As Expected
As expected. I had let Nefure go without a fuss because I knew things would turn out exactly like this. She was the type who always tried to do the right thing.
“This way, please.”
“Thanks… But is it just the two of you here?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“…Is it really okay for me to come?”
“It’s perfectly fine. As long as you don’t harbor any ill intentions.”
“Uh, y-yeah. Of course not…”
The problem is that every single one of her natural talents is perfectly suited for criminal misuse.
Just watching the way she followed Diana was enough to tell. Even though she was wearing shoes, there wasn’t the slightest clack or rustle. The unconscious sway of her body tired the eyes and made it difficult to pinpoint her exact position. It was no accident that Nefure stood at the top of the thief class.
“What she can do? Lockpicking, reading presence, never forgetting a route once traveled, concealing her body, and…”
These were the abilities listed in the game as treasure chest unlocking, enemy detection, map creation, stealth, and assassination skills. She picked up every technique that was easy to abuse with ridiculous ease, and her growth rate was excellent. She was already half-resigned to it, and helping her overcome that was the core of Nefure’s relationship event.
In a situation where doing good required her abilities? There was no way she could refuse. Add in the academy recommendation letter, and it would have been stranger if she hadn’t taken the bait.
“Then I’ll be counting on you from now on.”
This was the official beginning of the thief-arrest party.
The next morning, I made a slightly preemptive request to Liere.
“Here it is. All the security force’s data on this incident.”
“Thanks.”
Fortunately they didn’t make an issue of it, so I obtained the materials more easily than expected.
“Stolen goods include family heirlooms and valuables… Attack locations and times recorded in detail… Perfect.”
It was high-quality information, complete with a narrowed-down list of suspect candidates.
“…Does that person really have to be here?”
Liere, who had brought the documents, spoke with a pout.
“………”
Nefure kept her eyes closed and stayed silent, but she must have heard every word.
She probably got all worked up after hearing herself called the little vigilante…
“She’s absolutely necessary. So don’t pick pointless fights.”
“Fiiine~”
Liere answered sullenly, but I wasn’t worried. After all, the two of them had been famous in the game as the Polar Bear Slayers.
They even had the same unique ability. There was a theory they might be distant relatives.
Their classes were natural enemies, yet that was exactly why they had such perfect phantom-thief-and-detective chemistry.
After “Nefure the Thief,” her next most famous nickname was Neti.
Liere didn’t have anything particularly noteworthy. Unlike Neti, the detective-type character never became famous by name.
“………”
“………”
The seeds were already sprouting. I could see them stealing glances at each other, clearly conscious of one another’s presence.
“Here—this person, this person, and these two. Please separate them out like this.”
“Suspect list?”
“Yes. These are the ones with a relatively high chance of being responsible.”
Once Diana finished sorting the suspects using her regression knowledge, Nefure stepped forward next.
“I’ve been thinking while watching the situation unfold.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“The first incident was probably impulsive, or possibly carried out by someone unrelated to the current attacker.”
This overlapped with what Diana had already said. The reason they couldn’t identify the culprit behind the thefts was because the crimes were opportunistic. The Altea family provided more than enough motive, and the actual perpetrators were people who happened to have good timing or had experienced random triggers.
“What makes you so sure?”
Since this was information I had only because I’d seen the incident repeat across many regressions, I was curious why Nefure could state it with such certainty.
“Because of what was stolen in the first crime.”
“…The golden wine cup. Not quite a family heirloom, but still a high-grade valuable. It really is a precious metal cast from gold and jewels.”
“Exactly. The important part is that it’s expensive. And relatively easy to fence.”
“So it was a crime targeting valuables.”
“But after that it changes. The second crime took that pig’s wig, his favorite lighter, and his signet ring. The third took an Altea family heirloom.”
“I see what you mean. The targets have shifted.”
Simply stealing valuables and deliberately humiliating the Altea family and their governor were two completely different things. Nefure had spotted the inconsistency.
“On top of that, they forced their way in even after security had been tightened. Doing it twice means the culprit is a principled lunatic.”
“So the grudge against the Altea family runs that deep?”
“Simple anger doesn’t last long. I’ve heard the current governor is an infuriating bastard, but he hasn’t been in office long enough for that rage to properly ferment.”
“…The security force suspects it isn’t an artist type.”
“Really? We haven’t finished checking everything yet, so that’s new. What’s their reasoning?”
Liere pulled out a single sheet of paper and showed it to us.
“A delicate miniature painting… Who drew this?”
“I did. Photo magic can’t be taken outside, so I drew it just now.”
“…That’s incredible.”
I’d never heard she had artistic talent, but when I considered Liere’s unique ability, it made sense.
“Looking at this, I understand why they classified it as the artist type.”
It was a painting that reproduced an entire room with photographic accuracy, yet something strange stood out in the middle.
“Some kind of altar?”
“We couldn’t figure out what it was either. The temple only ruled that it had no connection to the Evil God and left it at that.”
“Still, sometimes the fact that it’s meaningless is the meaning.”
“This is the third crime scene.”
The next picture she handed over showed something similar. It wasn’t using items the culprit had brought; they had simply gathered whatever was nearby. At first glance it looked like random clutter swept together while searching the room, but there was one decisive difference. The arranged objects carried clear human intent rather than randomness.
“…A principled artist lunatic.”
The man might as well have been born to star in a crime thriller.
“People like this enjoy the thrill. Unless something special happens, the addiction will probably drive them to keep going.”
“The security force reached the same conclusion. The reason we keep following the governor’s instructions is because we’re certain the culprit will strike again.”
“Hmm~ Then this person probably isn’t it.”
Listening to the pair, Diana removed several names from her suspect list.
Three strong candidates left.
The overall circumstances were different from what Diana had experienced, so there was still a chance none of them were responsible. But that was a problem for later. Simply narrowing down the people we needed to watch was already a big help.
“So where will he strike next?”
“Well… It’s not certain, but looking at the direction of the stolen items and the performance aspect, one possibility comes to mind.”
“What is it?”
“This guy enjoys the thrill, but he also wants to humiliate his victims.”
“Well, obviously. Especially when you think about the wig.”
“If that psychology reaches its peak, there’s a chance he’ll deliberately choose a place with heavy security.”
It was a convincing argument. Smashing through someone’s greatest strength and then teabagging them was a universal impulse.
“…But thieves are supposed to sneak in at night, right?”
“Isn’t the fact that he doesn’t what makes him insane?”
I nodded at Nefure’s words.
“Then it really has to be there.”
“Right. He’ll come through the front gate.”
“…I really didn’t want to come here.”
“Oh my, don’t say that. This is necessary.”
“I know. That’s why I came.”
We stood in front of the Altea mansion.
After all, we’re directly involved.
We needed to coordinate with the security force and the various ragtag helpers the governor had gathered. We could pass along the information we’d uncovered while we were at it.
“I seriously don’t want to go…”
“We already talked about this, didn’t we?”
“Still don’t want to…”
The problem was that these people were the root of all evil. The governor wasn’t even the head of the Altea family, yet he had stirred up every kind of trouble, mass-producing potential thieves. He had dragged in every available soldier and turned an entire city into chaos.
No matter how you look at it, this is at the level where the imperial family should step in.
Pickpocketing had decreased, but street robberies and muggings had risen significantly. Damage was even starting to appear among the nobility. It was a precarious situation right on the brink of catastrophe.
“Is it because of us?”
“Hmm… I haven’t heard anything official, but there were several cases during the pilgrimage that were strangely delayed.”
“As expected.”
There was no way the imperial family, with their gift of future sight, would allow the empire’s greatest resort city to fall into ruin like this. It was safe to assume our presence was the reason. The thought was a little bitter. We had stepped forward to help many people, but because of that, those who could have helped more easily and quickly were now sitting idle.
“Don’t let it weigh on you too much. Even the imperial family has limits to its power.”
“It’s a blasphemous thing to say, but I understand what you mean.”
Even the imperial family couldn’t watch over the entire empire at once. If someone else was handling the problem, they could pull troops from here and deploy them somewhere more urgent.
“We just have to do our part…”
With that, Diana and I took reluctant steps forward.
“What is your business here? I’m sorry, but the mansion is currently off-limits.”
As we approached the grand estate, a soldier politely stepped forward to block our path.
“Helio of the Helisbote family and Diana of the Diabeluna family. We came to greet the person responsible for the city.”
“…I will inform those inside.”
Our family names were far too powerful for a single soldier to turn us away. While he went inside to deliver the message, Diana whispered in my ear.
“This might be a bit late to mention.”
“What is it?”
“The governor of Altea that I remember was definitely a skinny old man.”
But Nefure had said otherwise.
“…She called him a pig, right?”
“Yes.”
“It changed again.”
“It seems so.”
A sigh escaped me. What the hell is the problem this time?