Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Phantom Thief Dauphin (2) - Warning Letter
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─Did you hear? It happened in Pabelo Viscounty too!
─Happened? What?
─The vigilante! The vigilante! They say the sons there were total scumbags with women, harassing all the young ladies in the territory. Every single one got kidnapped and put on display in the village square! Their fortunes were stripped clean too!
─Incredible! Their guards must've been tight. How the hell did they pull that off?
─Hey, did you hear? The Afrim Merchant Company got cleaned out!
─That ruthless bastard finally got his? They call it a merchant company, but it's basically half a bandit gang, right?
─Haha! Even if they're half bandits, they couldn't beat a real vigilante!
─Damn, but that guy's got some guts. Not scared of the backlash at all?
─Tosrope Baron's treatment of his serfs has changed. He was notorious for being harsh, but now he's suddenly treating them well.
─Huh? What wind blew in to change that?
─He's spouting nonsense like 'I've realized serfs are precious people too.' Who'd believe that? Everyone's saying it's because of that vigilante—he's cleaning up his act out of fear.
─I thought he was just a thief no matter what. But seeing all this change because of one guy? It's ridiculous. That 'vigilante' title isn't total bullshit after all.
─Hah! I can't live in peace these days because of that thief bastard!
─Is he even a 'bastard' thief to begin with? How does one guy make the whole kingdom helpless like this? It doesn't add up!
─True. Maybe it's a huge group operating under one figurehead.
─It's weird they're only active in Count Sarnos's territory. Could it be a squad deliberately sent from somewhere else?
─Where's he heading next? I wish he'd come here soon!
─Don't worry! He's going in order, right? Next up is Levruk!
─I hope he blows away all the rotten nobles!
─Ahh, Dauphin! Dauphin! Please save us!
The Sarnos Count family’s guard units are divided into three tiers: platoons, companies, and battalions.
In the smaller direct territories under the count family, guard platoons of 10 to 20 men are stationed, led by a platoon leader.
The Sarnos family groups these territories regionally and manages them in bundles. The platoon leaders in each region take orders from a company commander.
There is only one battalion commander, stationed at the Sarnos main estate, overseeing all guard units under the count family.
While other guard companies had to manage platoons in nearby villages in addition to their company headquarters' territory, the Levruk Company was a special case, responsible solely for defending one city and nothing else.
The city was so vast and populous that they were told to focus entirely on Levruk, beefed up with extra manpower and forbidden from meddling elsewhere.
And at this very moment.
A strange fervor was rising in the company headquarters at the heart of Levruk.
“I assume you all know about the thief making all the noise lately.”
At the company commander's words, the eyes of the platoon leaders gathered in the meeting room flickered with varied emotions.
If it had been a sense of duty and justice to catch the infamous criminal, Dalia might have felt more at ease. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Their expressions were more like those of people spotting a thick wallet on the ground.
Eagerness to snatch it up, wariness that someone else might get it first, and undisguised greed.
These were hardly emotions befitting city guards, but the company commander seemed pleased as he continued.
“The thief ‘Dauphin.’ This cocky bastard doesn't even bother hiding his path. Starting from Belmore Barony where he first appeared, he's hitting nearby territories in sequence. Unless he suddenly changes patterns, upper command predicts he'll start operating in our Levruk within days. Get what that means?”
One platoon leader smirked and replied to the commander's question.
“A fat pig waddling right into our hunting grounds without a care?”
“Exactly!”
Bam!
The company commander slammed his fist on the table in excitement.
“Several territories Dauphin swept through were under other companies. But those idiots couldn't catch a single thief and made fools of themselves. If we nab him in this situation, we'll prove Levruk Company is the best guard unit! The count will surely reward us handsomely!”
Wooooh!
Cheers erupted from the platoon leaders without anyone starting it.
They glanced sideways at each other, clearly on guard lest another platoon snag the golden pig.
Dalia suppressed a sigh and raised her hand.
The commander, who had been smiling, stiffened slightly upon seeing it was her requesting to speak, but nodded.
“What is it, 8th Platoon Leader?”
“Catching the thief is obvious, but I wanted to say overconfidence is dangerous.”
The excited atmosphere cooled like ice water had been dumped on it.
The commander looked displeased too, but Dalia believed she had to say what needed saying.
“We don't know his identity, strength, or backing. Above all, he has a proven track record. Even guards from other territories under the count family let him slip away. Going in with a ‘we'll catch him easy’ mindset could lead to— ”
“Enough. Stop there.”
The commander waved her off irritably.
“The point is don't get complacent, right? Do you have to drag it out like that?”
Because you'd ignore it if I didn't explain properly without reason.
Dalia muttered inwardly but didn't voice it. The man clearly wasn't listening anyway.
“Sure, complacency's bad. I get what you're saying. But we're all hyping each other up to catch this vicious criminal. Do you have to kill the mood right now? Even without your smartass pointing it out, these guys know enough to handle it fine.”
“...Sorry.”
“Tch. Anyway, everyone, stay vigilant. Double night patrols, assign dedicated guards to key personnel buildings, got it? I trust you'll do well.”
The strategy meeting continued after that, but Dalia wasn't given the floor again.
She endured the mocking glances from the other platoon leaders in silence.
The soldiers of 8th Platoon blinked in unison.
The guard zone assignments from above were that absurd.
Levruk Company had ten platoons total.
Nine covered the upper-class district, about a quarter of Levruk's area.
The remaining three-quarters? Just Dalia's 8th Platoon.
Three times the area, one-ninth the manpower. Unbelievable.
“Sorry. I tried to get it changed, but failed.”
Dalia felt ashamed before her men.
They'd always patrolled unpopular areas before, but that was after their assigned zones, only if time allowed.
They could cut back if short on time or men.
Now, 70-80% of Levruk was officially theirs.
Not optional anymore—they had to patrol it all.
To cover it alone, the platoon would work dawn to late night every day, no days off.
Until 'Dauphin's caught'—an unknown end date.
Dalia had protested to the commander, but his response was infuriating.
「This concerns the honor of Levruk, nay, the Sarnos Count family. As Sarnos guards, showing some 'sacrifice' is only natural, no?」
He claimed it was for surely catching Dauphin, but the petty retaliation was obvious.
Dalia could take insults to herself, but dragging her men down? Guilt weighed heavy.
Seeing her bowed head, the platoon exchanged looks.
The vice-leader spoke first.
“Chin up, Captain. It's not your fault—why apologize?”
The others chimed in.
“No big change. We handled those zones anyway, right?”
“Might be better. Felt like doing others' jobs before—pissed me off. Now it's just ours.”
“Beats crowding noble streets for fancy carriages. Wide open spaces are freer.”
“Yeah, Captain! The commander's the asshole—why're you sorry?!”
“Dude, this is company HQ. Safe to trash the commander here?”
“Fuck, we badmouth the count where he's not around. Commander's nothing.”
“Commander's all swagger here, but grovels before main estate knights and even their squires.”
“What about the battalion commander? Leads the guards—equal to knight order captain?”
“Nah, guards are open to anyone; knight orders are nobles-only. Battalion commander's treated like a regular knight at best.”
Meant to console Dalia, but they'd veered into guard vs. knight order gripes. The vice-leader sighed.
“These idiots can't stick to one serious thing...”
“Haha.”
Discipline was nonexistent, like they'd scatter in a breeze, but their levity lifted Dalia's gloom with a smile.
Scratching his head, the vice-leader said,
“But that Dauphin guy—will he really come? If I were him, no way I'd step into a guard-infested place. He'd scout and bail, right?”
“Maybe.”
A thief far from honorable—fleeing bad odds was natural.
Dalia's assumption shattered exactly one day later.
Dauphin didn't flee or hide.
On the contrary, he drew all eyes with something new, never done in prior territories.
On a merchant building in the upper-class district.
He'd scrawled this bold message across its vast wall.
An unmistakable declaration of war.