"......That, uh......"

  Miko hesitated, unsure how to begin.

  "Actually, I don’t really know why...... Before I knew it, people started calling me that."

  "Before you knew it? What exactly did you do to earn that title without realizing it?"

  "Uh......"

  "......At first, I only sought out those gangs because I wanted to get stronger quickly. But later, when I fought members of one gang, I discovered they were doing terrible things. I got so angry that I took all the dirty money they’d made and returned it to some of the poor people they’d victimized."

  "......After that, every time I couldn’t stand their actions, I’d take their dirty money. Sometimes, when it was hard to find the exact victims, I’d give the money to orphanages and poor people who looked like they were struggling."

  "In the end, by the time I noticed, people were already calling me a ‘righteous thief’......"

  Hulim didn’t know how to describe it for a moment. All she could say was—

  "Doing something like this...... really is just like you."

  "But......"

  Hulim raised a new question.

  "Miko, if your original goal was to get stronger, why didn’t you just go to the dungeon?"

  "I do go to the dungeon occasionally, but what I want to improve most is my combat skills against humans. It’s hard to progress if I only fight dungeon monsters."

  "Combat skills against humans? Does Miko have someone you need to fight?"

  Miko’s eyes wandered, and her ears drooped slightly.

  "K-Kind of, I guess."

  "I see......"

  Looking at Miko—eager to achieve her goal yet always reckless—Hulim made a decision.

  "Miko...... I have an idea. Do you want to hear it?"

  Hulim suddenly said.

  "Hmm?" Miko looked at her in confusion. "An idea? What kind?"

  Hulim replied: "Miko, do you want to team up with me to go to the dungeon?"

  "Go to the dungeon?"

  "I mean, I could, but why?"

  "Miko, you need experience fighting humans, right?"

  "Yeah, that’s true."

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  "Then I’ll practice with you."

  "Huh! Really——?!"

  Miko stared at Hulim in surprise.

  Hulim nodded.

  "Of course. Even if you keep practicing with people like those thugs, it might not help. Fighting them won’t improve your strength much. So it’s better if I help you."

  "I’m currently teaming up with someone else to train in the dungeon. If Miko joins, not only will we be more efficient, but sparring with each other can also effectively boost our combat experience."

  "Really?! But...... am I really allowed to?"

  "I already said yes. Or rather, are you willing to join?"

  "Of course I am!"

  "Then it’s settled."

  Miko was stunned, then slowly lowered her head.

  "T-That...... Hulim, thank you......"

  "No need to thank me. We’re friends."

  "Right, we’re friends......"

  "Okay, it’s getting late. I should get back to my own business. Miko, don’t wander around too late at night."

  With that, Hulim put her mask back on.

  Miko stood frozen in place. It wasn’t until Hulim had walked several steps that she reacted.

  "Hey, wait a minute! Hulim, aren’t you going to stop me——?!"

  Hulim turned around to look at Miko.

  "Stop you from what?"

  "W-Well, the righteous thief thing......"

  "Why would I stop you?"

  "Uh, well, that’s......"

  "Miko......"

  "Do you think what you’re doing is wrong?"

  Miko shook her head.

  "If it’s not wrong, why would I stop you? Miko, if you want to keep doing it, go ahead."

  "......"

  Hulim turned around and walked forward again.

  "The people at that orphanage told me...... you’re amazing."

  After Hulim’s figure completely disappeared from sight, Miko still stood there dumbfounded. But the light in her eyes seemed to grow brighter and brighter......

  ......

  "Hey, your friend is really interesting. It’s not common for someone so young to be a righteous thief. That’s quite promising."

  "Ilus, are you teasing me, or actually praising her......"

  Hulim put down her teacup and said.

  "Of course I’m praising her! I rarely praise anyone, you know? That little girl named Miko should be proud."

  "Is that so...... Well, I see. I’ll pass it on to her."

  Hulim said mechanically, without any emotion.

  Ilus looked amused, then stretched out a finger and poked Hulim’s forehead.

  "Next time you’re being perfunctory, at least learn to manage your expression~."

  "No, I’m doing this on purpose."

  "Huh! That really hurts my feelings!"

  Ilus pretended to cover her face in "sorrow" for a second, then glanced at Hulim’s back and said: "By the way, where’s your mithril steel sword?"

  Every time Hulim had come to Ilus’ shop before, she’d brought both her sword and wand. But today, she only had her wand.

  "That sword got a bit damaged. On my way here, I entrusted it to Charkin for repairs."

  Also, it’s a mithril steel sword, not just a steel sword......

  "Damaged? What did you do to it? That sword shouldn’t break easily just from fighting monsters, right?"

  "Well...... It wasn’t actually damaged in battle. It became like this from practicing swordsmanship. The last move of the Heyeral Swordsmanship, ‘Thunder’ , is an extremely powerful move. Although my current sword can withstand using it, a lot of practice has inevitably caused some damage."

  "Heyeral Swordsmanship? Ah——, come to think of it, Olubet did create his own swordsmanship, didn’t he!"

  Ilus recalled memories from the past, but then looked confused.

  "Hmm...... Wait a minute——"

  "Hulim, did you just say you’ve already mastered the last move of the Heyeral Swordsmanship?"

  "?"

  Although she didn’t know why Ilus was asking, Hulim nodded.

  "That’s strange. I remember he mentioned to me that it’s an S-rank swordsmanship move...... Have you really mastered it to that level?"

  "???"

  "Wait, Ilus, hold on a second!"

  Hulim quickly interrupted her.

  "I need to confirm something first...... Ilus, did my ancestor tell you how many moves his swordsmanship has?"

  "Let me think...... Oh right, I think it’s seven moves!"

  "......"

  "What’s wrong...... Is there something off?"

  After a few seconds of silence, Hulim slowly replied:

  "......The swordsmanship currently passed down in our family only has five moves."

  "......"

  "Uh...... So that means...... Olubet didn’t pass down the A-rank and S-rank parts of the swordsmanship to your family?"

  "That must be it."

  Upon hearing this, Ilus looked speechless.

  "Cough, cough...... What can I say about that guy...... He really does things his own way."