The Soap Thieves
The three thieves—Karl, Johnson, and Hansen—felt dazed by the sunlight that blinded their eyes. Having spent a year in prison where the only light came from the torches the guards lit for the inmates, the intense rays of the sun were almost impossible to get used to.
"Boss, is this for real?"
"Who knows… Still, the Knight Commander herself came and let us out. What could go wrong?"
"She won't just throw us back in after we finish the job, right?"
Karl and Johnson stood with their eyes squinted, feeling genuine gratitude toward the sun shining above their heads. Hansen, on the other hand, was already worrying about what came next.
"For now, let's just be glad we're out of that damn cell. We've got plenty of coin too. Let's hit the tavern first."
"If you say so, boss… Tch."
Though the three thieves had stepped out of prison, they weren't truly free. The clear brand burned into the backs of their hands was a tracking spell. It ensured that no matter where they ran, they could be caught again at any time.
"Gulp. Gulp. Kyaah—!! After being locked up in that shithole for a whole year, drinking like this feels like heaven!"
"You can say that again."
After all, this was their first day of freedom in a long time. Forgetting all their worries, the trio began to enjoy cold drinks and delicious snacks to their hearts' content.
It was only natural for the sun to set and night to fall. And when darkness came, it was equally natural for thieves to break into an empty house.
"Boss, are you sure this is okay?"
"Yeah. You two might not know this, but the Knight Commander is a commoner by birth. People like her value honor more than anything. In a knightly society mostly made up of nobles, if you want to avoid being looked down on, you have to take promises and honor seriously."
It was Alpha who had given them the job, but it was Knight Commander Leona who had made the promise and given her word. The thieves believed Alpha was simply acting as Leona's representative when he spoke to them, so in their minds, the one who had truly commissioned this work was the Knight Commander.
Relying on a single dim lantern, the thieves began rummaging through every corner of the ownerless house.
"Ha! If she really cared that much about honor, she wouldn't just sit back and watch scum like us running around causing trouble!"
"…I get how you feel. But what can thieves like us do? Especially now that we've got these brands burned into us!"
Even though the house had no owner, the thieves were making so much noise that anyone who saw them would surely grow suspicious. If a neighbor heard the racket and reported it, the guards would come running immediately.
"Sigh… This is my shitty life!"
But the thieves acted with complete confidence. The reason they could talk so loudly while stuffing their bags with anything of value—plates, wooden cups, and more—was because the owners of this house had died from the black plague just days ago. Since the plague was known to be contagious, the neighbors had fled the area in terror. There was no one left to report them.
Besides, even if someone did report them, this theft had been ordered by Knight Commander Leona herself. While Alpha had given the direct instructions, it was Leona Montmartre who stood as their guarantor. Even if the guards caught them, there would only be a brief commotion before they were released again. That was why the thieves' behavior wasn't just confident—it was downright arrogant.
"Boss, how about we take the table too?"
"Sure. Let's do it!"
Their actions were so bold that they walked out carrying bags stuffed with small items and large pieces of furniture like chairs and tables strapped to their backs. And instead of slinking through dark, gloomy alleys, they strode straight down the main road where people walked.
"Whew. At this rate, if we do this a few more times, we could buy some land and quit thieving altogether, right?"
"Land? Don't make me laugh! Johnson, your problem is that you're way too carefree. Huh? Do you even know whose house we just robbed? It belonged to someone who died from the black plague."
Finally back at their hideout, the thieves set down their loot. As Johnson stared at the mountain of goods with a stupid grin, Hansen brought him back to reality.
The house they had robbed today belonged to a victim of the black plague. The task Alpha had given them upon their release wasn't simple theft. It was specifically to loot the homes of those who had died from the plague. In other words, the thieves had to carry out their robberies while constantly trembling in fear that they might catch the disease at any moment.
Hansen felt deep resentment at this realization. Wasn't this the same as telling them to go die?
"Hansen, enough. Everyone, follow me. We have a job to do."
Karl, the eldest, looked at the other two with a pitiful expression before leading them into the bathroom they had set up in their hideout.
"Here. Use this soap to wash your clothes and bodies thoroughly."
Karl stripped off his clothes and handed each of them a bar of soap as he pointed toward three tubs filled with water that was not exactly warm, but at least lukewarm.
"Huu… Seriously, the Knight Commander is weird. No matter how much we wash with this fancy soap, all it'll do is get rid of our stink. It's not like we're going to meet any women."
"Yeah… I wish I could meet a woman."
Soap was originally a luxury item. Because it was so expensive, it was mostly used by newlywed couples on their wedding night, passed down through generations in the family. Just as the grumbling thieves said while scrubbing themselves, it was almost never used simply to meet women.
"Stop complaining and scrub hard. They said they'd give us as much soap as we need. Make sure you wash your clothes thoroughly too."
"Yeah, yeah."
At their eldest brother's command, Johnson and Hansen shut their mouths and began scrubbing every inch of their bodies. Washing like this was also one of the tasks they had been given. Even on days they didn't rob plague-ridden empty houses, they were to wash their bodies and clothes thoroughly with this soap every single day. That was what Alpha had ordered them to do.
The thieves didn't understand why they had to do something so pointless, but they simply obeyed. Karl, sensing someone's gaze upon them, reminded his two younger brothers of this fact every day so they wouldn't slack off.
*
After several days like this, a strange rumor began to spread throughout Baron Bicken's territory. A story about thieves who had even stolen from death itself.
As soon as the sun set and evening came, the tavern—where exhausted people gathered to relieve their fatigue—became the place where this story was most popular. What was the black plague? It was a horrifying disease that, once contracted, could not be cured except by the healing of priests, and it spread from the very place where the infected had died.
So what kind of confidence did these men have to so casually steal items from a house where someone had died of the plague? They even walked openly down the main streets instead of sneaking through dark alleys. How bold and courageous could one be?
The people had been crushed by the terror of the black plague for so long. Perhaps that was why they were now cheering for these thieves who acted as if the plague was nothing.
"Ahem. A way to avoid the black plague… I wonder if they'd teach us if we asked?"
No matter how untouched the houses of plague victims were, what the three thieves were doing was undeniably theft. Yet the territory's soldiers were turning a blind eye to them. So the people added flesh and bones to the rumor, creating an invisible illusion. No—it wasn't an illusion. It was hope.
These were people who had grown tired of spending their days drowning in alcohol out of fear that they too could die from the plague at any moment. The expression on their faces that said they might finally overcome that boredom and terror could only be described as hope.
*
In a dark back alley, Leona—wearing a large robe and mask that completely hid her tail, ears, and face—handed a pouch of gold coins to the man before her.
"Hehe. Th-thank you—!! Thank you so much!!"
The man with missing teeth bowed excessively, expressing his gratitude. He was the same man who had been spreading the story in the tavern earlier—that the three thieves seemed to possess some kind of elixir that protected them from the black plague.
"Well done. Keep spreading the rumor just like that. Understood?"
"Yes, yes, milord. Just leave it to me. Within a week, I'll make sure no one in this entire territory hasn't heard the story!"
Leona frowned at the man's servile behavior as he bowed deeply. His over-the-top actions, driven by fear that this deal might end with just one gold coin, only irritated her. Even when she had been abandoned by her parents and lived as an orphan, she had carried herself with pride. This man was simply too ugly to look at.
"Did you do well?"
"Woof woof❤︎❤︎ Yes, Master! I did everything perfectlyyy❤︎❤︎ P-please pet me…!!"
Having completed her mission and returned, Leona immediately stripped off all her clothes. To show her true nature as a female beastkin, she fastened a collar around her own neck, dropped to all fours in front of Alpha, and wagged her hips.
…It was the very picture of utter depravity.