Let's Do One Job Together
“You know how to meet her?”
“Yes, I do.”
When I asked about the contact method, Diana answered calmly.
“It was the suggestion I was going to make if you didn’t have any plans of your own.”
This was exactly why it was so difficult to seize the initiative against a regressor, even if they gave you some leeway.
The overwhelming information advantage that they had already tried and tested every method I could think of or discover.
The mere thought that their attempts might not have been limited to just once made me feel like a child showing off tricks in front of adults.
“…Right. Do you happen to know the culprit as well?”
Still, I gritted my teeth and asked the most important question.
The moment I became buried in that feeling, treating myself like a fool or arbitrarily judging the other person’s emotions, I would lose sight of my own path.
I told myself to live the life I wanted.
The first step was to straighten the wick of my heart.
Because blindly being swayed by emotions and circumstances would ultimately prevent me from living the life I desired.
“Hmm… As for the suspects, yes, I know. The thefts in Altea always happen around similar times, but the perpetrator isn’t fixed.”
“That means this isn’t a planned crime.”
The fact that the culprit changed every time suggested it was an impulsive act that could be triggered by even slight variables.
All the suspects must have had motives for this kind of thing, and some incident had set them off.
At the root of it all, the Altea family is the problem.
I’d need to look into the details, but their attitude toward thieves and the way they handled things didn’t paint the Altea family in a particularly positive light.
“Have you tried cooperating with the Altea family?”
Even so, I had to check at least once.
Feeling displeased and solving the problem were two different matters.
“………What?”
“Yeah, that’s enough. Thanks.”
And I felt relieved by Diana’s long silence and sour reaction.
There was no need to join hands with trash. I could simply get help from a professional, just as I had initially thought.
And so, we had arrived at this moment.
“S-Save me……”
“Aang? Don’t say it like that. You’re making it look like I’m the one tormenting you.”
While waiting at the time and location Diana had mentioned, I heard a voice begging for help along with a clichéd line.
“Please wait.”
“Of course I will.”
Passion burned in my chest, urging me to resolve this quickly, but I suppressed it.
It wasn’t time yet.
“Please, I’ll give you the money! Just spare my life…”
“Hey now, don’t say it so coldly. I just want to get close. Why are you still shaking like that? Hm?”
And the passion that had been flaring up like wildfire gradually began to subside as the situation continued.
After all, this was a robbery where it was hard to even let out a single scream, yet the victim still hadn’t been hit once and was still shouting.
“Are we the ones they find annoying?”
“More precisely, they probably hate anyone who interferes with their easy money-making.”
“It might be a way to rob nobles.”
In Altea’s security vacuum, people who helped others were usually either overly nosy types or arrogant nobles showing off.
Either way, it was the perfect setup to vent their frustrations while also making money.
“Stop.”
And the person who had just been caught was exactly that kind of person.
“Here they come.”
“Similar to last time.”
Thud. Thwack.
“Kugh… Just you wait!”
The fight itself ended quickly.
The moment the newly arrived person swung their fists a few times with dazzling skill, the man with the vicious face bolted deeper into the alley.
“Good thing their hands aren’t that strong…”
Grab. Crack.
“Secured.”
“Well done. We’ll hand them over together with the daily wage.”
There was no need to go through the hassle of chasing them. Since they had come to us, I simply twisted their neck to knock them out and kept watching the other side.
“Th-Thank you! You saved my life!”
“…It’s dangerous, so don’t come to places like this. Stick to the tourist areas. And watch out for pickpockets.”
“W-Wait. My legs have no strength… Please help…”
“Tsk.”
The play was reaching its climax. Only the finale remained.
“Grab her.”
“Y-Yes…”
There were only five seconds left until the person who had offered help extended their hand, the robber grabbed it to simultaneously maintain distance and restrain them, then stabbed them with a dagger.
“Thank you. Now die.”
“Huh?”
“Now.”
Swish.
And at that exact moment, Diana fired her bow.
The weapon in her hand was the Black Butterfly Bow, the final weapon of an assassination build. True to its nature, it fired Shadow Arrows that were invisible in both form and sound.
Clang.
The dagger the robber was holding was struck and knocked away.
“There. Confirmed. Come over here. Unless you want to get stabbed again.”
“…………”
Realizing she had almost died just now, the girl stepped back with a wary expression.
She didn’t come toward us, but she also didn’t return to the side of the person who had nearly stabbed her.
“Good sense of caution. It would’ve been better if you used it on them instead of me, though.”
“…Tsk.”
“S-Save me…”
When I pointed at the robber, she dropped to her knees again and begged.
“Oh wow, that’s some incredible acting. I almost feel like sparing you for real.”
Having watched the performance, it was clear her acting was intense enough to pull off a two-person con robbery duo.
If someone saw a woman crying and begging like that in a dark alley, anyone would feel their heart weaken and try to help.
“And then they would’ve stabbed the helpful person. Like this.”
Flick.
“Aack!!”
When I flicked her forehead, the woman dropped the dagger she had been holding.
The dagger she had tried to stab the man with earlier had been knocked away by the shadow arrow and was rolling on the ground over there, which meant the one she just dropped was a new one.
“Good grief. How many daggers do you have? Are you an assassin, not a robber?”
“Ugh!! What the hell! Why?! I had the prey right in my grasp!”
The pitiful crying face from moments ago was gone. The woman twisted her face into a vicious scowl and spat out incoherent rage.
However, her role in this place was over.
Thanking her for creating the opportunity to get close to the other one, I brought my right hand in front of her forehead.
“Sleep.”
“W-Wait. I won’t resist, so please spare—”
Crack.
“……………”
“Oops. I failed to control my strength.”
This crazy bitch had begged for her life while aiming the blade hidden in her shoe at my shin.
Surprised by her genius-level skill in a sense, I had put more strength into my fingers than intended.
Fortunately, nothing burst out, but she might suffer some aftereffects.
Thump.
I tossed the crazy bitch aside and looked at the other one.
“………”
Crimson eyes filled with wariness were examining both me and Diana.
* * *
Content: My dad taught me to filter out thieves in parties.
[This post has been deleted by the author.]
Since the Academy was fundamentally a school for nobles, characters with the thief class were extremely rare.
As a result, most players had to hire mercenaries when exploring dungeons. Because the equation “thief = thief” had taken root, rewards often vanished, and sometimes the game would even break due to assassinations.
In the midst of that, Nepure Nep, who entered as a freshman in the second year, became the hope of all players.
Her performance was so good that simply hearing “thief” made people think of “Nep Thief” instead.
She’s from Altea and still has a year left before enrollment, so I figured she’d be here, but I didn’t expect to meet her right away.
“…Thank you for helping.”
After the crazy bitch collapsed and she realized she had been helped, Nepure Nep obediently lowered her head in greeting.
Even though her eyes were full of distrust, the fact that she expressed gratitude instead of showing suspicion or pride was honestly worthy of points.
However, that was merely a very small silence that would continue if we simply went our separate ways.
If I tried to approach her even a little, the deeply piled layers of distrust would immediately rear their heads again.
“You don’t have to thank us like that. We basically used you too.”
That was why I deliberately stepped on the landmine.
“…What?”
As expected, my intentionally provocative words drew a sharp response from Nepure Nep.
I shrugged as if it were no big deal and answered.
“I heard there was a duo of robber-murderers, but I wasn’t sure. So I waited until they made a move themselves.”
“……Ah, so that’s what you meant.”
“It wasn’t exactly bait… more like we used you as a sacrificial lamb, so you can get angry. Still, there was a chance it might have been a real victim, so I needed confirmation.”
Of course, I had gained that confirmation almost immediately, but I didn’t bother saying so.
Anyway, after deliberately provoking her emotions and then giving a proper justification, Nepure Nep calmed her anger and suspicion and nodded.
“Yes, you’re right. Preventing innocent victims is more important. I understand.”
This was the psychologically best moment to shake her.
She had gotten angry once, but now that it was revealed to be a misunderstanding, her anger threshold was higher than usual.
It was the point where she would start doubting herself to avoid making another mistake.
“By the way, I heard these kinds of people appeared because of the thieves from the Altea family?”
“…You’re an outsider, yet you know well.”
“Well, while cleaning up trash, we ended up hearing all sorts of things.”
“…………”
“So, how about it? Want to do one job with us?”
Even after such a suspicious offer, she didn’t leave immediately.
