Please Allow Me to Become a Righteous Thief
The sun has completely set now...
"...It has."
Sane and I had left the academy, climbed into a carriage, and were now heading toward Rildon Territory where Dirty Hill was located. The sun had set long ago, so the road ahead was swallowed by darkness so thick it was impossible to see even a few steps ahead. As the village grew distant, every trace of light vanished. The only things we could rely on were the glowing artifact held by the coachman and the faint glow of moonlight.
"If I may ask... why are you heading to Rildon Territory at such a late hour...?"
The coachman, who had been driving from the front, turned around and asked us. It seemed he found it strange that we were traveling so late. On top of that, both of us were covered in robes, making us look undeniably suspicious to anyone who saw us.
"We have business at Dirty Hill."
The moment the coachman heard the name Dirty Hill, he fell silent. He must have heard at least some of the rumors about the place. The rumor that an underground black market where anything could be bought or sold existed in Dirty Hill. After that, only the sound of the carriage wheels and the horses' hooves racing across the dark road filled the quiet atmosphere.
The carriage passed over a hill and finally arrived at Rildon Territory. Residential areas had formed around the tall castle walls that surrounded Rildon, but the farmland and pastures created a bleak, desolate mood.
"What brings you here so late at night?"
When the guard on night duty asked us, I showed him the academy student ID I kept in my pocket. The guard compared the face engraved on the ID with mine, then nodded as if convinced.
"...I don't know what business an academy student has at this hour, but be careful."
Leaving behind that meaningful warning, the guard opened the castle gate.
"Whoa... The academy student ID works really well. Can't you give me one too?"
"...As if that's possible."
In the game, Sane had a much stronger image as a cold-blooded assassin. Why did she end up like this? Right now she felt more like a mischievous young girl.
Still... I think this version of her is better.
The inside of Rildon Castle was ordinary. There was a small church with a simple structure and refined roof, a small tower that told the time, and a market and shops with their lights turned off. Occasionally there were buildings that appeared to be noble residences or a library, along with stables and barracks. It was a perfectly normal castle interior. While some soldiers and castle administrators patrolled the grounds, we headed straight for the black market.
"No matter how I think about it, the fact that the black market is located inside the castle... it must be connected to the Lord of Rildon, right?" Sane whispered quietly.
"...Probably. There's no way an ordinary lord would just allow a black market of that scale to exist."
Rildon Territory was a small domain run on income from simple dairy farming and farmland. Yet rumors had begun to spread that at some point, both the city and the lord's private soldiers had grown noticeably more sophisticated. If you gathered all the hints you could obtain by raiding the black market in the Bethesda Academy game, it became clear that the Lord of Rildon was involved... but I had no intention of digging into that.
I wasn't some righteous hero like Hero. I just needed to swipe the item that would appear at the auction house this time. There would be no reason to come back here after that.
"Over there."
Sane pointed to a spot. Her finger indicated a dark alleyway with not a single light. We walked toward that alley. The alley was tangled with countless branching paths and hidden passages like a maze. It looked like anyone visiting for the first time would easily get lost.
To reach the black market, you had to pass through these secret paths and find the hidden location.
We pushed our way between the buildings, navigating the dark alleys until we discovered a shabby-looking shop. What stood out was that several people wearing robes to hide their identities were lingering around the shop. They were probably nobles or criminals concealing their faces.
As we tried to enter the shabby shop, a large man blocked our path. He had a clearly muscular build and a powerful physique, dressed in black clothes with a black beard. His eyes were hidden in shadow, but he stared at us with a cold, threatening expression.
"I don't know what you're here for, but this isn't a place you can enter. Turn back."
It seemed he had mistaken us for ordinary people who had come to the wrong place after seeing our faces.
"Two black cats."
The man responded to my words immediately.
"White lilies beneath moonlight."
"...The voice of the wind."
The man seemed surprised by my answer. He examined us carefully before speaking.
"You are guests... My apologies."
He then handed us both masks and ushered us inside the shabby shop.
Sane put on her mask with an expression like she'd seen something fascinating and asked me,
"The password here changes every week... How did you know it?"
Two black cats was simply a roundabout way of referring to the number of people in our party and the black market's guests as "black cats." The password Sane had been curious about was the one the man had spoken, which changed weekly. You just had to give the correct response based on what he said. Since I knew every possible answer to the passwords the black market guard used from playing the game, we were able to enter easily.
"Didn't you say you'd been to the black market before?"
"I caught a few customers, tortured them, and found out that way..."
Right... She is an assassin.
When I glared at Sane, she avoided my eyes and pretended to be innocent.
The path to the black market led down a dark staircase. The stairs created a shabby yet eerily quiet atmosphere. After passing through a long stretch of dark, damp space, a section blocked off by stone appeared before us.
"I think this was the spot... There!"
Sane examined the stone wall, then pressed a particular brick. The wall sank downward, revealing the black market.
"To think there was a space like this underground... Isn't it amazing?" Sane said to me, sounding astonished.
It's definitely different. Seeing it in the game and seeing it in reality felt completely different.
The interior of the black market had a high ceiling, long corridors, and rooms lit by bright lights that pierced through the darkness. Each room was crowded with various merchants and customers. They were engaged in conversation but kept glancing around, staying alert. It wasn't hard to tell that their dealings were illegal.
Rare perfumes and medicinal herbs, dangerous poisons, and weapons that looked like they were meant for assassination lined the stalls. As Sane and I walked down the long corridor, observing the black market's interior, we discovered a wide hall.
"This must be the auction house."
Stolen goods, gold bars and jewels obtained through illegal routes, artifacts... and even slaves were being sold through auction. Everyone watching the auction wore masks to hide their faces. They were probably nobles or criminals concealing their identities. During the auction, the sounds of conversation and threats echoed through the hall, giving it a horrifying atmosphere.
"...So, what exactly are we stealing?"
I pointed at one item with my finger. There, Maria's Holy Relic was displayed.
"That thing...? It certainly looks like an expensive item..."
Maria's Holy Relic combined beautiful splendor with a sacred aura. Made of exquisite metal, it emitted a sparkling light that brightly illuminated its surroundings. It was shaped like a mirror small enough to be held in one hand.
"...Doesn't it just look like some noble's luxury item?"
It was exactly as I remembered from the game. Fortunately, it hadn't been put up for auction yet. The starting price had probably been set too high, so no one had begun bidding.
If it had already been sold, things would have gotten annoying...
The reason I had taken my time and infiltrated the black market so leisurely was because, according to the game, this relic wouldn't sell until the first semester of the second year.
"Good heavens... With 100,000 gold, you could buy dozens of those..."
Even in the game, Maria's Holy Relic had an absurdly high price, as if it had been deliberately placed there to be stolen. I whispered quietly to Sane.
"Sane. Use Silent magic."
The robes we were both wearing had been enchanted with Silent magic at my request to Liana.
When Sane's trait combined with the Silent magic, even I, standing right beside her, would have trouble noticing her presence unless I focused hard.
"For now... I'll draw attention in the auction hall. You sneak over and steal the item I pointed at."
"Huh...? What if we get caught...?"
"I'll take care of it. Hurry up."
Right now, an elf slave was being auctioned in the hall. The elf with golden hair and blue eyes was strikingly beautiful and elegant, but her face was deeply etched with pain and despair. Her appearance was breathtakingly lovely. However, her overall thinness gave her an unhealthy impression. The lust-filled participants were calling out astronomical amounts, and the auction atmosphere was growing increasingly heated.
That elf... I feel like I've seen her somewhere before.
While thinking that the elf looked familiar, I shouted at the auctioneer who was conducting the event from the front.
"One million gold!"
All the other participants' gazes snapped toward me. One million gold was more than the total annual tax revenue of an average count's territory. If you're scared, then get lost.
...Of course, I didn't actually have the money.
I gave Sane a signal with my eyes. Receiving the signal, she began moving toward Maria's Holy Relic.
"One million... One million gold! This is more than double the highest bid so far!"
"If no one bids higher, the participant who offered one million gold will win this elf!"
The other participants began murmuring. It didn't seem like anyone present had the ability to throw away a million gold on a single slave. While everyone's attention was focused on me, Sane slipped Maria's Holy Relic into her embrace. At the same moment, a warning alarm began to blare.
Beeeep—! Beeeep—!
An alarm?! There wasn't anything like this in the game!
"Thief!"
In an instant, guards began swarming toward Sane. At the same time, a detection spell must have activated, because Sane's figure was completely exposed.
"E... Eeeek?! Help me!"
In a situation where so much attention was focused on her, Sane couldn't use her full abilities. With no other choice, I pulled out Goliath's Shield and Melek's Spear that I'd kept hidden and hurled the spear at the auctioneer.
Melek's Spear, slicing through the air, embedded itself right in front of the auctioneer's face. The attention of everyone else also turned toward me.
"Sane! Change of plans! ...Let's flip this place upside down!"
I retrieved Melek's Spear and shouted to Sane. Come to think of it, I couldn't just leave these scum who bought and sold slaves alone!
......I really couldn't.