Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - 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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Chapter 8: A Petty Thief of Extraordinary Talent
“Marlin. To be blunt, you’re an explorer with a dark future ahead.”
“…Isn’t that a bit too direct?”
Marlin frowned, troubled by thoughts of Abel left at home with his injuries—she kept glancing over her shoulder.
It had been a thoughtless explanation, certainly.
I rewarded her with a softer phrasing. “You’re a bluebird with wings who cannot fly, trapped in a cage.”
“Just say it directly, please.”
“Why must you be so particular? Your Class is the problem to begin with.”
《The girl Marlin you intend to use as an aide—a tiger beastkin, fourteen years old. Through her livelihood of burglary, the fate of this child’s soul has already been marked with the destiny of a ‘Thief.’》
“Do you know how a person’s Class is determined?”
“Not at all.”
Marlin, never enrolled in any school and trained only in thievery under older criminals, lacked common sense.
Her Knowledge stat was a mere two.
Not a fatal flaw, really.
If there were gaps in her understanding, I could simply teach her everything.
“A Class is carved into the soul through repeated combat, training, and work. And you’re already a practiced master thief.”
“I wouldn’t call myself a master…”
At least she didn’t deny the practiced part.
“You’re a tiger beastkin. Any other beastkin blood mixed in?”
“No.”
“Then strength and endurance are your greatest assets.”
“That’s right. I’m confident I could beat Car in a strength contest without breaking a sweat.”
Marlin struck a proud pose, flexing her arm muscles for show.
“Being stronger than a wretched Class like Thief isn’t something to boast about. And you shouldn’t be pleased. Your Class is locked in as Thief.”
“That sounds rather impressive, doesn’t it?”
“It’s not. It’s just a petty thief.”
The performance was shoddy, fitting for a small-time criminal.
Still, it was a Class capable of wielding all manner of miscellaneous mysteries and sleight-of-hand techniques, and in a decisive clash against the ordinary Thief, it had achieved overwhelming victory.
“To excel as a Thief, you need agility and dexterity. But you’re a tiger beastkin with strength and endurance—you’ve gone down completely the wrong path.”
What you’d call a reject class.
Not poor performance, but a ceiling that wasn’t particularly high.
“Can’t a Class be changed once it’s set?”
“No, it can’t.”
……
Marlin pondered something silently and grew a little dejected.
“…So there’s no hope for me?”
“No.”
“But you just said my future was dark.”
“If you don’t ignore your patron’s instruction and follow it well, your future will shine like a star, so don’t worry too much.”
A tiger beastkin Thief could develop into a remarkable explorer depending on how she was cultivated.
When a reject class became capable, wasn’t that exactly what you’d call ‘versatile’?
And Marlin’s initial Perception stat was an impressive nineteen.
Once stats reached twenty-one or higher, that stat’s domain opened up to superhuman feats—she’d already reached the highest echelon in the lower leagues.
With the aid of various items on top of that…
“You can become a petty thief of extraordinary talent.”
There was no chance Marlin would grow into an ordinary, unremarkable Thief.
I planned to deploy every scrap of knowledge in my head to provide all manner of top-tier support.
‘I’m already excited.’
I found myself grateful to Reedny for letting me experience the joy of cultivating a dungeon party member directly.
But she should’ve asked for permission first. Or at least finished the coffee she’d brought out.
“Extraordinary or not, I’m still just a thief.”
Marlin grumbled for no reason and let out a hollow laugh.
Still, her tail swished gently—she didn’t seem displeased.
“Over here.”
As we walked while I explained the basics, we arrived at the explorer’s shop that had been a regular haunt.
[Sinister Gaze]
A thief-exclusive shop stocked with all manner of exploration supplies.
The prices were fair and the quality was decent, so we visited often.
“Welcome, customer!”

I gave a slight bow to the Shop Owner, a dog beastkin who brought to mind a golden retriever, then browsed the reagent counter.
Basilisk eyeballs, ogre hearts, high elf heel calluses.
Various rare reagents, mostly used for magic or alchemy, were priced to stoke the desire to purchase.
“Wait, Volcanic Troll Blood for just three silver?”
“Is that cheap?”
“Not only is it a breach of fair dealing—it’s destruction-level price slashing.”
As I held the transparent vial of blue liquid up to the light, words appeared on it.
“Plague-tainted blood of a volcanic troll. Drinking may cause infection—best used on enemies with whom you hold a grudge.”
Blood from a diseased troll.
No wonder it was so cheap.
I was about to turn away without hesitation when I stopped short.
‘Actually, this might be perfect.’
Infected blood would surely taste different from ordinary blood—something with a distinct, unusual flavor.
Something sharp and pungent, perhaps.
It matched Reedny’s taste precisely—a hatred of the commonplace that came from familiarity.
“I’ll take three bottles of this.”
“Excellent eye, customer!”
Marlin took the vials from the Shop Owner and promptly placed them in the leather bag.
Quick and efficient. I approve.
I gave her back a pat and continued shopping.
“…Hold on?”
“What now?”
A piece of merchandise that defied belief caught my eye.
[Dog Beastkin Teeth—One Bundle]
– 5 Silver
“Though somewhat flawed, these dog beastkin teeth make an excellent addition to tribute for those who delight in infinite knowledge!”
“They’re selling a bundle of high-grade reagents that go for at least one gold per tooth elsewhere—for only five silver.”
“Teeth really worth that much?”
“Some of them are even fangs. These should start at five gold minimum.”
Marlin’s tail stiffened, then rose all the way up.
“Shop Owner, why is the price like this again?”
“My boy’s been losing his teeth recently, and he snacks so much that most of them are badly rotted. The Magic Tower and alchemy workshops say they won’t accept such low-grade goods.”
“Then I’ll take them all off your hands.”
A windfall.
I watched Marlin gather the teeth with satisfaction, then headed toward the tools section.
This time I felt no joy in browsing.
I’d already decided what to buy.
“Marlin, grab a Pickaxe and two of those shell-shovel-looking things. A Candle Set and three Health Recovery Potions as well.”
“Where are you planning to use all this?”
“Where else? The Dungeon.”
Next, I purchased two books with dark red covers from the bookshelf lined with volumes in various bright colors.
Shopping done.
I made my way to the reading space in the corner of the shop.
“Why does an exploration supply store have books?”
“You really know nothing.”
The books I’d just bought were no ordinary volumes.
“Mystical Texts. You’ve heard the name?”
“Oh, I think so. They’re incredibly expensive, aren’t they?”
Even Marlin, who was unfamiliar with Dungeon matters, had a vague sense of how valuable Mystical Texts were.
“Why do you think they’d be expensive?”
“Because the content is interesting and engaging?”
“Reading this book allows you to learn a Mystery.”
A means of acquiring Skills.
Since Mysteries are treated as a scarce commodity in this world, the value of a Mystical Text defied imagination.
“There’s no limit on uses, and anyone whose Class is suitable can gain a Mystery. Remarkable, isn’t it?”
“Well, it’d have to be expensive then.”
“Exactly. Adventurers chasing quick riches will risk their lives diving into high-rank Dungeons repeatedly just to lay hands on one.”
Depending on the Rank, the sum far exceeded the thousand gold Tribute quota my sister and I owed.
“So I’d have to enter high-rank Dungeons to earn real money?”
“If you want a big score, you have to. Some adventurers deliberately target only B-rank or higher Dungeons, hoping to reverse their fortunes in one go.”
Marlin’s eyes began to sparkle.
They gleamed with shameless appetite, far from innocent, but what did it matter.
“The urge to become an explorer is bubbling up inside you, isn’t it?”
“Yes!”
“Still, for now our goal is growth. The serious money-making comes later.”
“What about the tribute we owe the guild?”
“Forget about the Thief Guild for the time being. I’ll handle it myself.”
The abusive thug with a badge was already reserved as a tithe offering.
“Besides, he won’t make it all the way to Thief Town anyway, so you can put your mind at ease.”
Marlin seemed unconvinced, shifting her weight before meeting my gaze.
“The guild master is a dangerous man. Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not going to handle it directly—I’ll ask a friend to take care of it.”
“You have a friend?”
“What kind of question is that? He’s not my friend now, but I have a feeling we’ll become close soon enough.”
Even without the connection to the tiger-beastkin siblings, there was a man living in District 6 whom I’d planned to befriend anyway.
“Save the questions for later and get reading. If it’s just about acquiring the skill, you can just skim the text and flip through it quickly.”
“Such an expensive gift, and it’s for me… You’re a bit strange, Car, but you seem like a good person.”
Marlin offered her praise laced with the faintest hint of criticism, then began reading the two Mystical Texts one after another.
I had no intention of sitting idle and waiting, so I pulled out a silver-bound book from my pocket and set it on the table.
Marlin, who’d already begun to show signs of boredom with reading, immediately shifted her attention.
“That book—it’s a Hidden Piece you obtained from the Ghoul Dungeon, isn’t it?”
“Right. It’s a Mystical Skill called ‘Ghoul’s Mobility.’ It’s exclusive to the Cleric class, so you can’t learn it.”
“What’s its effect?”
“If you master it, you can move as fast as a ghoul.”
A ghoul’s agility stat was a staggering fifteen.
Among monsters of level five and below, it was a stat without peer.
In low-rank dungeons, you’d never find yourself outmatched in any agility-dependent field.
“So if you master that skill, you can keep moving as fast as a ghoul continuously?”
“No. Only for one minute.”
“Just one minute?”
“‘Just’ one minute? At our level, that’s an enormous span of time. If we put it up for auction, it’d start at no less than three hundred gold.”
At low levels, Ghoul’s Mobility is godlike and invincible.
The problem is that a Thief without the proper skill to leverage agility becomes nothing more than a quick moving target.
Among the Cleric classes, it’s a skill that suits Paladins, Monks, or Druids.
Moreover, because of the curse from the god of nature, my agility stat was locked at one and could never fluctuate, so there was no conventional use for it at all.
‘Which means I need to employ unconventional methods.’
Ghoul’s Mobility reveals its true potential only when paired with the right synergies.
If I used a Hidden Piece hidden in the dungeon I was about to visit, I could complete about half of a proper application strategy.
“Now focus on reading.”
“Yes, yes.”
While my curious student returned to her book, I skimmed through the silver Mystical Text.
The writing was strange—at times like an ancient poem, at times like an epic.
When this was a game, I’d just click and learn it instantly.
It was slightly inconvenient now, but I didn’t mind in the slightest.
If anything, I felt good. The words in the Mystical Text were new curiosities I’d never known back when I was just a player.
《The Mystical Skill ‘Ghoul’s Mobility’ has taken root in thy body!》
After successfully acquiring the skill and sipping the tea the Shop Owner had brought, Marlin’s expression grew slightly sullen.
“…Car.”
“Why are you looking at me like that? I bought you something expensive.”
“Expensive? Basic Dagger Technique and Basic Throwing Technique—they both seem like low-rank skills!”
“So you do have sharp intuition, after all.”
I chuckled at her knife-like perception and closed the book before continuing.
“You’re right. They were just cheap skills.”
In martial arts terms, they’d be the equivalent of basic sword forms.
Not impressive techniques, and easy to find anywhere, but a hundred times better than learning nothing at all.
You can’t become proficient without a solid foundation, can you?
“For a student like you whose class is mismatched, these fundamental skills are actually more helpful.”
Even after my gentle persuasion, Marlin—still at an age where she didn’t grasp the importance of fundamentals—pouted.
“From now on, read carefully whenever you have a spare moment. The more you study, the higher your proficiency will become.”
“I understand….”
“I’ve learned all the mystical skills I need. Let’s go.”
“We’re heading home to rest, right?”
“No.”
There’s no time to rest.
“We’re going straight to the Dungeon.”

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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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