Chapter 154

<.. Hassan and the Nine-Headed Thief .. >

154 – Hassan and the Nine Heads Thief #5

When hopping across other people’s rooftops, I had a faint suspicion that I wasn’t quite right in the head, but this Sandgirl Dorthea seemed to be afflicted by one of this world’s peculiar mental quirks as well.

“Now, there’s only you left! With you, we could overthrow those Eight and steal the leader’s position!”

I’m not sure what she’s talking about, but the way she’s shaking my arm up and down, talking about killing someone and stealing, is quite terrifying.

“Who’s there!”

Then, the sound of a shout from the alley exposed our presence. The guard who had been half-dozing while keeping watch a moment ago started walking in our direction.

“…Hmm, this location isn’t good. Let’s head to my hideout! There, I’ll explain everything in detail! It’s a place I usually don’t let anyone into, but there’s no choice. There’s no more discreet place.”

Thud, Flutter, Clunk, Flap.

Dorthea started climbing walls at an astonishing speed once again. As soon as she fully ascended to the roof, I followed her up to avoid the guard’s sight.

When I first climbed onto a roof, it felt strange and difficult, but the second time wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

I probably gained a talent for climbing thanks to my experience catching herbs and snakes on mountains, along with my dexterity and strength.

“It’s strange. I thought I heard something, but perhaps I dreamed it.”

The guard inspects the area we were just in with his lantern, expressing confusion. After a while, when he finally disappeared, we were able to move to a different location across the rooftops.

The place we arrived at turned out to be surprisingly close to Luna’s home, in the district of warehouses and stables. This brought back memories of certain activities with Hippolyte nearby, causing warmth to rush to my face and lower body.

As night falls, the longing for a woman’s touch begins.

If I hadn’t known that pleasure before, it might not have mattered, but once experienced, the pull becomes irresistible.

While I was lost in those thoughts, Dorthea handed me a small piece of cloth. I snapped out of my reverie in surprise.

“What is this?”

“Use this to blindfold my eyes.”

“Ah, if that’s what it is…” Really, you can ask for anything, huh?

So, I took the cloth from her palm. The moment our hands slightly touched, these words popped into my mind:

“『Name: Fatima Lv. 14

Condition: Hay Fever, Lower Back Pain, Dry Skin』”

Wow. The condition list is simple and free of any question marks. Does the absence of question marks mean she’s at a lower level than me?

Still, level 14 is high enough to be considered an elevated level among the people in this world.

At this level, one could easily make a living as a Bronze Tier adventurer without resorting to thievery. But the name written here is Fatima—so was Dorthea just a pseudonym?

Since the condition list has never lied, it seems that Fatima is her real name, and Dorthea is the code name she uses for her thievery or dancer activities.

I thought her name was aligned with Dorgo because of the “Dor-” prefix, but apparently not. So, does Dorgo also have a different name?

Well, anyway, even I’m not Hassan but Hassan. Using pseudonyms isn’t exactly a rare thing around here, so it’s nothing unusual.

“What’s with that stare?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Ssssshhhh.

I covered Dorthea’s eyes with the cloth she gave me.

“…What are you doing now?”

“Didn’t you ask me to blindfold your eyes?”

“Not mine, yours! Anyway, showing the exact location of my hideout is a bit troubling. I asked you to blindfold your eyes.”

“Ah, s-vel, I thought…”

Because eye-blinding is part of some minor but somewhat major f*tish, I assumed this girl was expressing some kind of lewd desire.

“If only you’d said so earlier.”

After roughly covering her eyes, I grabbed her wrist and led us around between the warehouses.

Just by being blindfolded, I felt uneasy, fearing I might trip over something or bump into something. It gave me a slightly anxious and scary sensation.

What kind of world must people who can’t see be navigating through then? There’s a sense of regret but also a touch of admiration that comes with it.

We must be grateful for having our sight intact.

We suddenly stopped walking.

Clunk clunk.

A loud sound of either a lock or some kind of locking mechanism being tampered with. After a moment, Dorthea led me into a cool space.

Whirr.

A small sound of fire crackling could be heard, and Dorthea said:

“Alright, you can uncover now.”

Thus, I was able to remove the cloth covering my face. What came into view was a modest cabin with a flickering lantern, and within it, countless statues.

The material of the statues varied from wood to iron, marble, and more. The shapes ranged from animals like deer and birds to human figures of varied sizes, looking rather chaotic.

“Wow.”

The sight illuminated by the lantern left me marveling and my mouth hung open.

“Isn’t it amazing? These are my collections over two years.”

“Did you steal everything?”

“Of course! All of these were stolen. Not a single one missed!”

The woman proudly expanded her chest and shoulders as if she’d achieved something remarkable.

I’m not sure if she’s boasting about stealing, but from the start, it’s clear that her way of thinking is entirely different from mine. Truly, what a nasty thief she is.

Wouldn’t it be possible to turn her in and collect the bounty instead? But then, the moment I thought about it,

it would be better to seize the opportunity to apprehend all the members of the thief guild involved, rather than just this one.

Like severing all nine heads of a Hydra in one fell swoop.

“This one, I stole from the sculptures district at the 4th street in the northern part of the city. That one, I stole the wooden figure from a baron’s residence at East Gate street. And this…”

But this sand girl dancer, seemingly unaware of my sinister thoughts, began proudly explaining where and what she had stolen.

On second thought, people in this world love to boast about things no matter what.

If they don’t have anything worth bragging about, they even boast about all the hard work and hardships they’ve gone through.

Of course, I had no intention of joining in for such absurd boasting sessions. The conversation might drag on and provoke suspicion if it goes any further. It would be better to quickly obtain the information I need and return to Luna’s place.

Therefore, I decided to subtly compliment her trophies to ease into a conversation.

“Truly magnificent treasures. They remind me of Pluto’s treasure vault. But, I’m just asking….”

“You have a question?”

The Sandgirl Dorthea, who had been enthusiastically describing the trivialities of statues until a moment ago, turned her attention to my voice during our conversation.

I asked in a casually flowing tone:

“Tomorrow, you mentioned that all the officers will gather together to execute a major theft. Could you tell me where, and what kind of treasure you’re planning to steal?”

Sssh.

Until now, she had been rambling on about sculptures that should’ve held no interest, but upon hearing my question, Dorthea shut her mouth and glanced around.

As if checking through the cracks of the wooden barn and its surroundings, she briskly moved her head to confirm that no one else was nearby before quietly speaking.

“Tomorrow, we’ll steal the city’s hope.”

“The city’s hope?”

What kind of abstract thing are they stealing?

Things like the city’s important treasury or perhaps a colossal golden statue symbolizing a god were slightly expected… But her reply was so vague that my eyebrows couldn’t help but furrow.

“What exactly is that?”

“The city’s hope, the guardian of humanity and the intermediate world. That leaves only one: we’ve decided to ambush and defeat a Gold Tier adventurer.”

“WHAT? Is this real!? Ambushing a Gold Tier adventurer!?”

“Shh, keep your voice down!”

I was genuinely startled by the extraordinary claim. Ambushing a Gold Tier adventurer?! That’s when I understood why “stealing hope” made perfect sense.

In this perilous world, where monsters and cultists run rampant, the reason why people can still rest with their legs stretched out is not just because of the military, but also because of the existence of adventurers known as heroes — especially Gold Tier adventurers.

– Cultists have appeared!

The Gold Tier adventurers will handle it.

– Monsters have attacked the town!

The Gold Tier adventurers will deal with it.

It’s always like this. Indeed, I too have been relying a lot on Hipolyte concerning the upcoming thievery syndicate extermination.

“Gold Tier adventurer… is it Hippolyte, or Actaeon?”

There are currently two Gold Tier adventurers in Sodomora, so the target must be one of them.

But when asked, Dorthea shook her head.

“We don’t know either. The execution plan is known only by the Eighth Leader. We simply follow orders. That’s the rule…”

“Still, is such a thing really feasible? Bringing down a Gold Tier adventurer?”

“A frontal confrontation would be difficult, but it seems our Leader has ideas and strategies in mind… Still, it’s going to be quite difficult. We could all d*e. And stealing hope is not exactly what a thief guild should be doing.”

I think I now understood why this Sandgirl thief Dorthea wants me to overthrow her Leader. Attacking a Gold Tier adventurer would be a plan that involves significant sacrifice—something no sane person would agree to.

“Tomorrow, at seven in the evening, come to the location written here. Once the approval of three guild officers is obtained, we will promote you as our new Leader.”

“Hmm…”

“Then you will face-off against the current Eighth Leader in a legitimate battle. If you win, you will become the King of Thieves, ruling the underground of Sodomora.”

The “King of Thieves,” huh?

“King of Thieves, Hassan.”

I repeated the name to myself.

It sounds quite impressive, but then again, it means becoming the chief of criminals. Such a position leads a life full of dread.

*

“Can I open my eyes now?”

…

I asked, but there was no immediate answer. There were no signs of movement, and when I untied the blindfold, Dorthea, the guild officer thief, was nowhere to be found.

When did she leave?

Truly remarkable at hiding her movements—she’s as stealthy as a cat. Maybe her soles have some sort of cushion.

Anyway, since Luna’s cabin was near the street where I opened my eyes, I decided to head back home without wasting any time.

They mentioned earlier that Luna and Paranoi were making potions together. It should be safe to enter by now, right?

But when I arrived, all the lights at Luna’s cabin were off, and there were no signs of movement.

Was something wrong? I was worried, but upon entering, I saw Luna and Paranoi sleeping together under the same blanket on the second floor. The petite women were curling towards each other, and it was a rather pleasant sight.

“S, sweets… Delicious…”

It was late, so obviously, they fell asleep waiting for me.

Thus, I decided to sleep on the first floor.

Tomorrow would be busy, and I needed to get enough rest. Just as I fell into deep slumber…

Thump, Thump Thump.

I felt someone shaking my body, as if tapping on my chest.

What is it?

As I opened my eyes slightly, a pair of crimson eyes was staring down at me from the darkness.

“Hassan-sama, Hassan-sama! Please wake up…”

The quiet yet determined wake-up attempt instantly brought back memories of my military days standing night guard. Terrifying stuff.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“V, very urgent… Something terrible has happened…”

“What? What’s the problem?”

Still half-asleep, I struggled to sit up, rubbing my eyes. I initially thought maybe there was a fire, but no, that wasn’t the case.

“Why did you wake me?”

“L, Luna-sama… I tried to wake her, but no matter how much I shook her, she wouldn’t wake. So, reluctantly, I had to wake Hassan-sama…”

“Ahhh, once Luna falls asleep, she doesn’t even budge if you carry her. So, what’s the issue?”

“U, uh, the restroom…”

“What?”

“I need to use the restroom, but since a while ago, I’ve been holding it in, and now it’s an emergency!”

“Hey? Seriously?”

I wasn’t sure what I was listening to anymore.

“Well, then, just go, can’t you?”

“But, I want to, but… it’s too dark and scary outside…”

“Ah.”

So the young nymph of ditch water was scared to go out alone—it made sense. A girl with tender sensitivities can feel that way. Quite adorable actually,

But, what? Doesn’t she have her own reasons for acting otherwise?

She was once a cultist worshiping Pluto, the dark god of the underworld. To fear the dark seemed odd for such a person.

She must have been a “fashion” cultist or something.

“Can you, accompany me…?”

Paranoi seemed genuinely urgent as she twisted her body and tightly held my arm, which appeared quite perilous.

“Hyyyyeeeuu, Kyuuuu…”

At this rate, she’d wet herself directly on the floor, and since I’ve been diligently cleaning the cabin, we really don’t want to deal with such a mess.

“d*mn, fine. Let’s go.”

I have no idea what we’re doing this night at this hour. I can’t help but recall those childhood days when my little sister was scared after watching some horror movie, even though she was rather adorable back then compared to her tyrannosaurus-like teenage years.

Anyway, I headed towards the outhouse outside.

The restroom was merely a rudimentary storage-like structure, quite messy, so Luna tended to use the bakery with the oven nearby when she could.

But it’s the middle of the night now, and the bakery wouldn’t be open, besides, I’m too sleepy to drag myself around to find a clean one, so I pushed the little nymph inside the facility and yawned.

“Whew, hurry up and do it.”

“H, huuuuuuuu, huuuuu…”

Upon reflection, this girl always seems to get tangled in such situations.

“…Hassan-sama…”

At that moment, a voice came from inside the outhouse.

“Hassan-sama, are you out there? Hassan-sama! Hassan-sama!!!”

“Ugh, what’s the matter now?”

“It’s too dark and scary…”

“Since I’m out here, just handle it quickly.”

“Nymphs must always be cautious… We don’t relieve ourselves unless it’s in a safe place…”

Considering nymphs could be attacked while doing their business, I remembered how vulnerable moments like eating, sleeping, and bathroom breaks could be. Even nymphs lead exhausting lives.

“Hassan-sama..”

“What again? Are you done?”

“…Actually, it’s an embarrassing request, but could you hold my legs? I feel like someone might pop out from underneath…”

———————————–== Author’s Notes == ———————————–

Paranoi’s name was derived from… Paranoid… I just thought… that’s how it goes…

I am always grateful for coupons, recommendations, and comments! The comments are incredibly entertaining…!!!

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