Episode 151……………………………………………
I stared tensely at the stationery, but the contents were surprisingly simple.
The items here can be disposed of or managed as you see fit, noona. I should have properly handed everything over, but due to circumstances I couldn’t. If there’s any problem, please come to the labor camp where I’m working.
—Sion—
That was all.
“What does it say?”
“Here.”
Benjamin took the letter from me and read it, his expression turning odd.
We looked at each other for a moment. Then Benjamin spoke.
“There’s no reason we can’t go.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
Just in case, I looked over the other treasures too, but none were as powerful or convenient as the black leather gloves.
After showing Sion’s letter to the Argos Trading Company staff, Benjamin and I left the office together with the item.
They said the labor camp where the Holy Order put prisoners to work was in a remote place, hard to notice from outside. Visitors had to enter separately through the back gate.
Perhaps because it was festival season and there were quite a few visitation requests, the priest managing the place let us through without much comment.
“Please come this way.”
As I followed the guiding priest, I looked around.
The corridors were decorated with dragon-horn replicas and wreaths symbolizing Founding Day. It seemed they were trying, in their own way, to create a festive mood.
Between them hung portraits of saints and saintesses with benevolent faces.
Since it was a labor camp, I’d expected something grim and frightening, but it didn’t seem quite like that.
I asked the priest,
“How’s Sion doing?”
“He’s a model prisoner. Diligent, and very skilled with his hands—he even takes on other people’s work. Ah, there he is.”
The priest pointed to one side of the workshop.
It seemed to be the carpentry area; the sound of hammers rang loudly.
Amid flying dust and sawdust, I saw Sion in ash-colored clothes, working hard as he hammered nails. He appeared to be making a wooden arch for the festival.
When the priest approached and spoke to him, Sion turned his head and looked our way.
His expression changed when he spotted me. It was complicated, but there also seemed to be a hint of happiness in it.
“Let’s go to the visitation room,” another priest said as he came over.
We were given thirty minutes.
Once we sat down, Benjamin first looked Sion over with eyes full of wariness.
You could practically feel the bravery of a hamster determined not to let any harm come to its precious source of income.
“There’s no need to be on guard,” Sion said to Benjamin.
“I even drank poison to earn my noona’s trust. There’s no way I’d harm her with my own hands, right? Don’t you think?”
He shifted his gaze to me.
“I was wondering when you’d visit the Argos Trading Company office and see my letter. I never imagined you’d move during the festival. I thought you’d be busy meeting His Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness the Second Prince, Your Excellency, Lady Hyperion, and so on…”
“I’m busy working too.”
Cutting Sion off, I took out the gloves and placed them on the small table between us.
“I want to learn more about this item, but it’s already engraved to you, so I can’t even touch it properly.”
“Ah, I’ll release it right away.”
Sion reached out and picked up the gloves.
“You made an excellent choice. Originally, this was leather armor worn by the Goblin King. It was imbued with the aura of the war god worshipped by his tribe, granting tremendous strength. We subdued him and obtained the item, but we couldn’t exactly wear clothes sized for a small goblin. So we turned it into gloves. What do you think? A good idea, right?”
As he spoke, he pressed the round gem set at the wrist of the gloves.
The black leather gloves began to glow faintly.
After a moment, the light faded, and the gem at the wrist turned blue.
Sion set the gloves down.
“It seems you can use them about four or five times. When the gem turns red, it means the mana is depleted. Then you’ll need to recharge it with a mana stone or through a mage.”
After kindly explaining even the usage, he slid the gloves back toward me.
Benjamin glanced sideways at Sion and spoke up.
“I have a question…”
“What is it?”
“If you had such a powerful treasure, why didn’t you use it? The situation might have changed…”
In other words, why had he just kept such a treasure unused and ended up like this?
For someone being cautious, his words were surprisingly sharp.
“That’s something you could figure out with just a little thought, isn’t it?”
Sion replied without showing much displeasure.
“As I just said, this runs on mana used by mages. I already chose black magic and went down the opposite path, so naturally I can’t use it. The only things I can use are cursed items powered by black magic.”
Now that he said it, it made sense. To Sion, it really had been nothing more than a pretty but useless thing.
“Yet you still engraved it so no one else could use it?”
“Yes. I thought if I couldn’t use it, no one else should either. But you’re fine, noona.”
Sion looked straight at me. His single remaining eye shone with a strange light.
“I’m truly glad it can help you, even like this. That I can prove it wasn’t completely worthless.”
“……”
“I treated you terribly, but in the end, you were the one who saved me from the brink of the execution platform. Just like when we were young. As atonement, I said I’d live only as long as you permit, helping you. You don’t need to forgive me. Just… leave me be.”
He spoke earnestly.
Perhaps because he wore a shabby prisoner’s uniform and was covered in dust, it didn’t sound entirely like empty words or lies.
I fell into thought for a moment, looking at how completely he’d changed—
“Thirty minutes are up.”
A priest came to announce the end of the visit. I quickly said,
“Then, including these gloves, I’ll test the functions of the treasures you engraved and either sell them for a good price or give them to Father. How do engraving and release work?”
“It’s simple. Place both thumbs on the gem and say your name in your mind to engrave it. To release it, the owner does the same and says their name again. Well then, use them well.”
With that, Sion stood up.
He bowed politely toward me, then withdrew under the priest’s guidance.
The two of us stood as well.
As we walked outside, Benjamin said in surprise,
“He’s unexpectedly very cooperative.”
“Yeah.”
Had he really resolved to turn his life around and help me?
‘If I watch him a bit longer, I might know for sure…’
I looked down at the black gloves in my hand.
“What Sion just said—it’s all true, right?”
“We’ll know for sure once we test them.”
When we left the labor camp and returned to the street, Benjamin looked around.
Everyone was enjoying the festival.
It had a different, lively atmosphere compared to the lantern-lit night festival.
Dragon-shaped paper kites and balloons floated in the sky, and fathers carrying children on their shoulders filled the streets.
“Ice cream! Ice cream here!”
Hearing the vendor’s shout suddenly made me thirsty. We each took a hard, fruit-flavored ice pop and put it in our mouths.
Weaving through the crowded street, Benjamin said,
“There should be an arm-wrestling contest going on somewhere around here. We can test it there.”
Thinking of the meteor impact mark on the Argos Trading Company wall, my eyes widened.
“Won’t you break someone’s arm?”
“Of course I’ll control it properly.”
“I don’t know what ‘properly’ is.”
“That’s why I’ll do it. Don’t worry, Guildmaster.”
Benjamin took the gloves, engraved them as Sion had explained, and put them on.
We pushed through the dense crowd and kept moving forward.
At some point, the sound of bells clanging rang out.
People were gathered in a noisy crowd. Beyond them, I could see a sign painted with a bulging muscular arm.
“There it is.”
“Let’s go.”
We headed that way.
Then—
A sudden scream erupted behind us, followed by an uproar. Someone shouted loudly,
“A phantom thief! A phantom thief has appeared!”
What?
We turned around at the same time, and I shouted in disbelief,
“A phantom thief in broad daylight?”
“It’s real!”
Someone ran past, pointing ahead.
There was a person running nimbly across the shop roofs.
A jet-black cloak fluttered dramatically. A black mask clearly visible even from afar. At a glance, he looked similar to the famous phantom thief.
But to me, who could see holy power, it was obvious his cloak wasn’t made of it. He was only imitating the look.
I stared at him, eyes wide.
‘A fake phantom thief!’
Could he be some kind of villain? Had he walked straight into the lion’s den?
My heart pounded.
“Benjamin! Let’s catch him!”
“How?”
The security forces, alerted, were already running in with bows in hand.
But the fake phantom thief was too fast. At this rate, he’d escape the encirclement.
‘Then…’
Something caught my eye.
In the plaza stood a massive wooden board shaped like the World Tree, set up for a play that would be held soon.
Judging by its size and position, it looked perfect for blocking the escape route of the fake phantom thief leaping across rooftops.
“Benjamin! Block his path with that!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Benjamin ran over quickly.
Wearing the gloves imbued with the Goblin War God’s power, he lifted it from below—and the massive World Tree-shaped board shot up into the air.
“Oh! Look at that!”
As everyone stared in shock,
Benjamin staggered forward, holding it up to block the fake phantom thief’s path.
Startled by the sudden obstacle, the fake phantom thief tried to leap away—
But…
“Huh?”
Benjamin suddenly fumbled and ended up slamming the huge wooden board straight into the fake phantom thief.
The strength was monstrous.
I gasped in horror.
“You said you’d control it!”
The fake phantom thief was struck and fell downward, crashing through a pile of stacked boxes before landing on top of them.
‘At least ten weeks of recovery?’
In any case, we caught him.
In situations like this, there’s one thing you should do first instead of standing around clueless.
“Everyone, move!”
I shoved through the crowd, ran up, and yanked the fake phantom thief’s mask off.
“Huh?”
When his face was revealed amid the dust, shocked screams erupted from all around.
