The morning sun rose, pushing the shadows of the moon outside the city.
A cool breeze brushed past everyone’s ears. The chirping of small birds around, and the sound of a serene river flowing through the urban landscape awakened the morning in the bustling city of Myuta.
The heart of Myuta, the central square of the city where one can fully enjoy the vibrant dynamism of the lively dawn.
The three young men, or rather, two young men and a young woman, who had circled the place around and around before returning here.
They decided to share their true sincerity with each other openly.
Well, to be precise, it was the one-sided sincerity of the ‘Night Brothers’, John and Jones.
Klisha decided to listen to their sincerity first. If their ‘sincerity’ wasn’t likeable to her, she would just stab them with her sword.
Sitting on the railing next to the fountain, Klisha crossed her arms.
“Okay. Let’s hear it. Brothers. What were you guys up to? What were you doing in the room earlier?”
“We just, just, entered the wrong room….”
“….”
“Well, we were originally staying in that room last night. Then we left….”
“….”
Klisha took out the dagger from her bosom, put it between her ring and middle fingers, and began to spin it around. The dagger spun around as if it was attached to her hand. The sight was mesmerizing, it moved quickly yet never left her hand, like watching a performance.
If it weren’t for Klisha’s crooked smile, they might have found themselves clapping in awe as they watched her.
However.
As the sharp tip of the dagger pointed toward John’s forehead, the two brothers felt their backs dampen with sweat once again.
Was it really blood, sweat, or tears?
“Uh, so… That’s….”
Screeeech.
Klisha stood up, scratching the railing of the fountain with the dagger.
“Brothers. The value of ‘sincerity’ is heavy. I do not forgive those who insult my sincerity.”
As soon as they heard the warning from the young ‘boy’ who spoke in a tone that was inappropriate for his age, John and Jones exchanged a fleeting glance.
‘Brother, did you hear how he spoke? His speech is like that of an 8th grader from the academy.’
‘That’s right, it’s obvious that he’s not normal. Let’s just nod along and talk back and forth a little and then slip away when the opportunity arises.’
Jones nodded as they spoke in sign language.
‘But, Brother. Why does he keep calling us brothers?’
John met Klisha’s almond-colored eyes staring at them and hurriedly lowered his eyes.
‘I don’t know. Don’t attribute meaning to the actions of a crazy person.’
The brothers nodded with determined expressions and shouted in unison as if they were singing a chorus.
“We’re!”
“?”
“We’re thieves. Yes. We are nighttime specialized thieves who break into travelers’ rooms at night to steal their belongings.”
“Ooh.”
Klisha showed a curious expression.
“This city really has a lot of ‘specialists’. Everyone here is specialized in something. Is it because we’re in the metropolitan area?”
John continued.
“When my brother and I were younger, we gained a reputation as a duo of pickpockets. One would create a distraction while the other picked pockets. However, after the war, with city safety improving, it became hard for our line of work to survive. We only know how to steal, what are we supposed to do when that’s all we know….”
Jones, who had been thinking for a moment, opened his mouth while observing Klisha’s expression.
“We were poor since we were young and didn’t receive a proper education. On top of that, we have an elderly mother at home with dementia who can’t hear, speak, or recognize anyone. The cost of food and medicine is substantial. But the only thing we know is how to steal….”
“….”
“That’s why! We had no choice but to change our line of work. To put it another way, we relied on the power of modern pharmacology…”
Klisha tilted her head as if she had heard a new term in an unexpected place.
“Modern pharmacology?”
“Yes?”
“How do you know about modern pharmacology?”
As far as she was aware, there’s only one person in the whole continent who uses that term. Klisha’s almond-colored eyes darkened slightly as she looked at the brothers.
“….”
“That’s….”
John hesitated and took out a small triangularly folded pill packet from his pocket.
“Sleep… it’s a sedative.”
Jones stared blankly at Klisha as he spoke.
“I secretly added it to your food, but for some reason… it seems to have had the opposite effect than expected.”
Klisha took the packet and hovered it on her nose.
“It’s horn mushroom powder.”
She raised her head and looked at the brothers.
“You guys. Don’t use this anymore.”
“Huh?”
“It’s okay to consume horn mushrooms once or twice if you can’t sleep, but…”
Klisha snickered as she spoke.
“This. It can be lethal if it’s absorbed through the skin or handled improperly. It can cause all the hair on your body to fall out.”
Klisha pointed with the dagger in her right hand at the brothers’…. heads and lower bodies as she spoke.
“There and there.”
“!”
As they shared their sincere feelings, Klisha seemed somewhat satisfied.
Judging from the expressions on the brothers’ faces, it seemed like they had used it more than once or twice.
One was clutching the few remaining strands of hair on his head, while the other had turned around, grunting as he checked something. It was quite a sight.
Actually… unless you soaked your hands in water with about a hundred boiled horn mushrooms, it wouldn’t be that severe.
Nevertheless, since she was able to enact a small revenge on behalf of the countless nameless victims, she considered it was sufficient.
“So. What are your true identities?”
“?”
“?”
Why does it feel like Mr. Ho looking for the liquor jar?
[T/N: Hmm….not a widely used Korean slang but it most probably means; explaining something in vain.]
“Uh, Brother?”
“Um… It seems you didn’t hear anything we just said at all. No, I’m definitely not trying to be confrontational, but I guess you could say you’re quite heartless…”
Klisha tilted her head slightly, then began to twirl the dagger she was holding in one hand with both hands as she opened her mouth.
“But there are some guys who have been following us since a while ago. Don’t you think you all seem a bit too suspicious to just be petty thieves in this situation?”
Klisha’s red lips curved into a pretty arc.
“And they also seem to be quite skilled compared to you two?”
As the smile on Klisha’s handsome face deepened, the brothers felt as if the blood was draining from their entire body.
“Brother! It’s true. We don’t know anything. We two always work alone….”
Snip.
Before he could finish, John’s bangs were cut and scattered in the air.
“Ugh! My hair was almost gone!”
“Okay. Let’s have a serious discussion again. The two guys hiding next to the convenience store called TM25 or something, the guy delivering the milk, and the guy who’s been staring at the same page for twenty minutes next to the newspaper stand….”
Klisha asked with a serious expression.
“Those people. Who are they?”
The pursuit team dispatched by Tomma Holdings was startled. After almost an hour of an unexpected late-night chase through the city, they seemed unusually distracted and ended up revealing their disguise.
Or did he notice them earlier but still kept running? To check if they were tailing behind?
From what they conducted from the three people’s conversation, it seemed that the red-haired boy’s observational skills were quite remarkable. Even though they were maintaining a certain distance, he seemed to have grasped the locations of all the group members.
‘Chief!’
‘…Retreat. Report today’s operation as a failure.’
As the sun rose higher and dawn passed, giving way to morning, the city center became bustling. With crowds gathering in the central square to go to work and school, a few shadows slipped away amidst the gaps of the crowd.
“Hmm. They’re gone?”
Klisha, who had been quietly observing the brothers still puzzled by the situation, finally spoke up.
“You may go.”
“?”
“You guys, even though you’ve done some bad things until now, I don’t think you’ve shed any blood, so I’ll just let you go.”
“Thank you! Brother! We’ll definitely repay this favor!”
John and Jones hurriedly walked away, brushing away their surprised hearts.
“Hey.”
Jingle.
“Take this.”
Klisha threw a small bag filled with gold coins.
“Huh? Why are you….”
Klisha turned around and said, placing the dagger in her pocket.
“Use it for your mother’s medical expenses.”
“!”
“Even if she’s sick, even if she can’t remember. Either way, it’s good to have your mother. Don’t be bothered and take good care of her.”
Klisha walked away, leaving behind the puzzled expressions of the Night Brothers.
After a moment of silence, John spoke.
“… Mother? What kind of mother? Aren’t we orphans?”
Jones rubbed his bloody body back, which had been scratched by Klisha’s dagger and spoke.
“….Was it because of the mention of an old mother with dementia? Did that little devil believe it? Why did he believe it?”
The brothers looked at each other and opened their mouths.
“Maybe. We have more talent in scamming.”
Should we… do it as a full-time job?
* * *
“Failed?”
A handsome young man in a purple outfit with gold embroidery fastened his cufflinks and said.
“What’s the reason for failure?”
Luke, the sales manager of Tomma Holdings and the young man’s personal butler, hung his head in shame.
“I ordered them to just keep a close watch.”
The young man’s red eyes darkened.
“I apologize for dispatching…. the apprentice guards.”
The young man calmly spoke while tying his necktie in front of the mirror.
“What’s the point of sending a pursuit team after someone who could be the Emperor’s spy? Shouldn’t they be experts at knowing this kind of thing?”
The young man let out a hollow laugh.
“And they even chased them for an hour. Were they all out of our minds?”
“….”
The young man with black hair spoke as he gazed out the window.
“When would he come to retrieve the horse?”
“Today at noon.”
“Prepare properly this time. I’ll meet him in person.”
“Understood.”
Click.
When the black-haired young man with red eyes, dressed more elegantly than usual, opened the door and stepped out, Luke finally let out a deep sigh.
Just a moment ago, the Master’s murderous spirit filled the study. Even Luke, who had honed his martial skills for many years, found himself breathless in that situation.
Butler Luke looked out the window, and saw a horse craning its neck and staring blankly across the street under the sign for .
It was a rare breed of horse known as the ‘hybrid horse,’ so formidable that it’s said even approaching it is difficult for anyone with average skills. Truly a legendary steed known by everyone, except those who are unknown about it.
The pure white horse must have had a hard time spending the night like its master, it struggled to lift its heavy eyelids and stared fiercely ahead.
The place where its gaze landed was probably [Tomma’s Beef and Bacon].
It was a dried meat specialty store.
