They say that when people are bored, they talk about random things.
I completely agree.
Lately, my mind has been occupied with random things as a result of boredom.
'Dark. My current name is Dark.'
'Doesn't it sound like Darth? Darth Vader, that awesome father.'
'Star wars and the force.'
Along those line of thoughts, I started thinking of the superhuman things I can do when I finally have an official name.
There are so many abilities I'm excited to try.
"Wouldn't it be awesome to have telekinesis?"
I asked all of a sudden.
The murmurs I've been hearing for a while now abruptly stopped, followed by a deep sigh of a frustrated person.
"Haaa. What are you talking about right now?"
"Power."
"Are you listening, Dark-san?"
"Having the ability to move things with your mind is awesome."
Envious of Darth Vader, I glanced at Shin with an extremely serious expression on my face and ignored his twitching eye.
"You can choke people without touching them. That's the dream of any people who have mysophobia."
"That's the dream of a psychopath, not people with mysophobia. Now listen."
Shin ignored me after that and pasted another map on the huge bedroom wall. It was a good addition to our growing knowledge of geography. The result of diligently going around and stealing from store to store was paying off and he finally managed to complete the basic view of the entire Black District.
Since we had little time and information, the view is only limited to the main streets and trademarks. It's something that can generally be brought in stores.
Either way, it was helpful.
"I'll start working on the blueprints tomorrow."
Shin, satisfied with his work, declaired proudly while looking over the maps. Nodding my head, my eyes also went to the maps.
'It's still incomplete. We need more to form a foolproof plan.'
"But it's better than nothing."
I grabbed the pen and started circling some places on the map.
The entirety of the Black district is like a huge circle divided evenly into seven sections. Naturally, these sections are ruled by the seven devil families. And in the middle of the Black district is a glowing white building formed by their union.
The Iris tower.
It's the tallest building in the Black district and can be seen no matter where you are.
The foundation of the tower is grounded in the soil and the top of the tower visibly stops at the ceiling of the whole area.
Whether the very top of the tower pierces into the outside surface or not is something I know.
I just wrote that it's a very tall tower connected to the ceiling.
Though I went through the rough details of the inside such as floors, I never really described the height too much or if there were any secret doors or something.
'Why would I do that at the prologue? That's just dumping information. I didn't know I would end up here too.'
Shrugging to myself, my thoughts started moving from the tower to the streets.
Originally, the Iris tower was built to prevent conflict between each section. To do so, seven main streets are built and connected to it, serving as a boundary between the seven sections.
This is what organizes the lack of law in the Black district.
Take for example, if a conflict happens in the section under the jurisdiction of the House of Pride, only the House of Pride is allowed to interfere. People from the other houses are not allowed to make a move.
'Well, technically they can but that would cause a territorial war so they don't.'
Secretly, I praised my past self that I didn't made the Black District too much of a wasteland.
CLANG!
Just in time, the door connected to the balcony opened.
Shin and I looked over at River, the person who just entered like Romeo infiltrating Juliet's room through the balcony.
He started patting the dust and little moisture off his shoulders.
"How's the work?"
I asked.
"Fruitful."
He answered, a slight liveliness pressent in his otherwise emotionless voice.
Our ears instantly perked up after hearing the confident response, especially after days of vague news.
Noticing this, River took out a little notebook he had hidden inside this cloak and started reciting the contents.
"I'm suspecting the house we're after is Pheregor. They own ninety-five percent of slavery business, there are also traces of newly arrived human traffickers in their section."
"Oh? Ohoho."
My hands flew to my mouth as I tried to stop the growing smirk on my lips.
'House of Sloth, is it? Oh, the irony.'
The House of Sloth which should have been the laziest is the one based on their name is currently the one house that's working so hard.
The contradiction makes me laugh but I held it in.
Especially after I saw that River looks like he's not done speaking yet.
"Ahem, ahem."
I quickly cleared my throat and composed myself before inquiring.
"That's wonderful information. But it seems that's not all there is to it."
As expected, River nodded his head.
"There's been a leak that Lionthan and Mammien are after the gains of the naming ceremony. Witnesses often saw lackeys from those families visiting and monitoring the Pheregor's section."
"Houses of Envy and Greed?! This is huge!"
Shin gaped in shock, but he immediately smiled afterward.
"Those bastards deserve it. Hahaha!"
I nodded in agreement.
"Yes, this is huge. Seeing that the other two houses are making a move means that there's an internal conflict."
Contemplating for a while, I deduced that it was the most reasonable answer.
'Man, are we allowed to be this lucky?'
The event that was brewing apart from the naming ceremony, the one I've been worried about is just an internal war.
It will likely happen during the naming ceremony. After the ceremony, there will be minor skirmishes as a result of the repercussions of this conflict but it's highly likely that we won't get involved.
That is, assuming that we can blend in the chaos.
'As long as I can make use of this knowledge to our advantage, I can cross off the thought of getting involved in something shitty after this event.'
The House of Sloth has two monsters in the back that they have to keep in mind.
No matter how tight their security is, if this information is reliable, then there will be an opening at the end of the naming ceremony.
It's inevitable.
"If there's going to be a fight at the end of the ceremony, slipping away will be easier than we expect."
I said.
River's forehead creased upon hearing my words.
"But the House of Sloth knows this too. They'll transport the children immediately after all of the children are named."
Hearing this, it was Shin's turn to have a creased forehead.
"Why won't they transfer the child one by one? And with every child, they'll use a different route. That way, abducting them won't be easy."
His argument was reasonable but I know the main reason why the Pehregor won't do that.
"The cost of transport is high. They're already spending so much on the security, if they spend any more money, they will lose more profit than they can gain."
Thinking deeply, I said with a voice filled with certainty.
"Definitely. They will definitely transport the children immediately after the last child is named. Knowing this, the other houses will aim for that time and attack."
The three of us were enveloped in deep silence. It continued like that for a few more minutes before Shin spoke up.
"Are we going to steal the ancient stone?"
Almost immediately, my eyes widened in surprise.
I looked at River, who was also looking at me with a questioning look, and asked with my eyes.
'Hey, are you both serious?'
Based on the fact that they do, in fact, look serious like people standing in a funeral mass, I sighed and massaged my temples.
"These children... haa."
"What?"
Shin still didn't figure out depite my overly exaggerated performance of disappointment so I decided it would be better to tell him bluntly.
"No, we aren't going to steal it."
He tilted his head to the side.
I'm pretty sure it was an innocent action but it still pissed me off.
'Does he really not get it?'
"Shin, do you want to die early? If the House of Sloth catches us, they'll kill us after boiling us alive."
I dramatically shook my head.
'No, I'm sure they'll be very hot-headed. If they catch us stealing after losing to the other houses. We won't even die, we'll be suffering and begging for death.'
I knew I was greedy but too much greed is not good. The role of 'too greedy people' is already taken by the House of Greed, Mammien.
I have no plans in being their impostor.
Slightly annoyed, I glared at Shin.
It seemes like he didn't like the look I gave him because he also glared back at me.
CRACK!
An imaginary lightning struck in between our figures.
"Think for a bit, you stupid idiot."
"What was that?!"
"Stop."
River held Shin's collar after the latter started walking towards me while cracking his knuckles.
A triumphant smile formed on my lips.
"Blegh. Loser, loser."
"You piece of..."
"Dark."
Hearing River's voice, I shrugged and reached for a paper.
'Better not push my luck.'
As River calmed down Shin, I started turning the fine piece of paper into a ball while speaking.
"Naming only takes five seconds. You only need to clutch the ancient stone and drip some of your blood in it. Your name will appear instantly and fade within a few moments. The whole process is literally just a few seconds."
I crumpled the paper in my hands, forming a circle of garbage, before continuing.
"The ancient stone is like the size of this paper. It's something that can be grabbed by just a palm of a hand. With the attack commencing, the security will loosen. We can take it by then, go to a safe corner, learn our official names, and then return it."
"See? So we ARE stealing it!"
Shin suddenly spoke up and pushed River away with a bit amount of force.
BOINK!
River, who was surprised with the strength, fell backward, and hit his head on a wall lamp at the side of the room.
'Oh, that's gotta hurt.'
Based on the loudness, it was not a light bump at all. I flinched as I imagined a bump forming and a smoke materializing from the bump.
Then I remember I haven't asked if he was okay. I guess his brain was jogged a bit seeing that he's stifly standing like a frozen statue.
"Are you alright, River?"
"...Mm."
He raised his hand to signal that he was fine.
'Is he really?'
I could see that imaginary bump becoming reality at the side of his head.
Thinking I'd get in trouble if I pointed it out, I decided to ignore it and pretend it wasn't there. River's slightly bloodshot eyes said murder if I did otherwise.
Just as an uncomfortable silence enveloped the room, Shin's voice echoed with a touch of excitement.
"So who's going to steal it? It's going to be me, right? Right?"
"Haa."
Shaking my head with a deep sigh, the annoyance that died down earlier bursted again, and I couldn't stop myself from answering in a petty voice.
"Shin, I told you that we're not stealing it, you pea brain. Stealing is different from borrowing an item without permission and returning it without the owner knowing."
"..."
There was silence again.
POP!
And then the sound of a vein popping in a certain child's forehead.
"You... come here!"
"Why? You come here, you brainless child."
Shin started marching to me again as I glared back at him.
"What am I doing with my life?"
We both ignored River's mumblings as he, once again, gripped Shin's collar. The latter was now speaking curse words as if he was chanting a curse.
"Again? Why me? He started it."
"Blegh. Loser, loser."
"That's it! I'm going to kill you."
River glared at me as he tried to calm Shin for the second time.
The two of the started clashing together in the background as I ignored them and gazed at the map beside me.
'Now, it's about time I made a move.'