Chapter 1:
Fran and the Thieves’ Guild
SIDE: FREDERICK
“HERE?”
“Arf.”
“This room is empty… You’re sure the young lady was here?”
“Woof!”
Jet, Fran’s familiar, nodded to answer my question. He was an advanced familiar and had no problem understanding my words. We parted from the main group outside of Marquis Aschtner’s mansion and went to save Velmeria.
Jet’s nose was incredibly sharp, and he immediately led us to a mansion in the noble district. It belonged to a minor noble—a gift for allying themselves with Aschtner. There was no barrier, which made it all the more suspicious.
We entered the mansion and sensed no signs of life. There weren’t even any servants around. However, the mansion looked lived-in, so it was definitely in use. Jet and I headed inside. Between his nose and my Scouting Skills, we quickly found the mansion’s hidden paths.
Those paths carried us to a secret chamber where the sun didn’t shine. It was outfitted with suspicious concoctions and contraptions, which looked out-of-place in a noble house like this. Large magic circles were drawn on the ceilings and floors, and the Mad Faith Sword was neatly tucked away in a corner. Marquis Aschtner was conducting strange experiments here, to be sure.
Velmeria was nowhere to be found, but her scent was fresh enough for Jet to pick up on it. We had just missed her.
“Can you find any sign of her?” I asked.
Jet sniffed the air. “Arf!”
“A piece of metal? It is emitting peculiar mana…”
Jet pointed his nose at a shard of metal on a shelf. It appeared to be a broken piece of a sword, but it was still emitting a powerful mana.
“Hang on to this, Jet.”
“Woof.”
Apparently, Jet could hide things away in his shadows. I didn’t know whether that broken sword could take us to Velmeria, but it might be evidence of the marquis’ crimes.
“Anything else?”
“Grrr!”
“What…?!”
Just as we were about to canvas the room further, Jet leapt up and pinned me down. For a moment, I thought he had betrayed me, but his hostility was pointed at someone else. Blood dripped from the wolf’s body.
“What on earth…?!”
“Hee hee hee! Nice job taking the hit, pup!”
Jet growled again, and a chorus of shrill laughter echoed through the room. We were surrounded! And I didn’t even notice our enemies waiting for us! I quickly got up to get a visual on our enemy, but when I did, it left me speechless.
Or rather, she did.
“Velmeria…?”
“What? You know who we are?”
“Huh…? Who are you?!”
Standing before us was exactly the person we were looking for. But, even if she looked like Velmeria, she felt nothing like her. Even just standing there, she exuded a sort of violence—her face twisted into a cruel expression. Even her voice was distorted.
Was this really Velmeria? Or was it a shapeshifter wearing her visage? My intuition said “no.” Like it or not, the one standing before us really was Velmeria. In body, at least.
“Me?” she asked. “Let’s see. Who am I?”
“What?”
“Tell me, who am I?”
“Velmeria, what are you talking about?”
“Grrrr!”
“Ha ha ha! Man, I wish I knew!”
Whatever was inside Velmeria let out a wicked laugh, and the room filled with repulsive mana. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
That was when I knew the strength of our enemy.
That was when I knew that we couldn’t win.
I knew what I had to do.
“Jet, get out of here! I’ll keep it occupied!”
I was entrusted with Jet’s care. I couldn’t let him die here!
“Woof…!”
Fortunately, Jet complied and sunk into the shadows. He wasn’t about to attempt any heroics—fighting an enemy he couldn’t defeat.
The creature chuckled. “Not so fast!”
“Tch!”
I took the brunt of the next hit as the creature attacked the shadows.
“Do you mind?” she said. “I was in the middle of something!”
“You’re not leaving this place.”
“So that’s how it’s going to be. Anyway, what was that just now?” she asked. “It looked like you completely deleted my attack…”
“A fine question.”
“Hee hee! So, you’ve got a trick up your sleeve! I can sense Malice from you. Is that the answer?”
My Drakefiend Halfling abilities allowed me to erase other people’s magic. Technically, I could bend the rules of mana rather than the mana itself. Advanced Fiends sometimes possessed the same power. It was difficult to figure out at first, but my enemy knew what it was immediately.
Nullifying her attack had taken a lot out of me. I probably had two or three charges of it left. I needed to keep the creature talking and buy Jet more time. I could always teleport out of here if need be—provided this thing didn’t kill me in one hit.
Suddenly, the creature’s expression shifted.
“Hey…did you take the piece of metal from the shelf?” she asked.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Don’t play dumb with me, you bastard! Holy Order’s fragment! Where is it?!”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to beat you up then! Hope you don’t die!”
“I won’t die so easily!”
***
We left the Aschtner mansion and started making our way back to the guild. Along the way, we came across a scene of terrible carnage. A swordsman was burning the area down with Flame spells. He had a Fanatix replica plunged into his back, and these weren’t your ordinary Flame spells, either. A single cast took no time at all and produced multiple explosions. Even a single one was enough to destroy several buildings, so the wooden houses in this district didn’t stand a chance. Frightened screams filled the streets as people tried to get to safety.
“Bastard!” Erianthe shouted as she leapt into action.
The grim look on her face told me that she was prepared to sacrifice herself to buy more time for her people. The guildmaster knew she couldn’t defeat the fanatic. It was uncertain if she’d even last long enough to buy them any time.
It’s in Godsword Release…! What is going on?!
The sword driven the fanatic’s back had been unleashed for some reason. It was so strong that, before I Identified it, I thought it was the real Fanatix. Replica or not, that sword still possessed Godsword Release—the fanatic’s overwhelming power was proof enough of that.
“Stop that!”
“Raaaagh!”
A shock wave burst out of the swordsman and blasted Erianthe over ten meters away, into a wall. She managed to shield herself with her greatsword, but the impact was strong enough to split her blade in two. And still the fanatic wasn’t done with her. He followed his attack up with a barrage of No-Cast Flame spells. A single fireball was enough to burn a human to ashes, and Erianthe had nowhere to run.
Dammit!
I flew into the fray, using telekinesis to scatter the Flame spell. I wish I could’ve protected her from further away, but I was still spent from the Aschtner fight. To deal with the spells properly, I needed to be up close.
“Huh? What just happened?” Erianthe said, watching Fran’s sword float around on its own.
Well, time to go all in!
I created a doppelganger and directed it to appear in front of Erianthe. It looked suspicious as all hell, but I wasn’t about to reveal my true identity!
I cast a Wind spell around the clone for dramatic effect and had it grab me by the hilt. For Erianthe and the others, it looked like a mysterious man had appeared out of nowhere.
Be not afraid. I’m a friend of Fran’s.
“You’re the master of curry!”
Colbert had only met me once, but he remembered. As soon as Erianthe heard him, her suspicions disappeared.
Fight him head-on and you’ll die. You know this, don’t you?
“Yes, but even so…!” Erianthe protested.
I’ll handle it. I may not look like much, but I taught Fran everything she knows. You look after her in the meantime, all right? I’m counting on you!
“Hey, wait—”
The fanatic was staring at me now, so the time for arguments was over. I left Erianthe and Colbert behind and jumped into battle. I hoped that they wouldn’t waste time arguing with each other, and the adventurers didn’t disappoint. They recognized the situation they were in and retreated from the battle immediately.
Now I just need to keep him occupied until he self-destructs.
Red beams rained down on me. Focused Flare Blasts, and twenty of them, and all at the same time. This fanatic’s mana control was absurd! Even if Fran and I worked together, we couldn’t cast this many.
The beams melted the stone buildings and they exploded, leaving holes everywhere. Fortunately, I was left unscathed. I had recovered just enough mana to use Dimension Shift.
Wind whirled around me, quickly turning into a tornado as the fanatic turned a Wind spell against me. The storm picked up rubble, gaining speed and growing in size. If I let the tornado develop further, it would ruin the whole city. I teleported and Air Hiked my way up into the sky, exposing myself to danger. The fanatic probably thought I was completely defenseless, but his expressionless face showed no sign of surprise. Still, I managed to get his attention, and that was enough.
The Inferno Bursts fused and amplified each other, creating a giant pillar of flame all around me. It was the same attack the P.A. had used back in the Lich fight, except this was several times more powerful. But, even in the midst of such terrible firepower, Dimension Shift ensured that I made it out unharmed. That spell took up a lot of mana, but I only had to sustain it for a few moments.
Meanwhile, the stress of Godsword Release was rapidly draining the fanatic’s health and mana. He only had a few more minutes left at best. More time for civilians to get to safety.
Tsch!
I fired a weak Thunder spell at the enemy. It wasn’t strong enough to damage him, but it was enough to keep his attention on me. As expected, the fanatic struck back by summoning a volley of exploding fireballs around me.
KABOOM!
Flare Explode activated, and the sky was filled with fire. It probably would have looked quite pretty to a bystander, assuming you were watching from a distance, that is. All the while, Dimension Shift kept me safe. It really was a useful spell, even considering its cost.
Missed me!
I provoked the fanatic with another attack, and he retaliated with another explosion, but it was pointless. His decision-making capabilities were lost in his berserk state. If he were smarter, he would realize that his attacks weren’t working. The fanatic was more powerful than an A-Rank adventurer, but he was dumber than a reckless greenhorn. Keeping him occupied for a little while longer wasn’t going to be an issue.
That’s right, buddy. Just keep shooting fireworks into the sky!
Still, my Timespace Magic was the only thing keeping me alive right now. The other people in the city might not be so lucky…
Three minutes later, the fanatic ran out of life just as I was starting to worry about my mana reserves. He stopped moving, and his eyes stared blankly into the sky. He wasn’t going to be a threat any longer. That had been the longest three minutes of my second life. I sighed and turned off Dimension Shift. The fanatic’s attacks were so brutal that I activated the spell before they hit. If he had lasted just ten seconds longer, I would’ve had to start teleporting randomly instead.
Just as I was beginning to relax, it happened.
BOOOOOOM!
Whoa!
A sudden explosion. The blast was so powerful that the wind shook me, even as I floated in the air.
Dammit, the clone disappeared!
The explosion flung the rubble of ruined houses all around me. I panicked, doing my best to evade them while storing away the larger pieces. I thought the fanatic had come back to life and started blasting Flame spells again, but this time, the explosion was caused by an excess of mana. Apparently, the mana stored up in the Fanatix replica had nowhere to go after the soldier died, so it gushed out in all directions.
From the sky, I saw a gigantic crater where the fanatic used to be. The explosion destroyed everything around him—flattening the fifty houses at its epicenter and devastating the whole district. Hundreds of houses were damaged by the shock wave alone, and that wasn’t all it did.
As I floated back to the ground, explosions sounded around the capital and pillars of mana rushed up into the sky. I guess my fanatic soldier wasn’t the only one to burn out in an explosive manner. I counted over fifty explosions. Most of them came from the noble district, but the common and business districts weren’t spared, either. The greatest of the explosions were clustered near the palace, and a lot of mana was whirling around that place.
What do they want? They’re not suicide bombers!
Was the destruction of the capital their main goal?
Please be okay, Fran…!
As the explosions continued, I searched for her presence. Our mana was linked, so we could still sense each other’s auras, even if we were miles apart.
Fran was still alive, but I couldn’t tell if she was safe. Using the information from my search, I teleported myself to her.
The Adventurer’s Guild.
Fran and the others had made it there.
“Wh-what?!”
Stellia, the guild receptionist, was startled at my sudden arrival. She was decked out in the red armor of her glory days and wielding a giant mace. She might be a bit wider now than the last time she wore it, but her armor had size adjustability. Once you got some quality enchanted equipment, you really were set for life.
Meanwhile, I was panicking a little. I should’ve teleported higher up in the air so I could sneak into the building unnoticed. Still, I wasn’t about to explain the truth to Stellia. Instead, I flew inside the lobby and found Fran sleeping on the sofa. I moved quietly to her side, setting down beside her pillow.
Good to see you’re okay.
Fran was sleeping soundly, her breathing regular. She was exhausted from the intense battle, but she’d be back to normal after she got some rest.
Stellia stared at me with her mouth agape. Was she suspicious? She might not think I was an Intelligent Weapon, but she might wonder if I was cursed, or a mimic in the shape of a sword. Who knows, maybe mimics were smart enough to camouflage themselves as a sword and track down their owner.
Please! I’m an innocent sword with a return function, I promise!
“Hmm,” Stellia stared at me.
…
“I should check it to be sure.”
I knew it! I just had to make sure that I didn’t move!
My heart raced as Stellia picked me up to examine me, but someone else stayed her hand.
“That sword’s all right, Stellia,” Colbert said.
For some reason, he looked sad.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. It’s Fran’s sword, after all. Her beloved master left it to her…”
His voice was shaking, and I was sure that he was getting misty-eyed.
“So,” Colbert sniffed. “This is the Master of Curry’s last will and testament.”
Wait… My last will and testament?
Oh. My clone was missing, so Colbert assumed the sword had returned to Fran on its own. He thought the master of curry perished in battle against the fanatic.
Stellia sighed. “So, this is all that’s left of him.”
“Yeah.”
No! I’m not dead yet, dammit!
Of course, I couldn’t explain myself, so I settled for complaining.
“You will be missed, Master of Curry…”
“Curry?”
In the midst of this tearful mood, the word “curry” pulled Fran from her slumber.
“Curry…”
She scanned the room, looking for her favorite food. Instead, she found me next to her pillow.
“You’re back,” she said, with a look of relief only I could decipher.
She reached out to me and held me tight to her chest.
Everything go okay?
Hm… I noticed you were missing halfway through.
Fran woke up while Erianthe and Colbert were moving her. Even when she was asleep, she knew that I was no longer by her side. She knew that I was all right thanks to Skill Sharing, but the fact that I was gone still worried her. She closed her eyes and sighed, caressing my blade.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Fran,” Stellia said, her voice wavering.
Colbert blew his nose. “Your master was a true hero…!”
The two of them rubbed their eyes. They couldn’t tell what Fran was feeling, but they were trying to be strong for her.
Uhh, Fran…
I was about to ask her to explain when someone entered the room.
“You’re awake.”
“Erianthe.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there have been further developments,” Erianthe said.
The stern look on her face told me that, whatever she had to say, it was important. Explaining my circumstances to Colbert and the others could wait.
Erianthe explained that fanatic soldiers were blowing up all over the place. The city was in shambles. Meanwhile, the outskirts were being terrorized by Marquis Aschtner’s soldiers and mercenaries. The ensuing pandemonium was unprecedented.
“What about Garrus and Velmeria?” Fran asked. “Are they safe?”
“I don’t know.”
“So, you don’t know where they are, either?”
“This is all I’ve been able to learn. It’s chaos out there.”
“Oh.”
Fran nodded and stood up from the sofa.
Fran, what are you doing?
“I’m going to look for Garrus and Velmeria.”
“Slow down, Fran,” Erianthe said. “It’s dangerous outside.”
“She’s right,” Colbert added. “You deserve some rest after that fight.”
Fran shook her head. “I’m fine.”
They’re right, Fran. We’re too exhausted. We’re in no condition to fight.
“I know it’s dangerous out there,” she said. “But someone has to find Garrus and the others.”
If anything, the chaos outside only motivated Fran further. Between the walking fanatic time bombs and Aschtner’s men, she had every right to be worried.
“And how do you plan to look for them?” Colbert said. “Are you just going to search at random?”
“Hm,” Fran nodded. “We don’t have any leads, so it’s my only option.”
She was seriously going to canvas the whole capital. Still, as much as I wanted her to rest, I doubted she would take my advice.
Erianthe sighed and shook her head at Fran’s resolve. “I guess I can’t stop you, but the capital is bigger than you think, and you don’t know this place well enough. The odds of you finding them are nil.”
“I’m still going to look,” Fran said.
“I know, and I have no plans of standing in your way. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask around for leads.”
“You have someone in mind?” Fran asked.
“I do. Stellia, could you contact Face, please?”
“But guildmaster!”
Stellia protested, and given the look on Erianthe’s face, she wasn’t too enthusiastic about it either. Who was this Face person?
The receptionist shook her head. “I suppose you’re right. Now’s not the time to sweat the details.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll go and get him.”
Five minutes later, Stellia returned with the man in question. He was short and not much of a fighter, but apparently he possessed the information we needed.
“Well, if it isn’t Lady Erianthe,” the man said sarcastically. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Erianthe’s frown deepened. Whoever this man was, she didn’t like him. Still, she held back her annoyance and introduced him.
“Fran, Colbert, this is Face. Adventurer and member of the Thieves’ Guild.”
“What?”
Colbert stared at Face, surprised. Face didn’t seem too pleased about Erianthe telling us his identity, either.
“Lady Erianthe,” he said. “It troubles me that you are so casual with people’s private information.”
“Shut up,” Erianthe said. “We’re in a hurry.”
He sighed. “Very well.”
Erianthe glared at Face with murderous intent. I almost felt sorry for him. The guildmaster was still in a bad mood, although she was better now that she’d blown off some steam. Erianthe explained that Face was the intermediary between the Adventurer’s Guild and the Thieves’ Guild. That position didn’t win him any favors with the guildmaster.
There was an unspoken rule that the two guilds would stay out of each other’s ways, but they were bound to brush up against each other from time to time. There were intermediaries like Face in both guilds. Some of them even had permanent memberships, but only the higher ups knew about them.
Identifying him revealed a wealth of Scouting Skills. His real name wasn’t Face, either—that was just a codename.
“I have an urgent request,” said Erianthe. “Assemble the council and tell them to hand over the information I want. I know they have it.”
Face was silent for a moment. “Right away.”
Despite Erianthe’s thinly veiled threat, he nodded with the same unfazed look. He knew that trying to save face right now would do more harm than good.
“Will you be the one meeting with them?” Face asked.
“They’ll be seeing that girl over there,” Erianthe pointed. “Fran the Black Lightning Princess. You’ve heard of her.”
“So she’s the one… All right. I’m sure the council wouldn’t refuse.”
What was that supposed to mean? Did the Thieves’ Guild already know about Fran? Maybe they found out about her after she ran into Calc.
“I will arrange the meeting immediately,” Face said.
He bowed and quickly left the room, but Colbert didn’t look too happy about the arrangement.
“Are you sure we can trust the Thieves’ Guild, guildmaster?”
“No,” Erianthe said. “But I’m sure they will help. They don’t want to lose the capital, either.”
She sounded pretty confident about it.
“And you’re sending Fran to meet them?” Colbert asked.
“Well, I can’t leave the guild alone, can I?”
“Still,” Colbert protested, “I could’ve gone with her.”
“You have somewhere you need to be,” Erianthe said. “If things go well, we can add more to our ranks.”
“What?”
“Ever heard of the mercenary company Feeler and Shell?”
“Can’t say I have. Actually, I’ve never heard of mercs working in the capital.”
Mercenaries normally operated in the borderlands, going from battlefield to battlefield. That made it easier for the warring nations to hire them. Inland, there were fewer wars, and so mercenary companies were harder to find. At best, they left their liaisons and logistics personnel there on standby.
“They’re an elite squad,” said Erianthe. “Founded by an insectoid halfling.”
“Old friends of yours?” Colbert asked.
Erianthe had told us about her history on the way back from the Aschtner mansion. She mentioned how she was a survivor of a doomed mercenary band and said that, after that fateful mission, her other comrades carried on with their work.
“That’s right,” Erianthe nodded. “I’ll give you my recommendation. That will let you see their leaders. After that, it’s all on your negotiating skills. They have a strict rule about not bringing children into battle, so it’s better to send you rather than Fran.”
Colbert sighed with relief. “That’s good news! So, I’m meeting the mercenaries while Fran goes to the Thieves’ Guild, and ideally, we’ll come out of it with more intel and firepower?”
“Exactly.”
Erianthe had her hands full gathering adventurers, but I wasn’t sure that sending Fran to the Thieves’ Guild was the best idea. Would that really work out? Maybe I should make another clone, just to be safe.
We’re dealing with the Thieves’ Guild, Fran. Don’t let your guard down.
Of course.
The guild probably couldn’t offer us fighters, but they might have information that could help. In fact, they might have eyes and ears on both the marquis and the count, even amidst all the chaos. And, of course, they might know where Garrus and Velmeria were.
Face returned to the Adventurer’s Guild not ten minutes later. Considering how quickly he got everything arranged, he must be pretty competent. Either that, or the Thieves’ Guild just acted fast.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Face. “If you’ll follow me?”
“Hm.”
“We’ll be taking some detours to avoid the riots. Stay close.”
Face turned down one of the many alleyways of the capital. It was completely deserted. His chosen route had already been evacuated by the Thieves’ Guild, so it was also free of Aschtner’s cronies. That was information collection and manipulation at its finest, and the Thieves’ Guild was excellent at it.
Face led Fran to a familiar-looking building—the pub where I issued a quest to Calc. This time, we entered through the back door.
“Can we come in?” Face asked the guard.
“Go ahead.”
The guard cast a glance at Fran but didn’t say anything. She was Face’s guest, after all. We entered the building, and Face led us into a small, private room.
A small, private, empty room.
“Here?” Fran asked.
“One moment, please.”
He closed the door and pulled a bit of string dangling next to it. Immediately, the wall on the other side opened, revealing a stairway down.
“Whoa!”
Fran beamed. There was something about hidden paths that screamed adventure.
Face walked us down the stairs into a sizable meeting room. A gorgeous round table was in the center. It could seat around ten people, but there were only three waiting for us. I had no idea if we’d come out of this meeting as friends, so I quickly Identified them. They weren’t really the fighting types, but they all had interesting skills.
In the middle was a scarred bald man who looked like a traditional bandit. His skillset was a lot like that of an adventurer scout, but he had Charisma and Command Skills to support his position as a leader. He also winced as soon as Fran entered the room. As the muscle of the group, he knew how strong she was.
The good-looking man to his left was in his early thirties and a total marriage swindler. He had Acting Skills, as well those that helped him lie and intimidate. He could use magic, and even had Sexual Enchantment and the title Ladykiller. The bastard reminded me of Seldio.
To his right was an alluring woman who could pass for a madam. She had plenty of skills to seduce men, as well as those related to poisons. A poisonous prostitute? Well, that was absolutely terrifying!
Face bowed. “I shall take my leave.”
“Good work,” said the man in the middle. He waited until Face’s aura disappeared before continuing. “Th-the name’s Fist.”
He wasn’t so confident now that he had to deal with Fran. Fist’s companions thought that he was acting strangely, but they still put on their best smiles.
“I’m Honest.”
“And I’m Pink.”
They were very friendly, considering they were the Thieves’ Guild’s top brass, but their friendliness was fake. They were all using aliases too. Understandable, I guess, since they were all criminals. Fist the bandit, Honest the marriage swindler, and Pink the prostitute. Fitting names, really.
“Fran. Adventurer.”
Fist nodded. “N-nice to meet you.”
Sweat poured down his face and his eyes darted around the room. While this place seemed otherwise empty, I could detect multiple auras around it. The guild had definitely posted guards behind hidden doors. Fist wondered whether those guards would be enough to contain Fran if things went south and decided that they wouldn’t be. Ironically, his composure returned as he resigned himself to that.
“We were thinking of reaching out to you too,” he said. “W-we would’ve done it, even if the situation wasn’t so dire. Anyway, please have a seat.”
Did the Thieves’ Guild have their eyes on Fran from the start?
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“We’ll get there, but let’s talk for a little bit. Break the ice.”
“I don’t have time to waste.”
“We won’t waste your time, then. Isn’t that right, Honest?”
“Oh, you want my help now?”
Honest raised his eyebrows. He didn’t seem to be expecting it and clearly didn’t trust his fellow guildsman.
“This is too much for me,” said Fist.
“She’s that strong?”
“Listen,” Fist said. “Don’t piss her off. Not if you wanna live. My Danger Sense is pinging harder than the last time I met Hundred Blade.”
So, that was the plan. Honest usually played good cop after Fist’s bad cop act. However, Fran’s power meant that Fist had zero chance of pressuring her, so he tagged Honest, who started talking with a brilliant fake smile.
“All right. How about you make yourself comfortable and have a drink, young lady? You must be parched from your trip.”
“Don’t need one,” said Fran. “There’s no time.”
“Come on,” Honest said. “A good negotiation can’t start without a drink.”
“I said I don’t have time to waste.”
“I just wanted to know you better.” Honest laughed nervously. “It isn’t every day I get to meet someone this beautiful and powerful.”
He flipped his hair and gave Fran a megawatt smile. Back in Japan, he could easily have become the number one man in a host club, but Fran remained unamused.
“Don’t you wanna chat a while with me?” he asked.
This was probably Honest’s trump card when dealing with women. A smile from a man this handsome could make any girl swoon. No wonder he was the Thieves’ Guild’s top negotiator.
Fortunately, Fran wasn’t interested in good looks! If anything, Honest’s pointless detours only irritated her—especially given the urgency of the situation.
Still, Honest couldn’t read her, so he kept smiling away. There was a hint of panic in him now, but he was able to maintain his smile all the same.
“W-wait!”
Tink.
An uncomfortable shock went through my brain. It was a familiar feeling. Back in Ulmutt, a thief called Solus used a skill called Coercive Influence, which produced similar effects. Honest was probably using Sexual Enchantment—a skill that enticed members of the opposite sex to listen.
Fran squinted. While she didn’t recognize the skill back in Ulmutt, she was much more sensitive to it now. She kicked the floor and leapt over the table, landing smack in front of Honest. I didn’t know whether she did it to intimidate him, but the table was visibly dented.
Fran drew her blade and pressed it against his neck, glaring at him with cold eyes. Honest was speechless, so the other two did the talking for him.
“Wh-what’s gotten into you?!”
“Y-yeah! You can’t just do that in a negotiation!”
“But using a skill is perfectly fine?” Fran asked.
Honest’s gasp caught in his throat. He wasn’t expecting Fran to see through his ruse. Any normal person would’ve apologized at that point, but people like Honest had a strange sort of pride. They couldn’t accept losing at the negotiating table, and so this sort of behavior was a grave offense to them.
“H-how dare you draw your blade here! You’ll regret that!”
“Will I?” Fran asked.
“Don’t think you’ll get out of the capital unscathed after making an enemy out of us!”
Aaaand now he’d done it.
Despite Fist’s warnings to not anger Fran, Honest couldn’t help judging her by how she looked. Or maybe he was just angry because his good looks and charm had failed. He tried to regain the upper hand by threatening her, but Fran only glared back at him. Honest was one wrong word away from getting his head cut off.
I could feel the tension rising behind the walls too. Even if the guards couldn’t tell how strong Fran was, they trusted Fist. That was enough to prove she could wipe them out in an instant. But if Fist gave the order, they were the ones who would have to deal with her. Ah, the tragic life of a crony. I was sure that they were silently cursing Honest for being so stupid.
Either way, this wasn’t how they wanted things to go. If it went on like this, things were liable to end before they could begin. Maybe I should’ve sent in a clone, after all. I certainly didn’t want to get on the Thieves’ Guild’s bad side.
Still, before I could stop Fran, someone else stepped in.
“Wait!”
“Blergh!”
Fist rammed his fist into Honest’s face to shut him up. Honest was sent flying in a tailspin and slammed into the wall. His chest was heaving, so he was still alive, but his face was in a terrible state. Considering it was his main moneymaker, he should probably get healed before those scars became permanent.
Fist got on his hands and knees to apologize. If his face had hit the floor, it would’ve been just like a Japanese dogeza.
“P-please! We’re sorry! That was entirely his fault! He’s always like that! We have no intention of making an enemy out of you, so please calm down!”
Fist and Honest were the same rank, so could he really talk about him like that? Pink had also lost her composure, and there was a tinge of panic in her voice.
“Wh-why did you do that, Fist?! Honest’s guys might come after you for this.”
“I don’t care! It’s better than getting slaughtered here! This girl’s the real deal. The rumors were true!”
Fist would rather feud with Honest than face down an angry Fran. I don’t know what kind of rumors he heard about Fran, but he was terrified of getting slaughtered by her. He held his head in his hands and started mumbling.
“This is why I didn’t want a madam with no skills to be on the council! How is she supposed to help in this situation?! We’re screwed!”
Pink sighed. “Has she really freaked you out that much? Fine. The men have proven to be utterly useless, so I guess you’ll have to deal with me. I do hope you’ll bear with me.”
She smiled, despite knowing the danger Fran posed. Still, Fran was feeling better after seeing Honest get punched into the wall. She nodded.
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
Pink took a seat and Fran stepped down from the table, though she still had me in her hand. It wouldn’t take much for Fran to finish Pink off, but despite knowing that Fran had all the cards, Pink didn’t seem afraid. She definitely had the most guts on the council. She was more dragon lady than human woman.
“Since you’re not one for small talk, I’ll be frank. Garrus is no longer in Count Olmes’ manor.”
“What?!”
Fran hadn’t even mentioned Garrus. Pink smiled upon seeing her surprise. It was good enough revenge for her.
“So,” she said. “Now you’re interested.”
“How did you know?” Fran asked.
“Because information is our primary weapon. Also, we have a relationship with Garrus.”
Pink shrugged and explained the situation. Apparently, the Thieves’ Guild owed Garrus a favor.
“Once upon a time, one of our members got careless with a summoning manatek. It malfunctioned and ended up summoning a D-Threat monster in the middle of the city.”
Garrus happened to be there and destroyed the manatek before it could summon more monsters.
“The authorities usually turn a blind eye toward us, but if they found out that we were summoning monsters here, the guild would’ve been shut down.”
Suffice to say, the Thieves’ Guild owed Garrus a big one. And, when they learned that Garrus was in Marquis Aschtner’s custody, they made contact with him.
“The guild has people in the marquis’ house?”
The Thieves’ Guild really were worth their cut. Even while Bayreed’s elites got caught, they remained unnoticed.
“We have our sources there,” Pink said. “They mostly work for Aschtner, but they sell us little bits of information on the side. Even if we lost them, we lose nothing.”
“I see.”
“Although they do make it easy to sneak in. They won’t open the door for us, but they can make sure that security is relaxed. That’s all we need.”
When the Thieves’ Guild came to see Garrus at Olmes’ mansion, he asked them for a favor. He had forged several scabbards in his isolation, and he wanted to post them up for auction.
“We couldn’t say no. After all, we owed him. And besides, we got some nice weapons to auction into the bargain.”
Apparently, Scabbard of the Teacher was listed in several auctions. Garrus couldn’t know which of them Fran would attend, but he knew that she would visit one of them regardless. Besides, even if someone accidentally found his message, it was impossible to decipher.
So, why didn’t the Thieves’ Guild just send the message straight to Fran? Well, the guild had doubts about anyone new in town, and even if they didn’t, the risk of an information leak was too great. Still, Fran was the only one who bid for their item, so their roundabout method worked out just fine. The guild must’ve kept eyes on all the scabbards that went up for auction.
All the same, I was amazed that Garrus managed to forge so many scabbards under lockdown. Apparently, the marquis gave him a workshop to keep his smithing skills sharp, so he just forged weapons and armor in his free time.
“Is Garrus all right?”
“Unfortunately, we don’t think so. We had one of our members check in on him, and apparently they’ve been putting trace amounts of drugs into his food. Those drugs have recently taken effect.”
Fran looked downcast. “I see.”
“They also forced him to hold a broken sword from time to time,” Pink continued. “He could still do his smithing work, but it seemed like he was doing it against his will by then. We think the drugs made him hallucinate.”
The drugs must’ve been reducing his mental strength, allowing the Mad Faith Sword to manipulate him. From what we knew, the broken sword we encountered in the underpass was probably the true Fanatix. In Hummels’ case, it had no qualms about destroying his psyche. All it needed was a host, but things were different with Garrus. Fanatix needed his intelligence, so they had to be careful of how much they drugged him. After all, craftsmanship was more than mere mechanical execution. It needed the craftsman’s wisdom, sense, and personal genius, and all of those would be affected by a complete destruction of his mind.
“He was apparently moved to another location just the other day,” Pink said.
“Where?” Fran asked.
“We think he’s under a manor which used to belong to Baron Allsand, but we’re not sure.”
“Baron Allsand?”
The idiot noble who had Essence of Falsehood.
Fran looked like she vaguely remembered who he was. His father was Count Olmes, and Marquis Aschtner used Olmes’s villa for his own purposes. It wouldn’t surprise me if Aschtner used Allsand’s former abode too.
“Go on,” said Fran.
“Well,” said Pink. “We know that Garrus was moved from the room he’s been locked up in. The guild has eyes and ears in the Aschtner mansion, the Olmes mansion, and the Olmes villa, but they haven’t seen him there.”
“Hm.”
“As such, it’s highly likely that he was moved somewhere else.”
“And you think it’s Allsand’s basement?” Fran asked.
“Yeah. Garrus is in an open space with lots of presumably human auras around him. That much we know for sure.”
“Enemy guards?” Fran suggested.
“Most likely.”
Wherever he was, he may well have been crafting more Fanatix replicas. We should expect heavy resistance when we get there. One fanatic soldier under Godsword Release was bad enough, but now we’d have to fight a whole squad? Then again, if these soldiers were unleashed, then they would have been blown up by now, so these guys were probably just ordinary fanatics. We should be able to take them.
“However,” said Pink. “We don’t know how to get to the underground chamber. We just can’t find a way in, and not for lack of trying.”
So, Garrus was either teleported in, or there was a cleverly hidden passageway somewhere. If it were the latter, it must be perfectly camouflaged—especially since it had escaped the notice of the Thieves’ Guild.
“How do you know such a place even exists?” Fran asked.
Pink chuckled. “Rats can sneak into confined places just fine.”
Wow! Was there no limit to the Thieves’ Guild’s spy network?
“How many do you have?”
“Sorry, but we don’t exactly keep track of the rat population.”
Oh.
So, the Thieves’ Guild’s ‘rats’ were just that: literal rats. Even the most confined of spaces had cracks in the wall, more than large enough for a rodent to squeeze through.
“But we have enough information to make an estimate of their numbers,” Pink said. “There’s less than a hundred of them.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Well, you see—”
The Thieves’ Guild had been keeping tabs on Marquis Aschtner and knew that the mercenary companies he’d hired over the years had been all wiped out.
“Not many things can wipe out merc companies,” said Pink. “Especially not when we’re not at war. Which begs the question: what happened to them then?”
The guild suspected that the missing mercenaries had been offered up as human sacrifices for some sinister ritual. And their suspicions were confirmed today, when they saw the marquis’ guards being controlled by Fanatix replicas. Not only that, but the fanatic soldiers also attacked the guard posts where any implicated mercenaries were being held. Pink said there were eighty mercenaries involved with Aschtner. Add in the missing adventurers, and they would easily total a hundred.
“Do be careful,” Pink said. “They’ll be expecting you.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Fran asked.
The Thieves’ Guild weren’t exactly keepers of the peace, and I still didn’t know why they were on our side. Honestly, I thought they would have sided with Aschtner. Then again, the marquis was dead now, so I guess the guild made the right choice.
“We don’t want to lose the capital,” Pink explained. “The Adventurer’s Guild protects their hunting grounds and dungeons, and so we protect the city’s seedy underbelly.”
The Thieves’ Guild had been here so long that they operated as intermediaries between the nobility and the commoners. As Pink said, the Adventurer’s Guild had its dungeons and haunts, the Blacksmiths’ Guild had its workshops and mines, and the Thieves’ Guild had its capitals.
“We can’t just move to another city if we lose,” she said. “Everywhere else is already occupied. I guess top brass could go somewhere else, but what about your average guildsman? The pickpockets and burglars. The whores and gigolos. They’ll have no choice but to be debt slaves.”
I didn’t know how many members of the Thieves’ Guild there were in the capital, but there weren’t enough jobs for all of them.
“Marquis Aschtner is no stranger to shady dealings,” said Pink. “But he’s completely lost it now. He’s gone too far.”
The Thieves’ Guild were excellent information agents, all right. They knew something was wrong with Aschtner.
“We can’t offer your additional firepower, but we can offer support in other ways. We’re not even looking to get paid. We’re all in this together, after all. What do you say?”
She’s not lying, Fran. We can’t completely trust them, but they’re willing to cooperate.
“Hm. Good enough for me.”
“So quickly? I knew I could count on you, Black Lightning Princess. We’ll give you one of our guys as support. I promise he won’t be a burden.”
Teacher?
Just accept. They’ll keep him on you, even if you refuse. We don’t really have time to argue.
“All right.”
Fran nodded, and Pink clapped her hands. It must have been some kind of signal, because a guildsman soon entered the room with an old man.
He was bald and had a shrunken frame. His eyebrows, mustache, and beard were long and white with age. If he weren’t so seedy-looking, the old man could pass as a hermit. He was wearing a robe and carried a staff, which made me think he was a mage of some sort, but his hunched back suggested that he wouldn’t be much use in a fight.
Still, looks aren’t everything.
Before I could Identify him, Fran and I sensed the powerful mana radiating from within him. We readied ourselves, in case the old man tried to attack us. Being prepared would be the only way we could defend ourselves.
His mana wasn’t the only menacing thing about him. He had the intimidating aura of someone truly powerful. Aschtner aside, he might be the strongest man in the capital. Even the late Skywall Zefield didn’t come close. If the Thieves’ Guild had someone like this on their roster, they really were a force to be reckoned with.
The old man noticed that Fran was on alert. “Oh, so you know how strong I am? You do your nickname justice. You’re nothing like those idiots over there.”
He muttered something under his breath, tapping the floor with his staff. He wasn’t the friendliest senior citizen, that much was sure. His old eyes were sharp enough to silence a grown man.
“Meet the strongest man in the Thieves’ Guild,” said Pink.
“Name’s Eiworth.”
He was seventy-three years old. His Strength and Agility were low because of his age, but he was an elite mage with Storm Magic 3, Ocean Magic 2, Frost Magic 7, and Deadly Venom Magic 6. He could use Land Magic and Support Magic too, among other things.
Eiworth? I had heard that name before. Fran seemed to remember it too.
“You’re one of Dias’ friends?”
That was it! Eiworth was the name of one of Dias’ old party members. The old man’s eyebrow prickled with recognition.
“You know him?”
“Hm. I know Phelms and Gammod too.”
“Is that right? Yes, I’m Dragon Bind Eiworth, and I was once a member of their party.”
Despite the memories, Eiworth didn’t smile. I wasn’t sure if that was because they were no longer on good terms, or if it was just his personality. I mean, the guy had been frowning ever since he walked into the room.
“You made a weird secret organization too,” Fran said.
“I made a what?” Eiworth wondered. “Oh, you mean the Mages’ Guild.”
“Hm. They were really annoying.”
“I apologize for that. I did found that guild, but I’m no longer part of it. I lost interest, see? Their council are acting on their own now.”
He’s telling the truth.
Eiworth seemed to be the type who only did something as long as he was interested in it. As far as the old man was concerned, the Mages’ Guild was nothing but a boring historical footnote.
I really wanted to tell him off for not settling things properly! Still, what was he doing in the Thieves’ Guild? Fran was curious about this as well. She tilted her head, still keeping her guard up.
“What’s a former A-Rank doing in the Thieves’ Guild?”
“The old man used to be a bandit hunter,” Pink answered for him.
Apparently, Eiworth showed up in the capital and started attacking and abducting guild members. His reason? Human experimentation.
“I used to buy capital offense slaves, but that got expensive quickly. And they’re not always available either,” Eiworth explained. “That said, I can’t just turn innocent bystanders into guinea pigs.”
I thought that might be a sign he had some sort of moral compass, but Eiworth went on, explaining how messy things would’ve got if he got caught. And there I was, almost impressed with him for a moment!
“But then I had a revelation,” said Eiworth. “Why not hunt thieves and experiment on them instead?”
That was the worst thing ever to hit the thieving industry, but the civilians benefited greatly. Still, he was hardly doing it for good reason. He just needed more guinea pigs.
“So,” he said. “I started hunting garden-variety bandits.”
After Eiworth began his hunting expeditions, the bandit population plummeted. Soon, the bandits all pulled their operations out of Granzell, deeming it too dangerous.
Then, instead of going to the mountains for more bandits or to the ocean for pirates, Eiworth decided to continue his hunt in the cities. It was inevitable that he’d run into the Thieves’ Guild after that, but the guild didn’t strike back at him. Instead, they negotiated a deal—giving him all the capital offense slaves and traitors he needed while hiring him as the guild’s bodyguard.
“If the guild was under attack, then I could get all the subjects I wanted,” he said. “Easiest job of my life.”
Fran frowned. She didn’t like Eiworth, and I didn’t blame her. Then again, I didn’t think that anyone could like him.
“I should add that I don’t kill my test subjects,” he said. “I just take a quick peek, heal them, and then release them. The capital slaves get resold, sure, but that’s on them. Would you like to know about my findings?”
“No thanks.”
Fran wasn’t interested, and besides, we were in a hurry. Eiworth sighed, disappointed at her lack of curiosity. His eyebrows knitted together.
“Hmph. Everyone suddenly has a conscience when it comes to this stuff.”
We couldn’t let our guard down around him.
“He’s a troublesome old man,” said Pink, “but he’s one hell of a fighter.”
Fran looked pensive for a moment. “The enemy has a way of sealing magic and dispersing mana.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Hm.”
Eiworth chuckled. “Very interesting.”
“Hang on, Eiworth,” Pink said. “As strong as you are, even you would have a hard time without magic.”
Eiworth laughed all the harder. Clearly, Fran’s warning had piqued his interest.
“I don’t care. If I die, it’s just because I’m weak, that’s all. I’ve had my thoughts on that sword ever since the warnings came. It might help my research.”
I was concerned about whether the old mage could help against such an enemy, but there was no stopping him now.
“Just try not to die out there,” Fran said.
“I can handle it. Maybe.”
He chortled, looking like a real villain. I don’t think the Thieves’ Guild trusted him either.
“Let’s get going then,” said Fran.
I didn’t want Eiworth around, but he was definitely a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Even if we turned him down, he would just tail us anyway. Might as well have the old man where we could see him.
That’s when Face came back into the room.
“Face will show you the way,” said Pink. “You know the place, right?”
“That I do. It’s chaos out there. Sneaking into the noble district shouldn’t be a problem.”
“How are things looking?” Pink asked. “Any sign of those freaks with the swords in their backs?”
“There’s plenty of them. The knights are having a tough time.”
That didn’t surprise me. The fanatics were adventurers and mercenaries with Godsword Release. They were much stronger than any knight. Without skills or magic, the knights simply couldn’t defeat them.
“The Adventurer’s Guild has managed to gather twenty adventurers to support them, but I don’t know how long they’ll last. They’re only intermediates…”
“Are they losing?”
“No. The guildmaster is requesting more adventurers and knights from the palace as reinforcements. They’re doing better than before, at least.”
I was curious about the situation near the palace, but we had Allsand’s old mansion to deal with first.
“Are enemy reinforcements coming from whatshisface’s basement?” Fran asked.
“No. There hasn’t been any movement around the Allsand mansion.”
Very suspicious.
Hm.
What was so important to that broken Godsword? Why hold back its forces like that? The only thing—or person—I could think of was Garrus. All the signs were pointing to him being captive in the mansion of the former Baron Allsand.
“Shall we?”
“Hm.”
“A strange magic sword,” Eiworth chuckled again. “I can’t wait.”
I was a little worried about the old man. If he kept underestimating our enemy, he would run into problems.
Still, Fran and the others left the Thieves’ Guild, running through alleyways with Face in the lead. Despite Eiworth’s age, he had no trouble keeping up. He used to be an A-Rank, after all. He didn’t even break a sweat as he asked Fran about the Fanatix replicas. It was strange seeing a hunched old man running at such speed. He reminded me of a Japanese urban legend called the Turbo-Granny. She wasn’t known to be dangerous, but just seeing her gave people the spooks.
The Allsand manor was in the southern part of the noble district. We were a good distance from the Aschtner and Olmes mansions, so there was no fighting here. I could hear the sounds of spells exploding and the desperate cries of knights in the distance, but we didn’t run into a single adventurer or knight along the way. Face was deliberately avoiding them; he really was worth his weight here. He might not be strong in a fight, but he was not to be messed with. We reached our destination without as much as a glimpse of the conflict.
“Welcome to the Allsand mansion.”
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