Chapter 92
Chapter 92
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Lubeck (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Break through! I said, break through, now! Whatever it takes! Move one more stone!”
The man in the crisp, wrinkle-free suit with his hair swept back, the immaculate image from that morning, was long gone.
Lloyd Gianni, hair a mess, harried the employees. The elevator was broken, and the central staircase was blocked by a pile of fallen rubble from the cracked ceiling.
To get to the underground vault, there was no other way but to clear the stones.
For the sake of perfect security, no secret entrances to the vault had ever been built.
The employees carried away the broken stones one by one, while reinforcements from the Lord’s castle formed an ironclad perimeter around the bank.
Countless nobles, or their representatives, swarmed the front of the bank, demanding entry, but the knights wouldn’t budge.
They were under strict orders from Lord Meion Decker and others not to let anyone in.
*Thud—*
With a small tremor, a stone shattered, and they diligently carried away the pieces.
His heart wanted to clear all the stones as quickly as possible and run to the vault, but he knew that a single misstep could cost them even more time.
“Let’s speed this up. Call the knights and mages from outside. What’s the point of getting there after the vault has already been emptied?”
Even in this chaos, Meion Decker maintained his aristocratic dignity, concealing his impatience as he sat in a chair and continued to issue commands.
The mages used their magic to break the stones into smaller pieces, and the knights used their swords to slice them even smaller.
All so more people could move them faster and more easily.
With the valuable manpower of knights and mages now involved, the pace certainly doubled.
Of course, that was a separate matter from the sour expressions on their faces.
“No matter the thief, they won’t be able to empty the vault easily. Opening the vault door requires a mana pattern and a key. If it’s wrong, it locks from the inside and has to be reset.”
Lloyd Gianni muttered to the bank manager, trying to hide his anxiety.
He didn’t know what the thief below was thinking, invading this place, but the bastard had clearly made a mistake.
Lubeck Central Bank boasted security so tight that even the imperial family and nobles trusted it with their assets.
“That had better be the case. It certainly had better be.”
It had to be. It absolutely had to.
Down there was more than just the nobles’ possessions.
There was a vault that must never be opened. No, a vault that *could* never be opened.
He was here to prevent that vault from being opened. And if it was, to destroy its contents before anyone could see them.
***
Every vault I passed had its door wide open, its contents completely emptied. The only thing left behind was a single card from Arsène Lupin.
“Heh heh. Man, my arms are feeling heavy.”
I had cracked open at least a dozen vaults. Based on the information Hattie Shaw had given me, I’d picked and chosen my targets.
Conversely, I left the vaults of the mid-tier nobles alone. I’d pried them open but left the contents untouched.
That would throw them into greater confusion. At the same time, it would make them suspect each other.
Even if their heads understood this was a trap, their hearts wouldn’t, and the jealousy and rivalry between them would only intensify.
‘I was robbed, so why weren’t you?’ That one question would be enough to make the untouched nobles burn with resentment.
In the process, I’d also found several subspace pockets, allowing me to expand my inventory again and again.
My inventory was now overflowing, thanks to all the junk the nobles had stuffed into their vaults.
It was more than enough to establish the White Mercenary Corps in the Demonic Realm and expand Hattie Shaw's intelligence network.
To forge a blade that would pierce the nobles with their own money.
What a wonderful turn of events.
And just as I reached what I knew to be the last of the vaults…
“Huh…? This isn’t the end?”
When I arrived at what I thought was the final vault, I discovered a path leading deeper inside.
I had visited this place quite a few times in the past, but this was a path I’d never seen before.
The polished stones suggested it was a new path; it had a distinct newness compared to the other areas.
Using my spiritual power as a radar, I advanced one step at a time.
“Hmm… I’ve never seen this place before.”
After a short passage, I reached the deepest, innermost area. The path itself was so lavish it was as if it were advertising its own special status.
“Is this a newly constructed space?”
The vault at the end of the path was several times larger than the others.
A bank could expand its vaults as it grew. But what was strange was that if they had built this huge new space, there should have been more vaults.
“Having just this one is definitely strange.”
It was ornate. The door of a vault that had no need for such extravagance.
Vaults were supposed to look identical. That way, no one would know whose was whose.
Even if someone broke in to rob a specific vault, they would be faced with identical doors marked only with numbers, not names, which would surely take time to sort through.
But this vault stood out. Anyone could see it must contain something precious.
“Well then, I have to rob it. Of course, I have to rob it!”
Having come as Arsène Lupin, I couldn't possibly see a vault this large and expensive-looking and just walk away.
Besides, with a door this big and ornate, I had to question the owner's intelligence, but it was undoubtedly some big-name central noble, or perhaps even a member of the imperial family.
“Hmm.”
But I couldn’t find a single crack to wedge my crowbar into.
A very meticulously crafted vault.
“This just makes me want to open it more…”
If there’s no gap, you make one.
*CRASH—!*
I slammed my fist into the seam of the door as if hitting a punching machine.
“Nngh.”
It was certainly tough. The metal was clearly a different material from the doors of the other vaults.
I had hit it as hard as I could, but it only created the slightest of gaps. I thought I’d at least be able to see a tiny crack inside.
It wasn’t broken. It was just bent.
*Screeeech—*
The Eternelle crowbar bent like a bow as it slowly pried the gap wider.
I felt that if I applied just a little more force, the legendary, unbreakable Eternelle crowbar itself might shatter.
“What in the world is this made of? Hnngh—!”
I gripped the small opening with both hands, flooding them with spiritual power, and pulled until my face turned red.
My handprints were left indented in the metal as the gap slowly widened.
“Don’t tell me, is this Eternelle?”
I’d heard that the mineral known as Eternelle was found only in extremely small quantities.
“No, it feels like something else is mixed in.”
No matter how I thought about it, this door had to be made of Eternelle.
“These crazy bastards. Making a vault door out of Eternelle?”
My tongue instinctively licked my lips.
“I wonder if this will fit in my inventory?”
It was an incredibly desirable item, no doubt about it. Perhaps even more so than whatever was inside.
It was probably just full of gold coins, anyway.
I could feel the presence of people getting closer from above; it seemed they had cleared the stairs.
There wasn't much time. No, this vault had already caused a significant delay.
With all my strength, I finally managed to widen the gap just enough for one person to squeeze through.
“What the…?”
For such a large and ornate vault, I had expected fabulous treasures, gold, jewels, weapons, or artifacts.
But inside, it was like a vast library.
“Why would they put books in a vault… Are they grimoires?”
Countless books, scraps of paper, and other miscellaneous items.
What could possibly be so important that it needed to be stored like this? I quickly skimmed through some of the documents inside.
“……”
My expression turned cold, and I felt the blood drain from my face.
It wasn’t because there were books instead of treasure.
[Prometheus.]
The word was written officially on every document and book.
Prometheus.
Why in the world was this name here?
When I first joined the White Mercenary Corps, I confirmed that I had been subjected to a form of damnatio memoriae.
Like that name which must not be spoken, all records were erased, the books burned. Just like the book burnings and burying of scholars in the age of Qin Shi Huang.
But who?
What madman had gone to the trouble of building such a large vault in the Lubeck underground to protect the name Prometheus, to protect my name?
A noble? A member of the imperial family? Or someone I didn't know?
My mind raced, but I couldn't easily find an answer.
What was certain was that whoever built this vault and smuggled these documents here was powerful. And that they held no negative feelings toward me.
It wasn't Hattie Shaw, Haveron, the Holy Kingdom, or Mike Hoare. Lubeck Central Bank was managed directly by the Empire.
They would never store such materials in a place like this.
I'd have to check when exactly this vault was built, but other than that, there was no clear evidence.
*Rumble—*
It seemed they had reached the entrance to the underground vaults.
I immediately shoved all the materials inside into my inventory.
I didn't know who had stored them like this, but if they fell into the Empire’s hands, they would surely disappear again.
My heart felt strange. Bitter, in a way. What exactly had I meant to them?
***
“……”
After the situation was under control, Meion Decker bit his lip as he surveyed the completely wrecked underground vault.
Every single vault door had been torn off in a bizarre fashion. The way they were ripped indicated that they had been torn off with sheer force.
How strong would one have to be to tear off a vault door with brute strength like that? If so, what was the point of a vault?
“You. Could you tear off that door with just your strength?”
Just in case, Meion Decker asked a nearby knight.
“Hmm… Maybe not to that extent, but I think I could manage to bend it somehow. If I were to wrap my hands in aura, spinning it to its absolute limit. Even then, I think it would barely be possible. It wouldn't be easy…”
“Tsk. To the additional vault.”
Meion Decker scowled at the ceiling, from which bits of stone were falling, and walked on.
Normally, he would have used the rail system to move directly to the location, but that too had been destroyed.
When he passed the last vault in this section and reached the hidden vault area…
“Dammit.”
A vulgar curse, utterly unbefitting a nobleman's speech, escaped his lips without him realizing it. No, it was the most restrained word he could muster.
More profanities were trying to fight their way up his throat, and unable to control his rage, he gripped the handle of his cane so hard it threatened to shatter.
The one thing that should never have happened, had happened. That vault, whose contents he didn't even know.
That vault, which must never be opened, and if it ever was, its contents had to be destroyed, had been cleaned out.
No, could it even be described as being cleaned out? A large part of the massive door had been torn off and had vanished somewhere.
It wasn't as if the door had grown legs and walked away.
“Where is he?”
“He escaped. He tunneled his way in. We are in pursuit, but…”
The knight’s face was etched with bewilderment. Who could have possibly predicted that some madman would tunnel his way in?
And then escape through a tunnel as well.
“It’s the same method used when Lord Sejanus’s mansion was first robbed. It seems…”
Before the knight could finish his sentence.
“Arsène Lupin. It was his doing.”
Meion Decker picked up the Arsène Lupin card lying on the floor.
“Of all the people…”
He was a man who had drawn attention for being part of the pro-Prometheus faction. He didn't know why the man, who had suddenly vanished, had reappeared to pull a stunt like this, but the crucial fact was that whatever was in that vault must not be allowed to spread.
He shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. He couldn't just let this end with a simple robbery.
“Issue a bounty throughout the Empire. The target is Arsène Lupin. A reward will be paid to anyone with even the slightest bit of information.”
“Lubeck is already surrounded. He won’t be able to escape the city easily.”
“Set up a blockade outside of Lubeck. The man is elusive. We must fully consider the possibility that he has already escaped. We cannot hang our hopes on uncertainties. Prepare and be ready.”
No matter what the man stole, he had to be caught. And the items recovered and destroyed.
“If not that. It wouldn't be a bad idea to silence him by killing him.”
Whatever it takes.