Chapter 59
#59화 Phantom Thief Dauphin (3) - Showmanship
“I have not the slightest intention of falling for such a pathetic threat.”
The man who had received Phantom Thief Dauphin’s warning letter.
Henri Montbork said without hesitation.
“That sales contract was legitimate from the start! It was those ignorant fools’ fault for not knowing how to read and making a mistake—how is that my fault? Hah, ridiculous.”
The fact that the Montbork Trading Company’s employees lied about the contents while saying they would read the contract for him did not matter to Henri.
Such things were merely something the underlings had done on their own, and even if they hadn’t, so what? There was no way to prove it anyway.
The guard’s upper ranks were in much the same position.
What mattered to them was that the Montbork Trading Company was one of the top ten largest in the entire Kingdom of Birka and that it did business with House Sarnos; the grievances and suffering of a few farmers meant nothing.
Above all, they were already furious over this “warning letter” novelty, something they had never experienced before.
“A thief openly announces who he’s targeting and then says he’s going to raid us? Does he think we’re idiots!?”
Why was the guard side at a disadvantage in a fight between guards and thieves?
Because the guard side could never know when or where the thief would strike, so they had to stay on alert at all times, whereas the thief could choose whatever time and place he wanted.
But this thief, Dauphin, had thrown that advantage away himself.
It could only be seen as either confidence that had swelled from a string of successes or contempt for the guard.
“Don’t let even one ant get away! If anything seems even a little suspicious, grab it first!!”
“Keep your damn eyes open!! If I catch anyone dozing off, that bastard dies by my hand before the thief does!!”
The company commander laid down the law to the platoon leaders, the platoon leaders in turn barked at their subordinates, and the soldiers who had taken the full force of the scolding were seething.
The fighting spirit and heat radiating from the guards made it seem as though strange heat-haze waves were rising around the Montbork Trading Company building.
The ferocious state of alert had citizens nearby whispering to one another.
“There’s no way they’ll break through that.”
“Why bother announcing that he’s going to storm in himself? If you’re a thief, you should come and go quietly.”
“Is he really coming? What if the warning letter is just bait and he plans to target somewhere else while the guards are gathered here?”
Amid the air of anticipation and concern, the sun set, and the moon began to cast its faint glow over the night sky.
At last, the time written in the warning letter arrived.
And then, right after that.
Thud.
The surrounding area was swallowed by darkness.
“Huh?”
“W-what? What’s going on!?”
As if showing off how much money they had, expensive magic lamps had been installed all over the Montbork Trading Company building to drive back the darkness of night.
Unlike ordinary torches, they provided stable visibility and were easy to maintain, so the soldiers relied entirely on the magic lamps’ light—and that light had all gone out at once.
Just as they stood there dumbfounded, wondering whether the magical apparatus had broken down, a loud noise rang out from inside the manor.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Realizing that the scream had come from the room where the company head was staying, several platoon leaders went pale.
They shouted in a panic.
“Torches! Light the torches! The ones we brought for patrols, remember? Hurry!!”
The guards rushed in haste toward the source of the scream, and soon found a room in complete disarray, with Henri Montbork sitting on the floor, clutching his leg and twisting his face in pain.
“Merchant Lord! Are you all right!? What happened!?”
Henri Montbork pointed at the window with trembling hands and said,
“Th-that bastard tried to drag me away by force, but when he saw people gathering around, he ran off that way!! Hurry, hurry and catch him! Ugh…!”
Whether he had been injured in a struggle with the culprit or not, Henri grabbed his leg again and groaned.
If they thought about it calmly, there were indeed a few odd points, but the platoon leaders, blinded by the glory of capturing Dauphin, failed to notice them.
“Please rest assured, Merchant Lord! Our 1st Platoon will catch him for sure!!”
“2nd Platoon, move out too! Everybody run!!”
After most of the guards had rushed off in the direction Dauphin was expected to have fled, the company staff who arrived a step late approached the merchant lord and said,
“We’re bringing a stretcher, so please wait just a moment. We’ll get a doctor right awa—”
“No, this isn’t the time for that.”
The merchant lord’s eyes gleamed wildly.
“The warehouse, go to the warehouse right now! Quickly, move my treasures somewhere else!”
“W-what do you mean?”
“He came straight here without being seen by anyone! There’s a traitor, a traitor among us! We have to protect my treasures before those bastards touch the warehouse!”
The company employees and the soldiers left behind were flustered, but they could not withstand the merchant lord’s repeated urgings and nodded.
“My leg is in this state, so somebody carry me! The rest of you, the ones with free hands, guide the soldiers! Surely none of you are idiots who can’t find your way just because the lights went out, right!?”
“Yes, Merchant Lord!”
“Hurry! Move faster! And bring the carts too!”
Even though he kept grimacing as if his leg hurt, he herded the people around him onward, determined to protect the treasure somehow, and the sight exhausted everyone, but no one dared voice an objection or complaint.
At last, when they reached the warehouse, Henri Montbork resumed issuing orders.
“Good, the contents are still safe! Now then, move this! We need to get out to the manor’s back courtyard!”
“Th-the back courtyard? If we’re moving it anyway, wouldn’t it be better to move it to the front where more people can see?”
“You idiot!! That thief ran off that way! And if we don’t know which one of you is the traitor, why would we go blabbing all over town that the treasure is here? No, no! Wait—are you the traitor!? Is that why you’re trying to screw me over? Huh!?”
“N-no! Of course not!!”
Under the merchant lord’s razor-sharp threats, the employees and soldiers moved the warehouse treasures onto a large cart without daring to make a sound, and, as Henri Montbork ordered, transported them to the back courtyard, where they would be easier to hide from prying eyes.
Other guards nearby even tried to stop them for inspection, but with the merchant lord’s rough curses and accusations that they were the culprit, they all backed off.
By the time they finally reached the back courtyard, everyone looked completely exhausted.
After all, they had been loading cargo onto the cart and pushing it around while being driven back and forth by the merchant lord’s sharp prodding, so there was no way they wouldn’t be exhausted.
“Good, this should be fine here. You’ve all worked hard.”
The soldiers let out relieved sighs at the merchant lord’s gentle voice, but the employees felt something was off for a moment.
The Henri Montbork they knew was absolutely not the kind of man to offer such a warm compliment. The money-crazed, ruthless version from just moments ago had been far more natural.
Once that doubt opened the floodgates, the questions they had failed to notice until now because they had been so desperate began rising one after another.
If Henri had been openly voicing suspicions that he couldn’t tell who the traitor was, why had these people here been made to help move the treasure without even a basic screening?
And aside from the guards, where in the world were the personal bodyguards who were supposed to be by Henri Montbork’s side?
How had Henri Montbork, who possessed no real combat ability, managed to hold out until the guards stormed in with only what was, at most, an ankle injury?
But before they could dwell on those doubts, a sudden blow to the back of the neck stole their consciousness.
In truth, what it takes to deceive people is not some perfect, meticulously planned scheme.
What really matters is brazen confidence, and the momentum that never gives the other side a chance to think rationally.
The back courtyard, where people had collapsed in a heap.
And there was Henri Montbork, standing perfectly normally on both feet.
No, the Phantom Thief Dauphin was smiling.
***
The next morning.
The citizens of Rebruke stared blankly at the bizarre scene laid out before them and rubbed their eyes with their forearms.
Yet even after rubbing until their eyes stung, the view before them did not change.
“Mmph! Mmph-mmph! Mmmph!!”
The large square in the center of Rebruke.
Beneath the ropes strung between the buildings, the Montbork Trading Company’s head, Henri Montbork, and his associates were hanging there like bagworms.
And the various signs hanging with them bore the following message.
「To the wicked merchant and his lackeys, whom I do not especially hold dear.
I truly cannot help but regret that you ignored my rare advice.
However, people are allowed to make a mistake or two.
If, taking this experience as a lesson, you even belatedly pay the farmers proper compensation and apologize, I shall no longer hold that sin against you.
Ah, of course, the small amount of interest I collected this time is a separate matter. I shall take that as tuition.
After all, at most one warehouse was robbed, so you should still have plenty of property left, should you not? I cannot say what will happen if you ignore this warning again, however.
I sincerely hope you will set aside your obstinacy and stubbornness and pay what you owe while you still can, of your own free will.
And to the dear citizens of Rebruke, I have decided to divide the wealth obtained from Montbork this time among you in the form of a meal, so please eat heartily and enjoy yourselves. Better yet, as you eat, do offer Montbork a word of thanks as well.
After all, praise and gratitude are good for a person’s character.
Ah, some of you may be worried about being harmed after eating, but I would call that an excessive concern.
After all, if you don’t eat it, the only thing left is to throw it all away, so surely there isn’t some petty fool who would rather see it thrown away than give it to others, is there?
If there really is, then I’m sorry; I apologize in advance.
-Phantom Thief Dauphin-」
As if to prove that those words were no lie, large pots filled with steaming stew, warmed to the perfect breakfast temperature, had been set up all over Rebruke’s streets.
The stew, loaded with quality meat, vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions, and herbs of uncertain origin, gave off an incredibly tempting aroma that lured people in, and beside the pots were stacks of wooden bowls and spoons, along with pictures explaining that even those who could not read should enjoy the stew.
The citizens of the slums, who lived day after day clutching their hungry stomachs, scooped the stew into wooden bowls without a second thought, and the citizens of the ordinary districts hesitated a little, but once someone ate some and showed an amazed expression, they could no longer hold back and rushed to the stew in droves.
Even the citizens of the upper-class district were sniffing the air and glancing around because of the overwhelmingly strong aroma.
The Montbork Trading Company, forced against its will to run a citywide free meal service, gritted its teeth but could not lash out at the citizens who had eaten the stew.
Their dignity had already been worn down as much as it could be, and there was no need to add the label of “petty” on top of that.
The Montbork Trading Company and the guard tried to bury the fine details of the incident somehow, but rumors that had already spread were not something so easy to smother.
In the end, Henri Montbork sighed and paid the farmers their proper due, and the guard instantly became a laughingstock.
However, this was only the beginning of the many incidents Phantom Thief Dauphin would cause in Rebruke.