Chapter 45. Caught.

As I walked around with Leon by my side, the way people looked at me changed.

The guys who had been eyeing me, wondering if there was a way to rip me off, were now being cautious.

It was a reaction that made me feel that Leon was a well-known figure in this neighborhood.

Leon knew the movements of the pickpockets with surprising accuracy.

He said it was for the sake of smooth collections, and I thought that experts in any field were indeed different.

“By the way, how much did you get stolen?”

“It wasn’t money, so I can’t say for sure how much.”

The crystal of the Arachne Queen.

It was an item that was difficult to put a price on.

Considering its rarity, a thousand gold pieces wouldn't be a waste, but…….

The problem was that since it was still alive, there was a possibility of it resurrecting.

Who would want to buy a bomb that could go off at any moment?

Leon, who heard my words, stopped in his tracks and sighed.

“Ah. You should have told me that sooner.”

“Are you saying it’s my fault now?”

I was planning to let it go peacefully since he was being cooperative, but he was starting to get on my nerves.

Does he need a beating to come to his senses?

“No, no, no! I’m just saying that so we can save even a little bit of your precious time!”

“Who gave you the right to call him brother!? He’s my brother! Not yours!”

Pol reacted sharply to Leon’s excuse.

“Why are you making a fuss now? Is that important right now?

“Brother! You’re being too mean! You said I was your only brother!”

“……Did I say that?”

I don’t remember that.

It didn’t sound like something I would say in the first place.

“So, if the stolen item was an object, does that change things?”

I pushed away the clinging Pol and asked Leon.

“Since physical evidence can be proof of a crime, it’s a basic rule to dispose of it as quickly as possible. He would have gone straight to a fence. He might be haggling with a fence right now.”

“Damn it. I didn’t think of that.”

What could I do?

I wouldn’t know unless I had tried stealing myself.

“If we’re late, we might not be able to get the stolen item back even if we catch the pickpocket. Let’s go to the fence now.”

“There isn’t more than one fence, is there?”

“There are many swindlers who act as fences, but there’s only one proper one.”

That was good news.

Even if he had already sold the Arachne Queen’s crystal, I could get it back, and even if he had left without selling it, I could get a clue to track down the pickpocket.

If we were really lucky and got to the fence before the pickpocket, we could wait there for the pickpocket to come and sell it.

* * *

“Old man! You in there?!”

Leon, who had arrived at the fence’s residence, roughly opened the door.

“You brat! The door’s going to fall off!”

“If it breaks from just this, then there’s something wrong with the door!”

As I quietly entered the fence’s residence behind the rowdy Leon, I felt a gaze watching us from the darkness.

A gaze as if it were sizing us up.

However, it was subtly different from what I had felt upon entering the Imperial Capital.

“……What is it? Why are you dragging a line of mercenaries with you?”

A sense of caution in the old man’s voice.

It was suspicious.

Since entering the Imperial Capital, everyone had looked at us as prey and only thought about how to rip us off.

But the fact that only this person’s reaction was different meant one thing.

That he knew something that others didn’t.

“Sir. We’re not in a very leisurely situation right now. I’d like to ask for your cooperation.”

“H-hmph. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As I took a step closer, the fence’s voice trembled.

He wasn’t good at lying.

“Old man! Do you know who this is?! Be careful!”

“Wh-who is it!? Let’s hear it!”

“Uh……”

Leon just gaped at the old man’s words.

Well, it wasn’t like that guy knew anything either.

And it wasn’t a situation where we would laugh and introduce ourselves to each other.

It was the same now.

“I was pickpocketed. It was an important item, so I was wondering if you might know anything.”

“I don’t know!”

He shouted hastily before I could even finish my sentence.

“I haven’t even told you what the item was?”

“I told you I don’t know anything!”

The fence’s reaction was close to a confession.

“It’s a crystal of about this size.”

“…….”

Whether he realized that his lie was being revealed with every passing moment by his own reaction, the fence completely shut his mouth.

“Did you happen to purchase it?”

“…….”

“If you continue to not answer, I will check by force.”

“B-by what authority-”

Was authority the best he could come up with?

It was a weak defense.

Being a fence was an illegal business in the first place.

“I have no authority. But, it could be a dangerous matter. This isn’t the time to be arguing about rights.”

If you feel wronged, call the police.

“……I did not purchase it.”

As if he had finally given up, the fence confessed.

“Then you saw the item? The pickpocket did come to you to sell it, didn’t he?”

“Yes. I judged it to be a dangerous item.”

As he was reputed to be the only proper fence in the vicinity, it seemed he had an eye for things.

“I told that brat to take it far away and throw it away. I don’t know where he went.”

“Is there a possibility that he would try to sell it to another fence?”

Normally, would someone willingly accept being told to throw away an item they had gone to the trouble of stealing?

Wouldn't they try to find someone who would buy it?

“He’s not that stupid. I scared him good, so he should be looking for a place to throw it away by now.”

That was a relief.

This old fence had suspected the danger of the crystal and refused to purchase it, but there was no guarantee that other fences would make the same choice.

There was no way a fence who had even spent money to purchase it would willingly hand over the crystal, so I would have had to either buy it with money or take it by force.

The former was unfair, and the latter could make things unnecessarily complicated.

In any case, if the pickpocket had decided to throw it away, the cleanup would be a little simpler.

The problem was-

“Do you have any idea where that brat would choose to throw it?”

Since he could throw it away anywhere, there was a lack of clues to track him down.

“I told him to go as far away as possible……”

It seemed the fence didn't know much about this part either.

I immediately racked my brain.

What would I do if I were holding a dangerous bomb in my hands?

I would want to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

And at the same time, to a place where there were no people, so that people wouldn't get caught up in it-

‘No. That's not right.’

Suddenly, I thought that this was too much of a civilian’s way of thinking.

The opponent was a criminal.

A person who could ignore the harm to others for their own benefit.

Of course, people dying would have been a burden.

But what if that didn't apply to ‘everyone’?

What if it went as far as to think of it as an opportunity to turn into a personal gain?

‘Throwing’ the bomb at the enemy.

Isn't that a perfect solution where the danger to myself disappears and I can inflict damage on the enemy?

“Do you know anything about his grudges?”

“Grudges……? I’m not sure. Why are you suddenly asking that……?”

The fence’s answer was vague, perhaps because he didn’t have a personal relationship with the pickpocket.

“What about you? You don’t know either?”

“Well. As for the personal relationships of pickpockets……”

Leon just shrugged his shoulders.

Then, as if he had realized my expression was serious, he rolled his eyes and squeezed out an answer.

“But generally speaking, you can think of the delinquents who take their money, and- the guards who catch the pickpockets.”

* * *

‘Damn it. Why did I have to steal something like this.’

The boy bit his lip.

The pulse he felt from the crystal in his hand was creepy.

‘Where should I go?’

The Imperial Capital was a city surrounded by magnificent city walls, but there were also many villages outside the city walls.

If he threw it away nearby and a monster came out, those villages might be attacked.

Those villages had lived on the premise of receiving support from the Imperial Capital if a problem arose, so their own means of defense were lacking.

If even a decent monster came out, they would be annihilated.

It might even be that the damage would be less if it hatched inside the Imperial Capital.

The guards protecting the Imperial Capital would immediately rush over and fight.

The boy’s running legs came to a stop.

‘Right. The guards.’

Their main duty was to maintain public order in the Imperial Capital.

In other words, they were troops that dealt with people.

But the ones who caused problems with public order were often mercenaries who fought monsters.

They had to have strength to subdue them.

Even if they lacked experience fighting monsters, they were not without strength.

‘I can see just how great they are to have tormented us until now.’

His dissatisfaction with the guards was already at its peak.

His heart pounded at the thought of passing the buck to the guards.

If the guards subdued the hatched monster, that would be a safe end in itself.

And if the monster inflicted damage on the guards, that would be a satisfying thing in itself.

Either way, it wasn’t bad.

“Hehehe.”

When he thought of it that way, the crystal in his hand was no longer scary.

He knew the location of the guard headquarters well.

His lightened steps quickly led the boy to the front of the headquarters.

The guard headquarters was thoroughly guarded by guards.

The voices of the passing guards could be heard.

“There’s really no end to these pickpocket bastards.”

“How many did you catch this time?”

“Five?”

“Wow. At this rate, you’ll be getting a promotion soon.”

The conversation between the guards set a fire in the boy’s chest.

To those guys, pickpockets were not human.

He couldn’t hold back his anger at the way they treated pickpockets as prey and spoils.

Of course, the fact that pickpockets had constantly inflicted damage on innocent people was erased from his mind.

‘This is revenge for my poor comrades!’

There was no such thing as loyalty among pickpockets, and they were rather rivals competing for the same goal.

But for the boy in his highly excited state, all of that was irrelevant.

It would be enough to just throw the monster’s egg over the wall.

The boy, holding the heavy crystal in his hand, took a throwing stance.

However.

“Caught you.”

The moment he was about to throw the crystal, someone roughly grabbed the boy’s wrist.

“Hiip-!?”

The scream that was about to burst out was also blocked by a hand covering his mouth.

The opponent he barely managed to confirm by moving only his eyes was wearing a snake skull-shaped helmet painted green.

There was no way he couldn’t recognize him.

He was the original owner of the crystal.

As soon as he confirmed that fact, the strength drained from his hand.

A hand that seemed slender at a glance but was actually filled with strength caught the crystal that had fallen from the boy’s hand.

“I’ll be taking this back.”

The boy couldn’t even answer his words and just trembled.

“Hoo.”

The man in the snake skull helmet, Ben, let go of the boy and let out a sigh.

‘That was a close call.’

Even if the crystal had fallen inside the guard headquarters, it would have been too dangerous to sneak in to retrieve it.

He was grateful that the matter was resolved before it got complicated.

“I- I’m sorry. Pl-please be lenient-”

Ben waved his hand at the boy who was trembling with fear.

He couldn't get anything out of the boy anyway, and killing him was even more out of the question.

As for Ben, he had no choice but to let him go.

As Ben showed no signs of trying to hold him back, the boy quickly bowed his head and left the place.

As for Ben, there was no good reason for him to be here either.

Just as Ben was about to move away, avoiding the eyes of the guards.

Crack, creak.

Cracks began to form on the crystal.

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