I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

***

After exiting the ruins, Kraush received treatment with Haring first.

Although others were also severely injured, Kraush and Haring’s conditions were the worst.

Kraush’s state required no further explanation.

Haring was in a terrible state from the full-body burns and the backlash from using the White Tiger Packet.

Her body was a mess after being struck by Decarabia.

It was a miracle that both of them managed to hold on to their consciousness and make it out of the ruins.

Waiting outside, Twin Sprout students from the Magic Studies and Theology classes treated them first.

After receiving some treatment.

Devrham welcomed all the members of Twin Sprout with utmost hospitality.

They had completed a troublesome task for them, after all.

However, Kraush declined Devrham’s hospitality and decided to return to the academy.

“Alright. I’ll prepare for your immediate return.”

Aniks didn’t object to Kraush’s decision to go back.

Since Kraush wasn’t an official member of Twin Sprout and the mission was completed, there was no reason to keep him there.

“Oh, but before you go, I have one small request.”

Instead, Kraush asked Aniks to send a famous dessert from Devrham to an address before leaving.

When Aniks saw the address was Green Pine Mansion, he looked puzzled until Elfin whispered to him.

“Ah, you’re preparing something for your fiancée.”

Aniks soon smiled.

“Indeed, you were quite considerate of your fiancée back then. Alright, I’ll send it.”

Kraush nodded.

“I’ll go with you.”

Haring also decided to return with Kraush.

She had no reason to stay in Starlon-centric Twin Sprout.

“Then I’ll be going. We’ll discuss the research later.”

“Okay.”

Kraush persuaded Haring, who insisted on escorting him to his room, to leave, and then he returned to his room.

His eyelids were so heavy he couldn’t bear it.

As soon as he lay down on his bed, he fell asleep.

Without proper rest, he couldn’t recover from the backlash of Annihilation Asura.

While he was sleeping deeply, a few words reached his ears.

“Sigh, you’ve come back in this state again. It’s fortunate I heard about it and came to check on you. This isn’t something that can be resolved with natural healing. Why didn’t you go to the infirmary and just sleep in the dorm?”

It was probably Astria’s voice.

Hearing her voice in his sleep, Kraush’s body felt much lighter, suggesting she had indeed visited.

But the pull of sleep was too strong and he couldn’t even say a word before falling deeply asleep again.

Time passed, and three days later.

Kraush finally opened his eyes.

“……”

He squinted his eyes, adjusting to the long sleep, and looked around.

It was his dorm room.

Despite being dazed from the backlash of Annihilation Asura, his homing instinct had brought him back.

“—–.”

“—Right?”

At that moment, he heard voices talking outside his room.

Kraush, feeling a slight headache, got up.

He moved his body lightly, finding no issue.

It seemed Astria had indeed treated him while he slept.

‘I should thank her when I see her next.’

Kraush, having gotten out of bed, opened the door to see two people having tea.

One was Alicia, his maid with brown hair.

The other was Lirina, Aslan’s former exclusive maid.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Lirina greeted him brightly.

Kraush blinked at her for a moment, rubbing his eyes.

She had moved as his exclusive maid after Aslan’s death.

Seeing her first thing brought back old memories, making him feel nostalgic.

“Did you sleep well, Mr. Kraush?”

Meanwhile, Alicia handed him a wet towel and asked politely.

Kraush wiped his face with the towel she gave.

The warmth of the towel helped clear his mind.

“Why is Lirina here?”

“Well, everyone else is in class. This is our break time.”

Was that so?

Kraush handed the towel back to Alicia.

Wiping his face made him realize he should wash up.

“So I heard you pushed yourself too hard again. Why do I always find you collapsing, Mr. Kraush?”

“It was unavoidable.”

It wasn’t like he wanted to collapse.

But at least he had returned and collapsed consciously this time.

“Please consider the people around you. Many people worry about you. Mr. Aslan and I included.”

Since Lirina wasn’t entirely wrong, Kraush nodded.

At that moment, Lirina took out a letter.

“And a letter arrived while you were sleeping.”

“A letter?”

“Who could it be from? The recipient’s name is on it.”

Seeing her mischievous smile, Kraush took the letter.

He immediately recognized who it was from.

‘Bianca.’

Kraush opened the letter.

Inside, it was filled with neat handwriting.

It was Bianca’s handwriting.

Bianca had beautiful penmanship, likely from reading so many books since childhood.

Her handwriting was almost identical to what one would find in books.

Kraush read Bianca’s letter slowly.

To Kraush Balheim

Dear Mr. Kraush, I received the fig cookies well. They were very sweet and delicious.

It seems spring is gradually ending.

Although there’s still a long way until next spring, I wish it would come soon.

Sometimes, I sleep in your room, Mr. Kraush.

It still feels cozy as if your warmth remains.

But I still prefer being by your side.

Master Jena has become stricter.

She says I have a lot of talent.

Recently, I’ve been learning dagger techniques too.

She says my hands are too small for swords.

But your hands were large, Mr. Kraush.

I want to train hard and attend Rahelrn Academy with you soon.

I’m worried you might be overexerting yourself while we’re apart.

I’m okay during the day but at night, I think of you, Mr. Kraush.

So, each night, I save one fig cookie to eat slowly.

Eating it makes me feel happy, thinking it’s from you.

By the way, my maid Ellie is getting married soon.

I wonder if I’ll marry you like that someday, Mr. Kraush.

Ellie looked so beautiful during the ceremony, and she said I’d be even more beautiful someday.

Would you like me to be beautiful too, Mr. Kraush?

I miss you so much already.

From Bianca Hardenhartz

Reading the letter, Kraush found himself smiling.

Realizing his lips were curved, he touched his mouth and caught Lirina’s gaze.

“That good, huh?”

“…One can’t read a letter with a gloomy face.”

“Even so, your face is dripping with affection.”

Kraush cleared his throat slightly.

The letter, filled with Bianca’s heartfelt emotions, made him smile unconsciously.

Kraush carefully put the letter back in the envelope.

Since she was rationing the fig cookies, he thought he should send more treats.

“Ah, I was curious too.”

“You shouldn’t read others’ letters.”

“Well, that’s true, but still.”

Lirina glanced at Kraush with a somewhat grumbling expression.

“You’re more of a loving husband than I thought. Seeing how happy a single letter makes you.”

“Isn’t that normal?”

“No, it’s not. Bianca is lucky. I’m jealous.”

With that, Lirina stood up.

“Oh, where can I find a nice boyfriend? It’s lonely being alone.”

Kraush watched Lirina walk out.

Seeing her back stirred various thoughts, but Kraush brushed them aside.

These feelings were, after all, tied to his first love from before his return.

“…You’ll find someone good, Miss Lirina.”

When Kraush said this, Lirina turned slightly to look back at him.

“There’s no way to meet the best person.”

Leaving those meaningful words, Lirina exited.

Watching her leave, Kraush rubbed his neck briefly.

[Are you awake?]

Crimson Garden’s voice brought him back to reality.

Hearing her voice cleared his mind.

[You wake up and immediately look for women, tsk tsk.]

“Did I have to look for you first?”

[Idiot, I’m a woman too.]

Well, that’s true.

“Crimson, how is the Moon Rabbit movement?”

[Nothing significant. Juio Irma was likely just a seed the Moon Rabbit threw out for a test. They probably didn’t care much from the start.]

That’s a relief.

If the Moon Rabbit came after him for killing its species, that would be a headache.

Kraush carefully stored Bianca’s letter in a drawer.

Checking the time.

It was almost time for classes to end.

“Have the other units returned from their missions?”

[Some have returned, some haven’t.]

“Then I’ll be back to classes starting tomorrow.”

After a mission, units typically took a week to a month for rest and training.

Since Kraush wasn’t tied to any unit, he would attend classes and train with his peers until all units returned.

When they returned and received new missions, he would move outside the academy again.

Kraush had things to do before all units returned.

‘I should find Haring.’

He had discussed poison and curse research with her.

There were various experiments he wanted to conduct.

So Kraush decided to wash up and head to the Martial Arts Class after it ended.

The path to the Martial Arts building was quite empty, likely due to ongoing classes.

The newly built academy had comfortable park-like paths, probably designed for students who constantly faced intense battles.

Admiring the sacred tree still shedding petals, Kraush arrived at the Martial Arts building.

From the training area, he heard noisy sounds.

It seemed classes had just ended.

Martial Arts classes included both first and second-year students.

So the number of students was quite large.

‘Perfect timing.’

Kraush, feeling pleased, leaned against the entrance wall of the training area.

Soon, students began walking out.

Some recognized Kraush.

“Hey, it’s Kraush Balheim. I heard he was bedridden. Is he better now?”

“He seems to be waiting for someone.”

“Did you hear? The Twin Sprout members said he defeated a 7-star Erosion Species in one strike.”

“As expected of Balheim. Is he as monstrous as Charlotte?”

Murmuring voices reached Kraush.

Most of the voices were from first-year students who didn’t care if he heard them.

Confident in their abilities and status.

Those were the students who would eventually lead the Skyborne Generation.

And among them, there were those who didn’t favor Kraush.

“What’s so great about Balheim? Do you think another Charlotte will come along?”

“Haha, they’re cute at that age.”

Some felt their competitive spirit rise at the name Balheim.

‘I’ve got a rough idea of which units haven’t returned.’

Kraush estimated the missing units by observing the students.

“See, I told you I’m stronger.”

“Stop talking nonsense. You got lucky with one hit.”

“Yeah, but you still went flying!”

Kraush spotted the second-year students in the Special Class, including Aniks and Balak Hogma.

On the other side was Glen Diana, Mary Diana’s cousin.

‘If they’re here, then…’

Kraush looked further back.

And there he saw another figure walking out.

It was none other than the fake Arthur.

His face was subtly different from Arthur’s but equally annoying.

Walking out, he met Kraush’s gaze.

Kraush didn’t avoid his eyes.

Avoiding would only arouse suspicion.

‘I need to investigate his intentions thoroughly.’

He was the only link to Arthur, whom he had no information on.

Kraush had recently thought of a way to lure him in.

To execute it, he would need to meet with Charlotte, but her unit hadn’t returned yet.

Meanwhile, the fake Arthur, disinterested, turned and walked away.

“Ah, Kraush!”

Just then, Balak noticed Kraush and waved energetically.

Despite being short for a man, his bouncing was too childish for an adult.

“Stop jumping around.”

Glen, next to him, admonished.

They seemed to have grown closer from being in the same unit.

Likely thanks to Balak’s friendly nature.

“I heard from Aniks you overexerted yourself. You look fine now!”

“Yes. But where is Haring? I don’t see her.”

When Kraush asked, noticing Haring hadn’t come out, Balak pointed inside.

“She’s still training. She does it every day.”

No wonder she hadn’t come out yet.

“I’d better go in.”

“Mr. Kraush.”

At that moment, Glen called out.

When Kraush glanced at him, Glen, holding his spear, asked quietly.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

With Kraush’s permission, Glen hesitated before speaking.

“…What do you think of Mary Diana now?”

Glen had once worshipped Mary like a goddess.

But now, Mary was nearly broken.

He seemed to dislike her intensely.

‘No, it’s not just dislike.’

Kraush, quick to read people, sensed Glen’s complex feelings toward Mary.

It wasn’t something he should address lightly.

“I don’t know. I haven’t fought her.”

But a thought crossed his mind.

That Glen might be the key to completely breaking Mary.

“…I see.”

Glen thanked Kraush for his response and left.

He was a straightforward guy.

After acknowledging Balak’s greeting, Kraush entered the training area.

There he saw Haring, wielding daggers, battling magical Erosion Species.

The professor in charge of the training was absent.

Knowing the professor of the Martial Arts class, Kraush guessed he left first.

“Haring.”

Though he felt sorry for interrupting her focus, he called out to prevent her from training all day.

Haring, noticing him, turned.

Her black and purple hair mixing, she widened her eyes upon seeing him.

“Kraush!”

She looked like a cat meowing at its long-absent owner, asking why they had taken so long.

Hurrying to put away her daggers, she approached but hesitated, tugging at her sleeves and sniffing.

She seemed worried about smelling of sweat.

Watching her, Kraush chuckled lightly.

“Are you hungry?”

Let’s talk over a meal.

End of Chapter

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