122 Episode
Jenkins, his head heated with anger, slammed the table.
Watching the servant wielding Sword Aura and shouting “Lightning Blade” made his stomach boil.
If it were a reckless, powerless youth causing trouble, Jenkins might have laughed it off, but unfortunately, the young man in front of him had the potential to cause serious trouble.
“You dare not touch that artifact!”
“Master, please calm down…”
“Shut up! I can’t calm down!”
“Seems like every day, Master is becoming more and more like Jimy?”
At this truly unscrupulous observation from Ray, Jenkins grabbed the back of his neck.
With his vision spinning, Jenkins closed his eyes, and during that moment, Ray waved his staff and spoke.
“The Lightning Blade was just a joke; I can use much stronger magic than what I’ve shown, to some extent.”
All this was possible thanks to Aptel’s assistance.
Given Ray’s skill level, even controlling basic ignition magic would be difficult.
Ray demonstrated by creating a ball of fire in mid-air to prove his point.
“Securing the artifact is absolutely necessary. In the long term, it’s for the stability of Phillip’s County…”
“Absolutely not! Do you think I don’t know your tricks? If you keep being stubborn, we’re returning to Phillip’s County immediately!”
Jenkins stood firm on his position.
Didier also wasn’t particularly favorable towards Ray’s idea, so Ray eventually had to resort to his last option.
“Master, let’s make a material deal.”
Material deal.
Upon understanding its meaning, Jenkins genuinely became enraged.
“Ray, you bastard!!”
KWAANG!!
Jumping up from his seat and slamming the table, Jenkins’ fist trembled.
“Are you trying to buy me with money?! You insult me…!”
Jenkins attempted to shout repeatedly but had to shut his mouth when suddenly, a sword appeared out of nowhere above Ray’s head and plunged into the center of the table.
KA-KACH!
The softly glowing silver-white sword silenced everyone present.
The sacred and untouchable history and symbolism embedded within the silver-white sword weighed heavily on the atmosphere.
Ray, with his arms crossed and covering his mouth, glanced at Jenkins.
“One hour of free usage of the imperial divine sword ‘Moros,’ passed down from the First Emperor.”
“Me, me, me… you dare to… insult me…!”
“Two hours.”
“Gurk… Gurkk…”
“Four hours. No more.”
“…Cough.”
After a low cough, Jenkins sat back down.
“For the greater good, I will hear your plan once.”
Ray subtly turned to Didier before speaking.
“Same offer to Sir Didier: four hours.”
“…”
Didier pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache.
However, Florya could clearly see his lips twitching behind his hand.
Florya covered her face with both hands, looking distressed.
“What do we do? Everyone’s lost their minds.”
Regardless of what Florya thought, after a dramatic compromise, the young servant and the two knights continued their discussion.
Currently, the artifact is located in the warehouse of the Osiris Manor.
It was a heavily guarded place, making it hard to sneak in quietly and just take the item.
Moreover, Florya strongly opposed raiding the manor’s warehouse.
“No way! Absolutely not! How many valuable items are stored there?! What will happen to our family’s reputation if the warehouse gets robbed?!”
Florya, alarmed, clenched her fan and shouted.
“If you even think about going near there, I won’t sit idly by!”
Given Florya’s very reasonable argument, Ray could only nod reluctantly.
If they couldn’t plunder the warehouse, there were two options left:
Wait for the Duke Matthias family to hand over the artifact, or wait for the Tarannis family to receive the artifact and leave.
Both scenarios would be nearly impossible to handle alone, especially pretending to be a mage.
“Hmm, perhaps we should secretly deal with it while it’s still in the warehouse…”
“Absolutely not! Never!!!”
An increasingly frantic Florya grabbed Ray’s shoulder and shook him.
“Don’t even dream about it!”
“How about some cooperation then…”
“I’ll cooperate, but leave our warehouse alone!”
*
Templar Albert opened the door to the temporary prayer room.
Inside the prayer room, Thomas had been kneeling and praying diligently for several days.
Albert waited silently for Thomas to finish reciting his prayers.
Finally, Thomas stood up slowly, opening his eyes.
“Do not grieve too much.”
Albert gently patted the back of the novice knight in front of him and began to speak.
“The Phillip family. Though they may have fallen now, they were once one of the representative families of the Empire, producing exceptional heroes who did not hesitate to sacrifice themselves to destroy evil. Their swords and blood still carry noble spirits.”
Albert deliberately brought up the history of the Phillip family for a reason that Thomas also understood.
Thomas lightly touched his forehead and smiled faintly.
“If I’ve caused concern, I apologize. I was reflecting on my own arrogance.”
Thomas hadn’t expected to encounter someone so overwhelmingly superior among his peers and reflected on his past arrogance.
The world was vast, and human vision narrow. He now understood why the Order emphasized caution against arrogance and humility.
“With that friend’s skills, surely he can handle Sword Aura, no?”
“While his swordsmanship may not fall short compared to knights called experts, controlling mana is a different kind of talent, so it’s hard to say for sure.”
“I see.”
As Thomas nodded with a smile, Albert gave him one last warning.
“Beware of falling into mental distractions, and do not neglect physical training.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Excellent.”
Pressuring a child who suffered a shocking defeat too much wouldn’t be good either.
After leaving the temporary prayer room, Albert stood still and closed his eyes.
“I’m worried.”
Albert felt uneasy.
The origin of the artifact that the Duke Matthias family intended to export was uncertain.
Since it barely contained any mysterious energy and was measured as low priority, it had been outside the Order’s interest. However, a detailed investigation was still necessary before exporting it to another country.
One might find clues about the artifact by searching through hundreds of historical books.
But the Order didn’t do that. This matter was entangled with highly sensitive political issues.
Whether they were simply watching carefully or had struck some sort of deal with the Duke family, Albert didn’t know, but that’s why this situation troubled him.
“Action must be taken.”
Having made a decision, Albert adjusted the necklace inside his robes.
Templars.
They were the executors of El-Lam’s will.
Even if someone criticized them as rigid, there should be no gap in the duty of a Templar.
*
After finishing the meeting, Ray returned to his room and lay on the bed, fiddling with jewel-encrusted ornaments he had taken from Clemens.
Though he didn’t actually covet them, he took them for various reasons: to set the tone, to observe Clemens’ judgment, or perhaps as an excuse to contact Clemens later.
Now that his initial goals were achieved, these items were unnecessary. Conveniently, there were five of them, making it easy to distribute.
‘This one goes to Mom…’
After putting the necklace in the drawer, Ray picked up a hairpin.
A blue gemstone and pure gold were intricately crafted into a flower shape. To Ray, it seemed a bit overly extravagant, but since luxury items in this world generally had this feel, it wasn’t particularly strange.
‘Should I give this to Luna?’
Ray crossed his legs, imagining Luna wearing the hairpin.
Since he lacked talent in this area, Luna’s image didn’t immediately appear in his mind.
Still, convinced that such a pretty hairpin would suit her, Ray was pondering when a knock came at the door.
“Did you call me?”
Johanna, whom Ray had sent for earlier, burst into the room.
Johanna stopped abruptly upon entering and spotting the hairpin in Ray’s hand.
“Uh…”
Suppressing her rising smile with difficulty, Johanna cautiously approached Ray.
“It’s a hairpin…?”
Sitting demurely beside the bed, Johanna asked after gauging the situation.
“Did Ray buy this?”
“Eh… technically, yes.”
Though it was forcibly acquired.
Still, given their tacit agreement, there shouldn’t be any issues.
Placing the hairpin on the desk, Ray began to speak.
“Johanna, I need a favor.”
To smoothly extract the artifact, Johanna’s help was essential.
“I really need your help.”
“Eh… okay?”
Surprised by the unexpected flow of conversation, Johanna hesitated.
After glancing around nervously, she finally asked directly.
“W-w-hose gift is this hairpin supposed to be?”
“This? Lu…”
CRUNCH!
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
Recalling the events, Ray realized why.
Understanding why Johanna was flustered, Ray calmly responded.
“Was this supposed to be for Luna?”
“…”
Johanna coldly stared down at Ray.
Realizing things might get out of hand, Ray reached into the drawer.
Among the jewelry, Ray hesitated but decided to pull out the necklace meant for Bella.
Initially, he planned to give earrings to Johanna, but considering her active lifestyle, earrings didn’t seem wise.
“Of course, I prepared something for Johanna too.”
Ray took out the necklace and showed it to Johanna.
Johanna briefly looked at the necklace, her expression turning strange, and then she suddenly exploded.
“Are you teasing me? Why do you always talk to me like this?”
“How… Don’t you tease me too?”
“Am I like you? No, I’m not!”
Ray looked utterly confused.
At first glance, it seemed Johanna was selfishly throwing a tantrum.
However, considering Ray’s mental age was much older than Johanna’s and that Ray had raised her like a sibling, demanding that Ray treat her as an equal now would be unreasonable.
Of course, Johanna didn’t know Ray’s background, so feeling hurt by Ray’s attitude, she sniffled and muttered irritably.
Caught off guard, Ray stammered and hastily returned to the main topic.
“I have a favor to ask you…”
“No. Figure it out yourself.”
Johanna, radiating coldness, tried to leave the room, but Ray grabbed her waist from behind.
Naturally, Johanna panicked.
“Don’t touch my waist!”
“Come on, you’re old enough to get over this phase. Stop making things difficult!”
While arguing, they struggled and ended up falling onto the bed together.
“Let go of me right now!”
As Johanna struggled to escape Ray’s embrace, the door opened again.
Alesya, hearing noise from the next room, rushed in and shrieked upon seeing the two rolling on the bed.
“My knight! Is this not out of order?”
Theft (3)
