A Thief with an Ulterior Motive

"You've got some nerve! You actually tried to steal from me!"

After pulling Parr up, John flung the brown-haired young man onto the unconscious brown-haired boy. The surrounding adventurers and drunks instantly cleared out a large space, eagerly watching the two thief brothers who had been caught, curious to see how John would deal with these two audacious fools.

Things like this happened frequently in taverns. Everyone recognized the brown-haired brothers and knew that they only stole from unfamiliar faces. The older one would strike up a conversation to draw attention, while the younger one took the opportunity to steal. Still, no one had expected them to be so bold today as to target a Bronze-level Knight! They truly did not know their own limits.

Bang! "Speak! What do you want to do?"

John planted a foot on the brown-haired young man's back. The stomp nearly knocked the breath out of him.

"My lord, please spare us! We won't dare do it again, cough, cough, cough..."

The brown-haired young man tried to beg for mercy, but John put on a little pressure, crushing him until he wheezed and curled up, coughing nonstop.

"If you came to steal, then you should have been prepared to get caught."

John's large foot alternated between light and heavy pressure, torturing the brown-haired young man until he wished he were dead. Half his life was practically gone. Only when blood began flowing from his nose and mouth did John withdraw his foot, casually pull over a stool, sit down, cross his legs, and say leisurely,

"By the rules, I'll give you two choices. First, take out your weapons and duel me. Life or death, no complaints. Second, lose a hand and a foot. Choose."

"I... cough... choose... cough... the second... cough... choice... cough cough cough..."

The brown-haired young man was not stupid. Compared to death, he would rather lose a hand and a foot. At least he would still be alive.

"In that case..."

John tilted his head toward Parr, signaling for him to do it.

"Both of them lose a hand and a foot?"

Parr rubbed his wrist and walked over. He had no sympathy for thieves, but this was his first time doing such a thing, so he needed to ask clearly.

"One hand and one foot each. Just break them. It's an unwritten rule across the continent. In cities, thieves can't be killed after they're caught."

John thought Parr could not bring himself to do it, so he explained a little. But before he had even finished speaking, Parr stepped on the brown-haired young man's left wrist.

"Hmph!"

The brown-haired young man gritted his teeth through the excruciating pain. He did not scream, only letting out a muffled groan.

Parr delivered three more kicks. After dealing with the two outrageously bold thieves, the brown-haired boy awoke from the pain, only to pass out again from the agony.

"Throw them out."

After retrieving the stolen belongings, John returned to their previous seats with Parr and waved to the tavern attendants, signaling for them to throw the two thieves outside.

Bang! Bang! People in this world had no pity for thieves. The tavern attendants dragged the brown-haired brothers out and tossed them onto the street, then dusted off their hands and went back inside.

The tavern doors stood open. Parr ate the food the attendants brought over one dish after another while watching the two motionless figures lying in the street outside. Just as he was about to finish eating, the brown-haired young man finally recovered somewhat.

"Hmph!"

With a muffled groan, the brown-haired young man actually climbed to his feet on one leg. After struggling for a while, he dragged his unconscious younger brother into the dark alley beside the tavern, disappearing from Parr's sight.

"What? Do you pity them?"

John noticed Parr's gaze. He gnawed on a large chicken leg as he asked quietly.

"No."

Parr shook his head, took a sip of the sweet-and-sour fruit juice he had specifically ordered, then said hesitantly in a low voice,

"Uncle John, I think there's something wrong with those two. I saw them when we came in, and they saw the Battle Qi on you too. They don't look stupid to me. Why would they still come steal from us?"

"Good!"

John nodded slightly and also lowered his voice.

"Not bad, little one. It's good that you thought of that. They really aren't stupid. If I'm not mistaken, they were testing us, trying to find out where we came from."

"Hm?"

Parr had not paid attention to what John and the brown-haired young man had said earlier. He had been observing the people in the tavern, trying to see what people in this world were like. Thus, he was somewhat confused by John's words.

"Don't ask. It's not the time to talk about it yet."

Seeing Parr's puzzled look, John shook his head and ended the conversation. Then he turned toward the tavern entrance. The female staff member from the Azure Stone City Adventurers' Association, whom he had arranged to meet, had just walked in.

"Sir Knight."

The female staff member was very familiar with the place. After entering, she swept her eyes around and immediately spotted John. Then she walked over with a smile. At that moment, John drained his Wheat Beer, stood up, grabbed the woman's small hand, and pulled her upstairs with an impatient look.

"You're finally here. Come on, come on. I already got the room. I've been waiting for you..."

When they reached the second floor, John stopped, turned back, and shouted at Parr, who was standing there blankly without knowing what to do.

"Little one, stop standing around! Hurry up and bring the bundle up to guard the door for me!"

Parr: "..."

Guard your damn door! I'm still a ten-year-old child! Can't you fucking see that?

Parr was going mad inside, but then he thought of everything that had happened today and felt that John must have his reasons. Thus, he picked up the bundle with the large slash in it, grabbed the Dark Knight One-Handed Sword John had forgotten, and went up the stairs.

Yet the facts proved that John had no damn reason at all! He was simply venting his desires. Poor Parr sat outside the door and listened all night. If he had not known he could not beat John, he would have drawn his blade and charged in long ago.

"Don't torture people like this! I'm still a kid!"

The scene shifted to the brown-haired brothers. The brown-haired young man used every ounce of his strength to drag his younger brother deep into the alley. After confirming that his brother was not in danger, he leaned against the filthy wall, closed his eyes, and waited. Before long, heavy footsteps reached his ears. A tall man came before him. On closer inspection, wasn't this Vice Captain Ma Xi of the Azure Stone City Patrol Team? "My lord, you're here!"

The brown-haired young man opened his eyes and tried to stand, but failed.

"Don't get up. Just sit and speak."

Ma Xi crouched down and stared into the brown-haired young man's eyes. "Where did those two adventurers, the older and the younger one, come from?"

"In reply to my lord, they..."

The brown-haired young man briefly explained the information he had gathered, then concluded, "They should have come from the west. That Bronze-level Knight is an old soldier discharged from the Western Border Fortress. He wants to head to the central region and make a name for himself, to see whether he can earn himself a noble title."

"Is there any other evidence?"

Ma Xi was extremely cautious. Ever since he had set up Bolen Knight from the Church, he had sent people to investigate the backgrounds of every adventurer entering the city. He feared that an adventurer from the east who knew about Bolen might go to the Church to report the news.

"This..."

The brown-haired young man looked toward his unconscious younger brother.

"My lord, that is all I know. My younger brother may know more, but he..."

"Give this to him."

Ma Xi frowned at the unconscious brown-haired boy, then took a small medicine bottle from his pocket, poured out a low-grade healing Magic Potion, and tossed it to the brown-haired young man.

"Thank you, my lord."

The brown-haired young man had been waiting for this. He hurriedly fed the medicine to his younger brother. The brown-haired boy soon woke up. After staring blankly for a moment and understanding the current situation, he revealed an important piece of information. "My lord, I saw a One-Handed Sword in their large bundle. It was a Standard One-Handed Sword from the Western Border Fortress."

"Very good!"

Having ruled out another possible hidden danger, Ma Xi stood up with satisfaction and casually tossed two gold coins to the brown-haired brothers.

"Take the money and treat your injuries. Don't tell anyone that you work for me. Otherwise, you understand the consequences."

With that, Ma Xi left without looking back. The brown-haired brothers picked up the gold coins and thanked him repeatedly.

"Thank you, my lord. We understand, we understand."

By the next morning, Parr, who had listened to unspeakable sounds all night, sat atop the large bundle with the Dark Knight One-Handed Sword in his arms, half asleep. His condition was fully restored, but the mental trauma he had suffered was rather severe. He wanted some peace and quiet. He wanted to nap for a while.

Creak~

However, John did not grant Parr's wish. Once the two women had fallen asleep, he got dressed and pushed open the door, walking out while rubbing his lower back.

"Little one, let's go."

John pulled his Dark Knight One-Handed Sword from Parr's arms and hung it at his waist before turning to go downstairs.

"..."

Parr shook his head, quickly picked up the large bundle, and followed. Once downstairs, he did not see John anywhere. Looking closer, he realized that John had already left the tavern, so he hurriedly chased after him.

The streets of Azure Stone City gradually gained a little life in the morning. More food stalls had opened, but their business was poor. Hardly anyone was buying breakfast.

"It's so deserted!"

Parr sighed, and John, who was walking ahead, heard him.

John slowed down and turned to explain to Parr, who had caught up to him, "I heard something big happened in Azure Stone City recently, which is why it's this deserted."

"What happened?" Parr asked curiously.

Ha~ John yawned, then said as he walked, "It seems Old Azure Stone Viscount lost something extremely important a few days ago. Because of it, all the Patrol Team members were called back. They searched every house for several days but found nothing. It caused a lot of panic. Most adventurers left Azure Stone City because of this, planning to return after things settled down. The city residents rarely go out unless necessary as well, which is why it seems so deserted. Azure Stone City used to be very lively."

"I see."

Parr nodded, clearing up his confusion. He had thought cities in this other world were all like this. So that was not the case—something had happened.

This showed just how much influence noble lords had over the residents of their territories. Because one item had been lost, they could forcefully search every home and throw everyone into panic, yet no one dared object. Within a noble's territory, the noble was the sky and the law. That was the privilege of nobility.