Chapter 38
Kaizen, who had accidentally stepped forward, turned to look at me with a flustered expression.
He really has no control over his face. What am I supposed to do with this?
Before I could think further, a thief appeared right in front of us from the path below.
“Ah, Phillips and Leo, huh? What are you doing here?”
The thief stood there casually, legs apart, chuckling to himself. Truly, he looked every bit a thief.
“Hey, Phillips. Why so quiet?”
Phillips, trying not to be noticed, kept his mouth shut. The thief eyed him suspiciously.
From behind, I subtly poked Kaizen’s back. He flinched visibly.
“Phew…”
“…?”
He slowly ran a large hand through his hair and answered with an annoyed tone.
“…Just slacking off for a bit.”
Huh. So he can lie smoothly too? I silently admired him, but the thief burst out laughing again.
“Hey, you too?”
Then suddenly, the thief frowned.
“But why are you answering instead of Phillips?”
Ah. So Phillips is me. My throat went dry. Just as I started panicking, Kaizen improvised.
“Phillips… caught a cold.”
The thief squinted at Kaizen, giving him a curious look. Then, after a moment, he nodded calmly.
“Ah, I see. That’s how it is.”
Looks like that worked. Not exactly sly and devious, but it’ll do for now.
“Ugh… drank too much beer earlier. Now I gotta go whenever, huh?”
“…?”
The thief muttered to himself, suddenly unfastening his pants. My eyes went wide, and Kaizen, more flustered than I was, stepped in front of me.
Ignoring us, the thief got ready to relieve himself right there.
‘Oh no… I’m about to see something I shouldn’t.’
I squeezed my eyes shut. Should I cover my ears too to avoid auditory terror?
“Hey. Don’t overdo it. If the boss sees this… ugh!”
Bam─!
Thud─
“…?”
I slightly opened my tightly shut eyes, bewildered, and saw the thief foaming at the mouth, collapsed on the ground, pants half undone.
I blinked in surprise.
“Hey… You didn’t kill him, right?”
“Just knocked him out for a moment.”
I didn’t bother asking why. Of course, it’s for me. How could it not be?
I looked at Kaizen, smiling fondly.
“Kaizen. So you can be considerate. Looks like your social skills are improving.”
Kaizen raised an eyebrow.
“What are you talking about?”
“…?”
He looked at me with a hint of exasperation, then clicked his tongue and explained.
“The thief pretended to unfasten his pants but actually put his hand on the sword sheath. He realized who we are.”
“What? Seriously?”
Looking closely, I saw his hand moving toward the sheath. Kaizen’s act wasn’t that bad after all…
‘Ah, that’s why he realized our identity earlier.’
The guard must have already warned the other thieves that intruders had appeared. They probably also knew about the transformation potions made with Mystic Spring water, which explained the heightened alertness.
“Let’s move to the village before they wake up. The sun’s already set.”
“Right. We need to act fast.”
“But wait a moment.”
Kaizen hid the thief in the bushes before returning. He made sure any passing thieves wouldn’t notice him.
“Now, let’s go.”
As we made our way through the village, thieves were stationed everywhere, keeping watch. Their expressions were full of suspicion.
We moved cautiously, keeping out of sight. Kaizen’s nimble movements made it possible.
Finally, we reached the village centre. I turned to Kaizen.
“Ready?”
“I’ve been ready since we left the mine.”
His voice was calm but firm. That’s the kind of courage only a hero has.
I smirked and gestured toward a place that looked like a restaurant.
“Good. Let’s move.”
Our plan was simple: incapacitate all the thieves with my cooking.
I recalled my conversation with Ariel before leaving the mine.
‘They drink Mystic Powder with fruit juice because it’s too disgusting to take directly.’
‘Then if we add a sleeping agent to the juice, we could sneak into the kitchen…’
‘No use. Our bodies are immune to poisons, including sleeping agents. They know that too.’
So the original plan to slip a sleeping agent into their food had been rendered useless.
But who am I? If there’s no way, I’ll make one!
If the sleeping agent won’t work, I could just cook a dish that mentally subdues them instead.
‘Of course, that means I have to transform into a chef.’
It’s a bit cumbersome, but it’s the most reliable way to subdue poison-resistant thieves at once.
Since the thieves believe their bodies are immune, they’d let their guard down in this area.
‘And they have no idea I can brainwash with cooking.’
Once they’re all asleep, Hamma and Ria will find the thieves’ dormant bodies. Ria already knows their locations.
Then we bring the villagers’ souls from the mine and perform the soul exchange.
“This must be it. Let’s go.”
We entered the restaurant, greeted by the smell of something delicious. The interior was surprisingly decent.
The kitchen wasn’t huge, but it was practical. Two cooking counters lined horizontally, neatly stacked utensils, shelves with spices and dry ingredients, and what looked like a refrigerator drawer.
A chef chopping at a counter looked up in surprise as the door opened. Another chef slept on a small bed in the corner.
“Lyka. What brings you here? And Vincent too, huh?”
Wait… so my thief alias is Lyka? And Kaizen’s is Vincent, not Leo.
‘No wonder the thief figured things out earlier—they were probing us by using the wrong names.’
So the names called out might have been a test. I quickly composed my expression and leaned casually against the wall, one leg bent. The chef put down his knife and turned his back to me.
“Why are you here?”
I straightened up and approached. The chef tensed, instinctively gripping his knife again. I pretended not to notice.
“How ready are you?”
“Ready? Just chop it all up… But why does your voice sound like that?”
Suspicion clouded his face. Just as shock began to show from my smirk…
“Why? Because you’re thinking exactly what I want you to.”
“…!”
I raised my fist, but Kaizen grabbed my wrist, shaking his head.
“I said I’d handle this.”
“You… you guys aren’t—”
The chef finally realised something was off and shouted. The other chef stirred in the corner.
But it was too late.
Thud─
Kaizen’s sword-hand struck the chef’s neck.
The first chef collapsed, and the second looked around in shock, fumbling for a weapon.
“Wha—what the
Clearly, he was trying to grab a knife.
“Too late for you too.”
Before he could reach his weapon, Kaizen knocked him out as well.
No commotion, no one outside noticed. I reached for a bottle of Mystic Spring water, then paused.
“No blood spilt?”
Such a peaceful method… Kaizen glanced at the fallen chefs and lightly tapped their noses.
“Done?”
Blood trickled from the noses of the unconscious.
Now, that’s more like it. I gave him a thumbs-up.
“Excellent.”
