Episode 1137
by Cristae“…When did they get out?”
Even the knights murmured in surprise. Looking around, something felt odd among their group.
They were still alive and in magician’s robes…?
- Wait, so when did you slip out here?
- Impressive skills.
The Phoenix Tower students stood there brazenly, unfazed by all the staring and whispering.
To be exact, only Nigisor and Siana were brazen, while Tijilling bowed her head in embarrassment.
“How did you all know to come out?”
Lee Han asked again in confusion.
He hadn’t told anyone; how did they know?
‘Did the plan leak?’
The knights, apparently thinking along the same lines, stared at Evenita.
Wasn’t he a thief? Surely his mouth wasn’t tight.
“N-no, it’s not that!”
-Not what? We haven’t even accused you of anything yet.
“……”
As Evenita cursed the knights in his heart, Siana explained for him.
“No one told us. You just seemed like you’d absolutely sneak out at night, so we’ve been waiting outside since earlier.”
“……”
-……
Lee Han felt slightly embarrassed.
He’d thought he’d prepared in secret, but his friends had read him like a book.
‘Was I that obvious…?’
“If you left us behind, we’d tell the professors…”
“Alright, alright. We’ll go together, okay?”
Sensing Lee Han’s feelings about not wanting to leave his friends behind, Nigisor had said it first.
“Of course I wouldn’t want to leave you all. I was planning to wake you anyway. I just thought you might be tired.”
‘He’s lying.’
‘That’s definitely a lie.’
“Anyone could tell you’re lying— Oh.”
Siana realized she’d said the last part out loud and trailed off.
You’re all so petty!
“…Anyway, let’s get going. We don’t have many days to spend in the city, so we need to move as efficiently as possible.”
Nigisor thought, ‘Can’t we just give up on finding evil god worshippers if we’re so limited on time?’ but didn’t say it aloud.
When someone’s fired up, words hardly work. It’s better to just let the fire burn out naturally. If no evil god worshippers show up, Lee Han would give up anyway.
“But what if one shows up?”
“Come on, there’s no way one actually will.”
Jandanni and his junior sat in a coffeehouse in Bephaim City, chatting about the day.
All Baldrogard students came from various backgrounds, but they were noble-minded enough to polish their own refinements for free.
No matter how tired, such leisure was essential.
Of course, the coffeehouse here wasn’t as beautiful or elegant as the ones in front of Baldrogard…
…But Baldrogard students were wise and magnanimous enough not to complain in a disaster-stricken western region.
“So, senior, you really shouldn’t behave so recklessly.”
“But I think you have to be able to act that way when needed.”
“I’ll grant, sometimes drastic action is needed. But never, ever act like a mage such as Wardanaz!”
Jangbire, the level-headed third-year of House Laban, was not easily shaken.
Admiring a mighty mage who wielded power, sure, that was understandable—they were mages after all.
But before mages, they were refined nobles of the Empire. There’s no way, whatever happened, that they could surround and break up a count’s mansion.
‘I have to convince senior to see reason.’
Bang!
“??”
Suddenly, from the street beneath their second-story window, they heard the loud chaos of someone being thrown.
People burst out of a tavern in panic.
-Aaah! They’re maniacs!
-Run, everyone!
“Has the city come alive now that people are quarreling again?”
“That could be. Even fighting needs energy…”
-Stop! Don’t let them get away!
As Lee Han led the knights out of the alley in pursuit, the two Baldrogard students choked and spat out their coffee at the same time.
…What are they actually doing?!
‘What am I doing?’
Staring at the tavern being gleefully smashed up, Evenita was struck with confusion.
Honestly, since getting caught by the skull headmaster, Evenita wondered if he wasn’t trapped in a nightmare. Otherwise, none of this would make any sense.
Right before entering the tavern, he’d had this exchange with Lee Han:
-Heir. Do you recognize this mark?
-I’m not sure. Also, please stop calling me heir.
-Oh, yes. That’s… It’s a thieves’ guild mark.
When one thought of a thieves’ guild in the empire, they might imagine something organized and orderly. In reality, it was nothing like that.
If you could organize and run things across the whole empire, why be a thief at all?
So the thieves’ guilds were really just loose local associations of thieves in each region.
They had little contact or loyalty to each other.
But people living in the shadows still needed ways to communicate.
Especially for illegal activities, this was more important. You couldn’t work alone to pull off a heist.
What if a mercenary fleeing with a job landed in a new city?
He couldn’t walk around the square with a sign saying, ‘Looking for illegal work,’ so a secret method was needed.
Thus, imperial mercenaries and thieves used these signs.
Graffiti on a wall meant, “thieves gather here,” and if someone could read it, they’d know it was safe to approach.
-I see. I’ll remember it.
-There are many variations, so just memorizing the rules is enough. Taverns like this one are sure to attract all sorts of shady types… What do you want to do, shall I start snooping?
-Yes. Please do so.
Evenita nodded eagerly. He was so excited to show his skills, he didn’t notice anything was off.
He should have noticed the oddness in ‘Please do so’ rather than ‘Please try to snoop for me.’
-Hey.
-?
-Things are a mess around here lately. Anything worth doing?
-Every rich guy with gold stashed has fled, so what’s there to do.
-Nonsense. Times like these are the best—this is when you score big.
-Hmm… Usually I don’t give work to drifters, but you look pretty reliable.
-……
-Actually, we do need a guy. Interested?
-Of course. Just hook me up. …And there’s nothing weird in the area? Suspicious types?
-Asking things like that just makes you sound shady. Why do you want to know?
-Tch. Just let it go this once. If you knew my name, you’d never say that again.
-So who are you?
-Evenita. Ever heard of Iron Cloak Evenita?
-Iron Cloak Evenita! No wonder your mug looked rough… Of course I’ve heard of you. Weren’t you the pride of Kangla? Why’re you out here on your own?
-Long story. Ran into a crazy archmage.
That wasn’t a lie. Evenita shivered at the thought of the House Wardanaz heir.
-In case you’re wondering, I’ve been on the run ever since.
-If you’re Evenita, that’s reassuring. The guys’ll welcome you.
Upon hearing Evenita’s name, the barkeeper’s attitude softened a lot.
Among mercenaries, your name did mean something.
-So? Any suspicious guys?
-Nope. Mostly just guys hawking stolen goods—used to it.
-Try a bit harder to remember.
-I’m telling you, I don’t know. I hook people up, but I’m not the Empire’s enforcer, not some officer…
-Nobody move!!!
-???
-???
-Heads on the floor! If anyone lifts their head, the Heir won’t be merciful!
-Drop your weapons! If anyone so much as picks one up, you can expect to lose a limb!
Traveling merchants suddenly shrugged off their disguises to reveal full armor—causing all the thieves in the tavern to reel in shock.
-You know where you… gah!
-Didn’t I say heads on the floor!
The knights swung chairs fiercely at the thieves, taking them down. Some would-be escapees and thieves, slow to catch on, were quickly rounded up again by Lee Han and the knights.
And now:
“Evenita.”
“……”
“Evenita?”
“Yes? Ah, yes!”
“You worked hard. Good job.”
Lee Han thanked Evenita, who still looked lost and dazed.
“Uh, what did I do well?”
“You kept them busy and bought time while we surrounded possible escape routes.”
“……”
The tavern-keeper glared at Evenita with murder in his eyes.
You damned traitor!
Of course, Evenita himself was just dumbfounded.
“Uh, no, I… The investigation, I thought you meant… snooping around, gathering rumors… stuff like that?”
“Ah, well, that’s one method, but as you know, I’m short on time.”
After this job, he’d have to head back, and the next mission could call him out again. For a student from Einrogard, waiting around was simply too slow.
If a student from Einrogard had a chance, he had to take active initiative.
“All right. Time for another question. Was there anyone suspicious here?”
Lee Han asked the captured tavern-keeper.
He was the supposed thief boss of the area, but faced with the Death Knights’ glowing eyes filling the tavern, he lost all bravado.
“R-really, nothing comes to mind…”
Lee Han used illusion magic to check the man’s spirit. He wasn’t lying.
Not only the tavern-keeper, but even the truly innocent thieves who just came to have a good time were all dragged off for interrogation.
And yet, not a single evil god worshipper could be found.
“None.”
-What a shame.
“Can’t be helped. Let’s go to the next place. We have several more to check.”
“……”
The tavern-keeper stood dumbfounded, then his face went pale.
They’re going to do this elsewhere too??
As Lee Han was leaving, he suddenly turned back as if he remembered something.
“Oh, I’ll be back tomorrow, too. Please check again by then.”
‘He’s coming back tomorrow???!!’
That was even more shocking than them doing this in multiple places.
What in the world for?
“Th-th-the thing is, if you come tomorrow… It’s not like information will appear out of nowhere…”
“The crowd might change, new info might come up, and if magic was used to hide the truth, a gap might open up. Or, are you telling us not to come back because you’re hiding something right now?”
“N-no, of course not! Absolutely not! Not at all!”
The tavern-keeper bowed and saw Lee Han’s team out.
After the group had left, a heavy silence fell inside the tavern. The stunned tavern-keeper grabbed a whole bottle of strong wine and chugged it, then shouted,
“…Find them!”
“F-find, what?”
“Evil god worshippers! Spread the word, and catch anyone whose identity can’t be confirmed, anyone new or suspicious—get them all! If you can’t find any, then MAKE something up and bring it!!!”