NOVPUB[The operation begins.]
Outside the auction house. Hans, who had been waiting inside a building across the wide boulevard, swallowed nervously.
It had finally started.
The very first attempt to rob the Kunst Auction House—a place that hadn’t allowed a single intruder in over twenty years.
‘Phew. Stay calm.’
He’d done plenty of jobs with Ludger before, but this... this was one of those rare moments that made his heart pound like crazy.
Sure, compared to the others who were going to be working directly inside the auction house, his role was relatively simple.
All he had to do was activate the gadget that Seridan had built, right on cue, from the outside.
Chrrk.
Hans brushed the curtain aside slightly and looked out the window.
Even on the second day, the entrance to the Kunst Auction House was still packed with crowds.
Wealthy merchants and nobles. People at the top of society’s pyramid—the kind everyone looked up to.
‘Must be nice.’
Hans had always envied people like them.
While he’d been wandering aimlessly, never knowing when someone might come to hunt him down because of his damned condition, they had been living in fancy mansions, never knowing what cold or hunger felt like.
Not that he hated them or anything.
Honestly, maybe... he’d admired them a little.
He’d always thought: Someday, I’ll make enough money to leave this life behind. I’ll live just as well as they do.
I’ll have my own cozy house, far away, where no one can bother me, and I can finally enjoy freedom.
That’s what he’d always dreamed of.
‘And then I met the boss.’
Ludger had shown him a way forward. Reached out to him when he was just a broken, dust-covered mess.
He promised to make him successful.
That was five years ago.
Hans had never forgotten that moment. Not once.
‘My role is simple. I just need to activate the machine when I get the signal.’
Next to him was one of Seridan’s strange inventions.
A device capable of temporarily disabling the artifact surveillance cameras that monitored Kunst Auction’s underground vault.
But it wouldn’t last long. At best, five minutes.
Which meant there was no room for error—not even by a few seconds.
‘And I’m not doing this alone.’
Hans glanced at Arfa, the partner assigned to this part of the job, and felt slightly less burdened.
‘Although... is this really okay?’
Arfa was staring out the window, just like Hans, fixated on the world beyond the glass.
The world reflected in those clear eyes looked sharp and vivid—but Hans could never tell what emotions, if any, were behind Arfa’s gaze.
Not even Hans, who prided himself on reading people, could get a read on him.
He always smiled, sure, but every time the wild instincts he inherited from beasts flared up, Hans got chills from how alien Arfa felt.
“You good?”
Still, Hans was older, and they were in this together.
He took the initiative to break the silence.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Arfa turned to him, smiling brightly.
“You were just... staring outside for a while.”
“Oh, that? I just find it fascinating.”
“Fascinating? What about it?”
“That there are so many people. I’ve only ever wandered remote places with Mr. Phantos, where there’s no one around.”
“Remote places?”
For someone claiming that, Arfa’s skin looked way too flawless.
Was he just exaggerating his past, or was there something else going on?
“......Anyway, you remember the mission, right?”
“Of course. We just follow the signal and start the prep work.”
“Yeah. It’s not that hard, really. Actually, it’s super simple.”
“Then we’re all set!”
That cheerful answer, paired with his bright smile, left Hans scratching his cheek awkwardly.
Yeah, whatever. The important thing was making sure the operation went smoothly.
Hans thought back to Ludger’s final briefing from the night before.
─For this mission, it’ll mostly be me, Alex, and Phantos doing the heavy lifting.
Hans had agreed with that.
Alex was a master of acting and deception. He’d even convinced Ivan Luk that he was a noble from the south.
Phantos, with his massive frame, was a specialist in combat. Once they inevitably clashed with the Blackguards inside, his strength would be crucial.
And Ludger—no question—was their core.
The center of everyone gathered here, and their leader.
─We’re going to infiltrate the auction house’s underground level and steal what’s inside Vault No. 3.
For that to work, everyone else had to handle their assigned tasks perfectly.
‘First, we need to steal the key to the elevator that leads underground.’
There was only one way down.
Sure, they could’ve tried digging a tunnel from the outside, but there wasn’t enough time for that.
In the end, no matter what, they had to use the elevator and go down the front way.
And to do that, one thing had to happen.
‘Find the [Key Master], take the key from him, and swiftly deal with the guards near the elevator.’
Neither of those would be easy.
If anything went wrong here, the whole plan would collapse.
The job of stealing the key from the Key Master was up to Violetta and Alex.
Hans could only hope the team inside would pull it off.
* * *
Room 3108, the top floor of Kunst Hotel—reserved for VIP guests.
Alex stepped out, now dressed for action.
He’d already forged his identity as a noble named Guar and infiltrated Kunst the day before.
Now it was time to put the plan in motion, and he was ready to head down.
But just as he reached the hallway, he saw someone familiar at the far end—and froze in his tracks.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Why the hell is she here?’
Alex quickly ducked behind the corner of the hallway.
Peeking out carefully, he confirmed he hadn’t imagined it.
Enya Joinas.
She was standing in front of the elevator, lightly tapping her foot in those polished shoes.
Why the hell...?
‘Don’t tell me they gave her a room here just because she’s with the Security Bureau? Shit. Of all places to run into her.’
There was no way he could approach the elevator now.
If he waited for her to take the next one, it would delay things too much.
Clicking his tongue, Alex turned and headed for the emergency stairs.
‘Should’ve asked for a room on a lower floor...’
He’d gotten greedy, falling for the “VIP suite” offer, and now it was biting him in the ass.
As he ran down the stairs, he pulled out his portable communicator and sent a signal to Violetta.
“This is <Victor Hugo>. Come in.”
Violetta, who had been calmly sitting in the first-floor lobby waiting for Alex, responded while keeping her voice low, aware of the people around her.
“What is it?”
[‘My shoelaces’ came undone. It’s gonna take me a while to get down.]
“──Got it.”
It was a code they’d agreed on in advance, in case anyone might be listening.
Loose shoelaces meant something—or someone—was blocking movement.
In other words, an unexpected obstacle was delaying the mission.
Seriously? Right from the start?
Violetta sighed.
Just then, her eyes caught sight of their target.
‘The Key Master.’
A middle-aged man, maybe in his mid-40s.
He had long sideburns and the gentle appearance of a refined gentleman.
He’d worked at Kunst Hotel for twenty years, and he was the one holding the key to the underground elevator.
Trusted by Ivan Luk himself, he personally carried the key to the underground vault.
‘Found him sooner than I thought.’
Normally, she would’ve teamed up with Alex to approach him and smoothly lift the key.
‘But with things screwed up upstairs, I’m on my own now.’
Violetta slowly rose from her seat and, as naturally as breathing, began to approach the Key Master.
On the way, she passed by a {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} waiter carrying a silver tray, smoothly snatched one of the champagne glasses, and downed it in one go.
‘Hm?’
The Key Master, who had been giving orders to a subordinate, spotted the stunning woman heading toward him and quickly dismissed the staff member.
“You can go now.”
“Yes, sir.”
With his subordinate gone, the Key Master smoothed his throat, a greasy smile spreading across his face.
“Ahem. My lady? Is there something I can help you with?”
“Oh my. Are you an employee here?”
With the burn scars gone from her face, Violetta now radiated beauty, perfectly dolled up to charm.
She gave him a sultry smile, brushing her gloved hand lightly along his forearm.
“Heheh. You see, I think I’ve had a bit too much to drink... Would you mind escorting me to my room? My head’s spinning.”
“Hahaha. Of course, my lady. Allow me to take you myself.”
The Key Master felt like he’d struck gold.
Violetta was well aware of what kind of sleazy thoughts were running through this man’s head.
‘Just as expected.’
She already had plenty of intel on Kunst’s Key Master from their prior research.
On the surface, he looked like a respectable, well-mannered hotelier, but in reality, the guy was a total sleazebag with a messy track record with women.
He played the role of a socially esteemed gentleman, but behind closed doors he was all over shady gatherings and affairs.
Which was exactly why Violetta chose to go with the honey trap.
The Key Master had no idea that the gorgeous woman walking toward him was a venomous black viper, nor that she was about to gut him.
Even if he had suspected something, he’d probably foolishly believed he could handle it on his own.
“Would you mind helping me stand?”
“Of course.”
The Key Master slipped a hand around Violetta’s slender waist.
Any other woman would’ve felt disgusted by his obvious groping, but she didn’t let her smile falter.
She’d dealt with worse.
“What room are you staying in, my lady?”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ve had too much to drink, I can’t really remember.”
“Oh dear. Is that so?”
“But I can’t exactly stay here in this noisy place, can I? Do you know somewhere a bit more private... quieter?”
“But of course, I do.”
The Key Master, practically glowing with excitement, led her away.
* * *
After hearing the situation over comms, Ludger decided there was no need for him to step in yet.
Violetta was more than capable. She’d said she’d handle it, and he trusted her to do just that.
‘Still, I should regroup with the others to prepare for when she brings back the key from the Key Master.’
He could’ve used [Ater Nocturnus] to jump through space using designated coordinates, but he couldn’t risk that here.
In order to teleport, he needed to see or at least know the exact coordinates of his destination. But since he’d never actually seen the underground vault, he couldn’t be sure of its precise location.
One mistake, and he could end up inside a solid wall or the ground itself, crushed.
And even if he did get there, there was no way to carry out all the items by himself.
He’d have to go back and forth hundreds of times.
And every time he used that magic, it drained an insane amount of mana and twisted his body like hell. Doing that hundreds of times? No thanks.
That’s why they’d planned this as a team operation.
Just then—
“Well, well! Who do we have here?”
Someone recognized Ludger and came up to him. Not just one person, either.
Ludger stopped in his tracks, face composed, and turned to see who had called him.
“Fancy seeing you here. What a crazy coincidence, huh? It’s been a while since that banquet, hasn’t it? Ludger Cherish, right?”
“......Ivan Luk.”
“I don’t know what brings you to a place like this, but wow~ what a pleasant surprise, huh?”
Ivan Luk was smiling, but his eyes burned with pure hatred toward Ludger.
‘Looks like he’s not planning to let me go so easily.’
Of course, Ivan wasn’t stupid enough to kick Ludger out outright.
No, the opposite.
“So, how are you enjoying the Kunst Auction House?”
“It’s been interesting enough.”
“Haha! Interesting enough, huh? You’re funny. Well, they say you only see as much as you know, so I guess that can’t be helped.”
“I suppose you could see it that way. Now then, if you’ll excuse me—”
“Hey now, come on. We meet like this and you’re just gonna leave? That’s no way to treat an old acquaintance.”
Ivan stepped in front of Ludger, blocking his path. Behind him, some beefy bodyguards appeared.
They weren’t Blackguards in armor, but a private security team dressed in suits.
“Well, since you’re here, let me do you a favor for old times’ sake. Hey, treat this important guest with the utmost respect, alright? You know what I mean?”
“Yes, sir.”
The two guards answered firmly, stepping up to flank Ludger on either side.
They weren’t lying about treating him politely—they didn’t lay a hand on him.
But that only made it more annoying.
‘He’s sticking these guys on me to keep me under watch.’
Ivan was pulling this stunt to mess with him, no doubt.
It was Ivan’s business, after all, and he was clearly flexing his authority.
Given the setting, Ludger couldn’t exactly refuse this so-called “hospitality.”
‘No choice, huh.’
Ludger decided to play along. n𝚘𝚟𝚙𝚞𝚋.𝚌o𝚖
“Very well.”
He nodded, allowing the guards to follow him.
At the same time, he casually tapped the small communicator in his ear.
Tap tap tap.
A pre-arranged signal for emergencies.
And what it meant was simple.
[Currently immobilized due to unforeseen circumstances. Requesting backup deployment.]
* * *
“What?”
Hans, listening in from outside, practically dropped his jaw.
Of all people, it had to be the boss who got tied up—and the backup Ludger just called for?
It was Hans.
‘Wait... I’m the one who has to go?’
