Chapter 95: The Falling Thief (1)

On the northwest edge of the Fall Continent, Louis’s group gathered on a vast plain as dusk settled in and darkness slowly enveloped the land.

Upon disembarking from the Dragon Fly, Louis invoked a sacred scripture:

“Space Separation, Compression Barrier.”

The spatial attribute expanded around the Dragon Fly, causing it to shrink along with everything else within its vicinity. This high-level technique simultaneously reduced both space and objects’ sizes—a feat not easily replicated by others.

Louis stored the now child-sized Dragon Fly into his pocket dimension. With all preparations complete, he turned and shouted, “Let’s go!”

”…Yes sir.”

Travel had become routine for them. Pablo, the twins, and Fin followed closely behind Louis, their footsteps echoing softly across the terrain.

Louis, leading the group, scanned their surroundings.

I won’t be able to see this view in a few days.

After spending about three months at the Tower of Wishes, Louis’s party had crossed the Fall Continent without stopping. It took them four months to reach their destination on foot—a testament to how quickly they could traverse land by dragonfly compared with traveling overland during winter.

They trudged along against the backdrop of a red sunset for several minutes before…

“We’re here!”

The city lights appeared on the horizon as they approached the edge of the vast plain, brightening Louis’s eyes just like the twinkling bulbs below him.

Seeing his excitement, one twin ran up to him and chattered excitedly:

“Louis, Louis! Will there be big flying carriages when we get there?”

“Sky chariot!”

Louis clicked his tongue at the twins’ question as if they were being silly.

“Tsk, how many times do I have to tell you it’s not a sky chariot but an airship?”

“Sky chariot!”

“It’s a huge sky chariot!”

It was like talking to someone who couldn’t understand him. The twins had already decided that the airship was a sky chariot and ignored Louis’s explanation.

As he turned away, thinking there was no point in trying anymore, Louis noticed Pablo walking stiffly like a robot.

“What’s wrong with you now?”

“W-What do you mean?”

”…Are you scared?”

“W-Wh-What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you want to ride on the airship?”

”…?!”

Pablo broke out in cold sweat, realizing Louis had hit the nail on the head. He cautiously asked while glancing around nervously:

“I-I… Do we really have to take the airship?”

“You can take a ship that takes three months to reach the Summer Continent or an airship that only needs two weeks. It’s your choice.”

“Hmm…”

“If you choose the ship this time…you better prepare a coffin. If you die on board, I’ll even give you a funeral at sea.”

“Heh…”

Pablo had spent most of his last journey from the Winter Continent to the Fall Continent seasick and now seriously considered preparing a coffin. He’d either die on the ship with a proper burial or risk something he’d never experienced before—an airship ride. The memory of how terrible it was made him lean toward the latter option, but still uneasy, he cautiously asked:

“That airship…it-it is safe, right? There aren’t any sudden crashes…?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never ridden it before.”

“W-wait a second!”

“Just trust me on this. In the past 20 years of operation, it’s only crashed about fifty times, right?”

“F-fifty times?! That seems like a lot!”

“Considering it’s been running for 20 years, that’s actually quite low.”

“B-but what if we get attacked by flying monsters…?”

“That could certainly happen, but given its long history, they must have prepared countermeasures. Besides, isn’t there a shortage of aerial beasts between the Fall and Summer Continents? That’s why airships can operate here in the first place.”

”…Still, just in case…”

“You fool… If you’re so worried, why didn’t you say something earlier?! We’re already at Samuel’s port—what do you suggest now?”

“If we go back to Ikarina…”

Ikarina was a port city where ships sailed between the Fall and Summer Continents. Meanwhile, Samuel operated his airship service there as well. The distance between these two cities took even the Dragon Fly one week by ship. So how could Louis take kindly to Pablo suggesting they head straight for Ikarina right after arriving at Samuel?

Louis’s face darkened immediately.

“You want to get yourself killed that badly?”

“…”

“If that’s your wish, say so now. I’ll put you in a coffin and send you off to Ikarina right away. And I’ll make sure your body gets buried properly on the Summer Continent.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

In the end, Pablo slumped dejectedly, having failed to achieve anything.

Louis shook his head at Pablo’s pathetic display and scolded him.

“What a waste of potential! You’re built like an ox!”

“So what if I’m big?! What does that have to do with anything?”

“How can you be so fragile? How did you even manage to become a bandit with nerves like yours?”

“Well… maybe because we spend most of our time on horseback?”

Tsk tsk.

Louis clicked his tongue disapprovingly and turned away from Pablo.

“Stop whining already and let’s go. It’s been ages since we’ve been in a city; we should sleep in an inn tonight instead of roughing it out here. Are you planning to camp again?”

“All right then…” Despite his earlier reluctance, Pablo mustered up some energy and started walking again.

Thanks to this change in pace, Louis’s group managed to reach Samuel, the airship port town, before nightfall fully descended upon them.

The next day after arriving at Lord Samuel’s territory…

Louis rested well in his lodgings before setting out with Pablo to buy tickets for the airship. As expected of a famous port city, it wasn’t hard to find where they sold tickets. Even better was that there would be one leaving in just three days—great news for Louis.

However, there was one problem: He couldn’t afford them.

“…How much?” he asked hesitantly.

“It’s ten gold per person,” replied the woman selling the tickets politely. “So forty gold total, young master.”

Her smile made Louis feel uneasy as he screamed internally:

Why is this so expensive?!

Ten gold was nearly equal to what an average family spent on living expenses over ten years.

And Louis’s group consisted of four people. That meant forty gold would vanish just for one trip on this airship.

Louis looked up at the salesperson with his most pitiful expression possible as he asked, “There’s one adult and three children… Do you charge the same amount for kids as adults?”

“Yes, that is correct. It’s our policy.”

“Ohhh…” Louis puffed out his cheeks—a habit he had when something didn’t sit well with him.

But what could he do? He needed to take this airship.

With trembling hands, Louis pulled out a rabbit-shaped pouch containing gold coins.

“One… two… three…”

He carefully placed each coin onto the counter using his delicate fingers.

Once all forty pieces were laid out, the salesperson smiled broadly and swiftly grabbed them.

Louis looked like he had lost everything as his gold disappeared before his eyes. His shoulders slumped in defeat when four small wooden tickets appeared before him.

“Here you go. These are your airship boarding passes.”

“What?” Louis exclaimed incredulously.

The tickets seemed far too flimsy for a ride on an airship costing ten whole gold pieces each, causing Louis’s jaw to drop even further.

“Well then, next please!” The salesperson announced, signaling it was time to move along.

Louis glanced briefly at the seller, shrugged his shoulders dejectedly, and exited the booth.

Watching Louis leave, Pablo muttered under his breath:

“To think riding that ship once costs as much as ten years’ worth of expenses for a commoner family… Those highwaymen!”

Pablo continued grumbling while Louis weakly responded:

”…It’s because they use precious attribute stones like water on those private ships.”

“But still… I don’t understand why anyone would pay such a high price to ride one of those things when they could just travel by sea.”

“You know that only nobles and wealthy merchants use airships, right, Pablo?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well then, do you know what matters most to people with so much money?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s something you can’t buy even if you have all the money in the world.”

“What is it?”

“Time.”

“…?”

“A journey by sea takes three months, but an airship cuts that down to two weeks. By taking an airship, you save over two months! For someone who has everything else, making enough profit within those two months to cover the cost of using an airship is child’s play.”

“I see…”

Pablo gazed at Louis with admiring eyes.

Of course, despite his words, it wasn’t as if Louis didn’t value money. He trembled at the thought of the 40 gold he had just parted with.

“Ugh… What a waste of money.”

“But you have so much…”

Pablo was well aware of how much wealth Louis possessed within his pocket dimension. Every time they purchased elixirs, countless gleaming gold coins would spill out from Louis’s space. To him, it seemed incomprehensible that Louis would lament such a modest expenditure.

However, Louis saw things differently.

“Hey, Pablo.”

“Yes?”

“When you think about a dragon’s lair, don’t you imagine a cave filled to the brim with treasure?”

“Ummm… I suppose so?”

“So why do you think dragons gather all that treasure?”

“Well, I’m not sure…”

Now that he thought about it, it made sense. In storybooks, dragon lairs always featured vast hoards of gold and jewels. Genelocer’s lair had several such storerooms filled with treasures.

Seeing Pablo stumped, Louis decided to enlighten him personally.

“The reason is simple.”

“What is it?”

“Because they’re pretty.”

”…Pardon me?”

“They collect them simply because they look nice. More than a handful means more sparkle! The greater the quantity, the brighter the shine—especially when it comes to gold and gems!”

”…”

“But imagine how disheartening it would be if those piles started shrinking, wouldn’t you agree?”

”…I-I see.”

Pablo reluctantly nodded his head.

Meanwhile, Louis looked sadly at his depleted rabbit gold pouch.

“Oh… I wish there was more gold somewhere. Our mini Toto looks cutest when it’s plump…”

“If that’s what you want, why don’t you just take some from your pocket dimension…?”

“Do you have no romance in your heart?! This kind of thing should be filled up bit by bit with money earned personally!”

“How is any of this related to romance…?”

“It is! You wouldn’t understand this kind of romanticism!”

“Well, if you say so…”

Although Pablo found these arguments rather forced, he decided to let them slide now.

And then…

Perhaps heaven had heard Louis’s fervent prayers?

That night…

“Capture him!”

“He’s that way!”

The commotion outside jolted Louis awake from his slumber. Rubbing his groggy eyes, he muttered:

”…What in blazes?”

He stumbled towards the window. The group was staying on the top floor of a four-story building, which afforded them a clear view over the city below.

Standing on tiptoe and squinting through the glass, Louis grumbled:

”…Wonder what all the fuss is about.”

Torches flickered across various parts of town, indicating some kind of urgency. After watching the scene unfold for several minutes, Louis yawned widely.

“Haaah, who knows?” He shrugged off the disturbance. Why should I care what’s happening out there? All it had done was rudely awaken him from a peaceful sleep, earning nothing but irritation.

Louis turned to head back to his bed when…

“Huh?”

His eyes shot up towards the ceiling.

What was that?

He felt something leaping across the roof above him. Soon after came the sound of footsteps:

Tap-tap.

Then…

Krrrk!

The old wooden roof of the inn was pierced through, and something fell inside.

”…Huh?”

Louis blinked in confusion.

“W-what?!”

Startled awake by the sudden commotion, Pablo grabbed the hammer beside him with a loud gasp.

The twins sat up, staring wide-eyed at the intruder who had crashed through their ceiling.

“A dummy!”

“A thief! It’s a thief!”

“No! An assassin! I heard assassins wear clothes like that!”

“Nah, it’s definitely a thief!”

From head to toe, he was swathed in black cloth. His eyes were the only features visible. The two eyes of the black-clad figure standing at the center of the room brimmed with bewilderment—clearly, even he hadn’t anticipated that the roof would be punctured.

“Who goes there!” Pablo’s rough voice seemed to galvanize the intruder. In a flash, the figure lunged for the window.

The problem was Louis blocking his path. With lightning speed, the assailant scooped up Louis, pressing a dagger to his throat as he bellowed:

“Everyone, hold your tongues!”

Pablo froze at this deep, commanding voice. His eyes widened as thoughts raced through his mind.

What is this… some new method of suicide?

Hey.

Do you know what it means to point a knife at someone like that?

Pablo gaped in bewilderment.

Meanwhile, the strange man pressed the blade dangerously close to Louis’s neck.

“Step back! Especially you big guy over there—if you come any closer or try to call for help, this child’s life will be…”

The night traveler’s threats suddenly cut off.

Crack!

Louis had struck the assailant’s chin with the back of his head.

“Guhk.”

The impact loosened the night traveler’s grip, momentarily stunning him.

Seizing the opportunity, Louis swiftly kicked off the ground, propelling himself upward.

For a split second, Louis hung suspended in mid-air, like a scene straight out of a martial arts movie.

In an instant, Louis’s body soared towards the nocturnal figure’s face.

Bam!

Louis’s meaty knee collided violently with the assailant’s visage.

Crack.

“Ouch…”

The attacker’s torso bent unnaturally backward.

Pablo’s brow furrowed involuntarily at the chilling sound that reverberated through the room. He muttered, as if in horror:

“That… didn’t kill him, did it?”

The neck of the nocturnal figure had twisted so grotesquely that it seemed like a fatal blow. The impact sent the unconscious man tumbling backward like a toppled log.

Thud.

After executing a dazzling flip mid-air and landing gracefully on his feet, Louis dusted himself off nonchalantly.

“You call this a hostage situation? This is ridiculous!”