āWell, I mean. Like I said, we have to lure Velkian, right? In order to do that, the name of Phantom Thief Pink Bomb must be famous, right? Famous enough that Velkian will know wherever he is, okay?ā
He was right.
It was quite a convincing story.
But Cordelia wasnāt a fool.
āNo! In the first place, why is it Pi- mmph!ā
āShh! Adelia might wake up!ā
Jude quickly covered her mouth with his hands and Cordelia struggled to talk before she swiftly cast <Message> magic.
[Hey! F*ck, do you think Iām stupid? In the first place, why did you use the name Pink Bomb in your letter to Velkian? Care to explain?]
[Didnāt you agree to using it back then? Pink Bomb?]
[I seriously thought you were joking then!]
[Hey, I didnāt lie to you.]
[Argh, f*ck. Are you trying to get me mad on purpose? You didnāt lie?Ā MyĀ scammer, Jude?]
[But Iām still part ofĀ yours.]
[If you donāt explain it properly, youāll beĀ someone elseāsĀ Jude from today onwards! Do you understand?!]
T/N: Here we are with the word play again. The literal translations are actually āMy houseās scammer,ā āBut Iām still part of āour house,ā and āyouāll be the Jude of someone elseās houseā¦ā Itās hard to explain in English about the āhouseā thing because itās something unique to Korean culture, but you can just think or replace it with the word āfamily.ā
So when Cordelia calls Jude as her familyās scammer, Jude retorts by saying that at least, heās still part of her family. But Cordelia threatens to kick him out of her family, thus becoming the Jude of āsomeone elseās family.ā
[Okay, Iāll explain.]
[What, youāll really explain it?]
Cordelia blinked her eyes and asked.
Is there a good reason for the use of a weird name like Pink Bomb?
[Yes, I can explain.]
[W-what is it?]
[Pink Bomb is a special name for Velkian. Itās the name of the main character in Velkianās favorite novel.]
Cordeliaās eyes narrowed at Judeās words, but she couldnāt say anything else.
Because while she had heard of this for the first time, it was something that came out of Judeās mouth.
āWas there something like a hidden character setting?ā
Cordelia tilted her head and asked again.
[Is that why you used the name Pink Bomb?]
[Because we want it to remain strongly in Velkianās mind and arouse his curiosity.]
[Hmmmā¦]
His words were quite convincing.
Phantom Thief Pink Bomb.
It was definitely a name that would leave a deep impression to anyone who had heard it. But if someone liked a novel with a main character having such a name, that person would certainly come to the royal capital out of curiosity.
[Haa, so annoying. Who the hell is that person? Who in the world names their main character Pink Bomb!]
[Calm down, calm down. I mean, Yellow Storm and Pink Bomb are the same, right?]
[Yes, itās different. Very different. Yes, yes, itās different. Itās very different.]
When Jude said that as if he was soothing a child, Cordelia immediately tried to kick Judeās shin but failed. Because Jude had reflexively used his golden wind.
It was when Cordelia grumbled while she was deep in thought.
Jude smiled and said as if he knew what Cordelia was thinking.
[Thank you. It could only be you.]
[Hmph, you wonāt get anything if you say that, okay?]
Cordelia reflexively snorted and tried to get up, so Jude naturally stretched out his hand to help her.
[Okay, Iāll concede to you once and become Pink Bomb.]
[Thank you, Princess. Iāll do my best in making dynamite.]
[Whatever.]
Youāll somehow find a way out anyway. Just like a sly person.
[And Cordelia, donāt be too worried. After all, the āReturn of the Rogue Masterā will leave such a deep impression that youāll rarely be called Pink Bomb.]
[Is that so?]
[Yes, it will happen. Itās the Rogue Master after all and not anyone else, right?]
[Hmmā¦]
She was also convinced of his words.
Scarlet actually had several aliases, but she was always called the Rogue Master in the end.
[Anyway, we donāt have much time. We must do our work as soon as possible.]
[I know that, so are we delivering it today? The notice card?]
[Yes, this card is the notice card.]
Cordelia received the card from Jude and read it as it shone in the moonlight.
On the day of the full moon two days later, I will take the Green Goddessā Teardrop.
ā Rogue Master Pink Bomb
There were several lines written in a very neat handwriting on the white card, and a pink lip mark was at the last part.
[Whose lips are these? No wayā¦]
[Ahem, ahem. Thatās a sample⦠But letās put my princessā kiss mark for the real thing.]
When Jude slightly blushed and coughed, Cordelia laughed and nodded her head.
[Iāll keep this though. Itās proof that my Jude is a human being who also knows how to be embarrassed.]
Cordelia giggled as kept the card like a precious item. She then saw Jude handing her new cards.
[Three more?]
[One will be sent to a corrupt rich man whoāll be the victim, and the other two will be sent to the Black Moon and Blue Moon.]
[Blue Moon? Is that the largest guild among the thief guilds that do not cooperate with the Black Moon?]
[Thatās right. Our goal is to publicize the name of the Rogue Master.]
The founding celebration was a month away, so they needed to build a reputation that would be enough to move the guilds within three weeks.
[Weāll deliver the notice today and steal the gem two days later.]
[By the way, who is the person weāll be robbing this time?]
[Itās a corrupt rich man whoās one of the Minister of Defenseās source of funds. If weāre going to steal things, itās better if itās a person from the Minister of Defenseās side.]
[The Green Goddessā Teardrop⦠Is this a gem?]
[Yes, itās a gem that can give the blessing of the war god. Weāre going to steal something useful. Itāll become a hot topic.]
Everything that he said was correct.
Cordelia did not say anything else and just walked to the dressing table to apply lipstick on her lips.
[Give me the cards.]
[Here.]
[Why are there four cards? You said that youāll send the notice to three places.]
[I want one of them as a keepsake.]
[Hmph.]
Cordelia hmphed and stamped her lips on all four before she handed it to Jude.
[Are you going to deliver it now then?]
[Yes, Iāll go and come back, so just go to sleep. Youāre not familiar with this area yet, right?]
[Okay, Iāll be going to sleep, so you can go.]
[Yes, Princess. Iāll see you tomorrow morning.]
Jude gracefully greeted her in a theatrical manner before he flew out of the window like the wind, and Cordelia stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror.
A phantom thief who wore a black butterfly mask and had rabbit ears in her head.
āIt looks cute.ā
Cordelia wiggled the rabbit tail and even tried to strike a pose before she let out the following words from her mouth.
āI-in the name of justiceā¦I will punish you?ā
She was embarrassed. She was seriously embarrassed. She felt that she would die of embarrassment even though she had muttered it very quietly.
But she felt a bit ecstatic at the same time.
A joy that was difficult to describe.
However, it was only for a moment.
Because she felt a gaze behind her back.
āUh⦠I left something behind.ā
Jude smiled as naturally as possible and he picked up something that fell on the floor without saying a single word before he went out of the window again. Cordelia who was left alone then squatted on the floor and covered her face with both hands.
She stayed and did not move from that position for a long time.