I’ll Steal Everything and Escape - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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8.
The half-thief, carrying nothing but a surplus of mana, elegantly dribbled strawberry juice over the mushrooms on their skewers. Inside the Roots, a fire couldn’t be kept burning for long, so everything had to be roasted quickly and in bulk.
“Tch.”
Elodie poked at the crackling campfire.
“I envy Robert the most, as always.”
Being able to conjure fire with nothing but a snap of the fingers. In a primitive situation like this, it was the most coveted ability there was. The novice thief grumbled as she reviewed her plan.
To steal Silvia’s necklace, I’ll need strength.
“That’s why I set my first target as Ice Freezing Magic.”
The swamp along the way was crawling with those hideous toad Demonic Beasts, so the ability to freeze the marsh was essential.
“Phew. Then, I suppose…”
The next target surfaced in her mind almost at once.
“I need to bring Red here.”
Elodie wiped her cheek with a soot-smeared hand. The day of the operation had already been set. She had settled on the perfect day to move, and she
remembered
it.
* * *
Days Until Death: D-509
“Looks like it’s about to begin.”
Far off to the west, a plume of smoke billowed upward, the kind that might even be visible from the Tree of Rest.
“Prince Bayern really does know how to make an entrance.”
Elodie gave a small bow toward the column of black smoke. Today was the decisive day, when Robert’s party would wage a flashy battle against the Demonic Beasts.
“Thankfully, the timing is exact.”
Just as Kamil Beltier had shown up earlier than before, she had worried the schedule might drift badly off course.
‘…Come to think of it, he’s still alive, right?’
No, what does that matter right now? Elodie shook her golden hair to shake off the stray thought.
Robert would draw the Demonic Beasts’ attention with a single Flame Pillar that day, and she still remembers that acrid air. Even the way he ended up fleeing in a panic, chased off by a tide of enemies crashing in.
“From that point on, the Demonic Beasts kept hounding us, and we couldn’t return to where we’d been staying.”
We managed to recover the tent, but the camp had to be moved.
“By now, they must sense that something here is off.”
They would come to regret today again and again, since the party would be plagued by Demonic Beast raids for a full twenty-seven days.
“Ugh.”
The memory of standing watch all night without any sleep
came flooding back. Elodie hurriedly gathered the Leaf Cloak and a bundle of white flowers.
“Now, I suppose it’s time for me to set out too.”
Today she had two things to steal. And the first one she’d take was a Demonic Beast.
“Beep.”
Many kinds of Demonic Beasts lived near the Tree of Rest, but the one Elodie was after was a young Mdr. What’s a Mdr, you ask?
“Hello there? Good boy?”
“Beep!”
Buzzzzz!
A giant ladybug charged straight at her with fury.
“Did it catch my scent already?”
If you laid two Elodies end to end, they’d roughly match the size of this green ladybug.
‘I read in a book that this was an adult, but on this island, it’s just a hatchling.’
The Mdr is an insectoid Demonic Beast that also dwells in the Empire. Unless it’s starving, it doesn’t attack humans, so it’s ranked relatively low.
“Green Ladybug, you like this, don’t you?”
“Beep!”
Elodie quickly pulled out what she’d prepared. A bundle of white flowers dangling from a branch. At the sight of the flimsy, swaying blossoms, the Mdr let out a droning buzz.
“Good.”
For the record, the Green Ladybug was the name Robert Bayern, the Prince, had given this Demonic Beast. By now you’ve probably guessed it, but the young prince’s naming sense is very straightforward and… dreadful.
“Beeeep!”
Strangely, the Green Ladybug went wild for these unnamed white flowers. Maybe the nectar tasted different. Elodie had never cared for flowers, but she plucked every one of these she spotted. Because.
“Hup.”
With this bundle, she could steer the direction it flew!
Elodie leaped up and climbed onto the Mdr’s back, just behind its neck. Ladybugs don’t fly high. They don’t fly far, either. In other words, she could avoid the Demonic Beasts’ gaze as much as possible while still keeping her mobility.
“Alright.”
With the flower bundle dangling from a hastily improvised fishing rod, Elodie crouched low and inched forward.
This was a method she could only start using nearly a year after falling onto the island. And thankfully, the one who taught it to her was…
“Eek.”
Memory
before she could recall the memory, Mdr leapt up with a jolt. For the record, riding a ladybug is the worst experience imaginable.
By the way, riding a Green Ladybug is the worst.
“Pyirit.”
The trip to the destination was quick. Mdr was far faster than any real ladybug could ever hope to be.
‘…Though my backside might split in two, that’s a different matter entirely.’
“…Pyirik.”
As they drew near the destination, Mdr fluttered its wings hesitantly. Elodie quickly understood why.
‘It’s getting hot, isn’t it.’
The place Elodie, dreaming of becoming a great thief, arrived at was the Lava Basin, in the northeast of the island.
The forbidden island, Dragon’s Grave, is divided into four broad zones.
Snowy peaks in the northwest. Lava in the northeast. Swamps and waterfalls in the southwest. Jungle-covered rocky mountains in the southeast. Each area has its own subtle differences, but they all share roughly the same feel.
Elodie’s reason for choosing the Lava Basin was simple.
“On an island, cooked food is the safest bet.”
She was a novice at thievery, but when it came to survival, she had plenty of experience. Elodie stretched out her legs and slid down from Mdr’s back.
“Good work, Green Ladybug.”
All that tailing and careful selection over the past two days had paid off. The creature clung to a nearby tree and crunched noisily on the white flowers.
“…Please stay somewhere nearby so I can ride you back.”
Elodie laid out the bouquets on the ground one by one, then began pushing her way through the heat of the Lava Basin.
“Ugh, I’m already sweating.”
The northeast of the island is unnaturally hot. The inner depths are so scorching that your skin would blister in an instant.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
Fortunately, Elodie’s destination was not the inner depths. A massive rocky mountain cut boldly through the middle of the Lava Basin. That was where the thief’s target lay.
“…So, another climb is necessary, then.”
It had barely been a few days since her trip to the cliffs.
“Phew.”
Tears blurred her vision, but thankfully, she didn’t need to reach the summit. ‘Red’ wasn’t up that high. Getting past the tail of the mountain would be enough.
Memory
Finding the path that remained vividly etched in her memory was an easy task.
“Huff, hah.”
After two hours of searching, Elodie finally found a stone mound curled into a circle. Sweat poured down her like rain.
“F-found it.”
The second treasure Elodie was going to steal. The first attempt had failed, but there was no way this one would. Now it was time to take out the prepared canteen.
[Ugh, it’s so hot. Elodie! Pour some water over me.]
[Louise! A lady shouldn’t talk like that.]
[Hurry!]
[Eek! Don’t push!]
Splash! Before the fight between the two women could begin, the previous life’s Elodie emptied the canteen. Just like now.
“….”
Steam rose from the soaked stone mound. Elodie counted silently in her head. And then.
Crack.
The stone mound split open, its gray shell peeling away in layers. Her golden hair, bowed low, trembled faintly. Elodie’s hands began digging frantically through the scattered stones.
“Ah.”
There it is.
Her violet eyes, which had been searching every corner below, suddenly stopped moving. Elodie reached out carefully. Her pale palm came to rest on a round stone.
“Hello there, Red?”
It was the same reddish-brown as the ground so commonly found across the Lava Basin. A single stone that was easy to pass by without a second glance.
“This time, I’ll definitely protect you.”
The thief carefully picked up the small stone born from the bosom of the rocky mountain. Its clumsy, lumpy surface sparkled in Elodie’s eyes more than anything else in the world.
[Pyeek!]
A bitter smile spread across her thin lips.
‘…The Dragon’s Grave.’
The giant rocky mountain of the Lava Basin was made of dragon bones. Its ridgeline curled in a circle along the spine of the Red Dragon, and at its tail… a new life lay sleeping.
The stone Elodie had picked up was the egg of the only dragon that had survived here. Perhaps this enormous mountain was Red’s mother.
Elodie hugged the stone, which still held a warm glow, tightly to her chest.
‘So it takes a month to hatch.’
[Pyeek, pyek.]
For some reason, her heart pounded rapidly. The thief squeezed her eyes shut and steadied her breath.
“…Let’s go together.”
The young hatchling, who had perished before she could even bloom into her dazzling life. Elodie hoped that Red would live longer than she would.
‘Dragons are supposed to live longer than humans, aren’t they? Right?’
And if possible, the two of us should leave this island together.
Elodie hugged the egg close and set off with firm steps. It was time to return to the Tree of Rest.
* * *
Meanwhile, Bayern Academy was reeling under the greatest crisis in its history.

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