A cart rides through the darkness of night. A horse from the fort pulled a simple cart, its hooves clomping on the ground. The cart itself was of a rough, improvised construction, so it shook quite a bit, but the speed was fast. I was worried because there was only one horse, but it seemed to work well enough.

"You're very well prepared with the horse and the cart, Rougis. I don't know where you got all that stuff.

That's a secret. But rest assured, you'll be safe. The private army is busy with the thieves and there are only a few servants at the house. You can't miss an opportunity like this. We'll take the opportunity to scavenge for gold.

　To rescue Kalia Vadnick. And a few others I've called upon to accomplish other things as well. With them, I swayed on my horse and scattered sounds in the darkness.

　All of them, men and women, seemed to have lived in the dark. These people are much more useful if you are going to work with them in the dark of night. Let them live, or cut them down.

But the house of bardnick is a failed family. What kind of treasure is that?

"Yes, definitely.

　I assure the anxious woman in the bare shoulders outfit.

　In fact, it's precisely because it's such a family that it has antiques. That's why they don't let go of their antiques and ancestral items.

　It's a sign that they were of high nobility. Proof of their dignity. The Bardnick family is currently a knightly family, but I'm sure they are thinking of returning to the nobility or even the upper class when the time comes.

　If that's the case, they can't sell it off, no matter how hard they have to live. You can't. The gold, silverware, and masterpieces of aristocratic pride...

　Oh, yes. They couldn't, the house.

　When I told him all of this, he gave me a puzzled look.

"...... It's like, is this really Lugis? I thought you were just a sneak thief or cleaning up a mess.

That's right. It's really a rougis. Hey, you must have eaten something strange.

　Some of them squared their shoulders and jokingly tried to get in on the conversation, while others cut straight to the chase. Some of them were rude, some of them were unreserved.

　While sighing heavily in return, I smiled and sweat dripped down my forehead, thinking that it would be suspicious.

　As the saying goes, at best I was a sneak thief. I was at best a sneak thief and at worst a street sweeper. I didn't even have the rudiments of an adventurer. I couldn't take a job without a stipend, and I couldn't pull off a single trick. He was nothing but a fool and a bastard.

　Yes, if you think back on yourself at that time, there is no way you have any good memories there. In fact, it's rare for a person born and raised on the back roads to have such memories.

　There were times when I rubbed my head on the ground to eat a piece of bread. I have eaten mice and insects to appease my hunger, I have stolen and lived half to death, I have shined shoes for money while being spat upon.

　I sold my dignity and had nothing to be proud of. A day of moving my hands and feet just to live the day. Days passed and nights were spent freezing, waiting for the sunrise. It was a battle. No one would help me. Living was the only tragedy for me.

　Oh, I see. That's why I'm the way I am. That's why I got nothing. As I pictured the future me, my former self, in the back of my eyelids, I was suddenly convinced.

　So, let's end this now. I have to put an end to my miserable and shitty life. I have to make an offering to the man I once was. I have to get closure here. If I don't, all of this will repeat itself.

　I couldn't let that happen.

"By the way, I can't see anything in front of ....... Is this the right road?

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the way. We're supposed to enter from the forest side, south of Birdnick territory.

　With the smell of chewing tobacco in his nose, he looks ahead at the horses galloping by and tells them so.

　Even though the area has been thinned out by thieves, it would be foolhardy to make a head-on assault on a knight's residence in daylight. There must be some curiosity left behind, even if only a little.

　The sooner they are discovered, the sooner the private army will return. That's the end of the line. I'm not foolish or arrogant enough to think I can fight a private army. We can't take out Kalia Vadnick, and we can't ransack the mansion.

We're running out of time. We'll get through the forest and retrieve the items as soon as we reach the mansion. We'll get out of here without being spotted by private soldiers or even prying eyes. That's the best we can do.

That's all well and good, but ......

　A relatively large man wrinkles his brow as if to stare into the eyes, and looks ahead.

...... How are we going to get through the forest in the dark?　You're going to have to wait until morning.



Oh, well, that's a relief.

　I forgot one thing. Yes, I had something to be proud of.

　Of course, it couldn't compare to Kalia Vadnick's brilliance, my grandfather's badassery, or Mr. Nines' intelligence. But without it, I couldn't have escaped in the dark, and I couldn't have gotten the job done. And the only one who is as much my partner as I was before.

I've got a good eye for the night, no one else does.

　No moonlight, no darkness. A time when the forest, the ground, the sky, all boundaries are blurred. The curtain of night covers the sky, refusing to allow any light to enter. The world was unmistakably dark.

The darker the better. Let the night fall. That's what I do. I can do all things in the darkness.

　--But where the night falls. The trees in the forest, the movement of their branches, the swaying of the flowers crawling on the ground, all of it was there, clear in my vision.

　It was as if the night world was in my hands. No one could beat me at this skill. Yes, even the man who calls himself the savior.