Phantom Thief

Xia Lun repeated Moke's proposal to everyone.

Musen smiled good-naturedly, "No problem."

Liana replied, "Of course I agree. We're just idling around anyway... Who would say no to money?"

Xia Lun looked at Aina. He felt that given Aina's cold personality, she probably wouldn't like this kind of task that required interacting with others.

For guard and escort missions, knowing how to build a good relationship with the client was quite important... After all, clients had the right to complain to the Adventurer's Guild once the mission was over, which would greatly affect the adventure group's reputation. If too many negative reviews accumulated, it would become difficult for the group to take on similar missions in the future.

Aina merely cast an appreciative glance at Moke and said faintly, "That is fine."

Xia Lun looked over his teammates. "Then the next time we go to the Adventurer's Guild, I'll keep an eye out for these kinds of missions."

Musen patted Moke's shoulder. "Keep it up."

"Th-thank you." Seeing his companions supporting him so much, Moke couldn't help but feel a little shy.

"Whoa! Moke, you're blushing!" Liana hollered loudly, as if she had discovered a new continent. "Moke, I never thought you'd actually blush!"

"I am not! You bastard, don't talk nonsense!" Although he said that, Moke was visibly turning red with heat.

Liana immediately grinned mischievously. "Xia Lun! Look quickly, Moke is blushing! He's so red and still denying it... Your mouth says no, but your body is quite honest..."

"Shut up! You stupid elf!"

Moke and Liana began to scuffle together.

The carriage was filled with cheerful laughter.

...

"We got a mission."

Right after coming back, Xia Lun announced the good news. "It's a guard mission, and the client is offering a high price."

"That fast?"

Moke was a little surprised. He had only mentioned the matter casually before, and he didn't expect Xia Lun to be so efficient.

"What exactly is the mission?" Liana immediately leaned in.

Xia Lun fell silent for a moment, as if he was worried about something, but eventually replied, "The mission is to protect the precious daughter of a wealthy merchant."

Liana's eyes lit up instantly. "Really? That's great!"

Well, it was obvious that Xia Lun had been worried about Liana earlier.

"What's so great about it? It has absolutely nothing to do with you." Moke seemed to still be dwelling on what happened earlier and unceremoniously ridiculed her. "Don't go causing any trouble."

Liana nonchalantly made a face at Moke.

"What is it?" Aina noticed Xia Lun's hesitant expression. "Is there something wrong with the commission?"

"Ah... it's a bit strange. According to the client, his daughter seems to have encountered that phantom elf thief... The culprit broke into his daughter's boudoir in the middle of the night, but the young lady was clearly unwilling. Her screams attracted the attention of others, and in the end, the phantom elf thief escaped." Xia Lun wore a serious expression.

"What? Someone actually beat me to it?" Liana said indignantly.

Moke looked at Liana with a weird expression.

"Our commission isn't just to guard; we also need to catch that guy," Xia Lun explained.

"If that guy dares to come, I will roast him into charcoal in an instant." Aina said something quite terrifying in a calm tone.

Xia Lun shook his head, holding Aina's hand, and reminded her, "That won't do, Aina. After catching him, we have to hand him over to the inquisitor."

"Tsk." Aina clicked her tongue lightly, but since it was Xia Lun's request, she didn't say much else.

Wait, what did this have to do with Xia Lun? Because she was a vampire, it would be inconvenient to cause extra complications.

Aina frowned slightly. Why had her way of thinking become so strange?

Perhaps it was because she had been in the team for a long time, so she subconsciously started treating Xia Lun as the captain and the backbone.

It was a small matter, not a big problem. As the Demon Lord, she could easily eliminate such boring emotions.

"Still, to think there really is a guy like that..." Moke muttered. "Pretending to be a phantom thief and deceiving young girls... I thought phantom thieves only existed in stories."

"I can only say it's a big world, and nothing is too bizarre," Liana chimed in.

"Hey, you were just thinking about doing this kind of thing earlier," Moke reminded Liana.

"I was just joking! How could I actually do something like that?" Liana pledged solemnly, carefully stealing a glance at Aina in the process.

Aina turned a blind eye to her and had no reaction.

"Really?" Moke looked utterly unconvinced.

"Of course it's true!" Although Liana felt a bit guilty saying this, Moke couldn't be bothered to question her further.

"Moke, you're a rogue, right? Then that phantom thief should be considered your colleague." Liana once again brought up a sore subject.

"Bullshit! That phantom thief is an elf, so he's your kin!" Moke cursed again. "If you must say it, phantom thieves are also unrefined folks like burglars, and they have absolutely nothing to do with adventurers."

"What is... a phantom thief?" Seeing her companions discussing it so enthusiastically, Aina suddenly asked Xia Lun.

"Hmm... it should be a thief who doesn't solely aim for wealth and has an eccentric and unpredictable style of doing things," Xia Lun explained.

Aina frowned. "Its purpose is unclear."

"However, most phantom thieves in stories aren't bad people; they're more like rangers who rob the rich to help the poor," Xia Lun sighed with emotion. "As for phantom thieves in reality... I haven't seen one yet, but that guy who trespassed into a young girl's boudoir probably isn't a good person."

Hidden beneath her hood, Aina nodded, roughly understanding.

Musen sat at the very back of the group. Under the sunlight, his large bald head was quite eye-catching, like a dazzling orb of light.

"No matter what, stealing is wrong." Musen also joined the conversation.

"Right, Musen, you're from the Goddess Church, aren't you? If you catch a thief, how do you usually deal with them?" Liana had grabbed a blade of grass from somewhere and was holding it in her mouth.

"There aren't any particularly precious things in the church. Those who come to steal are usually just sneaking into the kitchen for food, and most of them are children." Musen shook his head. "Usually, we just make them stay and recite the scriptures once, and then we let them go."

"Ah, that sounds pretty good... Moke, if you ever get so hungry that you can't afford to eat, you can go to the church and try your luck." Liana started picking a fight again. After all, the first time they met, Moke's stomach had been growling from hunger, and it was Xia Lun who bought him a meal.

Moke rolled his eyes at her and ignored her.

"Really? I think it's a pretty profound punishment."

Musen reached out his hands and roughly gestured the size. "After all, the scripture is this thick... Reading it from start to finish without eating or drinking would probably take a whole day."