The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 67

< The Thief God >

“Haa… Haa… What’s with her being so fast? What kind of person is she…”

The Thief God, panting heavily as she chased after him, eventually lost Rael.

It had been quite a while since she had seen a man faster than herself.

“Surely the Thief God’s curse worked… Strange.”

But more amazing than his speed was his mental state.

She had tampered with his mind using the Thief God’s curse, but he didn’t seem to have any interest in her.

“I kept calling out to him while chasing, but he didn’t even look back.”

The Thief God’s curse, which she had devised herself, was near perfect.

Any human would be charmed by her, and if she tried to steal something, the attention of those around her would be diverted.

This was the first time she had met a human who avoided the curse.

“Could there be something wrong with the curse?”

The Thief God tilted her head and chewed on her bread.

Before she knew it, she had bread in her hand.

“…Ah, I stole it again. I guess there’s nothing wrong with the curse.”

The Thief God smacked her lips as she looked at the bread in her hand.

Even her perfect curse had its drawbacks.

It was her unconscious kleptomania [a compulsion to steal].

Even against her will, she had a habit of stealing objects around her.

This was because the curse was so strong that it affected her body as well.

Her kleptomania was especially severe when it came to expensive items.

Thanks to this, she couldn’t have conversations with nobles.

She would unknowingly steal the accessories or valuables that nobles wore.

For example, that noblewoman’s golden necklace…

‘Ugh… This is bad.’

The Thief God swallowed hard as she looked at the noblewoman’s neck, who was walking towards her.

The pure gold necklace caught her eye.

In fact, her kleptomania wasn’t just about things like bread.

She couldn’t resist seeing such expensive-looking items.

Swish-

‘Sorry about this.’

This woman wasn’t her target, but she couldn’t help it.

The Thief God apologized in her heart as she passed by the noblewoman.

Thud. Thud.

‘…Huh?’

However, the Thief God stopped in her tracks after passing the noblewoman.

Even after seeing the expensive gold jewelry, her hand didn’t move.

“This can’t be happening?”

The Thief God blinked as she looked at her hand.

This was also a phenomenon she was experiencing for the first time in her life.

She had met someone who was not affected by the curse, and the side effects of the curse did not appear.

Two things she had never experienced in her life happened in one day.

The Thief God naturally thought of the man she had met a little while ago.

“Rael. Is there something about that man…?”

She needed to investigate once more.

The Thief God carefully hid herself in the alleys of District 1.

*

“Damn it, what’s with that crazy woman…”

Rael, who had run away from the crazy woman, caught his breath and swept his sweat-soaked bangs back.

Rael, who prided himself on being the ace of the guard, hadn’t encountered such a persistent psycho in a long time.

‘Judging by her physical abilities, she’s not just a crazy woman…’

Rael shuddered and walked through the streets of District 1.

He was walking, worried that he might run into that crazy woman again, when he saw a familiar face.

“Huh? Rael. What are you doing here?”

“Commander Rein? What brings you here, Commander?”

Rael approached Rein.

It was his first time seeing him in District 1.

“…What do you mean, what brings me here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the Grand Duke’s return party?”

“Ah, right. Is that still going on?”

Rael was Yuri’s exclusive knight, so he had left after only a day, but the Empire’s parties were usually long.

Most of the nobles would still be enjoying the party, and the atmosphere would probably start to change little by little from the day after tomorrow.

“Yes. Some nobles left in protest at the mention of supporting Yriel, but the Grand Duke’s influence is still strong.”

“That’s a relief.”

He had been worried that selling the insignia might cause trouble for the Grand Duke, but it was an unnecessary worry.

“The Grand Duke wanted to see you, why don’t you visit him sometime?”

“It’s too complicated right now. I’ll visit him when the party is over. By the way, where are you going, Commander Rein? The party isn’t over yet, shouldn’t you be there?”

“I’m going to the Order’s headquarters.”

“The Order? Why are you going yourself instead of sending Sir Kier?”

“So many great things have been happening lately. The news of the next Saintess appearing is surprising enough, but I also heard that a genius swordsman from the Silver Cross Knights created Sword Force with divine power.”

“…”

Rael unconsciously smiled bitterly at Rein’s words.

Well, even he wouldn’t be able to stay still if he heard that.

“As a knight myself, I can’t believe it without seeing it for myself… Huh? Rael, why do you look like that?”

“I was just coming from the Order. It’s hard to believe, but…”

Rael told Rein what had happened at the Order.

The genius swordsman was Carlson, and the Saintess was Cecilia.

“…The genius swordsman is Carlson? Don’t lie, Rael.”

“It’s true. I’ll stake my honor as a knight on it.”

“What honor do you have?”

“…This guy is hopeless.”

Rael vowed not to join the Rein Knights even if he died.

“If what you say is true, it’s amazing. Priestess Cecilia and Carlson are both from District 4, aren’t they? And they’re both close to you… Well, it seems geniuses have a good eye.”

“Haha, isn’t that my skill?”

Rael smiled and nodded.

Come to think of it, the Rein Knights wasn’t a bad place.

“Anyway, where are you going? Your hair is wet, so you must have been running in a hurry, can you afford to chat with me?”

“…Ah, well, you see. I met a crazy woman in District 1 earlier.”

Rael shuddered as he recalled the psycho he had met earlier.

“A crazy woman?”

“Yes. She suddenly came up to me and started laughing and swaying her body. I think she’s probably a gold digger. You know, a flower snake [a woman who leeches off men].”

“Flower snake…? That’s the first time I’ve heard that term.”

“She was really crazy. It’s amazing that someone like that is walking around in District 1. I barely escaped.”

“Really? It’s amazing that you barely escaped. What did she look like?”

“Um, she had black hair and brown eyes, and she was dressed like a noble. So I couldn’t bring myself to hit her and run. I have bad memories of assaulting nobles.”

Even now, as an honorary knight, he still thinks about it sometimes.

The day he hit the thug from the Samuel family. Rael’s life had become twisted.

That bastard looked like just a rich commoner on the outside.

“Hmm, commoner with money, and can run as fast as you… Huh?”

There are quite a few commoner women with a lot of money, but there aren’t many who can run as fast as Rael.

Rein thought of one woman who fit that description.

“…Isn’t that Clara?”

“Who?”

“The Thief God Clara, I mean.”

“…I’m sorry, Commander Rein. Why is Clara attached to the name Thief God? Doesn’t it sound awkward? Shouldn’t it be something like Thief God Baekcheon?”

“Rael. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Anyway, the one you met was probably the Thief God Clara.”

Rael swallowed his complaints and nodded.

The God of Thieves, the Thief God, that he had heard from Vegg.

The crazy woman he had met earlier was that famous Thief God.

‘Well, there’s no way an ordinary woman could have chased me like that. Even if I thought of her as a noblewoman, she was too fast.’

The nobles of the Empire basically train, and he was too focused on the fact that she was crazy to notice anything strange.

“But how could you tell just from my description, Commander?”

“She’s quite famous in the upper districts. I’ve only met her once, but… the moment I saw her, I was literally captivated and stared at her.”

“Really? She’s pretty, but not that much.”

Rael tilted his head.

She seemed confident in her appearance, both when she first approached him.

“I’m not talking about her appearance. The problem is the Thief God’s curse.”

“What curse?”

“The Thief God’s curse. It is said that the Thief God, who can steal everything, even steals people’s hearts. I would have been in danger if I hadn’t been careful.”

“…”

Commander Rein may seem friendly, but he is one of the top powerhouses in the Empire.

The fact that he struggled that much meant that the Thief God Clara’s curse was really strong.

‘A curse…’

Rael could finally understand her strange behavior.

He must have been the first person she met whose body was completely immune to the curse.

She must have been so surprised that she chased after him to ask for a conversation.

“She probably approached you with you in mind from the start. She’s in a cooperative relationship with the Night Crows, the information guild that dominates the Imperial Capital.”

“Yes. Probably. Well, I was planning to show those Night Crow bastards what’s what anyway. But they don’t show themselves easily.”

If Vegg wanted to expand his territory, the Night Crow bastards would have to move out of the way.

They had started investigating him, so it was an opportunity to beat them up in self-defense.

But it was harder than he thought to catch them.

“What’s so difficult about it? Rael. Just walk around the streets at night. With your skills, you should be able to catch them.”

“Come on, Commander. It can’t be that easy.”

“Rael. You don’t seem to realize how famous you are yet. All the information guilds in the Empire are watching your every move. You’re one of the most delicious baits in the Empire right now. You can be confident.”

“…I don’t want to be confident in that, but I understand.”

Rael nodded at the unexpectedly easy method.

If you want to catch a tiger, you have to go into the tiger’s den.

Rael decided to volunteer as bait himself.

*

Thud. Thud.

A man walked through the quiet night streets of District 1.

He went into a bar and sipped alcohol, and he went to a gambling den to watch before moving on.

“Any special movements?”

“No. None.”

“That’s strange. There should be a group contacting the target.”

And two men dressed in black were following his movements.

The largest information guild operating in the Empire is the Night Crows.

However, there are other large and small information guilds operating in the capital.

Recently, their target is only one person.

Rael, the knight of the Second Princess Yriel.

The Second Princess, who the Grand Duke has expressed support for, is also a target of interest, but the Imperial Family surprisingly doesn’t hide information.

Official schedules are public, and otherwise, they spend most of their time holed up in the Imperial Palace.

That’s why his knight, Rael, became the target.

He was an outstanding knight who proved his strength by defeating Loren, a mature knight at a young age.

“A commoner who was kicked out of the guard after assaulting a noble suddenly becomes a princess’s knight, the flow is too strange. And his strength doesn’t make sense either.”

The man wearing black robes opened his mouth.

The nobles who had directly witnessed Rael’s duel were clamoring for information, so they had to get something.

“Isn’t it obviously related to the Rein Knights?”

“It’s highly likely, but it’s just a possibility. Find something. Don’t let him get away.”

“Yes. I underst… Oh, oh?! This is bad. The target is gone!”

“What? How could you lose a drunk guy, you idiot!”

The man raised his fist towards his subordinate at that moment.

“Hmm. These guys aren’t worth much.”

“…?!”

A presence was felt behind the men.

“Wh, who are you!”

“The rumor that there is someone guarding the target was true… Ugh, eugh!”

Rael quietly subdued the two men.

These guys weren’t Night Crows, just small fries, so there was no need to use force.

“Get rid of these guys.”

“Yes, sir!”

The beggars who were all over the alley dragged the men away.

Those people will be taken care of well by Vegg.

It will probably be a big help in expanding his territory.

‘But this is a bust again.’

Rael took off the Hahoe mask [traditional Korean mask] on his face and turned around.

He was trying to find the Night Crow bastards, but he had only seen bearded men for hours.

‘Should I go back to the bar again?’

Bars, gambling dens, and brothels.

That’s the route that Rael, an expert in medieval fantasy, had identified as the route that knights spend their time on.

As he circled around that area, the information guilds kept getting caught.

Swish-

Rael started walking towards the bar again.

As he approached the bar, he felt a presence behind him.

It was like fish in water, they kept biting the bait every time he moved.

‘This time it’s one person.’

Thud. Thud. Swish-

Immediately after turning the corner, Rael put on the Hahoe mask and hid himself.

The other side didn’t seem to notice, but Rael’s senses had clearly caught the approaching person.

“That’s strange. Where did he go…?”

“Quiet.”

Rael grabbed the person who had turned the corner from behind and pushed him against the wall.

He was startled and twisted his body, but Rael grabbed his wrist with a sword to his neck.

He was wearing a black cloak, and Rael could feel the thin wrist of a woman that he couldn’t hide.

“Ugh…”

Clara, who had been attacked, did not panic and released the Thief God’s curse.

She had been caught off guard, but this was not a crisis for her.

Those who are affected by the Thief God’s curse cannot stop her from escaping.

“Tell me who you are. Are you a Night Crow?”

However, the opponent did not stop threatening her even after being exposed to the curse.

As soon as Clara saw that, she was sure of his identity.

“Rael. I finally found you.”

“…”

Rael, flustered by his name being called out of the blue, took his sword and took off her cloak.

The Thief God Clara.

She was staring intently at Rael.

‘How did this crazy woman recognize me?’

Rael was wearing a Hahoe mask.

Of course, she could suspect him because she was following Rael and was attacked, but her tone was not suspicion but certainty.

Besides, why was she acting so friendly when they had just met?

‘Well, I can find out one by one.’

He is a gender equality advocate who can beat up women without hesitation.

Rael dragged the subdued Clara and walked into the alley.