Chapter 249: Seven Southern Families (2) (1/2)
“Tell us a bit more in detail.”
Scarlet looked a bit displeased at Jude’s words, but she sat in a chair near the window and answered.
“Someone is literally robbing the 7 southern families. The families are keeping this information under wraps, but I’m sure of it. Four out of the seven families have already been robbed.”
“Do you know what they robbed?”
When Cordelia approached her and asked, Scarlet provocatively smiled instead of answering right away.
“Guess it.”
“It must be Carlos’ tokens. The tokens Carlos gave to each family.”
Jude immediately answered, and Scarlet pouted at him before she raised her chin and asked.
“Why do you think that?”
“There are two possible reasons why the occurrence of a robbery is being kept secret. One is that it is something you possess that you do not want others to know… An example is having drugs or stolen goods at home. The other is that it is something that will cause a big problem if it is known to be stolen.”
Naturally, this alone did not prove that it was Carlos’ tokens.
He couldn’t just say ‘My intuition told me’, just like how Cordelia did.
“There are two more clues. One is that the 7 southern families are being robbed in a row. Of course, the thief in question may be doing something symbolic by robbing the 7 southern families alone, or perhaps they’re just doing plain thievery. As for the second clue, it’s you, Scarlet.”
“Me?”
“Yes, when you said that it was a big problem, that was a clue in itself.”
Cordelia tilted her head at Jude’s words, but soon nodded and pretended to understand after Jude and Scarlet looked at her.
Therefore, Jude almost couldn’t suppress his laughter that was about to come out, but he calmed down and continued his explanation.
“Because we decided the match to be held at the south, you must have considered the 7 southern families as your targets, right? And to win the match for the Rogue Master position, stealing a symbolic object is better than a sellable item. Like Carlos’ token.”
But there was someone who was one step ahead of them.
Moreover, the thief had already stolen four out of seven.
It was a really big problem for Scarlet, as this had more significance to her than Cordelia.
“Gathering all the clues that have appeared so far, I can conclude that there is someone robbing Carlos’ tokens that the 7 southern families have highly treasured.”
The clues were not convincing when considered separately, but combining them made his assumption quite plausible.
‘And above all, it’s Scarlet.’
If he considered Scarlet’s personality and behavior, there was no other answer except Carlos’ tokens.
“Am I right?”
At Jude’s question, Cordelia excitedly turned to Scarlet who replied with a frown on her face.
“Damn it, you’re right.”
“As expected of my Jude. Isn’t my Jude amazing?”
As Cordelia brightly smiled and said that, Scarlet’s expression turned worse and she pinched Cordelia’s cheek.
“Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!”
“I can’t help it when your cheeks are so soft.”
Having said those words, Scarlet released her hand before Cordelia could counterattack, and she looked back at Jude and said.
“Black Cloak is right. Some unknown person is collecting Carlos’ tokens. Without even a notice.”
‘It strange to send a notice in the first place.’
She would clearly be angry if he said that out loud, so Jude held it in and only touched his chin as he asked.
“Any clues about the culprit?”
“None at all so far. But their method is quite rough. They infiltrate in secret, but once they’re inside the mansion, they become violent. In addition, they do not hesitate to kill people. They’re not a righteous thief.”
“Righteous thief?”
When Cordelia asked, Scarlet frowned before she pinched Cordelia’s cheek again and said.
“Great thieves only steal objects and not people’s lives.”
“Those are the words of the Rogue Master. The first one.”
“Yes, though it would have been better if it was Pink Bomb who knew that and not you.”
Scarlet sighed again at Jude’s answer, and she spoke to the groaning Cordelia who was covering her red cheek that had been pinched earlier.
“Anyway, the situation is like this, so it’s a bit awkward to have a match here.”
It was fine if they were going to steal something other than Carlos’ tokens, but the situation was already chaotic, so it wouldn’t look good for them.
Because everyone’s attention was already focused on an unidentified thief.
“Do the ordinary people still not know about it?”
“They still don’t know about it, but rumors will soon spread. Four families have already been robbed in succession… and as I’ve said before, the thief does not hesitate in killing people. So there are a lot of victims every time the thief steals from someone.”
There was a huge difference between injuries and deaths.
So it would be strange if a rumor did not come out at this point.
[Jude, what should we do?]
The match against Scarlet was important, but stopping Malekith was much more important.
‘First of all, who’s the culprit?’
In Legend of Heroes 2, there was no one who collected the tokens of the 7 southern families.
There were no quests related to it.
‘There are too many candidates.’
It was Carlos’ tokens and not just some simple object.
Perhaps one of the seven southern families was behind this.
“Scarlet, has Marquis Ophand been robbed yet?”
“Not yet. The other two families are Count Kagehama’s family and Count Luculia’s family.”
Jude nodded again at Scarlet’s answer, and sent a magic to Cordelia.
[Cordelia, choose between the two.]
[If we’re going to rob Kagehama or Luculia?]
[…We need to choose between securing the three remaining tokens or defending Kajsa’s token when the thief comes to attack… because they’ll definitely attack her family.]
Come to think of it, isn’t the answer to that natural?
After all, Cordelia is a beast girl who likes to bomb things.
[Okay, then let’s rob the two remaining families first.]
[Yes, that would be nice. Just like Dragon Ball, it will only be useful if we collect all seven tokens. Even if we only secure one or two tokens, it would be enough for the culprit to try attacking us.]
Because if the culprit’s true goal was Carlos’ legacy that could lead the 7 southern families, it was possible that they would try to confront Jude and Cordelia in order to collect all seven tokens.
But it was at that moment.
“Hey, why don’t you two stop talking secretly and let me in your conversation too?”
She didn’t know how they did it, but it was clear to her that they were talking secretly.
Scarlet spoke in dissatisfaction, and Cordelia turned to Jude who nodded and said to Scarlet.
“Before that, there’s someone we have to bring here first.”
***
Having been suddenly called in the middle of the night, Kajsa looked down at Cordelia as she narrowed her brows.
And Cordelia, whose face, ears, and neck were red, said with some hesitation.
“Y-you see.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“I…”
“I?”
“I’m Pi-Pink Bomb.”
She said it. She finally said it.
Cordelia’s already red face turned even redder.
It was so difficult and embarrassing to introduce herself as Pink Bomb without wearing a mask.
But it wasn’t over yet.
“What bomb?”
“Huh?”
“No, what kind of bomb is it?”
“Pi-Pink Bomb.”
“Pink what?”
“Pink Bomb.”
“P-bomb?”
“Pink Bomb! Hey! Are you doing this on purpose?!”
“Yes, it’s on purpose.”
“Hey!”
The tearful Cordelia lunged at Kajsa who hugged her to stop her from moving.
“Woah, woah, calm down. Calm down. Uh, I just didn’t expect that you’ll say that. But it’s not as bad as you think, okay?”
The giggling Kajsa said as she put her chin on the head of Cordelia whom she was tightly hugging.
“Anyway, so the Pink Bomb in the rumors was Cordelia. Then naturally, Jude is…”
“That’s right, I’m Black Cloak. For your reference, it was Cordelia who came up with that name and not me.”
“I see. It’s indeed a name that Pink Bomb would have thought of.”
As Kajsa nodded as if she was convinced, Cordelia struggled in Kajsa’s arms and protested.
“I’m not the one who came up with Pi-Pink Bomb! It was Jude who did it!”
Jude’s the one who started it first, okay?!
But it was useless.
Because Kajsa enjoyed teasing Cordelia, whose reactions were very cute, more than teasing the shameless Jude.
Therefore, Kajsa said with a grin.
“Then, you’re the one who came up with Black Cloak?”
“Eh?”
“Aren’t you the one who came up with that?”
“T-that’s right. I-I am, but…”