Mino was half-kneeling beside the crude wooden bed, her slender frame bent awkwardly as her head disappeared beneath it. From the way her shoulders were shifting, she was clearly rummaging for something. The faint creaking of the bed mixed with the dull thuds of her movements.
At that exact moment, Luciel pushed open the shed door, balancing two wooden buckets of water in his hands. The smell of smoke and damp earth filled the small, dimly lit room. When his eyes landed on the sight before him—the girl's rear sticking out while her head was buried under the bed—he couldn't help but frown in confusion.
"What on earth are you doing down there?" he asked, his tone half amused, half concerned.
"Ah—!"
Startled, Mino's head jerked upward with a thud.
Bang!
Her forehead slammed squarely against the wooden bed frame. The sound echoed through the shed.
"Ugh—ow…" she groaned, rubbing the back of her head as she crawled out from under the bed with a wounded expression, her cheeks puffed out in frustration.
Luciel set down the buckets and chuckled softly. "You okay there?"
"You—! You scared me half to death!" Mino glared at him, eyes glinting with irritation. "And what are you doing, sneaking up on people like that?"
Luciel raised a brow. "Sneaking up? I just walked in through the front door."
Mino huffed, but before she could retort, her eyes caught sight of the buckets of water. She blinked, then frowned. "Wait… where did you get those?"
"From the well," Luciel said plainly, brushing some dirt from his hands. "Go get some food ready, will you?"
"Food?" she repeated blankly, then her gaze shifted again—to the two extra wooden barrels near the wall that hadn't been there before. "Hold on…" Her beautiful blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Luciel, don't tell me you—did you seriously clear out the leader's house?"
Luciel looked away, feigning innocence. "Of course not. There's still plenty left there."
Her jaw dropped. "You—!" Mino clutched her head in disbelief. "You actually did it?! I was joking! I didn't think you'd really go and rob the leader's place!"
Luciel shrugged as though he were discussing the weather. "I just took what we needed. Nothing more."
"But still—!" she said, exasperated. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The leader will have your head for this!"
"The leader?" Luciel's lips curved into a faint, unreadable smile. "He won't."
Something in his tone made Mino pause. "What do you mean… 'he won't'?"
Luciel leaned casually against the wall. "Because he's dead."
Mino froze, eyes wide, the color draining from her face. "What?"
Luciel met her gaze steadily. "I killed him."
For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the soft crackle of the fire. Mino's mind struggled to process what she'd just heard. "You… you killed the leader?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.
He nodded once, calm as ever. "He was colluding with Bloodbeard's men. Selling out our people. He deserved it."
Mino's shock slowly gave way to fury. Her delicate face hardened as her fists clenched. "That bastard," she spat. "He deserved worse. A filthy traitor like him shouldn't even be allowed to die quickly."
Luciel smiled faintly at her reaction. He'd expected tears or fear—but instead, she looked fierce, her cheeks flushed and eyes blazing. It was almost… endearing.
"What are you staring at?" she snapped, noticing his gaze. A faint blush spread across her face.
"Nothing," Luciel said smoothly, turning away to hide his amusement. "Anyway, the people in the camp will be leaving tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Mino repeated, startled. "Then… are we leaving with them?"
Luciel shook his head. "No. We'll stay behind for two more days."
Her brows furrowed. "That's crazy, Luciel! If the Bloodbeard bandits attack, we'll be caught in the middle. It's too dangerous!"
"There's no danger," he said, his voice calm but his eyes glinting with something unreadable. "We just have to wait—for their spies to arrive."
Mino's stomach tightened. "Wait… spies? What are you planning?"
Luciel turned toward her fully this time, his expression strangely serene. "I'm going to steal from the Bloodbeard gang."
"…What?"
For a moment, Mino thought she must have misheard him. "You—you're joking, right?" she stammered. "Tell me you're joking."
"I'm not." His tone left no room for doubt. "I'm going to their base. I plan to take whatever valuable supplies or beast cores they have stored there."
Mino blinked several times, completely at a loss. "You… want to rob the robbers?!"
Luciel gave a small nod. "Exactly."
"You've lost your mind!" she blurted. "There are over five hundred of them! You'll be dead before you even set foot inside their camp!"
Luciel chuckled softly. "Not if my plan works."
He raised a finger. "There won't be five hundred men there when I go."
Mino crossed her arms tightly, glaring at him. "Oh really? And how do you figure that?"
Luciel began pacing slowly, his tone shifting into that calm, methodical rhythm he used whenever he was explaining one of his schemes. "Think back to today. The spies Bloodbeard sent—we dealt with all of them, right?"
"Yes…" Mino said cautiously. "We killed every last one."
"Exactly," Luciel continued. "So, no spies will be returning to report tonight. That means by tomorrow, Bloodbeard will realize his men haven't come back. He'll assume something's wrong and send replacements."
Mino frowned. "All right, but that still doesn't get us into their camp."
"It will." Luciel's eyes glinted with a strategist's gleam. "Their gathering place is more than a day's travel from here. The new spies won't arrive until the day after tomorrow. So tomorrow, we'll make it look like the camp has already been abandoned—like everyone's fled in panic."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping. "If you were Bloodbeard and you saw that scene, what would you do?"
Mino hesitated. "…I'd probably chase after them."
"Exactly." Luciel smiled. "The spies will rush back to report what they saw. Bloodbeard will be furious—he'll think the camp's leader tricked him, used him as bait. Out of rage, he'll gather his men and march here to get revenge."
Mino's eyes widened in understanding. "So while he's attacking an empty camp…"
Luciel nodded. "We strike his base."
Realization dawned across her face. "A diversion…" she whispered. "You're planning to draw the tiger from the mountain."
"Precisely."
Mino's heart was pounding. It was a bold, insane plan—but also brilliant. "But… what if it fails?" she asked softly. "What if they realize too soon?"
Luciel shrugged lightly. "Then we lose two days. Nothing more. But if it works…" His gaze grew distant, as if already seeing the glitter of the beast crystals in his mind. "We'll get enough beast cores to strengthen our creatures. Maybe even enough to evolve one into a tier four."
Mino bit her lip. The thought of powerful beast spars was tempting, but the risk still gnawed at her. "Luciel… this isn't just dangerous. It's suicide if anything goes wrong."
"Maybe," he said with a faint smile. "But fortune favors the bold, doesn't it?"
She groaned, rubbing her temples. "You're impossible."
He laughed softly. "You'll thank me later."
The girl sighed, crossing her arms as she glared at him, though the worry in her eyes betrayed her irritation. "Fine. But next time, before you decide to kill someone or rob an entire gang, at least tell me first so I don't die of shock."
Luciel raised a hand in mock solemnity. "Noted."
For a brief moment, the tension between them softened. The flickering firelight cast warm shadows over their faces. Mino looked at him—really looked at him—and for the first time, she saw not just the reckless strategist, but a man carrying the weight of something larger than either of them.
"Luciel," she said quietly. "Why are you doing all this?"
He looked back at her, eyes calm, voice low. "Because someone has to. If we don't strike first, we'll always be running."
Mino didn't respond. She just lowered her gaze and nodded slightly.
Outside, the night wind rustled through the trees. The camp was silent, but somewhere far in the darkness, the Bloodbeard thieves were surely preparing for their next move—unaware that, soon enough, someone else would be coming for them.
Luciel leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, lost in thought. His plan was risky, yes, but it was their best chance. In this harsh, lawless wilderness, hesitation meant death.
And for Luciel—failure was simply not an option.