I stared helplessly at the van driving away in the distance.
I thought about memorizing the license plate number, but there wasn’t one to be seen anywhere on the vehicle.

"My cabbages..."

Was I really going to lose them like this?
Just as I was about to collapse in despair, Yeoreum, who was next to me, took off at an incredible speed, chasing after the van.

"Stop the car!"

In no time, Yeoreum overtook the van and stood in front of it.

Startled by her sudden appearance, the black van screeched to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Ah...!"

Yeoreum had caught the thieves.
I was a bit late, but I ran after the van as well.

I wanted to open the van door right away, but instead, I decided to stand behind Yeoreum. People who steal things from private property aren’t likely to be normal. Who knew if they might go crazy and attack us?

"You can’t just take things from private property!"

*Bang! Bang!*

Yeoreum angrily pounded on the van’s hood. A middle-aged woman I had never seen before stepped out from the passenger seat. She didn’t seem embarrassed at all, despite being caught red-handed, and acted quite shamelessly.

"Oh dear, I’m sorry. I thought it was just abandoned."

"Is that supposed to be an excuse?"

Yeoreum frowned at the woman’s audacity.
The woman, however, seemed irritated by Yeoreum’s reaction and snapped back.

"Oh, fine! I’ll just return it! What’s the big deal?"

"Wait, what do you—"

Before Yeoreum could finish her sentence, the middle-aged woman yanked open the van’s side door with such force that it made a loud *bang*.

"My cabbages!"

I hurriedly climbed into the van. The van’s high threshold made it difficult for me to get in, so Yeoreum gave me a lift.

I didn’t really need the help, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

Once inside the van, I found piles of stolen crops. I grabbed a radish from the front and climbed back out.

When I got out, I had to hop down from the van’s high step.

"My radish was in there."

I approached Yeoreum with the radish in my arms, but the tension between her and the woman was palpable. It felt like a fight could break out at any moment, so I just stood there quietly, watching the two of them.

"You need to take all the stolen crops out yourself. Pile them neatly by the tent."

"Stealing? What a nerve on this kid!"

"What, are you going to claim you were just borrowing them?"

Yeoreum’s voice was ice-cold.
Colder than when she had dealt with me back at the beginner’s hunting ground.

She must have been really angry about the theft.
Not wanting to provoke her further, I stayed silent.

"Winter, why don’t we sit down and watch them unload the crops?"

Yeoreum spoke to me in a sweet tone, completely different from the way she was addressing the middle-aged woman.

"Shouldn’t we help at least a little...?"

"Why should we? They’re the ones who stole from us."

Yeoreum shot a sharp glare at the woman.
Under the pressure of her gaze, the middle-aged woman turned her head away quickly.

"Whoa..."

I hadn’t realized Yeoreum was so intimidating.

Afraid to say anything, I decided to inspect the recovered crops instead.

---

I sat by the campfire, watching the middle-aged man and woman haul the stolen crops. I wanted to help, but Yeoreum firmly pressed her hand on my shoulder, preventing me from moving.

"I know you want to help, Winter, but for now, let’s just sit here, okay?"

"Y-Yes..."

Fine, I guess.
They had tried to steal the fruits of my hard work over the past few days, after all.
I decided not to feel too sorry for them.

"We’re done, so you can check now!"

The middle-aged woman wiped the sweat from her forehead as she approached us. Her voice was harsh, probably due to the hard labor.

I glanced at the woman, then ran to check the crops under the tent.

"Huh..."

Cabbages, lettuce, radishes, carrots—the crops were piled high under the tent. However, the amount didn’t quite match the numbers I had recorded.

"Uh, some of the crops are missing—two or three of each, at least."

Two or three items were missing from each crop type. My eyes, sharper than before, caught the subtle difference.

The middle-aged woman flinched slightly.
It was such a small tremble that I wouldn’t have noticed it if not for my improved vision.

"What are you talking about? We returned everything we took!"

The woman shook her hands dismissively and hurried out of the tent.
The way she rushed off was suspicious.

"...?"

Had they stashed some of the crops elsewhere?
As I watched the woman suspiciously, Sophia quietly nudged Yeoreum.

"They might be decoys."

"Decoys?"

Yeoreum picked up a dented bucket nearby. She ran her hand over the dents, and with a quick motion, she flattened the bucket back to its original shape.

"...I’m talking about a diversion tactic."

At the mention of the word "diversion," the two middle-aged thieves began walking faster. They were about to climb back into the van when Sophia stopped them.

"So, you let yourselves get caught on purpose?"

"What?"

"You’re stalling for time, trying to distract us."

"What are you talking about, kid?"

The woman scoffed, addressing Sophia in a condescending tone. Sophia frowned slightly, clearly not fond of being treated like a child.

"You’ve stolen a few crops of each type. The real haul must be elsewhere."

"Why would we go to such trouble...?"

Trouble? I had to agree with the woman on that point.
Why go to the effort of deceiving us just to steal a small number of crops?

"Because of the buffs the guild has been selling recently."

"Buffs?"

"Yes. Winter’s tea grants buffs, and they probably figured the crops used to make it were special. After all, plants that grow overnight must seem a bit... unnatural."

"Ah..."

So they had stolen the crops to analyze them, hoping to profit from buff-enhancing plants.

Sophia’s insight was impressive, to say the least.

"So, the van was just a distraction, and the real theft happened somewhere else?"

"Exactly."

"Wow..."

Yeoreum’s eyes darted back and forth as she processed the situation. She wasn’t always the brightest, but honestly, even I felt as confused as she did this time.
I never would have imagined they’d use such a diversionary tactic just to steal some crops.

"Look, even if you take my crops, they won’t help you much..."

"What are you idiots talking about?!"

The middle-aged woman shrieked, and Yeoreum stepped forward.
In her hand was a length of rope, ready for binding.

"I don’t care if it makes sense or not, we’re tying you up for now."

"What, do you have any proof we did anything?"

"...There’s no proof, but you still tried to steal from us. So, just making sure you don’t run off."

That’s right.
They were still guilty of theft.

With no other argument, the middle-aged woman quietly accepted the rope.

---

After handing over the two thieves to Encia and Argo, we gathered in the container for a meeting.
The topic: how to catch the real thieves who had stolen the crops.

"They must have snuck in while the guild’s forces were away. Since it was so carefully planned, they probably avoided the CCTV."

"Maybe they’re using some kind of stealth ability."

"Yes, that could be it."

The middle-aged woman, who likely knew the real answer, kept her mouth shut.
How were we supposed to catch the actual criminals in this situation?

Frustrated, I sighed heavily. That’s when Levinas trotted over to us.

"Fools! I know where the real culprits are hiding!"

"Levinas, you do?"

"Of course! The plants still carry traces of my mana!"

"Ah...!"

Yeoreum and I exchanged glances.
What had seemed like a difficult task suddenly became much easier. Overjoyed, I patted Levinas on the shoulder.

"Levinas, you’re amazing!"

"Amazing...?"

"Yeah. You’re the only one who can track them now."

Levinas’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. Was she that happy about the compliment?

"More! Praise Levinas more!"

Levinas puffed up with pride, hands on her hips, clearly enjoying the praise. It seemed like she really liked being flattered.

Well, there was no harm in giving her some compliments.
So, I decided to go along with it.

"Great horned rabbit, please guide us to the thieves."

"Shall I?!"

"Ha-ha-ha!"
Levinas let out her strange, triumphant laugh and closed her eyes. For a moment, mana surged within her, but just as I thought she had fallen asleep, her eyes shot open.

"I found them!"

"Where are they?"

"Right at the door!"

"At the door?"

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the door.
No one had noticed any movement or sounds, yet Levinas was saying the thieves were right outside.
As I looked up at Yeoreum in surprise, we all suddenly heard rustling right outside the door.

"Huh...?"

Yeoreum’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the door.

Whoever was out there had managed to avoid being detected by

 both me, who was good at sensing presences, and Yeoreum, who was good at everything.
An expert, waiting just outside the door.
The tension was palpable, and I gulped nervously, while Levinas, unfazed, happily bounced in place.