"Understand? When I say 'troubled,' what that basically means is— you feel that way because your own ability is lacking. Whether it's experience or raw skill you're short on, someone who's put in enough training doesn't get flustered so easily!"
"Y-yes, Big Sis. But—"
"No 'buts.' No 'buts!' How many times do I have to say it? How many times until it sinks in?"
Her eyes, flickering as though hosting actual flame, looked down at Tino. Liliz Smart, Tino's master, was shorter in stature, yet every time they faced each other, Tino shrank under that gaze.
They were in the living room of Tino's house. Seated deep in a chair with legs crossed wide, Liliz looked more like the master of the house than its actual owner.
In truth, the place Tino was renting had served as one of Liliz's base camps whenever she stayed in the imperial capital. That was why a single-occupant home had two sets of beds, chairs, and tableware.
Liliz sat smugly while she worked on a palm-sized silver treasure chest. She twisted a wire-like picking tool into the keyhole and manipulated it with practiced, deliberate motions.
The table around her was lined with countless other treasure chests of various shapes, each fitted with different locks.
They were training tools for Thieves practicing lock-picking.
Opening the treasure chests that appeared rarely inside a Treasure Hall was one of a Thief's most critical roles.
Unlike the Treasure Weapons that scattered throughout the halls, a treasure chest often contained multiple items inside. Discovering one was considered a stroke of good fortune for any Hunter.
And the story of a fellow Thief who couldn't crack one and had no choice but to lug the entire heavy chest back was a frequent punchline among Hunters. For a Thief, it was an tale of deep shame.
Opening a treasure chest required the skill to defeat every manner of lock—ancient and modern, Eastern and Western—that could manifest in a Treasure Hall. One had to examine the chest's shape and material, detect traps, disarm the lock, and in some cases judge that it was better to break the chest open rather than pick it. The Thief vocation, demanding situational judgment on top of everything else, actually required more tasks than a pure combat role.
Blood and guts alone wouldn't cut it for a Thief. Tino's master, Liliz, was feared for precisely that fiery temperament, but there was just as much to learn from her when it came to the art of picking locks.
"All hardship can be rephrased as a trial! Those who keep running from difficulty will remain trash no matter how long they hunt, and people only grow when they overcome great trials! If you're going to complain, finish the job first—then talk!"
Liliz slapped the treasure chest in her hand down onto the table.
Tino hurriedly caught it, and the chest sprang open without a single sound.
"The suffering you're going through right now is just the bill coming due for all the slacking you've done before. Wipe your own ass!"
Tino had to admit the words were fair.
Liliz's training was brutal, but the reason Tino bore it without resentment—fearful as she was—came from knowing her master pushed herself even harder. She simply never showed it to anyone else. Becoming a high-Level Hunter was not something raw talent alone could achieve.
And yet. Tino placed a sample treasure chest on the table and spoke up tentatively.
"However, Big Sis… Gregg is a merchant, not a Hunter…"
"Who cares about that! Citry-chan told you, didn't she? Just because he's a Hunter doesn't mean he should only polish his hunting technique!"
"I suppose…"
It had been several days since the auction where Gregg had bid on the Golem in Tino's stead, and she recalled the sight of the acquaintance now beset by all manner of troublesome entanglements. Her gaze dropped.
It wasn't that Tino harbored any special feelings for Gregg, but seeing him bearing the hardship that was supposed to have fallen on her made her heart ache—she was no cold-hearted person.
The one billion Gill had been the highest bid among the items sold at that auction. The problem, most likely, was that Gregg's identity as an individual—and a mid-rank Hunter at that—had made him an easy target.
Ever since Gregg won the Golem auction in her place, he had been plagued by one nuisance after another. Offers of enormous financing, suspicious men tailing him, business proposals from other merchants, and now even the attention of nobility.
When Tino had run into him by chance, he'd looked haggard from the unfamiliar ordeal, saying he was trying to avoid crowded places as much as possible.
Compared to the trials Tino had faced so far, his were of a very different nature. The danger to his life was probably less than being thrown into a perilous Treasure Hall, but the mental burden might well be greater.
Even so, he had handled the role of proxy without leaking any information about his principal, which spoke to his long years as a Hunter. Perhaps his ability to flee and read a situation was even superior to Tino's.
That was precisely why he was struggling now, but— The response from the master she'd consulted was, predictably, harsh.
Seeing Tino at a loss for words, Liliz shot her a sidelong glare and continued without dropping her imperious tone.
"Anyway, you don't need to worry about that, Tino. Citry's already got people looking into it. Why do you think Citry-chan appointed a mid-rank Hunter who isn't even part of the Footprints as her proxy in the first place?"
"…Huh?"
Tino was struck speechless.
At the auction, Gregg had ended up handling the bid because of Tino's own lapse—it was supposed to have been nothing more than a coincidence. At the very least, Tino had never imagined it would lead to this.
"The other side was a professional too, so they were on guard when they entered the bidding. Citry-chan investigated the competition and found that a proxy had been used with information kept hidden, and even after interrogating them, nothing turned up. But by then, the item was already on our side. If they absolutely had to get it back, they'd have to resort to the kind of people who specialize in the rough stuff—and that narrows the field considerably."
"B-but, it was my decision to have Gregg participate in the auction as my proxy…"
"Yeah. Citry-chan already sees right through every one of your pathetic moves."
"…"
"Normally, I'd break you down and rebuild you from scratch for this, but since Citry-chan already factored that in, I can't exactly chew you out, can I? You get that, right?"
As Tino's eyes welled up under the weight of those stern words, Liliz cracked her knuckles with a thin smile.
It was, perhaps, to be expected. Though it looked like nothing more than coincidence on the surface, Tino had witnessed her master's deft handiwork time and again. She did not believe her master's words were lies.
But no matter how many times she saw such things, Tino felt dread before she felt admiration. And at the same time, she was freshly reminded of the reason that even the terrifying "Big Sis" before her had no disciple of her own—while Citry, the master's master, did.
"Well, Citry should be weeding out anyone who looks dangerous, so… you'll manage on your own, right? That's what Citry-chan determined, anyway. In the meantime, try not to make contact with him. If they get suspicious and pull out, it'll become a headache. I don't think Citry-chan will have much trouble either way—dealing with people is messier than dealing with Phantoms or Monsters. You get that, right?"
"Y-yes, Big Sis…"
Tino nodded repeatedly.
Liliz was an exceptional Thief, but she was also a Bounty Head Hunter who had single-handedly toppled numerous criminal parties and underground organizations. Tino was sometimes dragged along for the ride under the guise of training.
Human criminals were more troublesome than Phantoms or Monsters. Even if their individual abilities were low, they possessed cunning and the malice to wield it. Sometimes the law itself stood in the way. The kind of target who ended up on a wanted list among Hunters was not someone you could handle with a simple approach.
Tino felt a twinge of guilt toward Gregg, but once the verdict was delivered, there was nothing she could do. She could only trust in her master's abilities.
"I was actually thinking of having Citry-chan put you through the wringer too, but looking at this whole mess, it seems even the useless little Tino has a 'role' I can't fill…"
"Master's training…"
Even the training currently imposed by her master left her half-dead on a regular basis. She couldn't imagine what "put through the wringer" by Citry would even look like.
It stung terribly that her shortcomings were completely transparent, but she felt such training might be premature for her right now. Joining the Mourning Specters was supposed to be a future goal—something to aim for once she had built up real strength.
She'd nearly died just from being thrown into the White Wolf's Den, and that had not even qualified as a trial in her master's eyes. Which meant— …it was still too soon. It's still too soon for me, Mastaa. Just Big Sis's training is more than I can handle…
The very thought made her shrink back, but then a knock sounded at the door.
She rose and turned her gaze toward the entrance.
She knew plenty of people, but only a limited few ever came all the way to the house—on account of the terrifying master whose mood could change the way she dealt with visitors.
After confirming that her master's mood today wasn't too dire, Tino opened the door.
The face that appeared made her master's eyes widen. The visitor was a white-haired old man with a stern expression—the owner of the Treasure Weapon shop "Magic Tail," Marchis. He wore a grimy apron and clutched a small box under one arm.
Upon seeing Tino, the hardness around his eyes softened just slightly. He cleared his throat and spoke with an apologetic look.
"Oh, young lady. Sorry for dropping by unannounced. The appraisal of that Treasure Weapon you asked about is finally done—I was afraid you'd forgotten, given all the commotion lately. It was something you found, wasn't it?"
He was right—it had completely slipped her mind. At the time, her master's interest had shifted entirely to the mask, and she'd been consumed with handling that.
Well, in truth, that Treasure Weapon had already been dedicated to her master, so it wasn't even Tino's anymore. Still, she couldn't very well say she'd forgotten, so she accepted the small case.
"Oh, it's Marchis. Stop making a move on my Tino without permission, will you? I'll tell your wife. If you don't like that, then bring in a powerful Treasure Weapon that Citry-chan would enjoy—bring one for every time, and I'll lend you Tino for a day. Hurt her and I'll kill you."
"You little— who's making a move, you foul-mouthed—! Kid, and you— everybody's always ribbing me—"
At Liliz's teasing, Marchis's face flushed scarlet and he roared back. It was the same exchange they'd repeated countless times since Tino had become her apprentice.
Tino opened the box. Inside was a slip of paper bearing the appraisal results and a familiar-looking bracelet.
"Why bring it to me instead of Citry-chan? That's scary. I'll tell your grandson, you know— Sessie, was it? If you don't like that, bring a nice Treasure Weapon that would make Citry-chan happy."
"W-where did you— Shut your mouth! It was your find, wasn't it? In the first place, we hardly ever get Treasure Weapons in the shop that match what that kid wants! If you're a Hunter, go find your own!"
"We used to sell plenty of good stuff back in the day. I told Gaark the same thing the other day—has your skill gone rusty?"
"That's because that little brat bought up every last piece of overpriced dead stock I had! Don't just buy—try selling for once!"
While Tino let her master and Marchis bicker, she read through the explanation sheet.
"'Dancing Light and Shadow'? A light-image projection device? Effective range: one meter. With mastery, you can make a figurine dance in the palm of your hand…"
This was… another item with a difficult evaluation.
What Hunters favored were Treasure Weapons that were simple, powerful, and practical. A canteen that produced infinite water, boots that boosted agility, a sword that launched cutting waves—in Tino's experience, the easier something was to use and the more straightforward its effect, the higher it sold for.
"Rare piece. You wouldn't find something like this in the Aleyn Column Ruins, that's for sure."
On the other hand, this bracelet was complicated. A light-image projection device meant it was a tool that generated illusions within a limited range.
In theory, it wasn't unusable. But the effective range was quite narrow, and the operation seemed quite cumbersome. Even if she sold it, whether it would actually move was highly questionable.
For a Treasure Weapon obtained under her master's instructions, it seemed rather tame.
Then, without warning, the bracelet sitting inside the box vanished. Tino looked around in a panic, and there was her master—who moments ago had been arguing with Marchis—holding the bracelet up between two fingers, examining it intently.
After a stretch of silence, she finally turned to Tino.
"…I'll be the one to hand this over. That's fine, right, Tino?"
"Eh? Y-yes. Of course, Big Sis."
As always, Tino agreed almost reflexively, and her master embraced the bracelet with a mood brighter than she'd ever seen, spinning around on the spot.
Before Marchis's wide eyes, Liliz raised a voice brimming with delight.
"This is perfect! Citry-chan will absolutely love this. Tino, you've done great! I'll buy you a new dagger next time!"
"Really?! That's— oh, um, Big Sis… that— wait a second—"
Her master almost never gave Tino gifts.
She was about to protest and decline, but a voice from behind stopped her first. A familiar voice addressed the elated master.
"Hold on, Big Sis! This should be handled fairly, don't you think? Right, Tino-chan?"
Another Big Sis had appeared without notice and was now standing behind her, smiling.
A hand landed on her shoulder and Tino's body flinched. The master's composure crumbled at the sound of that voice.
"Huh? Tino is my disciple, so whatever she finds is obviously mine. What are you doing here?"
"The one who caused trouble for Citry was me, and the whole thing only started because you insisted on training with the Golem, Big Sis. So this time you should let me have it. Tino-chan agrees, don't you? Right?"
Even Liliz's imposing tone didn't seem to register with Citry, her own sister.
Citry rattled off her lines as though reciting something rehearsed, then turned to Tino for agreement at the end. Her voice, unlike Liliz's, carried no roughness—but it held a quiet force that brooked no refusal. Finally, she leaned in and whispered a small supplement.
"If you leave it with me, I'll buy you a new dagger and— a really beautiful dress."