Chapter 63
#63화 Phantom Thief Dauphin (7) - Phantom Thief's Holiday, Guard's Holiday
“Did you hear? Apparently Dauphin failed to bring his target to justice for the first time.”
“Hmm, that’s a little disappointing. Still, things had been going too smoothly until now.”
“Isn’t he going to get caught like this? There are still plenty of people who need to be punished!”
A man was walking through the unsettled streets of Revbruk.
The man’s appearance was utterly ordinary.
So ordinary that if you asked people, “Please describe the man who just passed by,” none of them would be able to give a proper answer.
After all, that was the whole point of a disguise meant not to stand out, so in a sense it was only natural.
[Hahaha! Everyone’s making a fuss over your failure. Come to think of it, you haven’t even been caught, and they’re reacting like this—doesn’t that make you a little frustrated? Hmm?]
From within the man’s shadow, the Great Demon cackled as she mocked him.
Lucidra, who had returned to the crown prince after working day and night to pay back the price of her lost wager, had figured out what was going on and was grinning from ear to ear.
After all, failure feels all the more keenly by those who haven’t tasted it very many times.
For the crown prince, who had always handled everything with ease thanks to his extraordinary talent, this was the first time he had failed to achieve a goal—how delightful must that reaction be!
Would he get angry at the demon taunting him from the side?
Or would he force himself to stay calm and quietly swallow his frustration?
Lucidra’s eyes shone as she eagerly awaited his answer.
‘Yes, you’re right! It truly is frustrating! That guard girl really is no pushover in all sorts of ways! If I’m not careful, my plan might go awry!’
[……?]
Huh? This isn’t right.
Lucidra watched Dauphin from within the shadow—no, rather, the man disguised as an ordinary civilian.
Was it just her imagination, or did that utterly ordinary, harmless-looking face seem somehow excited?
‘Through last night’s experience, I couldn’t help but acknowledge that I had been far too arrogant and trapped by prejudice. To be honest, I had expected that until the knight order House Sarnos prides itself on was dispatched, there wouldn’t be a proper rival. And yet a mere guard had that level of ability! Truly astonishing, wouldn’t you say!’
[F-for something like that, you seem pretty happy about it, though?]
In response to Lucidra’s question, an unmistakable smile surfaced at the corners of Dauphin’s mouth.
‘If that’s how it looks to you, then it must be because the joy I feel is greater than my disappointment.’
What was it that made a phantom thief a phantom thief?
A perfect trick? A daring performance? A grand scale?
People might offer all sorts of answers, but at least for Phantom Thief Dauphin, the answer was this:
A worthy rival.
Police, detectives, investigators.
There were subtle differences, but in the end, those who, under law and order, seek to catch a phantom thief are what make a phantom thief complete.
‘But at the same time, I also thought it was an unattainable dream. For this land was truly the worst.’
The territory ruled by House Redbel was, plainly speaking, not a place friendly to the common people or easy for them to live in.
They never hesitated to squeeze the commoners dry for the territory’s wealth, and to strengthen their rule over the land they showed an authoritarian, oppressive face.
But at the very least, those actions were carried out in the name of “efficiency” and “economy.”
Marquis Redbel, for all his lack of compassion, was not a fool who didn’t know what would benefit his house and what would harm it.
Of course, problems sometimes arose because the middle managers didn’t understand that properly, but at the very least, the faction’s overall policy itself was consistent.
It wasn’t the crown prince’s taste, but at the very least it meant there was a foundation on which he could simply apply a “moral yet more profitable in the long run” method.
But here, in House Sarnos’s territory, things were even worse than that.
There was no reason or efficiency in the crimes committed by the ruling class here.
They simply wanted to torment people, because they were angry, because it was fun, because they were special and believed that lowly inferiors could be treated however they pleased.
The lord did not fulfill the duties of a ruler, the knights did not uphold the pride of the honorable, and the officials flattered those above them while ignoring the voices below.
The reason Dauphin, despite calling himself a “phantom thief,” acted so violently and savagely that he was practically closer to a vigilante was that if he had merely stolen things and returned them to the victims, it would not have been strange for those victims to be harassed again by criminals in broad daylight.
In a land like this, how could one ever meet a true “worthy rival” who would make a phantom thief feel like a phantom thief?
So Dauphin had given up on the whole worthy-rival standoff a long time ago and switched to a pure chaos mode of smashing everything in sight.
[So that girl you met yesterday is different? She’s the kind of talent who fits the “worthy rival who pursues good and order” that you want?]
‘How could I possibly judge that after meeting her only once? But at the very least, I sensed that she had that kind of quality. I’m on my way there now to confirm it.’
What was it that made a phantom thief good?
Wasn’t it that even a single person could, through disguise, hide behind different appearances and wear many faces?
If he went around openly saying, “I’m a phantom thief,” there wouldn’t even be a proper conversation, so Dauphin planned to approach Dahlia in disguise as a civilian first.
Suppressing his excited mood, Dauphin searched for Dahlia.
“Get the hell out of here right now! You fucking bitch!!”
Splash!
He witnessed Dahlia being doused by an old woman.
Dauphin narrowed his eyes.
***
“Wow! I guess it really is easier on the body when you’re under a capable commander! Ever since the squad leader earned some merit, the treatment we get has changed this much.”
Once one squad member opened the floodgates with a bit of chatter, the others followed suit.
“Right? I never expected them to turn even the unused holidays into paid leave. Judging by how that company commander had been acting, I figured he’d just treat all those holidays as if they never existed.”
“Exactly. If you’re going to do proper work, you need to make sure you have proper days off too. I rested yesterday, and today my body feels so light!”
“Didn’t you definitely flatter the squad leader last time, saying that working without holidays made life feel more fulfilling?”
“Ahem, what are you talking about? When did I ever?”
“What I liked more than the holiday was how the other squads’ reactions changed. Before, whenever they passed by, they’d annoy us with looks of contempt or mockery. Now it’s the other way around—they’re the ones gauging our reactions.”
“Is that so? I feel like they’re looking at us with even more resentful eyes than before. Their jealousy seems to be burning right in their eyes.”
“Even so, they still can’t go around openly saying anything anyway, so what does it matter?”
“Man, it’s a bit much. Whenever they were beating up some easy petty criminal, they’d treat the captain’s abilities like cold leftovers because they didn’t need them, and now they flip their attitude like this.”
“Yeah, it’s practically long live Lord Dauphin—urk!”
“Hey, you bastard. Is that something you should be saying?”
As the squad member jokingly raised both arms, another member beside him punched him in the back of the head, and he collapsed flat on the ground.
Seeing the squad members furtively gauging her expression, Dahlia scratched her cheek in mild embarrassment.
Their behavior was certainly something a guard captain ought to reprimand, since it sounded almost as if they were praising a thief, but when she considered how the squad had usually been treated inside the guard force and what frustrations that had caused, she found it hard to scold them openly.
That said, she couldn’t exactly agree with them either, so what was she supposed to do?
She could only remain silent.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, the deputy spoke up.
“Ahem. Anyway, Captain, please enjoy your rest today. I’ll make sure your armor and spear are maintained until they’re as good as new.”
Dahlia nodded.
“Right. I’m planning to walk around the streets from 6 through 8, so call me if anything urgent comes up.”
“…You are going to rest, right? You’re not going to patrol even on your day off like last time, are you?”
Dahlia flinched for a moment, then waved it off.
“O-of course not! No matter how I am, I’m not doing that without armor or spear.”
“The woman who can beat everyone here bare-handed says that like it’s some kind of excuse.”
“Anyway, it’s fine, so don’t worry. I’m off then!”
Half-forcing the conversation to a close, Dahlia left the guard building behind her.
Of course, she was only saying that; in reality, she fully intended to inspect the streets she’d mentioned.
With the company commander’s warning hanging over them, guards reckless enough to do something strange were few and far between, but there was still a chance that those who thought they’d been shoved into a backwater post might act out on the spot.
Dahlia had become fairly famous within the city, but surprisingly, almost no one recognized her.
That was because when she worked as a guard, Dahlia always wore her armor properly and kept the visor of her helmet lowered, so even those she had helped or talked with regularly often had never seen her bare face.
Well, thanks to her loose casual clothes, she did attract attention in a different way, but Dahlia didn’t really mind.
As her deputy had said, she was someone who could easily knock down just about any opponent even bare-handed.
‘...They’re doing a better job than I expected?’
As she wandered the streets and kept an eye on the guards, Dahlia smiled faintly.
Contrary to her worries, there were no guards taking out their frustrations on the residents.
Their actions and attitude did show some laziness, and rather than actively searching the area, they seemed to be simply patrolling their assigned routes, but even that alone was enough to maintain public order.
Most criminals pay attention simply to the fact that armed guards are patrolling nearby; they don’t care whether those guards are enthusiastic or not.
‘I wish they could keep this up from now on.’
Dahlia thought that, but at the same time she knew it wasn’t realistic.
This situation was only a temporary special case brought about by the existence of Dauphin; once Dauphin was caught, the company commander would have no reason to keep favoring Dahlia.
No matter how you looked at it, they wouldn’t suddenly pull a use-and-discard move the moment he was caught, and if something unforeseen came up, her treatment would probably improve somewhat compared to before, but even so, things wouldn’t flow exactly the way she wanted.
She felt a little absurd thinking about what would happen after catching Dauphin before even catching him, but when she thought about how the squad members, who had been so excited for once, would have their treatment become harsh again, she couldn’t help worrying.
“…Captain of the 8th Squad?”
As she walked along, lost in thought, Dahlia turned toward the voice calling her name.
There stood a middle-aged shopkeeper she had once helped before, looking at her with a hesitant expression.
Dahlia gave a slight bow.
“Hello, sir.”
“Ah, hearing your voice makes me sure. I saw your hair and the way you walked and had my doubts, but I nearly failed to recognize you.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide anything, but that’s how it turned out. By the way, the guards from the other squads aren’t causing any trouble or anything, are they?”
“At least as far as I know, no. Even if they’re not particularly friendly or enthusiastic, there are so many of them visible that those punks keep their heads down.”
“That’s a relief.”
“I heard you recently earned great merit and were promoted to the upper-class district. I’m glad things are going well.”
Dahlia shook her head.
“It’s not a promotion or anything. This area and that one are both streets I’m responsible for protecting. The district just changed for a while.”
“Haha, I suppose only a squad captain would be the one to say the two are the same.”
Whether they had overheard the two talking, the other shopkeepers nearby also slowly leaned in.
“You’re really the squad captain? Without your armor, you’re like a completely different person.”
“Wow, I’d guessed as much even when you were in armor, but your build really is—urk! Why are you hitting me, you old woman!!”
“Why would I be hitting you!? Has that idiot lost his mind? Where do you get off running your mouth like that!?”
“No, I was just complimenting—ack! Ack! Sorry! Sorry!”
At the sight of the pair’s comic back-and-forth, Dahlia and the others burst out laughing.
“...Miss, are you really that squad captain? The one who protected the tax official from Dauphin this time?”
An old woman who had been guarding a small stall in the corner of the street approached Dahlia and asked.
Because she was the sort of old woman who would usually smile and thank Dahlia or hand her something to drink when she patrolled in guard uniform, Dahlia greeted her with a smile, without any particular caution.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I see...”
The old woman lowered her head and murmured that before disappearing into the shop.
Thinking she might be coming back with water as usual, Dahlia watched her—and then stiffened.
Because when the old woman came back outside, her face was twisted with thick, seething rage and hatred.
“Get the hell out of here right now! You rotten bitch!!”
Splash!
When the deluge of water from the old woman’s hand left Dahlia looking like a drenched rat, the shopkeepers who had just been laughing and chatting with her were all struck speechless in shock.
Even then, the old woman continued with a venomous expression.
“That trash! The bastard who tormented my daughter until she took her own life—I'd still never be satisfied even if I split his belly open and chewed his guts alive!! Why did you save him! Why did you help him!! You should have left him alone!! You should have let Dauphin punish him!! Up until now, all the other scum have been punished, so why was he the only one!! Why on earth—!!”
Thwack!
The tomato the old woman threw stained Dahlia’s hair red.
The old woman grabbed whatever she could from the stall and hurled it at Dahlia, and Dahlia could only stare at it without defending or dodging.
The old woman’s fury, the cry of a mother who had lost her daughter, left Dahlia no room for any action.
“What kind of guard are you!! What kind of person are you protecting!! You leave the real trash—the ones who should be hanged—untouched!! You fawn over the trash and side with them, and you still call this the street you’re supposed to protect!? You’re laughing at us in your heart, aren’t you!!”
The old woman’s words were full of prejudice and carried a fair amount of misunderstanding.
I never fawned over anyone.
I never laughed at you.
I only ever tried to protect people in earnest.
Ah, but.
Faced with that anger, sorrow, and grief, what in the world was she supposed to say?
Dahlia remained silent, but that silence was the wrong choice.
Because the old woman, thinking she was being ignored, grabbed a small fruit knife and rushed at Dahlia.
A movement by an old woman—someone who merely ran a small shop, not a specially trained expert.
Objectively speaking, it was slow, rough, and full of unnecessary motion.
Even without Dahlia stepping in personally, any one of the merchants could have stopped the old woman if they had tried.
Yet none of them could move.
Before the old woman’s eerie aura and murderous hostility, they were completely frozen.
Dahlia quietly closed her eyes.
The blade of a powerless old woman could not kill her body.
But it would certainly tear her heart to pieces.
There was no one who could stop it.
Nor was there anyone qualified to stop it.
“Please stop there, ma’am.”
—except for a phantom thief who paid no mind to qualifications and simply followed his own heart.