Published: September 10, 2025
“What’s the big deal?”
I asked Zaki, who was out of breath.
“A thief! Our room was ransacked!”
According to Zaki, when he went back to get some writing tools needed for a job he was hired for, he found the entire room in disarray.
“Did you report it to the guards?”
“N-not yet.”
“Let’s go.”
We ran to the guards’ station with our packs still on our backs.
Along the way, we got lost because we didn’t know where the station was, and when we asked someone on the street, we found out we were going in the exact opposite direction, which wasted some time, but we finally made it.
“Again, huh. I guess I’ll have to inspect it.”
The middle-aged guard sighed as he said that after we explained the situation.
From what we heard on the way, it seems that in the explorers’ tenement, desperate ex-explorers target the rooms of new recruits who aren’t very cautious and ransack them.
“What? Then why don’t you crack down on them?”
“We do patrols, but…”
Since there’s rarely any evidence, they can only catch the culprits in the act.
“This is our room,” Zaki said as he unlocked the door and went in.
Though the lock was very simple.
“This is the work of someone experienced,” the guard said as soon as he saw the inside of the room.
Peeking from behind his broad back, I saw the room’s terrible state.
“This is awful.”
“Indeed.”
Our bags containing our belongings that were on the shelves attached to the wall were thrown to the ground, and the contents spilled everywhere.
After getting permission from the guard, I collected my scattered belongings from the floor.
My spare underwear and favorite cup and spoon were covered in sand.
“Sharon, do you write your name on your stuff?”
“Yes.”
I nodded at Rasa’s question.
“If you live communally, it’s better to know which things belong to whom.”
My sister told me that, and I made the effort to write my name.
“The dye isn’t cheap either,” said Zaki with admiration.
“Is that so?”
Since my sister always manages to get it from somewhere, I don’t know the price well.
When we return to the village, I’ll bring back lots of souvenirs she’ll be happy about.
“Can you tell what’s missing?”
The guard asked, so I reported the stolen items.
All the ant claw short spears given by the merchant had disappeared. Besides that, I lost only my whetstone, Rasa lost a spare towel, and Zaki lost his notebook and pen.
I don’t know about Gon and Keros since they weren’t here. They should have gone into the labyrinth with their gear, so their spears and equipment should be safe.
“I see. If they know there’s nothing valuable, they probably won’t break in again, but when you leave your room, make sure to take your cash and valuables with you.”
After the inspection, the guard gave us that advice and left.
We dusted off Gon and Keros’s belongings and put them all together on the table.
“Let’s get back to work,” Rasa suggested.
“There’s no point in waiting for Gon and Keros.”
“I’ll write them a message.”
There was a small blackboard attached to the wall for messages, so Zaki wrote a note for them there.
Gon can’t read, but Keros probably can.
“This way, there shouldn’t be any mix-ups.”
We each returned to our tasks.
Because of the time wasted with the burglary commotion, we could only carry the Valerian leaves one less round than yesterday.
After a bath with Rasa, we returned to our tenement, but angry voices came from inside the room.
“You stole it, didn’t you!”
The hysterical voice was Keros’s.
I also heard Zaki’s attempts to explain.
I opened the door to clear up the misunderstanding.
Zaki rushed over and, unable to catch him, we both fell onto our butts. From the scene beyond Zaki’s body, it seemed Gon had punched him.
“Gon! Stop being violent!”
I got up from under Zaki and protested to Gon.
“Shut up! Thieves’ allies should keep quiet!”
“We didn’t steal anything! Our room was broken into!”
I dodged Gon’s incoming punches and knocked his exposed face away.