At the end of their discussion, the two stood up in unison. The thrill of taking a life with their own hands had already taken root in their hearts. As scions of illustrious families, killing was hardly a troublesome matter for them. The true challenge had always been the lack of a target. But now, the perfect prey had appeared. The hunters, once in search of sustenance, had themselves become the hunted. A relentless pursuit was about to begin.
Just then, the pounding on the main door suddenly ceased.
"Damn it! He's trying to escape—after him!"
Felt reacted first, yanking the warehouse door open. In the dim light, he caught a vague glimpse of a shadow darting through the front hall, slipping out through a glass window that had somehow been shattered.
"He's gone! I'll give chase!"
Felt was overwhelmed with excitement and dashed forward without hesitation. But Inston did not follow. Instead, he turned on his flashlight and examined the warehouse door behind them. At about chin-height, he noticed a faint patch of condensation…
"Heh, just as I thought. A diversion, is it? Since you're so clever, I don't mind using your little ploy against you."
Inston calmly shut the warehouse door and locked it again. Only after ensuring it could not be reopened did he leave the tea restaurant and take off in pursuit of his friend.
"Damn it, that guy runs like the wind! One blink and he was gone!"
Not far from the restaurant, Felt was cursing aloud. When he spotted Inston, he grabbed his friend's arm and shouted, "Come on! Let's split up and search! He can't have gone far. You go left, I'll go right!"
Inston flung off Felt's hand with a grunt. "Fatty, don't let your blubber clog your brain. I'll bet you anything—he never left. On the contrary, he's probably hiding somewhere close by, just waiting for us to get farther away."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
With a cold chuckle, Inston led Felt a bit further from the tea house and lowered his voice. "After you ran out, I checked that warehouse door. Right around where my chin would be, I found a patch of fogged-up glass. Do you know what that means?"
"What does it mean?"
"It means someone had their head pressed against the door, listening intently to what was happening inside. The condensation came from their breath. That banging on the door wasn't from panic—it was a ruse to lure us out. They must've calculated that we'd rush out in a frenzy and forget to lock the door. Once we were gone, they strolled in and made off with the goods."
"What?! You mean… all of that was a trick?!"
"Hmph, of course it was. And there's more. Judging by the height of the fog, the intruder couldn't have been very tall. Either a dwarf or someone around our age. Most likely, it was a hungry freshman from the lower division playing games after dark."
Felt's earlier dejection was instantly replaced with excitement after hearing Inston's explanation. He swung his sword with a whoosh, slicing the air, but this time he held back, instead following behind Inston and retreating to a spot far from the restaurant.
During the wait, Inston's smirk became increasingly difficult to hide. With both the front and back doors securely locked, he could hardly wait to see the thief return, only to find himself locked out and scrambling in vain. After five minutes in the dark, once he judged enough time had passed, he drew his sword and, alongside Felt, crept back toward the tea restaurant.
The restaurant was pitch-black, not a glimmer of light inside. The shards of glass by the door still reflected the darkness and chill of the night sky. The two exchanged hand signals, gripping their swords as they crept down the corridor to the warehouse. They held their breath, each step slower than the last, for they knew—the confrontation was near.
"Thief! Surrender now!"
With a thunderous shout, Inston leapt forward, sword raised high! Felt followed, not to be outdone, and together they charged the warehouse door!
But…
There was no one there.
The warehouse door was still tightly locked. Apart from the vanished patch of fog, everything was exactly as it had been moments before.
"Hmph. Looks like he got away."
Inston sheathed his sword and shook his head in frustration. Felt followed suit, inserting his weapon back into its sheath with a disappointed sigh.
"Tch… forget it. If he got away, he got away. At least we protected the warehouse. That's fifty credits in the bag."
Inston let out a bitter laugh. Though they hadn't caught the thief, at least their grades were intact. Felt, likely thinking the same, pulled out some snacks and began eating with gusto.
The tension that had gripped them finally melted away. After mocking Felt's gluttony, Inston pulled out his key once more and unlocked the warehouse door. Pushing it open, he stepped inside and flicked the switch on the wall—
"What the hell…?!"
What met his eyes was no longer the neat and orderly storage room from before, but a ravaged mess. Vegetables had fallen from the shelves, tomatoes splattered on the floor, potatoes scattered everywhere. The freezer doors had been flung open, trays of eggs smashed on the ground, leaving sticky yolk all over. Half-roasted chickens had been dragged from the fridge, cheese and sausages tossed about. Even the pots hanging on the wall had crashed down, shattering. The duck roasting rack had been pulled down, utensils spilled across the counter in chaotic disarray.
They'd been ransacked.
But how?! How could anyone have entered a sealed warehouse?
Inston stared, dumbfounded, at the devastation. Then, in the next instant, he bolted for the back door. Yes, it was locked. But what about the transom window? Could it have been pried open? Could the iron bars have been removed?
No. The transom was intact. From every angle, it was impossible for anyone to have entered. So how had the thief broken in, pillaged the place, then locked the door behind him on the way out?
Inston sank to his knees, gazing blankly at the wreckage. It wasn't just the loss of fifty credits that pained him—it was the humiliation. That someone could rob him right under his nose… the shame burned worse than any wound.
"Looks like… we failed…"
Felt muttered, his face solemn as he surveyed the wreckage. He helped his friend up and tried to console him. "We failed… Let's go report this to Mr. Campa."
Half in a daze, Inston allowed himself to be guided out of the warehouse. Under the veil of night, the two walked wearily in the direction of the tower.
"No… it's not over! Wait… wait—let me think… That's it!"
Suddenly, Inston cried out. His lifeless expression lit up with clarity and energy.
"The spare key! We had one, but so did whoever manages the tea house! And since students work there part-time, some of them must have keys too! And… and… right—if someone's been able to steal from us multiple times, then I should've realized earlier the thief is probably an insider! Let's go! Let's question the person in charge of the keys! If they took the food, they couldn't have gotten far!"
Their exhaustion vanished instantly, replaced by renewed vigor. Felt let out a cheer, drew his sword once more, and dashed toward the student dorms like a man possessed. Inston followed close behind, his conviction growing with each step. His pace quickened, and with a swift metallic hiss, his sword was unsheathed once again.
The thick clouds in the sky gradually parted. As the two reached the dorm of the student responsible for the keys, Felt raised his foot, ready to kick in the door. But just then, the clouds broke completely, and silver moonlight from three glowing moons bathed Inston in a pale radiance.
"…!"
In that moment, Felt's hand was caught by his friend.
"What are you doing? Hurry up! If we don't act now, those bastards will get rid of the food and we'll lose our credits!"
Inston ignored Felt's shouting, lost deep in thought. As the moonlight grew stronger, casting a brilliant silver hue, a terrifying idea suddenly burst forth in his mind.
"Fatty, tell me—when we entered the ransacked warehouse, did you see any food that was actually missing?"
Felt froze, unsure of how to answer. He tilted his head in confusion, then furrowed his brow and shook it slowly. "How would I know? The place was such a mess, something had to be missing!"
"So just because the place was in chaos, there must have been a theft?!"
Inston's eyes flew open in a flash. In that instant, a clear thread of logic unfurled fully in his mind.