NOVPUBLudger recalled events from the past.
It was five years ago, back when he was operating under the name James Moriarty, not Ludger Cherish, in the Kingdom of Delica.
At that time, he had unintentionally gotten involved in several incidents, and as those incidents escalated, he became entangled with all sorts of people.
If he had to pick the most memorable among them, it would undoubtedly be Casey Selmore.
She was called a genius detective. In Ludger’s eyes, that title wasn’t exaggerated at all.
She had genuinely backed him into a ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) corner with her absurd reasoning skills and instincts.
And that wasn’t a figure of speech — she had literally fallen with him off a cliff with a waterfall, in a situation where it was either she dies or he dies.
‘That crazy woman actually showed up here.’
Maybe it was because he was staring too much.
Sensing his gaze, Casey Selmore suddenly turned her head.
Before their eyes could meet, Ludger hurriedly fixed his gaze on the auction platform.
He had almost made eye contact.
‘Even though I was disguised back then, there’s no guarantee she wouldn’t recognize me now. Better to be careful.’
Wandering the world, Ludger had come to realize many things, and among them, there was one fact he learned painfully well.
─There are people who utterly destroy common sense.
And one of those people who shattered common sense was Casey Selmore, sitting right there.
Ludger knew well from the frequent rumors he had heard about her.
After the bad relationship he had severed during his James Moriarty days, Casey Selmore had somehow achieved an astounding magical feat, even earning the title associated with the color of a single elemental attribute.
‘Even back then, it was questionable whether I could fight her to a draw. Now that she’s gained the title of an elemental color, there’s no way I can face her.’
A sudden anxiety gripped him.
If Casey Selmore was here, had his plan to raid the auction house already been exposed?
Ludger immediately shook his head.
‘I haven't been exposed yet. If I had, that restless woman wouldn’t just be sitting there chatting idly with the person next to her.’
At this point, even Erendir, sitting next to him, was almost entirely pushed from Ludger’s consciousness.
That’s how threatening Casey Selmore was to him.
‘At least, seeing her sitting quietly like that, it looks like she hasn’t realized what’s happening here yet.’
But that, too, was only a matter of time.
If she sensed even the slightest hint of suspicion, she would bolt from her seat immediately.
If a mage bearing one of the few elemental color titles took action to solve the incident...
The plan that had been painstakingly prepared for weeks would be blown to pieces.
‘This is troublesome.’
Ludger could only hope that his subordinates would carry out today’s operation as quietly and flawlessly as possible.
* * *
“They’re here.”
Alex and Phantos, loitering by the elevator entrance, recognized Hans and Arfa disguised as porters.
“The key?”
“Here.”
In response to Hans’s question, Alex lightly waved the key.
With this, the four of them had safely regrouped at the elevator entrance.
“Alright, let’s get ready.”
Hans and Arfa immediately began stripping the armor off the two guards who were slumped at the entrance.
“What the hell. Why’s this so dented?”
Hans frowned at the sight of the armor’s crushed chest plate.
Looking closely, it wasn’t just dented — it had a clear imprint shaped like a fist.
Hans furtively glanced at Phantos’s fist out of the corner of his eye.
Comparing the size of the imprint to Phantos’s hand, Hans couldn’t help but gulp.
He didn’t have the courage to even bring it up.
“Well, whatever. Better than not wearing it.”
Hans immediately threw on the armor that the Black Guard had been wearing. Arfa did the same.
The two of them grabbed spears and completed their disguise as Black Guards stationed at the elevator entrance.
The unconscious guards were loaded onto the cart they had brought with them and hidden out of sight. Judging by their condition, they would likely stay unconscious all day.
Alex inserted the key into the hole. A loud clanking of gears sounded from inside as the elevator doors opened.
“Alright, let’s head down.”
Alex lightly punched Phantos’s forearm with his fist in a friendly gesture.
Phantos twitched his eyebrow and stared at Alex.
Alex gave an awkward laugh and took a step back.
“Uh, well. Guess that was a bit much?”
“...Whatever. Let’s just go.”
Ignoring Alex, Phantos stepped into the elevator.
Alex whistled as he followed inside.
“Then, good luck up here.”
“Yeah.”
After exchanging brief goodbyes, Alex closed the elevator doors and began the descent.
* * *
Security Room of Kunst Auction House.
The guards, monitoring the underground vaults in real time through newly developed artifacts, yawned out of boredom.
“Haaaam!”
“Hey, hey. Stay focused.”
“What am I supposed to do? It’s boring as hell. Staring at the same unchanging scene over and over makes you go crazy.”
“You think you’re the only one? Just hang in there. We’re about to switch shifts anyway.”
“Ugh. I get that they’re beefing up security because of the auction, but seriously, who the hell would have the guts to break into that place?”
“Right? Is there even a way to get in there in the first place?”
As silence settled in the security room, the guards slowly began chatting more.
After sitting for hours staring at the same scene through the artifact’s display, it was natural to want to say something, anything.
“Still, it’s pretty amazing. Thanks to this fancy artifact, we can monitor exactly who’s inside. Otherwise, we’d be squatting by the underground entrance all night.”
“No kidding.”
It was at that moment.
Fzzzt.
The display showing the vaults flickered slightly, distorting.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Didn’t the screen just glitch?”
“The screen? Looks fine to me.”
It happened so fast that even the guard who noticed it started wondering if he had imagined it.
“Pfft. Must be my eyes getting messed up from staring at the same screen for too long.”
He was about to conclude it was just his imagination when—
His colleague frantically tugged at his arm.
“What. What is it?”
“Hey, hey, look! Over there!”
“What?”
Following his colleague’s pointing finger, he turned his gaze to Vault #2 in the underground storage.
“Huh?”
He was about to ask what the big deal was when his mouth hung open at the sight.
One side of Vault #2’s wall had collapsed, and intruders were coming through it.
They had their faces covered with hoods, but that only made it more obvious who they were.
“T-That!”
“Holy shit! Did they dig a tunnel all the way down here?!”
The guards immediately grabbed the communication crystal to report what had happened.
* * *
“What?!”
Ivan Luk, who had been boasting while casually chatting with guests, couldn’t help but shout out loud after hearing a whisper from a servant who hurried over to him.
Immediately realizing the stares around him, he coughed awkwardly and brushed it off with a light, “It’s nothing,” before quietly asking the servant,
“What did you just say?”
“T-That is, um...”
“You’re not speaking clearly. Do you want to get fired?”
“T-There’s... been an intruder in the underground vault.”
“...!”
Ivan Luk barely managed to suppress the urge to scream.
Struggling to control his anger, he asked how the hell this had happened.
“What exactly happened? How did someone get into the vault? What about the guards stationed at the entrance?”
“Well... it seems the intruders dug in from underground...”
“What? They dug a tunnel?”
The underground was dozens of meters deep—how could anyone dig a tunnel all the way down there?
He wanted to scream about how absurd that was, but since the report had been made after verifying it through an artifact, it couldn’t have been a mistake.
Ivan Luk started to panic.
‘If this keeps up, the auction I worked so hard to organize will be ruined!’
He had put in enormous effort for this auction. He had poured everything into it—to impress his father, and to redeem himself after the disgrace he had shown at the last banquet.
He couldn’t allow some filthy thieves to ruin the auction he had worked so hard to put together.
“Summon the guards.”
“H-How many?”
Ivan Luk answered with eyes burning with rage.
“All of them!”
* * *
The Black Guards, who had been standing still like statues, began to move.
The guests didn’t notice them.
Because they didn’t move all at once—only one at a time slipped away quietly.
Before long, nearly twenty Black Guards had gathered at the elevator entrance.
Oldguard, the man in charge of the guards, stepped forward.
He was a veteran who had served here for twenty years.
“Are these all the ones who could gather? What about the others?”
“They are remaining in position in case something else happens.”
“Good. Ten of you will inspect the outside. The intruders dug through the underground sewer, so they couldn’t have come far. Check the nearest sewer entrances and capture them if possible. If not—kill them.”
“Yes, sir!”
“The other ten will come down with me on the elevator for the assault. You all know the manual, right?”
The Black Guards nodded.
In a way, the fact that the intruders went into Vault #2 was a stroke of luck for Kunst Auction House.
Because the truly important items were stored in Vault #3.
“The number of enemies is about four. Judging from the fact that they dug all the way here without being noticed, they’re probably not weak. But we have people stationed inside too, so don’t worry. We outnumber them.”
Even knowing they were strong, the guards didn’t grow arrogant.
As paid professionals, they didn’t underestimate the enemy even if they were few in number—they intended to go all out to subdue them.
There were already guards waiting below; once they joined forces, everything would be fine.
With that thought, the Black Guards boarded the elevator and descended.
Hearing all this through the security room, a guard reported,
“The Black Guards are heading down.”
Ivan Luk bit his nails anxiously as he listened.
On the surveillance artifact he was watching, the thieves were stuffing valuable items into bags they had brought in advance.
‘Damn it! Do they even know how much those things in the boxes are worth?!’
Fearing they might lose the thieves at this rate, Ivan couldn’t help but grow increasingly nervous, his leg bouncing uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, the guards in the security room kept communicating and calmly reported the situation.
“The guards have arrived at the underground vault. They are joining forces with the personnel already stationed inside.”
“Damn it, damn it. What the hell were the people inside doing?”
Ivan muttered irritably.
Of course, it was unfair to blame the guards stationed inside.
After all, who would have expected intruders to dig a tunnel into the underground vault?
The only relief was that Vault #3, which contained the most important items, was still untouched.
Ivan gave direct orders to the guards via the communication crystal.
“Capturing them is important, but the top priority is moving the items from Vault #3 to a secure location. Got it? And make sure to protect the items in Vault #2 too. The things left there are rare treasures to be showcased at midnight.”
[Understood.] 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
Even though only Vault #2’s wall had been breached for now, thinking about the possibility of Vault #3 being targeted made Ivan feel like he was going insane.
The guards immediately followed Ivan’s command with precise coordination.
The guards who had joined the forces underground split into two teams.
One was the suppression team, tasked with subduing the criminals still busy looting Vault #2.
The criminals seemed unaware that their infiltration had already been discovered and were diligently stealing auction items.
The other was the transport team, assigned to retrieve and secure the items from Vault #3.
Since the moment Vault #2 was breached, Vault #3’s safety could no longer be guaranteed—thus the decision to move everything.
“Move out.”
The Black Guards sprang into action. Fortunately, Vault #3 was still untouched.
[This is the security room. We confirm the guards have entered Vault #3.]
“Good. Move everything to a secure location immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“The rest of you, follow me. Let’s go break those arrogant thieves’ arms and legs.”
The suppression team stood in front of Vault #2.
“Let’s go.”
After synchronizing their movements, they immediately opened the door to Vault #2 and rushed inside.
“Freeze!”
The team leader shouted with deadly intent, but then realized something strange.
The same realization dawned on the other guards as well.
“What the hell.”
“There’s no one here.”
