SMMA C38

Chapter 38
“Isn’t that a student from the Black Tortoise Tower?”

Ihan carefully observed what the other boy was up to.
The boy turned out to be a member of the Rat Beastkin race. He was short and slightly hunched, yet his footsteps were so silent that not a sound could be heard.
Ihan suspected that the boy must have received some kind of special training.
As the old knight Allarlong had once said, footsteps often revealed a person’s status.
A knight’s stride, a wizard’s stride, a hunter’s stride, a thief’s stride…
And those footsteps were closest to a thief’s stride.

“The Rat Beastkin aren’t exactly a welcomed race within the empire…”
Though the empire claimed all races were equal, reality made such ideals difficult.
In truth, there were always popular races and those that were not.
The Rat Beastkin fell into the latter category.
Because so many of their kind turned out to be thieves, vagrants, pickpockets, or ragpickers, they were always viewed with suspicion by the people of the empire.
That was the fate of the Rat Beastkin.

“Perhaps this is just my prejudice. Not every Rat Beastkin necessarily roams around to steal.”
Ihan admitted to himself that he was jumping to conclusions.
It wasn’t as though every single Rat Beastkin received thief training, was it?

Click—

“……”

But then, the boy pulled out a crude, shoddy fake key from his belt and started working it into the locked door.
Anyone could tell what his intentions were.

“Well, I’ve no right to criticize others either.”
Ihan himself was currently breaking school rules in search of a way out; he had no grounds to blame someone else.
If anything…

“Perhaps cooperation might not be a bad idea.”
Seeing that the other boy even went so far as to make a key, it was obvious this wasn’t his first time sneaking out.
Surely, Ihan couldn’t be the only student trying to escape.

He carefully approached. If the boy panicked and shouted, Ihan would be caught as well.

—Swish.

Ihan stopped silently just behind the Rat Beastkin boy, who was wholly absorbed in his task, and aimed his staff at the boy’s neck, whispering in a low voice.

“Hey. Make a sound and you die.”

“…!!”

Ratford had been a professional thief belonging to the Thieves’ Guild known as <White Crow> long before enrollment.
In fact, Ratford could hardly believe it when he first received an invitation to attend a magic academy.
Even with innate talent, who would’ve thought they’d accept a thief as a student?
Fortunately, the students of the Black Tortoise Tower didn’t exactly ostracize him.
But Ratford himself couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of alienation.
Children of wealthy merchant families and someone like him, who had honed thievery in dark alleys, were bound to be different.

That was why Ratford wanted to prove himself through his own abilities.
Just like Nillia, who hailed from a hunter’s background (though Ratford never imagined there’d be others like him), Ratford wanted to be acknowledged by his tower peers for his skills!

And so he prepared meticulously.
—In such a massive school, there were bound to be kitchens and storerooms. If he could locate and plunder them, he’d have more than enough food and supplies!
While other students strolled down the corridors en route to class, Ratford watched his surroundings warily as he investigated the keyholes around the central staircase.
Probing the interior of a lock with just the sense of his fingertips and then crafting a makeshift key to pick it—this was high-level trickery that even most seasoned thieves couldn’t manage…
But by dedicating all his spare time, Ratford finally succeeded.

Now, only glory lay ahead—or so he thought, until this sudden ambush.

“Wh-who…”

The identity of his assailant was obvious.
It must be one of the academy guards.

Professional thieves were always mentally prepared for situations like this.
Ratford slowly raised his hands above his shoulders and spoke with utmost humility.

“P-please don’t hit me. I surrender.”

Among thieves, those who resisted arrest versus those who admitted defeat often received very different beatings.
Now that he was caught, perhaps admitting to it would earn him fewer blows.

“Shh. I’m sneaking out too, same as you.”

“…?!”

Only then did Ratford dare to look back.
The boy in priest’s robes removed his staff from Ratford’s neck and scanned the surroundings.

“A… fellow freshman!?”

Ratford was dumbstruck.
The threat had been so severe, he naturally assumed it was a guard.
But for another student to snarl “Make a sound and you die” with such murderous intent…

“What the hell is this…”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Who are you?”

Even as he asked, Ratford could guess the answer.
The tall, sturdy frame, the way he brandished a staff like a weapon…
He had to be one of the White Tiger Tower students.

“How did he even get priest’s robes…? That’s actually a clever trick.”
Anyone dressed like a priest would naturally draw less suspicion.
Who would’ve guessed that even a muscle-brained knight would be capable of such cunning?

“Blue Dragon Tower. Ihan Wardanaz.”

“……”

Ratford’s jaw dropped in shock.

Ratford took in the situation faster than he expected himself to.
Though in truth, he wasn’t entirely convinced.

“What the hell is the heir to the Wardanaz family doing here in the middle of the night…? And those priest robes, how…”

Still, given the urgency of the situation, he chose to accept it.
More than anything, the Wardanaz heir’s suggestion rattled him even more.

“You want us to work together?”

“Any task is twice as efficient with two people. Partnering up is better than moving alone, isn’t it?”

“You… don’t you see who I am??”

Ratford asked in disbelief. Ihan froze mid-step.

“Are you, perhaps, the headmaster’s son?”

“……”

Clearly not.

Ratford was dumbfounded.
Anyone could see from his appearance that he was Rat Beastkin.
And here he was, caught red-handed with a fake key, attempting to pick a lock in the middle of the night.
Didn’t the boy realize immediately that meant “thief”?

“Can’t you tell I’m a thief just by looking!? And you, a noble Wardanaz heir, want to team up with someone like me?”

“Hey. What do you think I’m doing right now?”

“……”

That silenced Ratford completely.
…He had a point.

“So. Are we moving together?”

“Yes. You were after the food storage, weren’t you? Same here.”

“!”

Ratford was stunned, then quickly regained composure.

“You really are Wardanaz family?”

He looked at Ihan suspiciously.
No matter how he thought of it…

“Will you join me? Or should I knock you out and move alone?”

“W-wait. Calm down. I’ll team up! Two is better than one.”

Startled by the tip of Ihan’s staff pressed menacingly closer, Ratford frantically waved his hands.
If nothing else, he was certain he couldn’t defeat this boy in a fight.

“So, you tried making a key?”

“Yes.”

“Does it open?”

“No. It should’ve, but I think there’s a magical ward.”

Ratford fiddled with the lock nervously.
If it really had been warded with magic, he had no way to open it without some proper thief’s tools.

Clack!

“?”

A key floated up on its own from Ihan’s pocket and inserted itself into the lock.
With a smooth twist, the door opened.

“???”

“W-where did you get that key?”

“Stole it from the headmaster’s office.”

“You’re… joking, right?”

“No. I’m serious.”

Last time, when he stayed behind with Asan to tidy up, he hadn’t only studied magic—he had also pocketed a key.
Back then, he hadn’t known what it opened. So it was for the area behind the central hall?

“…I’ll have to be careful.”
If it was something left by the headmaster, it meant he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Passing through an empty banquet hall, then another large hall, and several shut doors…

“Wait.”

Ratford suddenly dropped to the ground.

“There are people in the basement. I can hear them.”

“…!”

That was when Ihan realized where the workers were coming from.
“The basement!”
Entering or exiting through the ground-level gates or walls would naturally be noticed by students, who might even attempt to use them.
But a basement passageway—students would have no way of discovering it easily.
That explained why all the wandering students had never once glimpsed these workers.

“Why would this academy go to such lengths!?”

“The voices are coming from a storeroom below. We need to find the stairs down!”

“R-right…”

Urged by Ihan, Ratford moved hurriedly.
Fortunately, a staircase leading down soon appeared before them.

Creeeak—

Descending only a single flight of stairs changed everything—the air grew heavier.
Above, at least there was moonlight filtering through windows, but down here there was nothing but damp darkness.

Ihan wondered whether to conjure light.
But his instincts stopped him.
Especially since the headmaster’s key had just unlocked that door—such a detail only heightened his caution.

“Knowing the headmaster, there must be traps set up in a place like this.”

Ratford rustled around beside him, and Ihan spoke lowly.

“Don’t light anything.”

“…?”

“There could be people waiting in ambush.”

“!”

Ratford was startled by the warning.
Indeed, this was an unknown place. Unfamiliarity and nervousness had nearly driven him to strike a light without thinking.
If not for Ihan, he might have made a grave mistake.

“…No, but seriously, what is this guy?”

Ratford had heard whispers in Black Tortoise Tower about the heir of the Wardanaz family.

“They say he’s ruthless, without a drop of blood or tears. Already commanding the Blue Dragon Tower with charisma.”
“Not even the princes or princesses dare breathe in front of the Wardanaz family.”
“I saw him in magic class—he succeeded in one attempt at things others failed countless times!”
“In riding class, when a thunderbird attacked, he subdued it with magic and forced it to yield. Can you believe it?”

At first, Ratford had dismissed them as exaggerations. He was just a fellow freshman—could they really be true?

But witnessing Ihan in action here, Ratford was beginning to think otherwise.
This oppressive aura was no joke!

Whoosh!

“!”

Far away, a lantern suddenly flickered to life, spreading light around it.
Ihan and Ratford ducked low, hardly daring to breathe.

They hadn’t noticed in the darkness before, but now the sheer size of the basement became apparent—it was a vast storeroom.
Shelves and tables crowded every space, packed full of various goods.

The storekeeper slowly walked ahead, lantern in hand. In the silence so deep you could hear a pin drop, his muttering carried clearly.

“Cheese… eight pieces. Confirmed. Maple syrup… five bottles. Confirmed. Baekhwa-ji (Whitefire Paper)… twenty-two sheets. Confirmed. Spirit-silver Needles… three. Confirmed.”

“He remembers all the numbers!”

“The warding spell has weakened. Time to reapply it.”

With a ripple of mana, the storekeeper recast protective magic upon the goods.

A chill ran down Ihan’s spine.
Every single item was enchanted with alarm spells.
If they had foolishly touched anything, they would already be dragged into the punishment chambers.

“Who’s there?”

“!”

Their hearts nearly stopped.
The storekeeper had turned his head precisely in their direction.

“From this angle, he shouldn’t possibly see us…”

Even amidst the chaos, Ihan clung to calmness.
How had this man noticed them? Was he just testing them? Could Ihan conjure invisibility magic in time?

“…!”

But then Ihan saw the approaching storekeeper’s face and nearly froze in shock.
Wrapped head to toe in bandages over his eyes, the storekeeper was blind.