The Thief Master. That was the target Mahariku had identified.
The Thief Master’s base was tucked away in the mountains, a place large enough to be considered its own little village.
When San had worked as a bandit previously, it had been specifically to build enough of a track record to infiltrate this community. With a halo over her head and a reputation as a member of the Jack-of-all-trades, she was a known quantity they were naturally wary of.
However, while the Jack-of-all-trades had its share of fame, its Infamy was currently through the roof. For all intents and purposes, the organization was the primary supporter of bandits in the Suriado region. Because of that connection, sneaking into the Thief Master’s Hideout turned out to be remarkably easy.
That said, we couldn't go in with the full group. Only Mahariku and I entered.
I was currently operating Tria. The rest of the team had taken up sniping positions outside. Since the employees only had handguns, Alto served as our primary sniper.
"I have to say, 'Thief Master' is a pretty on-the-nose name," I remarked.
"It’s obviously not his real name. It’s a handle," Mahariku replied.
"Well, yeah, I figured."
You’d have to be insane to go by 'Thief' or 'Master' as your actual birth name.
"...How do these guys feel about us thinning out the bandit population with your match-pump scheme?"
"Our Infamy is high enough that they probably just assume we’re fellow criminals."
"What a wicked president you are..."
Regardless, we were now inside the Thief Master's Hideout.
A cave sat at the center of the village, which had expanded outward from the cavern entrance. It seemed the cave had been the original base, and the village had grown as more people gathered.
The cave aside, the surrounding structures consisted of wooden fences and buildings. Since the wood had been properly processed into planks, they either had someone with the necessary skills or they were procuring lumber from elsewhere.
...The buildings were actually decent. Maybe they had a Carpenter?
"No, this is a game, so of course the buildings look finished. There’s no reason for the devs to go out of their way to break the preset huts, right? Breaking them would actually be more work than leaving them alone," Mahariku pointed out.
"I guess that makes sense."
From a design standpoint, it would be more of a hassle to mess with a pre-made set. In other words... this tidy little village was actually a byproduct of cutting corners! A sign that this was a minor, one-off event!
I see through your ruse, Thief Master! You're probably not even that strong!
...
Then again, Miti and Mahariku aren't exactly in Combat Classes, so they aren't the strongest themselves. Miti is great at ambushes and surprise attacks, but as bandits, the enemy would likely be just as skilled in those areas.
As for why we were visiting this hideout—well, on the surface, it was a standard business transaction. The merchandise, however, was human.
Inside the wooden crate I carried was the 'one female slave' they had ordered. The bandits here were absolutely starved for women. There wasn't a single female in the entire hideout. Why? Well... I wondered about that myself.
"I provided enough support to the local women to ensure they wouldn't turn to banditry," Mahariku explained. "Or rather, I knew that if they became bandits, their only future would be as these guys' playthings, so I helped them find other jobs."
Apparently, she had even coordinated with the Merchant's Guild to ensure that no female merchants approached this region. That was why San, despite her suspicious background, had been able to slip in as a 'bandit,' and why the bandits who had attacked us before were all men.
...Wait, were we ever notified about that? I didn't know anything about it. Ah, right. We aren't officially recognized as merchants, so we wouldn't have heard the warnings from the Merchant's Guild in the first place.
Of course, we were still subjected to lewd stares. During the body search at the entrance, hands had been wandering all over... but only on Mahariku.
Me? As Tria? They took one look at her, let out a disappointed sigh, and grunted, "You can pass."
Excuse me? Flat chests are a rare delicacy! Don't these morons understand the appeal? Fine by me! It was actually better that Tria’s cute body wasn't touched by the likes of them! Hmph!
Under the bandits' watchful eyes, we were guided toward the heart of the hideout: the cave.
"We’ve brought the 'package' you ordered," Mahariku announced.
"...Ah, yeah! We've been waiting!"
"By the way, if you lay a finger on us, you can rest assured you'll never get your hands on another woman again."
"I—I know. We won't touch you."
Mahariku might not have been a combat specialist, but her status naturally exceeded that of any ordinary person. Furthermore, she possessed legitimate real-world martial arts skills. If they tried anything, they would regret it—and then they would die.
"So, where’s the package?"
"We managed to get our hands on a cute cat beastman. Go, show them."
"You got it."
Stepping up as 'Go,' I opened the crate to reveal the contents. Miti, in her cat beastman form, was gagged and trembling with frightened eyes. Moreover, her chest was impressively, unnaturally well-endowed.
She wasn't just wearing the fake breasts Penpen had crafted earlier; she had actually consumed them, analyzed the structure, and manifested the shape herself.
The bandit gave a satisfied, vulgar grin.
"Yeah... the Thief Master will definitely be pleased with this."
"In that case, we're heading in."
Taking our decoy, Miti, with us, we stepped into the cave to meet the Thief Master.