Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Phantom Thief's Letter (1)
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1.
Ariant Kingdom's royal castle.
A place so dazzling it ranked among the finest not just in Ariant, but across the entire Maple World.
A place where finding a day untouched by King Abdullah VIII's endless festivals was nearly impossible.
Yet right now, it brimmed with an atmosphere more tense and perilous than ever before.
"Damn it, inspections everywhere, inspections! They won't even let us eat in peace!"
"Earlier, I pulled out the sword I just got to show it off, and a palace soldier came yelling at me. They're treating adventurers like criminals."
"That's nothing. Our guild got forcibly disbanded. We're all holed up in separate lodgings now."
The Ariant palace was pulling out every trick to keep adventurers from gathering.
The reason was obvious, of course.
"Those bastards. They were the ones running the scam from the start."
"If they're gonna pull a stunt like that prince's tomb event, they shouldn't have done it at all. What do they think adventurers are?"
The prince's tomb event—the festival that had adventurers in a frenzy—had turned out to be little more than a scam.
The adventurers' disappointment ran deep.
"The Ariant Kingdom's always been like that."
To be precise, adventurers' resentment toward Ariant had been building long before the prince's tomb fiasco.
It was inevitable.
"They've always treated adventurers like trash."
The Nihal Desert, where Ariant Kingdom lay, was harsh land, and its people were fiercely aggressive and exclusionary toward outsiders.
That tendency had only worsened since the Mystic Gate era began.
Adventurers who discovered Mystic Gates would have them seized by Nihal Desert natives, and in extreme cases, even get attacked after clearing one.
It was outright banditry, happening countless times, and Ariant Kingdom always sided with its own.
Even when the Adventurers' Association stepped in, Ariant showed no friendliness toward them.
"Not content with taxing us to enter Mystic Gates, now they're taxing the items we bring out? Who does that?"
The biggest gripe was the taxes—higher than anywhere else in Maple World.
In truth, monitoring every Mystic Gate and taxing them properly was impossible.
So the tax system was just a tool for Ariant to threaten adventurers whenever they wanted.
Adventurers had reached their breaking point amid all this, and now the truth about the prince's tomb event had come out.
The situation was a powder keg, and Ariant's response was to clamp down even harder on adventurers.
"Hey! Why are you gathered there?"
They wouldn't even tolerate adventurers chatting in groups.
From the adventurers' perspective, it was impossible to plot anything rash.
That was why.
"Still no word?"
"None."
Ereska and Sezhan, the two executives of the Sand Shadow Group, were meeting inside Ariant Kingdom.
No one would imagine those two scheming in a place where rash moves were impossible.
The darkest place is under the lamp.
At the same time, it carried another meaning.
"Sezhan, I respect you. And I know the other members' concerns well. But a promise is a promise. On this fifth day, if there's no word by the time the moon vanishes beyond those sand dunes, we'll launch the assassination."
It meant the Sand Shadow Group's forces could roam near the heart of Ariant's royal castle like it was their own home.
Of course, entering the castle was one thing; infiltrating King Abdullah VIII's chambers was another entirely.
Sneaking in was out of the question.
It would come down to fierce, bloody combat.
"You're really not changing your mind?"
That was why Sezhan was trying to stop Ereska.
"Whether we succeed or fail, despair will descend on Ariant Kingdom."
Failure barely warranted discussion.
The Sand Shadow Group had earned the support of adventurers and the public by never crossing the line.
But attempting to assassinate Abdullah VIII?
That was crossing it blatantly.
The moment they did, not only would Ariant mobilize, but so would the Maple Alliance it belonged to.
The Cygnus Knights!
They might come to judge the Sand Shadow Group.
"Even if we succeed."
Success brought its own problems.
"Chaos will follow."
A kingdom with a dead king couldn't function properly.
"The tribes across Nihal Desert will rise up."
Crucially, Ariant wasn't just a kingdom in isolation.
Nihal Desert housed various groups, and their loyalty to the Ariant royal family kept the kingdom intact.
If the king were assassinated?
It would tip every balance.
"Chaos will come."
Ereska knew that.
Yet she was resolute.
"But if we let this drag on, all the princes will die, leaving only Queen Areida. Then we'll have no chance at all. We must act before that."
Things could get far worse if they waited.
"Sezhan, I agreed to your proposal even knowing it was just buying time. That's why."
That's why Ereska had willingly spent five precious days on Sezhan's stalling tactic.
In other words, she was certain.
The El Pam party had no chance of retrieving Bayos's will from the Cygnus Knights' tomb in five days.
So tonight, as the moon set, Ariant's royal castle would run red with blood.
Sezhan felt the same.
He had no hopes for the El Pam party either.
"Ereska, call off the plan."
"Call it off?"
That's why Sezhan made his move.
"If we're doing it, let's do it right."
"Right?"
"Exactly as I said. Right now, Ereska, mobilizing the entire Sand Shadow Group would have better odds than just your faction."
Ereska's eyes wavered at the proposal.
"Better to succeed than fail."
"Sezhan!"
She felt indescribable joy that her comrade would join her.
'Sorry.'
But Sezhan's true feelings were different.
'Playing for time.'
This was just another of Sezhan's ploys to delay Ereska's assassination plan.
'Buy a little more time, and hit the Cygnus Knights' tomb again in the meantime.'
He planned to use that time to tackle the tomb himself.
'Luckily, I've got the members.'
Over the five days bought with the El Pam party ploy, Sezhan had assembled a party for the tomb.
'The best ones.'
He had high hopes for this group.
Naturally, the El Pam party was no longer in Sezhan's thoughts.
He just waited.
For night to fall and the moon to set.
Then word came.
"Sezhan."
The one managing the Cygnus Knights' tomb approached with a flustered look.
Ereska and Sezhan weren't surprised by the expression.
'They failed.'
They knew exactly why he looked that way.
"The portal's gone, I take it."
"Yes? Oh, yes."
The messenger nodded at Sezhan's words.
Then, with a shocked expression, he said,
"You knew?"
"I did."
The messenger's face shifted from shock to admiration.
"Incredible! I thought they'd fail, but as expected of you, Sezhan! You predicted the El Pam party would succeed!"
"What?"
2.
"I never thought you'd actually succeed."
Cheryl was the first to greet the El Pam party as they emerged from the Cygnus Knights' tomb.
It wasn't planned, of course.
"To be honest, I came to confirm you were dead."
Cheryl had simply lingered. To witness the El Pam party meet their certain doom.
She saw it as the bare minimum duty for the one who had sent them to their deaths.
El Pam's response to her concern was curt.
"We nearly did."
There was no need for long tales.
This wasn't the place for recounting adventures.
"Fortunately, we survived and retrieved Bayos's will, as promised."
Keeping promises.
Cheryl grasped El Pam's intent immediately.
"Then it's my turn to uphold mine. A legendary item, as agreed."
That was the moment.
"May I make a proposal?"
"A proposal?"
"I don't need the legendary item."
Cheryl's face hardened at El Pam's words.
An adventurer who staked their life on items, turning down a legendary one?
No way it was pity for Cross Hunters or Cheryl.
"Instead of the legendary item, I'd like to borrow Bayos's necklace for a while."
Cheryl's expression stiffened further.
How could it not?
"Do you know what that is?"
"The Fire Knights' Captain Oz's necklace, right?"
"You know your stuff."
The necklace El Pam mentioned belonged to none other than a Cygnus Knights captain.
It rightfully needed returning.
For some random adventurer to use it as they pleased?
Unthinkable.
'I need it badly.'
That was exactly why El Pam made this request of Cheryl.
'Gerector can make it happen.'
He knew Cross Hunters had ties to the Cygnus Knights.
'Nineheart knows him.'
More than ties—the Cross Hunter leader Gerector was closely linked to Nineheart, advisor to Empress Cygnus.
In other words, for El Pam to even temporarily use Oz's necklace, Gerector would need to speak with Nineheart.
Retrieving Oz's disciple's remains wouldn't cut it.
That's why it was necessary.
"You're asking a lot."
"If you make it possible, the commission you had for me—I'll do it without additional reward."
Cheryl's face turned icy at El Pam's words.
She understood the implication.
Refuse here, and El Pam would never honor her request.
Cheryl didn't hesitate any longer.
It wasn't a dilemma.
"Fine."
What brought Cheryl to El Pam went beyond mere tough requests.
If it were just that, she never would have sought out El Pam while he was captured by the Sand Shadow Group.
"Soon, Cross Hunters will tackle a Mystic Gate."
With that, Cheryl produced a letter.
"Pir brought this."
As she explained the letter's background, El Pam's expression darkened.
He had suspected.
Hero Tracker Pir's letter meant ties to them.
El Pam's suspicion turned to certainty as he read it.
'This handwriting.'
He recognized the script.
"Do you know Phantom the Phantom Thief?"
Phantom.
One of the six heroes who sealed the Black Mage—the handwriting was his.
"From Phantom the Phantom Thief's secret vault, packed with Maple World's treasures. That's where this letter came from. And it says:"
Thus, Phantom the Phantom Thief made one request of whoever entered his secret vault.
"Clear a Mystic Gate for me."