A Night Without Honor
Rowin von Crombell.
He could not return to his territory empty-handed. He was the official heir, the one who would inherit the house — but a single word from his father could reverse that in an instant.
House Crombell existed entirely within the family head's absolute influence. Such a reversal was no impossibility. He had become heir for no reason beyond his father's favor; the withdrawal of that favor would be reason enough to strip the title away.
He could not, under any circumstances, disappoint his father.
"Roatan... tonight, we forget who we are. Do you understand? A knight's honor, a noble's honor... we set them all aside, for now."
"Yes, my lord!"
Roatan saluted, and the four knights behind him followed suit. They knew all too well what tonight's work would demand of them.
"My lord, should it become necessary for you to escape alone, I beg you — do not hesitate. Get out."
"Roatan, don't say that. Do you think I would abandon you?"
"You must, my lord. Tonight's work will be draped in disgrace. You cannot be captured. If you alone make it out with the cultivation method, we can be written off as a personal excess — overzealous loyalty, nothing more."
Roatan's eyes burned, and so did those of the knights behind him. The loyalty in them was unmistakable: they would sacrifice themselves if it meant their master escaped.
"Hah. Roatan, you have a habit of imagining the worst before we've even begun."
"Forgive me, my lord."
Roatan answered, but unease still gnawed at him. Every dark imagining he'd had today had, so far, come true.
Leaving the mana cultivation method with the Huang Merchant Group for delivery instead of taking it themselves... that still bothers me. Did they trust the Huang name right to the end, just because of its reputation?
He kept the thought to himself.
"All right. Let's move."
Rowin and his five knights pulled on dark clothes and slipped into the quiet dark of the city.
They had already purchased the auction house's entry routes from the Sky Castle branch within Ahental Territory. The extra fee to keep their identities hidden had been steep, but they still had the hundred and forty-four gold left over from failing to buy the cultivation method. Money was not the problem.
Through a small sewer entrance tucked in an alley, the six of them slipped into the auction house unseen.
The Sky Castle had earned its fee. Getting inside was effortless. They changed into a fresh set of dark clothes to rid themselves of the sewer stench, then began.
"We need the night-duty officer. He's carrying one of the two vault keys."
"He'll be in the top-floor office."
"Where's the auction-item vault?"
"This way, my lord."
"We split into two groups."
Communicating in whispers, they followed the floor plan they had memorized, Roatan taking the lead.
They nearly crossed paths with the thirty patrol squads circling the auction house, but they were knights of Count Crombell for a reason. Their senses were sharp, and they were masters at concealing their presence.
At last, they struck in the gap between shift changes and reached the basement — where the auction-item vault was kept.
Ten staff guarded the basement alone. Two held the stairwell entrance; eight more stood at the storage vault door.
The moment they entered, Roatan twisted the necks of the two men at the stairs.
A wet crack.
Forgive me. I will pay the price for harming the innocent — later.
Roatan, a man who stood on the threshold of Brillant, moved like a storm. The remaining eight guards never stood a chance.
One stroke sent a head flying. A guard who saw it in the haze of half-sleep managed only a stunned "Wh— what—" before the next blade found him. Another drew a deep breath to scream — and a sword punched through his lung before the sound could leave his throat.
They had reached the Brave Stage, every one of them. It did not matter. In moments, all eight were corpses.
They waited only a short while before the knights who had gone for the night officer's vault key came down the stairs, the key in hand.
"The night officer?"
"We meant to bind him. He resisted, so we killed him."
"Good."
According to the Sky Castle, the Huang Merchant Group's basement vault opened only when the night officer's key and the basement guard's key were turned in a specific sequence.
"We killed the men at the entrance as well. The next patrol passes in ten minutes. We need to be gone before then."
A heavy clunk of tumblers.
Using the Sky Castle's intelligence, Rowin turned the two keys in the proper order and stepped into the warehouse.
The night's auction lots filled the space. Among them, he even spotted the twenty artworks Ereb had goaded him into buying.
He ignored them and ran for the valuables at the far end.
And in that instant—
"Who the hell are you?!"
Mercenaries hired to protect the auction goods had been waiting inside the warehouse together. They were there for a single item.
"Damn it. This wasn't in the intelligence."
"The cultivation method must have been valuable enough for the manager to hire extra men for the night. We'll deal with them quickly."
Roatan lunged, cutting through the mercenaries in a single stroke. Thread-like clusters of light coiled from his blade, and the mercenaries cried out in shock.
"B-Brillant!"
"If you know what it is, then don't get in the way."
A wet slash.
They were expensive Gold Plate Mercenaries, every one of them at Lavish — but they had no hope against Crombell's highly trained knights fighting alongside a Brillant like Roatan. The eight Gold Plate Mercenaries were cut down in short order.
So this is it... the upper volume of the Einhartz Mana Cultivation Method.
Flushed with triumph, Rowin ran his fingers over the worn book.
I'll take you back to the partner you lost so long ago.
"My lord! We have to get out of here — now!"
"Set the warehouse on fire before we leave. Make it especially hot around the artworks."
"Y-you're going to commit arson as well?"
"If this place burns, the pursuit will scatter, even a little. And they won't be able to tell what was stolen."
He was right. Tonight, Roatan had no choice but to obey.
He grabbed a lantern from the basement corridor and smashed it against the floor. Flame caught on a landscape painting and began to spread. It was a piece Rowin himself had won for ten gold.
"We're out!"
They no longer bothered to hide their presence. Speed was everything now. Every guard or staff member who blocked their path lost their head.
When they emerged from the sewer they had entered through, a sharp, electric thrill ran through Rowin. The thing he had thought would be hardest of all had gone exactly according to plan.
That's it. Once we're out of the city, this is over.
How speechless would Ahental's little raven be, waking to find the cultivation method he'd won had vanished and every last auction lot had burned to ash?
"Heh. I'd love to see the look on his face."
"My lord, we need to get out of here. Quickly."
"I know. Let's mo— wait."
Rowin opened his senses to get his bearings — and froze. Something was different from when they had come in.
"There weren't this many patrols when we entered."
"Something's wrong. We have to move — now!"
Spurred by Roatan, Rowin hurried on as if his own backside were on fire.
"Suspicious men over there!"
"Contact the First Young Master!"
The peacekeepers normally operated in three shifts. Tonight, every shift had been deployed at once. Ahental City was crawling with personnel, and Rowin and his knights were spotted almost immediately.
In an instant, everything had changed.
What the hell is this?! Why are there so many soldiers?!
It was a trap after all...!
Detection signals shrieked from every alley. Panic seized Rowin's party. It felt as though a vast encirclement had closed around them.
It can't be...?
In that moment, the faces of Ereb and Messi — smiling as they looked at him — rose once more in Rowin's mind.
The whole affair had begun the moment Ereb and Messi reached the inner castle and went to see the viscount.
"Well done."
"Pardon?"
Ereb stared at his father, startled into echoing the words. He had spent a fortune at the auction; he had come prepared to make excuses...
"Was I supposed to sit still while that Crombell brat insulted our house's cultivation method? You did very well."
The viscount, it seemed, had more than a little of Ereb in him.
"He'll think twice before throwing money around to pick a fight with our house again. You taught that whelp of an heir a proper lesson."
"The bastard's legs gave out. He actually collapsed. Haha!"
"That little... wait. You won the mana cultivation method?"
Viscount Ahental had an interest in the Einhartz Mana Cultivation Method himself. It had drifted through the world as a half-complete art for so long that strange rumors clung to it. Some who obtained that half and tried to master it had come to poor ends. Others had ruined their mana circuits beyond repair. And yet the Sky Castle had still graded it a fifth-stage intermediate cultivation method.
"Yes. Though Messi has thoughts on the matter."
"Sir Messi does?"
"Ah — yes. Sir Messi has an opinion he'd like to share."
Viscount Ahental turned to Messi with a look of curiosity.
"Sir Messi, speak. I will listen."
"There is something... odd about all of this."
Messi laid it out from Rowin's temperament to the pressures of his position, building the case for why the man was so unnaturally obsessed with the Einhartz Mana Cultivation Method.
"Your theory, then, is that House Crombell already holds the remaining half?"
"I believe the likelihood is high."
"Which is why you went to such lengths to purchase it. I did allocate twelve hundred gold under Sir Messi's name, but I confess I was a little concerned when I heard you'd already spent a hundred and fifty. I see now there was a reason."
The viscount had known Messi was not a man who spent money carelessly, which was why he had said nothing until now.
"Even if it isn't certain, we cannot ignore even a slim possibility. In that case, I'll treat it as a public expenditure. The hundred and fifty gold will be reimbursed."
"Thank you. There is more I wished to say..."
This was the more important part. Ereb stepped in to continue.
"If Sir Messi's prediction is right, they'll try every means they have to secure the Einhartz Mana Cultivation Method."
"They would. It belonged to a man who wrote an undefeated legend three hundred years ago. They'll go to any length to complete it."
"Rowin will figure that once the method is delivered to our house, he'll never get another chance. So..."
"He'll move while it's still in the Huang Merchant Group's hands?"
"Yes. Most likely tonight..."
The viscount looked at Ereb with genuine interest.
"I wondered why you didn't bring it back yourselves. This was why?"
"Yes. It was Sir Messi's idea."
The viscount laughed, loud and pleased.
If Messi's prediction held — if Rowin moved tonight — they could dig a trap and simply wait.
If we catch Count Crombell's heir in the act of a crime?
That would be an extraordinary piece of leverage.
"Excellent. Ereb. This is a fine achievement of yours."
"It isn't, Father. The idea was Sir Messi's."
"Your people's merits are your own."
"I'm grateful you would say so, Father."
"Handle this yourself. But there must be no gaps."
"Yes, sir!"
The viscount gazed at his grown second son with quiet satisfaction. Ereb, for his part, was brimming with confidence. Catching a single Rowin in the city of Ahental would be child's play.
Messi watched the warm exchange between father and son, and considered the next move.
Hulan and Ohens slipped quietly into Ayres's study.
"What? They're going to catch Count Crombell's heir tonight?"
"Yes, my lord! Deployment orders just went out to the entire Ahental knighthood. Commander Bacillus is moving personally... there's no mistake."
"Ereb's already claiming a merit like this..."
Ever since the official succession contest had been announced, Ayres had been hunting for opportunities to build his own record. And Ereb had moved first.
"Sir Adol. Can we move as well?"
"If the cavalry moves at night, Count Crombell's heir will sense something's wrong. Our path would likely overlap with the Ahental knighthood... if things go poorly, the Second Young Master's people could pin the blame on us."
"So the cavalry is out... which leaves the peacekeepers."
"The justification is sound, my lord. The peacekeepers already cover the entire city on night watch and patrol. If we simply add more men and tighten the net, who could object?"
"The picture is a good one. Let's proceed that way."
Ayres looked down at Hulan and Ohens, who knelt with their heads bowed.
These bastards... more useful than I expected.
There was no room for doubt. The way they came running the moment something happened — they were truly excellent traitors. He would never promote men like this among his own, but as someone else's subordinates, there were no more reliable pieces of trash in the world.
Ayres was satisfied. He took a single gold coin from his desk and handed it to them.
"I hope there will be more of this in the future. I'm counting on you."
"Yes, my lord! Leave it to us, First Young Master!"
They poured out their thanks as they left the First Young Master's study, and as they did, their eyes met in a peculiar way. At the same moment, a gleam of exhilaration lit both Hulan's and Ohens's gazes.
"This is more fun than I expected. And we're getting paid..."
"Tell me about it. Maybe this is our true calling."
Little by little, the two of them were opening their eyes to things they were never meant to see.
While Rowin fled as if his backside were on fire—
"Bwahaha! Rowin, you stupid bastard! Did you really think I'd sit back and watch you have a good time? Haha!"
From the top of the city's tallest monastery tower, Ereb burst out laughing. Detection signals rang through every alley, and flames rose from the auction house. The thought of that familiar face scrambling through the streets in a panic was almost too satisfying.
"He committed a crime. If he's caught this time, he'll suffer for it."
"Heh. Messi. It went exactly as you said. Gives me chills."
"I've sent the house servants to the Huang Merchant Group with firefighting equipment. The blaze should be out soon enough."
"Setting fire to the Huang Auction House... the man's completely unhinged, isn't he?"
"A criminal thinks about how not to get caught, not about what happens after."
"Thanks to this, the Huang Merchant Group will side with us. We put out their fire and we'll catch the thief and the arsonist besides..."
"Yes. Once we have Rowin, the blow to House Crombell will be anything but small."
A detection signal blared nearby. The peacekeepers had found Rowin.
"Using my brother's peacekeepers to drive the rabbit... that's why I like this even more. Haha!"
"If we stand around, the First Young Master might snatch him out from under us. You should move as well, Second Young Master."
"The peacekeepers alone won't be enough to handle Rowin and five Crombell knights. Well then — shall we get started?"
Ereb descended the tower in high spirits.
Once he was sure Ereb was gone, Messi drew the Cloak of Stealth from his coat and wrapped it around himself.
Well then. Shall I go raid an empty house myself?
Messi, too, began his midnight infiltration.
Every eye in the city was turned this way, and even the peacekeepers had been pulled out in force.
It was time to rescue the Village Chief.