.
“She's my pet. Even rubs my shoulders.”
“Whoa, what a sadistic bastard.”
“Hey, Tako, line's backing up—let him in!”
“Fuck! You rent the place out? Hurry up and enter already!”
The crowd was howling.
“Go in! But no causing trouble!”
And that was how I made it into the casino.
Phew─. A sigh of relief escaped me.
That's when the kid frantically scanned everywhere.
She pointed to one spot.
“Look at that!”
「Casino Chips x100」
「Vane’s One-Liner – A rare breed of woman you won't see anywhere else」
A woman sat inside an iron cage.
She wore a white veil over her head like a bride.
Her face was hidden, but her pitiful posture tugged at men's hearts and stirred their souls.
“Heh heh, with 100 casino chips, that woman's mine—right?”
“Wonder what her face looks like.”
“Who cares! Gotta be a knockout beauty!”
The kid clenched her fists tight.
“…Sauriel. We have to save her!”
I got interested too.
Probably because she looked like a total stunner.
If she planted a thank-you kiss on my cheek as payback for the rescue?
My heart would soar straight to the clouds.
That's when I spotted a display case.
「《Stealthy Touch》 Skillbook, Casino Chips x100」
「Vane’s One-Liner – Rare skill that turns anyone into a pickpocketing master」
《Stealthy Touch》.
If I snagged that, I could take my thieving skills to the next level.
My motivation shot through the roof.
Truth was, I was pretty confident when it came to gambling.
The only issue was always getting told not to cheat.