“Oh my, so Astar appeared?”
“Did someone in this part of town possess an Ashtarte?”
After departing from Vivianne’s workplace, Chloe purchased a cup of coffee and meandered through the streets. Stories about Astar had already flooded the city, despite his recent appearance. In the grasp of each storyteller, there were editions from various newspapers, a common sight the day after Astar made his presence known.
The tales of Astar’s daring deeds were a reliable source of income that newspapers couldn’t ignore, and the paperboys were actively circulating, their pockets jingling with fresh earnings. Chloe acquired a newspaper for himself and leisurely sipped his coffee while perusing the headlines.
[‘The elusive phantom thief strikes again. What has he purloined this time?’]
The papers were abuzz with accounts of Astar’s audacious theft at a Count’s banquet, where he brazenly snatched the Viscount’s watch before vanishing from the Count’s study. Speculation arose briefly over the Count’s possession of an Ashtarte, as Astar’s proclamation had only mentioned the theft of such an item. The Count was reportedly in a state of distress, sealing off his mansion and declining all visitors.
“Hmmm, I had a feeling this might happen.”
The Count’s closely guarded Ashtarte has vanished, leaving only a letter in its wake. Astar had declared it a forgery, but the Count was none the wiser. He was unaware of the sacred relic’s counterfeit nature, only of its disappearance.
Should the Count reveal to the police that it was stolen, the artifact’s dubious origins would come to light, so he seethed internally, unable to disclose the injustice. Not being the official owner of the Ashtarte, he couldn’t make the matter public, even with a notice from Astar.
The Count, having dishonestly obtained the Ashtarte, was hesitant to draw public scrutiny. The arriving officers, oblivious to the existence of the Ashtarte in the Count’s possession, conducted a covert investigation, respecting his wish to avoid a scandal.
Now, the entire world knows.
As anticipated, the newspapers revealed nothing about the man Chloe had observed in the Count’s study. He purchased every newspaper available on the street, laid them out on a park bench, and scrutinized them, all for naught. The papers were silent about the enigmatic man, offering only a series of pointless interviews with Shan.
After sifting through Shan’s fervent tirades, Chloe tilted his head to take the final sip of his coffee. That’s when he noticed black wings eclipsing the sunless, overcast sky.
“…Hmm?”
Caw!
A crow soaring above swooped down around Chloe’s head and dropped an item. Chloe caught the gleaming object that landed with a tap on his forehead. It was the watch he had pilfered from the Viscount the day before. Chloe hastily inspected the watch’s face, relieved to find it unscathed.
Slipping the watch into his back pocket out of sight, Chloe fished inside his coat and flung a strip of unseasoned jerky into the air. Despite the jerky’s hefty weight, the crow easily seized it with its onyx talons and settled on a branch a fair distance away, nibbling at the treat.
“Cute little guy.”
Chloe murmured, smiling fondly like a parent observing a content child. Eaven the crow, Astar’s ally and nocturnal companion, had reliably protected any treasures given to him and returned them to Chloe without a scratch.
He’s done a good job today, so I ought to take him home and treat him to a nice meal. Or maybe throw him something shiny.
Rising, Chloe gathered the scattered newspaper from the bench and neatly stacked it. Having checked his watch and the paper, he was ready for the next task.
Dawn. It might have been a bluff, as Vivianne suggested, and the man could possibly know nothing about Dawn. Yet, it concerns Dawn, nonetheless.
The ever-present lucky star seemed to whisper an intuition that his words were more than mere white noise.
His gut feeling pointed him in the right direction. The subsequent move was a strategic play in the game of information, armed with logic. To conquer the unknown, one often relies on fortune. But Chloe, blessed with luck, knew he couldn’t depend solely on it. For assured success, he needed information to dispel the uncertainties. Luck was merely an instrument.
Chloe stowed the newspapers in the bench’s corner for any homeless in need of cover, stretched his limbs, and stood tall.
Caaaw-!
“Ouch!”
“You crazy crow!”
Eaven’s angry voice echoed from behind, accompanied by the screams of children. Without further thought, Chloe turned and saw Eaven menacing two boys with his sharp beak. The boys, under threat, covered their heads and ran in circles. Onlookers in the park gaped at the spectacle.
It was hard to believe that the same crow contentedly eating beef jerky moments before could behave so aggressively. Chloe approached a child who was staring agape at the crow’s onslaught and inquired,
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“What happened over there?”
“Ktbrf ybsr atgfk gbmxr ja atf mgbkr; atfs’gf yflcu pfgxr. Dea vbc’a ylgvr erejiis pera ois jkjs ktfc gbmxr jgf atgbkc ja atfw?”
Yeah, but that guy is not your average crow.
Coafg tfjglcu atf mtliv’r fzqijcjalbc, Jtibf yla yjmx tlr kbgvr jcv rmgjamtfv atf yjmx bo tlr tfjv.
He may be temperamental, but he’s a good guy, so he’ll probably just scare the kids and leave. If an adult had thrown the stone, though, things might have been different…
“Xbrt, mtlivgfc!”
C kbwjc tegglfv abkjgv atf mtlivgfc ktb kfgf atgfjafcfv ys atf mgbkr. Vtf ujatfgfv atf rbyylcu mtlivgfc lc tfg jgwr jcv ufraegfv abkjgvr Sjnfc.
Yes, here comes the protector. I’m sure Eaven will leave now…
“Aagh-!”
The woman’s screams echoed, and just when it seemed Eaven had had enough, he intensified his harassment. The woman’s neatly pinned-up hair quickly became disheveled as he repeatedly clutched at her hair with his strong beak, lifting it into the air before letting go.
“Ah, that’s the lady who told the kids that crows are a symbol of bad luck….”
“Hey man, cut it out! What’re you doing all of a sudden?!” Chloe scolded.
Chloe stormed off without even listening to the child’s explanation. No matter how angry he was, this guy was out of line. Standing between the crow and the group, Chloe swung his arms wildly at Eaven, trying his best to shoo him away.
Caw caw-!
The crow’s cries pierced the sky. Judging by the shrill sound, the anger directed at the woman had shifted to Chloe, along with a sense of betrayal. This time, it pecked Chloe on the crown of his head with its hard beak.
The first time was bearable, the second time, he checked for blood. It wasn’t until the third peck that Chloe realized it wasn’t a joke, and just like the children had done, he ran away with his hands wrapped around his head.
“Stop it! Knock it off, you jerk!”
Eaven followed Chloe, jabbing him repeatedly in the head.
It’s good that he stopped bothering the innocent woman, but why go after me?
Chloe’s mistake was not hearing out the child’s full explanation. Running frantically while looking at the ground, he collided with someone and fell on his rear.
Caw!
“Ouch!”
Eaven wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass. He halted abruptly, delivered three quick pecks to the head, and soared into the sky. Chloe, visibly enraged, lay on the ground cradling his head, rubbing the sore spot in bewilderment. A large hand in a black glove extended towards him.
“Ah, thank you… I mean, sorry…”
Chloe scrambled to his feet, taking the offered hand, and his words faltered upon recognizing the man. The very person who had kindly helped Chloe up, after a collision during his heedless sprint, was the individual he needed to identify to further his investigation.
He’s the one who holds the key to information about Dawn.
“…Are you alright?” inquired the man, addressing Chloe, who seemed momentarily disoriented. Regaining his composure, Chloe nodded and managed a light-hearted response.
“Oh, certainly. My apologies for the collision. Monsieur, I hope I haven’t caused you any injury?”
The man responded with a silent shake of his head. Chloe had been dashing with such urgency, as if pursued by police, and had collided directly with the man’s torso. Any normal person would have shown signs of pain, but this man remained unperturbed, seemingly unaffected by the impact. Indeed, he appeared so sturdy that Chloe had rebounded off him upon contact.
“Monsieur, monsieur!”
At the path’s end, Chloe watched as a woman, her skirt hoisted to her knees, hurried toward him, trailed by a group of children still shaken from Eaven’s fierce temper. This woman, her hair a casualty of Eaven’s ire, seemed too aged to be their mother.
Could she be their grandmother?
The woman halted before Chloe, panting. Her disheveled beige hair betrayed her rush, seeing how she hadn’t even fixed it. As she came to a stop, the children gathered around, eyes darting skyward, bodies quivering. Fortunately, Eaven seemed to have flown off somewhere and was out of sight.
Lifting her gaze past Chloe, the woman clutched her chest, eyebrows arching high, and cried out in a piercing tone,
“Mr. President!”
“…Is that the reason you wanted to meet in the park?”
“Goodness, I apologize for that unsightly scene. I was on my way to pick up the children… Ah, excuse me, Monsieur, how rude of me, thank you for stopping that crow earlier.”
The lady, who had been conversing with the man as though she knew him, noticed Chloe standing like a straw bale in the distance. She turned towards him, clasping the hem of her skirt with both hands and bending her knees slightly in gratitude. It was a gesture of admirable grace, yet somewhat marred by her tousled hair.
After exchanging greetings, she seized the children by the napes of their necks, compelling them to bow. Despite being made to lower their heads, the frightened children continued to cast anxious glances towards the sky.
By the way, Mr. President, huh? Seems you’ve got a sizeable business of some sort.
Had the Count been inclined to pay such interest, he would have squandered all his wealth. Chloe, having gleaned a piece of information he had been curious enough to consider stealing from Fog for, crossed his right hand over his heart and tilted his head in greeting, silently thanking them for the newfound insight.
“I simply did what was necessary, Madame. Such a scoundrel, to distress a beautiful woman in this manner. They say crows are drawn to shiny objects, and it appears to be the case. Are you unharmed?”
“Oh, my.”
Chloe, feigning ignorance of the children’s plight at Eaven’s talons, responded with a cunning smile. His lustrous blonde hair, aglow in the sunlight, was striking. His unusual gray eyes, which held both mischief and maturity, only added to his allure. The woman, flattered by the attention from such a strikingly handsome man, blushed demurely.
“I’m quite alright and regret any trouble caused, but are you, Monsieur, injured at all?”
“Not at all, Madame. All is well”
A child, resentful of Chloe’s self-centered demeanor and his disregard for their earlier bullying, piped up.
“That mad bird attacked us and my grandmother too. Normally, if you throw a stone, it should flee, not advance. It seems crows truly are a bad omen.”
“Well, I’m not certain about that. The bird isn’t unlucky; he’s simply too clever. Next time, don’t be throwing stones, or he might follow you all the way home,” Chloe warned the children.
However, the sulking child, brimming with defiance, retorted, “No, that’s not true. Crows aren’t smart; they’re just mean and bring bad luck, right?”
“Bern, you must be courteous. What would we have done without this gentleman?”
“But Grandma! You were the one who said crows bring bad luck! You told me the unlucky crow had returned! We threw stones for you!”
“Oh dear, this child…”
Chloe gazed skyward, offering an apologetic look, finally understanding why Eaven was so troubled.
What a little brat. If only Eaven could’ve told me instead of pecking at my head.
Naturally, being a crow, all Eaven could do was caw. While the lady panicked and argued with the child, the man offered Chloe a handkerchief.
“…Monsieur, what is this?”
“Are you certain you’re alright?” inquired the man, his voice laced with concern.
“Oh dear, Monsieur!”
The woman, previously occupied with the child, noticed Chloe and grabbed the handkerchief from the man. She then pressed it against Chloe’s forehead, fussing over him.
“How could he… That mad bird could have split a man in two!”
Chloe understood the situation when he noticed the white handkerchief turning red as the woman dabbed at his forehead. Blood was trickling down from the crown of his head, through his hair, and over his forehead.
The realization made Chloe’s head throb, not from the wound itself, but from pondering how to calm the irate crow. Once upset, the bird would remain so for at least a week.
In contrast to the bustling woman, the children stood frozen at the sight of the blood on Chloe’s forehead. Chloe faced the children, who were aghast at the sight, and offered them some advice.
“The crow is a frightening bird, so if you don’t want to end up like me, best mind your own business.”
The thoughtful children nodded so vigorously that the wind seemed to pick up.
It appears those mischievous youngsters have no desire to end up with cracked skulls.
The man, who had been motionless, also criticized the woman.
“Adults should realize that it’s not the crows that bring misfortune.”
“…I realize now that my narrow-mindedness has caused trouble for many. I apologize.” The woman made no excuses and simply apologized.
If I return home and mention that this person has apologized, wouldn’t Eaven’s anger ease a little?
As Chloe pondered this, he realized that the man had taken his side when correcting the woman.
Gratefully, Chloe accepted the handkerchief from the woman who was attentively dabbing at his forehead. He expressed his gratitude to the man as well, while pressing on the spot that had been pelted by Eaven’s swift assault.
“Thank you. I’ll have it cleaned and returned. May I inquire about Monsieur’s address?”
“There’s no need for that. Please, keep it.”
The man had casually offered a custom-made handkerchief, likely very expensive. Under normal circumstances, Chloe would have accepted it without hesitation, but his current priority was to learn the man’s identity. The handkerchief, offered as a kind gesture, was a valuable means to request the man’s information. Naturally, if the man parted with the handkerchief without a second thought, its purpose would be nullified.
As Chloe’s mind raced, the woman observing him with concern unexpectedly provided an answer. She swiftly clasped Chloe’s forearm, her gesture implying an intention to take him to her residence.
“Are you going to leave just like that? My house is nearby; you should at least get some medical attention first. Mr. President, is that acceptable?”
“I am merely an invited guest, proceed as you wish.”
“Wonderful! Monsieur, would you care to join us for dinner?”
Thanks to Eaven, it felt as if Chloe had stumbled upon a diamond necklace while strolling down the street. He concealed his elation well, looking up at the sky with an awkward chuckle.
“Well…”
“Please, let me offer you treatment. Despite appearances, I am a doctor. If you’re not in a hurry, please join us!”
The lady implored Chloe, who hesitated to respond, framing it as a favor. Chloe feigned reluctant agreement and joined them, accompanying the man harboring secrets, of course.
– – –
Translator’s Corner:
I made a phantom thief themed playlist for this series. I have been listening to it on loop while I translate and it’s just perfect!!
If you want to check it out, here is the link – it’s on YouTube. Let me know if you find any songs you think would fit! I’m always looking. ^^
Very nice playlist!! I’ll also have it on loop while reading lol 😉
Thanks for the chapter! <3
Anytime! Thanks for reading! 😊❤
Nice 😌 the playlist slaps and so do Chloe’s moves