The female shopkeeper was flustered at Leinster's sudden request but thinking of the sales, she stiffly took out a pinky-sized red ruby from a nearby display.
The shopkeeper had just put the jewel box on the glass counter and turned around when Leinster nudged Otomen Lover with a hurried tone.
"Distract her! Do whatever you can to distract her!"
?? What?? What do you want to do, ah? So suspicious!
Otomen Lover was caught off guard by the sudden request but seeing Leinster's face full of urgency, she could only grip her oil lamp and started to talk to the female shopkeeper.
"Hmm, let me check the jewel...can I touch it?"
"Can...use...gloves..."
"Oh, I don't wear gloves... then I won't touch it. Can you lift the box so I can see it? Yes, yes..."
Otomen Lover quickly interacted with the shopkeeper, positioning herself in a way so that the shopkeeper would face Leinster with her back.
Then, Otomen Lover pretended to be interested in another jewel and subtly pushed the tiny box aside...
Right in front of Leinster.
"Can I see other jewels? Or is there ready-made jewelry? Please lead me..."
Otomen Lover wanted to lure the shopkeeper away, but another shopkeeper was visible not too far from them.
Seeing that this one was about to leave with her and another one would attend Leinster instead, Otomen Lover didn't dare to move.
She quickly pointed her fingers at some jewelry inside the glass display.
"Let me take a look at this, this and this yes..."
[00:00:45]
With the female shopkeeper facing away from him, Leinster slowly placed his oil lamp on the floor a distance away from himself, just enough so that his body was still within the light's range.
With the source of light going away and the lightning in the store was dark crimson, the place around Leinster became extremely dim, perfect for...
A heist, of course.
The moment the female shopkeeper was focused on Otomen Lover and another one who was standing not too far away couldn't see Leinster in the dark...
Leinster's hand moved as silently as a cat's paw, reaching towards his shopping bag.
Rustle.
Leinster carefully rummaged through his paper bag, taking out a tiny box that he got for free from the previous store.
Clack.
Leinster opened the box and inside, laid a pair of...human eyeballs.
Oh, hello! Hoe hoe's eyes! Bling bling! Can't you blink— you can't!
Strangely, the human eyeballs were not as big as they were supposed to be.
They were the size of a small jewel decoration and as soon as the eyes touched the air, they slowly transformed into a familiar jewel.
It was the one laying on top of the glass counter.
Leinster immediately took out one of the "human eye jewels" with the fabric of his clothes and carefully...brought it to the counter.
Ba-thump. Ba-thump.
Leinster's heart was skipping fast, just like the countdown of his mission.
[00:30:00]
A tiny bead of sweat appeared at the tip of Leinster's nose, slowly sliding down his face as he focused on the ruby.
Now, it's time—
Wait.
Leinster's eyes widened.
The human eye jewel in his hand...the color doesn't match!
[00:00:29]
Leinster felt like the death door was already open.
His mind buzzed, the hallucination in his eyes became even more intense than before, turning his vision into a kaleidoscope.
Otomen Lover, who was "chatting" with the shopkeeper glanced at Leinster anxiously from time to time.
Hurry, hurry, do whatever you need to do...
Seeing that Leinster suddenly froze on the spot, a sense of dread washed over her.
Is there a problem??
[00:00:25]
At that exact moment, Leinster whipped his head and looked across the air, his eyes meeting Otomen Lover's anxious gaze.
Leinster immediately pointed at the human eye jewel in his hands and without even speaking, Otomen Lover instantly understood.
Leinster was attempting a heist!
He wanted to switch the jewels—
But the jewel in his hand was different from the one he wanted to steal.
Damn it!!
Otomen Lover immediately spoke to the female shopkeeper with urgency.
Her palms instantly became wet and sticky with sweat.
"Ah, I forgot. My boyfriend over there wants a black obsidian. Put the obsidian in front of him. He wants to check it personally."
The shopkeeper was confused for a split second but she rigidly took an obsidian jewel in a tiny box and slowly put it in front of Leinster.
Before she could talk to Leinster, Otomen Lover immediately interrupted,
"Hey, this jewelry looks nice! Shopkeeper, please show me this one..."
Distracted, the female shopkeeper turned her body around and continued to tend to this "troublesome customer".
[00:00:10]
Leinster's hands trembled and he almost dropped the human eye jewel in his hand.
Ouch! So nervous! This is his first heist done in just one minute!!
Leinster hurriedly steadied his breath and was about to do his act when he felt the flame in his oil lamp that he put on the floor...
Suddenly flickered wildly.
Then, the other female shopkeeper in the shop spoke,
"Welcome...dear...customer..."
Ba-thump!
Leinster almost jumped three feet high.
He quickly whipped his head around and saw a new customer entering the dark store—
It was a walking corpse without an oil lamp, a female walking corpse.
[00:00:07]
Is that his hallucination...or is it real??
The customer walked closer and closer...
Towards his place.
Ah! Ah! Ah!! It's real!!
[00:05]
Tap. Tap.
Leinster's heart was screaming but then, he took a deep breath, and the next second...
His hand moved as fast as lightning.
Swish!
[00:04]
Leinster's hand turned into a blur, so fast that even the chains wrapped around his wrist didn't make a single noise.
[00:03]
The audience only saw a flicker and the obsidian inside the box was gone, replaced by the black-colored human eye jewel— a fake.
[00:02]
In that split second, Leinster gripped the obsidian and slipped the jewelry into the pocket of his unique clothes.
His movement was so smooth like flowing water that it actually looked...quite aesthetically pleasing!
[00:01]
Right after Leinster successfully pocketed the jewel, the mission countdown reached a big, fat zero.
[00:00]
DING! [Congratulations for completing the challenge!]
[Your reward will be distributed later~ ]
Fck? The reward won't be given now??
Just when Leinster was about to protest, the new customer behind him suddenly spoke in a shrill, high-pitched voice.
"Stop! I...know...what you did!"
Ba-thump.
Leinster's heart dropped to his stomach.
[Death Countdown:
00:04:00]