Ch. 128
“That’s… everything.”
“Nothing left in your pockets, huh.”
Even after searching him completely, the woman wasn’t satisfied. She turned to the unconscious Jack and rummaged through his belt and pockets too. But there was no way these thieves had anything substantial.
‘What did I expect, carrying around thirty gold coins?’
“Hmph, going back like this feels like a loss. Don’t you think, Rai?”
“Woof!”
“What should I do to feel better…”
“Woof woof!”
“What? If I do that, blood will splatter. I hate dirtying my shoes.”
“I’m sorry! Lady Mage! We didn’t recognize your greatness! Please, just this once—”
They thought that flattering a mage—who clearly enjoyed self-praise—might get them off the hook. But they were sorely mistaken.
The thief was forced to shut up as pain smashed into his forehead.
“Mage? Huh? Mage?”
“Oops. My bad. I should have called you the All-Knowing and Almighty Great Archmage. Right?”
He got hit again.
The pain came back. This time it was the pommel of a dagger—sharpened to a point—making it especially painful.
“Who’re you calling a mage! Are your eyes just for decoration? Look properly!”
Blow after blow, the thief racked his brain for a way to survive.
‘She used magic, but she’s not a mage. And with how well she hits, maybe a martial artist? But no, she used magic! Then…?’
Suddenly, it hit him. He shouted his guess with confidence.
“Wait! I get it! You’re not a mage—you’re a monk! Right? A mon—gah!”
“You’re like Rai!”
“Woof?”
As if hitting him while he was trapped in water wasn’t enough, she grabbed his hair and shook it violently.
The thief begged for his life, but the woman wasn’t done.
“Let me teach you properly while I have the chance!”
“W-Wait! Let’s talk without the knife…”
“Repeat after me. Now.”
“Excuse me?”
“Spir.”
“W-What?”
“it! Mage!”
Clearly, she believed in the power of violence.
Not even full words—she was beating him with each syllable.
“I get it! Spirit Mage! Water Spirit Mage!”
The thief, who had tried to rob the wrong person, would forever remember one thing in his bones.
Spirit Mages were terrifying.
And Water Spirit Mages? Don’t mess with them.
By the time he lost track of who was the real victim, he’d already been beaten to a pulp.
—
“Yoohoo! Been waiting long?”
I have returned!
Marching triumphantly into the inn with my stolen goods recovered, I was met by three fully dressed men ready to leave and one unusually giddy Annie.
“…Oh, you’re back, Big Sis?”
From her flustered and clearly disappointed face, it was obvious she’d wanted to go without me.
‘This is why you shouldn’t raise black-haired beasts!’ Even if Annie had silver hair.
“Oh? We figured you’d take a while, so we were just heading out.”
“No one was waiting for you anyway.”
Clearly, none of them had given me a second thought.
Lox and Chad looked mildly surprised. Only Ash offered some consolation—not that it helped.
“You returned quickly. Annie was so eager to go out, we were just about to look for you.”
“What? When did I ever—ugh.”
Chad, being tactless, got elbowed by Ash, but I wasn’t the type to be hurt by something like that.
It just made me wish I hadn’t rushed back. I’d expected Annie to cry and make a scene and everyone to be in a panic looking for me, but clearly, I could’ve taken my time.
If I’d come back later, I wouldn’t have run into anyone and could’ve just rested in peace! What a waste.
“Incredible. You actually found your sword?”
Perhaps noticing my odd silence, Ash approached me with concern.
At least he was the only one who acknowledged my suffering.
“Of course. Do you know who I am?”
“That’s a relief.”
Watching him smile like that made me want to rip off that polymorph necklace. I was too curious what his real smile would look like.
“I was worried you wouldn’t find it.”
Most of the time, once something gets stolen, it’s gone.
But who am I?
I’m Geenie Crowell—survivor of a dragon’s lair and master of the Metal Spirit.
I had a high-performance metal-detecting dog.
“Oh? You really found it?”
“How’d you do it? Lucky day, huh?”
Lox and Chad finally noticed and approached, tossing out their belated amazement.
I proudly showed off the longsword strapped to my back.
“Ahem, it’s skill.”
“Must’ve done some good in your past life.”
“Your ancestors helped, huh.”
‘These bastards…’
“I said it’s skill!”
“Real skill is not getting robbed in the first place.”
“…Ugh.”
I tried to act smug, but among travelers, the one who got robbed was the fool.
Experienced travelers never made rookie mistakes like getting pickpocketed. It was considered shameful.
To be fair, I didn’t have a naturally sharp intuition and was clearly a novice traveler.
Even if I did tame a dragon and earn the Saint title right after leaving home.
“But are you sure it’s safe? Carrying it on your back again might get it stolen.”
“It’s fine. I swapped the strap for a stronger one.”
The sword had a long strap for wearing over the back. Originally, it had been thin leather, but the thieves had cut it to steal the sword, so I had to replace it.
To avoid repeating the same mistake, I had Rai craft a long chain from special alloy.
It was made with mithril and orichalcum in perfect balance and could only be cut by a specially crafted dwarven smith’s shears.
Now, the only way to forcibly remove the sword from me would be to cut me in half.
Actually, I’d rather cut the thief into four. Just try it again and see.
“Why not just wear it on your waist?”
“…”
“That’s the safest way.”
“Don’t you think I know that! It drags on the ground!”
“Oh, short legs, huh? Haha, too bad.”
Damn Chad. He definitely asked that on purpose.
So what if you’re tall?
The way he looked down and smirked made me want to punch him in his smug face.
Longswords were usually designed for burly men. For someone like me—delicate, petite, elegant, and graceful—it wasn’t exactly ideal to wear at the waist.
Though I ‘could’ slice a thief in half if needed.
“By the way, you seem… really refreshed?”
“Huh? Do I?”
“You’re glowing.”
“Must be because I got my sword back.”
Lox was right. He had sharp eyes.
Even as Chad teased me, I wasn’t losing my temper—and it was thanks to thoroughly venting all my pent-up rage on those thieves.
I was feeling great.
All the stress from babysitting dragons and raising kids against my will had been taken out on them. Now the world looked beautiful—I could hum a tune.
Bottling stress isn’t healthy.
Those guys really were perfect sandbags… I mean, thieves.
They even gave me a gift. I kept checking out the dagger I’d taken.
I needed something like it, and they brought it right to me. Such thoughtful thieves.
Chad tilted his head curiously as I fiddled with it.
“What’s with the dagger? You didn’t have that earlier.”
“Hm? They gave it to me.”
“Who?”
“The thieves.”
“…”
“That face says you don’t believe me. Not that I care if you do.”
I didn’t have a proper place for it, so I just stuck it in my belt. The only loop on my belt was for my coin pouch.
Thinking back, I regretted not also taking the belt with the dagger sheath from that thief.
Even if his pants fell down—it would’ve been worth it!
Sigh, I’m too kind for this cruel world.
“Wait… did you mug the thief?”
“Can’t really say I didn’t.”
“You’re so shameless.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Chad looked dumbfounded, but where do you think Rai gets his shamelessness? From me, of course.
“Then you shouldn’t have been robbed in the first place!”
“Instead of scolding me, don’t you have something ‘nice’ to say?”
“Like what?”
“Like congratulations! That’s what normal people say!”
“Oh. Congrats. Buy me dinner.”
What a shameless bastard.
Was this internalized self-loathing? I couldn’t stand how audacious Chad was.
“Are you crazy? Where’s your shame! Don’t embarrass Dmitrians like that!”
“Shame doesn’t buy food. But congratulations ‘do’.”
“…Ash! Are you really okay with this guy?”
I couldn’t help yelling at Ash. This guy was definitely ‘not’ Guardian material.
“What?”
Crap.
“Uh? What do you mean by that?”
Even Lox chimed in curiously. I quickly twisted the stiff finger I’d been pointing at Chad and redirected it toward the main street.
“Oh, I mean… we were heading out, right? Let’s go! I need a sheath for this dagger anyway!”
Before cold sweat could form, I hurried to move first.
I really needed to work on my acting. Even I knew that was the most awkward deflection ever.
Lox was already looking at me suspiciously, and I tried to avoid his gaze.
Ash’s calm stare wasn’t any easier to meet.
I wanted to scream.
‘Why can’t I call a prince a prince!?’
But I already knew the answer—because if I did, Ash might face consequences in the exam.