Become A Profiteer In Isekai

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Thief

Robbery, theft, brawling, and even murder were nothing new in Heitai Town.

Even with the existence of a constable’s office, there was no surveillance in this day and age. Unless a criminal was caught red-handed, or a Professional with Divination Magic was there to help, solving a case was nearly impossible.

So, after hearing Furen’s shout, most of the patrons in the tavern just gave him a look—some sympathetic, some gloating, some indifferent—before going back to their drinking and chatting.

Someone even laughed and shouted a taunt:

”Hey kid, this is a lesson every idiot has to learn!”

”Hope your tuition wasn’t too expensive! HAHAHAHA!”

”...”

’What a cold, heartless bunch!’

’This isn’t how it happens in the novels!’

Eyes wide with shock, Furen stood frozen in place, never having imagined everyone would be so apathetic.

It was one thing not to help him find the Thief, but to actually mock him for being an ”idiot”!

’I’m the victim here!’

’Isn’t this supposed to be the thief’s fault?!’

”Lu Wei... should we go report this to the constable’s office now...”

With shameless laughter echoing in his ears, Furen felt like a red-nosed clown in a circus.

The young noble had always been thin-skinned. He quickly lowered his head, ran over to Lu Wei, and stammered out a plea for help.

However, Lu Wei was also completely baffled.

’No way, you didn’t do this on purpose, did you?’

’You just finished saying something about ”good brothers helping each other out,” and the next thing I know, your money gets stolen?’

’How could it be such a coincidence?’

Staring suspiciously at Furen for a moment, Lu Wei finally spoke.

”Reporting it is useless. The constable’s office never bothers with this kind of thing.”

”Huh? Then what do we do?”

”What to do... Are you sure it was just stolen?”

”I’m sure of it. It was still there when I paid earlier.”

Furen said with a miserable look on his face, ”I was just throwing up by the roadside, and someone walked past me from behind.”

”I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but after I was done, I realized my coin purse was gone...”

’Just walked past and stole it?’

’So, it was a professional Thief with the Theft Skill?’

Lu Wei frowned. ”Where do you usually keep your coin purse?”

Furen quickly replied, ”Hanging right on my belt!”

”...”

’Well, looks like I was overthinking it.’

’In a spot that obvious, who else would they rob but you?’

”Sigh. I’ll go take a look.”

Shaking his head, Lu Wei stood up helplessly and walked out of the tavern with Furen.

Probably because Furen had been in a hurry to throw up and hadn’t run far, the scene of the crime was right on the street facing the tavern’s main entrance. You could even see the bar if you turned around.

There was nothing to hide behind nearby. Plus, it was already night, so there were few pedestrians, just the occasional Adventurer passing by in the distance carrying a lantern.

”Hmm...”

Under Furen’s nervous gaze, Lu Wei expertly surveyed the area by moonlight before reaching a conclusion—

”There’s nothing to be done. You’ll just have to accept the loss.”

”Huh?”

Furen froze for a second, then asked anxiously, unwilling to give up, ”Is there really nothing we can do?”

”What else could we do? If you’d chased after them right when you found out, you might have caught them. But it’s been too long now. They’re long gone.”

Lu Wei glanced at him. ”Or it’d be helpful if you got a good look at the person’s face.”

”I...”

Furen was instantly at a loss for words. Judging by his dejected expression, he probably didn’t even know if the thief was male or female, let alone what they looked like.

A moment later, he hung his head limply, forced to accept this miserable reality.

”Alright then...”

”Yeah, just think of it as paying for a lesson. Be more careful next time.”

Seeing how sad he was, Lu Wei didn’t have the heart to say anything harsh. He offered a word of comfort, then casually asked:

”So, how much money was in your purse?”

”All the money I brought with me on this trip was in there.”

Furen answered listlessly, ”Five Gold Coins, and five or six Silver Coins...”

’How much???’

As if he’d just heard the winning lottery numbers, Lu Wei’s eyes instantly widened.

He knew Furen was rich.

But he never thought he was *this* rich.

’Damn it!’

’That money should have been mine!’

”No, we can’t just let this go!”

A few seconds later, to Furen’s surprised delight, Lu Wei’s expression suddenly turned stern as he declared resolutely:

”This behavior is atrocious! We must bring this criminal to justice!”

...

...

Clearly, Lu Wei’s sense of justice was fueled by money.

And his confidence was fueled by the hot-tempered female bartender in front of him, Clara.

”Clara, you must have seen it, right?”

A few minutes later, in front of the oak bar, Lu Wei asked expectantly:

”You have a straight view of the door from here, so you must have at least seen their general appearance, right? Like their gender, height, that sort of thing.”

”Well...”

The voluptuous Clara replied meaningfully while wiping one of the tavern’s few glass cups, ”Maybe I saw something, maybe I didn’t. Who’s to say?”

’Huh?’

’Maybe she saw, maybe she didn’t?’

’What is this, Schrödinger’s eyewitness?’

’Oh, I get it!’

Lu Wei paused for a second, then immediately made a promise. ”Of course! If we catch that thief, we certainly won’t forget your help! How about two silver coins?”

”Hmph, not interested. Promises about the future are unreliable.”

Clara must have been deceived like this before, because her tone suddenly turned scornful. ”Especially promises from you men. They’re like the foolish stories from a Minstrel’s mouth—hardly any of them are true.”

”...”

’Foolish stories...’

To the side, Furen’s expression suddenly turned strange, as if he’d been insulted.

Lu Wei, of course, had no time to worry about him and continued to probe Clara.

”Then what will it take for you to help us?”

”One Silver Coin, right now.”

Clara glanced sideways at Furen. ”I don’t think I’m asking for much. After all, your friend’s coin purse certainly had more than that in it.”

”Er...”

’Can we negotiate? How about one copper coin?’

Lu Wei hesitated, clearly reluctant to pay.

Although 1 Silver Coin wasn’t much, Clara could, at best, only provide a few details about the Thief. Whether they could actually catch the person was still unknown.

It would be fine if he were flush with cash, but the problem was, he only had 1 Silver Coin and 70 Copper Coins on him right now.

And that money had to be saved for the next few days’ living expenses, as well as to repay Old Yor for his goods.

So...

”Clara, my father passed away a while ago. You knew that, right?”

A sudden idea struck Lu Wei, and he brought up a completely unrelated topic.

Clara froze for a second, then nodded blankly. ”I know... may God grant him Rest... So what are you getting at?”

”Nothing, I just remember he used to come here to drink all the time when he was alive.”

Lu Wei put on a sad face and began to ”reminisce affectionately.” ”He always told me you were a kind girl, even said you were like a daughter to him... Of course, he didn’t have a daughter, just me, his only son.”

”But you should understand what he meant.”

”Honestly, I’ve never seen him speak so highly of any other young woman. You might not have noticed, but he really, really liked you.”

”But you didn’t even come to his funeral.”

”Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming you. I know you must not have had the time.”

”I just feel it’s a bit of a shame, is all...”

Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Lu Wei’s tone was melancholic, tinged with a hint of regret.

Across the bar, Clara had long since stopped wiping the glass, her expression gradually turning to one of surprise.

A blurry figure appeared in her mind. A moment later, she explained quietly, full of shame:

”I’m sorry, I didn’t receive an invitation to the funeral, so...”

”It’s alright. I’m sure my father would forgive you.”

Lu Wei gave a slight smile and took out a Silver Coin from his purse.

”Right, this is what we agreed on...”

”No, no, no, I can’t take this!”

Clara quickly waved her hands, pushed the Silver Coin back, and then immediately began to recall in detail:

”The person was wearing a gray robe. They were very thin and short, but definitely not a Dwarf or a dwarf. It was probably a child, around eleven or twelve years old.”

”They were wearing a hood, so I didn’t see their face clearly. I just remember they walked with a limp...”