#59 The Phantom Thief Dauphin (3) – Showmanship

“I have no intention whatsoever of succumbing to such pathetic threats.”

Henri Montbourg, the man who received the phantom thief Dauphin’s calling card, stated without hesitation.

“From the start, that sales contract was entirely legitimate! If those country bumpkins made mistakes because they can’t read, that’s their damn fault, why should I be held responsible? Seriously, the nerve.”

It didn’t matter to Henri that the Montbourg Company’s employees read the contract for them but misrepresented its contents.

Such things were just things the underlings did ‘on their own initiative,’ and even if it wasn’t on their own initiative, so what? There’s no way to prove it anyway.

The situation was similar with the guard leadership.

What mattered to them was that the Montbourg Company was one of the top ten largest companies in the Kingdom of Birka, and that it also traded with the Sarnos County, not the grievances and suffering of some measly farmers.

More than anything, they were thoroughly pissed off by this ‘calling card’ thing, which they’d never experienced before.

“A thief openly announces who he’s targeting before attacking? Does he think we’re morons!”

What makes the guards’ side disadvantageous in a battle between guards and thieves?

It’s because the guards must always be on guard, prepared for thieves who could strike anywhere, anytime, while the thief can target where and when they want, isn’t it?

And yet, this thief Dauphin was throwing that advantage away himself.

Either his confidence from a series of successes had burst through the roof, or he simply thought the guards were a joke.

“Don’t let a single ant escape! If anything seems even slightly suspicious, arrest them immediately!!”

“Everyone, keep your eyes peeled!! If I see any of you sleeping, you’ll die by my hand before the thief gets to you!!”

The company commander barked orders at the platoon leaders, the platoon leaders yelled at their subordinates, and the soldiers, constantly berated, were bristling with rage.

Due to the animosity and fervor emanating from the guards, it felt like a bizarre haze was rising around the Montbourg Company building.

The citizens, witnessing the ruthlessly fierce security, whispered to each other.

“There’s no way he’ll get through that, no matter how you look at it.”

“Why even announce that he’s going to attack there in the first place? A thief should come and go quietly.”

“Is he really coming? Maybe the calling card is just a decoy, and he’s planning to target somewhere else while the guards are all concentrated here?”

In an atmosphere mixed with anticipation and worry, the sun set, and the moon began to emit a faint light from the night sky.

Finally, the time written on the calling card arrived.

And immediately after.

Thunk.

The entire area was plunged into darkness.

“Huh?”

“W-what? What’s going on?”

As if to flaunt their wealth, expensive magic lamps were installed all over the Montbourg Company building, banishing the darkness of night.

Unlike typical torches, magic lamps offered stable lighting and were easy to manage, so the soldiers relied on them exclusively. Then, all at once, the light went out.

They were stunned, wondering if the magic device had malfunctioned, when a loud scream echoed from inside the mansion.

“aaaghhh!”

Several squad leaders went pale, realizing the scream had come from the room where Henri Montborg, the guild master, was staying.

They shouted urgently.

“Torches! Light the torches! The ones we brought for patrol! Hurry!!”

The guards rushed towards the source of the scream and soon found a chaotic room and Henri Montborg on the floor, clutching his leg, his face twisted in agony.

“Guild Master! Are you alright!? What happened!?”

Henri Montborg, his hands trembling, pointed at the window.

“He, he tried to drag me away, but when he realized people were coming, he fled that way!! Quickly, we have to catch him! Urgh…!”

Whether injured during the struggle with the intruder or not, Henri clutched his leg again and groaned.

If they’d thought about it calmly, there were some odd points, but the squad leaders, blinded by the chance to capture Dauphin and earn glory, didn’t notice.

“Rest assured, Guild Master! Our 1st squad will definitely catch him!!”

“2nd squad is going too! Everyone, run!!”

After most of the guards had rushed off in the direction Dauphin was believed to have fled, some guild employees who arrived late approached the guild master.

“We’re bringing a stretcher, please wait a moment. We’ll get a doctor right away–”

“No, there’s no time for that now.”

The guild master’s eyes gleamed wildly.

“The warehouse, we need to get to the warehouse right now! We have to move my treasures somewhere else!”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“He came right to me without being noticed by anyone! There’s a traitor, there has to be a traitor! We have to protect my treasures before they get to the warehouse!”

The guild employees and the remaining soldiers were flustered, but they couldn’t resist the guild master’s constant badgering and nodded.

“Since my leg is like this, someone carry me, and those with free hands guide the soldiers! There aren’t any morons here who can’t find their way just because the lights went out, are there!?”

“Yes! Guild Master!”

“Hurry! Move quickly! Bring the carts too!”

Even though he kept wincing in pain from his leg, his relentless urging to protect his treasures made people feel weary, but no one dared to complain or object.

Finally, arriving at the warehouse, Henri Montborg continued to issue orders.

“Good, the contents are still safe! Now, move this! We need to get out to the backyard!”

“B-backyard? If we’re going to move it, wouldn’t it be better to move it through the front, where there are more eyes?”

“You idiot!! That thief fled that way! And why would we tell everyone that the treasures are here when we don’t know who the traitor is! No, no, wait! Are *you* the traitor!? Is that why you’re trying to screw me over? Huh!?”

“Ah, no! No!!”

Under the Society’s chilling threat, the employees and soldiers couldn’t utter a sound as they moved the warehouse’s treasures onto a large cart, following Henri Montborg’s instructions to take it to the back courtyard where it was easier to avoid prying eyes.

Other guards who noticed them tried to inspect, but the Society’s rough curses and accusations of being accomplices silenced them.

Finally arriving at the back courtyard, everyone looked utterly exhausted.

Of course, constantly chased by the Society’s sharp rebukes, loading the cart and pushing it around, they couldn’t help but be drained.

“Good, this place will do. Well done, everyone.”

The soldiers let out a sigh of relief at the Society’s gentle words, but the employees felt a sudden unease.

The Henri Montborg they knew was not the kind of person to offer such warm praise. The greedy, obsessive figure from just moments ago felt more natural.

Once doubt had taken root, questions they hadn’t noticed due to the frantic rush began to surface one after another.

Why had Henri, who had been so openly suspicious and claiming he didn’t know who the traitor was, allowed them to participate in moving the treasure without any screening process?

Apart from the guards, where were Henri Montborg’s personal bodyguards, who should have been by his side, that they hadn’t shown up even now?

How could Henri Montborg, without any real fighting ability, have survived until the guards arrived with only a ‘minor’ ankle injury?

But before they could delve deeply into these questions, a sudden impact to the back of their necks stole their consciousness.

Truly, what’s needed to deceive people isn’t a perfect, thorough plan.

What’s really important is brazen confidence. And a momentum that doesn’t give the other party a chance to make rational judgements.

The back courtyard, filled with people collapsed on the ground.

Henri Montborg, who had somehow regained his footing.

No, the Phantom Thief Dauphin wore a smile on his lips.

*

The next morning.

The citizens of Levreux rubbed their eyes blankly, confronted with the bizarre spectacle before them.

But no matter how much they rubbed and rubbed until their eyes stung, the scene remained unchanged.

“Mmph! Mmph mph! Mmmmph!!”

The large square in the center of Levreux.

Henri Montborg, the head of the Montborg Society, and his associates hung suspended like silkworms from ropes connecting the buildings.

And along with them, several signs were hanging, bearing the following message:

「To the unloved, unscrupulous merchants and their cronies.

I am truly saddened that you ignored my recent advice.

But everyone is allowed to make a mistake once.

Taking this experience as a lesson, if you belatedly pay the farmers properly and apologize, I will no longer hold you accountable.」

Ah, of course, the slight interest I collected this time is separate. Consider it tuition.

It’s only a single warehouse that got hit, after all. Your remaining assets should be plenty, shouldn’t they? But if you ignore my warning again, who knows what might happen then.

I sincerely hope you can abandon your arrogance and stubbornness and pay a fair price when you can ‘voluntarily’ do so.

And to the dear citizens of Levroux, the wealth I obtained from Montborg this time will be distributed to you in the form of a hot meal, so I hope you all enjoy it. While you’re at it, it wouldn’t hurt to offer a word of thanks to Montborg.

People’s personalities benefit from praise and gratitude, you see.

Ah, some of you might be worried about suffering repercussions after eating, but I’d say that’s an excessive concern.

If you don’t eat it, there’s no other choice but to throw it all away. Surely there aren’t any petty b*stards so consumed by spite that they’d rather throw it away than let someone else have it?

If there really are, then I apologize. I preemptively beg your forgiveness.

-Dauphin, the Phantom Thief-」

As if to prove that statement wasn’t a lie, large pots filled with stew, warmed to a perfect morning-eating temperature, were prepared throughout the streets of Levroux.

The stew, containing luxurious meat, vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions, and herbs of unknown origin, exuded an overwhelmingly alluring aroma, tempting the people. Beside the pots were a large quantity of wooden bowls and spoons, and pictures explaining how to enjoy the stew were attached, considerate of those who couldn’t read.

The impoverished citizens of the slums, who lived each day clutching their empty bellies, scooped up the stew with wooden bowls without much hesitation. The citizens of the general streets hesitated a little, but when someone ate the stew and made an expression of delight, they couldn’t resist any longer and rushed to the stew.

Even the citizens of the upper-class streets were craning their necks and sniffing, glancing around, drawn by the excessively intense aroma.

The Montborg Trading Company, which unintentionally ended up implementing a free meal program for the entire city, gritted its teeth but couldn’t mistreat the citizens who ate the stew.

Their reputation was already tarnished enough, but there was no need to add the title of “petty” on top of that.

The Montborg Trading Company and the guard tried to cover up the detailed events of this incident somehow, but rumors, once spread, couldn’t be easily buried.

Henri Montborg eventually paid the farmers a fair price with a sigh, and the guards instantly became a laughingstock.

However, this was just the beginning of the many incidents that Dauphin the Phantom Thief caused in Levroux.