Yove had been a peddler working as an employee at Torch Fortress, but when the work got tough, he buddied up with criminals and became a bar owner.
He was a front man type, and because he also did business directly and was a new face, he was operating very safely.
If nothing special went wrong, he'd be able to live while handling large sums of money.
That should have been the case.
But he talked too much while doing business. Bounty hunters employed by the Medio region's lord were active here, seeking the information in his head, and he got caught in that snare.
"Mmm...hic!"
Consensus Yuval sat slumped in a back alley holding a bottle and hiccupped. Two thugs came out of the target White Pub to catch some night air while cooling off from the heat of alcohol and talking about fucking women. They saw him nodding back and forth under the torch, then approached him directly.
"Hey, mister."
"Pretty wasted."
They looked him over, then stuck their hands in his clothes and searched. So skillfully that in one go, a leather pouch came out from inside the lining of his clothes.
"Pretty thick, huh?"
"How much is there?"
The two thugs were totally confident. As soon as one opened the leather pouch, insects flew up in a swarm.
"Blech! Fuck!"
He cursed and threw the leather pouch, flailing around. The thug watching naturally stepped back. A rope dropped precisely over the head of the thug who'd stepped back and pulled tight.
"Huk. Gak! Huh!"
"Shhhh...if you want to die right here and get dumped, feel free to scream."
Rear-picker Bedum said while pulling the rope tight around his neck.
"..."
Yuval, who'd somehow gotten up, kicked one leg of the guy freaking out at the insects to spread his legs, then sent his lower jaw flying with an uppercut. The thug bit down on the leather pouch that fell into his mouth. A dagger was already at his neck.
A sharp sensation and a stinging pain. Since blood was trickling down, the fallen thug also quickly grasped the situation and shut his mouth.
You only had one life.
They followed along very obediently. Plus, the torch was snuffed out in an instant. The alley sank into darkness.
"I'd like you to tell us about White Pub's layout."
At Yuval's voice, which carried both charisma and a resolute manliness that suggested he'd do anything, the two thugs told them everything and were then handed over to the guards. They had to spend time in jail until the job was done.
Asking soldiers for help with a mercenary badge bearing the Medio region lord's crest wasn't difficult. It showed most clearly that they were a mercenary group employed by the lord.
Of course, they were Torch Fortress guards with high pride. They didn't forget to give a warning either.
"Don't cross our line."
"We'll carry out our mission as quietly as possible."
Yuval skillfully bowed his head. Those soldiers who knew honor wouldn't run away even when facing monsters. Respecting their pride was the best policy.
Skull Mercenary Group entered the empty house through the alley window again and made a rough map.
Merein helped greatly in making the map. Just from descriptions, she visualized White Pub's layout and drew it.
They added real information. The completed rough map wasn't perfectly accurate, but it gathered maximum information for planning tactics.
"Aim for dawn rather than evening."
White Pub was a place that prepared for business around 2 or 3 PM. To match that schedule, business often didn't end until past 2 AM. When the morning sun rose, they were literally defenseless.
Strong public order also made criminals complacent. They could run such a gutsy business because Torch Fortress's public order was too solid.
'For criminals, other criminals are competitors.'
"No need to go to the basement. They only take out barrels there. If we don't get what we want upstairs, we can check it once, but it's not worth targeting from the start."
Following Merein's words, all the mercenary group members exchanged various ideas. Diverse opinions were this mercenary group's greatest strength. And filtering those opinions was Yuval's role.
"Bedum. Merein said we can't use windows."
"Ah. Right."
"Already got dementia?"
"Not until your thick thighs sag with fat."
"You talk well."
Bedum and Keireon bickered. Though their age difference was a whole 7 years, they were the pair with the best chemistry in the mercenary group. Keireon stood at the front, so he saw Bedum's rear attacks clearly and acknowledged his skill, and Bedum knew his infiltration had become easier thanks to Keireon.
Because of that mutual respect, they could maintain their relationship despite exchanging rough words.
If not, one of them would've already left the mercenary group.
"Sen. You throw out an opinion too. You've built up quite a bit of experience now, right?"
As soon as Yuval asked that, Keireon's playfulness welled up, but Yuval immediately poked his ribs.
"Eek!"
Keireon staggered and let out a fierce shout. It got rowdy, and Sen, drunk on that excitement, could state his opinion.
"I don't think we need to fight."
"The two criminals will charge at us ready to die the moment they see us, though?"
Even at Yuval's sharp question, Sen nodded.
"From what I've observed so far, they're guys steeped in peace. If we're just careful, nobody will wake up."
"You're saying we should kidnap just Yove and come out."
"And grab what we need to grab too."
Worth trying.
"Seems like a decent method? Even if they're criminals, if we kill them, problems could arise. Remember that guard earlier?"
"The guy who wasn't even a girl but jumped rope while preaching about lines?"
Hehe.
Hahaha.
Teehee.
"Merein, what do you think? Going in quiet like youngest Sen said this time."
"What's so good about getting blood on a dagger? I agree. But if the situation changes, I'd like to have the next plan ready too."
"When haven't we killed people? Plus, they're criminals. Even if we kill them and go to jail, we'll get out quick. The Medio lord didn't engrave the lord's crest on our mercenary badge for nothing, right? Let's go easy."
Keireon preferred eliminating all threats.
Yuval nodded and asked Bedum's opinion. Bedum had both legs up on the table, but not one person blamed his manners.
Because combat isn't won by the guy who follows manners well.
"If one guy wakes up, it's uncontrollable. At least two people should either wait by their doors or be ready to act."
"If we do that, only time will pass."
"It'll be quiet even if the sun rises high."
They were guys who prepared for business so late.
"If we prepare an exit on the roof beforehand and escape through the attic window, we could get out at lunch without strain."
Bedum added his thoughts.
In an instant, Plan 1 took shape with Sen's idea as its foundation.
On the rough map, the places they ultimately had to hit were the living rooms on the second floor and the attic above them. Because the first floor was for business, and the basement seemed to store alcohol.
"We need threatening tools and his fake and real ledgers."
"Leave that to me."
Merein was perfect for that role.
Execution day was two days later when Merein had the day off. They continued spying meanwhile. White Pub's operation was truly terrible.
From a security standpoint, they lacked every quality they should have. Skull Mercenary Group withdrew from spying on White Pub after half a day and enjoyed peace in Torch Fortress for the first time in a while.
Of course, youngest Sen had to watch White Pub. For Sen, who'd just escaped being a greenhorn, everything was experience.
Yuval also wasted a lot of time like that during his youngest days. Same with the others.
Plan 1 was to go in quietly and slip out quietly. The main goals were kidnapping Yove and stealing the fake and real ledgers.
Plan 2 was to kill the two criminals, use those corpses to threaten Yove, instantly acquire information, and leave immediately.
When the sun rose and the cold slowly disappeared, Skull Mercenary Group confidently stood in front of White Pub's tightly closed door.
Merein stuck a lockpick into the padlock and put her ear to the lock. In less than 5 seconds, the padlock came undone. The chains didn't fall to the floor because she was holding them firmly.
"They're using a padlock over 10 years old."
She picked the door lock in an instant too. The price for not spending money on security was steep.
The first floor wasn't even cleaned. The smell was foul. Food had dried on the wooden floor. Even if they wiped, that smell wouldn't disappear quickly.
"He was a peddler but manages nothing."
Skull Mercenary Group had been cautious enough not to enter White Pub during their spying. Thanks to that, when they looked around the first floor, someone couldn't help but mutter.
"As planned."
Keireon and Bedum would monitor the criminals sleeping in the second-floor private rooms. Merein and Yuval would target Yove. Sen positioned himself at the end of the second floor, put down fur on the floor, and bent his knees with bow and arrows in hand.
He pulled the bowstring a few times, then released the tension from his hands and watched ahead.
In two groups, they checked the interiors of the second-floor private rooms. There wasn't a single person. Since they weren't running an inn business, most rooms had to be empty. Checking from the ends, they found two bodyguards in private rooms near the middle, with one empty room between them.
'Knocked out cold.'
One room had snoring coming from it, so they didn't need to check. That seemed to be why they had an empty room between them. Bedum quietly peeked into the other room, then backed out.
He looked at Keireon and nodded. He put his weight against the door and gently closed it, slowly releasing his hands. He turned the doorknob back slowly too.
His infiltration experience showed naturally. If he'd turned the doorknob and just let go, it would've made noise.
Since they had to guard the center in silence, they called Sen again.
"Be under the first-floor checkout counter. From there, you'll have a perfect view of anyone going up the stairs."
Sen went down with his upper body bent and got into position.
Meanwhile, Yuval and Merein took the stairs to the 2.5th floor rather than the ladder to the attic.
'Looks like they renovated. There was no talk of this.'
The narrow passage of the renovated loft attic made them gulp.
They tensed up naturally. Yuval especially pressed both walls with his hands while moving. He did this to identify any traps beforehand. Merein was behind him.
Despite their concerns, there were no traps in the passage. The level of security they'd observed while spying was the same inside. Like everything else about this place, there wasn't a single twist.
Merein bent down and moved forward in front of the door. Yuval naturally stepped back.
Click.
The lock came undone. She opened the door inward, revealing the renovated attic. It was a considerably large private room.
"Grrr...hoooo..."
Yove was sleeping in wine-colored silk pajamas with the plush blanket kicked off. On the table by the bed was a pure white teapot, and the cup had a gold rim.
'Living pretty high. How much dirty money did he touch?'
Yuval walked forward to subdue Yove, and Merein started searching.
A rough hand grabbed Yove's face.