The Honey Bread Thief in the Carriage
The scent of ink still lingered behind the supply tent.
The blue-sleeved cadet had rubbed his face and vanished into the distance, but black smudges remained on the wet cloth.
The word Unfinished drew eyes wherever he walked.
Neris stood before the carriage step, cradling her observation board in her arms.
"Wouldn't it be better to put it in your bag this time?" Lya asked.
Neris shook her head.
"It's faster in my arms."
"That sounds like it'll just make it easier to steal."
"They only took it before because I set it down. Not this time."
Ronan looked at the way she clutched the board.
Her hands weren't moving to write as they usually did. They were locked tight, determined to protect it.
Those few words shifted the air in the camp.
While the instructors checked the mud on the forest path ahead, several rookie teams climbed back into the supply carriages.
There was still cargo left to transport to the inner assembly point.
The old carriage, stamped with the emblem of the Royal Academy of Knights, was cramped.
Dorman's shield scraped against the wall.
Cerise's scabbard tapped against the opposite side.
Once Lya's herb box, Neris's bag, and Ben's short spear were piled inside, even the sound of their breathing felt close.
Before the scent of honey reached them, their shoulders did.
Lya pulled her herb box closer, while Cerise adjusted her scabbard so it wouldn't bump against Ronan's knee.
Neris, about to record their movements, realized her own knees were dangerously close to the tips of Ronan's boots.
Ronan sat at the very end.
Lya immediately took the seat to his right.
Cerise went to claim the spot on his left, only to pause.
Neris had casually perched herself on the small footstool right in front of Ronan's knees.
"You can hardly call that a seat," Cerise said.
"It is optimal for observation."
"You will fall when the carriage jolts."
"Then Ronan will catch me."
Lya's eyebrows twitched upward.
"Don't treat a patient's wrist like a rescue rope."
Ronan rested both hands on his knees.
"I'd prefer it if my wrist stayed unpopular today."
"Unpopular wrists don't get honey bread."
Lya pulled out a small cloth bundle.
The sweet scent of honey filled the cramped carriage.
It was the only decent snack among the supplies they had gathered along the way.
Amidst soggy hardtack and salty dried meat, the honey bread was practically a feast.
Dorman peeked out from behind his shield.
"Is that the last of it?"
"Yes. That's why we're going to share it."
As Lya unwrapped the bread, even Cerise couldn't tear her eyes away.
Neris sniffed the air and murmured softly.
"High honey content. Not bad as a therapeutic food."
"Suddenly it's medicine."
"Giving it to Ronan increases the sustainability of my research."
Lya pulled the bundle slightly closer to herself.
"In that case, I will manage it."
The carriage jolted forward.
Through the narrow window, the carriage behind them came into view.
Laughter drifted over from it first.
The blue-sleeved senior and the rest of the upperclassmen supply team were gathered there.
The ink had been wiped from his face, but his sour mood remained.
"Hey! Look at the stragglers having a snack!"
"Careful now. I hear eating sweet things before entering the Monster Forest makes your fear run wild."
"We should eat that for them. Can't have the freshies losing their nerve, can we?"
Cerise turned toward the window.
Lya gripped the honey bread tighter.
Ronan said nothing.
Suddenly, a long hook lunged in through the window.
The iron tip wasn't aimed at anyone. It snagged the knot of the cloth bundle with pinpoint accuracy.
The bundle slipped from Lya's fingers, and the sweet aroma drifted away with it.
"Huh?"
Dorman let out a sound, looking as if his world had collapsed.
Roars of laughter erupted from the carriage behind them.
"Thanks for the treat, losers!"
"Did you say it was medicine? We can pretend to be sick for you!"
Lya's face hardened.
"That was saved for someone with a hurt wrist."
"Look at them, about to cry over a single piece of bread!"
Cerise tried to stand up.
The low ceiling of the carriage caught the decorative ribbon on her head, making it sway.
"Pull over."
She gripped her scabbard.
Ronan leaned his shoulder slightly to block her path.
"Not yet."
"Are you telling me to wait again?"
"No. We can win this sitting down."
Neris peered through the gap in the window.
The hook's rope ran past the railing of the trailing carriage and was wrapped around the leather strap on one of the senior's wrists.
A small knot treated with pine resin was tied to the end of the rope.
It was clear evidence they had prepared this to steal without slipping.
"Angle is eight inches down. The rope isn't new. They cut a cord used for tying supply sacks."
"Which means?" Lya asked.
"There are more of the same knots in that carriage."
Dorman stared out the window with a mournful expression.
"Does that mean they stole more than just our honey bread?"
Ben nodded quietly.
"There are too many sacks on their roof. Some of them have the academy's emblem."
Ronan curled a single finger.
A silver line manifested in the air.
This time, the Phantom Sword did not extend like a blade.
It was a thin loop passing between the carriage floor and the window frame.
It was so slender that it went completely unnoticed, drowned out by the clatter of hooves and the rumble of wheels.
Lya spoke in a low voice.
"Your wrist."
"I didn't twist it."
"You just bent your finger."
"The honey bread is a hostage."
Lya tried to look angry but failed.
Cerise sat back down. Instead, she projected her voice clearly out the window.
"Those who steal the supplies of others would do well to return them now."
The senior in the carriage behind them waved the bundle high.
"Come and get it then, lady of the great house!"
"No need to go over there," Ronan said.
The silver loop slipped out the window.
It didn't cut the rope. Instead, it found a slack section of the hook's line and wrapped around it once more.
Then, it began to wind back very slowly.
At first, nothing happened.
The senior yanked the honey bread bundle.
In that instant, the hook's rope dug into his leather wrist strap.
"Huh?"
He pulled harder.
The rope wound even tighter.
The honey bread bundle didn't budge from the trailing carriage.
Instead, one of the supply sacks tied to the roof began to shake.
Neris spoke curtly.
"Now."
Ronan curled his finger half an inch more.
The Phantom Sword didn't cut the knot.
It pushed the inside of the knot.
Snip.
The sound was quiet.
The result was massive.
The hardtack sacks tied to the roof of the trailing carriage burst all at once.
Dry biscuits rained down.
They pelted the senior's head, his shoulders, and one even flew straight into his open mouth.
"Pah! What the—!"
Another sack flipped over.
This time, dried figs and salted meat tumbled out.
Among them rolled small pouches stamped with the academy's official mark.
They didn't belong to Ronan's team.
There were canteen straps from the team ahead, supply tokens belonging to other rookies, and even a pouch of dried herbs someone had been searching for.
The laughter from the trailing carriage died instantly.
Heads popped out from the carriages ahead and to the side.
"Hey, isn't that my supply token?"
"Is that the hardtack sack that went missing yesterday?"
"Did the seniors take it as a joke?"
The senior struggled to free his wrist.
But the more he pulled, the more the hook's rope tangled with his own leather strap.
The honey bread bundle dangled, swaying in the middle of the line.
Cerise let out a cold laugh toward the window.
"Care to repeat what you said about coming to get it?"
Lya added, "Those who steal therapeutic food don't get to eat it."
Neris didn't pull out her observation board.
She simply counted the senior's wrist movements and the sacks on the roof with her eyes.
"Twelve. The number of stolen sacks."
Dorman watched the senior getting pelted by the rain of hardtack and spoke with absolute gravity.
"If they had that many, they didn't even need a single piece of honey bread."
Ben used the tip of his spear shaft to gently nudge the dangling honey bread bundle.
Ronan's silver loop caught the motion.
The bundle spun once in the air and flew cleanly through the open window.
Lya caught it with both hands.
This time, no one could take it.
Hardtack continued to roll off the roof of the trailing carriage.
One of the seniors slipped while trying to dodge, landing flat on his backside right on top of the supply sacks they had hidden.
A dried fig stuck to his hair.
Instructor Hagen's voice boomed from the front.
"Stop the carriages!"
The carriages ground to a halt with a loud creak.
Only then did Ronan uncurl his finger.
The Phantom Sword vanished without a trace.
Lya immediately grabbed his wrist.
"Did it hurt?"
"Only as much as the weight of the honey bread."
"Give me a real answer."
"A little."
Lya's expression softened.
But she didn't let go of his hand.
Cerise looked at the seniors outside the window.
"They won't be escaping this time."
Neris nodded.
"Because he pulled it with his own strength."
Instructor Hagen scanned the roof of the trailing carriage.
Hardtack, salted meat, supply tokens, and herb pouches lay exposed under the sunlight.
No explanation was needed.
The senior opened his mouth.
"We were just playing a joke..."
Before he could finish, a piece of hardtack struck him square on the forehead and bounced off.
Low chuckles rippled around the carriages.
Hagen spoke curtly.
"Pay for your joke with your rations. Return all stolen supplies to their original owners. Tonight, your team eats nothing but hardtack."
Dorman gasped softly.
"Nothing but hardtack..."
Ronan looked at him.
"Are you sad?"
"It's a bit satisfying. But also a bit of a waste."
This time, even Lya laughed.
As the carriage started moving again, the honey bread was placed on the cloth.
Lya carefully divided it with the tip of a knife.
She paused after cutting it into three equal pieces, then sliced them even smaller.
"Five pieces."
"Didn't you say it was medicine?" Cerise asked.
"It only cures us if we all eat it together."
Neris looked at the first piece and reached out.
Cerise reached out at the same time.
Lya's hand moved in the very same instant.
The fingertips of the three girls overlapped right over Ronan's hand.
A brief silence fell.
The carriage wheel hit a stone, causing a jolt.
All three of them pressed down harder on Ronan's hand at the same time.
Ronan couldn't help but chuckle.
"Am I actually allowed to eat this?"
Lya was the first to pull her hand away.
"The patient goes first."
Cerise pushed a piece toward Ronan.
"The one who just won the fight should eat too."
Neris held her piece but kept her eyes on Ronan's fingertips.
"The stability of the Phantom Sword after consuming honey bread is worth recording."
"If you pull out your board right now, I'm confiscating it," Lya said.
Neris took a bite of the honey bread instead of reaching for her board.
"Then I will commit it to memory through taste."
Dorman quietly caught a stray crumb in his palm.
Ronan pushed the remaining small piece toward him.
"You were holding the shield."
"I didn't do anything."
"You testified with the saddest face possible."
Dorman hesitated for a moment before popping it into his mouth.
"I will testify again next time."
Laughter filled the carriage.
Outside, the sound of sweeping up hardtack from the roof of the trailing carriage continued.
The thieves couldn't even straighten their backs as they busied themselves returning everything they had hidden to everyone else.
Lya dabbed the last remaining crumb of honey with the corner of her handkerchief.
Then, she wiped the honey off the back of Ronan's hand.
"If it's sticky, you'll end up straining your wrist again."
"Is this treatment or surveillance?"
"Both."
Cerise crossed her arms.
"How unfair. I respected the chain of command, yet no honey got on the back of my hand."
Neris tilted her head.
"I can put some on you if you want."
"I decline."
Ronan looked at the back of his clean hand.
The scent of honey still lingered.
Instead of the smell of ink, a sweet, warm aroma filled the cramped carriage.
The forest path outside the carriage was growing darker.
But this time, no one looked at the darkness first.
The sweetness of the recovered honey bread lingered just a little longer than the sound of hardtack raining down on the heads of the thieves.