Chapter 97: The Falling Thief (3)

“Mmm…” Her eyelids fluttered as consciousness returned. As her vision slowly focused, the first thing she noticed was that the mask covering her face had vanished. Then, she realized her entire body was tightly bound. Despite these two realizations, her mind remained utterly confused.

What on earth happened…?

Her memories were hazy. The strong impact must have caused a temporary concussion, leading to this jumbled state of mind.

As her vision finally cleared—

“Kyaaah!”

The clear, sweet laughter of a child rang out.

The woman’s gaze turned towards the sound.

What is…that thing?

She blinked repeatedly, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her eyes landed on—

On the spacious bed, between a pair of silver-haired twins, a white furball was busily moving around.

“Whitey, sit down!”

Whit, whit!

“Stand up!”

Whit, whit!

Following the twins’ commands, the little white hedgehog swiftly repeated sitting down and standing up.

This creature named Whitey was doing its utmost to survive.

“Roll to the left!”

“No! Roll to the right!”

Whit, whit-whit?

Confused by the conflicting orders, Whitey hesitated before rolling once to the left and then once to the right.

The twins giggled at its antics and clapped their hands.

Pablo, observing this scene, turned to Louis and asked, “That thing… What exactly is it?”

“It’s obviously a spirit beast.”

”…I suppose so,” Pablo replied, his face contorting into a scowl.

There was a reason for his reaction:

That damn rat…

The white weasel showered Louis and the twins with affectionate attention but bared its teeth at Pablo. Its instincts recognized Louis and the twins as superior beings while categorizing Pablo as inferior.

It was a level of cunningness bordering on malice.

Damn rat bastard!

With eyes that could rival those of a human and behavior almost servile, even the weasel had relegated Pablo to a lower status overnight. His gaze fixed menacingly on the creature before turning to Louis.

“What do you plan to do with this weasel?” he asked.

“Well… I’m not sure yet… Maybe sell it somewhere else?”

If they couldn’t get a good price here, selling it elsewhere might be a decent alternative. After all, being a spirit beast, it should fetch a high value.

At Louis’s words, the white weasel perked up its ears, and the corners of its mouth twitched upward in anticipation. Seeing this reaction, Louis changed his tone slyly.

“Hmm… nope. Since I’ve already brought you here, we might as well travel together.”

Skreeee?!

The white-footed squirrel’s face contorted into a mask of horror at Louis’s words.

Louis couldn’t help but chuckle at the creature’s extreme reaction.

It really is quite clever.

For this little guy, being sold elsewhere would probably be far more appealing than ending up next to the top predator—the dragon.

Skreeeee…

The white-footed squirrel collapsed onto its bed in despair.

“Whitey… dead?”

“Daddy always said that when animals die, they leave behind their skins,” Louis replied matter-of-factly.

Skreeee?!

Fearful of losing its skin right there, the white-footed squirrel sprang back up and resumed its antics.

Meanwhile, observing every detail of the scene unfolding within the room—from the actions to the conversation—a woman stood transfixed, her mind reeling from sheer astonishment.

Louis was delighted to see her awake. “Oh? You’re up?” He slowly approached her with a bright smile.

This child is…?

The woman’s eyes unfocused as she watched Louis coming toward her. Soon, everything that had happened before passing out replayed in her mind.

That’s right…

She’d been fleeing. After infiltrating Lord Samuel’s castle and accomplishing their mission, they were making their escape when…

I slipped on the roof of an old inn…

To evade pursuit from some monstrous giant, she’d grabbed someone hostage—a tiny little kid. But then…

I got…hit, didn’t I?

A massive blow had struck her—one to the jaw, another to the face. Two clean hits later, and she’d lost consciousness instantly.

The pain radiating from her chin and cheekbones served as proof of that reality. As everything came flooding back to her, her eyes widened in disbelief.

“You—you?!” she stammered.

“You sure slept for a long time,” Louis remarked casually. “Did you sleep well, Miss Night Bat?”

“…?!” The woman was taken aback by this child’s knowledge of her true identity—and even more so because he had seen her unmasked face without ever being detected before.

“What—what kind of nonsense is this?” she tried feigning ignorance.

But not everyone falls for such tactics. Unfazed, Louis continued as if she hadn’t spoken at all.

“I’ve heard your story already. You were on your way out after making quite a haul from Lord Samuel’s castle, weren’t you?”

“…” She remained silent.

“So what exactly did you steal there?”

“Haaah…” With a soft sigh, realizing her act wouldn’t work, she prepared herself for further interrogation.

She glared at Louis with fierce eyes, her expression revealing an ironclad determination not to utter a word no matter what might happen. Anticipating this reaction, Louis nodded understandingly.

“Of course, of course,” he said, his tone easy as he took a step forward. His destination: the spot where the twins stood.

With practiced ease, Louis plucked a white weasel from their midst.

What?!

The white weasel had been fawning over the twins in its desperate bid for survival, but now it flinched at this sudden turn of events and began to struggle frantically. It was futile; Louis already had a firm grip on the back of its neck.

He thrust the creature toward the woman and declared grandly,

“If you hand over that stolen item without any trouble, there won’t be a bloodbath!” Louis’s bold declaration was met with instant silence.

“…” The woman blinked rapidly as she alternated her gaze between Louis and the weasel. Pablo squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

Is this what he meant by having a solution…?!

Tit for tat, eye for eye; hostage crisis begets hostage crisis. This was how Louis planned to settle the score perfectly.

Keeeeek!

Startled by this sudden turn of events, the white-legged weasel screeched loudly while flailing its short legs. Its cry was unmistakably pleading for mercy.

Yet surprisingly, the woman who should have reacted remained composed. She bit her lip hard instead.

”…Don’t you laugh. Why would I say such a thing?”

“Huh?”

“Listen, kid, this auntie here…”

“No way! Where’d your conscience go? ‘Auntie’ doesn’t fit you; you’re more like a middle-aged lady!”

Crunch.

The sound of something tearing echoed ominously as Louis finished speaking.

The woman, who had been trying hard to remain calm, continued her sentence.

“This auntie is…a very scary person, okay? If you get out of this, I’ll give you a good slap on the cheek, so remember that!”

“Yeah, save that for later when I’m free. Wow, seriously though, I can’t make sense of this situation. Middle-aged lady, if you keep going on like this, this guy might really die.”

Squish-squish.

Louis’s hands, like sticky rice cakes, squeezed tightly around the white creature’s neck.

Keeek keeee!

With each squeeze, the weasel let out a high-pitched squeal.

The woman watching this scene was equally bewildered.

Kai! What’s gotten into you?

Her partner, Kai, appeared as a small and cute creature on the outside. But she knew better. Despite his adorable appearance, she was well aware of how terrifyingly powerful this tiny being truly was. He could easily tear apart an adult orc with his bare hands—no exaggeration there. So witnessing him struggle helplessly against such a seemingly ordinary child left her utterly perplexed.

No… wait.

As confusion threatened to overwhelm her, her gaze gradually steadied itself. She looked up at Louis intently.

…Maybe he isn’t just any ordinary kid after all.

Though they had both let their guard down momentarily, neither had come out unscathed.

Though he was only a fifth-tier hunter, it wasn’t enough for him to fail to react to an attack from a child.

Yet this kid had so easily overpowered her right before her eyes.

Right. This isn’t an ordinary brat.

She realized that fact with a jolt of alarm.

Alongside that realization came a surge of venomous defiance.

”…Do as you please. If I die, then so be it—I’ll never tell you anything.”

It was a bluff born of confidence. As long as Louis wanted something from her, she doubted he’d go too far. She judged that showing weakness in this disadvantageous situation would only invite greater humiliation.

But her judgment was flawed.

“Oh-ho?” A glint flashed in Louis’s eyes.

He gazed at Whitey and asked,

“Wow… You kept your loyalty and said nothing, but look at how he just abandoned you? How could people be like that?”

Skreeee?!

The white weasel’s jaw dropped. Simultaneously, its eyes darted wildly as it gazed at the woman.

Betrayed by a trusted friend—the shock was too much for the creature. It extended its short arm towards her, almost like pointing an accusing finger.

Skreeeee! Skreeeeee!

Meanwhile, the woman had made a grave mistake: she remained oblivious to the situation unfolding around her.

“You how could you do this to me!” Fin translated Louis’s words telepathically from where he sat on his shoulder.

“What…?!”

How could anyone not be startled by a voice suddenly materializing out of thin air?

As the woman stared wide-eyed, both the weasel’s shrill cries and Fin’s translation continued unabated.

Skreeee!

“Page! Who do you think has been feeding and sheltering you all this time?!”

Keeeek?!

“You ungrateful wretch! I raised you from a snot-nosed little girl! How dare you turn against me now!”

Kekeeeee!

“I should’ve known one day you’d stab me in the back like this! No wonder you’re still single at thirty-nine with your personality! Hey, you spinster, get some sense into that empty head of yours!”

As Fin translated for her quietly, Page’s face flushed red. Struggling fiercely despite being tied up, she bellowed:

“S-S-Spinster?! Spinster with an empty head?! Have you said everything you wanted to say yet?”

Crrrk!

“Nope, not even close! Hmph! You’ll spend your whole life stealing and never find a husband before dying old and alone! Tee-hee!”

“Hey, Kai, you’re older than me! Who are you calling a spinster?! You’re a girl too, aren’t you? If we’re counting age, then you should be called an old maid!”

Skreeee!

“You’ve seen it before? Have you?! I’ve got tons of guys chasing after me because they like me! Do you think I’m anywhere close to being single?”

“W-well, I’m not dead yet either! There are plenty of people who like me around!”

Skraaaw!

“Hmph! When exactly? We’ve been together for 20 years now… but in the last 10 years, I haven’t even seen you with another guy once.”

Once close friends but now estranged—no, their relationship was rapidly deteriorating into a full-blown disaster—their conversation left Louis slightly flustered.

Except for one person.

“Hmm… I see.” Pablo, standing off to the side, nodded with a satisfied expression on his face.

“I-I was there too! I existed when you didn’t know it!”

Skreeee!

“Heh-heh! How funny.”

“Aaargh!” The weasel mocked while Page struggled against their bindings with curses flying from his mouth.

If Louis hadn’t used his spatial magic earlier, the inn would’ve been shaken by this late-night commotion.

“Oh boy…” Louis sighed at the prolonged battle between his two friends.

He subtly increased the force in the hand holding the white weasel.

“That’s enough.”

Kai, who had been screaming incessantly, glared at Louis with fiery eyes.

Louis knew exactly what smoldered within those orbs—it was vengeance.

Peep!

“You can ask me anything! I will answer wholeheartedly and do my utmost to provide a satisfactory response! Or so she says,” Fin translated, causing Louis’s smile to broaden.

He cast a sly look towards Page.

“Did you hear that? You’re no longer needed then, aren’t you?”

“…?!” Page’s pupils quaked like an earthquake had suddenly struck, jolting violently at this abrupt turn of events.