Chapter 150

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on April 8, 2025

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150th Episode

Hassan and the Nine-Headed Thief

150 – Hassan and the Nine-Headed Thief #1

Apparently, the Thief Guild is holding job interviews?

Is it some kind of audition program to weed out real thieves? I can’t grasp the logic here. And shouldn’t the Thief Guild operate more discreetly?

To be so blatant in such a crowded place must mean they’re confident in their own power. Or perhaps Sodomora’s laws are in chaos.

Nonetheless, it’s fortunate that I’ve managed to obtain information about the Thief Guild.

Out of curiosity, I took a look. People were cheering on someone picking a lock and even wagering coins.

Clack, click, click.

“Aw, dammit. It’s almost there… just a little more… ugh.”

The scrawny man was sweating so much his hand was slipping as he pushed a pin into the keyhole, constantly wiping the sweat from his palm. People around him encouraged him.

“Almost there! Keep going!”

“sh*t, be quiet! I’m concentrating here…”

The wonders of computers and gaming consoles truly highlight their brilliance. If computers hadn’t been invented, perhaps people would still be playing around with locks like this on Earth.

Slap.

At that moment, a masked man swung a short whip in his hand.

“Time’s up! You’re out!”

The wiry thief who had been messing with the lock was flung to the ground with a loud thud.

As an expert in whipping, I immediately recognized that the hit was nothing more than a bluff—just a loud sound.

“Agh! You really hit me! sh*t!”

But the wiry man, holding his struck shoulder, glared upward at the iron bars.

“I’m Edgar Half-Hand. Do you think you can hit me and get away with it!?”

Swish.

He eventually drew a dagger from his waist in a rather intimidating manner.

“That guy finally pulled out a kn*fe!”

“This is dangerous, isn’t it?”

The surprised audience.

I, too, cautiously moved Luna and Paranoi behind me.

Just then, the masked man broke into a hearty laugh.

“Pulling out a kn*fe makes you a bandit, not a thief, kid. Consider yourself lucky to have been hit by my whip. In a real situation, you’d have had your wrists chopped off by the guards.”

“Shut up, sh*t! You can steal anything as long as you get it!”

“Young folks these days lack romance. That’s why they complain so much about the upper levels wanting to exterminate our Hydra.”

With a thud, the man in a black mask jumped down from under the iron bars and stood face-to-face with the dagger-wielding man.

Standing in front of the man with a dagger without any tension, is he really that strong, or is he simply someone who doesn’t care for his life?

Anyway, it’s certain that watching a fight is genuinely thrilling.

Even on Earth, where computers and entertainment have advanced, nothing matches the excitement and coolness of watching people fight.

So, what exactly is about to happen while we’re busily licking our candies? The emaciated man with the menacing dagger lunged at the masked man.

Swish.

Because of his slim build, his speed is impressive.

“Never mind my previous comment. You’re not even capable of robbery as a bandit.”

“Shut up! Ugh!?”

The masked man sidestepped the attacking dagger like a bullfighter, then struck the back of his neck with the edge of his hand, causing him to fall to the ground.

A clean, professional technique.

“Now, next! We’ll offer a special chance to interview with senior members to those who can pick locks! If you come now, there’s a special discount on stylish attire to wear while working.”

The masked man gestured with his chin. Then, in black-cloaked figures, they appeared and dragged away the fallen sword wielder.

Clang, bang.

Also, some people quickly replaced the iron bars in front with something else.

The masked man, watching this scene, added a few more sentences.

“And we’ll offer you this special item too—.”

Creak…

“Wow, look! It’s a Wildling!”

Trapped inside was a slime-like monster about the size of a small soccer ball.

“Hassan, it’s a Wildling! Wildling!”

Luna, seeing this, began slapping my forearm as if a trigger had been pressed. Some people laughed at this.

The interviewer with the whip held his event while masked with a grin of satisfaction.

“That’s right, it’s a Wildling. Mysterious creatures that hide in the earth after falling from the Milky Way. These creatures move silently and hide without a sound. So, seeing a fully grown Wildling like this is quite rare.”

In response to his explanation, someone raised their hand and shouted.

“Eating Wildling is supposed to make your hand move so fast that you can’t even see it. Is that true?”

“It varies depending on the constitution. There are those it works well for and those it doesn’t.”

“But if it’s true that the eighth Lord ate an armful of Wildling and became so powerful, is that real?”

“…d*mn it, that’s the truth. Anyway, this Wildling is a real mature one. Known as a living elixir, each one costs two gold coins.”

Two gold coins.

2 Gold.

Murmurs among the crowd at the sight of the bizarre liquid monster. A precise monetary offer resonates more strongly with people than health and constitution.

Luna, too, seemed to want the liquid creature in the iron cage so badly that she couldn’t control herself.

“I want that! Hassan ate the last one already. If we use that to make an elixir, it would be absolutely amazing…”

Since Luna bought two Wildlings and I devoured them, I had nothing more to say even though I had a mouth. It was delicious.

I want to eat it again.

And eating it would increase my task values.

So I also became interested in the product inside the iron cage.

“Then, we’ll take more applicants for the interview. The participation fee is one silver coin of the underworld.”

When the man spoke, several hands shot up here and there. Soon, people tried to pick the lock one after another.

Clang, clang, clang!

Among them were those who violently hammered the lock with their own hammers.

“Hell, this is so robust! d*mn, was this even designed to be unlocked? It feels like someone just wanted to take away one silver!”

One participant shouted in apparent frustration, to which the interviewer smirked.

“Of course, it’s not easily broken. This is a titanium cage with a titanium lock. Do you really think you can open a vault with clumsy hammer strikes?”

“Then what’re we supposed to break it with!”

“Amateur, vaults are made not to be easily broken. Anybody can climb a low wall, but without opening the important vaults, you’re done.”

“Hell no, how disgusting. I’m not going to steal if this is how it’s done.”

“Alright, then do that.”

Here and there, contenders appeared aiming for the two-gold item—the Wildling. However, the majority of them could do nothing against the extremely solid and durable lock, bursting with frustration.

Losing the one silver participation fee without return, their anger is understandable.

“So, is there another challenger?”

“I will! I want to try! Is it open to anyone?”

Then, Luna suddenly threw up her hand next to me, faster than I could stop her.

Luna handed one silver coin from the exchange at the underground exchange shop to the man and stood in front of the iron cage, scrutinizing it up and down.

Observing her through the mask, the man flipped the hourglass nearby.

Swish thud.

“Five minutes. Enough time for the guards on Buoyancy Street to arrive. So, how are you going to get the Wildling?”

“…Shh. Necromantic voodoo requires focus.”

“Ah, I don’t know what that is, but okay. Be quiet then, the key to the task is discretion.”

Swish, swish.

Luna carefully inspected the large iron cage, touching it as if looking for any weaknesses.

It was strange that she didn’t even glance at the lock while inserting her slender fingers inside.

“What is she trying to do?”

“I don’t know. What is it?”

The onlookers, too, looked puzzled, crossing their arms with curious expressions.

Even Malco, watching this by my side, commented.

“Brother, did our sister have a talent for thievery?”

“No, I don’t either.”

Is Luna stealing something?

Since she is the daughter of the Goddess of Night, could it be that she’s involved in night-time thievery?

No, even stretching it far, this is too much of a stretch. The only things Luna can steal are royal jelly or honey from beehives. Sometimes, she even steals bird eggs from nests.

But those are all natural products that don’t need to be unlocked, aren’t they?

While feeling inexplicably uneasy about what she might be doing, I watch her.

Swish, swish.

“This should be enough.”

Luna, who had been pushing her palm inside the small iron box, started fumbling around her waist as if making up her mind.

Rustle, rustle.

What is she planning? Does she have some kind of tool like Lockpicks?

Then, she pulled out something red and round from her waistband. It was a lollipop she had been licking earlier—she had slipped it into the waistband to save it and was now pulling it out again.

Seeing this, the people burst into laughter.

“Hey, that’s a candy, isn’t it?”

“Using a candy to pick a lock?”

Everyone laughed at her as though watching a delightful playtime, leaving me somewhat dispirited. However, Luna’s expression remained serious.

Kneeling in front of the iron cage, Luna began muttering softly.

“Quoo… quyying.”

Then, she swayed the lollipop back and forth in front of the cage.

I’ve seen Luna mimic animal sounds many times, but has there ever been a time when it benefited anyone? Meanwhile, I kept my eyes on the hourglass; the sand left was barely half.

Eventually, Luna must have given up.

Just when I thought she was about to waste one silver,

“Look at that.”

Someone in the crowd said.

“Look, the Wildling is reacting!”

“Really, it is!”

Looking where the people pointed, the Wildling that had been calmly trapped inside the iron cage began to slowly move toward Luna’s hand.

Swish, swish.

Quyying.

Eventually, it squeezed through the gap between the bars of the iron cage. Being slime without bones, the creature eventually managed to pass through the cage and latch onto Luna’s hand, munching on the lollipop.

“Tsk! Got the Wildling!”

Holding the Wildling she captured, Luna raised it high with both hands and cheered.

“Hassan, look at this! I caught it!”

I had seen something similar a moment ago. But this time, it was genuinely impressive, and I was quite surprised at her.

“Without unlocking the cage but stealing the contents, that’s impressive.”

“Thought she was just a goofy pink-haired girl, but she’s skilled.”

“Her color is unusual for the continent. Where is she from?”

People started tossing compliments and exclamation of amazement at Luna like roses. Feeling flustered, Luna pulled the skull she had on her back over her head.

Clacking, click.

Since the chinstrap on Elfride’s helmet was broken, she was unable to secure it properly and eventually had to hold it with her own hands to cover her face.

Quyying.

Anyway, in Luna’s arms, there was a blue slime-like slime monster called Wildling wriggling. Luna doing something like this makes me proud as if I’ve done something great myself.

“Ho, impressive method. You sneakily stole the contents without tampering with the lock. How did you do it?”

The masked man asked Luna, and Luna responded rather hesitantly beneath her bone helmet.

“…Wildlings can quickly squeeze through narrow gaps if there are any. I was uncertain because this one is a bit big, but then remembering they like sweets did the trick…”

“Wildlings like sweets, huh? I didn’t know what they ate. That’s an interesting fact. However, miss, unfortunately, you’re disqualified. You should have opened the lock.”

“How could that be!”

Luna protested as if such a thing was impossible. With that, people from all around also started yelling out in protest.

“Hey, look, they’re just changing the story because they don’t want to give out the prize! They’re just a bunch of scumbags!”

“Don’t change the subject, you b*stard! And give me back my one-silver participation fee!”

The uproar of assembled people was downright rebellious, and it seemed like it would soon escalate into a major inferno. Also, I got angry. Isn’t this a typical scam in the Underworld?

Thinking that way and beginning to seethe, then the masked man added a few more words.

“Not touching the lock and stealing the item, indeed, a top-notch talent. However, this is a job interview. Our venerable 8th Lord decreed in the regulations that within five minutes, ‘the one who opens the titanium lock’—that’s what was written.”

The man then pulled out an old scroll from within his coat, unraveling it with a swoosh. I could see that something was written on it, but I couldn’t read it from so far away.

At that moment, after having kept her mouth closed while eating candy, the nymph Paranoi opened her mouth.

“Y-Yes…It does say ‘the one who opens the titanium lock’ within five minutes…”

Seeing those small letters implies Paranoi has better eyesight than I thought.

In any case, such rules exist.

“Well, you’ll have to return the Wildling here, young lady. Honestly, I wanted to give you full marks, but recently, the Thief Guild—you understand.”

“H-Hassan….”

Luna trembled as if unsure what to do. Although her face was not clearly visible under the bone helmet, I was sure she was making a pouting face beneath that hard helmet, looking up at me.

So, I stepped out in front of the gathered crowd with a “whatever” attitude.

“Isn’t it just about opening the lock within five minutes?”

I pulled out the cudgel hanging from my waist and tensed my arm and grip strongly.

Gaaaaaah!

The cudgel seemed to scream under my now significantly increased grip strength.

“Planning to do it with brute force? You look big and strong, but didn’t you see others try and fail? It takes skill. Brute force alone won’t do.”

While I had calculating the angles and techniques for swinging the cudgel, the masked man advised me, arms crossed.

A complex mixture of expectation and a sigh of reprimand could be seen in his brown eyes. It felt like he was saying, “Go ahead if you want to.”

“Hassan…”

Luna, clutching the captured Wildling in her arms, watched me. Many people, with numerous eyes, were watching me.

Why did I come out here? I’m getting incredibly nervous, my palms all sweaty.

But if this is that tough titanium metal, as if it could resist being struck by a cudgel, Elpride with a strength of 12 would surely be able to handle this.

The murmuring voices of people around.

Their breathing.

All seemed to expand extraordinarily loudly in my ears. I opened my mouth wide, as if to push all the noise away.

“Aaaaaah-!”

Simultaneously, I gathered all the strength in my arms, lifting the cudgel high.

What I need now is nothing less than a finishing technique.

Yes, nothing less than that will do.

“Ten Thousand Ages!”

[Afterword]

The only thing I could think of in my mind was “Manhae”… Even the 1 mcr Hassan… I’m sure could only think of “Manhae.”

Since mcrs are mentioned, a random aside about the perceived intelligence indexes of the characters.

The Young Lady of Sodomora – Enya: 3 mcr