I Became a Gallery Manager in Another World

Chapter 170: The Thief Is First-Class, But The Pussy Is Third-Class (2)

-To the duty room on the 3rd floor of the old school building by 5 PM.

“…Ha.”

Chloe, dressed in sportswear, crumpled the note and let out an irritated sigh.

“How many times has the location been changed now?”

-Three days later, on the roof of the main building….

-Five days later, in the professor’s office…

-Four days later, behind the church…

…

..

Every time she went to the meeting place, there was a note, and each time she went to the location indicated on that note, the time and place were changed again.

“I understand, but there should be a limit.”

She had anticipated that they would change the location a few times to avoid ambushes or traps if the meeting place was fixed, but…

The irritation was unavoidable.

“If he doesn’t show up this time either…”

Click-click

Chloe, who had been voicing her complaints, fell silent at the sound of footsteps echoing down the hall, her face turning back to that of a dazed university student.

“…Ah..! Ah!…Uh…over there…!”

The man appearing at the end of the corridor was dressed in a pitch-black suit, wearing a mask one might see at a ball.

‘He’s about 188 cm tall. With the heels of his shoes being about 2 cm, he’s probably around 186 cm? Weight in the upper 80s kg. Judging by his stride and thigh muscles, he must exercise regularly. That mask is an artifact that causes cognitive impairment. Just that mask alone would be quite expensive… And the fabric of his clothes isn’t something you can get easily, so he must come from a very well-off noble family.’

Outwardly playing the part of a scared graduate student, Chloe was collecting information about the opponent in her mind.

‘Though he seems full of openings…’

Chloe shook her head slightly.

Underestimating the opponent was a bad habit.

The identity of Ninetails, someone who adorned themselves with high-class artifacts, couldn’t be ordinary.

That seemingly full-of-openings appearance must also be a trap to deceive her.

“Nice to meet you, Chloe.”

“…Y-Yes…But…uh…over there…I…in the gallery…”

“No, should I call you Ninetails?”

“Eh?!…N-Ninetails? Me?…No, no!…If you’re talking about Ninetails…in the gallery…the one who’s called the Phantom Thief, right?”

“You know that pretending not to know is just a waste of time, right?”

“No, really, it’s not me…sigh…Really…forget it.”

She thought he would at least test the waters, but she didn’t expect him to go straight to the point like this.

Rustle-

Chloe sighed deeply, cutting off her hairband with her fingernails, letting her sky-blue long hair flutter.

Shh-

Then, like changing a mask, she swept her hand over her face, and instead of glasses, a fox-like mask appeared.

“I had my suspicions, but I didn’t think you’d really know my identity?”

Zzzt-

Next, she unzipped her shabby sportswear, revealing pure white skin as if she wore nothing underneath…

Boom-!

But just as her nipples were about to be exposed, smoke suddenly burst out, concealing Chloe’s figure.

“However you found out, well done. I’ll give you credit. Yes, I am Ninetails.”

A moment later, as the smoke that had obscured the view cleared, what appeared was not the eternal graduate student Chloe Robellia but the legendary phantom thief Ninetails.

“Nice to meet you, Ninetails, to finally meet like this…”

“No, no need for greetings. Because…”

Bang-!

As she finished speaking, Chloe kicked off the ground and charged at the man.

“You’re going to die here anyway.”

Before anyone knew it, the tip of her cane, now sharp, was pressed against the man’s throat, and the fox fire emanating around signaled its readiness to burn everything with murderous intent.

“…”

However, the man only smiled serenely without any response.

‘…What’s this?’

She had clearly exploited the obvious opening, expecting a counterattack, but he didn’t even flinch.

‘Did he know I wouldn’t attack?’

Even if so, it was strange.

No matter how much one’s mind knew they wouldn’t be attacked, the body would react when facing a situation targeting vital points…

Looking at the man now, it seemed as if he couldn’t even react.

“Let’s stop the games.”

“Games? Does this look like a game to you?”

“Yes. You said in the gallery that you wouldn’t hurt people.”

“Sorry, but every rule has exceptions. Do you think a thief would let someone who knows his identity live?”

“Rules have exceptions, but aesthetics don’t. I believe in Ninetails’ aesthetics.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

Shh-

Chloe pushed the cane tip even further as she spoke.

“What if I ignore aesthetics and kill you right here?”

“What’s the point of worrying about something that won’t happen?”

“…Ha.”

Chloe now understood why he didn’t react and why he had such an open posture.

From the beginning, this man was ‘certain’ that I wouldn’t harm him.

Swoosh-!

Chloe sheathed her cane and sighed.

“Ha… Threats won’t work here then. Alright, what do you want? Sorry, but I have no intention of getting caught.”

“Are you saying you’ll run?”

“If necessary. Ah, don’t bother trying to stop me. Unless you do nothing like now, I’m not the type to stand still if someone tries to hold me back. It might hurt quite a bit.”

Though she would use force, given the resentment built up from the ‘thesis’, she could put some power into her hands.

“Fortunately, I have no intention of catching you.”

“Really? Then tell me. What do you want by calling me here? Money? Artifacts? Elixir?”

Whatever the man wanted, Chloe was prepared to give it.

‘After all, I can just track him down.’

If she left her fox scent, mixed with her pheromones, she could surely find him.

Once she uncovered his identity, the rest would be simple.

Investigate, find his weaknesses, and enter into a mutual assured destruction relationship.

‘…It would be nice if he just paid me off and I kept quiet, but that won’t happen.’

Judging by his clothes, he didn’t seem to lack money.

Even if she had prepared everything, living with a new identity wasn’t pleasant.

It meant living your whole life with someone else’s face, name, and age.

“I don’t want any of those.”

“Then what? Do you want to borrow my skills?”

This had happened several times before.

People trying to use Ninetails’ skills to steal treasures.

Of course, Chloe ignored them without responding…

“No, I just want to compete.”

“Compete? What kind?”

“To see who is closer to being a true thief.”

“Suddenly, what. Ha…”

At the man’s absurd statement, Chloe sighed deeply and said,

“Hey, don’t make me laugh.”

Thud-!

Quickly grabbing the man’s wrist, Chloe turned his palm upward.

“You steal with hands like this? These are more like a knight’s hands than a thief’s. From your clothes and gait, you seem like a trained young master from some high noble family, so don’t waste time and tell me what you really want.”

“I already told you. I want a competition.”

“Do you think I’m underestimating Ninetails just because I know your identity? There’s no one in the world who can surpass Ninetails under the condition of ‘stealing’.”

“We won’t know until we try. So, shall we compete?”

“…”

At this point, more talking seemed pointless.

Chloe stepped back, shrugging her shoulders.

“Alright, fine. I’ll do it. What’s the target? But remember, I don’t steal from innocent people…”

“The Golden Rose.”

At the man’s words, Chloe frowned.

“…What? Are you crazy? Do you even know where that is?”

“Would I have said it if I didn’t know?”

“Ha, sorry, but I’m a thief. I steal treasures, not hurt people.”

Even without saying it, Chloe had planned countless strategies to rob the Redrose.

But no matter how she planned, the Redrose’s vault could only be opened by hurting people.

“So, I won’t rob the Redrose family.”

“Are you afraid?”

At the provocative tone, Chloe gripped her cane again.

“Talk all you want. But I’m warning you…”

Swoosh-!

“If you’re going to rob the Redrose family by hurting people, I’ll end you right here. That’s the kind of person I hate the most.”

“Don’t worry about that. No one will get hurt.”

“…”

Seeing his confident tone, Chloe couldn’t understand.

‘What does he plan to do?’

Seeing him this confident, he must have some hidden strategy…

But even then, robbing the Redrose’s vault without hurting anyone was impossible unless he was some mythical ‘dragon’.

“So, you can get the ‘Golden Rose’ from Redrose without hurting anyone, like I said?”

“Yes.”

“Ha, fine. If you say so. Then, what are you betting? If I win, I want eternal silence about my identity and how you found out.”

“Understood. If I win, I’ll take your most valuable and your least valuable things.”

Chloe frowned at the man’s words.

The most valuable was one thing, but what was the least valuable?

“The most valuable thing? Are you talking about the Bluetulip’s platinum seal? No, what’s the least valuable thing?”

“I’ll tell you after the competition. It won’t take long. Opening the Redrose’s vault might be impossible for Ninetails, but it’s an easy task for me.”

Crack-

Chloe’s vein popped on her forehead at the man’s seemingly mocking smile.

‘Very well then~’

It would have been easier if she knew what he wanted…

He was an unpredictable opponent from start to finish.

“…Alright, then what should I call you?”

“Call me Phantom.”

“Pfft… Phantom? Never heard of it.”@@novelbin@@

“A thief with fame is second-class. A first-class thief is one whose existence is unknown. So, are we betting now?”

“Ha… You’re definitely first-class when it comes to pissing people off. Alright, let’s bet.”

“Then, make a vow.”

“Yeah, yeah. I vow. I’ll swear on my grandmother’s honor. You’ll never steal the Golden Rose.”

“Good.”

As the man moved his hand toward his pocket, Chloe reacted by stepping back.

“…What are you trying to pull out suddenly?”

“…”

Click-

Instead of answering, the man opened a box to reveal the ‘Golden Rose’ inside…

“Ha…”

Chloe’s eyes turned cold as she sharply retorted to the man.

“Is this what you came up with? Bringing a counterfeit to deceive me?”