Chapter 77: Hurry! Everything Buried Down Here Is Treasure!
"Over here! I found the vault!"
"Holy shit, is this material from a Rank Three Voidbeast? There is an entire crate of it!"
"Do not grab it! The Frontier Marshal specifically listed that as evidence!"
Joren stood atop a broken stone monument with his hands behind his back.
Moonlight gleamed across his black armor, giving him an imposing presence.
Then he opened his mouth.
"Careful with that vase. It is an antique. Who is paying if you chip it?"
"And those floor tiles over there are made of gold. Stop stepping on them. Pry them up and take them with us."
"Alar, why are you dragging out a solid gold toilet?"
Orders flowed from Joren without pause.
He did not sound like a man doing this for the first time.
He sounded like a seasoned expert.
Far too practiced for comfort.
In the distance, Manester stood atop an armored vehicle with a cigarette burning between his fingers.
The ember had almost reached his skin.
He did not notice.
He could only stare at the scene below, unable to find words for it.
"This..."
Every Frontier Marshal before Joren had followed procedure during a property seizure.
Seal the site.
Wait for the proper departments.
Let them inventory everything slowly.
Joren, on the other hand, had turned the House Hurst estate into an open buffet.
This was not evidence collection.
This was looting with official paperwork.
Still, Joren had uncovered the case and carried the battle.
No one could deny his contribution.
Manester had no grounds to stop him.
"Genius."
After a long silence, that was the only word he managed.
There was no anger on his face.
Only appreciation.
The more he watched Joren, the more satisfied he became.
Manester had spent decades moving between battlefields and politics. He understood the rules of this world too well.
Strength alone made a brute.
A brute became someone else’s weapon.
Justice alone made a fool.
A fool got played to death.
Joren was different.
When killing was required, his hand was darker than anyone else’s.
When authority needed to be established, he crushed the entire field.
And when benefits were waiting to be claimed, his skin was thicker than city walls.
Ruthless when necessary.
Grateful to those who had helped him.
Smooth enough to navigate power without losing his bottom line.
He was born to stand above others.
"Tch."
Manester dropped the cigarette and ground it beneath his boot.
A deep ease settled over him.
He felt like an old farmer who had spent his life working barren soil, only to discover a golden money tree growing in his field.
"The brat figured all of this out on his own."
"I worried he was too young to control the situation."
"Thought he might not understand how to use the rules to his advantage."
"Looks like I was wasting my time."
Manester stroked the stubble along his chin.
A bold thought surfaced as he watched the young man direct the operation.
Maybe it was time to retire.
What if he handed the position of Norcrest Commander to Joren as well?
That brat could probably turn the entire city into an iron fortress.
He might even squeeze more funding out of those stingy old men above.
The idea sounded better the longer Manester considered it.
A laugh escaped him.
He turned, eager to share this brilliant plan with his old partner.
"Hey, Kyo."
"Suppose I retire early and hand him the Commander’s seal. Do you think the higher ups would..."
The rest died in his throat.
No one stood beside him.
Kyo had vanished.
"Where did he go?"
Manester looked around.
The man had been right there a moment ago, smoking and watching the show.
Then a suspicious chuckle drifted through the wind.
"Heh heh... Good stuff. Very good stuff."
Manester snapped his head around.
His gaze passed through the crowd and settled on a corner deep within the ruins.
Behind a pile of broken stone, a tall figure with a heavy sword on his back was crouched close to the ground.
Red hair.
Massive blade.
Who else could it be?
The great officer of Sirius Bureau had lost every trace of a legendary expert’s dignity.
Kyo had his rear in the air and a box in both hands, freshly dug from beneath the rubble.
A faint glow seeped through its surface.
Whatever lay inside was clearly valuable.
Kyo opened it with practiced care and peered in.
His red eyes lit up like searchlights.
"Rank Five Blood Truffles?"
"A thousand years old?"
He swallowed.
Then the box disappeared into his coat.
The movement was so fast and so smooth that it deserved applause.
Kyo rose as though nothing had happened and brushed the dust from his clothes.
Righteousness covered his face.
As if the suspicious old man stealing treasure moments ago had been someone else entirely.
Then he noticed the stare on his back.
Kyo turned.
His eyes met Manester’s.
Silence held for two seconds.
Anyone else might have felt embarrassed.
Kyo’s skin was thicker than a fortress wall.
He waved Manester over without the slightest shame.
His lips formed the words clearly.
"Manester, hurry!"
"Everything buried down here is treasure!"
"That bastard Orson hid an entire stockpile of banned medicine."
"To prevent dangerous materials from reaching the public, we have to take personal custody of them!"
Manester said nothing.
This man stood at the peak of Norcrest’s combat power.
People across the city revered him as a senior expert.
And this was how he behaved?
Where was his dignity?
Where was the bearing of a great warrior?
Manester drew in a slow breath.
He was about to condemn the shameless old bastard with all the righteousness he could summon.
Then his gaze caught on something near Kyo’s feet.
A corner of a metal case protruded from the dirt.
A special symbol had been stamped across its surface.
Unless Manester was mistaken...
That case held S Class equipment.
Judging by the size, there had to be at least twenty sets inside.
His throat moved.
Twenty sets of S Class equipment.
House Hurst had been the richest family in Norcrest for years, controlling much of the city’s economy.
The wealth it had extracted from the people was beyond calculation.
"Ahem."
Manester cleared his throat twice.
He straightened his collar and arranged his face into an expression of grave concern for the public good.
"You are right."
"Contraband of this level is far too dangerous."
"Ordinary soldiers may not understand what they are handling. If they trigger some hidden mechanism, there could be casualties."
"As Commander, I have a duty to stand at the front and eliminate such risks personally."
Even Manester did not believe a word of it.
He strode toward Kyo anyway.
Then he used a movement technique.
He reached the ruins even faster than Kyo had.