Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Birth of Phantom Thief Resit
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Millie was the ordinary daughter of a rural farmer.
Of course, her life was too impoverished to truly call ordinary.
Her parents were essentially serfs, tilling the fields on a noble's land without owning a single plot of their own.
She helped with the farmwork in that household, and once she was old enough, she took a job as a maid in the lord's castle.
She had been born with nothing special.
The daughter of serfs in a remote corner of the empire. Her attribute constitution was Telekinesis (E).
Far too lacking for a life of glamour.
Telekinesis itself was actually a well-regarded attribute constitution.
Though too low-tier to become a mage, it could handle a variety of tasks depending on how it was used.
In fact, Resit, the thief who had once been a comrade in the hero's party, was said to have Telekinesis (S).
But Millie's rank was E.
With bottom-of-the-barrel E-grade telekinesis, she could barely lift a single heavy book.
She couldn't sustain it for long either, and controlling anything invisible was out of the question, naturally.
It had some minor uses in daily life, but that was it.
E-grade was hopelessly inadequate for any real application.
"Egu-gu..."
It was one such day.
She was wiping down a corridor in the lord's castle at that moment.
-...With this, you could live a completely new life. Doesn't that excite you?
The leader of the Blue Hair Merchant Guild, who had visited the lord's castle.
She'd vaguely overheard that he was going around pitching some strange artifact recently made by the Illusion Tower to nobles everywhere.
Of course, it had nothing to do with Millie.
An artifact like that was ridiculously expensive for a mere commoner like her to buy.
It cost as much as one of the baroness's favorite rings.
"...A new life."
Even knowing that, it was hard to ignore.
Unlike the nobles who owned this castle, she had nothing to her name.
Her reality was nothing like theirs—far from prosperous.
And it wasn't the life she wanted at all.
The merchant leader's tale of forging his own path through effort sounded like a Cinderella story to Millie, full of hope.
Millie stopped cleaning the corridor and pressed her ear to the door of the audience chamber.
The merchant leader's stories of the wide world.
A mystical, fantastical realm. Ships soaring through the skies, crossing continents.
Tales of countless monsters, and how anyone could rise as a hero against them.
As she listened, Millie imagined that fantastical world called Maple Leaf Tale.
Just that made her heart race.
-Bah, enough! It's all just illusions anyway. You've been rejected plenty yourself. Peddling artifacts from some third-rate Illusion Tower.
But the lord didn't seem swayed.
He already lived with more than enough satisfaction.
The sound of the merchant leader rising at the lord's shout reached her ears, and Millie hurriedly pretended to clean again.
"...I'll be staying in this territory's village until tomorrow, my lord. If you change your mind, just say the word. You won't regret it."
With those parting words, the Blue Hair Merchant leader left the castle.
The lord paid it no mind.
But Millie, who had overheard, couldn't forget that world of Maple Leaf Tale.
A fantastical realm utterly unlike her sewer-like reality.
Even if it was just an illusion, she desperately wanted to live in such a world.
She dreamed of a life like that.
And only those who dream can make dreams come true.
"Millie! Once you're done with the corridor, change the bedding in Madam's room and head to the laundry!"
"Yes!"
A short while later, the head maid found her and assigned the next task.
It was the usual routine.
This time of year always meant changing the bedding.
But unlike usual, Millie was dreaming.
Millie finished the corridor and went to the baroness's room.
The baroness was out for a party in the neighboring territory that afternoon.
Judging by the jewelry box and vanity in disarray, she'd been in a frenzy primping right up until departure.
Cosmetics strewn about, the jewelry box half-open.
"Come to think of it, Madam rushed into the carriage saying she was late."
Even by carriage, the neighboring territory took quite a while.
To avoid being late, she had to time it precisely.
She probably hadn't tidied up properly.
Though the maids would handle cleaning anyway, so she hadn't bothered.
Chwaak- Chwaak-
Millie stripped the old bedding and replaced it with fresh linens.
Even as she worked, her eyes kept drifting to the baroness's jewelry box on the vanity.
"If I just had one of those..."
The baroness's jewels would fetch a high price, naturally.
The Illusion Tower artifact was expensive too, but selling one and adding a bit more should cover it.
"Ah, no...! If I'm caught, I'll get punished big time."
Millie shook her head vigorously.
No matter how badly she wanted the artifact the Blue Hair leader mentioned, stealing it meant no mercy.
If discovered, she'd be as good as dead.
"Still..."
Memories of her past flashed by.
Meals of stale bread and milk on the verge of spoiling.
A drafty, leaky old house.
The despair at age ten when her attribute test results came back.
Days as a lowly maid sneered at by the young lady younger than her.
She longed for freedom and happiness, but the gods had given her nothing.
And now, a chance for her to seize that freedom herself dangled before her.
It was a wicked choice she shouldn't make.
Yet it was also a free choice by her own will, breaking free from the chains of her reality.
"If I just take a ring without touching the vanity... It might not be noticed for a while? If I grab one from deep inside that she doesn't use much... And quit as a maid, move to another territory..."
Even so, it was no easy, reckless decision.
Millie had to hypnotize herself.
That she could steal the ring and get away with it.
Muttering that to herself, Millie peered into the jewelry box and channeled her telekinesis.
Normally so weak she couldn't even wring out a rag.
But plenty strong enough to lift a single tiny ring.
"I-I got it out...!"
In the end, Millie used telekinesis to pull a ring from the corner of the jewelry box and slip it into her pocket.
Her heart felt like it would burst.
But having already done the deed, courage welled up.
The vanity looked untouched to anyone glancing.
In the end, Millie finished the day with the ring in her pocket.
She went home, slept, and set out for a nearby city before dawn.
She ran the whole way—a distance too far to walk casually. Her rundown shoes wrecked her feet and legs on the long trek.
Upon reaching the city, she sold the ring to a jeweler and pocketed the money.
Her feet still throbbed as she hurried back to the village.
"W-Wait a moment!"
Gasping for breath, she dashed toward the Blue Hair Merchant Guild's carriage.
Blisters had burst on her feet, oozing pus and blood, and her skinny legs trembled.
The guild was just finishing packing and about to leave the village.
"...You buying something? We've already loaded the carriages."
One guild member said irritably.
Unloading meant messing up the neatly packed carts.
"The Illusion Tower artifact... I want to buy one."
"Huh? No idea where you heard, but even from the Illusion Tower, it's ridiculously pricey."
"H-Here. I brought the money."
Millie showed her money pouch.
The guild member stroked his goatee, puzzled.
Then Lipert, leader of the Blue Hair Merchant Guild, appeared.
"What's the holdup? Let's go."
"Ah, Guild Leader. This one's after an Illusion Tower artifact. But that's no sum a commoner can afford..."
The guild member glanced between the pouch and Millie.
Definitely too much cash for a rural commoner.
Lipert paused, then spoke.
"So what? Since when do we discriminate buyers? You're stuffed full already."
"Aaaah—got it, Guild Leader!"
Lipert twisted his subordinate's ear.
Lipert opened the carriage himself and pulled out Maple Leaf Tale.
"It'll be fun."
"Th-Thank you...!"
"Hey, let's move out."
Leaving the overjoyed Millie behind, Lipert boarded the carriage.
Millie clutched Maple Leaf Tale tight, bowing repeatedly to his retreating back.
"...Eh. She'll be fine."
As the carriage left the village, Lipert glanced out the window at her eager eyes fixed on Maple Leaf Tale, recalling his conversation with the illusion mage Rye.
'...We're at 500 now, but eventually, we'll mass-produce so anyone can play. Commoner or noble. Not this world where everything's unfairly decided at birth, but one where effort and talent let everyone enjoy fairly. I want to show it to the world.'
Rye's words when they first contracted with the Illusion Tower.
Amusingly, he spoke of 'equality'.
Lipert had thought it was just mage privilege at the time, but no.
Mages' status was determined by birth too, after all.
He just seemed to see the world differently.
Normally, he wouldn't sell to a commoner, but Rye's words echoed, so Lipert sold Maple Leaf Tale to the common girl.
Obviously money with a story behind it. He didn't pry.
She skipped off like a kid heading to the theater.
Seeing her buoyant steps lifted his mood.
And that was the origin story of [Phantom Thief Resit], the sole commoner-born member of the 'Zakum Expedition'.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Millie played Maple Leaf Tale every night.
She quit her maid job at the lord's castle right away and moved alone to a nearby city, starting odd jobs at a tavern.
Fortunately, no pursuit from the castle.
The baroness probably hadn't noticed... or so she thought. The woman had tons of trinkets.
Thus, Millie steadily leveled up.
She chose the nickname [Phantom Thief Resit] for no other reason.
It came from 'Resit', the assassin-thief of the past hero's party.
Resit's tale was famous, like all hero party stories.
Before joining the hero's party, Resit the commoner had lived as a thief and assassin.
Hardly an upright past for a hero's comrade.
People back then protested his inclusion.
But Galliard insisted.
Galliard had always been bullheaded, even as the hero.
Resit earned recognition only after death.
In the final battle with the Demon King, he sacrificed himself to bind its feet.
He died, but his sacrifice let them defeat the Demon King.
Afterward, it came out that the money he'd stolen and earned as an assassin funded orphanages and donations.
His methods were radical, but he lived for the downtrodden.
They called him 'Great Thief Resit' posthumously, finally hailing him a hero.
Especially popular among commoners.
Millie wasn't a 'great thief' like Resit.
More like a petty one, really.
So she went with [Phantom Thief Resit].
Choosing the dagger thief class for similar reasons.
It was unimpressive now, but someday she wanted to be like Resit.
Time passed. The 'Zakum Expedition' incident occurred.
Millie received an invitation too.
As a commoner attending an offline strategy meeting—especially one hosted by the imperial palace for the banquet—was daunting.
But Galliard's side said permission was already granted.
He was a commoner himself, after all, and wanted her to grace the event.
Thus, Millie headed to the imperial palace with her invitation.
As Galliard said, she entered the banquet, but everyone whispered upon seeing her.
She shrank, unable to utter a word in the strategy meeting.
Her class was Shadow, the most underrated.
Confidence waned.
She was an amazing player with the highest Shadow level, and in-game skill had nothing to do with real-world status, yet she felt inferior.
In that timid state, the 'Zakum clear' began.
Unsure of herself, but her skills shone.
With tricky HP management as a Shadow, she dazzled with fluid movement and steady DPS.
At the tail end of the Zakum clear.
Most members dead to an unforeseen main body attack pattern.
No hope of success; most had given up.
Zakum's final HP bar appeared, but too many were down.
"Judging by the HP bar drain rate, Zakum's remaining health is roughly..."
Millie, [Phantom Thief Resit], eyed the agonizingly slow-dropping HP bar and mentally estimated total health.
Futile, but useful for next attempt.
Finishing calculations, she concluded clear impossible.
Until she saw the floor thick with meso dropped by trash mobs.
"...Huh?"
A skill flashed in her mind.
'Meso Explosion', learned at third job advancement.
Detonates dropped meso on the map for damage.
More meso, bigger boom.
When she first got it, she wondered what kind of skill it was.
One reason Shadows were underrated.
Exploding dropped money for damage? Laughable compared to other classes' attacks.
[Phantom Thief Resit] had ignored it too.
But now, she grasped 'Meso Explosion's true value.
Just scatter enough money, and massive damage.
Her calculations showed dumping all her meso would nearly wipe Zakum's remaining HP.
Normally, no reason to try.
Loss from explosion far outweighs monster drops.
But not now.
The world watching the Zakum clear.
For that, burning this much meso was worthwhile.
Like the true hero 'Resit' once did.
Spending for the struggling despite finger-pointing.
A skill fit for a 'great thief'.
And so [Phantom Thief Resit] began scattering meso on the floor.
When her last single meso remained.
"Meso Explosion—"
Ting-
A coin flicked from [Phantom Thief Resit]'s finger.
Spinning, the maple leaf emblem flashed alternately.
A few comrades finally catching on gaped.
Moments later, a massive explosion vaporized Zakum's HP in droves.
"What the—?!"
"Wh-What kind of DPS is this?!"
"Finish it!"
Members who missed it panicked at the blast.
But they snapped to, piling on DPS.
The moment the last sliver of Zakum's HP vanished.
Kwajik- Kwajijik-
-Grrooooaaarrr—!!
A bizarre death cry as Zakum's body cracked.
"We... we did it..."
"Th-This time we really beat it!"
"Huaaaah..."
"We... actually did it."
"To think... we pulled it off. Haha... hahahahaha!"
Pang-
Zakum fully shattered, unleashing floods of items and meso.
Like jewels raining from the sky.
"Ah... ah..."
[Phantom Thief Resit] gazed at the scene, feeling an emotion she'd never known.
Born with nothing, life of poverty.
Days scrubbing floors from the bottom rung.
No one could've imagined her pulling off this miracle.
Possible only because this was the world of Maple Leaf Tale.
Where all start equal, achievements by effort.
And [Phantom Thief Resit] toiled silently here to make it happen.
[Phantom Thief Resit]. Millie, before the miracle she'd wrought herself.
Finally gifted herself a happy smile for the first time in her life.
Shortly after the Zakum clear succeeded.
Hina's recorded footage of the raid went public, stirring massive waves.
📰 Breaking News ['Zakum' Clear Interviews. Interviews with the 24 Heroes Who Made History in 'Maple Leaf Tale'.] 📰 Breaking News [4-Hour 'Zakum Clear' Recording. Calls to duplicate and sell copies grow; Illusion Tower says 'In Production'.] 📰 Breaking News [Shock! The Identity of [Phantom Thief Resit], Top Contributor to Zakum Clear. The Expedition's Only Commoner Member?] 📰 Breaking News [[Phantom Thief Resit]'s Feat Sparks 'Meso Explosion' Craze. Some Question How She Acquired 'Maple Leaf Tale'.] 📰 Breaking News [Dagger Thief Popularity Surges Thanks to [Phantom Thief Resit]. 'Mom, I Wanna Be a Shadow When I Grow Up!'] 📰 Breaking News ['Zakum's Helmet', Zakum's Best Drop Item. Detailed Specs and Who Got the First One?] 📰 Breaking News [Endless Popularity of [Empire's Light]. Nobles Demand Illusion Tower Release 'Zakum Clear Jebit Close-Up'.] "Here goes, Meso Explosion!"
"Hey! The more money, the cooler the boom!"
Alongside the 'Zakum Expedition's immense popularity.
Everyone who saw that raid's climactic highlight mimicked flicking coins with their fingers.