The Reluctant Heist

In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the end, Tae-hyun gave in. Since the person in question said so, what else could he do?

"Fine. Then I guess I should start looking for items in Pan-On."

"That's a great idea!"

"Ah! Hello! Oh my! It's an honor! Yes! Yes! Where am I? Well, here is... What? I'm not lying! Really, it's true..."

"...?"

Choi Sang-yun, who was lounging around the lodging, stared at Cain in bewilderment. Who on earth was he talking to on the phone to act like that?

"Who's calling?"

"H-he says he's a PD! From SBC!"

"Why is he calling?"

"He's asking if I want to appear on a broadcast!"

"Shouldn't you pass on that?"

"?!"

At Sang-yun's deadpan advice, Cain asked back in a panic. "Why?!"

"If you go on TV, people are just going to roast your fashion sense again..."

"..."

Cain couldn't refute that. Still, he couldn't bring himself to give up a TV appearance over a few insults.

"No way! I don't care about that! I'm going on!"

"Sure... if you say so..."

Sang-yun nodded, letting him do as he pleased. Cain turned his attention back to his phone.

"Yes! Yes. Kim Tae-hyun is coming on too? Ah, the lodging... Yes! This is the correct address! No, I'm serious! How did we get this place? Uh, Tae-hyun got it for us..."

Sang-yun watched Cain bow and scrape to an empty room as he spoke. Once the call ended, a curious Sang-yun asked, "By the way, why did you reject the offers from the other gaming teams? I mean, the team Tae-hyun made is obviously top-tier, but the offers from the other places must have been incredible too."

"Well... I didn't get any."

"...?"

Sang-yun blinked, utterly confused. "You didn't get any?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you sure there wasn't some kind of misunderstanding?"

"Do I look like an idiot?! How could I mistake something like that!"

"To think the Red Rock Fortress has fallen! What on earth were you doing?! You useless pieces of trash!"

—Chwik, it was already captured before we could even go to help...

"You call that an excuse?! This is exactly why I hate Orcs! Incompetent fools!"

Monroso jumped up and down, shrieking at the Orc chieftains. The chieftains glared at Monroso, but they didn't talk back. After all, the fortress had indeed fallen.

Having logged in during the commotion, Tae-hyun subtly slipped into the conversation.

"Urgh... I am terribly sorry...! The adventurers' assault was so vicious and relentless... there was nothing we could do...!"

"Exactly! You Orcs, look at him! My deputy here went to the fortress to fight in person, so what were the rest of you doing?!"

The Orc chieftains, who had been gathering their tribal warriors to march to the fortress, hung their heads in shame. The Red Rock Fortress had fallen far too quickly! It was a situation that should have been impossible unless an insider had secretly opened the gates! However, Monroso refused to listen to any excuses.

"Move! If the next fortress falls, I will not let you off easily! The Great Chieftain is highly displeased with you!"

—Chwiik, we wish to see the Great Chieftain. Let us meet him.

"He is too disappointed in you to show his face! Go back to your duties!"

Wow. He's good.

Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed. To pull off a scam with such absolute confidence—Tae-hyun found himself taking notes.

"Now that the Red Rock Fortress has fallen, the next target is the one above it. Gather the Orcs there! What an embarrassment, struggling against a ragtag bunch of adventurers!"

—Chwik, understood.

Though the Orc chieftains grumbled, they ultimately accepted Monroso's orders. After all, his logic was sound.

"Lord Monroso. Where are the chieftains who drank the demon's blood? We should call upon them to help... The adventurers' momentum is no joke."

"Just like the Great Chieftain, they are currently resting inside their tents."

"Can we not deploy them?"

"No. Their physical appearances have completely warped. The others would notice immediately."

"Haha, I see."

Tae-hyun subtly gathered information. So that's how it is, huh?

"I will also head to the next fortress to fight. I've summoned a few of my subordinates, so they should arrive shortly."

"An excellent attitude! Truly worthy of my appointed deputy. Go and stop them!"

"Uh, Lord Monroso. When do you plan to summon Edaor...?"

"It is impossible right now. We need to sacrifice Orcs as offerings, but we do not have the time to gather them. The adventurers are already running wild in the fortress's front yard."

"I see."

"...Did you just laugh?"

"No, of course not. My face was merely contorted in rage."

"We have arrived, Lord Tae-hyun!"

"Why was I dragged along...?"

The self-proclaimed Great Thief, Ed-an, and the demon blacksmith, Saruon. The two arrived and met Tae-hyun in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forest outside the fortress.

"Ed-an. The reason I called you is simple. In fact, there's only one reason. I need you to steal something."

"Fufu, I figured as much."

Saruon glared at Ed-an with utter contempt. This thief had tried to run away when he was first summoned, only to get caught by Galakpad! He couldn't understand why Tae-hyun had brought along such a classless scoundrel.

"Alright, go over there and steal the skull necklace that symbolizes the Authority of the Great Chieftain."

"...Pardon? Isn't that the heart of the fortress where the Orc Great Chieftain resides?"

"Oh, you know the place?"

"Well, I've traveled all over, so I'm familiar with the geography... No, wait a minute, Lord Tae-hyun! Sneaking in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there is suicide! And the Great Chieftain's necklace? If he catches me, he'll grind my bones to dust!"

"It's fine. I'll be waiting far away."

"..."

"Just kidding. The Great Chieftain isn't in his right mind right now. Someone else has the necklace. It's a mage named Monroso, and he looks like a total pushover. He probably is one."

"...Is that true?"

Ed-an asked skeptically. It was a level of distrust unheard of in any other religious order! Saruon was so exasperated that he began to scold Ed-an.

"You filthy thief. How dare you speak to the Pope who leads our church in such a manner? The Pope is no common street thug; surely he wouldn't lie about something like this. Right?"

Saruon turned his gaze to Tae-hyun as he spoke. Tae-hyun had a guilty look on his face.

"O-of course!"

"...?"

"You just stammered! You totally stammered!"

"You must have misheard. Anyway, just go, use your best judgment, and bring it back. Oh, and there's a warehouse over there. If you see anything good inside, grab it all."

"But the Great Chieftain is there..."

"...And like I said, he's not in his right mind, so this is your golden opportunity. Even his elite guards are nowhere to be seen because of his condition. Now is the perfect time!"

"In that case, leave it to me!"

"Good, good. Go and sweep the place clean. I tried to grab some things myself, but those Orcs kept giving me dirty looks."

Whoosh!

Ed-an vanished into the forest. Tae-hyun turned his gaze to Saruon.

"So, why did you summon me?"

"Ah, it's nothing major, but..."

"...You summoned me for nothing major? I was in the middle of teaching the master blacksmiths about a new secret bomb!"

"Just out of curiosity, what kind of bomb?"

"It's called the Shadow Bomb, one of the secret arts passed down among demon blacksmiths. It's a bomb you secretly plant in the target's shadow, so the victim has no idea..."

"..."

Tae-hyun seriously debated whether he should kick Saruon out. Compared to other cities, Tae-hyun's territory was lacking in many areas. What made up for those shortcomings were the unique features unavailable elsewhere. Despite that, Saruon and the players specializing in Engineering and blacksmithing were far too... ominous. He felt like at any moment, someone would run up to him screaming, Lord Tae-hyun! The territory is on fire! There's been an accident!

"...Make sure to teach me that recipe too. Anyway, the reason I called you today is because of Esla."

"Lord Esla! You called me because of Lord Esla?! What happened?!"

"Well, it might not actually have much to do with Esla directly..."

Tae-hyun explained the situation. Come to think of it, Esla himself is fine. Since they just drew a bit of his blood to pull this off, maybe Saruon won't care too much?

However, Saruon's reaction was explosive.

"How... arrogant... and pathetic...!"

Saruon trembled with pure rage.

"Let's go kill him! He must die!"

"No, not right now."

"What do you mean not right now?! That bastard is using Lord Esla's blood!"

"I'm telling you, if we go now, we'll die. Do you have any idea how many Orcs are over there? I have no desire to witness another demon raid."

Tae-hyun barely managed to calm Saruon down.

"Now, listen."

"Whew... huff... whew..."

"His plan seems to be feeding Esla's blood to the Orcs to control them. If you go, wouldn't they listen to you over him? After all, you're a demon closely associated with Esla."

"Hmm... that makes sense. There is definitely a possibility."

"...!"

As Saruon nodded, Tae-hyun clenched his fist. One of the key conditions of his plan had been met.

"But to confirm it, wouldn't we have to go inside?"

"We can just walk in. What's the issue?"

"No, if he's a skilled warlock, he'll notice the moment I step inside."

"...!"

Tae-hyun realized his oversight. Even if Monroso seemed loose-lipped and easy to handle, his ability as a warlock was undeniable, given his confidence in utilizing and summoning demonic power. If Saruon got any closer, he would undoubtedly be detected.

"Hmm. In that case..."

"...?"

"You can just wait here."

"...You want me to just wait here?"

Saruon asked, dumbfounded. What was he supposed to do in the middle of a dense, empty forest?

"Well, then... should I introduce you to some goblins?"

"...I'll just wait here. Goblins are a bit..."

He works on Engineering with them, but he doesn't like goblins? Tae-hyun found it odd, but since Saruon refused, he didn't force the issue.

"That crazy Pope..."

Ed-an muttered, quickly looking around just in case. Fortunately, Tae-hyun was nowhere in sight.

"How am I supposed to steal that?"

Tae-hyun had described Monroso as a complete pushover to get Ed-an to do the job, but Ed-an could tell at a single glance. Monroso was a formidable opponent!

Look at all the spells woven into that robe. If I approach him carelessly, my stealth will break and I'll be dead!

Ed-an slunk backward.

The only reason Tae-hyun had assigned this task to Ed-an was because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he knew Ed-an was the type to run away the moment things looked bad. Loyalty was a foreign concept in the Archisus Cult!

"I-I can just raid the warehouse, right?"

Even if he couldn't rob Monroso, robbing the warehouse would still count as doing his job. With that thought, Ed-an moved his feet.

"Yes. I am merely carrying out my orders!"

Fortunately, the warehouse seemed to have no security other than a few patrolling Orc sentries. The elite guards led by the Orc chieftains were nowhere to be seen. Ed-an let out a sigh of relief and began rummaging through the warehouse. What could he take to make this heist legendary?

Since taking the Great Chieftain's necklace from that guy is out of the question, I need to make up for it as much as possible here...

*Clack.*

Wandering through the warehouse, Ed-an felt his foot hit something and looked down. It was a rusty, pathetic-looking spear.

"? What is this weak weapon...? Ugh, this is garbage. Besides, it belongs to another god. Lord Tae-hyun might get angry."

Since Ed-an wasn't usually very devout, he figured he should at least try to act the part at a time like this.