The three vice elders bowed and relayed his orders.
"...Ahem, what a coincidence, eh, disciple? Little First and I, we both like to use the word 'frisk'. Isn't that funny, hehe…?" Snail laughed awkwardly.
Kenja squinted his eyes in vexation. He could not look at Snail, but Snail knew the glare was directed at him.
The vice elders began checking each disciple's storage bags and rings by hand, starting with the inner sect disciples that stood in front.
Judging by their striped robes, the sea of disciples were organized with the inner sect leading, followed by the outer sect disciples who were approximately ten or twelve times the number of inner sect disciples, and ended with the servants who were about triple the number of outer sect disciples.
Many of the disciples were upset that their belongings were being searched, and some went as far as begging the vice elder to skip over them. Every now and then, a vice elder would lift a disciple upside down and shake them loose of any hidden items.
The First Elder's voice rang in everyone's ears, "We are watching, so no one will dare steal from you. But if you dare hide from us, your belongings will be confiscated."
Leaving no room for bargaining, the statement was for both the disciples and the vice elders.
As long as they cooperated fully, they will keep their items. But if they hid anything or resisted, the vice elders were permitted to take it.
Things proceeded quietly after that.
At some point during the process, Shizuka and Yoshie appeared with a vice elder leading them to Kenja's group.
Yoshie tried to hide behind Shizuka, but the older twin pulled her out to bow to the elders and senior disciples.
"Junior greets her elders."
No one paid them any mind at first.
The elders were busy stretching their divine sense to encompass the sect, and the Tributaries had other things on their minds to worry about.
"Greetings, senior sisters," muttered Matsushita Hizumi, his face twisted in pain. His salute was obviously forced upon him by the soul oath he had taken.
Sora Yu snorted at him while Shimizu Mizutani and Hirose Hide giggled at his pain.
Hideaki Akiyoshi greeted the two sisters with a nod and smile.
Tilting her head, Aoi Rin beckoned her two younger sisters to stand behind her, alongside Hikaru and Hanabi, to which they eagerly complied.
"E-e-elder sister, what's going o-o-on?" Yoshie stuttered out to Rin, her nerves when facing the ice-cold woman apparent.
After a second of silence, she replied in her usual manner, "Catch thief. Stay here!"
After witnessing Hikaru in action, the blue-haired babysitter dared not underestimate these youngsters' penchant for trouble.
Sharing the same concerns as her, Shizuka patted Yoshie on the back reassuringly. "It's probably not him. Let's just put it out of our mind for now."
She did not fully believe in her own words.
The man in the poster bore too strong a resemblance to Kenja. Plus, their elder brother often got into troublesome situations, so the unlikelihood of his involvement did very little to relax them.
Overhearing their exchange, Kenja wanted to say a couple of words to ease their minds, but he stopped himself.
Their concerns were quite valid.
He was, in fact, very much involved!
If things turned for the worse and he was caught, it would be best for them to be prepared.
"Snail, what do we do if they catch us? Just in case, do you have a way to get us out of here?"
Snail did not reply.
Kenja flicked the shell to force an answer out, but only the sounds of slurping answered him. The irresponsible bandit had already withdrawn inside to drink away the time.
Kenja wondered if Snail was trying to make him get caught.
…
Once the vice elders had finished searching the inner sect disciples, they recruited many of the trusted disciples to assist in frisking the outer sect disciples. Because the shakedowns were done in an organized and public manner, it was impossible for either sides to pull any tricks.
Half an hour later, they had finished investigating most of the outer sect disciples with some beginning to go through the servants.
A vice elder brought a nervous-looking young boy wearing servant robes to First Elder.
Kenja recognized the boy as the servant quarter's canteen registrar, Migawari Puchi. After purchasing all of his canteen's merchandise, Kenja recruited him to run the keystone rental exchange for him.
Why did they summon him? He had no obvious connection with the Rusty Robber incident.
"Reporting to First Elder, I've brought the servant you requested."
The elders and their disciples examined the young servant curiously, causing him to sweat buckets from the attention.
"Good. Return to your duties."
With a bow, the vice elder returned to investigating the servants' belongings.
The First Elder shot Puchi a look of pure disdain, intimidating him into a panic.
Frightened and confused, Migawari Puchi slammed his body to the ground and kowtowed. Despite standing atop grass, his forehead still made a large thud upon colliding with the ground.
"Th-th-this servant recognizes his e-e-elders!"
This person was the legendary First Elder! Standing at the zenith of the mountain representing the Flowing River Sect. Soaring atop a cloud in the Heavens. One who has achieved what millions had died pursuing.
And he, a lowly servant who had to look down whenever an outer sect disciple walked past him was speaking directly with him.
Unfazed, Kaitou Daiki's majesty enveloped the cowering mouse, his trembling and sweating visibly increasing as he buried his face deeper into the ground.
"What is your name?"
"Th-th-th-th-this servant's n-n-n-n-name is M-m-migawari P-p-p-p-puchi."
"How long have you been at the Flowing River Sect?"
"R-r-replying to First Elder, s-s-s-s-seven years."
"And how long have you watched over the servant canteen?"
"R-r-r-r-r-replying to F-f-f-f-f-first E-e-e-elder, a-a-about o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-one y-y-y-y-year."
"Stop your stuttering!" Kaitou Daiki commanded him with such volume and force that even the inner sect disciples took a step back out of fear.
The boy instantly stopped trembling which satisfied the First Elder who desired his answers quickly.
"Are you currently collecting others' keystones?"
His question was met with silence.
Glancing at the face-down, little boy, a throbbing vein appeared on the side of his temple. He jerked his head to the side, causing the boy to flip over.
Migawari Puchi lay perfectly still, his eyelids closed, armpit stains stretching beyond his armpits, and his pants wet from an uncontrolled urination.
He had fainted from fright…