Trekking down the hall, Leko slipped from room to room. The spirits surrounded him and hid him from prying eyes. Not having a layout of the building frustrated him, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Leko picked the doors he entered at random, not caring if he made people think the building was haunted. He'd take care of anyone who noticed him.
A spirit flew into Leko's hand as he reached for the nob of a door. Leko stepped back and frowned at the little spirit. They shook their head so Leko turned away. He sent a curious glance at the door. He entered the next room before dismissing it with a glance. The room was bare with only a few pieces of office furniture. He sighed and went for the next door.
This would be easier if he had help. Leko scowled at the door he stood in front of. His hand froze on the handle. Leko allowed his head to fall forward and knock against the hardwood of the door.
"Jaika," Leko called softly. A wry smile curved on his lips. He forgot that he wasn't alone.
-Jaika is here!-
"Are you willing to help me find something?" He asked sweetly. Leko lifted his head from the door.
-Jaika wants to know what her hunter is looking for.-
"Anything valuable. I'm burning the place to the ground. Might as well take whatever is worth anything." His reply came in an instant.
Free money.
Leko needed more and was it not better to put it to use than have it burn away?
Was it stealing? Probably.
Did he care? Not at all.
-Jaika says the spirits can guide you to the treasury-
Leko blinked and his eyes flicked to the hovering lights. He smiled at them. The cute little spirits all stared up at him curiously. Leko bent down and placed his hands on his knees. He looked one of the spirits in the face. The spirit tilted its head.
"Can you show me to the house's treasury? Or any room with a lot of valuables?"
The spirit's face brightened and they nodded. It beaconed at Leko with its hand and floated off in a hurry. Leko choked on a laugh and rushed after the excited little light.
The chance of the building having a treasury was slim. It didn't look like an important or cared-for home but Leko hoped there was at least something valuable.
This old-world place had something similar to a bank. They called it Star Zone. It was the only place in Droitt where people could keep their liquid assets. Star Zone had a downside. They didn't hold physical valuables. Anything you hand them was considered sold and they put the worth in your liquid account.
It was essentially a big pawn shop.
Due to this nobles had a treasury in their homes. Any physical items worth something were kept there. Smart nobles would hire a warder to secure their treasury, but not everyone was smart.
Leko grinned at the door that the spirit showed him.
"Can you tell if there are any wards?" He asked the spirit. The spirit shook their heads and Leko's grin grew.
He pushed the door open and took in the sight of the room. His grin twisted into a snarl.
Lecorreno was a beautiful city. It was on the direct path to the capital city of Hosyn. Travellers, vacationers and merchants passed through regularly. There was no reason for the city to look as worn down as it did. The stalls were more empty than they should be and the food was of a lower quality than expected for such a prime city. No matter how much the viscount may try to hide it. Lecorreno was not doing well.
The room glinted with gold and gems. Artefacts stood proudly displayed on the tables. The fortune that the room housed was far more than anyone in this city should by rights be able to afford. Leko closed his eyes and counted from ten. He breathed and opened his eyes again. Taking stock of what he saw.
Leko and the viscount would be having a word once the night was over.
With no wards or guards, the viscount had to be extremely certain that his treasury wouldn't be found, or he was plain stupid. Leko leaned more towards plain stupid. He felt like bad luck was going to come roaring and bite him in the butt at some point because of how easy this was.
A bitter smile graced his face as he walked through the room.
His hands trailed over the artefacts. A thrumming heat came from each piece. Leko had read that mana felt warm. He snacked his hands around a spear and let the warmth circle up his arm. Leko sighed and put the thing back down. His gaze shifted around.
Treasuries had portable inventories hidden inside. In case of an emergency. Smart but stupid, it would make stealing much easier. Leko frowned.
"Can you tell where the inventory is?"
A spirit flew in front of Leko's face. He stopped his search and followed the little guy.
Inventories were beacons. They housed a lot of mana. Humans could develop an ability to feel mana, but creatures were mana, their existence was created from it. Unlike humans, they could also tell what type of mana was being used. For an inventory, you use dimensional mana or void mana. It was the main aspect of mana needed to create a pocket space for everything to be stored.
The spirit landed on a table. They sat down and dangled their feet off the edge. They pointed down and Leko pulled at the drawer that sat beneath them. A metallic cube sat alone in the drawer.
Leko played with the small cube. His thumb brushed over a piece of the metal surface that was raised. Leko put the cube on the floor and pressed against the slightly raised surface. The cube expanded and a bigger box sat in front of Him. He smiled in satisfaction before starting his job of cleaning out the place.
He went for the mana-filled weapons first. Leko didn't leave a single weapon in the room. He estimated a couple of billion worth in the few pieces alone. He eyed the room critically, Leko made sure he took all the weapons before moving to the smaller items. His hand dug into the jewellery and miscellaneous. The smaller things fell into the inventory with a careless throw. Ten minutes passed. Leko rushed around, throwing everything into the inventory. Leko's anger boiled closer to the tip the more he filled the inventory.
Corrupt officials always pissed Leko off. He'd been right in his assessment when he entered the room. The worth of the collected stuff was far more than an average viscount could afford. No regular civilian would have this amount of accumulated wealth just sitting around.
With a harsh jab at the button, the cube shrunk back to its smaller size. Leko grabbed it and started his way to the front gate. Pain gathered in his palm as the cube dug into his skin. Leko shot an annoyed look at the room before he walked out, he didn't have the time to grab everything. Leko took the most valuable things he could find.
The rest would burn with the people.
He made his way down the hall, tracing his steps back to the front door. A shadow caught his eye. Lance turned around a corner. His eyes darted around the hall. The knight's gaze passed by Leko.
He snorted, "Let him see me," Leko said. The spirits flickered and the captain's surprised eyes locked on Leko instantly.
"Young Master," Lance said. He stopped walking in surprise.
"Hide him, please," Leko asked. His voice was a bare whisper so Lance wouldn't hear. A few spirits surrounded Lance. "You finished?" Leko asked the knight.
"Yes," Lance answered. He stepped up behind Leko and walked with him.
The two stayed quiet as they made their way out of the house. Outside the night air hung with anticipation. Leko smiled at the knights who loitered by the gate with glowing orbs around them. The spirits were smart. Leko's respect for them rose.
The knights perked up as they saw Leko and Lance walk up to them. Leko scanned their bodies.
"You're okay?" Leko asked, "No injuries? You weren't caught?"
"Yes sir," Ran said. Leko nodded before glancing at the building.
"Jaika, are my servants and the creatures out?"
He didn't want to kill off his own people. They were too useful to him.
-Jaika says they're all out.-
"Let's go," Leko said. He ushered the knight forward. He walked behind them, making sure no one stayed behind.
Originally Leko planned on killing any survivors that might have escaped, but with grade 5 seals that weren't needed. Anyone who made it out alive would be far more powerful than Leko could handle at his current rank.
They abandoned the empty streets and took cover in the ally ways between building much further away. It was better to get the party out of the blast range.
He eyed the flashing lights above the buildings in the distance. The festival was still going strong. Leko felt a little bad for destroying the good atmosphere for the people who clearly didn't have the best of lives. There was no way that the people wouldn't hear the explosion. Leko wanted them to hear the explosion. He'd rather not have anyone trying to cover up what was going on.
When the knowledge spread that a slave trade happened in Hosyn their reputation would take a blow, but the next heir discovered it and swiftly took care of the problem. He saved the would-be slaves and punished the slavers. The brutality of killing everyone involved also matched the Hosyn family's reputation.
This was what Leko decided was the best move to make.
His actions would smooth over the family reputation and it would soon enough be forgotten that it even happened. It would also discredit the viscount. If the viscount by some sheer luck didn't have anything to do with this, Leko still had to get rid of him. He was doing a terrible job of taking care of the city and he was embezzling from the people he was meant to care for. The man's greed interfered with his duty.
Being greedy could be overlooked, as long as you kept a good head and did your job to the best of your ability.
The viscount would be replaced before Leko and the party left the city.
The ground shook. Zerin gasped and stumbled, Leko's hand wrapped around Zerin's arm. The knight's head jerked to face Leko, and he stared. Leko made sure Zerin stood straight before letting him go. He ignored the bewildered look he got for his actions.
The thunderous sound of the explosion filled the air. Flames sprung from the building, eating at the structure. The searing heat licked at their skin, even with the distance they put between themselves and the building. The flames bellowed and crackled, reaching for the clear night sky.
A transparent barrier shined, and the flames were trapped inside. Each city required a basic ward to be placed around a building. In case of situations like this, the danger wouldn't spread.
Leko stood and enjoyed the sight. He could picture the slavers inside screaming as their flesh melted from their bones. A tittered laugh came from Leko. He bit his lip and glanced away from the judging gazes of the knights. Leko turned his mind to something else to distract himself.
He needed to contact the Duke.
"Let's go back to the inn."
Leko was a little curious about whether the viscount was involved or not. Buni would have the answer for him. Leko also needed to check on the creatures.
He held back a miserable cry. He wasn't going to be sleeping tonight.