Chapter 89
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Cooperation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was common in Odobaekryeong for nobles to form factions and organizations.
No matter that they were nobles who produced Awakened Ones for generations.
The Classes they were born with were limited by their bloodline.
Thus, cooperation with other nobles was necessary to gather a diverse array of Awakened Ones and expand their family’s power.
All the more so because the more nobles banded together for mutual benefit, the more effectively they could monopolize and pass down immense wealth and power.
To the point where masters of the Great Walls, like the Five-Star Alliance, wielded power that rivaled even the Baekdaesega.
In that respect.
The Thief Noble Alliance.
Commonly known as the Dogwiryeon, was peculiar.
Ordinary nobles exercised their power by flaunting their backgrounds as much as possible.
The Thief Noble Alliance, in contrast, thoroughly concealed the identities of its members.
Nevertheless, there was one reason why the Thief Noble Alliance was one of the most powerful factions in the Deformed City.
There were simply that many thief nobles.
Survival of the fittest was the iron rule of Odobaekryeong.
The idea of strengthening one’s family by indiscriminately plundering others was just that alluring.
Of course, there was always the risk of their own family being ruined or plundered in return, which was precisely why thief nobles were required to join the Alliance.
The best way to avoid being plundered by other thief nobles was to be a member of the same organization.
No matter how much they plundered.
No matter how cruelly they exploited.
New weaklings would quickly appear.
This was only possible in the Deformed City, where the population was not just overflowing, but rotting.
“But the Thief Noble Alliance has a clear weakness.”
“…Are you referring to the fact that, as a criminal organization, its overt activities are restricted?”
“Yes. That, and the fact that it means they have fewer underlings they can directly command.”
The elegant dark elf sat beside him.
Dion replied casually to Arsha’s words, taking a sip of milk.
“I suppose that’s why the Thieves’ Guild sided with the Alliance.”
“They needed people to handle troublesome tasks like information gathering and fencing stolen goods.”
“Conversely, it wouldn’t have been a bad deal for the Thieves’ Guild either, receiving the Alliance’s backing.”
“When you think about it, it’s similar to our relationship with the bluffer.”
Ah.
Dion suddenly opened his mouth.
Even at this unexpected action, Arsha was not flustered.
She simply picked up a piece of chocolate.
And the moment the long, slender fingers holding the chocolate approached his lips.
*Snap.*
The boy bit down not only on the chocolate but also on the delicate fingers holding it.
Perhaps it was the suddenness of it.
Or perhaps it was the sensation on her skin.
Arsha’s long ears twitched, but she did not pull her fingers away.
As his soft lips sucked the chocolate along with her finger, and his firm teeth gently gnawed on her skin with the treat.
Until his hot tongue slid out, licking away the thick chocolate clinging to her smooth skin.
Her long ears turned bright red.
And her shoulders continued to flinch.
She merely endured the heat and the tickling sensation that traveled up from her fingertips.
Fortunately.
Or perhaps, unfortunately.
Once the chocolate had completely melted, Dion’s mouth opened, and her fingers were finally free.
…Though a glistening thread still connected his red lips and her slender finger.
Dion licked his own lips with his thumb and smiled brightly.
“See? Everything Arsha feeds me is always delicious.”
“…That is thanks to Rachu’s skill.”
“Is it? The mouse’s food is certainly tasty, but I find something else more to my liking.”
“…”
What that something else was.
She could tell just from the sticky warmth she still felt at her fingertips.
As Arsha blushed slightly, Dion’s smile deepened, and he picked up a piece of chocolate.
“Here.”
Seeing the chocolate held out to his own lips, Arsha paused.
Thanks to Dion, she had grown accustomed to being fed as much as she was to feeding him, but…
The mischievous smile on the boy’s face was asking for something more.
And so, after a brief hesitation.
Gently.
She closed her eyes.
And parted her lips.
Arsha accepted it.
The chocolate right before her mouth.
…And the finger holding the chocolate, the same one the boy had just licked a moment ago.
*Lick.*
She didn’t have the courage to suck, bite, and wrap her tongue around it as the boy had.
Barely grazing the tip of his finger with her lips, she carefully licked the chocolate with the tip of her tongue.
But that was a mistake.
Not only did it take much longer to melt the chocolate that way.
When her tongue accidentally brushed against his finger, she flinched, as every sensation felt far more vivid.
His warmth.
The soft texture.
…And even the boy’s taste.
And so, a moment later, when she had finally swallowed all the chocolate in her mouth.
Arsha’s face, with her eyes squeezed shut, was so flushed it looked as if it might melt.
He pulled his finger from her mouth.
*Slurp.*
Tasting his own finger, now glistening transparently, Dion asked with a wicked look on his face.
“How was it? The chocolate I fed you suits your palate more, doesn’t it?”
“…Yes, you are right.”
“If you liked it, would you like another?”
“…!”
Having given a polite answer, Arsha found herself cornered, her long ears standing up stiffly.
As the expression of the dark elf maid standing behind Dion grew even more impassive.
A voice cut in.
“—I am relieved to see the bond between you has grown stronger, but might we continue our discussion?”
“Hmm, where were we?”
“You were speaking of the Thief Noble Alliance’s weaknesses and its underlings.”
“Ah, right.”
As if he had just remembered.
Dion stopped his hand, which was about to pick up another chocolate, and turned his head.
He looked at the one-eyed beauty sitting across from him and spoke with a nonchalant expression.
“The point is, there are probably a lot of thief gangs in the Deformed City connected to the Alliance.”
“Do you mean the thieves from the Thieves’ Guild?”
“Maybe, maybe not. There must be plenty of nobles who need underlings for personal use.”
Even a thief noble who was a member of the Alliance would find it difficult to use the Thieves’ Guild like a private army.
They would surely have a thief gang or two of their own that they could use and discard as they pleased.
All the more so because to wield greater influence than other members of the Alliance, one needed as many cards up their sleeve as possible.
Only after hearing that much.
Pandora nodded as if she understood everything.
“So you intend to use the thief-slaves as spies?”
“Having a connection means that information flows, doesn't it?”
“I understand your point… but I believe there are several problems with that method.”
“What kind of problems?”
“First, it will not be easy for an insider to identify the thief noble they are connected to.”
The thief nobles would surely be using their gangs while concealing their own information as much as possible.
It was unlikely that a mere member, not a leader—and a newcomer at that—could uncover such vital information so easily.
If it were that simple, Urk, the Lord of Nakrang, wouldn't have bothered asking Dion to investigate in the first place.
But Dion casually brushed off Pandora’s point.
“That’s fine. As long as we have a few minor clues, the bluffer will piece them together into useful information.”
Even nobles couldn't command a thief gang for free.
Whether they paid them with money.
Provided them with a hideout.
Or offered them other benefits.
As long as something was exchanged, there would be clues.
And since the slaves were Awakened Ones, they would likely be treated as officer-level members within the gang, making it easy to gather such clues.
Of course, it would be difficult for even a prominent family to trace a thief noble from such fragmented clues, but…
Naru was the Guild’s Lion.
Even if the Thieves’ Guild was uncooperative, he had enough power with the other lower-class guilds to turn clues into intelligence.
That left one problem.
“However, will the slaves willingly act as spies?”
“They’ll have no choice.”
“If you are trusting in the slave crest, I urge you to be cautious. The slave crest is by no means perfect.”
Pandora advised.
The slave crest was convenient, nothing more.
It was by no means an all-powerful solution.
Just as there were countless escaped slaves, there were plenty of ways to bypass the crest.
Especially for slaves who were former thieves.
“That’s why I said they’ll have no choice.”
“…?”
“What I’m trusting in isn’t something like a slave crest.”
Dion smirked.
He looked at the dark elf maid behind him.
No, to be precise, he looked at the wolf emblem engraved on her arm with a meaningful smile.
“Right, Parsha?”
“…”
With neither an answer nor a denial.
As Parsha affirmed his words with a heavy silence, Pandora wore a puzzled expression.
Arsha gazed at her daughter with deeply sunken eyes.
***
“Kekeke.”
From his rough face to his menacing aura.
The Wild Kobold, who at a glance was clearly a veteran of all sorts of crimes, let out a low laugh.
He slowly turned his head, surveying the individuals before him.
“The Dragon Thieves, the Bat Marauders, the Silent Phantoms, the three Half-Troll brothers…”
“…”
“To think you had such esteemed seniors stashed away and are only showing them to me now. You have a nasty streak, Boss Ke.”
“As you know, they aren’t the sort of individuals who can be sold so cheaply, you see.”
“Kekeke. Yes, yes. I know all about it. That’s why I’m all the more grateful that you’re willing to sell them to me like this.”
After a deeply satisfied nod.
The Wild Kobold made a casual suggestion.
“In that spirit, how about you sell them all to me? I’m willing to pay double.”
“As I’ve already said, that would be rather difficult.”
“Come on, I’m not gonna stiff you.”
“It’s not a matter of money. If I don’t distribute them properly, I’ll have a lot of angry customers later, you see.”
“Tch… Then at least give me the leader and deputy of the Dragon Thieves. We already have some of their boys on our side.”
“I’ll take care of it right away, sir.”
After nodding eagerly for a moment.
As if he had just remembered something, Ketlick asked the Wild Kobold.
“Ah, what would you like to do about the slave crests? We can offer a discount if you have them done here at the main branch.”
“That won’t be necessary. We have our own practitioner.”
“Yes, sir. Then I’ll send them over as they are.”
As expected.
Just as he thought.
Nodding at the reply that didn’t deviate one bit from a certain little devil’s prediction.
As he resold the slaves he had already sold to double his profits, Ketlick wondered.
What would happen if the Thief Noble Alliance found out about his scheme?
Then he stopped thinking.
No matter how he imagined it, the outcome would surely be more gruesome than being fed to a monster alive or being disassembled into a monster himself.
Besides, it wasn't as if he had any other choice.
‘A goblin only lives once. Since I’m in this deep, I might as well see it through to the end.’
While the former slave trader, now a professional swindler, had this resigned thought.
The lizardman and goblin being sold as slaves exchanged glances.
‘Boss!’
‘Yes, this is our chance.’
The leader and deputy of the Dragon Thieves.
Layker and Kag, who had been sold into slavery after being the first to try and plunder the Dragon’s Lair, were overjoyed.
They were told they’d be given a special opportunity.
To act as spies within the Thief Noble Alliance.
When the White-Masked Young Master had proposed it with some talk of a contract, they had no choice but to accept, but…
Once they joined a thief gang, such a contract would mean nothing.
A slave crest could simply be overwritten with a new one or erased.
Especially a shoddy crest like this one, which didn't even have a magic circle and had been crudely inscribed by some twintailed slave girl.
‘Just you wait, White-Masked Young Master! You’ll regret capturing and selling me!’
‘…Hmm, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’
He would get his revenge on the White-Masked Young Master, even if it meant borrowing the power of the Thief Noble Alliance.
As Layker flashed a triumphant smile and Kag’s eyes darted around with a hint of unease.
The lizardman and goblin, with emblems on their tails and foreheads, were sold off to the thief gang.
And…
***
“Gyaaaaargh-k-k-k-k-kaaaargh!!!”
Watching the lizardman’s eyes roll back as he convulsed as if struck by lightning, and the emblem on his tail glowing with a murky light.
The goblin could only turn pale with terror.