At Cravat’s words, Gariel was horrified.
Insane.
Truly, completely insane.
Where did he say to rob? The Mage Tower? That iron spire rising tall in the very center of Isla Machina?
“Do you perhaps hold some grudge against the Mage Tower?”
Gariel couldn’t help but ask.
“Huh? A grudge? I don’t have one.”
“Then why do you suggest robbing the Mage Tower?”
“Well, that’s...”
“No. Don’t answer. I think I already know the reason.”
“...Then why did you ask if you knew?”
“Because I still don’t like it! It’s the Mage Tower! Isla Machina’s greatest power! To rob it is no different than declaring war on the entire island!”
Gariel ranted.
“Unauthorized mages can’t even enter the inner sections, and countless magical formulae and arcane-engineered devices protect it! The precious materials are stored in special spaces so sturdy that even if the Tower collapsed, not a single scratch would touch them!”
Ludger and Cravat looked at him with incredulous eyes.
“For someone warning about how dangerous it is, you sure know an awful lot of detail.”
“Almost as if you’d done reconnaissance to rob it yourself.”
Gariel flinched and turned his gaze away.
Seeing that, both Ludger and Cravat came to the same conclusion.
He did.
He definitely did.
Pressed under their stares, Gariel hurriedly tried to explain.
“That’s not the point! The point is that robbing the Mage Tower’s resources is practically impossible!”
“Hm. True enough.”
Ludger nodded at Gariel’s words.
His questionable motives weren’t worth digging into right now. What mattered was how to obtain the Tower’s precious curse reagents and materials.
“Hm. Troublesome. I’ve never robbed the Mage Tower before.”
“What?”
“The Mage Tower specifically?”
This time, both Cravat and Gariel stared at Ludger in disbelief.
Didn’t that mean he had robbed other places before?
“Well, you see...”
Ludger trailed off. He realized neither of them knew his past. With Rine on his mind, his judgment had slipped, and he had spoken carelessly.
“Out with it. What did you rob? You told me not to gamble, yet you go around stealing?”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone who nearly did both gambling and thieving.”
“My thieving attempt failed!”
And he boasted about it?
Cravat exhaled a deep sigh at their bickering.
“You proudly admit your theft attempt failed? You two are sprouts of criminals. Did you sell your sense of morality somewhere?”
Now Ludger and Gariel both turned their gazes on Cravat.
“A black mage.”
“Talking about morality?”
From the outside, if anyone were asked which of the three was most malicious, everyone would point at Cravat.
For him to shamelessly preach morality—wasn’t that absurd?
But instead of shrinking back, Cravat puffed up even more.
“I say it because I am a black mage. Or should I sit here pretending with a false sense of propriety?”
“...”
On second thought, that was true.
When he himself admitted to being a black mage openly, what sense was there in nitpicking over these trivialities?
“...”
“...”
“...”
The three silently exchanged glances.
With a small sigh, Ludger broke the stifling mood.
“In any case, the fact remains—we must rob the Mage Tower.”
“What, you’re serious?”
“If not rob it, then what? Go and politely ask them to hand over their precious materials? And do you think the Mage Tower would comply?”
“That’s...”
“Fine, say they did agree. How long do you think the authorization would take? We’re pressed for every minute, every second. The approval alone would consume weeks.”
Gariel had no rebuttal. Ludger was right.
“But realistically, robbing the Mage Tower is impossible.”
“It only seems impossible. That doesn’t mean it truly is.”
“And how can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve done it before.”
Gariel still eyed him with suspicion.
“At best, you robbed some small place.”
“Arsène Lupin.”
“...?”
At the sudden name, Gariel’s brows rose.
“Why bring that name up?”
“Because I worked under it.”
“...What?”
Gariel’s eyes widened. His trembling finger pointed at Ludger.
“S-so you’re saying... that legendary thief Arsène Lupin, who robbed entire vaults of a nation’s nobility—that was you?”
“Yes.”
“...How in the world?”
“It just happened.”
Searching here and there for a relic, one event led to another until he had looted everything.
“And most recently, I robbed the Kunst Auction House.”
“...I think I heard about that.”
Gariel remembered the incident.
Lederbelk, neighboring Seorn where Rine lived. He had always paid attention to news from there, fearing the repercussions on her.
That auction incident had become infamous.
The Nightmare of the Night, reappeared.
“Don’t tell me—that too...”
“...”
Ludger didn’t answer.
His silence spoke clearly enough.
“...Is that city cursed? No—maybe the whole Empire is cursed. Liberation Army terrorism, cryptid appearances, the emergence of demons.”
And hadn’t there recently been a mass sleep epidemic?
Seeing Ludger here meant it had been resolved somehow—but the thought of what had happened was terrifying.
“...Alright. I understand—you’ve done outrageous things.”
“Which is why I say: there is no such thing as an absolutely safe vault.”
“Ugh. When an experienced man says it, it’s hard not to feel reassured. What do you say, Cravat?”
“Why ask me? He’s the one with the experience. Out of all of us, he’s the most reliable. I don’t know much about the outside world, but judging from what I hear, he’s practically an authority in thievery.”
Whether the word “authority in thievery” was appropriate or not, Gariel reluctantly admitted it wasn’t wrong.
“So how do you plan to rob it?”
“Normally, with a detailed plan. But pressed for time, we’ll end it quickly.”
“Quickly? How?”
“I break the door.”
Ludger pointed to himself with his thumb, then pointed at Gariel with his index finger.
“You steal.”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“I’m serious.”
“And how will you break the door? Didn’t I say? It’s layered with protective spells and security systems. You think you can pierce it with Sixth-Circle magic?”
“Of course not. I’m not planning to break it with mere Sixth-Circle magic.”
Calling Sixth-Circle magic “mere” was absurd, but compared to the Tower’s defenses, it truly wasn’t enough.
Stronger power—or a different approach—was needed. For Ludger, the latter was far more natural.
“The question is this. If I break through, can you steal?”
“T-that...”
Gariel touched his lips, lost in thought.
Could he? More truthfully, he was too scared.
Even if Ludger broke in, who knew what other dangers lay inside? If they stepped in and found more triple and quadruple barriers, their one chance could be wasted.
But then his gaze landed on Rine, still sleeping peacefully.
───
“I can.”
Gariel looked at Ludger firmly.
“I can do it, if you open the way.”
Meeting those unwavering eyes, Ludger gave a silent nod.
“Finished talking? Then let’s plan the operation.”
“You’re joining too?”
At Gariel’s question, Cravat replied as if it was obvious.
“Why do you think I came here?”
“It could be dangerous.”
“Dangerous? Even if I stayed at our sect, fights break out constantly. Better to do what I want.”
“Oh. So you just want to try robbing the Tower?”
“Robbing? No. I just want to see those arrogant Mage Tower bastards get hit. But that’s not what I truly want. We made a deal.”
A deal.
What Cravat truly wanted was the real magic Ludger had shown.
“My research into ancient sorcery hasn’t advanced much lately. But this guy has exactly what I need.”
“It’s surprising. Even if it’s a deal, you’d risk something like this?”
“You think just because I’m a black mage, I should stab you in the back and steal it?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant—”
“Forget it. I said I’d do it, so I will. Backing out now would wound my pride.”
Ludger studied him, then asked abruptly,
“Is it responsibility?”
“What?”
“Responsibility. Knowing the danger, yet still choosing this—for Rine’s sake, to heal her?”
“Wait. What are you talking about?”
Gariel was about to protest, but he stopped when he saw Cravat’s expression.
The man who normally reacted like a child was, for once, silent.
“Wait... really?”
“Wh-what?!”
“I’m just surprised.”
“Surprised? Do I look that heartless to you?”
“Well, you do look like a weirdo.”
Gariel didn’t say that part out loud, but Cravat clearly sensed it. He crossed his arms and scowled.
“Hmph. Who says there can only be one reason? I dislike the Mage Tower, I want to see them fall, I made a deal, and I want to heal this girl. Isn’t that enough?”
“More than enough.”
Ludger nodded in agreement.
“What I dislike most is this: why is divine power always hailed as good, while curses used by black mages are always condemned as evil?”
“Because they are dangerous.”
“Generally, yes. But after seeing this girl’s state, can you really call divine power good?”
Gariel closed his mouth. Rine’s very case was proof otherwise.
“What I loathe is the world’s narrow-minded judgment. White is good, black is evil. A kind face is good, a harsh face is evil. I can’t stand such prejudice.”
Cravat’s voice carried genuine feeling.
As a black mage, as the master of an ancient curse sect, how much scorn and discrimination had he endured? There was no easy comfort to offer.
“But now, the chance has come. Divine power that kills? To save with a curse?”
Cravat clenched his fist, eyes gleaming with joy.
“Think about it. If it works? Then I’ve shattered the world’s prejudice with my own hands!”
He punched the air.
His small childlike figure made the gesture almost cute, yet it carried a strange, undeniable force.
“All those who mocked me! Who pointed fingers calling me dangerous! They’ll be wrong, and I’ll be right!”
“But... even if we heal Rine, who will believe it?”
Gariel voiced a practical concern.
“No one will know. Even if we made it public, no one would believe.”
“Why should I need them to know?”
Cravat asked, as if ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ it were obvious.
“What?”
“I know.”
“...?”
“I’ll know I wasn’t wrong. That this path is right. That their words were nonsense. That’s enough. What more do I need?”
Gariel was quietly shaken.
So was Ludger.
“Anyway, I’m in. No objections?”
“As long as you’ll be of help, I won’t stop you—”
Before Ludger could finish—
RUMBLE!
A deafening roar thundered outside.
The ceiling and walls collapsed.
Through the gaps poured down a flood of black-red sword aura.