The Enemy of Thieves
Rekarn’s nickname was the Perceptive.
It came from the way he had lengthened his life by reading every situation. To an ordinary thief who stole goods, such a sense was nothing special. But to one who stole people, it was a razor-sharp blade.
Obtained an A-rank prize so easily. Coming all the way to the desert was worth it.
Rekarn gazed at the captured elves. Blindfolded and gagged, they were bound so tightly they could not twitch a finger.
Rekarn and his gang had approached the village disguised as lost adventurers.
Honestly, I didn’t think such an obvious trick would actually work.
The kind-hearted elves had welcomed them with open arms. Rekarn’s crew had secretly laced the elves’ food with sleeping draught. The elves remained unconscious until the following day, and the kidnappers bound every sleeping body.
I heard desert elves are born with an affinity for magic, but once you stop them from chanting, they’re nothing at all.
One of his subordinates spoke, voice thick with impatience.
“Boss, can’t we at least pick one girl and have some fun?”
Sobbing broke out among the elves at once. Most kept up dignified expressions, yet quite a few of the women could not hold back their tears.
“Idiot. What merchant damages the merchandise he plans to sell?”
“That’s why we pick just one to use as our toy. Naturally I’ll yield the first turn to you, boss.”
Rekarn’s brows rose like blades.
“Stop the nonsense and secure the escape route. We’ll load the elves into the wagons and move out.”
“Why? It’s not like losing one would cause any real trouble…”
“I said secure the escape route.”
“…Understood.”
The subordinate left the tent with a sullen face.
Rekarn thought to himself.
I have no desire to touch an unknown woman and simply gain another enemy.
Rekarn lived by his own iron rule: never lay a hand on kidnapped slaves until the sale was complete. Thanks to that rule he had survived this long as a slaver.
He counted the elves on his fingers. Well over fifty.
Once this job is properly finished, I retire.
He was tired of living as a villain. It was only for survival, yet this was no work for a human being. In truth, Rekarn had not spent a single day sober since he began this trade.
“Boss!”
The subordinate who had just left burst back in, flustered.
“What is it?”
“Some stranger is heading for the village!”
“How many?”
“Well… just one!”
Rekarn promptly smacked the man on the head.
“Then kill him quickly. Why the big fuss?”
“K-killing him isn’t easy!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Rekarn grabbed his sword and stepped outside the tent.
A man was walking toward the village. His steps were unbearably slow—because he was cutting down and shattering every arrow fired at him as he advanced.
“Triple Shot!”
The archer subordinate loosed three arrows in rapid succession. The slender shafts drew thin arcs through the air toward the intruder.
The man dodged two and shattered the one aimed at his thigh with a white blade.
The archer spat, disgusted. “Damn it. I’m out of arrows.”
“If he can deflect arrows shot from an elf bow, he’s no ordinary opponent.”
“Should I fetch more?”
“No. Forget it. Even elf-made arrows cost money.”
Rekarn stroked his beard. His subordinate asked cautiously, “Shall I go deal with him myself?”
“Don’t bother. We’re already short-handed just watching the elves. I don’t want to lose any more men for nothing.”
“I can win.”
The subordinate’s fighting spirit flared.
Rekarn snorted. “What was your name again?”
“Hekel.”
“Fine, Hekel. Do you think you’re some knight? We’re a human-trafficking kidnapping crew. It’s obvious you’d lose to that guy, so don’t start an unnecessary fight.”
Hekel’s pride was wounded, yet he remained where he stood.
Rekarn raised his voice and shouted, “Where did you crawl out from?”
“Here to negotiate,” Kang Yoonsoo answered flatly.
“What negotiation?”
“I have business with the elves. Release them.”
“What will you give in return?”
“Nothing.”
Rekarn and his men blinked. As if he had misheard, Rekarn asked again.
“What did you just say?”
“No reward.”
“What kind of negotiation is that?”
The four or five subordinates wore identical dumbfounded expressions.
Then Rekarn narrowed his eyes. “Wait. Could it be… that guy?”
“What do you mean, boss?”
“There’s a nasty rumor circulating in our line of work lately.”
Rekarn frowned as he stared at Kang Yoonsoo.
“The Crossed Swords bandit clan. The Carriage Disguise gang. Do you know who annihilated those fairly famous criminal organizations across the continent?”
“I don’t.”
“They say there’s a man who plunders thieves without even changing expression. In underworld slang he’s called the ‘Enemy of Thieves.’ Any bandit who gets involved with him meets a bad end. It’s a rather well-known tale in this business.”
He searched his memory.
“In the case of the Crossed Swords, I heard he flooded their entire stronghold single-handedly. Just one man.”
“So you’re saying that guy is the ‘Enemy of Thieves’?”
“Something feels off about him.”
“If that’s true, does it mean we’d get wiped out because of a single person?”
Hekel laughed as though the idea were absurd.
“Boss, would someone that vicious really come all the way to this desert? And where would you find a lunatic who raids bandit groups alone? This isn’t some cheap novel sold at a general store.”
“My gut says otherwise.”
Rekarn had survived by his instincts alone. The sheer audacity the stranger displayed made it clear he was no ordinary man. Every warning sense in Rekarn’s body screamed not to fight him.
“Bring one elf.”
“You’ve finally decided to have some fun?”
When Hekel brightened, Rekarn kicked him in the jaw. Rubbing the bruised spot, Hekel brought out an elf woman with a sullen face. Even with the blindfold, her beauty was obvious.
Rekarn pressed a knife to the elf woman’s throat.
“Since you’re trying to rescue an elf, you must know her. If you don’t want this bitch dead, turn back right now!”
Kang Yoonsoo gave no answer. Instead, as if he had been waiting for exactly this moment, he drew a dagger from his sleeve and threw it.
Rekarn tried to dodge, but the blade had never been aimed at him. Its trajectory grazed just past the woman’s mouth. At the same time the gag fell from her lips.
“Damn it!”
Rekarn hurriedly shoved his fingers into the elf’s mouth, but she bit down hard and pulled free.
“Become as feeble as a candle before the wind.”
The moment she finished the incantation, Rekarn’s gang snapped into defensive stances. Yet nothing happened.
“Idiot! You chanted it wrong!” Hekel mocked.
Then voices rose from every tent at once.
“A shining flame shall burn the bodies of the wicked.”
“A light sharper than the blazing sun shall punish them.”
“Solid sand shall crush them.”
The woman’s magic had undone every gag. The tent that held the elves flew away. At the same moment Rekarn’s gang was hurled into the air. It was not that wings had sprouted on them; they were simply blasted skyward. The combined shock of flame, ice, and sand shattered three or four ribs instantly.
“Urgh—!”
Rekarn tumbled through the air several times before slamming into the sand. He barely pulled his head from the dune and shook it.
Before he realized it, Kang Yoonsoo’s blade was at his throat.
“Hand over everything you have.”
“…So the rumor was true. You really are the Enemy of Thieves.”
Rekarn smiled bitterly. He reached into his coat.
“I don’t have much right now. So at least this…”
What he pulled out was a pitch-black orb. He slammed it against the sand at once. Thick black smoke erupted.
“Run! As fast as you can!”
Despite his broken ribs Rekarn sprinted. The rest of his men fled with everything they had. Kang Yoonsoo did not pursue.
“It’s a cave!”
“We’ll hide in there!”
The kidnappers slipped into a fissure in the rock. The moment they thought they had barely escaped disaster, sixty fire trolls carrying clubs emerged from the darkness.
“Those bastards ran away exactly like the dwarf I kidnapped before! It makes me even angrier!”
“Kidnappers need to be taught a lesson!”
“Our elf friend nearly got sold because of them!”
The trolls’ retribution was coldly merciless, utterly unlike their usual gentle nature.
Henrik walked over and poked Kang Yoonsoo’s shoulder.
“Like with that carriage last time, you really don’t get along with thieves, do you?”
“Seems that way.”
Kang Yoonsoo admitted it calmly.
“Thank you so much for rescuing us.”
The elf chieftain clasped both of Kang Yoonsoo’s hands tightly. Despite his title he looked like a man in his early thirties. In truth his age was likely far greater.
“But aren’t elves supposed to be harder to capture than this?” Henrik asked.
Shanette jabbed him hard in the ribs. While Henrik groaned, the elf chieftain gave a light smile.
“It has become a world where trusting in good faith is considered a sin. Even so, I have no regrets. Our faith is deep enough that it will not crumble even in the face of the evil deeds those deceivers showed us.”
A small elf girl poked Kang Yoonsoo’s knee. When he lowered himself, she placed a vibrant floral wreath around his neck.
“Here, take this.”
“Thanks.”
Kang Yoonsoo’s low reply made the girl shy; she immediately hid behind her mother.
Shanette’s eyes widened. “My goodness. How did you make a flower wreath in the middle of the desert?”
“We are currently working to restore the desert back into a forest.”
The elf chieftain spoke with pride.
“These are flowers we have improved so they can grow even here. We call them desert blooms. Their numbers are still small, but we will gradually increase them.”
“Restoring the desert into a forest… Is something like that truly possible?”
“I heard that in ancient times even the Extinction Desert was once a lush forest. So I believe it is not impossible.”
The fire trolls behind them cleared their throats pointedly. The elf chieftain smiled.
“Ah, I was late in asking. What brings you to our village?”
“We’ve run out of water. Sorry, but could we take some?”
“Of course. You are our benefactor. Take as much as you like.”
The elf chieftain agreed readily.
Then Kang Yoonsoo spoke.
“That is not the only business I have.”
“What else is there? Speak freely.”
“From this moment onward, every fire troll and elf in the Extinction Desert must gather.”
The elf chieftain’s face hardened at once. The others also looked puzzled.
“Why?”
“There is an enemy we must ambush.”
At the word ambush the elves’ expressions changed. Some even showed sharp wariness.
The elf chieftain spoke in a voice that had grown slightly cold.
“We do not enjoy war.”
“This time we must fight.”
“And if we refuse?”
Kang Yoonsoo answered as someone who had already lived through it.
“The continent will be destroyed.”