===============
—Marigold's Karma has decreased.
—Current Karma value is '14'.
===============
When Lancel saw the notification about Marigold's Karma decreasing, the first thought that came to his mind was:
*Could it be... did she kill someone?*
There was no way she suddenly built a church in this situation, so he couldn't think of anything else.
*Did she send someone with Karma to their grave?*
To get straight to the point, that wasn't it. Marigold was a thief, yes, but not a murderer. She was still lacking in many ways—resolve, experience—to commit murder already.
If someone with Karma had died, they would have been quite infamous, but when Lancel asked around, he didn't hear any news about suspicious deaths.
===============
—Imperial Year 817, January 16th, Weather: Clear.
—Marigold's Karma has decreased.
—Current Karma value is '13'.
===============
*Again?*
===============
—Imperial Year 817, January 22nd, Weather: Very Clear.
—Marigold's Karma has decreased.
—Current Karma value is '12'.
===============
*It's dropping steadily, isn't it?*
Some might say it was just 3 points, but Lancel knew how difficult it was to lower those points.
*That's equivalent to building three churches!*
The Church of the Saintess that Lancel built by completely draining Baron Evil Shen—that money-spewing hole—only numbered twenty to thirty. Yes, that was a project that took a full 10 years.
In that sense, these 3 Karma points that dropped without doing anything were by no means insignificant.
"...But wait, she's not doing anything besides performing and stealing, so why is it decreasing?"
The answer to this curiosity was only revealed in March.
It was around the time when talk about Marigold began to spread throughout the capital city.
"Is Phantom Thief Honeycandy really a bad person?"
"She's still a thief, what are you talking about?"
"She may be a thief, but she doesn't kill people, doesn't keep the stolen goods for herself, and if you look at the people who are furious about being robbed, they all deserved it anyway."
"Still, don't say such things in public. The victims wouldn't see it that way."
*Ah.*
Lancel finally understood.
===============
—Game Guide.
â»Ways to lower Karma:
1. Faith achievements.
2. Fame achievements.
3. Defeating villains.
===============
*Fame!*
Come to think of it, there had never been a time when the word "fame" suited Marigold as well as it did in this playthrough.
Moreover, it was fame built without wielding a sword to kill or hurt anyone.
Yes, this was fame in its purest sense.
Marigold had simply become famous. She had simply worked hard at what she did. The fame she built was just that.
It was qualitatively different from one-sided fame earned on battlefields. Military achievements always had both light and shadow coexisting.
Even Lancel himself was once called the Knight of Dawn in the Empire, while on the other side, he was called a demon.
Compared to that, how was Marigold in this playthrough?
She hadn't made anyone bleed. She hadn't been stained with anyone's blood. She had simply lived her best life as an actress and a phantom thief.
*She did steal some money, but since she didn't do it with bad intentions, it counts as a fame achievement... is that it?*
He wasn't quite sure.
Anyway, the conclusion was simple.
*Mary, you need to become more famous as a phantom thief for a while.*
Shouldn't they take advantage of this opportunity to lower her Karma as much as possible?
It would be troublesome if she got caught or quit before then.
With that in mind, Lancel went to Marigold's room.
"Today I... fell in love with Phantom Thief Honeycandy."
"..."
18.
The day after the surprise confession.
For a while, whenever Marigold saw Lancel, she would twist her body this way and that, pacing around him in circles.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
Since she seemed happy, he left her alone for quite some time.
After a month passed, she began to change her attitude more blatantly.
"Sir Lancel. Hehe."
"..."
It was that time again.
Lancel could read her expressions by now.
Today too, Marigold approached him with a mischievous look on her face.
"About Phantom Thief Honeycandy. You said you saw her yesterday too, right? W-what did you think?"
Time for testimony.
To Marigold, who was all heated up and breathing heavily through her nose, Lancel began reciting his prayer once again.
"She was pretty and beautiful and cool, and I was a bit disappointed I couldn't catch her with my own hands today, but secretly relieved, and anyway she was pretty and beautiful and cool and righteous and pretty and cool... in short, she was the best."
Having given the same answer every time, Lancel was starting to reach the limits of his vocabulary, but Marigold's reaction was always the same.
"Hehehe!"
That face looked like she was about to jump for joy.
"This won't do, Sir Lancel. You can't like the phantom thief too much. It's troubling. You're a knight of the capital serving in Prince's arrest squad... you shouldn't like your target Honeycandy so much. It's a forbidden love."
"..."
Huff, huff.
Hot breath blew from Marigold's nose as she got all excited while speaking.
*Forbidden love, huh.*
Lancel pondered those words, recalling his memories.
In fact, just last night, he had heard those very words—"forbidden love"—directly from Phantom Thief Honeycandy herself.
.
.
.
"Haa, haa...!"
After chasing through the capital streets, the two of them reached a dead-end alley.
Beyond the light of the lantern in Lancel's hand, Phantom Thief Honeycandy could be seen turning only her upper body to look at him.
Her pure white cape fluttered freely in the blowing wind.
"It's you again. My rival and destined pursuer, Lancel Dante. Well, there aren't many people fast and agile enough to chase after me besides you!"
She showed no signs of fear or panic despite facing a dead end.
A smile filled her lips as she pressed down firmly on her hat that seemed about to fly away in the wind.
"How far do you intend to chase me? Why are you so desperate when you know you can't catch me? Do you want to capture me that badly to fulfill your forbidden love? Go ahead and tell me, Knight Lancel!"
"Forbidden love...?"
"Yes. Forbidden love. It's no use denying it. Your heart is already in my hands! I'm a master thief who steals everything in this world, even if it's someone's heart."
Phantom Thief Honeycandy couldn't help but smirk beneath her mask.
"Knight Lancel. The stronger your desire to catch me becomes, the more your love for me will grow uncontrollably day by day. Before you know it, you'll be my prisoner. How unfortunate. A knight of the capital in love with a phantom thief! Hmph."
*Isn't she getting too cocky?*
He felt like giving her a light knock on the head, but it was fine. After all, this was the outcome Lancel wanted.
"So how are you going to escape now? Isn't this a dead end? And besides..."
Lancel said, pointing behind him.
"This way!"
"There! I see her!"
"Lancel Dante! Catch that damn woman right now!"
The 6th Prince and his knights from the arrest squad could be seen joining belatedly.
"Looks like you're already surrounded."
"...So it seems."
Marigold shook off her cape.
"Since uninvited guests have arrived, let's end it here for today."
===============
—Marigold's 'Intermediate Stealth (100%)' has been mastered. You can now learn 'Advanced Stealth (0%)'.
â»The pursuit with a rival increases thief skill proficiency faster! Stamina, Charm, Sensuality, Condition UP!
===============
Swoosh!
Marigold's figure disappeared from sight in an instant.
It felt as if the night sky had wrapped around her, making her vanish in a moment.
"Try to catch me next time, Knight Lancel! Though it'll be difficult!"
Only Marigold's androgynous voice, pitched low, echoed in the distance.
"What? Where is she?"
"She escaped again!"
"This damn woman, again! Again, again, again!"
.
.
.
—————————
<Status>
Charm 95.
Morality 31.
Dignity 18.
Sensitivity 35.
Sensuality 181.
Mana 1.
Strength 47.
Stamina 72.
Faith 41.
Condition 93.
—————————
.
.
.
"Sir Lancel!"
Lancel returned from last night's memory to the present.
Marigold, who had stopped in the middle of theater troupe practice to cling to him, appeared in his sight again.
"What if, just what if. What would you do if that phantom thief turned out to be someone close to you? This is purely hypothetical. Hypothetical."
Her eyes were full of expectation.
"I mean, what if Phantom Thief Honeycandy was actually someone you knew well? That could happen, right?"
You're being quite obvious, Marigold.
"Hmm."
Lancel pretended to think for a moment before speaking.
"If Phantom Thief Honeycandy turned out to be someone I know when I confessed my love someday..."
"Confession!"
Marigold's face flushed bright red.
Lancel continued.
"Whoever that person might be, I would have no choice but to promise them a lifetime together. My heart has already been stolen by Phantom Thief Honeycandy."
"Hnnng!"
Marigold trembled with excitement.
It seemed to be quite a satisfactory answer.
"You like her too much. Hehe, hehehe!"
"..."
She kept poking his side, not knowing what to do with herself.
Lancel suddenly spoke.
"But I think Phantom Thief Honeycandy might be a bit stupid."
"Urk!"
Marigold's body stiffened.
With a forced smile, she asked, "W-why do you think that?" Her eyes looked slightly moist.
"I think someone with Phantom Thief Honeycandy's abilities could become much more famous, but she doesn't seem interested in that direction at all."
"...A way to become more famous...?"
"Yes. What you might call showmanship."
"Show...what? What's that?"
Was that a difficult word?
Lancel changed the term.
"In other words, presentation."
"Presentation...! You mean like a performance?"
"You could see it that way."
.
.
.
"What?"
A spasm ran across the 6th Prince's face.
"The thief... announced her theft in advance?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
At the knight's report, he seemed utterly shocked. Humiliation, shame, and anger all mixed together, turning his face crimson.
And for good reason.
"This is the content of the announcement. The location, date and time of the theft, and even the item to be stolen are all listed."
"So this has been... spread throughout the capital since this morning?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The note the 6th Prince held contained a brief message.
—————————
[Honeycandy's Announcement]
-Date of theft: July 8th.
-Location: Rodnis Third Imperial Auction House.
-Items to steal: Tears of the Sacred Scar, Silver Jar.
-This theft is also permitted by God.
—————————
A thief announcing a theft in advance.
It was a moment that brought incredulous laughter to the faces of everyone in the arrest squad.