The thief we’d encountered at the guild appeared to be in his late thirties. He had short hair and was dressed in ragged clothes. After agreeing to talk more, he led us out into a deserted alley.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet,” he said. “I’m Suiz Myran, the thief you’re looking for, I believe.”
“Huh?!” Erin gasped in surprise from where she stood beside me.
I was the one who’d decided to hire the guy, and even I was a little shocked by that declaration. “You said you didn’t know Suiz Myran...”
“I never said I didn’t know him. I just dodged the question and you assumed the rest.”
Thinking back on it, he had said that he wasn’t sure how to answer. Then he’d started talking about how mysterious Suiz Myran was, leading us to assume that he had no personal connection.
Erin wasn’t satisfied with this. “Why would you be so deceitful?” she pressed him.
“Deceitful, huh? I guess that’s fair. It’s got to do with the rules I’ve set for accepting jobs.”
“You have rules for accepting jobs?” I asked. He’d mentioned earlier that Suiz Myran was choosy about his work, so if this guy was the real deal, then that checked out.
“That’s right. I don’t take jobs for the coin. It doesn’t hurt to have money, but having more isn’t necessarily better.”
“On what basis do you accept jobs, then?”
“Nothing complicated. My rule for taking a job is simple—I have to find it interesting.” The self-proclaimed Suiz Myran smiled. “I only do work I find interesting. We only get one life, you know? I believe in making the most of it. That’s why I’m an adventurer specializing in a battle style that attracts all kinds of requests. What about yourself?” he asked me.
There was no sign of the drunk from earlier—only a lone adventurer with a sharp gaze. This had to be the real Suiz Myran. I didn’t have any solid proof, but his overflowing aura had me fully convinced.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’ve never measured things in terms of how interesting they are...” I admitted.
“I see. Well, you’re free to live your way. You can set your own rules, but for me, things have to be interesting. That’s how I’ve lived the past thirty-odd years, and I gained myself a reputation as this country’s best thief in spite of it. Life sure is unpredictable,” Suiz said with a sigh.
Erin seemed to have gotten left behind in the conversation. “What does that have to do with why you tricked us?” she asked.
“Whoops, derailed again. My bad.” Suiz waved his hand, bobbing his head lightly a few times. “It’s easy to say I only accept interesting work—but finding it is actually pretty difficult. I became something of a celebrity for it, after all. People’d come to me with all sorts of hidden agendas, but the cloak-and-dagger stuff is all so drab.”
“That’s why you hide your identity as Suiz Myran.”
“That’s right. When people think I’m a low-rank adventurer, they’re real with me. Just like the lass here.”
“Urk...” Erin winced, having unwittingly proven his point.
People naturally judged books by their covers. There was no changing that. Without Enemy Search to clue me in, I might’ve reacted the same way Erin had.
“In that regard, you passed the test. You’re interesting, and interesting people tend to have interesting job requests. So count me in.” With that, the man turned to me and asked, “What’s your name, lad?”
“I’m Note Athlon.”
“Oh?” He nodded as though he’d come to some sort of sage understanding.
“Is there something about my name?” I asked.
“Not your name. You’re the real Note Athlon, aren’t you?”
“It’s the only name I’ve known since I was born, so I’d hope so. Is it a common name in Aifan?”
“You’re geared like a thief, and your presence is... No doubt about it. You’re the guy I’m thinking of.”
“Just so you know, this is my first time in the country,” I clarified.
We were about to make a huge commotion in Aifan, but we hadn’t done anything as of yet. And I’d certainly never met Suiz Myran before. There was no way he knew who I was.
“You’re Note Athlon of the Arrivers, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
Okay, so he did know me. The surprise must have been showing on my face.
“You look like you’re wondering how I know that,” Suiz remarked.
“I am. So how do you?”
“I’m not a well-known thief for nothing,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve memorized info on famous adventurers around the world. Haven’t you?”
He was looking for solidarity, but I couldn’t exactly relate. I’d had no idea who he was until Riece told me about him, and I was even more oblivious about other famous adventurers. I generally had no interest in anything outside of the dungeon. Eisha, the top-tier thief who worked under the Headhunter, also kept track of notable figures... That probably made me a third-rate hack. I didn’t know what normal thieves did.
“Honestly, I’m not well informed in that area,” I said with a vague shake of my head.
That aside, I was intrigued to find out that the Arrivers were known abroad. Although we’d currently been surpassed by other parties, we were once the leaders of the Dungeon of Puriff. We’d spent so long dungeoneering that I’d kinda forgotten that. The Arrivers were one of the strongest parties in our country.
“So if he’s Note Athlon, does that make you Erin the mage, lass?”
“You know me too?!”
It was now Erin’s turn to be shocked. She was a hundred times stronger than me, so I took her renown for a given. It sure blew her away, though.
“Naturally,” said Suiz. “Izaar’s Seventh Sage Selection is one of the greatest magic events of the world. Everyone knows the mage who destroyed the competition and then walked away from it all.”
“I’m world-famous...?”
Her face was equal parts confusion, embarrassment, and happiness. It was a truly unique expression.
“So, what do two big shots like you need to ask of me?” Suiz inquired.
I didn’t consider myself a big shot, but it was indeed time to get down to business. I told Suiz about how Neme had been kidnapped in a sudden ambush, then shared what little information we knew about her captors.
After I finished, Suiz nodded with a profound look. “Fuge, huh? Another big shot...”
“You know him too?” I asked.
“I’ve met him in person several times, and I’ve even taken on one of his requests. That was way back, though. Fuge himself is a bore, but the work was interesting. He has a good eye.”
Cardinal Fuge was technically our enemy. I was a little dubious about Suiz complimenting him in front of us, but that was just his style. He was consistent in judging people by how interesting they were.
“Well, that’s another story. Sure, I’ll take your job. If Fuge’s involved, then our opponent isn’t lacking. I’ll help you get your friend back.”
“Really?”
That was good news. It’d be reassuring to have the strongest thief on our side. Each of the Arrivers already had the strength of a one-man army. With our forces combined, even if we were facing an entire country, retrieving one comrade shouldn’t be that hard.
I started devising a plan in my head when Suiz interrupted, “That said, you guys sure picked a big guy to fight with.”
“Is Cardinal Fuge that big of a deal?” I asked.
“That’s an understatement. He’s the second highest power in this nation after the pope, you know? The current acting saint is under his control, and he has the pope’s trust too. In other words, he’s likely to be at the top himself in the future.”
“How is he in a fight?”
“Who knows? I doubt he’s weak, but he shouldn’t be a match against you dungeoneers in terms of physical strength. Instead, he has several strong knights and adventurers on par with you guys at his side. In that regard, he’s formidable.”
In other words, he was more like the Tyrant Princess Leyfa. Leyfa had her own strengths, but her greatest threat was the powerful subordinates under her control, like the famous war priest Gilbert and Seventh Sage Mille. But while Leyfa was just the black sheep of the royal family, Cardinal Fuge was an active power here in Aifan. The people under him would all be the best of the best, like a souped-up version of the Princess’s Legion.
“Besides, issues regarding the saint are kept highly confidential in Aifan. I’m on the up and up with pretty much everything, and not even I know much about Saint’s Authority.”
Huh. I’d heard mention of “the saint” around town, so I’d assumed the well-informed Suiz would know why Neme had been kidnapped. Apparently it was more secretive than that.
“For now, we should first investigate why they took the dwarf girl,” he suggested. “We can work on physically retrieving her afterward. From the sound of things, she’s not in immediate mortal danger.”
“I’ll leave the details up to you,” I agreed.
Honestly, we knew practically nothing about what was happening with Neme. It might be possible to get her back by force, but that wouldn’t solve the real root of the problem. Furthermore, I believed it was best to defer to Suiz, who was a far more experienced thief than me.
“Well then, your party will be on standby for the time being,” he instructed. “I’ll handle the investigation.”
“Are you sure you don’t need our help?”
“If anything, I’d prefer that you do nothing. It’s clear you’re not from around here at a single glance. If you run around like that, it won’t take long for Fuge to notice. It’s harder to investigate folks who have their guard up, even for me. You follow?”
I had to agree that keeping our heads down was a priority concern. A man in Fuge’s position could easily have us arrested on false charges. Our safest bet was to follow Suiz’s lead and bide our time.
“I’m with you,” I said. “And you’re sure you can handle this?”
“Of course. Who do you think I am?” Suiz grinned boldly.
With that kind of assurance from the strongest thief around, I figured it was safe to leave the investigation to him.
“Then I’ll head back to the hotel and let the other Arrivers know what’s going on.”
“Don’t get so comfy that you forget how to fight.”
“Roger that.”
Thus we gained an accomplice and a foothold in Operation Get Neme Back.