Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Phantom Thief Dauphin (9) - Two Nameless People
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Dalia thought.
Calm down. I have to stay calm.
The man before her was a civilian she was duty-bound to protect as a guard, and also her benefactor who had pulled her out of a tight spot.
Even if his words were a bit extreme and his ideas somewhat dangerous, she couldn't just raise her voice or snap at him over that.
“In my view, humility and respect come straight from fear of the other person. The moment someone thinks the other can't possibly harm them and gets cocky, humans start doing the most outrageously cruel things without a second thought. On the flip side, if you feel fear, you can actually become humble. So here's my proposal: 『Smashing a rude bastard's head with an axe is not guilty』! What do you think? It's a fine law to teach folks some respect for each other, right?”
Her father, whom she respected so deeply, had said something similar.
Given her uniquely powerful constitution, if she let her emotions run wild without control, it could lead to serious trouble.
That was why she needed to cultivate patience and composure.
Compared to all the insults, backbiting, and subtle ostracism she'd endured in the guard barracks, this kind of talk was nothing.
Besides, there was no need to take it seriously.
She could just brush it off casually and be done...
“Proper procedures and justice can be such a hassle sometimes. Those with power twist them to dodge responsibility left and right, while victims shed bloody tears and can only watch helplessly. So why not just smash the bad guys first and ask questions later? If it ends with everyone cheering and applauding in delight, who cares if we skip a few steps?”
“I can't believe this!”
Dalia felt her hackles rise.
No, they were rising to the absolute max.
“What? Death penalty for making someone cry? Should we turn the whole city into a ghost town? Knights must have it easy! They don't even need swords—just carry onions or garlic, rub 'em in your eyes, and boom, ultimate move!”
“Oh ho, that's a sharp point. We definitely need safeguards against fake tears.”
“That's not the point! I was being sarcastic!”
The man stroked his chin with a thoughtful “Hmm...” before firing back.
“But anyone can point out problems. If blanket punishment for wrongdoers won't fly, then how exactly should we punish them?”
“Obviously by following the law and procedures—”
“I'm asking what law, specifically.”
The man leaned forward, eyes gleaming.
“I already told you—it's a lawless game. No kingdom laws, no city ordinances, no existing order at all. What law would you use to punish and protect people? What's your take?”
“That's...”
Dalia was at a loss for words.
Deciding and creating laws wasn't something an ordinary person like her could casually debate.
No one could just answer on the spot like that.
“Can't answer, huh? So yeah, death for all bad guys it is.”
His earlier calm, gentlemanly demeanor was gone—who knew where he'd sold it off. A vein throbbed on Dalia's forehead at his smug, victory-lap attitude.
If he'd demanded a “perfect law no one could argue against,” she'd probably never utter a word her whole life.
But at least right now, she could counter his wild logic. No—she had to.
“If death for every bad guy, then thieves and murderers get the same treatment. Punishment has to scale with the crime's severity.”
“Hmm. Cut off a thief's hand, lop off a liar's tongue, kill a killer right back. Like that?”
“That's too narrow and all extreme. Why are you so bloodthirsty?”
“But if punishments are too lenient, people will laugh them off, right? They have to hit hard so folks are scared straight.”
“Well...”
Dalia racked her brains for a moment.
Her father was a knight, sure—but that just meant he was a skilled wanderer scraping by.
Growing up under him, Dalia had never gotten a proper education, so she lacked book smarts and refinement.
But she had experience.
Traveling with her father, she'd seen what injustices people complained about. As a guard, she'd witnessed how flawed laws tormented folks.
Drawing on that, Dalia pondered.
The harsher the punishment, the more criminals held back.
The man's point wasn't entirely wrong.
But the side effects were brutal too.
“It might not be exactly about laws, but I've seen lands ruled by lenient lords and strict ones.”
“Impressive. I didn't know Birka Kingdom had any such thing as a 'lenient lord' in the food chain.”
“...There are! Maybe one in a hundred! But that's not the point—hear me out!”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Clearing her throat repeatedly, Dalia continued.
“The lenient lord gave second chances even to wrongdoers. The strict one handed down the ultimate penalty without mercy. At first glance, the strict one seems safer from crime. But what I saw was different. With even petty crimes getting the max penalty, criminals with no way back went even more berserk.”
“Hm. That's it? Leave 'em an out?”
“And judgments go wrong sometimes. They lop off a guy's wrist calling him a thief, but later it turns out he wasn't. Too late—the hand doesn't grow back. So blanket harshness is bad. It creates innocent victims.”
The man pondered briefly, and Dalia swallowed nervously without realizing.
Then he nodded.
“Fair point. There's merit there.”
“R-right?”
Dalia's face lit up noticeably.
She'd only drawn a positive reaction from him, but for some reason, it felt incredibly rewarding.
But that joy was short-lived.
“Still, committing a crime is bad, but enabling or quietly condoning it is just as evil. So punish the accomplices too, right? If the perp gets death, at least chop off a limb or two.”
“Don't talk nonsense!”
As he started spouting more absurdities, Dalia lunged at him with a growl.
“You think people would actively stop crimes if we did that? Hell no! They'd hush it up out of fear they'd get dragged in too. Catching criminals would get way harder!”
“Is that so? How about this then?”
After that, the man posed various hypotheticals, seeking her agreement, and Dalia shot them down.
It wasn't easy.
He knew far more than she did—enough to poke holes in things she'd taken for granted.
Against his silver tongue, Dalia mostly got pushed back or barely held her ground, but whenever she pierced his logic and got her point across, an indescribable satisfaction washed over her.
Kingdom laws or what Levruk would do? Irrelevant.
In these imagined scenarios, only Dalia's own will, beliefs, and conscience mattered.
Dalia suddenly recalled him calling it a “game.”
She had to admit it.
Asserting what you truly believed was right—boldly, confidently—was fun in itself.
“Whew...”
After passionately debating for ages, Dalia leaned back in her chair and let out a deep sigh.
Her pleasant holiday was drawing to a close, and it was nearly time to head back.
Inevitably, a bittersweet feeling settled in.
“You look glum. Something on your mind?”
At his question, Dalia hesitated.
The old her would've brushed it off with “Nothing's wrong.”
But after spilling her long-bottled-up thoughts, she craved just a bit more of that catharsis.
“Fine, I'll admit it. It was fun, sure. But what's the point? No matter what we say here, it changes nothing in the real world.”
Her judgments, her verdicts, her sense of right and wrong—they meant zilch in reality.
No matter how fiercely Dalia wrestled with issues or scraped together answers, the city's elite wouldn't budge an inch.
For a game, fun might suffice.
But deep down, her earnest nature felt a pang of regret.
And the man replied.
“Just because it's a game doesn't mean it's useless. Applying it right away might be tough, but couldn't it serve as a benchmark for future judgments?”
“A benchmark you can't even use?”
“At least you'd know exactly what you'd do: 'If it were me, I'd handle it like this.' Way better than vague, sticky feelings with no clear answer. It clears the air.”
“Coming to a conclusion...”
Dalia closed her eyes briefly, then opened them.
She bowed her head to him.
“...Thanks for today. I'll be going now.”
“Back to formal speech? I rather liked the rough side.”
“I keep work and personal separate.”
In other words, they were back in “work” territory.
“I won't ask your name. And I'll pretend I never heard those stories from you.”
It was Dalia's way of being kind—to him, and to fool herself.
Even if he really was the “that” she suspected, at least today she could let it slide.
“Perfect. Then for our 'next' time, I won't ask yours either. Adds a nice flair of romance, don't you think?”
With that, he lightly hopped over the line she'd drawn and kissed the back of her hand.
Dalia's breath hitched.
“'Next'?”
“Come on, you weren't planning to repay the favor with just one day's chat, were you? We'll need a few more meetups. Haha! Never accept favors lightly—that's the rule!”
At his playful words, Dalia's fingertips trembled.
“...Well, a debt's a debt. A few more times, I suppose I can manage.”
She knew it was a blatant excuse, but played along anyway.
“Until next time, earnest miss with no name.”
“See you again, you mysterious joker.”