Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Hermit's Hideout #5
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79 – Hermit's Hideout #5
79 – Hermit's Hideout #5
"Yor, did you really steal that young lady's wallet?"
Back at my seat, Hammer chewed me out.
"If you're gonna steal something, at least do it without getting caught!"
"Hammer, more importantly, I heard something huge!"
I explained my entire conversation with the Lark to everyone.
The fact that the Thieves' Guild in this imperial capital was after the Pilgrim Family's treasure.
"Pilgrim? The timing's awfully convenient."
Hammer crossed his arms.
"Yor, that weasel guy's your classmate, right? Can we trust him?"
"I'm not sure if he's trustworthy, but he seems pretty capable."
The one rule thieves follow is money.
They band together when there's money, and scatter when there isn't.
In other words, leading a thief gang in a huge city like this?
It means their take is that good.
Snap-.
Hammer held up two fingers to me.
"Yor, we've got two options right now."
"Two?"
"One is to tell the Pilgrim Family straight-up about the Thieves' Guild's plot, score some points, and get close to them. But then the city's Thieves' Guild becomes our enemy."
"And the other?"
"Team up with the imperial capital's Thieves' Guild and make unofficial contact with the Pilgrim Family. That puts us at odds with the Pilgrims, so the risk is higher."
Hammer had nailed the paths open to us.
The choices for getting close to the Pilgrim Family.
"What do you think we should do?"
Hammer asked me, Felix, and Nimble.
"I have no clue what any of this is about. If you're not gonna eat that, I'll take it?"
Nimble snatched Felix's pheasant leg and chomped away.
Felix's gaze shook like a paper boat in a storm as he watched.
"You brainless beast bitch—."
"Hah? What's that?"
Did no one in this party have any sense of tension?
Felt like I was the only normal one here.
"Hammer, we should meet up with the weasel first and hear what he has to say. I'm curious about what treasure the thieves are after, too."
How amazing must this treasure be to draw the whole city's thieves?
I could practically smell the gold coins.
'Make a ton of gold, buy Ether.'
Sell the gold, buy rice-.
With the expedition keeping us from raiding, this was how I'd rake in Ether.
# # #
We rented a room on the second floor of the inn tavern.
It was so luxurious they had a full-grown sapling planted in it as decoration.
Ten gold a night.
That was two million Ether per night!
"Look! There's a little pond!"
Nimble made a fuss over the private aquarium and its fish.
To her, it looked like a pond.
But in the blink of an eye while I looked away, a few fish had vanished from the tank.
"What? Huh?"
When our eyes met, Nimble licked her lips and played innocent.
I just let it slide.
The hallway outside was bothering me more than the tank.
"I know you're all lurking out there in the hall, so come on in already!"
Creak-. Creak-.
The wooden floorboards groaned loudly.
Soon, men with knives or hooks at their belts barged into our room.
"Picking the Canary's pocket."
"Not bad skills."
"Teach us a thing or two."
It was because I'd drawn eyes by lifting that noble young lady's purse.
Didn't expect them to come at us so openly, though.
"Is picking that lady's pocket really that hard?"
At this point, I was genuinely curious, so I asked.
The men glanced at each other and snickered.
"What, you didn't know?"
"Beginner's luck, huh."
"That lady's so sensitive, she can feel a mosquito landing on her clothes."
"A mosquito on her clothes? Come on, that's gotta be bullshit."
"Believe it or not, it's true."
"Super-sensitive constitution."
"We were curious what kind of guy could pick her pocket, and turns out it's just country bumpkins."
Puhaha—they burst out laughing.
In my past life, Seoul folks often looked down on country people.
Here, too, the capital dwellers subtly treated outsiders like hicks.
"Yor, handle this yourself."
Hammer flopped onto the bed like it was no big deal.
Felix snorted and started unpacking.
Right then, the men panicked.
"Wait, Yor?"
"No way, that... ."
"Yeah, I'm the Yor who blinded that one-eyed freak."
"...I-Is this for real?"
"No wonder your hands are so ghostly!"
The menacing vibe from moments ago flipped—their faces lit up.
They exchanged glances and started backing away.
"Ahem, well! We'll be going now!"
"Have a good time!"
"Hold up!"
I drew my knife and put on a menacing front.
"You disturbed our rest, so show some sincerity before you go!"
The men fumbled in their pockets and dropped coins on the floor.
Two gold pieces.
That'd cover meals for days.
This is why every thief needs to master 'intimidation.'
Talk the talk, and you won't go hungry!
Time passed, and the next day.
We sought out the inn's bard Lark bright and early.
"Mr. Lark, take us to the guild."
"Good call, bro."
Lark led us to the inn's basement.
Rrrumble-.
He shoved aside a pile of junk, including a wardrobe, revealing a secret passage.
Inside was a vast underground tunnel.
"Follow close! Plenty've gotten lost down here and gone straight to the afterlife!"
The city was huge, so the tunnels were too—and the darkness endless.
We walked for a good while and finally reached what looked like an underground temple.
No sunlight ever reached the place, but torches blazed everywhere, bright as summer.
Towering statues of some unknown goddess stood majestically all around.
None of us were versed enough in religion to know what they were.
"Yor, there's a ton of people who look just like you."
That's when Nimble, confused, pointed at the masked figures.
To the beast girl Nimble, all thieves looked like me.
"Ahem! It's me, Lark! I wanna see the guildmaster!"
"And those behind you?"
"I told you yesterday. Got a pro who picked the Canary's pocket."
"...That Canary's?"
"Don't look like much."
The thief guards put hands to their daggers at their belts.
Fingers tightening—not just a bluff.
Then someone yelled from a tent in the underground.
—What's all the commotion?
Flap-.
The tent flaps parted.
A man with eyes like thin threads appeared.
"What the fuck, it's really the Weasel!"
I was a bit stunned.
I'd half-doubted the name 'Weasel' when I heard it.
'Could be a coincidence?' 'A thief my age as guildmaster? Hard to buy.'
But it really was the Weasel.
"You! How dare you call the guildmaster by name!"
"You crazy bastard!"
"We'll kill you!"
The guards flew into a rage.
Of course, the Weasel freaked and held them back.
"Stop! This Yor guy's my friend! Super dangerous dude, so don't mess with him!"
"What? You're that Yor?"
Even Lark gawked and asked me.
"I thought those were just rumors from some backwater drifter!"
Everyone was full of admiration.
Made my nose itch a bit— was I that famous?
That's when Hammer spoke to the Weasel.
"You're after the Pilgrim Family's treasure?"
"You got it. Come on in, then!"
We entered the Weasel's tent.
My eyes spun at the chests overflowing with gold, silver, jewels, crowns, rings, you name it.
"Weasel, how'd you get this rich?"
"Kekeke, that's what being the capital's guildmaster is like. Thanks to you handing me the spot, bro, my luck's through the roof."
The Weasel poured yellowish tea from a golden teacup.
A thief sipping tea—talk about living large.
"Yor, wanna do a job with us?"
Straight to business after the pour.
Suits me fine.
We were short on time too.
"After Pilgrim's treasure?"
"Right. Our informants are posing as servants in the Pilgrim house. Word is, they swapped out every lock on their warehouse recently."
"Swapped the locks?"
"Yeah, suspicious, right? They went and got ones just like the ones in the Imperial Palace!"
Imperial Palace locks.
That keyword got Felix asking.
"What's that mean?"
Man, Felix could be such a dunce sometimes.
Only one reason to swap locks for something that fancy.
"It means something so valuable they needed top-tier locks is sitting in the Pilgrim warehouse right now."
"Ahem, can I keep going? Anyway, these 'Imperial Palace locks' aren't easy to come by—no records of anyone picking one, either."
A lock no one's cracked, a treasure in itself.
As I pictured it, the Weasel slyly winked.
"But get this—someone has picked one before. A master thief who ruled the capital broke into the palace. Hands so skilled, they called him Ghost Hand."
What—?
I jolted.
Picking the Imperial Palace?
Me, who'd racked up 14 priors just from pocket-picking and freeloading? Unthinkable level.
"But that guy's gone from the capital now, so the palace locks are invincible, right? That complacency! That's our ally!"
Snap-.
The Weasel extended a hand to me.
"I figure you could totally crack the Pilgrim warehouse, bro."
"...Think I really could?"
"Oh come on, drop the false modesty! We'll handle all the prep—you just pick the lock. Deal?"
What do you say?
I glanced at Hammer and Felix.
Hammer, eyeing the golden teacup, caught my look and asked the Weasel.
"Timeline?"
"Right now. Some guys are already moving."
What?
Even for them, right now was too fast, wasn't it?
Reading our minds, the Weasel quickly added.
"These things gotta go down right after planning, or info leaks. We delayed 'cause no lockpicker, but now you're here—perfect time to strike!"
That bold decisiveness must be the Weasel's leadership.
Let me think.
We came to the capital to negotiate with the Pilgrim Family.
But right now, we couldn't even get to the same table.
Gap between a great noble house that produced palace mages and our little explorer party? Elephant and ant.
'Pilgrims tried to kill us from the start, right? Worst case, we sit down and they stab us.' If we snagged the Pilgrim treasure, maybe we could negotiate as equals?
"......"
I glanced at Hammer.
He said nothing.
Meaning he was leaving it all to me.
I pocketed the golden teacup and asked.
"Split?"
"50-50."
"How about 70-30."
"You cheeky thieving bastard—!"
Ptoo-.
The Weasel spat on the floor and yelled to his crew.
"Everyone, grab your gear and head topside!"
The capital's Thieves' Guild sprang into action in unison.
Even Nimble was impressed.
"They're fast on their feet!"