"It wasn't me. I only stole one or two little trinkets... There's no way I could've emptied the entire treasure vault."
Hearing Cipher's words, Aglaea merely looked at her calmly.
"I know."
"You know?"
Cipher froze for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
"I didn't expect you to be so good at reading people, Seamstress. Then what if I told you I did it?"
"You couldn't have."
"Why not?"
"Because you don't have a Soul Tool. You don't have the ability to clear out the entire imperial treasury in one go."
At that, Cipher fell silent for a few seconds, then clicked her tongue.
"You don't believe me even when I'm telling the truth. You're really dense. Whatever, Seamstress, I'll come back another time."
Aglaea was just about to speak when she realized that Cipher had vanished again, faster than the eye could follow.
She looked in the direction Cipher had disappeared, a trace of doubt rising in her heart.
If it wasn't Cipher, who else could've done it?
On the evening of the fourth day, Cipher didn't come.
She didn't come on the fifth day, either.
On the evening of the sixth day, Aglaea was just about to close up when she suddenly heard a soft thump from the roof.
Then she saw Cipher crouched on the eaves, hands braced on her knees, looking like a little cat as she tilted her head toward Aglaea.
"You close up pretty early."
Aglaea nodded. "Mm. It's dark."
"That's when the fun starts."
Cipher leaped down from the eaves, landing lightly at the entrance to the shop.
The cloak she wore today was noticeably prettier than before, though it was still quite crudely made.
Aglaea glanced at it twice, then looked away and continued packing up.
But just then, Cipher suddenly leaned in.
"Seamstress, when your dean comes back, could you ask him something for me?"
"What?"
"Ask him what he wants from me."
What does he want? The dean obviously wants to recruit you into the academy.
But Aglaea didn't know why the dean wanted to enroll a thief.
At that, Aglaea nodded. "All right. But in exchange, you have to answer one of my questions, too."
"Hm? Go ahead." Cipher waved a hand, unconcerned.
However, Aglaea's next words left her stunned.
"You're already at level thirty-four, aren't you? With strength like that, why choose to become a thief?"
"That first day, you gave me that ruby ring and said it would cover your debt. It must've come from the imperial palace, right?"
Cipher stammered, unable to find an answer.
Seeing that she'd been found out, she could only explain helplessly.
"I steal things... because... there are a few little street kids in town. They... have no one looking after them, so I steal things and sell them to buy stuff for them."
"I know stealing is wrong, but I have no choice."
Aglaea was silent for a long while before she finally spoke.
"Will you come back tomorrow?"
On the seventh day, Ye Qiong finally returned.
As soon as he pushed open the shop door, Ye Qiong saw Aglaea behind the counter, cutting out a set of blue-and-black clothes.
Ye Qiong glanced around the shop.
"Has anyone come by these past few days?"
"Cipher."
A smile immediately appeared at the corner of Ye Qiong's mouth.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
Cipher lifted the curtain and poked half her body in, her cat ears standing straight up.
"Seamstress! I heard your dean came ba—"
Her gaze landed on Ye Qiong, and her voice cut off.
Ye Qiong smiled and waved at her.
"Hello, little cat."
Cipher's tail instantly puffed up.
"Who are you calling a cat?"
"What else could those things on your head be? Dog ears?"
Cipher instinctively covered her cat ears, her face turning bright red.
"H-How do you know?"
"I know plenty."
Ye Qiong leaned against the counter, arms folded, smiling at her.
"I also know you came from Doloss. You were raised by an old woman when you were little. Later, someone framed her, so you ran away and wandered ever since."
Cipher's expression changed instantly. She watched Ye Qiong warily.
"Y-You... Who are you, exactly?"
Ye Qiong looked at her, his gaze perfectly calm.
"My name is Ye Qiong. You can call me Huizi."
Cipher froze for a moment.
"Huizi?"
The name sounded familiar.
It was like a name she'd once given a trash can on the street.
"I opened an academy in Heaven Dou City. I'd like you to come with me."
"An academy?"
"That's right. Omphalos Academy."
Cipher repeated the name, an unusual gleam flickering in her eyes.
"Why did you name it that?"
Ye Qiong didn't answer. He simply kept looking at her with the same smile.
But there was something almost unsettling about it.
After a long while, she finally lifted her eyes.
"Your academy... is it still accepting students?"
"It is."
Ye Qiong held out a hand to Cipher.
"Welcome to Omphalos Academy."
It had been exactly seven days since Aglaea opened her shop and Cipher enrolled.
In front of the auction house in Heaven Dou City, Cipher suddenly turned around.
"The auction house? Why did you bring me here? Didn't you say you'd take me to the academy?"
Ye Qiong waved a hand without looking back.
"First, I'm selling some things. There's a whole bunch of students at the academy waiting to be fed. I can't go back empty-handed, can I?"
Cipher blinked, then suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, you're not..."
Ye Qiong paused and turned back to make a shushing gesture at Cipher.
Cipher's eyes went wide. She stared at him in disbelief. "So you were the one who did that?"
Ye Qiong smiled without answering.
Cipher hurried over and lowered her voice. "I can't believe you stole all the imperial treasures from the Star Luo Empire's palace!"
"What are you talking about? I just happened to pick them up."
"..."
Cipher opened her mouth, at a loss for words.
Seeing her like that, Ye Qiong laughed and patted her on the shoulder.
"Those things were just collecting dust in the storeroom. Better to take them out and put them to their proper use."
Cipher stared at him blankly.
"Y-You're not afraid of getting caught?"
Ye Qiong kept walking without looking back.
"What's there to be afraid of? I didn't leave a trace. Besides, even if they investigate, they'll only find that 'little rascal who specializes in robbing jewelry shops.'"
Cipher bristled. "You!... You set me up on purpose?"
Ye Qiong turned back and winked at her.
"I didn't say anything."
Cipher stood there frozen, watching his back disappear around the corner.
Her heart was full of exasperation.
She'd thought that as someone who went around lying and stealing, she was already shameless enough. She hadn't expected someone even more shameless to exist.
Aglaea came out from behind and stood beside her.
"You'll get used to it."
Cipher turned to look at her. "You knew all along?"
Aglaea shook her head.
"I only found out just now."
"And you're not surprised?"
Aglaea thought about it, then smiled, accepting it.
"He can make an entire academy appear out of thin air. Emptying a treasury... doesn't seem all that surprising."
In a private room at the auction house, Ye Qiong leaned back in his chair, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
He really had emptied the imperial palace's treasury, though he'd only broken in by accident while testing the Dragon Wings of Space.
Guided by the principle of accidents, he'd then accidentally collected all those treasures.
At the thought, Ye Qiong chuckled. "They must be tearing their hair out by now, right?"
Before you continue