C105: Plan (1)
Kunst holds a big auction once a year. And this year, in particular, the organizers put in more effort to hold the event in a grand manner.
The largest auction in the world.
As such, the items in this auction are so rare that it’s hard to see them somewhere else and among them there is a Relic fragment that Rudger was desperately looking for.
Rudger’s initial purpose was to obtain the Relic fragment. But after the recent incident involving Luke, he decided to change course of action a little this time.
Director Ivan Luke, the man who flirted with Selina at the last banquet and picked a fight with Rudger, is the organizer and general manager of the auction.
Rudger wanted payback.
“I’ll have to go big this time.”
Stealing the Relic fragment is already a matter of course so there is no reason to leave the other valuables stored together while stealing the fragment.
The recent project in the slums has consumed a considerable amount of money. If the opportunity arises, it is necessary to prepare the funds in advance for the future.
“Is there anyone who doesn’t think this is right?”
“Leader, I have a question.”
It was Alex who opened his mouth first.
“Yes, tell me.”
“Robbing the Kunst auction house certainly looks interesting to me, so there is no reason to refuse but there are a few problems.”
“For example?”
“The auction that’s going to be held is pretty famous so many wealthy and powerful people will attend.”
“Right. It’ll be the most crowded this time.”
“Rumors about the auction are already spreading abroad so all the items will be of the highest quality. I understand what you’re doing but the security will also be strengthened. How are we going to deal with that?”
No one denied the statement because everyone was thinking the same thing.
As the scale grows, more people will come, and if that happens, there will inevitably be a group of suspicious people. Unless Luke is a fool, he will take enough measures to prepare for any possible danger.
“And as far as I know, in the case of the Kunst auction house, I heard that no one has ever robbed it.”
This was the part that Alex was most worried about. He raised his fingers one by one and pointed out the issues one by one.
“The Kunst auction house is the place where the most money circulates in Leathervelk. Billions of denars are coming and going so all of you know what kind of guys this rich people have with them.”
Hans, who was still, answered instead.
“Expensive bodyguards that are first-class in terms of both records and skills.”
“That’s right. Add to that the guards hired by the auction organizers and the Kunst Auction House is truly an impregnable fortress.”
It is not that there have been no people who have tried to rob the Kunst auction house. In fact, attempts to steal auction items by all means have been steadily existing since the past.
The number of attempts exceeds three digits and the number of times Kunst auction house was robbed.
“Zero. The auction house, which is 20 years old this year, has never allowed a thief’s muddy feet in the last 20 years.”
There was no one here who didn’t know what that meant.
Rudger is now seeking to rob Kunst’s auction house, which no one has succeeded in for 20 years, with this few members.
Alex shrugged and rattled.
“If we hadn’t known each other before I would’ve said you’re crazy.”
“I understand.”
The reason Alex didn’t left and accepted this ridiculous suggestion seriously was because it was Rudger who brought it up.
“I wouldn’t believe it if it was someone else, but it’s a different story if it’s what the leader said.”
Alex said so and examined the reactions of his colleagues around him.
“Well, I think everyone else feels the same way.”
No one here was looking at Rudger with suspicion.
They are aware that it is nonsense, but they are taking Rudger’s words seriously. It is a reaction that can never come out unless solid trust is accumulated.
“So. What’s the plan?”
“You’ll know once you see it. Hans.”
When Rudger called his name, Hans moved immediately. He brought a large drawing paper he had left in the corner of the room and spread it out in front of everyone.
Seridan’s eyes shone when he saw the picture unfolded inside.
“Is this a drawing of the Kunst auction house?”
“Yeah, it’s a real drawing that I’ve had a hard time getting from someone who built it 20 years ago.”
There were some parts that were worn out over the years, but the drawing was still looking pretty good because it was stored carefully.
Rudger raised his finger and pointed at the bottom of the drawing.
“Our destination is here.”
“Is this… underground?”
Rudger nodded to Arpa’s question.
The Kunst auction house was an unimaginable building, and there was a huge underground space beneath it.
“This is the underground facility of the Kunst auction house. The items for auction are kept here, 40 meters below the building.”
“40 meters? That’s crazy! How do we get in here?”
“The only way down is an elevator, stairs don’t even exist.”
There’s only one entrance and of course there is only one exit as well.
“It’s literally the perfect place to store important things. I don’t think it’ll matter if we sneak in somehow.”
Hans shook his head at Alex, who was stroking his chin and muttering.
“It’s going to be hard.”
“Why?”
“It’s not just that there’s only one entrance and one exit. The interior is so heavily fortified that it’s like a royal castle.”
Hans took some paper out of his arms and put it on the drawing. It was a blurry picture that was not printed properly, but it was not unrecognizable.
“These are the guards at the Kunst auction house.”
“Guards? But they’re all wearing armor.”
Belaruna, who was watching the picture closely, said.
The people in the picture were all wearing full plate mail, which is a product of the old days.
Hans nodded.
“Surprisingly, these guys in armor are the guards. While everyone else is dressed in stylish uniforms, they wear armor made of special alloys.”
“Is that possible?”
“I don’t know how much money was given in order to obtain the city’s permission to do this inside the Kunst auction house. They poured astronomical sums into this.”
“Did it cost that much? Just because of the armor on the guards inside?”
“It’s a kind of show off, and the armor itself isn’t ordinary. It’s also a specially-made armor, and I’m quite intimidated myself. And above all else, the ones inside the armor are also formidable.”
Hans said so and took out the data he had prepared separately.
Violetta thought it was amazing when she saw it. Because the appearance of Hans I’ve seen so far was the epitome of someone who is unreliable.
‘Where the hell did he get that data?’
She realized why Rudger had that man around and why he said he was specialized in gathering information.
“The guards at the Kunst Auction House are called the Black Guards, and here is a list of some of them.”
The personal information of several people was written in the material Hans pulled out.
“A former mercenary leader who led a huge mercenary corps, a retired knight, a skilled knight, etc.”
“It would have been tough to fill the guards with only this kind of people.”
“That’s how much money they put in. Of course, the numbers aren’t that high and these guys work in three shifts, but……Probably not on the day of the auction.”
A space of 30 meters underground with only one entrance and all the troops guarding the interior are like knights and after taking into account the escort force of the guests visiting on the day there wouldn’t be enough space for a needle to pass through.
“Well, that’s enough.….”
Hans hit an additional blow to Alex, who was wondering if there was any possibility.
“By the way, the road leading to this cellar is full of all kinds of alarms. Only authorized people can pass from the entrance to the basement, and the alarm is filled with magic down there.”
“What?”
“And the biggest problem is that they can see the storage room in real time.”
“They can check it out in real time? Is that possible?”
“Look at this.”
Hans said so and brought out the materials he had prepared in advance.
“Three years ago, a wizard from the old tower presented a unique artifact. It was a modified crystal ball.”
“A modified crystal ball, that’s interesting.”
“The tower has decided that the effectiveness of the artifact is useless. So the patent didn’t fall, but rather it was rejected and Luke approached the wizard like a ghost to buy the rights for that artifact.”
“And is this the artifact?”
The paper Hans brought had a rectangular glass plate drawn on it. The magic crystal ball was shaped like a sphere made of glass mixed with mana stone, which was thin and wide.
It looked unfamiliar to others, but it was familiar to Rudger because it resembled the TV displays on Earth.
“Compared to regular crystal balls that can only transmit voices it is said that this one can show images in real time.”
“I can’t believe they’re using this artifact to supervise the storage!”
Seridan trembled as if she was horrified. It was more of an outrage than admiration because such a great artifact was used for such a menial thing.
Hans continued his explanation, ignoring the spirited Seridan.
“Anyway, as long as there’s an artifact that’s transmitting this real-time view of the archive, we’ll be caught quickly even if we succeed in breaking inside.”
“……Is this the end?”
Even entry and exit is possible under strict control, and the only passage is an elevator that goes 30m underground.
There were Black Guard everywhere, magic alarms dotted inside the underground space and lastly, artifacts that allowed them to monitor the inside view in real time.
“Yes.”
When he was finished, Alex patted his forehead with his fingertips because he was dumbfounded.
“Is it possible to pierce this?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Rudger.
“Of course.”
Despite the overwhelming attention from everyone, Rudger nodded his head without changing a single expression.
“It can be pierced.”
“Leader, are you really serious about that?”
“There’s no reason for me to lie.”
“That’s…but.”
“Apparently, you’re most wary of this artifact that can watch real-time scenes from a long distance.”
Alex nodded.
There seems to be no way to avoid it since it was watching the inside view 24/7.
What if you break it?’ That is also a problem. Even if you break it and cover yourself, people will come after you.
‘After all, you have to move without getting caught by that artifact and if you’re not invisible that can’t be possible.’
That’s why he expected an answer from Rudger and that was not a problem because Rudger was already familiar with the artifact.
“I didn’t know there were things like modern CCTV here.’
Of course, considering the times, this magical artifact is very innovative for the people here.
“I have an idea.”
