Yove had been a peddler working as an employee at Torch Fortress, but when the work got tough, he buddied up with criminals and beca a bar owner.
He was a front man type, and because he also did business directly and was a new face, he was operating very safely.
If nothing special went wrong, he’d be able to live while handling large sums of money.
That should have been the case.
But he talked too much while doing business. Bounty hunters employed by the dio region’s lord were active here, seeking the information in his head, and he got caught in that snare.
"Mmm...hic!"
Consensus Yuval sat slumped in a back alley holding a bottle and hiccupped. Two thugs ca out of the target White Pub to catch so night air while cooling off from the heat of alcohol and talking about fucking won. They saw him nodding back and forth under the torch, then approached him directly.
"Hey, mister."
"Pretty wasted."
They looked him over, then stuck their hands in his clothes and searched. So skillfully that in one go, a leather pouch ca out from inside the lining of his clothes.
"Pretty thick, huh?"
"How much is there?"
The two thugs were totally confident. As soon as one opened the leather pouch, insects flew up in a swarm.
"Blech! Fuck!"
He cursed and threw the leather pouch, flailing around. The thug watching naturally stepped back. A rope dropped precisely over the head of the thug who’d stepped back and pulled tight.
"Huk. Gak! Huh!"
"Shhhh...if you want to die right here and get dumped, feel free to scream."
Rear-picker Bedum said while pulling the rope tight around his neck.
"..."
Yuval, who’d sohow gotten up, kicked one leg of the guy freaking out at the insects to spread his legs, then sent his lower jaw flying with an uppercut. The thug bit down on the leather pouch that fell into his mouth. A dagger was already at his neck.
A sharp sensation and a stinging pain. Since blood was trickling down, the fallen thug also quickly grasped the situation and shut his mouth.
You only had one life.
They followed along very obediently. Plus, the torch was snuffed out in an instant. The alley sank into darkness.
"I’d like you to tell us about White Pub’s layout."
At Yuval’s voice, which carried both charisma and a resolute manliness that suggested he’d do anything, the two thugs told them everything and were then handed over to the guards. They had to spend ti in jail until the job was done.
Asking soldiers for help with a rcenary badge bearing the dio region lord’s crest wasn’t difficult. It showed most clearly that they were a rcenary group employed by the lord.
Of course, they were Torch Fortress guards with high pride. They didn’t forget to give a warning either.
"Don’t cross our line."
"We’ll carry out our mission as quietly as possible."
Yuval skillfully bowed his head. Those soldiers who knew honor wouldn’t run away even when facing monsters. Respecting their pride was the best policy.
Skull rcenary Group entered the empty house through the alley window again and made a rough map.
rein helped greatly in making the map. Just from descriptions, she visualized White Pub’s layout and drew it.
They added real information. The completed rough map wasn’t perfectly accurate, but it gathered maximum information for planning tactics.
"Aim for dawn rather than evening."
White Pub was a place that prepared for business around 2 or 3 PM. To match that schedule, business often didn’t end until past 2 AM. When the morning sun rose, they were literally defenseless.
Strong public order also made criminals complacent. They could run such a gutsy business because Torch Fortress’s public order was too solid.
’For criminals, other criminals are competitors.’
"No need to go to the basent. They only take out barrels there. If we don’t get what we want upstairs, we can check it once, but it’s not worth targeting from the start."
Following rein’s words, all the rcenary group mbers exchanged various ideas. Diverse opinions were this rcenary group’s greatest strength. And filtering those opinions was Yuval’s role.
"Bedum. rein said we can’t use windows."
"Ah. Right."
"Already got dentia?"
"Not until your thick thighs sag with fat."
"You talk well."
Bedum and Keireon bickered. Though their age difference was a whole 7 years, they were the pair with the best chemistry in the rcenary group. Keireon stood at the front, so he saw Bedum’s rear attacks clearly and acknowledged his skill, and Bedum knew his infiltration had beco easier thanks to Keireon.
Because of that mutual respect, they could maintain their relationship despite exchanging rough words.
If not, one of them would’ve already left the rcenary group.
"Sen. You throw out an opinion too. You’ve built up quite a bit of experience now, right?"
As soon as Yuval asked that, Keireon’s playfulness welled up, but Yuval imdiately poked his ribs.
"Eek!"
Keireon staggered and let out a fierce shout. It got rowdy, and Sen, drunk on that excitent, could state his opinion.
"I don’t think we need to fight."
"The two criminals will charge at us ready to die the mont they see us, though?"
Even at Yuval’s sharp question, Sen nodded.
"From what I’ve observed so far, they’re guys steeped in peace. If we’re just careful, nobody will wake up."
"You’re saying we should kidnap just Yove and co out."
"And grab what we need to grab too."
Worth trying.
"Seems like a decent thod? Even if they’re criminals, if we kill them, problems could arise. Rember that guard earlier?"
"The guy who wasn’t even a girl but jumped rope while preaching about lines?"
Hehe.
Hahaha.
Teehee.
"rein, what do you think? Going in quiet like youngest Sen said this ti."
"What’s so good about getting blood on a dagger? I agree. But if the situation changes, I’d like to have the next plan ready too."
"When haven’t we killed people? Plus, they’re criminals. Even if we kill them and go to jail, we’ll get out quick. The dio lord didn’t engrave the lord’s crest on our rcenary badge for nothing, right? Let’s go easy."
Keireon preferred eliminating all threats.
Yuval nodded and asked Bedum’s opinion. Bedum had both legs up on the table, but not one person blad his manners.
Because combat isn’t won by the guy who follows manners well.
"If one guy wakes up, it’s uncontrollable. At least two people should either wait by their doors or be ready to act."
"If we do that, only ti will pass."
"It’ll be quiet even if the sun rises high."
They were guys who prepared for business so late.
"If we prepare an exit on the roof beforehand and escape through the attic window, we could get out at lunch without strain."
Bedum added his thoughts.
In an instant, Plan 1 took shape with Sen’s idea as its foundation.
On the rough map, the places they ultimately had to hit were the living rooms on the second floor and the attic above them. Because the first floor was for business, and the basent seed to store alcohol.
"We need threatening tools and his fake and real ledgers."
"Leave that to ."
rein was perfect for that role.
Execution day was two days later when rein had the day off. They continued spying anwhile. White Pub’s operation was truly terrible.
From a security standpoint, they lacked every quality they should have. Skull rcenary Group withdrew from spying on White Pub after half a day and enjoyed peace in Torch Fortress for the first ti in a while.
Of course, youngest Sen had to watch White Pub. For Sen, who’d just escaped being a greenhorn, everything was experience.
Yuval also wasted a lot of ti like that during his youngest days. Sa with the others.
Plan 1 was to go in quietly and slip out quietly. The main goals were kidnapping Yove and stealing the fake and real ledgers.
Plan 2 was to kill the two criminals, use those corpses to threaten Yove, instantly acquire information, and leave imdiately.
When the sun rose and the cold slowly disappeared, Skull rcenary Group confidently stood in front of White Pub’s tightly closed door.
rein stuck a lockpick into the padlock and put her ear to the lock. In less than 5 seconds, the padlock ca undone. The chains didn’t fall to the floor because she was holding them firmly.
"They’re using a padlock over 10 years old."
She picked the door lock in an instant too. The price for not spending money on security was steep.
The first floor wasn’t even cleaned. The sll was foul. Food had dried on the wooden floor. Even if they wiped, that sll wouldn’t disappear quickly.
"He was a peddler but manages nothing."
Skull rcenary Group had been cautious enough not to enter White Pub during their spying. Thanks to that, when they looked around the first floor, soone couldn’t help but mutter.
"As planned."
Keireon and Bedum would monitor the criminals sleeping in the second-floor private rooms. rein and Yuval would target Yove. Sen positioned himself at the end of the second floor, put down fur on the floor, and bent his knees with bow and arrows in hand.
He pulled the bowstring a few tis, then released the tension from his hands and watched ahead.
In two groups, they checked the interiors of the second-floor private rooms. There wasn’t a single person. Since they weren’t running an inn business, most rooms had to be empty. Checking from the ends, they found two bodyguards in private rooms near the middle, with one empty room between them.
’Knocked out cold.’
One room had snoring coming from it, so they didn’t need to check. That seed to be why they had an empty room between them. Bedum quietly peeked into the other room, then backed out.
He looked at Keireon and nodded. He put his weight against the door and gently closed it, slowly releasing his hands. He turned the doorknob back slowly too.
His infiltration experience showed naturally. If he’d turned the doorknob and just let go, it would’ve made noise.
Since they had to guard the center in silence, they called Sen again.
"Be under the first-floor checkout counter. From there, you’ll have a perfect view of anyone going up the stairs."
Sen went down with his upper body bent and got into position.
anwhile, Yuval and rein took the stairs to the 2.5th floor rather than the ladder to the attic.
’Looks like they renovated. There was no talk of this.’
The narrow passage of the renovated loft attic made them gulp.
They tensed up naturally. Yuval especially pressed both walls with his hands while moving. He did this to identify any traps beforehand. rein was behind him.
Despite their concerns, there were no traps in the passage. The level of security they’d observed while spying was the sa inside. Like everything else about this place, there wasn’t a single twist.
rein bent down and moved forward in front of the door. Yuval naturally stepped back.
Click.
The lock ca undone. She opened the door inward, revealing the renovated attic. It was a considerably large private room.
"Grrr...hoooo..."
Yove was sleeping in wine-colored silk pajamas with the plush blanket kicked off. On the table by the bed was a pure white teapot, and the cup had a gold rim.
’Living pretty high. How much dirty money did he touch?’
Yuval walked forward to subdue Yove, and rein started searching.
A rough hand grabbed Yove’s face.
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