Snap!

When Shushruta snapped her fingers again, the villagers went back to their business. As if nothing had happened. As if the chilling silence from just a moment ago had been a dream.

"...."

As I stared blankly at the ordinary yet unsettling street, Shushruta smiled and said.

"Do you believe me now?"

I slowly nodded.

"...Yes. I believe you."

Shushruta asked teasingly.

"Hide a tree in the forest. Don't you know that saying?"

"I don't. I would have to have hidden a tree to know."

Shushruta, seemingly in a good mood, let out a small laugh and led the way.

"Follow me."

As I followed Shushruta, the Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.

[You foolish fool. You couldn't even figure that out.]

"No, how am I supposed to know that?"

[You can tell just by looking. Didn't it seem awkward?]

"Not at all."

[Tsk, tsk... you have a long way to go. You pathetic fool.]

"...."

Today, as on any other day, I felt very refreshed and good after being nagged by the Heavenly Demon.

"...Nagging from the morning."

I grumbled and followed behind Shushruta.

Shushruta glanced back with a slight smile.

"Is the master in your head nagging you again?"

"Yes. He's scolding me for not figuring that out. No, how on earth am I supposed to know that?"

"It would be strange to figure it out."

I followed Shushruta into an alley. I followed her closely and walked through the maze-like, complex alleys.

Looking at the sky, I roughly estimated the direction... It seemed we were heading towards the back of the village.

Sure enough, when we got out of the alley, a mountain appeared in front of us. When I had looked from the hill, there was a not-so-steep mountain behind the village, and it seemed to be that place.

Shushruta led me to the back mountain. After walking a little further along the foot of the mountain, following her, a staircase appeared. A well-maintained staircase path between the trees stretched high up.

Shushruta placed her foot on the wooden staircase and said.

"It's up here. Follow me."

I obediently followed Shushruta up the staircase, which was lined with trees on both sides. The morning sunlight, split by the leaves, quietly settled on the stairs, and the pleasant chirping of birds could be heard from time to time.

I slowly climbed the stairs, breathing in the clear mountain air.

"Hmm."

The feeling was strange. The higher I climbed the stairs, the more I felt like I was leaving the secular world. As I climbed the stairs stained with greenery, I couldn't tell if the place I was going to was the headquarters of thieves or a temple that had left the secular world.

The further I got from the village, the quieter the atmosphere became. Is the air up here different? Unlike down there, a reverent air hung around. Perhaps because of that, Shushruta also climbed the stairs silently, and I also saved my words.

And so, I climbed the stairs... and finally reached the end.

At the top of the stairs, a wooden gate appeared. It was a gate that seemed to be opened by pushing with both hands. Next to it, a shoulder-high wall surrounded the interior. It felt like it was not to prevent physical intrusion, but to prevent mental intrusion, as one could easily climb over it if one wanted to. So, it was a wall that was rather low, so one couldn't carelessly climb over it.

Come to think of it, this is a den of thieves, so they would probably be able to jump over any high wall with ease.

The Heavenly Demon, seeing the gate and the shoulder-high wall connected to it, muttered.

[Hmm. It looks like a temple where high monks live.]

"High monks? A temple?"

[There is such a thing.]

I didn't know what it was, but it seemed to refer to things that exuded such a profound atmosphere.

Shushruta approached the gate and quietly pushed one side of it.

Creeak...

Shushruta, who had carefully opened the door and entered, gestured for me to come in.

I tilted my head slightly and looked at the other door that was not open.

"Why didn't you open this one?"

"Is there a need to? One door is enough."

But I am a man like a green frog, so I felt I had to open that door. I didn't know why myself.

I said to Shushruta.

"I'm going in through that door."

"No, why on earth..."

Before Shushruta could say anything, I put my hand on the left door. It didn't open easily, so the moment I raised my internal energy and gave it a little push...

Crack!

The door fell off.

"...."

"...."

I looked straight at Shushruta, who was staring at me coldly.

"It seems it was already broken. It wasn't in good condition."

"...."

I nonchalantly entered through the door that Shushruta had entered.

"Excuse me~"

As I carefully entered, I saw a spacious courtyard and wooden houses. The houses here had a different aspect from ordinary houses and created a unique atmosphere. Among them, there was a place surrounded by another gate and wall, like a box within a box, and inside was a spacious inner house. It was a house with a quiet atmosphere.

As I was looking around the interior... a man approached and said.

"The Dark Lord is waiting for you."

"Dark Lord?"

I looked at the man. He looked to be in his early twenties. He was a man with a strange atmosphere. His eyes drooped, giving him a gentle impression, and his expression was extremely calm. The man was wearing a loose-fitting gray outfit, and for some reason, I found it displeasing.

What did he do to be so displeasing? I didn't know the reason, but that's how it was.

The man suddenly looked behind me and said.

"The door is broken."

I followed his gaze.

"Ah, it was like that before we came. The door was off. It seems someone completely smashed it. Have you made any enemies recently?"

The man looked at me.

"I heard a cracking sound just a moment ago."

"Actually, Shushruta broke it. You guys. What on earth did you do to our little sister that Shushruta would smash the door?"

Shushruta sighed.

The man exchanged glances with Shushruta and then nodded.

"Indeed, you are as I have heard. Please follow me. The Dark Lord is eagerly waiting for his guest."

"Alright."

The man, still with a calm expression, led me to the gate within the gate. As expected, the house with the gate within the gate seemed to be where the guild master lived.

Creeak...

He opened one side of the gate and entered. Then he said to me, who was staring at the other door.

"You can't break this one."

"Got it."

I obediently followed the man through the open door.

Shushruta naturally tried to follow, but was stopped by the man.

"The Dark Lord has asked to see only your companion."

"What?"

"It is the Dark Lord's word."

Shushruta shouted.

"Make sense! Why can't I come when you're meeting my companion! What are you plotting!"

"The Dark Lord..."

"Jean, you bastard. Even if you've been receiving the old man's favor while I was away, you've lost your mind, haven't you?"

As Shushruta went on a rampage, the man had a troubled expression.

"That's not it, Master..."

I immediately took Shushruta's side.

"You bastard, Jang!"

Shushruta corrected me.

"It's not Jang, it's Jean, Jean."

"Right, Jean. You must have gotten a big belly. Your calves must have swollen. Your liver must have come out of your belly. How dare you treat the princess of the underworld and the young lady of the Thieves' Guild, Shushruta, so carelessly. You must not have seen Shushruta's ultimate move, the Spinning Shining Rolling Thunder Kaido Elbow Attack."

"Ashuban. What is that?"

"It's your ultimate move, how would I know?"

"...?"

The man called Jean let out a deep sigh.

"There is no such concern. The Dark Lord just wanted to speak with the guest one-on-one."

Shushruta glared at Jean.

"If you're lying, you'd better be prepared."

Jean stared back at Shushruta blankly.

"...What are you going to do."

"I will unleash the Spinning Shining Rolling Thunder Attack while you are asleep."

I corrected her.

"It's the Spinning Shining Rolling Thunder Kaido Elbow Attack."

"Ah, right. I will unleash the Spinning Shining Rolling Thunder Kaido Elbow Attack while you are asleep."

"...."

Jean looked back and forth between me and Shushruta, then shook his head. Then he closed the door and said quietly.

"I'm closing the door."

Just before the door closed, Shushruta stuck her face through the gap and said to me.

"Ashuban. If anything happens, scream! I'll come running right away."

...It's not like I'm being kidnapped.

I nodded with a serious expression.

"I'll scream like a girl."

Jean locked the gate and then guided me into the house.

"This way."

I followed Jean and walked through the spacious house. Now that I looked, I could barely hear his footsteps. The interior consisted of corridors and rooms, and the structure was quite peculiar. Strangely, there were places where the ceiling was open in a square shape. Seeing the sunlight seeping in through there, I began to get confused whether this was a den of thieves or a temple.

That was also for a moment, and as I followed Jean down the corridor, the surroundings gradually began to darken. The deeper I went into the mansion, the dimmer the light became... and by the time I reached my destination, the surroundings were as dark as if it had suddenly become night from morning.

"This way."

I was guided into a room located deep inside the mansion. The room was brighter than that, but still dark.

I sat on a cushion in front of a low table and then looked around the room. Opposite the table, a large, translucent cloth was hung like a curtain, and it seemed to divide the room into two. A small, flickering candle was the only light source, and it was in the other room beyond the cloth.

"Please wait here for a moment. The Dark Lord will be here soon."

As Jean had said, as I was waiting quietly, someone opened the door and entered from across the cloth. Since it was covered by the cloth, only a silhouette was visible.

He sat down and said.

"You've come."

It was the voice of an old man.

I stared at his silhouette blankly, then answered.

"I have."

At the same time, Jean entered from the doorway and placed tea on the table.

The Heavenly Demon said.

[Did you notice?]

I nodded slightly.

'If I don't even know this, I have no face to see Master.'

[Yes. If you don't even know this, you should go and die.]

'That's a bit...'

The old man beyond the cloth said.

"Drink."

I looked at Jean, who had brought the tea, and said.

"There's no poison, right, old man?"

Jean's eyes widened. Then, he burst out into a hearty laugh.

Jean grinned and touched his face.

"You are not an ordinary person, just as I heard from her."

When Jean took his hand away from his face, there was an old man with completely white hair.

***

Jean, who had imitated the voice quite well but had clumsily imitated the old man, removed the cloth that was hanging and stepped back. The real master of the Thieves' Guild, who had been disguised as Jean, sat down opposite the table.

"...."

"...."

We observed each other in silence for a moment. Jean had his own unique aspects, but he was not as unique as this old man. He was an old man who looked to be at least seventy. Could he change his physique as well as his face? Jean's sturdy body was gone, and in front of me was an old man with a small physique. He had a good-natured smile with many wrinkles, but for some reason, I had the impression that he would be very eerie if he hardened his expression.

On the outside, he was an ordinary old man that you could see anywhere, with nothing special... but his atmosphere was very unique. How should I put it? He was sitting in front of me, but it didn't feel like he was there. He was a person with a very faint presence. It seemed that if he decided to hide his presence, I wouldn't be able to detect him even with my ki sense. It was only natural, as no ki waves were detected. He must have been hiding it completely.

Others would also conclude that the old man in front of them had no mana, just like they saw me.

[Hmm. Not bad.]

Not bad? A high praise flowed from the Heavenly Demon's mouth. ...And such a man was playing tricks from the first meeting. I could easily guess where Shushruta's childish side came from.

The old man opened his mouth.

"What should I call you?"

Since he was Shushruta's master, I decided to be generous.

"Feel free to call me Ashuban."

The old man nodded.

"Alright, Ashuban. It's nice to meet you. I am Saul, the head of the Thieves' Guild."

"And you're also Shushruta's master?"

"You could say that."

"What should I call you, old man?"

"Comfortably. Call me whatever you want."

I nodded and said.

"Nice to meet you, Saul."

The old man stared at me blankly.

"Too comfortable."

(End of Chapter)