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EPISODE 151 – PHANTOM THIEF (3)
Kalium, the capital of the SĂ€len Kingdom, was the second largest metropolis in the world, boasting a population that was more than that of a small country, and of being the wealthiest city in the kingdom.
Tens of thousands of people would travel to and from the royal capital every day, and huge amounts of money were traded daily, enough to fill up a hundred wagons.
The City of Light.
The glorious land that shines the brightest in the Holy Kingdom of SĂ€len.
But the brighter the light was, the darker was the shadow.
The underworld of the royal capital was greater and more threatening than the underworlds of any city in the kingdom.
‘Because there are several thief guilds in just one city.’
A thief guild sounded like a decent organization, but in reality, it was different. It was not an exaggeration to say that the thief guilds were actually comprehensive criminal organizations.
They did not only steal but also did all kinds of shady and illegal things.
The adult entertainment industry such as gambling and prostitution were a given, and if one went further, there were also some guilds involved in violent crimes such as contract killing, kidnapping and abduction.
‘The Black Moon is the most vicious among them.’
The Black Moon dominated more than half of the royal capital’s underworld starting from pickpocketing in the back alleys up to human and drug trafficking.
The reason the Black Moon could do all that so boldly – no, there were two reasons why they ended up dealing with such dangerous stuff in the first place.
‘One, their guild leader, Karma, is the embodiment of desire.’
There was no good or evil for him.
There was only loss and profit for him.
Will it benefit you? Then kill your parents.
Will it cost you? Then kill even the children.
He was a ruthless and cruel tyrant, and that allowed him to devour the underworld of the royal capital.
“He doesn’t hesitate.”
It was Karma’s habit and it was true.
He was a blood and iron ruler who did not hesitate to even kill his own father.
‘The second reason is that he has the protection of the Lord Protector.’
The Black Moon received the full support of the political forces centered on the Lord Protector.
Whatever goods the Black Moon had were able to quickly cross the gates unquestioned, and all kinds of criminal activities that took place every day were buried in the dark and not revealed.
That was the reason.
And as to why that reason came to be.
Karma and the Black Moon were the hounds of the Lord Protector.
They were hunting dogs who earned a lot of money, listened well to him, and handled all kinds of dirty stuff for him.
‘But even the Black Moon couldn’t get its hands on the entire royal capital.’
The royal capital was too wide for them.
Since so many people lived there.
Moreover, the Lord Protector wasn’t the only influential person as the royal family also possessed a strong influence.
There were political forces that were clearly against him.
‘And that is why several forces still remained.’
Those who were not active in the main part of the royal capital, which was the center, but occupied the outer part instead.
Among those forces was an organization called the Blue Moon.
A so-called thief guild that was proud of their history and tradition, and was the largest force in the royal capital before the Black Moon gained power.
“Is she really coming?’
When asked by the blonde beauty, Janifer, who was his loyal right arm and the guild’s second-in-command, the quite dignified and handsome middle-aged man who was the guild leader and first-in-command, SuppĂ©, nodded his head.
“She will really come. Because she’s the real Rogue Master.”
As he spoke in a voice mixed with a bit of delight, he took out the white card again.
It was the calling card of the Rogue Master Pink Bomb, who caused an uproar and became the talk of the town.
The palm-sized card had the following text prettily handwritten.
I’ll visit you tonight.
-Rogue Master Pink Bomb
A brief yet meaningful sentence was written, and behind the card was the stamp of a beautiful woman’s lip mark.
“It’s pink.”
As SuppĂ© touched the card’s lip mark with an ecstatic face, Janifer said with narrowed eyes.
“I’m saying this out of concern, but surely
you haven’t tried kissing it with your lips, right?”
“N-no, I did not? I just looked at it. No, I’ve only touched it! I-I haven’t kissed it!”
SuppĂ© hurriedly answered and glanced at Janifer as he read her expression, and Janifer’s eyes narrowed more before she said in a chilling tone.
“If you want to do it, do it secretly. Without anyone knowing.”
“B-but I didn’t, okay?”
“I’ll trust your words then.”
“Ahem, ahem.”
Suppé cleared his throat before he put the card back into the drawer and corrected his posture.
Suppé and Janifer.
The number 1 and number 2 of the Blue Moon Guild.
The base of the Blue Moon was located near the east gate of the royal capital and was a large bar that paid its taxes well and operated normally. Suppé and Janifer were the bar owner and top bartender respectively.
The place where the two were in as they faced each other was the bar owner’s office.
“Why is the Rogue Master looking for us anyway?”
“Because she needs information for her thefts?”
“She didn’t go to the Black Moon?”
“Janifer, you’re my guild member, right? And why are your words getting shorter?”
“It’s suspicious. Why is she contacting our Blue Moon instead of the Black Moon? No, perhaps it’s not just us. She might have already visited the Black Moon.”
When Janifer, who was dressed as a bartender, narrowed her eyes again, the tuxedo-wearing Suppé frowned and said.
“Well, we’ll see about that when we meet her. Because she’s a real Rogue Master. That fact alone makes meeting her worth it.”
“By the way, boss.”
“When we’re in the store, call me chief.”
“You care about the trivial things, Mr. Fastidious Chief.”
“Why do I keep you as number 2?”
“Because I’m competent and beautiful?”
“It’s sad that both are true.”
“Because I’m the chief’s mistress after all.”
“No, I’m single on my family register, right? So the thing between us isn’t an affair, right? So please don’t say that and just accept the ring.”
“I tend to avoid dating at work.”
Janifer cut him short and Suppé pouted before he leant on his chair.
“Anyway, what were you saying?”
“Why are you so sure that Pink Bomb is the Rogue Master? Frankly, I’m not convinced. She may have sent a notice and pulled it successfully, but it was only once.”
“Hohoho
that’s what amateurs think.”
“Well, she did not fight and only run.”
“What did you say?”
“I said that last night’s chief was really awesome.”
“Ahem, ahem, was I a bit intense last night?”
“Yes, but I want you to tell me in what way I’m an amateur.”
As Janifer smoothly changed the subject again, Suppé stroked his beautifully grown beard and said.
“You’re an amateur when it comes to the Rogue Master. On the other hand, I can be called an expert of the Rogue Master.”
“Are you saying you’re crazy about them?”
“I’m a big fan.”
Suppé smiled as he opened a drawer and took out some well-made cards that he arranged on the desk.
“Trading card?”
“It’s my collection. The Rogue Master is the eternal idol of thieves.”
Different tools were drawn on the five cards, and Janifer then understood what each card meant.
“These are the treasures of the Rogue Master.”
“That’s right, and the most important of those was the last treasure, the Moon Crystal.”
Suppé picked up the card with a beautiful crystal drawn on it, and flicked his fingers on it before saying.
“Janifer, do you know anything about the past Rogue Masters?”
“I don’t know much.”
“Then you’ll know this time. Let me explain.”
Suppé smiled again as he looked at the remaining four cards and said.
“There had been a total of five Rogue Masters so far. But the only one who had all five treasures was the first.”
“They didn’t pass the treasures to the next generation?”
“The first didn’t let them directly inherit it. She hid the five treasures in different places and hoped that the next Rogue Master would find it.”
“Why?”
“To test the next Rogue Master. Like whether they truly deserve to be a Rogue Master.”
SuppĂ© grinned and seemed to be asking if that was cool, but Janifer still didn’t smile.
“It seems like they weren’t able to collect all the treasures from the 2nd generation onwards.”
“Yes, the 2nd generation only collected four treasures. He couldn’t find the last treasure in the end. But
there’s where the tragedy began.”
“Tragedy?”
“Yeah, tragedy. The 2nd generation hid all the treasure back in their original position before they retired in order to follow the 1st generation’s dying wish. He repaired the traps and stuff like that. But the 3rd generation didn’t do that. The 3rd generation who only found 3 out of the 5 treasures simply handed them over to the 4th generation
so they handed the treasures over to their child.”
“I think I understand. They were supposed to find each and every one of them in order but
 they just handed it over without putting it back to its original location, so they couldn’t find the rest of the treasures even if they wanted to?”
Janifer spoke in a calm tone, and Suppé was surprised and blinked his eyes.
“What
how did you know?”
“I naturally got it from the context.”
SuppĂ© furrowed his brows at Janifer’s answer but soon nodded.
She was second-in-command because she was very competent in the first place.
“In any case, the 4th generation only got three treasures
and in the 5th generation, it became unknown to them on where the original Rogue Master hid her treasures.”
And the 5th generation disappeared without being followed by a 6th generation.
No one knew where the three treasures he got had disappeared to.
“And then Pink Bomb appeared. She also had the illusory treasure, the Moon Crystal!”
Janifer nodded as Suppé excitedly raised the card with the Moon Crystal.
“I see, so it’s real?”
“Yes, she has the last treasure. She is the new Rogue Master who inherited all the treasures of the first in a true sense, unlike the Rogue Masters of the 2nd to the 5th generation.”
The Moon Crystal was real.
He couldn’t imagine it to be fake and just be some staging and special effects.
“She’s real. Pink Bomb is the real Rogue Master!”
“I see. I think she has arrived.”
“Huh?”
“Eh
hello?”
The first was Suppé, next was Janifer, and then Suppé again, with the last one being the woman with pink hair who was standing in front of the window.
“Pi-Pink Bomb?!”
Suppé stood up from his chair in surprise while Janifer touched the dagger she had hidden in her waist.
And at that moment, another person appeared within a black wind.
A black haired man who wore all black from the clothes to the mask and the cloak.
Tension spread in Janifer’s face, and SuppĂ© nervously observed Jude, the new person who had appeared.
“Oh, don’t be so vigilant. This is my assistant.”
The smiling Cordelia, who had tied up her hair together because she was Pink Bomb now, twirled a lock of her hair with one hand and spoke.
“Say hi to them, Black Cloak, my assistant.”
At Cordelia’s introduction, Janifer narrowed her eyes while SuppĂ© frowned.
“Black
Cloak?”
“Yes, Black Cloak. Right, Black Cloak?”
As Cordelia said with a bright smile, Jude hurriedly glanced at her.
‘Hey, Black Cloak?’
‘Yes, Black Cloak.’
You should try it too.
It’s exciting.
Cordelia mischievously smiled and snorted, while Jude grinned and politely said to Suppé.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I am Black Cloak who serves Pink Bomb. Pink Bomb named me herself, so I’m really proud of my Black Cloak name.”
SuppĂ© and Janifer’s gazes turned to Cordelia again at Jude’s self-introduction.
A gaze that seemed to look at her strangely.
‘Well, she named herself Pink Bomb in the first place.’
‘Black Cloak is a good one though.’
Even though the two weren’t Jude, it seemed like Cordelia could hear their thoughts by just looking at them.
‘N-no! It’s not me! I didn’t create it! So don’t look at me with those eyes!’
Cordelia shouted in her mind and looked at them in earnest, but the only one who could understand her was Jude.
Therefore, Jude happily smiled to Cordelia whose face and ears had turned red.
‘Haha, who were you trying to boss around?’
‘I hate you. I really hate you.’
Cordelia glared at him as her lips quivered, and she coughed once before she turned to Suppé again.
“Are you SuppĂ©, the guild master of the Blue Moon?”
“Yes, I am SuppĂ©, the guild master of the Blue Moon. This is Janifer, our guild’s second-in-command.”
“I am Janifer.”
Following Suppé’s introduction, Janifer bowed and introduced herself, and Cordelia nodded with a satisfied face.
“I think we’ll have a wonderful conversation.”
“The Rogue Master is the envy of Salen’s- no, of all the thieves in the continent.”
SuppĂ© gently smiled and spoke, and Cordelia’s smile grew wider.
She was worried about on what to do if he had doubted her, but he seemed to have believed in her completely.
‘But don’t let your guard down.’
‘I know.’
Cordelia shrugged her shoulders and greeted Suppé again.
“Anyway, nice to meet you. I am the Rogue Master, Pi-Pink
Bomb.”
Cordelia spoke with some difficulty before she stretched out her hand. SuppĂ© was embarrassed for a moment before he quickly grabbed Cordelia’s hand.
“It’s an honor.”
“Yes, yes, but don’t say that you won’t wash your hands in the future.”
As she said that with a wink, Suppé staggered and grabbed his chest. Because she was so pretty.
“Chief, even if I’m not your mistress, I think it would be very bad to show that in front of your lover.”
When Janifer quickly and quietly spoke with her eyes feeling more sharp than usual, Suppé came to his senses and corrected his posture.
“But what is the Rogue Master doing here?”
The appearance of a Rogue Master wasn’t that pleasurable from a guild’s perspective.
She was a big figure who would remain even if the existing order was shaken.
At Suppé’s question, Cordelia smiled again and said as she moved closer to Jude.
“Because I’m a newcomer who had just entered the royal capital. Isn’t it natural for me to greet the Blue Moon Guild who has supported the underworld of the royal capital for a long time?”
“Even if the Black Moon is strong now
it’s just something temporary. The Blue Moon is the true owner of the traditional underworld.”
Jude spoke after Cordelia, and Suppé immediately looked at Cordelia instead of smiling.
And Cordelia said as she looked into Suppé’s eyes.
“I won’t go to the Black Moon. Because they crossed the line. There’s a line that even thieves have to follow, right?”
Cordelia provocatively spoke with a little anxiety as she drew her face closer to Suppé, who smiled instead of being flustered. He then asked in a quiet voice.
“Are you thinking of stirring up the darkness in the royal capital?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.”
Cordelia softly spoke and stepped back, and Suppé smiled as he found it interesting before he pointed to the sofa in the middle of the office.
“Let’s listen to some more stories first. You aren’t just here to say hello, right?”
The guild master position in the Blue Moon wasn’t an easy task.
Cordelia straightly nodded and sat down on the sofa while Jude sat by Cordelia’s side and slightly moved forward as he began to speak.
“We want to buy information.”
For future activities.
And to make them believe that we’re going to behave in some secret way.
Information didn’t just flow in one direction.
The fact that they wanted some information was enough to let the other person know.
“That sounds like a good deal.”
Suppé smiled as he faced Jude.
***
Their conversation didn’t last long.
It was literally short but meaningful.
After the deal was done, Suppé asked Cordelia who had stepped back after the deal was made.
“Pink Bomb.”
“You can call me Rogue Master.”
I mean, please call me that. Please.
“Then Rogue Master.”
“Yes, guild master.”
“I’ll prepare the information you want by tomorrow but
will it be okay? It will be the founding celebration soon.”
An event commemorating the 300th founding anniversary of the country was just around the corner.
Since many guests would come from abroad, the security in the royal capital was bound to increase.
Is it possible to be active by this time of the year?
Shouldn’t we just wait for some time?
Cordelia smiled a little at Suppé’s question. She directly stared at Suppe’s face and said.
“SuppĂ©, I’m the Rogue Master.”
In a way, her declaration was childish yet provocative.
But that mystery captured Suppé’s heart.
There was still the young boy in his mind who considered the Rogue Maser as his hero.
“I look forward to it.”
“I’ll look forward to SuppĂ© too.”
May tomorrow’s information be perfect.
Cordelia winked before she stood up while Jude widely opened the window for Cordelia.
“See you tomorrow.”
Cordelia lightly waved her hand and flew out of the window, and Jude bowed in a theatrical manner before he threw himself out of the window.
And a few minutes later.
After they had left the area where the Blue Moon was located, Jude and Cordelia hid in the back alley and quickly changed back to their original clothes.
Because they had to return to Adelia’s mansion before it was too late.
“Get on my back.”
“Yes, but Jude. Before that, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Can we think this through first?”
Should the Rogue Master just rush over?
I’m sure the royal family would be very worried about the security of the royal capital.
At Cordelia’s question, Jude said with a face that was saying that this was too obvious.
“Of course, we have to consider things.”
If the royal capital just before the founding anniversary was noisy because of the Rogue Master and the thief guilds, it would be an embarrassment for the royal family.
“We have to do it a lot, but two times will be the limit, I think?”
“Really?”
“Yes, so we have to pick those two and rob them.”
As effectively as possible.
While widely promoting the name of the Rogue Master, it would also deal a blow to the Lord Protector and the Black Moon.
“Hmm
will it go well?”
Instead of answering Cordelia’s question, Jude brought up another topic.
“You know what, Cordelia?”
“What?”
“Absolute power will absolutely corrupt a person.”
They shouldn’t act foolishly like those demon followers.
“Are you saying that we should watch our backs?”
“There are many things that we shouldn’t reveal.”
Because there would be too many places for them to be stabbed at.
It would be troubling to not know where they would be stabbed.
“Well, good. This kind of work should be left to my Jude. Birds of a feather flock together.”
“Wait, what?”
“Cordelia knows nothing. Anyway, let’s go quickly, Black Cloak.”
“Okay, Pink Bomb.”
Jude and Cordelia exchanged jabs at each other and awkwardly smiled before they headed to Adelia’s mansion.