The female thief

The room reeked of cheap liquor. Cobwebs clung to the corners, and a blanket spread across the cold, damp floor was presumably Grisel's bed.

Half a loaf of hardened black bread and a length of cured sausage sat on an overturned wooden crate nearby.

He lifted the blanket on the floor. Nothing.

He kicked apart the clay pot in the corner. Nothing.

Renato refused to believe that a former third-tier adventurer and skilled swordsman had nothing valuable at home.

At last, when he moved the wooden crate that served as a table, he discovered Grisel's stash.

Renato pulled out four coin purses, each embroidered with a different pattern. Some still carried the scent of cheap perfume.

They felt fairly heavy, but held mostly copper coins, perhaps one or two hundred altogether.

At the bottom of the crate, a faded red cloth wrapped several pieces of jewelry: a pair of silver-plated earrings, a cheap brooch set with quartz, and a copper bracelet engraved with the name "Lisa."

There were also sewing kits, small toolboxes, bundles of hemp rope...

None of it was worth much, but every little bit counted. Renato packed up all the odds and ends and put them into his Bag of Holding.

Suddenly, light footsteps sounded outside the door, approaching the room.

Renato slowly straightened and tightened his grip on his longsword.

The magical infusion Perly had applied would last about another twenty minutes. He had to deal with whoever was coming quickly.

The footsteps were so faint that Renato nearly misjudged the distance.

The visitor stopped outside the door without knocking or speaking.

What were they doing? The faint sound of falling clumps of dirt jolted Renato into realization.

Wait, they spotted me!

Renato kicked open the door. A slender figure was climbing over the enclosing wall, trying to get to the other side.

A crossbow bolt skimmed past his bracer and sank into the ground. The Silent Lady swept out after it, tearing a foot-long gash in the earthen wall.

The thief in dark clothes tumbled off the wall, narrowly evading a slash that would have severed both legs.

"Wait!"

A female thief, no less. Renato frowned, refusing to let her words distract him. He could see every furtive movement she made at her waist.

His longsword flicked upward, knocking away the shortsword she had just drawn.

He crushed the hand crossbow on the ground beneath his foot, aimed his sword at her throat, and said quietly:

"I ask, you answer. No shouting, and no sudden moves."

She nodded frantically to show that she understood.

"What's your name, and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Kira. My mother is seriously ill, and my little brother needs money for school. I had no other choice but to steal..."

"Don't take me for a fool. Nobody comes to the Shantytown to steal." Renato moved his sword closer, frightening Kira into shaking her head wildly. "I could hear you heading straight for this room. You're nimble, and your weapons are good. You're no ordinary thief. I hope your brain works just as well. I'll give you one more chance. Tell me the truth."

"I'm a member of the Thieves' Guild." There was no stubborn refusal to talk; Kira promptly spilled everything. "I came to find Grisel, who lives here. Tongue said he was good with a sword and would probably need money after getting out of prison. There's a killing job, and we wanted to bring him in."

The dark red bloodstains on Renato's armor made Kira swallow, and she added:

"Since he's already dead, I've got nothing left to do here. Sir, please believe me, I have absolutely nothing to do with that pervert Grisel! I'm not even twenty yet. I've never met him. You did everyone a favor by killing him. It was a good deed..."

Kira edged backward as she flattered him, but the sword closing in again cut her off.

"I'm Grisel. What's the job?"

"Wh-what did you say?"

"I'm Grisel," Renato repeated evenly. "Tell me about the Thieves' Guild and this job."

Inside the room, Kira sat awkwardly on the blanket while Renato stood before her, sword in hand.

"So the Thieves' Guild is actually an intelligence organization?"

Renato toyed with Kira's shortsword in one hand and continued:

"What's the name of that master thief you mentioned?"

"The guild mostly steals things. Intelligence is a sideline. We all have to eat, after all." Kira removed her mask, revealing short brown hair, and gave a strained laugh. "As for the master's name... I really don't know. Someone at my level isn't entitled to know. I only know his code name. People usually call him Master Echo."

"Level? The Thieves' Guild has ranks?"

"They're not all that strict." Kira started to scratch her head, then noticed the blade beside her and lowered her hand again. "I'm one of the guild's Quickhands. Basically, I do the work."

"There are also Tongues. They find jobs, gather information, assign tasks, and relay messages for the master. They have the most authority. Foremen recruit people and teach newcomers a few tricks. They're all old geezers."

"Tell me about the job Echo gave you." Renato could tell she was avoiding the subject. "Isn't that why you came looking specifically for 'me'?"

The longsword moved another inch closer, and Kira said miserably:

"Look, can I not tell you? I can pay you instead. You're not involved anyway, so hearing about it won't do you any good. It might just get you into trouble, and the master will skin me if he finds out..."

Renato ignored Kira's pitiful expression and said coldly:

"I can skin you right now."

"I'll say it again. I'm Grisel. If the pay is right, I'll take any job."

Catching his meaning, Kira looked over Renato's attire and said hesitantly:

"Look, this isn't anything respectable... It's theft, robbery, maybe even murder."

She stole a glance at Renato's expression and found him utterly unmoved.

The sword pressed against her neck. Kira groaned and gave up resisting.

"The master told us to recruit some capable people to cover our guild members as they enter the Reisingen estate in the Inner District."

Reisingen... Why does that surname sound so familiar?

"Yes, that Reisingen. It's too late for regrets now!" The man before her finally showed a change of expression, and Kira spoke with a hint of mockery. "Old Baron Caspar Reisingen, chairman of Fried City's City Council. The 'eternal' chairman..."

[Quest]

Enter the Reisingen estate and cover the Thieves' Guild members as they carry out the potion. Payment: 30 gold coins.

[Quest description]

Sixty years ago, Caspar Reisingen wrested Fried City from the king of Falania with an iron fist and established this famous free city. A week ago, no one knew what deal the old chairman had struck with the Master Assassin, but deep within the estate, he had just placed a Legendary Potion capable of changing a mortal's destiny inside the Vault, leaving the Master Assassin to collect it personally. Countless magical traps, Constructs, and Elementals stood sworn to guard the Reisingen family's property.

Quest reward: 3,000 experience points.

Caspar Reisingen, Fried City's "founder," a Legendary Potion, a Master Assassin...

Beside that information, thirty gold coins and three thousand experience points seemed insignificant.

"See? I told you. Someone that powerful is way out of your league." Kira stood and tidied her hair. "Let's pretend this never happened. You keep quiet, I keep quiet, and nobody will know..."

Kira had only said they were stealing something from the Reisingen family. She had not even revealed the payment. She probably knew less than Renato had read in the [Adventurer's Guide].

The female thief before him was young, with a slightly dark complexion, somewhat full lips, and short brown hair.

"I'll take it. When do we move?"

"Huh?" Kira's eyes widened in astonishment. "What did you say?"

The fire of ambition burned in Renato's heart. Legendary. Even many heroes celebrated in bards' songs did not deserve that title. Legends stood at the pinnacle of mortal achievement, where myth began, among the mightiest beings on the Material Plane.

In legend, the founding emperor of the Northern Empire, the "Giant Hunter," the "Dragon Slayer," the "Undefeated"...

Boreal II, the legendary warrior who bore so many titles, had slain a White Dragon ravaging the Great Glacier with a single blow.

If I had that kind of power, what could the Harpers or the Dakoul cult do to me...?

Renato tossed the shortsword back, folded his arms, and repeated:

"I said I'll take the job. All you need to tell me is where and when it starts."