“Y-you’re crazy. You’re really crazy…”
Dorian’s lips trembled as he stood guard in the auction house’s restroom.
‘His boldness must be on the continental scale to be trying to steal from the black market.’
He wanted to try looking into Raon’s brain to figure out how he got such a crazy idea.
‘He can’t be serious, right?’
He wanted to believe that even Raon wouldn’t actually try to steal from the black market.
Yes, that’s what he wanted to believe. But he was the type of person that actually did whatever he said he would.
Raon had never broken his word. He killed the Green War Demon, survived the Blood Raving Demon, and beat up Raden.
“Haa…”
The door opened as he was looking like he was smoking from how deeply he was sighing and Raon came out wearing the black night traveling outfit from head to toe.
‘Sniff! He is really wearing it.’
Raon was wearing the black clothes that came from his pocket, a mask on his head. He was even nodding in satisfaction.
“This should be enough. I won’t be found out.”
“No, but, y-young master. Please… Hmm?”
Dorian tilted his head.
‘What happened?’
Raon had grown up recently to around the same size as him, yet he looked a lot smaller now. His height was visibly reduced to around 165cm.
“Y-young master? Your height…”
“I reduced it a little, since I don’t want to be found out.”
“Ah, I see. What?”
‘Why the hell would I say I see?’
Even the advanced Sword Experts or Masters couldn’t decrease or increase their heights however they wanted. He looked like a completely different person than when they were in the house.
“Wh-who taught you something like that?”
“Instructor Rimmer.”
“Ah…”
He felt like that was possible since Rimmer was a very peculiar elf.
“I did a rough check of the security, and I think it’s doable.”
Raon smiled while stretching. Dorian felt like he was seeing a devil’s smile as a chill ran down his spine.
“Y-young master, about that butterfly. I heard it’s a rare item, but it’s not impossible to obtain. Shouldn’t you get another one later…”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have much time. It’s not like we can return here often, either.”
Raon was smiling softly, but flames were flaring up in his eyes.
“And they blatantly looked down on and laughed at us. There’s no reason to put up with that.”
“Aww…”
Dorian scratched the back of his head. He was actually right. The woman was blatantly picking a fight and interfered in the auction.
“Did you find out who that fox masked woman is?”
“Yes, and that’s another reason to stop you. I honestly want to tie the young master up right now!”
“Who is she?”
“She is Princess Jayna from the Balkar kingdom. She is their current king’s cherished daughter not only because of her outstanding talent in magic, but also her great discernment on equipment.”
“I see, she was from Balkar.”
Raon’s smile deepened at hearing that she was the Balkar princess. He looked like a beast targeting its prey.
“Then I guess whatever the princess bought would be sent to the VIP room, correct?”
“Yes? Probably?”
The auction house gave a luxurious room to VIP clients that spent a lot of money and sent the auctioned items to their room. A Balkar princess had to have her own room.
“Then I’m not even stealing from the black market. I’m just stealing from the princess, since the ownership changes the moment items get to the room.”
“What? I-is that the case? I don’t really understa…”
“I was contemplating it, but it looks like there’s no problem. Just wait here.”
“Eek? Young master!”
Raon disappeared from the restroom after giving off a smooth smile. He had been right in front of Dorian’s eyes, yet he had literally disappeared.
“I-isn’t a princess more dangerous than the black market? Have I gone insane?”
Dorian shook his head while looking at the empty restroom.
* * *
The footworks of the best assassins had respective characteristics.
Kazan, the assassin of the east, was fast. Doruma, the assassin of the west, was soft. Patoo, the assassin of the north, was sharp.
And Raon, who used to be the assassin of the south, was stealthy.
The Shadowless Steps he'd learned allowed him to decrease his presence as much as possible, like a shadow on a moonless night. It was to the point that even the experts were unable to properly recognize his movements.
Using the Shadowless Steps to the full extent for the first time in a long time, Raon managed to arrive at the fourth floor of the auction house without anyone noticing. It was where the VIP room was located.
‘The Shadowless Steps is the best in a situation like this.’
Shadowless Steps was a stealthy footwork that even the wind and shadows were unable to follow. Even though it was slow, it was the best footwork to hide his presence and appearance.
Because he’d even decreased his size using bone control, neither the people participating in the auction nor the guards in the VIP floor would recognize his presence as they walked past him.
How strange. Your usual personality wouldn’t have done something crazy like this. Have you really gone insane after leaving the house?
Just as Wrath said, it was crazy of him to try stealing from the princess just because she’d picked a fight, looked down on him, and interfered in the auction. He wouldn’t have done that with his usual personality.
However, Raon wasn’t enraged at all. His head was actually as cold as the glacier of the northern sea.
The reason that he was acting unreasonably despite being so levelheaded was very simple.
‘I’ve been there before.’
He had already assassinated a high-ranking noble in the VIP room of that place in his previous life. He had disguised it as a natural death, so no one had ever discovered that it was his doing.
Since he had that memory, he was certain he would succeed.
‘And now is the best time to do it.’
The item she won was going to be delivered soon. Entering the VIP room along with the item would make stealing the black butterfly a piece of cake.
“Haa.”
He controlled his breathing and stood at the end of the lobby.
‘Well, it’s actually only possible because it’s here.’
The black market’s security was exponentially tighter when it came to the lower floors. He would’ve honestly given up if it was the second basement level.
Vrrrr.
Soon enough, a staff member pushing a cart came up to the fourth floor. The cart was covered in a thick fabric, and the birdcage’s silhouette could be seen.
‘This is it.’
It must’ve been the princess’s auctioned items.
As he was about to follow the staff pushing the cart, the thin sound of the rotating magic security could be heard like a squirrel’s squeaking.
Raon recognized its location through sound and carefully went through the security spreading out like a web.
‘This isn’t actually dangerous.’
What was really dangerous wasn’t a mere security system using mana threads. It was traps and sensors capable of detecting mana.
Traps and sensors made of high-grade magic stones were able to detect unregistered people’s mana.
No matter how careful one was upon accumulating mana, the purity of a human being’s mana couldn’t compare to a high-grade magic stone.
‘I’m different, though.’
Since his aura was accumulated through Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and purified afterwards by the Ring of Fire, its purity was at least higher than a high-grade mana stone even though it was still worse than natural mana.
Whir!
He used the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation very slightly to pass through the traps and sensors made of mana stones.
Just as he thought, the traps and sensors treated him as a lump of natural mana and didn’t react.
Raon broke through all the traps and sensors to follow right behind the staff member.
The staff member stopped in front of room 404 and knocked on the door. The door opened soon enough and one of the guards that used to be next to the princess stepped out.
“I came to deliver the item the VIP purchased.”
“Hmm.”
The guard nodded and the staff member pushed the cart to enter the room.
‘Now is the time!’
The moment the staff member and the guard looked inside, Raon used the Shadowless Steps to the extreme to pierce into the room.
There were two more guards inside, but no one noticed him.
“There are a total of twelve auctioned items. You can confirm.”
The staff handed over a document and took out the objects from the cart one by one.
Twelve items, including the black butterfly, were spread out on the ground. The guard nodded and signed the document.
‘Perfect.’
The item’s owner had just been transferred from the black market to the princess. There was no problem with him stealing it now.
* * *
* * *
“Did she seriously buy something like this with fifty gold?”
The guard seemed to think she did something stupid.
“She usually pays any price to buy whatever she likes. It was for revenge this time, though.”
“She also ruined a family before for taking an article. That was really terrible.”
“I bet the guy earlier is also going to get his face ground into a boulder until he dies if he doesn’t hand over the ring.”
“Oh, let me do that one. I’ll grate it like cheese.”
The guards giggled, sitting at the table.
‘They are the same as her.’
He had a very slight hesitation because the guards could’ve been in a rough spot once he stole the black butterfly, but they were pretty much the same as her. The guilt disappeared from his conscience.
“Let’s continue the card game. I was winning, right?”
“The guy yesterday was really good. I should ask him his secret if we get the order to abduct him.”
“Let’s do that. I’m sure he will answer if we ask him after burying him in the ground.”
The guards giggled with the auctioned items piled up next to the table and started playing poker.
‘Tsk.’
Raon clicked his tongue.
‘It’s too close to them.’
It was difficult to take the items with the way they were staying right next to them.
He could win if they ended up fighting, but that increased the danger of getting caught by the black market’s guards, who were standing by on the fourth floor.
‘There’s no choice. I should only take the black butterfly.’
Raon lowered his posture like a frog and looked at the bird cage containing the black butterfly.
Since a black butterfly would die quickly in a confined space, it was usually stored in a bird cage like that.
What was the reason that the black butterfly stayed next to the magic stone despite being capable of escaping?
The answer was simple. It was in order to feed on mana with high purity.
That meant that the butterfly would fly at him through the cage if he provided it with better mana than the magic stone.
Whir.
Maintaining the Shadowless Steps, Raon used the Ring of Fire to cleanse his aura. He sliced the pure aura into thin threads and let it flow towards the butterfly.
The black butterfly that had been sucking on the mana from the magic stone flinched, then flapped its wings to leave the cage and flew down.
‘I knew it.’
Lowering his posture was a good decision. The guard would’ve noticed the butterfly’s flapping wings if he had called it while standing.
“Haaaa.”
He slowly inhaled. The black butterfly had left the birdcage, but he couldn’t be careless yet because it was passing under the table, where the guards’ legs were located.
Everything would be over if its wing brushed past the guard’s leg.
Raon carefully controlled his aura, as if he were bribing a newborn baby, to lure the black butterfly.
From right to left, bottom to top. He guided the black butterfly in a way that the flapping wings wouldn’t even shake the guards’ clothes.
Whoosh.
The black butterfly, which had been fluttering like a leaf, finished its short but long journey to settle on Raon’s hand.
‘Welcome.’
He put it in his inner pocket and stood up slowly. The guards were completely focused on the card game, not noticing anything.
“Ah, I lost again!”
“You’ve lost six times in a row now. You gotta give me this whole month’s salary.”
“Argh, damn it! Nothing’s going in my favo…huh?”
The guard that was about to throw away his cards noticed the birdcage where the black butterfly used to be, and his eyes widened.
“Sh-shit! It’s not there! There’s nothing!”
“What?”
“The butterfly is gone!”
The guard checked the birdcage at different angles and started trembling.
“S-search! Search everywhere! We’re really screwed if it’s gone!”
The guards started turning everything upside down, not only the auctioned items but also the bed, chair, and all the furniture. They eventually opened the window and the door.
Raon smiled, as he had been stuck to the wall and waiting for that moment.
‘I can move now.’
He picked up five more auctioned items from the messy ground and casually left the room through the open door.
How crazy. You weren’t actually a swindler, but a thief! What kind of life were you living before the King of Essence’s arrival?
‘A dirty life.’
Raon smiled coldly and cheerlessly.
‘I’ve lived a very dirty life.’
* * *
Raon returned to the restroom to change his clothes and restored his body to its original size before returning to the auction house.
The host’s voice was louder than ever as the last auction was going on.
“Ugh, m-my heart tickles…”
Dorian was scratching his heart and shoulder with trembling hands.
“That’s why you should stop eating so many snacks.”
Raon clicked his tongue.
“Haa…”
Dorian’s jaw dropped. His expression was asking him what the hell he was saying when it was all his fault.
“Erm, young master.”
He sighed and came close to him so that no one else could hear him.
“Are you sure nobody saw you?”
“I am.”
“Haa, it’s a relief that you gave up halfway. Stealing from the black market is actually really crazy…”
“I didn’t give up though.”
“Whaat?”
His voice suddenly became louder. He must’ve believed he had given up on the black butterfly because he had returned too early.
“N-no way…”
“It’s over here.”
“Kuaaah!”
Raon tapped his inner pocket and Dorian’s eyes started spinning rapidly. It had been a long time since the last time Raon saw a human’s eyes moving like that.
“Uah…”
As Dorian was about to collapse back, a shadow appeared from behind him. When he looked, the fox masked woman was standing there.
“It looks like you’re having some trouble.”
Her voice was clearly filled with mockery. It was so blatant that her mouth resembled a bottle.
“That’s why you should’ve picked the right opponent. That’s what you get for having so much ego despite being an insect without even a small amount of change.”
Her expression could be guessed from her voice, despite wearing a mask.
“Worldly matters don’t go as you please. You need to know your position to live a long life.”
The way she was sloppily threatening him despite not realizing the situation was making him laugh.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Give me the ring since you must’ve realized what kind of a person I am. This isn’t a threat, but your life will be difficult if you refuse, since I’ve never missed anything I set my eyes on.”
She opened her hand. She seemed certain he would hand it over because of how superior she was.
“It’s not a threat, but it’s a threat. Are you deaf or something? I told you no!”
Raon shook his hand as if he were chasing away a fly.
“Wh-what? What did you just say?”
“I told you to make a hole in your ear.”
“Y-you!”
“Stop being annoying and go away.”
“Argh!”
Her mask trembled. The princess started gathering her mana, unable to withstand her anger.
“Talking to you nicely doesn’t seem to be enough. The butterfly was what you wanted, right? Shall I buy it whenever it appears in auctions or shops so you will never get to witness it ever again?”
It didn’t matter, since he already had it.
“Or shall I make it so that you won’t see the rising sun ever again? I can erase a shitty mercenary like you with a single finger. Because I am…”
It was as the woman was about to take off her mask with a snort that they heard it.
“E-erm, young lady!”
The guard he saw in the VIP room came up to her with a serious expression.
“I-I have something to tell you. Just now…”
“What? Wh-what kind of bullshit is that!”
The woman’s face grew extremely stiff upon hearing the guard’s whisper.
“It looks like you’re having some trouble.”
Raon grinned, feeling the black butterfly’s presence in his inner pocket.
