Chapter 222

After a few moments, the wagon slowed and finally came to a stop.

Chelle’s mansion rose before them, its stone walls pale under the enchanted lantern lights of the noble district, banners stirring faintly in the night wind. Tall iron gates stood open, and several guards were already waiting—alert, disciplined, hands resting near their weapons. Not hostile. Just prepared.

Asha let out a low whistle. “I sometimes forget Chelle is a noble,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I might’ve accidentally sounded rude a few times. I didn’t mean it.”

Chelle laughed softly and shook her head. “I’ll be happy if you keep treating me like you always do.” She glanced at the group—especially Boris and Kana, dusty, bruised, exhausted, and smiling anyway. 

The guards stepped aside, recognizing her at once.

Chelle turned back before entering, her eyes bright. “Thank you. All of you.” She grinned, the kind of grin that made the whole ridiculous, dangerous night feel worth it. “I won’t forget this. Ever.”

“I’ll pay you later,” Kana said, practical as ever. “Once I get the payment from the client.”

Chelle stopped.

She stepped forward suddenly and cupped Kana’s face with both hands, her expression serious in a way that caught everyone off guard. “No,” she said firmly. “Just let me join your next adventure.”

Kana blinked. Then she sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Alright. We’ll tell you next time.”

Chelle’s face lit up like she’d just won a tournament.

“There will be a next time,” Kana added, more quietly. “I don’t know when. But… knowing my client, that stingy man won’t let me rest for long.”

Chelle nodded, satisfied. She waved once more, then reached out to pat Thorne gently. The lizard chirped softly, tail flicking, before Chelle finally turned and disappeared through the gates of her home.

The iron doors closed behind her with a low, final sound.

“Our first mission is successful,” Kana said, breaking the silence. “I’ll handle the rest. I’ll deliver that guy to our client.”

She glanced toward the bound man in the wagon. “By myself. The client doesn’t want his identity exposed.”

Asha nodded immediately. “We understand.”

“I guess this is goodbye, then,” Opel added.

Suri yawned loudly, stretching her arms. “I’m kinda sleepy…” She glanced toward the road leading away from the noble district. “We’ll take the wagon straight back to the orphanage.”

“We’ll stop by the Adventurer’s Guild first,” Opel said. “We still have unclaimed payments.”

Kana nodded. “Aunt Asha, I’ll contact you as soon as I get the payment. And I’ll let you know if we get any new quests.”

Asha smiled, arms crossed. “Alright.” Then, after a pause, her eyes sharpened with curiosity. “I’m starting to wonder who this rich client of yours really is.”

Kana didn’t answer and simply smiled.

……

The cold came first.

It seeped through the stone walls of the castle, crept beneath cloaks and skin alike, and pooled in the wide guest chamber like an unseen presence. Kana felt it bite at her knuckles as she hauled the bound man forward by the rope cinched around his waist.

“C-Can you be more gentle?” the suspected phantom thief hissed, stumbling as his boots scraped against the frost-dusted floor.

“Just hold on,” Kana replied, voice cold as if she didn’t care. Not at all. “We’re almost there.”

Her breath fogged the air as she adjusted her hood again, ensuring her face vanished completely into shadow. Beyond her, the castle stretched upward—ancient stone towers rising into a sky heavy with clouds, moonlight struggling to break through. Snow clung to the edges of balconies and window ledges, untouched, pristine. The kind of quiet only winter could bring.

She stopped before a smaller gate, one set slightly apart from the grand entrance. No banners. No torchlit welcome. Just iron, stone, and silence.

Kana knocked.

The sound echoed too loudly in the stillness.

Once.

Twice.

A breeze of wind only answered her. I thought the castle was heavily guarded?

After several long moments, the gate creaked open just enough for a single weary eye to peer through.

“What is your business?” the guard muttered, voice thick with sleep and irritation. “The castle is closed. Return in the morning.”

Kana lifted her hand.

The king’s insignia caught the torchlight.

The guard froze. His breath hitched, eyes widening as if he’d just glimpsed something he shouldn’t have. The gate swung open fully at once. “P-Please enter.”

His gaze flicked briefly to the bound man at Kana’s side. He said nothing. Didn’t ask. Lazy but smart man, Kana thought. He knew at least when to know not to be curious.

They passed inside.

The corridors were dim and nearly empty, lit only by the occasional torch whose flames flickered weakly against the cold. Kana’s boots echoed softly as she led the way, frost crunching faintly beneath each step. The thief’s shoulders were tight now, his earlier bravado stripped away by the weight of where he stood.

She brought him into a familiar private guest room—large enough, open, and exposed to the winter night. One wall opened onto a balcony, its tall doors ajar. Cold wind slipped inside freely, carrying with it drifting snowflakes that melted as they touched the stone floor.

Kana crossed the room and struck flint. Fire bloomed in the chimney, light pushing back the darkness but failing to banish the chill entirely.

“C-Can you tell me where we are?” the man asked, voice unsteady.

Kana didn’t answer, which made the man shake from nervousness.

The door behind them creaked open after a few moments. The suspected phantom thief flinched. 

King J entered wearing a simple night robe, his hair loose, silver strands catching the firelight. He didn’t bother with guards. Didn’t bother with the formality. He moved to a chair positioned near the open balcony and seated himself, the cold wind tugging gently at his sleeves.

Snow drifted past behind him, falling into the endless dark.

“You’ve interrupted my sleep,” the king said mildly. “I assume this is worth it.”

Kana released the rope. “This is the phantom thief,” she said. “He acquired two skill books from the auction house earlier tonight. You were there I assume.”

For the briefest moment, surprise cracked the king’s composure.

“So soon,” he murmured. “I expected this hunt to take years—at least five to ten years. You’re more capable than I thought.”

His gaze settled on the man, sharp and weighing. “Reports claimed an old man used a hypnosis related type of skill. This one’s too young.”

“He disguises well,” Kana replied. “When I chased him, he was an old man. He changed mid-escape. Without the skill books—and his eyes—I might not have caught him.”

The man abruptly dropped to his knees, chains clinking softly against the stone. “This lowly one pays respect to His Majesty.”

The king’s brow lifted slightly. “You can’t see me. How did you know?”

Janus bowed deeper. “A thief who doesn’t know the king’s voice doesn’t survive long, Your Majesty. I am the phantom thief you’re looking for.”

Kana felt a flicker of surprise.

“Bold,” King J said. “You’re a suspect. Why confess so easily?”

Janus swallowed. “If I wish to live… lying would only shorten my time.”

The king chuckled softly, the sound swallowed by the wind slipping in through the balcony. “You are aware of our interrogation methods?”

Janus paled visibly,”I am.”

Kana felt a chill crawl along her spine—one that had nothing to do with winter. She heard the northern kingdom was feared by their torture methods across the continent. She was surprised when the prince was suspecting many people to be spies of the empire. How many people they tortured to find those?

“I’ll have the royal knights investigate him and verify his identity,” the king continued. “If confirmed, I’ll arrange your reward.”

Kana nodded and stepped forward and handed him a rolled parchment. “This is the expenses in our operation.”

The king looked at it and coughed, “Attentive, as always. I understand a few potions and weapons. However… the expensive dress?”

Kana allowed herself a small smile,”One of the members is quite picky. She used that in the auction house earlier.”

“Tell her she must return it.” King J said.

Kana muttered,“So stingy.”

King J flinched,“What did you say?”

Kana cleared her throat, changing the subject,”Nothing. But there’s another skill book,” she added. “Hidden by him. May we keep it?”

The king glanced at Janus. “What kind?”

“A non-combat skill,” Janus answered suddenly. “Related to cultivating plants.”

The king leaned back, gaze drifting briefly toward the falling snow beyond the balcony. “Then keep it. I’m feeling generous today.”

Kana frowned, the more she learned about the king’s personality the more disappointed she was. She clenched her jaw. No skill is truly useless. “Thank you, Your Majesty. At your boundless generosity.”

The king laughed quietly.

“One more thing,” Kana said, standing straighter. “Be careful of his eyes. His hypnosis requires direct eye contact.”

“I need to make eye contact with my target for three seconds,” Janus admitted.

“Very well.” The king nodded, “Kana—how many guards did you notice tonight?”

“Five,” she replied without hesitation. “One at Entrance. One hid in the bushes. Two on the roof. One patrolling earlier before I entered here..”

The king nodded once, the tone of his voice dropped. “I’ll silence them.”

Kana didn’t ask what it meant. Some answers were better left buried.

….

Months had passed since the night they captured the phantom thief.

However there were no whispers. No rumors. No announcement about the phantom thief was already captured. She sometimes doubted if they got the right person in the first place. The king had gone silent, as though the entire affair had been swallowed by the winter itself. Kana told herself that was a good sign—silence often meant things were proceeding exactly as planned—but waiting made her doubt.

Life, however, refused to pause.

At the academy, normalcy returned with ruthless efficiency. Lectures resumed. Training grounds filled once more with clashing steel and exhausted grunts. And as the year dragged toward its end, a single word began to haunt every hallway.

Final exam.

The academy transformed almost overnight.

Students sprinted between buildings, sweat-soaked and breathless, some hauling weighted gear, others clutching books as though they were lifelines. The training yards rang with the dull thud of bodies hitting the ground. Boardrooms stayed lit well past midnight.

In the copper classroom—a space that smelled faintly of ink, and desperation—Kana leaned over Boris’s desk, finger stabbing down at a parchment filled with cramped writing.

“No,” Kana said flatly. “Wrong again.”

Boris looked like a man awaiting execution. His face had lost all color, eyes unfocused, jaw slack.

“I—I thought that happened after the third border war,” he croaked.

Kana inhaled slowly. She had said the same sentence so many times over the past few days that it had begun to echo in her dreams.

“Do not guess,” she said, enunciating every word. “Exam punishes guessing.”

Thorne, perched comfortably atop Boris’s desk, chirped encouragingly and patted Boris’s head with one claw.

“Traitor,” Boris muttered.

Across the room, Suri lounged against a chair, sipping her morning juice like the world wasn’t on fire.

“I still don’t get why you’re all studying so hard,” she said casually. “Didn’t the professors already explain everything?”

Several heads snapped in her direction.

Adam and Andel glared at her from across the room, parchments spread around them like fallen leaves.

“What?” Suri smirked.

Rin pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re unbelievable. Not all of us are… whatever you and Kana are.”

Suri tilted her head. “I’m just being honest.”

She sighed, then added thoughtfully, “Though, and to be fair, Kana is terrible at drawing. I still can’t recognize a single person from those posters she made months ago. She’ll most likely fail if she takes the Art Class. Glad you didn’t.”

Silence.

Kana’s ear twitched. Slowly, she stood.

Suri didn’t even notice until two arms locked around her neck from behind.

“Everyone has weaknesses,” Kana said calmly, tightening her hold just enough to make a point. “Boris could remove my arms if he wanted to. You—”

She shifted her weight, unbalancing Suri.

“—would already be unconscious. Even Rin could do this to you.”

Suri slapped Kana’s arm repeatedly. “Alright—alright! I’m just bored!”

Kana released her, and Suri collapsed back into her chair, coughing and laughing at the same time.

Then—

A shadow fell across the doorway.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Two familiar knights stood near the door, armor polished, insignia unmistakable. Castle knights. 

“Is Kana present?” one of them asked.

Kana removed the arm still loosely draped around Suri’s neck and raised her hand. “I’m here.”

The knight cleared his throat, gaze sweeping the room just once before returning to her.

“His Majesty requests your presence after class. You must report to the royal castle.”

A pause.

“This concerns your task involving the… entertainment of upcoming guests. Guests who are closely related to you.”

Kana blinked.

That is the worst excuse I’ve ever heard to be called.

She scratched her cheek, “Understood. I’ll go.”

The knights nodded and departed as quietly as they had arrived.

The classroom erupted.

“Entertainment?” Boris croaked.

Suri grinned. “I feel bad for whoever those guests are.”

Kana didn’t respond. It’s either a new quest or she would finally get her dungeon item reward.

Post note:

A bit of time skip at the end, we are now finally entering the level 30 main segment as well as a few set ups to the next arc.

Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂