kscans

Chapter 159 - A Thief's Past

Three days had passed since Sonia, the Guild Master of the Thieves' Guild, had shown him the blueprint for the Airship Angra Mainyu.

During that time, Hayato had prepared practice treasure chests for improving the Lockpicking skill. He made three of each type, from wooden ones to metal ones ranging from iron to Adamantite, all of the highest five-star quality.

Even the wooden ones were of intermediate quality, but that couldn't be helped. Hayato was incapable of crafting low-quality items. Since he didn't need to prepare low-quality chests in the first place, Hayato resigned himself to it.

And today was the day of delivery.

Sonia herself was scheduled to come with her guild members to pick them up. The treasure chests were quite heavy. A wooden one was one thing, but a person could only carry about three metal chests at most. So they needed manpower to transport them.

"There's something melancholic about an empty treasure chest, isn't there?"

"Is that your roundabout way of asking for a second chocolate parfait? You're not getting one, you know?"

Haya to was in the room with Esha and Relic.

Esha had just finished eating a parfait a moment ago. Hearing her talk about the melancholy of an empty treasure chest while looking at the leftover parfait glass didn't stir any feelings in his heart.

"I see, being roundabout is no good. Then, please give me a chocolate parfait."

"Even if you say it straight, the answer is the same."

It was a pointless exchange, but Relic watched the two of them with an amused expression.

"Esha, you have softened up quite a bit."

"Are you saying I've gotten fat? I'm confident I can shoot a 'Destroy' at you, even if you are an old man."

"That is not what I meant. I was talking about your personality. You used to have a more pointed, unapproachable feel about you."

"We could say the same about each other. If we were to say which of us was worse, it would be you, Relic. We can take a vote from everyone if you'd like?"

Hayato was intrigued by the exchange between Esha and Relic.

He didn't know the details about Esha and Relic when they were in the clan led by Ivan.

Unlike now, Esha was apparently a mage and Relic a thief, but by some twist of fate, they had become a maid and a butler.

Esha had said that her request to Diite had been recreated in a complex way, but he didn't know what Relic had wished for to become a butler. Since Relic had his memory erased, only Diite would know.

It would be a story from before their memories were erased, but Hayato decided to ask.

"Relic-san, what did you do in your previous clan? I've heard from Esha that you were a famous Vigilante Thief."

"I was no such thing. In that case, shall I tell you an old story until Sonia arrives?"

According to Relic's story, it was like this.

Relic, along with Sonia, worked as a treasure hunter, which is to say, they made a living finding treasure in dungeons.

They also engaged in thievery, stealing items and money from others. It was only from people who made money through illicit means, but a thief was a thief. He never took pride in it.

One day, Relic failed to disarm a trap on a treasure chest in a dungeon. There were several types of traps, but that time it was an alarm trap that attracted nearby monsters.

Basically, there were no demerits to being defeated by a monster. You didn't lose the items you were carrying, nor was there a death penalty. You could just revive normally at the place you had registered as your revival point.

However, Relic and Sonia were famous enough as thieves. They had also entered other people's bases and stolen items, so the Vigilante Corps of the time had their eye on them.

Relic and his group did not have a base, and the only place they could revive was the Grassland Monument in the Starting Area. Many people loitered around there. If they were defeated, they would revive right there, and it was clear that it would lead to trouble.

They couldn't afford to be defeated by monsters, but both Relic and Sonia had low combat power. Since they had raised their thief-type skills, their combat-type skills were low.

Just when they were in a desperate situation, Ivan's clan appeared. Esha was there too.

Ivan and his group, having heard the alarm, immediately dispatched the monsters. That saved Relic and his group, but afterward, Ivan invited them to join his clan.

He had been thinking of adding members with thief-type skills to his clan for a while, as they were necessary for the treasure chests deep inside dungeons.

Relic accepted.

However, Sonia said she wasn't good at hanging out with young people and didn't join the clan. That said, she didn't join the clan, but she became good enough friends to come and visit their base from time to time.

After that, Relic became an active member of the clan. He stopped stealing items from bases and people, and only used his skills on treasure chests in dungeons.

"During Clan Wars, combat power was what mattered, so I was a burden, but Ivan let me stay as I was."

"You were not a burden, Relic, you were strong. Your strength as an individual was certainly not as great as the other members, but you were far stronger than ordinary people. Besides, the reason the clan was strong was because of your good positioning while supporting everyone. Cecil and the others would charge in without thinking, but things still went well thanks to you. I doubt she realized it herself, though."

"To think you thought of me that way is pleasing. I wish I could have heard that back then, though."

"I could not say such a thing. I was a shy maiden in those days."

"The fact that you can say such things now shows that you have softened up. The Esha of those days seemed to have no interest in anything but strength. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to see young people grow."

"Are you a grandpa? Well, you are an old man, though."

As far as Hayato could tell from their conversation, Esha and Relic seemed to have been on good terms back then. They may not have been on chatting terms, but they seemed to have trusted each other.

"However, the change in your personality is not due to Hayato-sama's influence, is it? I believe not much time had passed since you met when you two came to the guild."

Hayato nodded.

It had been about a month after he met Esha that they went to the Butler Guild together. The Esha who first came to the base was already like this.

Esha's eyes grew a little distant.

"The Maid Guild is a very difficult place. Especially the Maid Chief. I even suspect she might have a 'Maid Special Attack' or maybe an 'Esha Special Attack' type of skill. If you say my personality has softened, it might be the Maid Chief's fault."

According to Esha, the Maid Chief was an expert in close combat. Her combat style was incompatible with Esha's, and she was strong enough that Esha would definitely lose in a straight fight.

Haya to knew that too. During the Stampede event when they fought the Tyrant Dragon Agres Berion, the Maid Chief had fought and defeated Pat, the dragon with guns, together with Relic.

It was a two-on-one fight with Relic, but Relic had said that she would have defeated him even without him.

"The Maid Chief-san, huh. She's quite a mystery too. I don't know her name, but what's it called?"

"Who knows, I don't know either. 'Maid Chief' suits her, so I don't need a name."

"It is Silva Clavley-sama."

Relic stated the Maid Chief's name, which even Esha didn't know.

Haya to had no particular reaction other than thinking, so that's her name, but Esha, as if she couldn't understand what he was saying, stared at Relic in confusion.

"What are you saying all of a sudden? Have you gone senile?"

"Considering the flow of the conversation, it is obviously the Maid Chief-sama's name. In the first place, why do you not know it, Esha?"

"I don't think anyone at the Maid Guild knows, you know? In fact, I'd like to grill you on why you know it, Relic."

Haya to vaguely understood the situation. Relic must have had the opportunity to learn her name during his numerous meals with the Maid Chief. But Esha had no idea what the situation was.

"The Maid Guild and the Butler Guild have started cooperating recently, so maybe he learned it through that? Relic-san, you've spoken with the Maid Chief-san several times as a representative of the Butler Guild, right?"

Hayato had a few debts to the Maid Chief, so he made up a plausible story to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

"I am not a representative, but I have attended the meetings several times. It is true that she introduced herself as a greeting at that time as well."

"Ah, at the meetings. It seems the Maid Guild has been busy with various things lately. I'm living here, so I don't know the details, but... my colleagues have been incredibly kind to me lately. What's with that? It feels like they're cheering me on, saying they'll take care of all the paperwork so I can do my best over here."

(They're probably trying to keep Esha from returning to the guild...)

It wasn't that she was disliked by her colleagues, but it would probably be a problem if she were at the guild headquarters. Hayato had heard that when Esha had announced she was moving in here, the entire Maid Guild had come to see her off.

If he pursued the matter, it would become a sad story, so Hayato decided to stop this conversation as well.

However, no matter what he talked about, it would either become a sad story for Esha or a story about the Maid Chief having feelings for Relic, so Hayato was quite frayed at the nerves changing the subject.

When Sonia arrived at the base, Hayato was quite welcoming, thinking he was finally free.