Chapter 60
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Intrusion
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Vampires naturally require little sleep.
Perhaps it was different in the age of the old kingdom, when their activities were limited by the daylight.
But in Odobaekryeong, a world swallowed by the Labyrinth and devoid of a sun, the distinction between day and night had become blurred.
High-ranking vampires, in particular, could go for days without a wink of sleep.
To them, sleep was less a necessity and more a preference, like alcohol or tobacco—a luxury or a hobby.
The extravagance of sleeping was a way to flaunt their wealth and the number of servants they had to work in their stead.
In that sense, Elise was a model vampire.
She slept for a full eight hours every day.
It was a matter of upholding her noble dignity as a direct descendant of the Vlad family.
Besides, it was a habit born from her own quiet enjoyment of the languor and comfort that sleep provided.
A soft glugging sound.
"...Honestly, nothing is going right."
But at this moment, belying that habit, Elise found herself alone, tipping her wine glass late into the night for several days running.
It wasn't just because the unfamiliar bed was uncomfortable.
The stress had been piling up lately, leading to a natural bout of insomnia.
And the source of that stress was clear.
'In any case, this is all Unlight's fault.'
Elise's eyes flashed with anger.
After Ren Unlight had turned the Evernight Castle upside down, she had been subjected to all sorts of political attacks.
To begin with, allowing an intruder into the castle as its lord was a disgrace.
Worse, the intruder was her fiancé's brother.
Accusations of being caught in Unlight's internal strife, questions about the engagement itself, and ultimately, the insistence that everything was Elise's responsibility.
Gossip was inevitable.
What was most absurd was that the elders who had prevented the annulment, insisting they had to be mindful of Unlight, were now the most critical.
But the one who infuriated Elise more than Ren, the elders, or her rivals...
...was the true culprit behind this whole mess.
'Dion, where in the world is that idiot, and what is he doing?'
Hiding his abilities was fine.
A young tiger pretending to be a fool is far more useful as a fiancé than an incompetent idiot.
In fact, she had gained a great deal thanks to Dion providing her with a list of spies.
It was enough to make the one billion Krutal she had lent him feel worthwhile.
But then he'd suddenly turned Soma Castle on its head and vanished without a word.
Left to take all the blame, she could only grit her teeth in frustration.
'Hmph... Calm down. I must calm down.'
Elegant as a flower on a cliff.
Noble as the midnight moon.
Recalling the Vlad family motto, Elise quelled her agitation and scoffed lightly.
'It won't be long now, anyway. Once I find *that*, I can finally sever ties with Unlight.'
Of course, the name Unlight carried significant weight.
Even with a new artifact in hand, she couldn't say for certain that she could repay Ren for the humiliation.
...That's right.
If it were an ordinary artifact, that is.
But what Elise sought was no ordinary item.
While searching the family archives for a way to get her revenge on Ren,
she had found it among old, tattered documents.
A document that seemed to have been hidden there.
It was so old and poorly preserved that more of it was illegible than not.
And yet, the treasure described in its records had made her eyes widen.
'―To think, a legacy of the Five Heroes was left in a place like this. No one could have known.'
The Five Heroes.
They who conquered countless Labyrinths, greatly expanding the territories of the intelligent races, which had been meager until then.
They who performed the great feat of saving the world by defeating the 'Seven Calamities' that nearly destroyed Odobaekryeong.
The greatest and last heroes in the history of Odobaekryeong, said to have transcended humanity and stepped into the realm of gods.
The treasures they obtained from the Labyrinths, in particular, were nothing short of mythical.
It was said that the majority of existing artifacts were simply items they had sold or gifted from their surplus.
So, what of an item worthy of being called a legacy of the Five Heroes?
It would surely be a divine relic so magnificent that it would make most other artifacts seem trivial.
Powerful enough to solidify her position as heir, get her revenge on Ren, and even annul her engagement with Dion without a peep of protest from the elders.
'Hehehe, just you wait.'
Was it because she was dreaming of a happy future?
Or perhaps because she had downed an entire bottle of strong wine in place of a sleeping draught?
Having nursed her wine glass late into the night, she finally drifted off to sleep for the first time in a while, a faint smile on her lips.
...Unaware that, of all nights, she had uninvited guests.
***
Jewel Box.
A mansion so beautifully adorned it felt less like a building and more like a colossal sculpture.
Its splendor was a weapon in itself.
A bastion of authority that deterred most from even thinking of approaching.
But at this moment, the boy who had so effortlessly trampled over that bastion of authority summed up his thoughts on the matter simply.
"Piece of cake."
"Shh!"
The boy, who had a handkerchief covering his nose and mouth like a mask and his rabbit ears hidden,
Naru started, glancing around in alarm before whispering in a low voice.
"Young Master, we're intruders, not invited guests, you know? This isn't the time for chatter."
"They won't catch us from this. What's the big deal?"
"W-Well..."
Seeing Naru's eyes drift aimlessly, as if he'd been hit where it hurts, Dion clicked his tongue.
"I already thought security was light, but I didn't expect it to be *this* lax."
"...The escort knights probably went with the lord's family to the party."
"Even so, it's too sloppy. If this were the Deformed City, thieves would have cleaned the place out by now."
"That's because the Deformed City, where people will rob a noble the second they see an opening, is the strange one..."
"True, I guess?"
Dion let out a short laugh.
In Odobaekryeong, nobles were absolute.
Not even the boldest of thieves, let alone Crawlers who had thrown their lives away, dared to defy a noble.
From the lack of resources and manpower to monster attacks and, above all, mana contamination,
the presence of high-ranking Awakened Ones was essential for survival amidst the myriad dangers of Odobaekryeong.
In that respect, the security at the Jewel Box, while a bit thin, wasn't exceptionally lax.
The Deformed City, overflowing with those who would starve if they didn't resort to thievery, was the anomaly.
Normally, the mere title of 'noble' was enough to keep anyone from even thinking of laying a hand on them.
'Looking at it this way, those goblins were quite the martial bunch.'
Dion nodded.
Comparing it to an ordinary fief like this, he was struck anew by how strong the Kahul family was for a lower-ranking noble house.
Of course, even a fief with such lax security could easily crush the Kahuls if they mobilized their money and influence.
Conversely, if the Kahuls had launched a determined surprise attack, they could have inflicted considerable damage on the Jewel Box.
...Of course, that was only possible at this point in time.
'Hmm, the problem is that my Calamity War senses haven't faded yet.'
Lower nobles, lordly families—it didn't matter.
The weak could not survive.
It wasn't uncommon for even the Baekdaesega to have entire cities collapse.
The average combat prowess of the survivors during the Calamity War had spiraled out of control, to the point that places like the Jewel Box or the Kahul estate seemed trivial in comparison.
As Dion, realizing anew how peaceful the current era was compared to those future days, let out a dry laugh,
Naru, who was tiptoeing ahead, gestured with his hand.
"This way."
"You know your way around well for a first-timer."
"I've already studied the layout of this estate. I'd be a disgrace as a Guild messenger if I couldn't manage this much."
He never imagined he'd come to guide someone through a city only to end up as a guide for a burglary.
Naru grumbled under his breath but moved diligently.
Avoiding the security network.
Dismantling alarm traps.
Picking locked doors with a wire—
—it was an absurdly skillful performance for a two-star 【Bard】.
In fact, that was precisely why they had been able to infiltrate the Jewel Box so easily.
He was glad he'd brought him along.
Dion was satisfied.
Of course, even without Naru, Dion could have easily gotten in on his own.
But having someone to handle the tedious work—and more importantly, a potential decoy—was a different story.
That was also why he had entrusted Parsha with their escape route.
'Well, anyway, thanks to him, this has gotten easier.'
It seemed unlikely he would have to throw Naru away as bait and run.
Secretly certain of this, Dion felt a tinge of disappointment but followed Naru at a leisurely pace.
***
They passed through the outer mansion, where the residents of the fief lived, and reached the inner sanctum, the nobles' domain.
From there, they made their way to the deepest part, arriving at a treasury protected by a thick iron door.
The entire process went smoothly.
Naru had looked troubled by the triple locks and security magic guarding the treasury...
...but Dion himself was perfectly composed.
A 【Black Mage】 who had already reached mastery.
And his newly acquired advanced rogue Class, 【Phantom Thief】.
By appropriately using the talents of those two Classes, Dion was able to bypass the treasury's security systems cleanly.
The problem, rather, came afterward.
"You liar. You. Didn't you say that thing would definitely be here?"
"...I did, didn't I?"
"So why isn't it?"
"I know. Why isn't it here...?"
"..."
"N-No, it's not that my information was wrong! Look, the other items the Blood Princess bought are here."
"Then why is *that one* missing?"
"That's..."
Naru broke out in a cold sweat.
He had boasted that his information was solid. It was hard to imagine how Dion would react if he had to admit, after coming all this way, that it was a mistake.
Especially since he remembered the demonic visage of Dion slaughtering the Kahul family head.
And so, Naru, who was frantically racking his brain while recalling the layout of the Jewel Box, suddenly widened his eyes.
"...Ah!"
"What? You have an idea where it might be?"
"W-Well, now that I think about it, there was another place. It's smaller than this, but it could be used as a secondary storeroom."
"So she had too much to store and kept the rest there?"
"Or it could be the other way around. That place filled up, so she stored the rest here."
"Hmm, that makes sense."
Dion nodded.
This was the treasury of the lord's family.
Even Elise, who had rented the Jewel Box with her money and power, wouldn't have been able to book a place like this all to herself.
Even more so if she was searching for an artifact that even high-ranking nobles would covet.
"So, where is it?"
"That is..."
For some reason, after Dion's question, Naru began to sweat even more profusely than before.
Finally, he spoke as if resigned.
And...
"...You mean there?"
"Probably."
A jewel-adorned door.
A hallway brightly lit by mana stone lamps.
And even a female knight in red armor standing guard in front.
Hiding at the end of the hall, they looked at the room, which was guarded even more heavily than the treasury—more than anywhere else in the Jewel Box, in fact.
Naru said weakly.
"Besides the treasury, there's no place more suitable for storage than the Blood Princess's personal dressing room."
"Hmm, just to be sure, are there any other ways in?"
"There can't be..."
"I figured."
Get past the guard at the door.
Go through the room where Elise is.
Enter the dressing room inside.
Find the legacy of the King of the Dark Grotto without anyone noticing and get back out.
As he organized the plan, which had just escalated to an infernal difficulty that made their infiltration so far seem like child's play,
Dion muttered wryly.
"Invading my fiancée's room... I never did anything that romantic, even during the Calamity War."
...And so, the world's least romantic, one-sided tryst was decided.
***
"That so?"
"They already took care of the outer guards?"
"For a so-called lady of the Baekdaesega, she's awfully defenseless."
"Anyway, get ready."
"—Because tonight, no one's leaving this place alive except for us."