Chapter 98
15.
“Phantom Thief Honeycandy… What does the Thieves Guild Master think of him/her? Isn’t he/she a promising talent in the thief world?”
“I don’t know. That person isn’t a thief, Ransel.”
“…? How can someone who steals not be a thief?”
“Why else would they call him/her a ‘phantom thief’? That person is not a thief. They lack the basic professional ethics that a thief should possess.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard that there’s a professional ethic in theft, but let’s go with that. What exactly do you dislike so much that you don’t acknowledge him/her as a thief?”
“First of all.”
“….?”
“A thief wouldn’t dress in such a conspicuous manner. That’s the first reason.”
“That makes sense.”
.
.
.
Ransel recalled the words of the Thieves Guild Master he had heard a few nights ago.
“There! It’s him/her!”
“The phantom thief! The phantom thief has appeared!”
A pure white cloak slicing through the night sky.
A perfectly white outfit, from gloves to boots, a figure boldly revealing themselves under the full moon while adjusting their hat with one hand.
‘Phantom Thief Honeycandy?’
– A thief wouldn’t dress in such a conspicuous manner.
That’s right. Conspicuous. The person had no intention of hiding their presence from the start.
Despite being a thief, their outfit was adorned with glittering gold thread embroidery everywhere.
Even the slender rapier sheath worn at their hip was entirely white.
“Ahahaha!”
===============
– Imperial Calendar year 817, March 28th, weather cool (night).
– Marigold’s ‘Intermediate Nimble Movements (54%)’ and ‘Intermediate Long Leap (21%)’ proficiency increases.
※ Feels like flying through the Capital city’s night sky! Marigold’s spirits reach their peak! Charm, Stamina, Seduction, Condition UP!!
===============
Between rooftops, between spires and chimneys, distances of easily tens of meters were nothing to the phantom thief Marigold.
A single jump sent her soaring through the air as if floating. Spectators were marveling.
“Please catch meeee! Ahahaha!”
‘What on earth are you doing?’
Ransel couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
.
.
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“And? The second reason? The second reason you can’t acknowledge Phantom Thief Honeycandy as a thief.”
“Ransel.”
“What is it?”
“What is theft, fundamentally? Ransel, why do you think it occurs?”
“…What kind of answer are you looking for?”
“This instinct for theft, which existed even before humans possessed intelligence, I was asking where it originated from.”
“…Because they want to earn money?”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t point your finger.”
“Money! Money. It’s all about money. The ultimate purpose of theft is that. It’s to obtain wealth that I don’t possess. But look at what Phantom Thief Honeycandy is doing.”
“…Looking at it now, your animosity towards the phantom thief seems a bit excessive.”
“Aren’t you ruining the conviction of a thief?”
“The conviction of a thief…”
.
.
.
“Ouch!”
One of the arrest team’s guards suddenly rubbed his head.
A blunt object had fallen and struck his forehead.
“Coins…?”
He looked up.
The night sky was filled with glittering objects besides the stars.
Clink!
“Wha- What’s falling!”
Glittering objects were pouring down like rain from the body of the phantom thief passing overhead.
Bouncing and rolling in all directions, the objects were none other than coins.
And not gold but all silver coins. At least several hundred of them.
“That scoundrel is now!”
The 6th Prince’s expression contorted.
It wasn’t a coincidence that the phantom thief had rained silver coins over the heads of the arrest team.
He/She had dropped them intentionally.
“Silver coins!”
“It’s money! Money!”
“M-move!”
“It’s mine!”
People who had rushed out from all directions immediately surrounded the area.
The eyes of the blinded Capital city citizens saw neither the prince nor the knights. Only the silver coins piled on the ground.
“Get out of the way, you ignorant fools! Chase them! Chase them now! You bastards! Move or you’ll lose your heads!”
Cursing flowed from the 6th Prince’s mouth as he drew his sword, but it was already useless.
“This is my farewell gift for today!”
Marigold’s retreating figure faded away, leaving behind a mocking voice.
With the widely scattered silver coins, the Capital city’s night streets were already in chaos.
“Where did he/she go?”
“That…”
By the time he struggled through the throngs and emerged, it was all over.
A knight could only show him a honey candy that had clearly been sucked on and spat out.
“It’s reported that Count Dank’s mansion was completely ransacked. Not only the vault but also the treasure chests…”
Upon hearing the report, the 6th Prince’s face turned scarlet.
.
.
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“The third reason?”
“The third reason is that he/she taunts pursuers, urging them to catch him/her.”
“Indeed.”
“What thief in the world would toy with royalty and knights and enjoy a chase? That person is simply out of their mind.”
“…….”
“They are clearly a madman.”
“…That seems a bit excessive, don’t you think?”
“….Yes?”
* * *
A poor rented room in the western district of the Capital city.
– Anna. Don’t talk nonsense. I’ll find work of any kind and at least put food in your mouths! Wait for me for a week.
Nineteen-year-old girl Anna Flang recalled her father’s words tonight.
Her father, whose tendons were severed by Count Dank’s sword, could barely walk now. The sorrow of the Flang family, whose pillar raising seven children had disappeared, might just be starting from today.
Snore. Snore.
In the room where the night air seeped in, six younger siblings slept, embracing each other.
Having almost starved today, the siblings seemed to have shed their extreme hunger only after falling asleep.
Anna Flang, who had caressed her siblings’ heads for a long time, packed her bag.
“Sister, where are you going?”
Startled.
“Just out for some air.”
“You’ll be back soon, right?”
“……. ”
Unable to answer her youngest sibling’s question, Anna Flang only nodded.
Fleeing from the gaze of her clear-eyed youngest sibling, she left the door.
“Hoo… Hhic…!”
Stepping out into the Capital city streets at dawn, her legs weakened. Fear suddenly engulfed her.
She felt it. The realization that the everyday life and happiness she had enjoyed since birth would end with this moment. Her visits to street theaters, spending time with her family, her modest dream of meeting a marriage partner someday, all would end today.
“……”
The fear was momentary.
Anna Flang repeated the words “I can do it” over and over. She would do anything for her siblings.
Her resolve hardened, and when she looked up again.
“Huh?”
Squeak! Squeak!
Four white mice approached her.
“…Mice…? This…?”
The mice, each carrying a small bag on their neck as if it were a garment bag, had a peculiar appearance. What was even more baffling was what happened next.
After dropping the bags they were carrying onto the ground, they quickly disappeared into the distance.
“Hey guys?! This.”
Four bags were left on the street. Anna Flang, who had been standing frozen for a long time as if she had seen a hallucination, began to open them one by one.
“……!”
Dozens of golden objects soon appeared before her.
Not just one or two. Each of the three bags was filled with dozens of them.
Gold coins.
“Wh-what… Ho-how…”
Her hands trembled uncontrollably. She had never seen so many gold coins in her life.
She opened the fourth bag. Its contents were slightly different. Five honey candies and a small note.
—————–
– Wealth has returned to its rightful place. Anna Flang.
—————–
“……”
Anna Flang’s mind went blank. When she regained her senses, she was staggering, clutching the bags of gold coins.
She turned her steps away from the red-light district. She ran towards home.
In her dazed mind, only one name surfaced.
A famous figure in the Capital city.
A thief, yet not a thief.
A phantom who moved wealth.
—Phantom Thief Honeycandy.
“Father…!”
It was the day the Flang family’s happiness found its rightful place again.
16.
“Whew.”
Marigold hopped over the window and into the room.
“I became a righteous thief again today, Ransel. Theft permitted by God, wasn’t it?”
“But Ransel will scold you if he finds out. You’ve become a famous phantom thief that no one in the Capital city doesn’t know about.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, as long as he doesn’t find out.”
Marigold replied nonchalantly to Pina’s sulky remark.
‘He’ll scold me if he finds out, but it’s okay if he doesn’t!’
Ransel wasn’t completely against Marigold’s thievery, but what she had done was too grand to mention now. It was too much for even Ransel to handle.
‘But since I’m a righteous thief, he’ll forgive me someday, right?’
Someday.
Yes, that’s enough.
That’s what Marigold thought.
Thump. Thump.
The sound of footsteps approaching her room was heard at that very moment.
“Merry. Are you inside?”
“Hic!”
Marigold scrambled in a panic.
It was Ransel Dante’s voice.
“Miss! Clothes! Clothes!”
“Oops!”
She was still in her thieving attire. She quickly took off her clothes.
“Just a moment, Ransel! I’m changing clothes!”
“Why are you changing clothes at bedtime?”
“Ah, uh, uh, uh… I have night terrors, so I put on clothes!”
“A night terror where you put on clothes instead of taking them off? That’s a new one. You have a peculiar habit, Merry.”
“Me too! I think so too! Ah, ahaha!”
“I’m coming in.”
“Aaaah! J-Just a moment!”
Thump.
When the door opened and Ransel appeared.
Marigold had managed to shove all her clothes into a wooden plank at the last second. Sweating profusely from her hasty actions.
“Why are you sweating so much in the middle of the night?”
“It’s hot…?”
“It’s still a chilly season.”
“Ah! Well, uh…”
“Or perhaps you couldn’t sleep and were practicing your performance?”
“That’s it!”
Marigold pointed at Ransel with her finger and shouted. Pina muttered, “It’s strange that you accept it so readily,” but it was too late.
“Yes, that’s it. Ransel, as you know, I’m a popular famous actress. All that success comes from invisible efforts like this…”
“Is that so?”
“Y-yes.”
Marigold wiped the sweat from her brow.
“By the way, Ransel, why aren’t you sleeping so late at night…”
“Phantom Thief Honeycandy.”
“Heeek!”
Did he find out?
Marigold froze in terror.
“…I joined the arrest team to catch him/her. That’s why I’m so late. Why are you stiffening up like that?”
“Gulp!”
“Even hiccups?”
“Ah, it’s nothing, gulp!”
“…….”
Ransel lay down on her bed, casting a sidelong glance.
“So from now on, I have to diligently catch the phantom thief.”
She decided.
She would quit.
The moment Marigold decided to quit thieving.
“Today, I… I fell in love with Phantom Thief Honeycandy.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“Are you listening to me?”
Marigold’s brain stopped.
Even her hiccups stopped.
She couldn’t say a word. She couldn’t move a finger. But inside her head, a multitude of screams erupted.
‘Ransel… Ransel… Ransel… Ransel… Ransel… Ransel…?’
Ransel’s words followed immediately.
“Well, a mission is a mission, so I’ll still chase him/her desperately, but inwardly, I kind of hope he/she doesn’t get caught. If they do get caught, then unfortunately, I’ll have to scold them…”
Having said that much, he got up from his seat.
“Anyway. Thanks for listening, Merry. I couldn’t sleep thinking about Phantom Thief Honeycandy, my mind was all over the place… I wanted to vent this feeling to someone.”
“……”
“I’m going to sleep. You should sleep too before it gets too late.”
Click.
Until Ransel closed the door and disappeared, Marigold remained as stiff as a log.
“Miss? Miss. Miss!”
It was only after Pina had been shouting for a long time that Marigold moved her lips.
“Pina.”
“Yes?”
“I… will become a phantom thief. A much greater phantom thief than I am now.”
Flames shot from Marigold’s eyes.
“And I will steal Ransel’s heart and chastity.”
“Steal what?”
Hot breaths continued to escape Marigold’s flushed face.
“Ransel, who is lovesick thinking of me… is the best…”
“You’ve got it bad, Miss.”
