T/N I changed the ‘corrupt rich man’ part into a ‘corrupt and wealthy woman’ because the victim was actually a woman.
Terms used in this chapter:
I thank Selene for allowing me to be a righteous thief again – This is a reference to the Japanese series, Saint Tail. Saint Tail’s original line was ‘Lord, please allow me to be a righteous thief again today.’
And Cordelia’s Pink Bomb outfit is totally based on Saint Tail’s outfit.
“No, f*ck. No, f*ck!”
Pink Bomb?
PINK BOMB?
“Are you kidding me?”
“Well, I mean. Like I said, we have to lure Velkian, right? In order to do that, the name of Phantom Thief Pink Bomb must be famous, right? Famous enough that Velkian will know wherever he is, okay?”
He was right.
It was quite a convincing story.
But Cordelia wasn’t a fool.
“No! In the first place, why is it Pi- mmph!”
“Shh! Adelia might wake up!”
Jude quickly covered her mouth with his hands and Cordelia struggled to talk before she swiftly cast <Message> magic.
[Hey! F*ck, do you think I’m stupid? In the first place, why did you use the name Pink Bomb in your letter to Velkian? Care to explain?]
[Didn’t you agree to using it back then? Pink Bomb?]
[I seriously thought you were joking then!]
[Hey, I didn’t lie to you.]
[Argh, f*ck. Are you trying to get me mad on purpose? You didn’t lie? My scammer, Jude?]
[But I’m still part of yours.]
[If you don’t explain it properly, you’ll be someone else’s Jude from today onwards! Do you understand?!]
T/N: Here we are with the word play again. The literal translations are actually ‘My house’s scammer,’ ‘But I’m still part of ‘our house,’ and ‘you’ll be the Jude of someone else’s house…’ It’s hard to explain in English about the ‘house’ thing because it’s something unique to Korean culture, but you can just think or replace it with the word ‘family.’
So when Cordelia calls Jude as her family’s scammer, Jude retorts by saying that at least, he’s still part of her family. But Cordelia threatens to kick him out of her family, thus becoming the Jude of ‘someone else’s family.’
[Okay, I’ll explain.]
[What, you’ll really explain it?]
Cordelia blinked her eyes and asked.
Is there a good reason for the use of a weird name like Pink Bomb?
[Yes, I can explain.]
[W-what is it?]
[Pink Bomb is a special name for Velkian. It’s the name of the main character in Velkian’s favorite novel.]
Cordelia’s eyes narrowed at Jude’s words, but she couldn’t say anything else.
Because while she had heard of this for the first time, it was something that came out of Jude’s mouth.
‘Was there something like a hidden character setting?’
Cordelia tilted her head and asked again.
[Is that why you used the name Pink Bomb?]
[Because we want it to remain strongly in Velkian’s mind and arouse his curiosity.]
[Hmmm…]
His words were quite convincing.
Phantom Thief Pink Bomb.
It was definitely a name that would leave a deep impression to anyone who had heard it. But if someone liked a novel with a main character having such a name, that person would certainly come to the royal capital out of curiosity.
[Haa, so annoying. Who the hell is that person? Who in the world names their main character Pink Bomb!]
[Calm down, calm down. I mean, Yellow Storm and Pink Bomb are the same, right?]
[It’s different! It’s really, really, completely different, okay?!]
[Yes, it’s different. Very different. Yes, yes, it’s different. It’s very different.]
When Jude said that as if he was soothing a child, Cordelia immediately tried to kick Jude’s shin but failed. Because Jude had reflexively used his golden wind.
[F*ck, you’re so annoying.]
You avoided it? You even used a skill?
[I mean, it will hurt if I get hit.]
[Evil b*stard, ugly b*stard, nasty b*stard, f*cking b*stard.]
[Umm… It’s been a while since I’ve heard you say so many curse words, so it’s kind of nice… Should I give you a reward?]
[What is this crazy b*stard saying? Hmph.]
Cordelia was so angry that tears seemed to involuntarily come out of her eyes.
Jude said as he squatted to make eye contact with Cordelia who sat down on the floor in exhaustion.
[Anyway, Cordelia, you don’t have to worry about it too much. You’ll be able to do it well.]
[Hooo, hey. Are you worried that I’ll do something wrong? I won’t. I will not. I can do it. I will be Pink Bomb.]
[Umm…well… I can’t help it if you dislike it that much.]
[Eh? Really? You’ll really do it?]
[Well… the clothes may not fit, but I can fix it.]
[Wait, what are you talking about? The clothes don’t fit? You’re going to wear this?]
[I should wear it. Even if the clothes look like that, I should still look like the first Rogue Master, right?]
At Jude’s words, Cordelia closed her eyes for a moment and imagined it.
She imagined Jude wearing tight-fitting black leather clothes, a pink miniskirt, rabbit ears, and tail.
[Fu-f*ck… I’ll just do it. I’ll do it.]
She couldn’t bear to see something like that.
After all, he was her fiancé.
No, apart from being her fiancé, she unconsciously felt disgusted at the thought of seeing Jude going around like that. It was a bit embarrassing.
It was when Cordelia grumbled while she was deep in thought.
Jude smiled and said as if he knew what Cordelia was thinking.
[Thank you. It could only be you.]
[Hmph, you won’t get anything if you say that, okay?]
Cordelia reflexively snorted and tried to get up, so Jude naturally stretched out his hand to help her.
[Okay, I’ll concede to you once and become Pink Bomb.]
[Thank you, Princess. I’ll do my best in making dynamite.]
[Whatever.]
You’ll somehow find a way out anyway. Just like a sly person.
[And Cordelia, don’t be too worried. After all, the ‘Return of the Rogue Master’ will leave such a deep impression that you’ll rarely be called Pink Bomb.]
[Is that so?]
[Yes, it will happen. It’s the Rogue Master after all and not anyone else, right?]
[Hmm…]
She was also convinced of his words.
Scarlet actually had several aliases, but she was always called the Rogue Master in the end.
[Anyway, we don’t have much time. We must do our work as soon as possible.]
[I know that, so are we delivering it today? The notice card?]
[Yes, this card is the notice card.]
Cordelia received the card from Jude and read it as it shone in the moonlight.
On the day of the full moon two days later, I will take the Green Goddess’ Teardrop.
–Rogue Master Pink Bomb
There were several lines written in a very neat handwriting on the white card, and a pink lip mark was at the last part.
[Whose lips are these? No way…]
[Ahem, ahem. That’s a sample… But let’s put my princess’ kiss mark for the real thing.]
When Jude slightly blushed and coughed, Cordelia laughed and nodded her head.
[I’ll keep this though. It’s proof that my Jude is a human being who also knows how to be embarrassed.]
Cordelia giggled as kept the card like a precious item. She then saw Jude handing her new cards.
[Three more?]
[One will be sent to a corrupt rich man who’ll be the victim, and the other two will be sent to the Black Moon and Blue Moon.]
[Blue Moon? Is that the largest guild among the thief guilds that do not cooperate with the Black Moon?]
[That’s right. Our goal is to publicize the name of the Rogue Master.]
The founding celebration was a month away, so they needed to build a reputation that would be enough to move the guilds within three weeks.
[We’ll deliver the notice today and steal the gem two days later.]
[By the way, who is the person we’ll be robbing this time?]
[It’s a corrupt rich man who’s one of the Minister of Defense’s source of funds. If we’re going to steal things, it’s better if it’s a person from the Minister of Defense’s side.]
[The Green Goddess’ Teardrop… Is this a gem?]
[Yes, it’s a gem that can give the blessing of the war god. We’re going to steal something useful. It’ll become a hot topic.]
Everything that he said was correct.
Cordelia did not say anything else and just walked to the dressing table to apply lipstick on her lips.
[Give me the cards.]
[Here.]
[Why are there four cards? You said that you’ll send the notice to three places.]
[I want one of them as a keepsake.]
[Hmph.]
Cordelia hmphed and stamped her lips on all four before she handed it to Jude.
[Are you going to deliver it now then?]
[Yes, I’ll go and come back, so just go to sleep. You’re not familiar with this area yet, right?]
[Okay, I’ll be going to sleep, so you can go.]
[Yes, Princess. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.]
Jude gracefully greeted her in a theatrical manner before he flew out of the window like the wind, and Cordelia stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror.
A phantom thief who wore a black butterfly mask and had rabbit ears in her head.
‘It looks cute.’
Cordelia wiggled the rabbit tail and even tried to strike a pose before she let out the following words from her mouth.
“I-in the name of justice…I will punish you?”
She was embarrassed. She was seriously embarrassed. She felt that she would die of embarrassment even though she had muttered it very quietly.
But she felt a bit ecstatic at the same time.
A joy that was difficult to describe.
However, it was only for a moment.
Because she felt a gaze behind her back.
“Uh… I left something behind.”
Jude smiled as naturally as possible and he picked up something that fell on the floor without saying a single word before he went out of the window again. Cordelia who was left alone then squatted on the floor and covered her face with both hands.
She stayed and did not move from that position for a long time.
***
At night two days later.
In the mansion of Viscountess Venus who was known for being a wealthy and corrupt woman.
Despite it being midnight, countless people gathered around her house which ran a loan-sharking business.
Around one third of those were guards from the royal capital, while the other two thirds were spectators.
“Is it true? Did she really appear?”
“It’s true!”
“Look! It’s an explosion again!”
Boooom!
The windows loudly broke and pink smoke spread around.
And inside the mansion.
Beyond the door where the pink dynamite exploded.
“How dare you!”
Cordelia narrowed her eyes at the thunderous cry of Viscountess Venus, a lady wearing a black combat uniform.
Viscountess Venus held a dagger while four mercenaries took up their weapons.
But the biggest problem was Venus’ vault which resembled the huge and solid vaults of banks.
“Ha! Do you understand now? It’s no exaggeration to say that the whole room is a safe! You won’t be able to open the safe even if you’re the real Rogue Master!”
It made sense.
It was a safe that she could be confident in.
It was a safe that seemed like it would take a considerable amount of time to open using straightforward methods.
“Of course, you won’t even be able to open it in the first place!”
The four mercenaries who accompanied Viscountess Venus herself were not ordinary ones.
They were brutal and powerful warriors who earned the nickname of ‘Four Swords’ in the underworld of the royal capital.
“Get her!”
The four mercenaries moved almost simultaneously at the cry of Viscountess Venus.
And Cordelia also moved. She threw dynamite from both of her hands and induced an explosion by firing magic at the same time.
Baaaang!
It was loud and the explosive power itself was weak, but it was a kind of smoke bomb that filled the room with pink smoke.
“I can’t see!”
“Cough! Cough!”
People would usually stop moving if their vision was obstructed.
Cordelia ran towards the vault door while the mercenaries coughed from breathing in the smoke.
“Crazy bi-?”
Viscountess Venus barely opened her eyes and swore at the appearance of Cordelia that would soon crash into the door.
I thought that she was quite a good thief, but was she just a crazy b*tch?
But she was wrong.
Just before the collision.
No, at the moment when Cordelia and the door collided!
‘Fairy Steps!’
The space of the fairies and reality overlapped. Cordelia turned translucent in an instant and passed through the vault.
“Wow.”
Having passed through the vault door, Cordelia let out a voice of admiration as she stroked the ring they received from the Fall Fairy Queen.
The Fairy Steps were originally for evasion, but they didn’t need to just use it for evasion since they could use it in other ways.
‘One more use.’
The number of uses increased because of their repeated level-ups, so the Fairy Steps could now be used twice a day.
It could be perfectly used once for getting in and the other for going out.
‘Here it is.’
The Green Goddess’ Teardrop.
A beautiful gem that shined on its own even in the dark.
With an ecstatic face, Cordelia stared at the gem which was the size of two fingers together and was very large for a gem. She eventually shook her head and came to her senses. Because now wasn’t the time to be admiring the gem.
‘Get the gem and leave the card.’
After her series of actions, Cordelia threw herself towards the wall whose opposite side faced outside.
Shwaaa-
She used the Fairy Steps again.
She jumped into the outer wall and found herself in the air, but it wasn’t a problem.
‘Angel Mode!’
Cordelia spread her wings of light and flew as she headed straight to the roof of the mansion, and cheers erupted again among the spectators.
“It’s real! It’s real!”
“The Rogue Master really walked in the sky!”
Spreading her angel wings allowed her to move freely in the air.
As Cordelia climbed onto the roof, not only the spectators but also the guards of Viscountess Venus focused on one place.
Everyone’s eyes.
All eyes focused on one place.
‘W-what should I do? I’m getting addicted to this.’
What is this strange yet pleasant feeling?
Cordelia unknowingly smiled and took out the Green Goddess’ Teardrop for everyone to see instead of saying anything, and the spectator’s cheers burst out again at that moment.
“It’s the real one! The real one!”
“The Green Goddess’ Teardrop!”
They had obviously never seen the Green Goddess’ Teardrop properly, but they knew it was a big green gem anyway.
“What are you doing?! Get her! No! Shoot her!”
“To the roof!”
The guards responded to Venus’ cry and hurriedly moved, and some even shot at Cordelia with their crossbows.
But it was at that moment. A black wind suddenly swept away all the arrows that headed for Cordelia.
It was the wind caused by the kick of Jude, who was hiding in a blind spot.
[Let’s go!]
[Okay!]
Cordelia communicated with
The Moon Crystal.
The Rogue Master’s last treasure!
“I thank Selene for allowing me to be a righteous thief.”
Cordelia smiled and gracefully said before she bowed to the audience like a magician and then raised the Moon Crystal high.
“In Selene’s name.”
The goddess of the moon who watched over everyone.
It was at the moment when Cordelia injected her mana into the Moon Crystal.
The strong moonlight fell from the sky and shone on Cordelia. Because of the moonlight that acted like a spotlight, Cordelia’s impressive appearance was further imprinted in the minds of everyone.
A very bright pink hair and black leather clothes that revealed her nice figure. And cute rabbit ears and tail.
A few seconds passed.
The moonlight that was like a spotlight gradually became smaller before it disappeared, and so did Cordelia.
She disappeared with the moonlight.
“Rogue Master!”
“Woaaaah!”
This was the power of the Moon Crystal, the last treasure of the Rogue Master.
‘You can leap in space three times a day in any place where the moonlight shines.’
A simple yet powerful ability.
It was the reason why the Rogue Master had never been caught in the act despite her numerous thefts.
“How was it? Did you think it went well?”
“You were the best, really the best. It really went well.”
At the second floor of Adelia’s mansion.
Adelia had fallen into a deep sleep because of a hard day’s work, so Jude and Cordelia had gone out and in without being noticed, and the two burst into laughter while facing each other.
“This is so pretty.”
The Green Goddess’ Teardrop.
There was a legend that the gem was made from the teardrop of a beautiful and gentle goddess, but for some mysterious reason, those who possessed it would obtain the blessing of the war god.
‘If a real warrior has it in their possession, this excellent item will increase their stats just by having it.’
It was not an absolute increase in value but an increase in percentage.
“Haa, it’s so exciting. It’s more fun than I had thought.”
“Weren’t you excited in throwing bombs?”
“There’s that too.”
Cordelia giggled as she took off her mask and untied her hair that had been tied together.
The sight of her very bright pink hair turning back into reddish pink in an instant was very beautiful and mysterious.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re so pretty.”
“W-what are you saying?”
Embarrassed with Jude’s straightforward compliment, Cordelia said in a hurry.
“Anyway, the news will spread throughout the royal capital by tomorrow, right?”
“The Rogue Master is back. The Rogue Master has returned.”
“Hehe, I’m excited.”
Cordelia brightly smiled and closed her eyes as she imagined it.
A beautiful and strong Rogue Master.
A righteous thief who appeared and disappeared like a ghost.
‘Actually, it’s kind of funny for a thief to be speaking of righteousness.’
But she didn’t care about that.
Cordelia opened her eyes again and looked forward to tomorrow with a happy face.
And the next morning.
“Hey! What is this?! What is this!”
“Umm…was it a problem with pink hair? Or that the color of the dynamite was pink…”
“Aaah, so annoying!”
The front page of the newspaper which they had bought in the streets at morning contained articles about the Rogue Master as they had expected.
Jude and Cordelia succeeded in informing the entire royal capital of the Rogue Master’s return as they had expected.
But there was one minor problem.
PHANTOM THIEF PINK BOMB APPEARS
PHANTOM THIEF PINK BOMB, IS SHE REALLY A ROGUE MASTER?
PHANTOM THIEF PINK BOMB’S BRILLIANT DEBUT
That name was mentioned much more often than the Rogue Master wherever they looked.
‘Well, as I had planned.’
Frankly speaking, if the names Pink Bomb and Rogue Master were written side by side, the former would most likely stand out.
‘Now, Velkian will soon know of it.’
The Phantom Thief Pink Bomb name.
Jude grinned while the annoyed Cordelia cursed for some time as she seriously cut out the articles with her scissors to keep them as newspaper clippings.
And on the night two days later.
Jude and Cordelia began their next move.
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