A Conversation Between Professors

Even for Monk Myeongho, who desperately wished to monitor Orknodi's every move, an unavoidable trial had arrived.

"During lecture hours, I must deliver my own lectures, so I cannot maintain constant surveillance!"

What classes would Orknodi attend, and what manner of trouble would she stir up? He was constantly on edge, feeling as anxious as someone watching a toddler play at the water's edge. If she were a novice monk under his tutelage, he could at least give her a stern scolding, but Orknodi was no disciple of his. All he could do was pray that she would not stray from the path of righteousness.

The moment his lecture ended, Monk Myeongho immediately checked the course registration records synchronized to his faculty pocket watch.

"Good heavens..."

Things had taken a truly extraordinary turn.

Orknodi, already firmly stamped in everyone's minds as a thief, was attending a lecture taught by the Empire's greatest thief. Could an encounter of destiny be any more ill-fated? It was practically strapping rocket boosters to the back of a child who was already flying. If the peerless, uncanny techniques of Professor Estrada—the legendary chivalrous thief—were added into the mix, just how much further would Orknodi descend into a life of larceny? He was already terrified for the child's future.

"I must pay her a personal visit and discuss this."

If only for Orknodi's future, this had to be stopped.

Professor Estrada doesn't seem particularly possessive of disciples, so if I appeal to her reason, she should understand.

It was obvious where she would be now that her lecture was over. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Marked as she was with intense scrutiny and hostility by professors hailing from the Empire, she was hardly the type to socialize with the faculty. Nine times out of ten, she would be holed up in her assigned private laboratory.

"Professor Estrada. Are you within?"

Unlike the haughty female professors of the Empire who wafted subtle, heavy perfumes, Professor Estrada's laboratory smelled of nothing at all. Colorless and odorless. Befitting an elusive phantom thief who left no trace behind, there was so little presence that one might wonder if anyone was even there.

"The door was left unlocked. I know you are inside, so please spare me a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment of your time. I have come to consult you regarding a student."

"Persistent, aren't we? I'll grant you an audience only because you aren't one of those Central Empire lackeys."

Click. Rumble-clatter. Thuuuuum!

From the laboratory's walls, floor, and ceiling, the thunderous grinding of mechanical contraptions echoed throughout the room. ...What in the world had this woman done to her office? Just as the old proverb warned never to pick a quarrel inside a wizard's workshop, one might soon need a proverb warning against ever stepping foot into a phantom thief's laboratory.

"Did you install mechanical traps to ward off thieves?"

"You're not wrong. It's an anti-Imperial interception array, set up to prevent those imperial-stipend-leeching thieves from trespassing."

"...Aren't your relations with them a bit excessively hostile?"

The floor split left and right, revealing a hidden subterranean staircase.

"Did an Eastern professor with such a busy schedule truly come all this way just to fret over my social circle?"

"Certainly not. As I stated, I came to consult you about a student."

"Did some student get sticky fingers? Let me tell you right now, I have zero interest in run-of-the-mill pickpockets or petty criminals."

Though she was unmistakably walking up the stairs, the female professor produced not a single sound with her footsteps. Whatever had been held in her hand vanished in the blink of an eye.

...Concealed weapons?

He had been slow to notice only because of the voluminous, unmistakable presence of her chest, which made its bold presence known even through her button-up shirt. Could it be that possessing a captivating bust was an essential prerequisite to becoming an exceptional chivalrous thief?

Good grief. What rude, disgraceful nonsense is this humble monk thinking?

Blushing at his own unmonk-like lapse in decorum, he looked up to see Professor Estrada, who had now reached the top of the stairs, standing slightly crooked as she regarded him.

"As expected of a monk, you break free from charm remarkably fast. Quite different from the dime-a-dozen corrupt monks wandering out there."

"Did you just use such a trick on a fellow professor?"

"I was curious about the effects of your course, Basics of the Mana Cultivation Technique Learned Through Meditation. Its efficacy is quite evident."

Her radiant smile brought to mind the saying that a beautiful woman's smile could dissolve all the world's fury, awakening a deep, benevolent compassion within his heart. Indeed, striking beauty was an undeniable prerequisite for a phantom thief.

Fearing that dragging out the conversation would only result in further embarrassing himself, Monk Myeongho cut straight to the point.

"Do you remember young Lady Orknodi, who registered for your class this morning?"

"An honor student."

"Lady Orknodi is a scholarship student dispatched by the Foundation. However, while the Foundation previously kept the identities of its scholarship students under strict secrecy, this time they openly disclosed their backing."

"A peculiar turn of events, indeed."

There wasn't a single professor unaware of the Foundation. More than a few faculty members had suffered under their notorious reputation. Bronze de Estrada, the legendary chivalrous thief who had once thrown the entire Holy Central Empire into turmoil, gave her assessment:

"Those disciple-thieving scoundrels laying their trap card face-up on the table?"

"It is unequivocally unprecedented."

"Their scholarship students only have their identities exposed when their growth potential has hit a dead end, haven't they? Does the Foundation not understand that child's true worth?"

"I believe the Foundation's policy may have shifted. Furthermore, freshman Orknodi's personal brilliance is anything but ordinary."

"So you've placed her under special surveillance."

"That is correct."

"And so? What is this consultation you wished to speak of?"

"If the child's future grows precarious, the Foundation's influence over her will only strengthen. The Headmaster and I intend to firmly guide her so that she never falls back into their grasp."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Please cancel Lady Orknodi's enrollment in your class."

Professor Estrada crossed her arms beneath her chest with an amused expression. Though folding her arms accentuated her bust even more prominently beneath her shirt, Monk Myeongho, having fortified his mental defenses, didn't spare it so much as a glance.

"Does it displease you that the child is taking lectures from a chivalrous thief like me?"

"She is already a child of immense risk. During the matriculation prep period, she strolled in and out of guard outposts, the dormitory proctor's quarters, and along the dormitory's outer walls as if they were her own backyard. Barring myself, who watched in secret, not a single soul noticed."

"Oho."

"If a child capable of that without any formal training learns professional techniques in your lectures, she will grow by leaps and bounds."

"Naturally. In fact, she set an unprecedented record in her very first class."

"That is precisely the problem."

Monk Myeongho was terrified for what lay ahead.

"If that child masters the art of the chivalrous thief, becomes a second phantom thief, and begins trespassing where she must never go, what will become of her public standing?"

"'How magnificent'? 'Marry me, big sister'?"

"...She will become an enemy of the Empire! Just as you did! Do you truly intend to lead an innocent, pure child down the very path you walked?"

"Now that hurts my feelings."

"Please understand. If a child with nowhere left to turn is extended a hand by the Foundation, how could she ever refuse? A ruined reputation will be fatal to her future."

She understood his point. He truly is an upright man. Professor Estrada thought that this Eastern professor was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠indeed cut from a different cloth than the rotten imperial faculty. Fobbing off such a person with half-hearted deceit would leave a foul aftertaste.

"The guard posts and the proctor's room are equipped with mana sensors to prevent unauthorized intrusion," she said. "If she wasn't caught, it means she avoided them on pure instinct."

"?"

"Do you really believe a child endowed with such innate talent will cease her thievery just because she doesn't receive my instruction?"

"On that matter, this humble monk shall provide strict discipline and guidance—"

"You teach lectures. Aren't you busy?"

"...Well, that..."

"You cannot monitor her every breath twenty-four hours a day. Nor is that conduct befitting an academy professor. Even the Headmaster wouldn't ask for that much."

She removed her silk hat, sweeping her cascading hair back in a fluid motion. Behind that confident gesture, a mischievous smile played in her amber eyes—a predatory glint reminiscent of a feline beast pondering how best to devour its prey. A charm capable of captivating others even without an ounce of enchantment held Monk Myeongho's gaze.

"Besides, the Headmaster made a promise to me."

"A promise... you say?"

"'If a vessel of a master thief capable of stealing the Empire ever appears, I shall allow you to take that student as your primary disciple. No matter their origin or status. So long as you obtain their personal consent, without exception.'"

"Good heavens. The Headmaster made quite an absurd pledge. Was it a sacred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠oath?"

"Of course."

A sacred oath was a covenant that had to be upheld at all costs. The moment an oath was broken, the perpetrator's very existential rank would plummet. The transcendent dragon had once sworn an oath: "Any nation that interferes with my role as the academy's headmaster shall be erased from the map," and nine hundred years ago, an entire empire had indeed ceased to exist. This was merely an extension of the dragon's playful whim, and it was the very reason countless factions and organizations across the continent treated the Academy with such gingerly restraint.

"If her fate to become a thief cannot be averted, then receiving guidance from a chivalrous thief is the best path for her future. Besides, being a chivalrous thief isn't so terrible a profession."

"Because unlike an ordinary bandit, a chivalrous thief learns benevolence and righteousness?"

"The annual income is magnificent."

"..."

"She'll never have to worry about making a living."

"Professor."

"You think I'm joking? I am speaking in dead earnest. Most of the world's tribulations stem from a lack of money. If she has wealth, she won't ever have to rely on the Foundation."

Monk Myeongho prayed with all his heart that this woman was jesting, but no matter how he looked at her, she appeared completely sincere.

"I shall personally take responsibility and raise Lady Orknodi into the continent's greatest chivalrous thief."

Like a man who sought to have a wen removed only to grow another, he had come to cancel a course registration, only to ignite the fierce passion of the Empire's greatest phantom thief.