Chapter 2 – Thief

 

There is no doubt that she does it.

But she has no other way to earn a living. In today’s society, it is hard to get a proper profession unless you have a respectable family.

 

There’s no helping it

Toto thought.

 

She was an orphan since birth.

Toto had no surname.

It was a dream within a dream to get a job. It was difficult to even make money. By the time she was old enough to be tried as a criminal, she had already committed theft. When she noticed, she’d already developed a technique to open locked doors.

Toto didn’t stay in one town too much, as soon as she stole, she moved to another town.

It was easier to steal during the day rather than at night.

 

There were only one or two people around at night but everyone left during the day. Especially those of a good family, they left their houses during the day. There were servants but because there was no master at home, they were more relaxed.

 

Toto was called the ‘Gold Rat’ by her fellow companions. It came from her blond hair which Toto thought was wonderful. And it was a name which brought respect when stealing valuables. She doesn’t like rats, but she’s a thief.

It is not a luxury.

 

The job should be easy.

She came to the ‘Koai Kingdom’, one of the kingdoms under the empire, two years ago to steal some valuables. Trade was prosperous as it was the island nation which was used as a relay between continents. It was a place that new people could enter easily.

Well…

Toto thought to come to Orin under the guise of a trader. At Orin, in a huge port town to the west was a straight road called “Blue Way”, it ran from the east to the west of the port. An array of shops and stalls were queued up in rows, while large groups of people came and went.

 

She disappeared into the crowd.

 

Toto looked around. With a quick sleight of hand, Toto stole some food from a stall and filled her belly.

 

It wasn’t necessary to do lots of work.

Tomorrow, she could even eat good food.

 

I abandoned that luxury…

 

She passed the residence that she lived in two years ago. In the country house of the merchant, good things didn’t happen in succession. Although some collections of a naughty hobby were stolen, there were few that fetched a high price.

 

Let’s see here…

 

On the street, there was a mansion which she broke into.

There were two reasons.

One was because the mansion was huge. There was no doubt that this belonged to a person of a noticeable status. There was a garden too, it met a detached room. Another, was because it was quite quiet. During the day, the residents were out.

 

She looked left and right before turning at ‘Blue Way’

 

After advancing on the road for a while, she reached the entrance to the mansion. Of course, no fool enters from the front.

 

She walked along the fence. When she confirmed no one was watching, she took out the ‘red crystal’ tucked in her belt. She put it next to the fence and backed off a little.

 

“Doramu Fina!”

 

When the incantation was spoken, the ‘Red Crystal’ exploded. A part of the fence blew off and there was a hole in it’s place.

 

There seem to be no measures against magic.

 

She broke through the first barrier. She made her body smaller and passed through the hole in the fence. She entered through the garden and climbed a tree.

 

“Where do I go from here…”

 

Toto murmured alone.

 

Is that the main building which is near the detached room?

 

She gazed hard.

This stopped her from overlooking the subtle changes.

It was then…

 

The air shook.

With a ‘Gakun’, a huge shock happened.

 

“Uwa!”

 

She let go of the tree. 

She almost fell on the garden.

Then, once again, there was another shock wave. Immediately before she fell, she was thrown to the side.

 

“Guhaa~!”

 

Her consciousness faded away for an instant.

 

What happened?

 

Before she noticed, she was in the fountain.

 

“Aa, mou!”

 

She raised her dripping wet body.

She looked for where the shock wave came from.

 

It’s… Magic…

 

It pushed the limits of what a human could do with magic.

She was certain that it was some kind of magic.

 

But…

 

Toto thought further.

 

What magic can produce a shockwave that strong?

It could not possibly be a magic crystal. If you use an extremely big crystal, it’s possible. However, there wouldn’t a be a person foolish enough to use such a crystal at a time like this.

 

Then, is it an incantation and magic formation? Even with the know-how, how long would it take? She thought as she seemed to be losing consciousness.

Out of pure curiosity, Toto started running. She was certain it was from the detached room.

She took a detour around the entrance to the backdoor of the detached room. There was no window or empty keyholes. A small amount of red crystal was put in the window to make a hole big enough for her.

She entered the corridor. Her body slid towards the door where she masked her presence.

If there was a person it would be dangerous, but Toto used the art of assassination to conceal herself. As expected, there was no one in the room.

 

She breathed out. She looked around the room with a calm head. There was a bed and a cupboard.

 

She opened the cupboard, and it occurred to Toto that she had to change her clothes. She hadn’t bathed recently. It made her realise how dirty she was, just from falling in the fountain.

 

There were clothes in the cupboard. All the clothes were white. There was a frilly dress too. Toto grabbed it and threw it on the bed.

 

Too hard to move…

 

Thinking thus, she tore the long skirt down the middle with a knife. Putting on a belt, she squeezed her waist to attach it. Looking further into the cupboard, she found underwear.

To change, she took off her clothes. The sewn needlework of the Azabu matched her current ones and she tied the clothes around her waist.

These were also stolen clothes. She had no personal attachment to them.

After she had taken it off, she tried to wear her undergarments.

 

…eh?

 

She didn’t notice the footsteps.

Usually, this would not be possible.

Was her concentration wandering, or was the other party very good at concealing footsteps? The door opened. A man stood there.

 

“Ki, KyaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaAAA!”

 

Unintentionally, she screamed.

 

— POV CHANGE —

 

Futoshi rushed to the blonde girl the moment she started screaming. He covered her mouth and pushed her down on to the bed.

 

“Ugu…”

“Be quiet…”

 

He intended to intimidate her as much as possible. However in his new body, only a thin voice came out.

The naked girl who had her mouth covered nodded many times with tears in her eyes. If you looked carefully, she was extremely beautiful.

In her hand was a white cloth, her undergarments?

 

Stark naked.

 

Her golden hair, which seemed to be the only source of light, spread out on top of the bed. Her eyes were round and large. The trembling pupils inside were emerald green.

 

“You…are you a person from around here?”

Futoshi asked.

 

He became aware of a knife which was thrown on the bed. The girl with the blonde hair didn’t answer.

 

“You are a thief?”

 

That was Futoshi’s intuition. He had done it before he entered this world. He had seen too many thieves. At that time, the girl had the peculiar atmosphere of a thief.

 

“Meruma-sama! Where are you?”

In the corridor, Ari’s voice sounded out.

 

The blonde girl stiffened her body. It was a thin body. If he held on too strongly, he may break a few bones.

 

“It’s so stupid… that a burglar screams out…”

 

Futoshi moved from the blonde girl’s body.

 

“Hey, I’ll overlook this, under one request.”

“Wh, what is it?!” asked the blonde girl as she was close to tears on the bed.

“Don’t cry while you’re naked!”

 

Futoshi spat out the answer.

 

“Ah… but… I…”

 

The girl said in embarrassment.

 

“Don’t cry, because it’s fine, ok?”

 

When Futoshi advised the girl, he left the room calmly. When the door closed firmly, he heard Ari’s voice cry out.

 

“I’m here, Ari!”

“Why won’t you wait…!”

 

Ari ran over while complaining. In Futoshi’s hand was a glass and a pitcher which he took from a tray.

 

“My bad…” said Futoshi while he was receiving the tray.

“Well, you may return to your room.”

“Umm…”

 

Slightly embarrassed, Ari looked at Futoshi.

 

“My room… is on the other side of the door, which Meruma-sama has to his back.”

“What the hell!”

 

Futoshi panicked.

 

He intended to give the water to the blonde girl. He intended to hear about the various ways of this world, what this house was and what she wanted to know. If the other party was a thief, then there wouldn’t be any trouble in the future either.

 

“Ah, ummm… that is so!” Futoshi said immediately.

“W-will you go to father after all?”

“Why would I?”

 

The housemaid with the red hair puffed her cheeks. After a while, Futoshi answered with some thought.

 

“I have a stomach ache!”

“Eeeeh?”

 

“It’s terrible, because I have a pain in my stomach, I want to rest… Oh… Ouch… the pain…”

“A, are you alright?”

“I, I’m alright! Because it will get better soon!”

 

It was a terrible lie.

 

Futoshi opened the door to his rear as he finished speaking and stepped into the room.

He shut the door quickly.

 

“Eh? Eh? Ehhh?  Meruma-sama!” Ari’s scream sounded outside the door.

“Th, That room, is my room…!”

 

She steadily knocked on the door as she tried to open it with a clatter. However, he obstructed it as best as he could. It seemed to be a room without a key. It indeed felt like the room of a servant.

 

“Please… right now, I wish to rest in this bed!” He shouted to Ari on the other side of the door.

“I, I Understand… then, for the time being, I’ll tell Grande-sama about you…”

“Please!”

 

When Futoshi answered so, Ari’s footsteps faded away.

 

“It’s alright…” Futoshi said to the blonde girl who stood watching while sticking to the wall.

“W, with that… are you going to embrace me?” asked the nude girl with a firm expression.

 

—

TRANSLATOR’S CORNER

—

 

elsondwarf: Sh, sh, shut up! I’m not late, you are! B-b-baka!

 

…

 

Elsondwarf: In any case, sorry editor-san! I made the mistake of calling Toto a He the entire first half!

 

Sam Jakes: I’m very sorry for being late with the edits! I’ll try and finish the next chapter as soon as elson finishes his TL. Cheers!

 

Elsondwarf: Eheheh, I suppose that puts a bit of pressure on me then. Time to get started!

 

Elsondwarf: Also, the change made in this chapter was [Ali > Ari]