Chapter 580 The Thief Of Bad News
Chapter 580 The Thief Of Bad News
I waved at Emilia to get her attention and she strolled over to me.
I pointed at the Off-Worlder, “Who is that?”
Emilia turned to see who I was pointing at and her face quickly turned into a scowl.
“Ah, stupid bitch thought she could sneak on my ship and steal our stuff. She was obviously hired by someone to do it but refused to give up her employer so we’re selling her away as a crime slave.”
“You can do that?” I asked.
She pointed to the deck, “This is my ship and we’re sailing out in waters that no other country has any claim over, so yes.”
Wow… Alright then… Good to know the next time we decide to travel by ship then…
Emilia then shuffled a little closer to me, “Are you interested in her? I can give you a good price for her if you want~ Though she may look like this, she’s actually pretty skilled so with enough training she could be a pretty good personal guard.”
“Unnecessary.”
I almost jumped at the unexpected voice from behind me, turning to see that it was Katsuki who raised the objection.
“Unnecessary,” She repeated with an expressionless face. “She is not good enough to be Mistress’s guard.”
Well… I’ve already seen her stats so I knew she was not as good as Katsuki in terms of numbers but she does have the advantage of being an Off-Worlder so she must have some cheats right?
Seeing that she’s probably around Katsuki’s age, I’m guessing that she must have taken the reincarnation route so her boons should still be in the midst of being granted to her like mine was.
But well… It’s not like I was specifically aiming to get her in the first place… I was just curious what landed her in this position.
Surprisingly, Emilia did not argue with Katsuki and shrugged, “If that’s what you think… Then how about as a night companion? And if not, she could also serve as just your attendant too. Just leave her here for a week or so and she would have the basics drilled into her if you don’t want to train her by yourself. Though I’m sure the Nilm Family would be able to train her better than the Modgniks could.”
She’s a shrewd businesswoman through and through…
Before I could answer, the chained woman strained against her bindings and glared at Emilia, “You only got lucky and caught me off guard. You wouldn’t have been able to catch me if I knew you were here.”
The Nekomata rolled her eyes, “Some thief you are when you don’t even know your mark. Are you sure you still want to be loyal to your employer when they so obviously set you up like that? You had no chance of succeeding from the start.”
“Then free me and fight me properly instead of using your guards you bitch! I challenge you to a duel!”
“Hmm… Why should I? What do I even gain from this?”
That question shut her up pretty quickly. She had nothing to offer her in return for accepting her duel after all.
Emilia scoffed at her, “So? Are you willing to talk? Because my previous offer still stands.”
Offer?
One of her guards came up to whisper without me asking, “Captain offered that she would be let go if she tells us who sent her.”
That’s actually pretty generous… I’m pretty sure if she were trying to steal from us, she wouldn’t even be given a choice.
The thief seemed to mull over the choice for a while before smirking, “Alright. Duel me and if you win, I’ll tell you.”
Emilia scowled, “Why are you so obsessed with duelling me? Do you have a crush on me or something?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I simply can’t accept that you caught me because you surrounded me with your guards! I’m even alright with remaining as a slave if I lose!”
The Nekomata captain sighed, “Fine, fine. Let’s just get this over with.”
The thief turned towards the guards, “Not with them around. I don’t know for sure if you would have them jump me if you were to be beaten.”
“Is my word not good enough for you?”
“The word of someone who had surrounded and beat me up before enslaving me? Not at all.”
“And how would I know that you wouldn’t just try to run?”
“You have an arena here right? Let’s fight there. I can’t run in that case, right?”
“Fair… What about them? Are you going to say they aren’t allowed to watch either?” Emilia asked, nodding towards me.
I’m guessing she wants us there in place of her crew in case the thief tries anything while she doesn’t know that we would be on Emilia’s side.
“That’s… Fine… Whatever. As long as they don’t interfere with our duel.”
“Alright. You guys watch over the rest, I’ll take her down to the arena myself.”
The guard seemed a little uneasy, “Are you sure about this, captain? The bitch can run pretty fast…”
Emilia narrowed her eyes at him, “You think she’s faster than me?”
“N… No… No, of course not, captain.”
“Good. Come on then.”
She freed the thief from her chains but left the collar on her neck, leading the way down below the deck.
Surprisingly, the thief did not try to run and merely followed behind her obediently with us taking the rear.
Odeta came to my side, “Can I beat her if she tries to run?”
“Only if she does,” I told her.
Delmare tugged on my sleeve, ‘I’ll protect you, Aster!’
She even drew her chibi version of her doing a guts pose at the side. So cute~
We quickly reached the arena that was completely devoid of anyone at this time of day, probably because of the slave market on deck.
I thought we would be seated on the stands but Emilia directed us to stand inside the arena itself and at the side. Most likely it’s so that we could just jump in as soon as something goes wrong.
Emilia turned to the thief, “So how do you want to settle this?”
The thief glanced at my group for a moment before speaking, “Could I change the terms now?”
“You’re being awfully demanding for a crime slave. Do you even realise your own position right now?”
“Yes, I apologise, but I’ve pretty much given myself away to the people watching me at this point. I will tell you who sent me, but I will need to escape from here or I would be killed if I were to stay here.”
Emilia frowned, “I’m pretty sure our security is good enough to ensure your safety while on the ship.”
She shook her head, “It’s your security that I’m worried about… I had to get you somewhere alone before I could tell you anything or I would have been silenced..”
The Nekomata captain growled, “You’re not suggesting that I have more traitors in my midst are you? These crew mates were sent to me from the main branch itself. They have served my family for years.”
“Exactly. They are more loyal to my employer than to you.”
Realisation dawned on Emilia’s face, “No… No way… What were you directed to steal?”
“Your family crest. Stored in the hidden compartment between the first and second drawer of your desk with the key hidden in the the latch under your table.”
“Who?! One of my brothers?!”
“I was told that only two specific people aside from you knew where you stored it…”
Oh man… It seems like I walked into another family problem…
“Fucking bitch! Do you have any other proof?!”
“The fact that I could get into your private room without triggering any alarms and was only caught because you were there?”
“You could have just paid off some of them!”
She then reached into the air and her hand seemed to disappear for a moment before she pulled it out, holding a small coin in her fingers.
Woah, was that an inventory boon?
“I was told that showing them this would ensure the guards would not hinder me fro–“
“Fuck!!” Emilia swore, stamping her foot on the ground in frustration.
I’m guessing that coin was pretty significant for her to start cussing like that.
“Emilia?” I called out, a little worried.
She turned to me, “My parents! They want me dead! No, they want to take everything I’ve earned! Why?! I don’t understand!”
The thief scratched her cheek, “If you would allow me to hazard a guess from what I’ve heard… They are jealous of your achievements and fear you might use it to… Take over the family.”
“Fucking bastards! So what if I did?! Shouldn’t they be happy that they have someone as capable as me take over instead?!”
The thief only shrugged.
Emilia continued to curse for a little bit before turning back to the thief, “Fine… I’m going to need you to die for me.”
Oh what?
Sᴇarch the n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.