Eternal Thief

Ace looked at Zaria, who was now sitting on the right side of the table, and smiled, “So, what do you think? Still, believe that I’m spouting nonsense?”

Zaria absent-mindedly shook her head in response before she finally regained her senses. She looked at Ace with a complicated look, “Just who are you? If you have had all of this, why in hell would you pretend to be pitiful and weak? Moreover, since you have this strange power and treasure, I’m sure you had a way to escape, yet you didn’t?”

Ace gave her a profound look before he asked instead, “Do you know what the Thief House is about and what I do?”

“Pretended to be weak so you can trick innocent girls into joining your little circus?” Zaria replied, glaring at him, and cursed, “Perverted scoundrel, would I be asking you this if I had known?! So, stop mystifying things and explain. I’ve already seen this mystic shit enough for today!”

“Mystic shit?” Ace muttered speechlessly, glared back at Zaria, and retorted, “First, I never intended to trick you. You forced me into it. Second, couldn’t you already have deduced by the same and your new position by now?

“This is ‘Thief’ House, and you are Lucky ‘Thief.’ Which made me, your leader, a ‘Thief’ among thieves! And what would thieves do? They steal! How do they steal? They select their targets and then plan accordingly!

“And sometimes, acting and pretending is part of the plan to ensure infiltration until the time to strike arrives. Now you tell me, why was I playing to be pitiful and weak? Why didn’t I leave the Runic Forge City?” Ace asked in exasperation.

Zaria’s eyes widened as only now did she focus on the ‘thief’ part since she was too busy to focus on what Ace did to her and all these mysterious things happening all at once.

“So, you’re telling me you were here to steal?” Shocked, she asked, “Wait a moment, I was your target!? Bastard, you dare to target my shop!?”

Ace clicked his tongue in annoyance since Zaria let her imagination run wild.

“You’re giving yourself too much credit.” He sneered, “If you forget, let me jog your memories. I wasn’t the one who forced me into staying in your shop on a whim. I was just there to get some information, but I ended up imprisoned!”

Zaria’s cheeks flashed with a tint of red since she knew Ace was telling the truth and couldn’t find any words to retort.

But she still had so many questions. So, she quickly changed the topic, “So, now what? Am I going to be a thief in your house? And if what you told me is true, then I need to follow your instruction or this ‘goddess’ to earn these House Points to buy stuff from this house shop, right?”

Ace finally sighed with relief and nodded, “Yes. Regrettably, you are now a thief and indispensable part of Thief House. The sooner you accept it, the better for everyone. Furthermore, I won’t restrict your freedom as long as you won’t jeopardize the Thief House and its members. Even if you want to, you’ll die before revealing anything to others; you should’ve already known this by the rules.”

Zaria’s pursed her lips, “I know. So, in the end, I’m nothing but a ‘free-slave,’ right?”

Ace shook his head, “You are not a slave, just bound. If you didn’t have any purpose before, now you have it. This is called being responsible, not slavery.” He sarcastically berated, “Besides, it’s not like you were doing anything better. It’s far better than playing a thug out in the streets and extorting others.”

Zaria instantly raged and retorted, “Don’t you dare judge me! At least I’m not going around robbing innocent people of their hard-earned wealth!”

“Heh, innocent people aren’t rich enough to become my target, and those who can, I’m not interested in them. Besides, we don’t live in a mortal world; we are cultivators, and here, power rules. Tell me about a single powerful cultivator who hadn’t killed before for opportunity or wealth.

“Those who haven’t are weak because, without ambition, no one can climb the ladder here. You said it yourself: those with bigger fists always win in our world.

“So, even if I go around stealing from others, I do it to become strong, just like any typical cultivator. You even extort others for their hard-earned money because it’s your need. So, it doesn’t matter whether you extort from evil or good; at the end of it, you are no different than me!” Ace coldly stated.

Zaria was lost for words as she stared at Ace, and for some reason, she didn’t want to meet his eyes as she knew in her heart that Ace was telling nothing but the truth.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, she started to contemplate. Now that she had accepted the reality, she finally started to pay attention to the benefits mentioned by Ace. If everything was true, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her and Leah.

But she still had one more worry as she asked, “What about Leah? I can agree to your arrangement since I had no choice. But I neither abandoned Leah nor let her become a part of all this. I know nothing is free in this world, and since this place is so amazing, the demands would be equally challenging.

“I might be a crook, but I did what I had to do to provide for my little sister and keep her away from harm. However, if you want to pull her into this, you can go ahead and do it over my dead body. I know you now hold absolute power over me, but I won’t compromise my sister!” She curtly stated as she looked at Ace with deadly resolution. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

Ace sighed in frustration, “See? That’s why I don’t want to pull you into this, but you’re just too egoistic and stubborn. But you don’t have to worry; my grudge against you ended the moment you joined the Thief House, and I also like Leah.

“She’s innocent and lively, and I don’t want her to lose it. But this didn’t mean you got to dictate her life. You can’t protect her forever; she needs experience and knows what the world looks like and its treacherous nature. I was like you before, but I’m trying to change.

“So, as someone who has already made this mistake, I advise you to change your ways. If you don’t want her to experience the world alone, be with her by herself and guide her. Teach her how to deal with situations instead of sheltering her from everything.

“And since you are a member of the Thief House, you can also accept thief acolytes. I won’t interfere with who you choose or give these positions to, but these acolytes will be your strength and can grow continuously with you.” Ace calmly explained.

Zaria became silent as it was the first time she had listened to someone without punching them in the face for so long. As a headstrong woman who believed in strength, she didn’t even listen to Falcon, who was tremendously stronger than hers.

Only someone like Ace, who had reigned over her life and had shown her something like a thief’s house, was qualified to speak with her.

Zaria finally looked at Ace, who couldn’t help but smile in annoyance, “For a perverted scoundrel, you’re not bad. Tell me, is this how you normally woo other innocent women?”

Ace gave her a fierce glare as she knew how to get on his nerves, “If you’re innocent, then I’m a freaking Saint!”

“You don’t even believe yourself!” Zaria berated with a chuckle before she thoughtfully looked at him, “So, tell me more about this place. Since I had to be a thief now, and you are my leader, tell me everything, especially about the other five members. How many more innocent women you have tricked before me?”

Ace wanted to retort, but he didn’t have words. When he thought about the other members, he started to sweat profusely since once Zaria learned about the other house members, his image as a ‘perverted scoundrel’ would be consolidated entirely in her mind!