#66 The Phantom Dauphin (10) – Reunion Beneath the Waxing Crescent Moon

The citizens of LeBrouk gathered daily, chattering about the Phantom Dauphin.

“There haven’t been any Dauphin’s notices lately.”

“He failed once, so perhaps he’s being cautious now? Last time, he simply escaped with a failure, but next time, he might be caught altogether.”

“There are quite a few nobles who bear a grudge against the Dauphin. He likely wouldn’t die peacefully if he were captured.”

“Ah. Is it inevitable….”

People began to believe that the Dauphin would no longer appear.

Until now, his targets had all been no match for the Dauphin, but now, a rival capable of standing against him had emerged.

Moreover, given the Dauphin’s tendency to return all stolen assets to the victims, his crimes rarely, if ever, benefited him personally.

Now that a considerable risk had been added to a deed that already offered no reward, there was no reason for the Dauphin to appear, they reasoned.

And the Dauphin, without a care, shattered those people’s expectations.

“It’s the Dauphin! A notice from the Dauphin is written in the plaza!”

“He… he’s back!? Who is it this time? Who’s he targeting? Another tax official, is it?”

“W-well… it’s not just one or two, apparently?”

“Huh?”

“Laurent de Valmoix, Bernard de Charles, Guyon Barber. Driterro Guisha… (omitted) …Garon de Sarnos.

Thus concludes the roster of 87 sinners, inscribed on this list. Your crimes are so numerous and weighty, that even transcribing them all becomes a wearisome task.

Therefore, I have compiled your names in a group, to deliver a swift and collective warning.

Be aware, the order in which I visit you will vary from moment to moment, so do not despair if your name appears at the beginning, nor rejoice if it resides at the end.

But take heart. Should you sincerely repent for your transgressions and offer appropriate amends and restitution to your victims, your name will be stricken from the list.

Should you find yourself utterly clueless as to what wrongdoing you have committed, hang a white cloth from the highest point of your dwelling, and let it flutter in the wind.

Then I shall furnish you with a detailed account of each and every one of your misdeeds.

This roster will be refreshed periodically, and those whose names are removed can be understood to have successfully made amends.

Of course, if deletion is possible, it is only fair that new additions are as well.

I sincerely hope that no fool would presume themselves safe and untouchable, simply because their name does not appear here, and proceed to act with impunity.

For that fool’s name will be prominently inscribed at the very top of the list, or perhaps, I shall visit them personally, before their name is even committed to the page.

-Dauphin the Phantom Thief-“

The city was in an uproar.

Dauphin’s flamboyant return alone would have been enough to captivate the public’s attention, but the names on his announced list were each and every one of them, figures of considerable import.

Those listed felt anger, or perhaps fear, while those unlisted breathed a collective sigh of relief.

People gathered in small groups, speculating whether those on the list would yield to Dauphin’s warning.

Of course, the most bewildered party in this entire affair was none other than the Guard.

“That… that son of a b*tch!!”

A torrent of crude curses erupted from the Captain’s mouth.

It was unavoidable.

“How the hell are we supposed to catch him now?!”

Dauphin’s ‘pre-announcements’, from the Guard’s perspective, were both a taunt that mocked their abilities, and simultaneously, a sort of informational guide.

They plainly disclosed which targets he intended to strike, and when, allowing them to focus all their efforts on protecting the target, and the target’s assets.

But now?

They had no way of knowing which of the 87 names on the list he would target.

They didn’t know the exact time he would strike.

And worse, depending on the circumstances, someone not even on the list could become a target.

This way, maintaining the kind of focused guard they had before is impossible, and more than that, I can’t keep Dahlia, our most formidable force, glued right next to the target.

“Company Commander! Lord Valmouis has requested intensive protection! He’s emphasized multiple times that he doesn’t want that Doffin fellow anywhere near him…!”

“Steward Gisha is here to see you! He says he needs to speak with the Company Commander urgently!”

“Company Commander! Baron Sharr is threatening that if anything happens to his son, he won’t stand for it!”

“Company Commander! Messengers are arriving in droves – “

“Company Commander!”

“Gaaah! I only have one body!!”

The Company Commander was clutching his head. Meanwhile, in the 8th Squad barracks:

“Seriously, isn’t this just a way to avoid our Squad Leader, all calculated and planned out?”

“Well, after seeing her blow up a building with a single lance thrust right in front of your eyes, it’s no wonder he’s scared. I’d rather applaud the nerve he has to even show his face again, frankly.”

“I bet there’ll be a free-for-all to get our Leader to escort them from now on?”

“Not from now on, it’s already happening. All these people saying they’re messengers from who-knows-who keep showing up, begging for a meeting with our Leader. The same people who wouldn’t even deign to speak to us are practically bowing in half.”

“Just don’t accept any gifts or anything. Could be trouble.”

“Do you really think I’m that lacking in sense?”

“Everyone, quiet.”

At Dahlia’s single word, the rowdy squad members fell silent at once.

“Doffin could target anyone at any time? That’s how it always was when dealing with other criminals. And we always defended against it well.”

At Dahlia’s words, the squad members nodded.

Come to think of it, it was abnormal to think otherwise. Thieves always attack unexpectedly.

It was easy to be intimidated by Doffin’s reputation, but thinking about it calmly, it wasn’t really any different from what they’d always been doing.

“Patrol often, maintain unwavering vigilance, and if a problem arises, don’t try to handle it alone, inform others. Everyone, just do what you’ve always done, and I’ll go and stop him.”

“Yes, ma’am!!”

“Then, I’ll head to the meeting, so everyone take personal time.”

After speaking those words, Dahlia left with brisk movements, and the squad members watched her departing figure with strange looks in their eyes.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“Doesn’t Squad Leader seem… happier somehow?”

“I don’t know if she’s happy, but she definitely looks more relieved than before. She always seemed burdened with worry. This time, it’s like she got some comfort from someone.”

“Maybe a man…?!”

“No way. There’s a brave soul who challenged the embodiment of strictness?”

“Oi, forget about it, forget about it. He probably just feels invigorated because he finally got a break after working himself ragged without any proper rest. You lot are the same, aren’t ya.”

“Guess so.”

*

“Damn it, if only these targets would all huddle in one place! Beef up the night patrols! If you spot Dopang, alert Squad Leader Dahlia immediately!”

Steadfast patrols and heightened vigilance. And a call for Dahlia, the only one capable of facing Dopang directly.

The company commander’s countermeasures were textbook, predictable even, but truthfully, he had little choice.

If a brilliant solution to capture Dopang existed, he wouldn’t be racking his brains in the first place.

The ensuing situation became a race against time, in a way, for both thief and guards alike.

The guards needed to detect Dopang’s attack as quickly as possible and notify the waiting Dahlia, while Dopang had to steal the target’s valuables and escape before Dahlia could catch him.

And in this contest, Dopang seized the early advantage.

He robbed a staggering four targets completely clean, before the guards could even react properly.

By the time Dahlia received the call and arrived at the scene of the crime, everything was already over.

No matter how strong Dahlia was, catching Dopang after he had already vanished into thin air was an impossible task.

Dopang’s reputation among the common folk soared once more, while the guard’s honor plummeted, but ironically, Dahlia and Squad 8’s value only increased.

For Dahlia, the perception that even the infamous Dopang wouldn’t dare approach if she was around led the power brokers on the list to clamor to get her by their side.

The members of Squad 8, while lacking Dahlia’s raw power to directly confront Dopang, were still significantly faster than other squads at spotting Dopang and relaying the information back to headquarters.

While other squads maintained a relaxed lifestyle within the affluent districts, Squad 8, along with Dahlia, covered the vast commoner districts with a small number of personnel, instinctively and experientially learning which locations were vulnerable at what times.

On the day Dopang targeted his fifth victim, Squad 8’s abilities were once again on full display, and Dahlia finally managed to encounter Dopang before he could leave the scene.

KABOOM!

“Whoops!”

Dopang’s hand, reaching for a spoiled young master from a noble family, was intercepted by Dahlia’s whirling spear.

Dahlia silently watched Dopang flip backwards gracefully to create distance.

“…Oh, oh! You’re here! You’re finally here! Now, please, quickly capture that damned thief!!”

The target, his face ashen with fear, clung to Dahlia as if she were his savior.

Dahlia felt a pang of gloom knowing that this same man had once drunkenly rampaged through the streets and assaulted the Squad 8 guards who tried to stop him.

Though the target didn’t seem to remember the incident at all.

“Please step back. You might get caught in the crossfire.”

That brief warning was the best Dahlia could manage.

“Y-yes, of course!”

The target, not wanting to suffer a similar fate, quickly created distance, leaving only Dopang and Dahlia at the scene.

Beneath the visor that masked her face, Dahlia studied Dauphin.

If one looked only at his simple features, he bore no resemblance to *him* as she knew him.

But Dauphin had altered his appearance often enough in his past crimes; that alone proved nothing.

If, just if, a sliver of impossible chance…

If Dauphin tried to persuade her with a tale of what she’d endured that day off…

“—This makes twice, then. Fearful, fearsome guardswoman.”

Twice.

The moment she heard the word, the heavy, uneasy feeling in Dahlia’s heart melted away, leaving her relieved.

Yes.

*He* and this Phantom Thief were different people.

And so, Dahlia knew what she had to do as a guard.

“You’ve had your fun. There won’t be a third time, Thief.”

“’Phantom Thief,’ if you please?”

“You’re a criminal! You ask for far too much!”

Dahlia’s spear sliced through the air, rushing towards Dauphin.

He deflected the terrifying force of the attack with a flourish of playing cards imbued with various spells and cried out,

“Criminal! I won’t deny it! Perhaps my actions disregard the norms and shatter order! But there are far too many villains in this world whom the law, honestly upheld, cannot punish! Isn’t it right to ignore a few laws for the sake of a greater good?”

The Dahlia of the past would have found herself speechless against Dauphin’s arguments, forced to grit her teeth and simply swing her spear.

But not the Dahlia of now.

“’The ends justify the means?’ ‘Anything is permitted to punish the wicked?’ If everyone ignored the rules and acted as they pleased, chaos and terror would be the inevitable result! And those who suffer most in such a situation are the very weak you claim to help!”

Something that had only vaguely lingered in her heart, Dahlia could now articulate.

She could refute Dauphin’s claims, point out the flaws in his logic.

It was still immature, still blind to the sins she herself committed, but it was nonetheless proof of growth.

Realizing this, a subtle smile played on the Phantom Thief’s lips.

However, unlike the two who had argued with words and logic on her day off, they were now facing each other in the field, spear against cards.

Thus, their debate could not be pure words, but had to be accompanied by force and violence.

“Your words are certainly pretty, but I doubt your skills can back them up!”

Dauphin’s cards scattered into the air, soon swirling into a vortex that began to move.

Reinforced by magic, the cards sliced through the garden trees and walls that stood in their path, hurtling toward their target.

Amidst the dazzling onslaught, Dauphin swiftly prepared his next move.

Given the Thief’s powers, it would be impossible to block or evade that slicing vortex. Daliah’s only option was to snatch the target and flee.

Dauphin’s plan had been to neutralize her with a barrage of new artifacts, exploiting the constraints of her burdened movements.

“Hah!”

And Daliah, effortlessly disregarding Dauphin’s expectations, simply charged headfirst into the vortex.

“…?!”

Dauphin’s eyes widened.

He scrambled to weaken the vortex’s output, but quickly realized the futility.

The cards, capable of cleaving through wood, stone, even metal, were stopped dead, unable to pierce Daliah’s skin.

‘Aura, perhaps?’

Martial artists beyond the Fifth Rank could imbue magic power into their weapons and armor, but beyond that, they could grant physical properties to magic power itself, utilizing it for both offense and defense.

Dauphin initially assumed Daliah had reached such heights, but soon realized his error.

Daliah hadn’t manifested an aura. Before that, Dauphin had never seen Daliah use even sword energy, let alone spear energy.

All she had shown was pure, unadulterated melee combat.

‘Rank Three body reinforcement? Could that alone grant a defense stronger than metal with just bare skin?’

This wasn’t a state achievable by mere physical robustness.

It was a manifest anomaly.

Before Dauphin could delve into a more detailed analysis, Daliah, having already physically torn through the vortex, was upon him, spear raised.

Dauphin swiftly used the cloth draped over his arm as a shield, but even with the protection of fabric possessing a resilience greater than any large shield, and elasticity akin to rubber, it couldn’t fully withstand Daliah’s sheer brute strength.

Dauphin’s body, sent hurtling backward, collided with several structures before plunging into the river at the city’s heart.

Leaving the commotion on the surface behind, Dauphin’s eyes gleamed.

He realized the wildflower he’d discovered had the potential to become a tree beyond his wildest dreams.