I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 83

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 83. Our Knight Order Is Good

“Yes, I’ll register you with the Sixth Company of the Cheonghae Knights. When you’re registered as a knight, two servants and nine soldiers will be assigned to you—how would you like me to handle that?”
“Exclude that part. Handle it the same way you did when a wandering knight was inducted into Balheim.”

That was the route for external wandering knights—three months of probation, after which servants and soldiers would be assigned.

“Ah, you’re referring to the wandering knight probation process. Understood.”

Reblian caught on quickly and adjusted course accordingly.

“And regarding your age—how should we list it?”
“Ah, it might need adjusting. I do look young, but let’s say around eighteen.”
“Would it be all right if I took a look at your appearance first, just to confirm?”
“If that’s all, we might as well change my appearance now and have me join the Sixth Company today. No point in dragging things out.”

There was no reason to waste time.

“Very well. As long as I report it to the company commander, we can process it quickly—everything should be done by today. What about quarters?”
“You’ve got empty rooms, right? I’ll take one where I won’t run into the other knights.”

Then Krash remembered Bianca.

“Oh, and Bianca will be nearby. Tell them it was a condition I set for joining—something about having to look after a younger sister. That should be enough.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare for that as well.”
“Sorry for the trouble. I’m asking a lot.”

Watching Reblian spring into action at every word, Krash let out a wry smile, and Reblian blinked.

Then, realizing he hadn’t acknowledged the apology, he straightened his posture belatedly.

“My apologies. I’ve never been apologized to by someone of your rank before, so I was a bit taken aback.”

Knights are perhaps the most extreme example of a hierarchical profession.

For Reblian, who had lived within that world, Krash’s apology was unexpected.

Krash, observing this, let out another bitter smile.

“Reblian, the direct descendants of Balheim are all the same kind of person.”

Even if they were treated as heaven-sent beings by others, to Krash they were all much the same.

Because in the face of ruin, whether you died as a Balheim knight, a knight, or a commoner made no difference at all.

“I’ve asked a lot of you, so an apology is warranted. And you’ve done well by the request, so a thanks is due. That’s all.”

Others might think differently.

But this was who Krash was.

“……I see. I was shortsighted in my thinking.”
“Right. Then as I said before, let me show you what I’ll look like going forward.”

Krash immediately revealed his Krad form before Reblian.

“Ah, yes, understood.”

Reblian’s expression turned uneasy as he took in the sight of Krash with closed eyes and deep black hair.

Krash understood his reaction.

Honestly, this appearance did look rather suspicious.

At least his recent growth spurt had given him a face that looked reasonably mature for his age.

That particular aura of his had probably helped matters.

“Then I’ll report to the Commander and return.”

As Reblian left the room.

Krash turned to look at Bianca.

“Krash, I can’t see.”
“You can see what’s ahead—don’t worry.”

Bianca showed no particular concern about Krash’s changed appearance.

To her, his looks had never truly mattered.

As long as Krash was there, nothing else counted.

“More importantly, Bianca, you should probably change your hair color too. Are you all right with that?”

He’d decided to pass her off as his younger sister for now, but Bianca’s hair color stood out.

Her face wasn’t widely known within Farheim, so there was no risk of recognition on that front.

But the distinctive white hair of the Haderhardt bloodline was impossible to overlook.

“Will it be the same color as yours?”
“Yes—since I’m saying you’re my younger sister.”
“Then I like it.”

Good—she consented without objection.

Glancing toward Crimson Garden, she gave a slight nod in return.

Hair color was a simple matter of magic to change.

When Crimson Garden stepped forward and gently raised her wings, Bianca’s hair color shifted to black in an instant.

The lustrous black hair fluttered softly, and the change in Bianca’s presence was striking.

Though Bianca’s expressions had grown more varied of late, her face remained impassive.

If white-haired Bianca had resembled a flower blooming between her brows, black-haired Bianca brought to mind a dark rose.

Her hair had grown considerably longer recently, and the strands now flowing across her back caught the light distinctly.

As Bianca smoothed down her newly darkened hair, she turned to Krash with a hint of hesitation.

“Does it suit me?”

She asked with a note of worry in her voice.

“It suits you well.”

He meant it.

With looks like Bianca’s, nothing could look amiss anyway.

Since Bianca had grown quite tall recently, her dark hair made her appear a touch more mature than before.

At this, Bianca’s lips curved upward slightly, then she turned her back to Krash.

“Krash, would you tie it up for me?”

With it turned black, it somehow felt warmer.

Krash took the cord from Bianca and slowly gathered her hair, tying it with care.

With her hair now swept into a ponytail, Bianca gave her head a small shake and sat beside Krash.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled faintly.

“We match now.”

Krash wasn’t entirely sure what she found so delightful about that.

But seeing her legs swinging back and forth beneath the chair with such evident pleasure, he said nothing.

* * *

Thanks to Reblian’s swift handling of the paperwork, Krash was assigned an empty room in the dormitory under the status of a wandering knight.

Balheim had excellent knight order benefits.

With private baths and washrooms, a kitchenette, and three rooms besides, living comfortably here seemed no trouble at all.

“Crimson Garden, should I give you one of the rooms?”
-Take one yourself first.

He’d offered kindly, and all he got was complaints.

Krash tossed the luggage Alliod had thoughtfully prepared into one of the rooms.

“Bianca, do you have a preference for which room you’d like?”
“Which room will you be using, Krash?”

Krash picked one arbitrarily.

Bianca nodded and chose the room next door.

She seemed equally indifferent about which space she occupied.

“It’s like a newlyweds’ home.”

Her voice carried an unmistakable note of delight.

Where in the world was she picking up remarks like that?

Krash made a mental note to have another word with Elly, Bianca’s direct attendant, about her education.

Knock-knock.

At that moment, a knock sounded from outside the dormitory room.

When Krash opened the door to see what it was, the first thing that caught his eye was a scar on the forehead and a completely bald head.

The man with his menacing appearance stood towering in the doorway, a full head taller than Krash.

“So you’re the new recruit the Vice Patriarch recommended?”

A low, gravelly voice rang out as if he meant to establish dominance on first meeting.

So he’d come looking right away.

Word traveled fast through the Cheonghae Knights, it seemed.

“That’s right. I’m Krash.”
“I’m Zick. When a new recruit joins the Cheonghae Knights, we have something we like to do. Would you mind coming with me for a bit?”

He gripped the door frame with his thick hand as he spoke, his tone edged with threat.

‘Looks like hazing, pure and simple.’

Now that he thought about it, hazing among the knights was supposedly a fairly common occurrence.

Besides, Krash was nominally a wandering knight.

Those who’d climbed the ranks through official channels would naturally resent him all the more.

‘Well, so what.’

He’d be working with the Cheonghae Knights for the foreseeable future anyway.

Best to sort this out quickly.

“You can bring your sister if you want.”
“I’ll go alone. My sister is shy around strangers.”

If this was hazing, there was no reason to drag Bianca along.

When Krash said he’d go alone, Zick nodded readily and led him onward.

Krash casually rolled his shoulders, loosening his neck.

What was the level of the Cheonghae Knights anyway?

If he remembered correctly, they averaged somewhere between intermediate and advanced Expert rank.

The moment they arrived at the dining hall entrance, Krash sensed a heavy presence beyond the door.

It seemed like practically every member in the building had gathered.

As Krash subtly heightened his senses, Zick pushed open the dining hall doors.

Bang!

With the sound of something bursting, Krash’s hand flew to his waist—then he spotted who’d set off what looked like small firecrackers.

The scraps of paper pouring from the firecrackers were unmistakably party supplies.

At that same moment, knights and soldiers scattered throughout the hall all called out to Krash at once.

“Welcome! New family member!”
“We look forward to working with you!”
“Ha, you’ve certainly got character, don’t you!”

Watching them greet him so enthusiastically, Krash blinked his eyes open for a moment.

Then, catching sight of Zick, he broke into a grin as well.

“When a new family member joins us, we gather everyone we can and throw a welcome party together. Since it’s been ages since the last one, everyone’s in high spirits. Hope you understand.”
“Ah, yeah.”

Krash, who’d expected neither hazing nor such a warm reception, wore an awkward expression.

“Oh, does this sort of thing make you uncomfortable?”

Zick asked at once, his tone tinged with concern.

Despite his empty head, his heart overflowed with considerateness and warmth.

“Ah, it can feel a bit much. Everyone’s still strangers to me, after all.”
“Ha, don’t worry about it. You brought your little sister here alone and took her straight to the barracks yourself—just by that, I can tell you care about her! That’s enough for us.”
“If your sister ever seems like something’s bothering her but won’t say anything, just ask me. Wouldn’t it be easier for her to open up to another woman? Girls are sensitive about these things, you know.”

Warm words continued to flow from here and there.

In the face of all this kindness, Krash scratched his head, looking uncomfortable with the attention.

So this was what the Cheonghae Knights were like.

It struck him anew how little connection he’d ever had with Balheim’s knights.

‘…I should go get Bianca.’

* * *

The party itself went rather well.

Bianca loved sweets, so she devoured the cake eagerly.

Though he did have to wipe her mouth clean several times as she ate.

Still, watching Bianca enjoy herself put Krash in quite a good mood.

The only issue was that he kept getting offered alcohol, treated as an adult.

Krash politely declined every time.

After the party ended and the Cheonghae Knights settled in to rest,

Krash was checking the order’s upcoming schedule with Reblian, the vice-commander of the Cheonghae Knights.

“So in a week’s time, we’re heading to a Forbidden Domain. That’s the plan, then.”
“Yes, sir. The designated Forbidden Domain is the Demonic Realm. It lies roughly a month’s journey by carriage, though Sepira has agreed to provide transport for us.”
“Transport from Sepira?”

Krash paused.

Sepira: the specialist investigation unit dedicated to World Erosion.

It was because Krash had heard of them not long ago from Crimson Garden.

“Yes, Sepira has granted permission to use the Spatial Magic Circle they operate in front of the Demonic Realm. It seems the recent movements of the Demonic Realm are unusual. They said they needed reinforcements.”

After hearing this, Krash fell into thought for a moment.

Going to the Forbidden Domain was settled procedure, but it seemed unavoidable that he would run into Sepira’s princess.

‘I think it’s still too soon for that.’

Krash tapped his crossed arms absently.

‘…come to think of it, as a direct member of Balheim, there’s no reason I should be the one to go to the Demonic Realm, is there?’

With that thought, Krash decided to ask Reblian something else.

“That level of support means it’s not just the Cheonghae Knights moving, is it? What about the other orders?”
“Yes, the Second Sword and Fourth Sword have also committed to the operation.”

Krash slowly stroked his chin.

With the Second Sword and Fourth Sword in play, the Fifth Sword—the Cheonghae Knights—would practically become a support unit handling mundane tasks.

In terms of strength, the Fourth Sword, composed entirely of top-tier Expert knights, and the Second Sword, which had a majority of intermediate and early-stage Master-level knights, would necessarily be the main force.

‘Though compared to the First Sword, none of it really matters.’

All Master-level and above.

The First Sword—the world’s strongest knight order.

And the Guardian Sword of the First Sword’s commander, Balheim, had reached Master perfection.

The very existence of the First Sword was the main reason the Empire did not rashly provoke Balheim.

Not the martial prowess of any individual, but an entire order where every member was Master-level or above.

Even the White Dragon Knight Order, which the Empire took pride in, might overwhelm them in numbers, but in quality, they fell short of the First Sword.

‘Surely the founder of the technique I use was granted the position of Guardian Sword, the First Sword’s commander, which is why the secret technique bears that name.’

From the five elders who had reached Master perfection, including the Guardian Sword.

To the Vice Patriarch of Balheim, the Martial King, who bore a name among the Top Ten Under Heaven and had reached the Ultimate Way, the pinnacle of Master.

And finally, to the Martial Emperor, Balrok of Balheim, who stood in the Emperor Realm—one of only four in all the world, counted among the Top Four in Heaven.

Krash anew felt just how monstrous a collective Balheim was as a martial clan.

No wonder the saying went around that Balheim’s knight order was far stronger than the royal knights of Staron.

‘A monstrous collective, through and through.’

Even knowing he belonged to that collective, Krash let out a bitter laugh.

It was precisely because of such a place that Krash was treated as Talentless within Balheim.

From their perspective, Krash was truly Talentless.

Yet the feeling was bittersweet.

Even Balheim itself proved powerless in the face of annihilation.

After all, even the Starry Generation—called the mightiest of all ages—had been helpless against destruction.

Why should Balheim be any different?

“Are you… quite all right?”

At that moment, Krash heard Reblian’s words and lifted his head.

“All right?”
“Your expression seemed quite grave.”
“This is just my normal face.”

Reblian looked at Krash’s expression again, bewilderment crossing his features.

With his eyes closed, Krash’s face was difficult to read—almost impossible to distinguish, depending on how one looked at it.

And Krash understood why Reblian had asked.

“It’s about the sister in the Second Sword, isn’t it?”

Lilish Balheim.

Currently the Second Sword, captain of the Joojeon Knight Order—Balheim’s second child.

And Belokin’s blood sister, as well as Krash’s half-sister.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————