Chapter 14: Robbing the Rich to Help the Poor, Gold Belt
"Take you in? It's not impossible." Haruko maintained his ferocious, hulking appearance. "There's no need to work yourself to the bone; I don't go in for that sort of thing. However, I do need someone to run errands."
Upon hearing this, Kin's face lit up, and she nodded like a pecking chick. "I can do anything! Laundry, cooking, cleaning—I can do it all!"
"But I'll say this upfront: I hate trouble more than anything. If you dare cause trouble for me, or if you have any ulterior motives..." He flexed an arm thicker than Kin's thigh, his knuckles cracking loudly.
The little girl shivered in fear, shaking her head like a rattle-drum. "N-no, I wouldn't dare! Kin will absolutely not cause you any trouble, my lord!"
"Fine, get up then." Haruko waved his hand. "Let's go eat first."
Haruko took Kin to a restaurant, sat down, and ordered some food, pondering his plan of action while he ate. He was considering how to pull off a job on that swine without anyone noticing, and how to make it all look like a messy, unsolvable account.
Kin sat across from Haruko, feeling restless as she watched him eat in silence.
"You said before that your father was a merchant?"
"Y-yes, Master Haruko."
"Then do you know what businesses the Daimyos Estate has in this city? The profitable ones, the most conspicuous ones."
Although Kin didn't understand why Haruko was asking, she tried her best to recall. "There's the largest grain store in the east of the city. There's also a silk shop in the south, and a restaurant and gambling den in the west... If you're talking about the most profitable, it has to be the grain store. The grain business in the Land of Rice Fields is the easiest to make money in."
Haruko's gaze swept over the sallow, emaciated refugees in the city, and a bold, perfect plan quickly took shape in his mind.
"The grain store... that's the one."
"I have a task for you. Go into the city and spread a rumor: The Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields is wise and martial, cares for his people, and recently personally ordered a bounty that successfully wiped out that long-standing group of Mountain Bandits in the canyon!"
Haruko's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Remember, the more exaggerated, the better. It's best if it reaches the ears of those Mountain Bandits."
Kin immediately understood Haruko's intention—to sow discord and force a complete confrontation between the Daimyo and the Mountain Bandits.
"I understand!" She nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with excitement and the light of revenge.
"Stay safe, and don't expose yourself." Haruko ruffled her still-messy hair. "Wait for me at the abandoned shrine three miles outside the city."
"Yes!"
Kin left to carry out her orders. Watching her back, Haruko smiled with satisfaction.
Professional matters should be handled by professionals. A merchant's daughter knows best how to manipulate public opinion.
Next, he had to prepare himself.
His "bald tough guy" image was too conspicuous; he had to leave in a high-profile manner first.
The guards at the city gate watched the god of plague leave, all breathing a sigh of relief.
Haruko walked out of the city, turned into a small grove, and confirmed no one was around.
"Transformation Jutsu!"
The bald brute vanished, replaced by a medium-built, shifty-eyed Mountain Bandit with a scar on his face.
This was one of the Mountain Bandits he had previously taken out, and he remembered him quite well.
Haruko adjusted the tattered headscarf on his head, hunched his back, and slipped back into the city silently.
He kept a low profile but inadvertently let some passersby catch a glimpse of his Mountain Bandit face; these would become ironclad evidence of the "Mountain Bandits entering the city for revenge" later on.
Sneaking near the grain store in the east of the city, Haruko didn't rush to act.
Like a ghost, he flitted across the surrounding rooftops and shadows, carefully scouting the layout of the grain store, the situation of the guards, and most importantly—the location of the accounting room. Everything was under control.
Night fell quietly.
A black shadow darted onto the roof of the grain store, silently lifted a tile, and slid inside. It was Haruko, transformed into a Mountain Bandit underling.
Haruko slipped directly into the accounting room of the grain store and, in a flash, swept up all the cash into a sack.
"Not bad, not bad. This is enough for me to live comfortably for a good while."
"Fire Release: Heater."
He set up a Fire Release technique in several corners of the grain store that heated slowly over a long period, serving as a delayed ignition device.
After finishing all this, he came to the door of the granary and easily pried open the heavy gate with Earth Release.
Looking at the mountains of rice bags, a demonic smile appeared on Haruko's face.
"Wind Release: Sound Transmission."
A miniature Wind Release amplified his voice, and Haruko roared in a rough, savage tone:
"Lackeys of the Daimyos Estate! Daring to put a bounty on our brothers—this is the price!"
"Brothers, loot it all!!"
After shouting, he immediately vanished from the spot and ran towards the city gates without looking back.
The few shouts, full of vigor, were like dropping several heavy bombs onto a calm lake.
The first to be stirred were the refugees huddled in the corners near the grain store.
"Looting grain?"
"It's the Mountain Bandits! The Mountain Bandits have come to take revenge on the Daimyo!"
"The granary door is open! So much grain!"
Hunger is the best catalyst.
The initial hesitation and fear were instantly replaced by instinct upon seeing that white rice.
The first person rushed over, then the second, the third...
Soon, hundreds and thousands of refugees surged toward the grain store like a tide, and the scene instantly spiraled out of control!
People scrambled madly for the grain, even coming to blows over it.
The instigator, Haruko, had already silently climbed onto the city wall.
"Fire! The grain store is on fire!"
Watching the grain store go up in flames and the entire city descend into chaos, Haruko nodded with satisfaction and disappeared into the night with the stolen loot.
Three miles outside the city, at the abandoned shrine.
Kin was waiting anxiously; the clamor from the city made her heart pound with fear.
Just then, a figure stepped out of the darkness.
It was no longer the ferocious brute, but a handsome, white-haired youth wearing tattered clothes, as if he had just escaped from a refugee camp.
"Master Haruko?" Kin asked tentatively.
"Hmm, it's me. I'm impressed you could recognize me." Haruko pulled a bundle of cash from the sack and tossed it to her. "Your payment."
"My lord, the city..."
"Small matter." Haruko said it lightly, as if he had just visited a neighbor.
The two did not linger, and under the cover of night, they quietly returned to the town where Anko's team was staying.
On the way, Kin could finally no longer suppress her curiosity and asked about her doubts.
"Master Haruko, why didn't you just rob the Daimyos Estate directly? There must be more money there."
"Too much commotion; the gains wouldn't outweigh the losses." Haruko walked, reviewing the events like a teacher instructing a student. "Attacking the Daimyos Estate would change the nature of the act and bring endless investigations."
"Then... then why only rob one grain store?"
"Because we don't have enough manpower; you can't bite off more than you can chew. Besides, do you think that in the eyes of the Daimyo, what we stole was money?" Haruko smiled mysteriously. "Think about it: now that the grain store is burned and the grain is looted, what is the Daimyos Estate's biggest loss?"
"Is... is it the grain?"
"Exactly!" Haruko snapped his fingers. "The loss of those mountains of grain is enough to cover up the small amount of cash we made off with."
"Even if the Daimyos Estate investigates, it will only be a messy, unsolvable account. If that Daimyo still wants to continue using the Mountain Bandits, he won't even bother to investigate."
Kin listened, dumbfounded, her eyes full of admiration as she looked at Haruko.
This lord was not only powerful but also meticulous.
This wasn't a robbery; it was clearly a work of art!