Ch.169169. Not a Thief of This World! (1)

The life of thieves, if one were to divide lives into layers, would probably correspond to the very bottom.

Whether it’s an endless greed for wealth, personal wicked and hideous desires, or whatever circumstances they may have, it doesn’t matter.

No matter how they try to package themselves, thieves are ultimately those who, instead of creating value themselves, try to steal value from others who possess it.

In other words, they’re useless creatures who contribute nothing to the world yet cause all sorts of harm to society and humanity.

Of course, “thief” is generally a broad classification, and in reality, those who fall under the category of “plunderers” are treated as thieves.

From slash-and-burn farmers to mountain bandits, pirates, highwaymen, horse thieves, water bandits, and even poachers.

Since “thief” encompasses such a diverse group, binding together those who aren’t even originally the same faction, the difference in power among these thieves truly spans from one extreme to another….

Among these thieves, though extremely rare, there exists this type:

In fact, most thieves tread the fine line between legal and illegal, trying their best to avoid catching the eye of authorities.

The vast majority of thieves have such negligible fighting power that they can be easily suppressed by regular troops (men-at-arms), let alone knights.

Therefore, while most thieves typically disguise themselves as merchants, vagrants, or mercenaries, hiding until an opportunity for plunder arises, those called “madmen” in thieves’ slang openly reveal themselves.

Far from concealing their identity, they show themselves directly and confront others boldly, displaying behavior so reckless it befits the term “madman.”

Of course, most of these madmen thieves end up causing trouble and getting suppressed by authorities, but even so, a tiny fraction of them manage to survive despite their “mad” behavior.

In reality, they’re either other entities disguised as thieves (such as soldiers from hostile territories) or simply individuals abnormally powerful for thieves.

While most knights who awaken their Aura join the privileged class, some knights who succumb to their desires fall to become “robber knights.”

They abuse the customary laws of dueling commonly accepted throughout the Western Continent, challenging travelers indiscriminately to duels—knights in name only, essentially no different from highwaymen.

But there’s always a bottom beneath the bottom. In this world, there exist those who have fallen even lower than these “robber knights”….

These become the suspiciously strong madmen thieves.

Typically, robber knights, despite their ugly and dirty deeds, operate within the bounds of legality. The decisive reason most robber knights end up being suppressed is when they get involved with cultists while trying to increase their power.

But these madmen thieves, not even called knights, these deranged creatures, are a different story.

Though their reasons for ending up that way may differ, they are ultimately fools who have fallen to become mere criminals despite possessing intermediate-level power that could allow them entry into the privileged class anywhere.

Of course, these “intermediate-levels who can be killed” usually become targets for errant knights seeking achievements or adventurers seeking bounties, but occasionally some thieves manage to survive and form their own factions.

These elite thieves, survivors of encirclement attacks simply because of their strength, could be called products of natural selection.

Though each has different goals, these individuals steeped in greed and desire happened to hear rumors about a certain manor that has been showing rapid growth recently.

Located near Baron Dren’s territory, a rural area among rural areas.

One might wonder what’s so special about a manor in an area where security is maintained precisely because it’s too poor to have anything worth stealing, but the rumors spread by traveling merchants who have been frequenting the area lately were unsettling.

A few peddlers selling necessities that local residents couldn’t produce themselves made quite a profit going back and forth to the village. The problem was that as these rumors spread, the story became distorted and transformed.

A simple tale of earning a stable income became a story of making a fortune, and along the way, the forest village became a settlement established by a wealthy fugitive.

Minstrels added embellishments for dramatic effect, and the story became a topic at taverns, layered with characteristic exaggerations.

By the time these rumors reached “them,” they had already been inflated beyond measure, practically recreated….

“….Oh?”

They, the thieves obsessed with battle and greed, took the bait that no one had actually set.

The largest bandit group in the Western Continent (excluding those associated with cultists), who had been thinking they should relocate their hideout soon, thus began to move after hearing these rumors.

※※※

The Rabbit Knight, Lancelot, was handling his first real combat experience reasonably well.

[—Hup!]

-Slash!

He and his master (Enervel) were attacked while conducting practical training on the outskirts of the forest.

He thought they were thieves due to their lack of training and discipline, but he was facing enemies who were strangely strong and well-armed for thieves.

For now, Lancelot considered the group attacking him to be thieves, based on the knowledge he had acquired so far.

They lacked even a trace of the inevitable discipline found in regular armies or mercenaries, and they showed no signs of being cultists either.

However, there was one reason that made Lancelot suspicious:

‘….This is.’

It was the fact that the armament and combat ability of those attacking him were unusually excellent for thieves.

Without sounding self-congratulatory, Lancelot is objectively a possessor of power that easily surpasses an ordinary intermediate-level knight.

His combat style has become more refined through training, he excels in swordsmanship that emphasizes his strengths, and his armor is a solid mythril full set completed through the combined efforts of a blacksmith who reached the divine realm and a high-level magic user.

Therefore, his power, which Enervel had assessed could handle most intermediate knights within 50 exchanges….

-Clang! Clang!

Unbelievably, he was now evenly matched with this intermediate-level thief leader.

‘….So heavy!’

The thief leader, armed with a hammer that seemed to have magic allowing it to increase its weight only at the moment of impact, was surprisingly covered in what appeared to be magical equipment.

A cloak that seemed to interfere with detection. A helmet that likely expanded one’s field of vision. A breastplate and gauntlets presumably imbued with some kind of enhancement magic, and a belt that made movements appear erratic.

Though it looked unbalanced, the weapons the thief leader was armed with had surprisingly good synergy… but the problem wasn’t just this.

‘How can a low-level have such power…!!’

The thieves, who by their aura seemed to be nothing more than low-levels, obviously couldn’t defeat Lancelot in a direct confrontation….

Nevertheless, they moved as if they knew exactly how low-levels should face an intermediate-level opponent.

The thieves who intervened in the fight between the thief leader and Lancelot were mostly warriors who had reached the pinnacle of low-level, capable of at least exchanging one blow with Lancelot.

Of course, from Lancelot’s perspective, where he could simply deliver a second strike if the first was blocked, the thieves weren’t particularly troublesome. The problem was that these thieves intervened while he was fighting the thief leader.

This band of thieves charged forward as if unafraid of death, and in the process, while Lancelot wasted his attention on thieves who required at least two hits to kill, the thief leader would attack. What then?

It was fortunate that Lancelot was solidly armored in full mythril; otherwise, he might have been exposed to a single strike from an intermediate-level opponent.

In this almost evenly matched battle situation, Lancelot was standing his ground without retreating a single step.

Of course, the interior of the manor was protected by nature magic, so he could ensure his safety by fleeing, but Lancelot had no such intention.

He had already made his resolve as a knight who had pledged his sword to his lord.

He couldn’t bear to watch enemies invade the land his lord ruled, couldn’t stand to see them trampling in with their dirty feet.

Sir Lancelot thus faced the enemies without retreating even a little for what felt like 10 hours but was actually 10 minutes….

And his actions ultimately led to the best possible outcome.

“….Am I a bit late?”

[Not at all! You’re not late at all!]

From behind Lancelot, his lord, whom he had been desperately waiting for, had personally arrived.