Chapter 151 - EPISODE 151 – PHANTOM THIEF (3) (1/2)
Minister of Defense had now been changed to Lord Protector. Please do note that the ‘Lord Protector’ used in this series is more of a nickname than an actual title.
Kalium, the capital of the Sälen 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 Sälen.
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, Suppé, 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 Suppé 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!”
Suppé 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.”
Suppé 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.”
Suppé 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?”