Chapter 350 - 298: The Beastman Who Will Become the Great Thief King (Part 2)

"This... it's so intricate." After watching for a moment, Little John couldn't help but marvel. He didn't know how Mamadou had done it, but on the streets of the model, little earthen figures were constantly walking around. There were even figures moving about inside the buildings, just like the real daily activities outside the gate.

"I just used the Eye of Sand and Earth and added a few modifications," Mamadou said with a smile.

"Alright. It looks like he's the only one we need to watch for now." Uncle Musa finally nodded. Then, Mamadou snapped his fingers. With a WHOOSH, the miniature model collapsed onto the floor, instantly becoming a thin pile of dirt.

"By the way, I haven't asked you yet, Mamadou. How did you find me?" Uncle Musa stuck out his foot to flatten the pile of dirt on the floor, looking up at Mamadou as he spoke.

"My teacher and Vivian left the Magic Tower, leaving me all alone. I got bored, so I came out to look around. For days, I hadn't seen a 'Tiger Head Shells in Stock' sign. Even when I heard someone was selling Tiger Head Shells, I'd go check, and it wouldn't be you. Then today, I heard someone had put up the sign, so I used a bit of Magic Tracking," Mamadou said with a shrug.

"My apologies. I was indeed away from Torch City," Uncle Musa said with a hearty laugh. "But I probably won't be leaving for a while, so feel free to drop by for a chat if you get bored."

"That's great!" Mamadou nodded, delighted.

He then turned to look around. "Is this the warehouse you're using for your business? It's a bit..."

Before he could finish, his eyes locked onto the white Stone Ring in the corner of the warehouse. "The Stone of Despair... why is something like this here?"

"'Stone of Despair?'" Little John repeated, following Mamadou's gaze. He saw that the object in question was the very "White Holy Stone" that Uncle Musa had set down earlier but hadn't finished installing.

"I thought these were only found back on the Beastman Continent. I never expected to see one in this plane." As he spoke, Mamadou walked over, crouched down, and ran his hand over the white Stone Ring. "And it has these strange patterns on it."

"Why do you call it the Stone of Despair?" Little John asked without moving closer.

"Because," Mamadou paused for a few seconds, then stood and looked down at the Stone Ring, "this thing brought misfortune to the Beastman Continent."

"The Beastman Continent? I've never heard of it." As he said this, Little John glanced at Uncle Musa, his eyes searching for an explanation, but the older man offered none.

"It's on the Eternal Bright Plane, a place you'd never want to visit." Mamadou's voice was calm, betraying no emotion, but his posture gave him away, casting a lonely figure.

"I'm sorry, I really haven't heard of it. I'm just a country Adventurer," Little John apologized hastily. 'There's still so much I don't know about the world,' he thought. 'But then again, it's not a big deal. I've seen a goblin riding a Giant and a little goblin feeding Giant Ants. At this point, nothing is impossible.'

"It's fine, it's fine." Mamadou quickly waved his hand, a wide grin spreading across his face, true to his nature. "By the way, before I came in, I think I overheard you guys talking about something. Is there anything I can mess with—ah, I mean, help with?"

Little John didn't answer right away. He turned to look at Uncle Musa, his expression asking a clear question. 'Is this guy reliable? Can we tell him?'

Uncle Musa, however, ignored Little John's questioning gaze and stated plainly, "We're preparing to put the Bishop of the Earth and Life Church under surveillance."

Then he turned to Little John. "Mamadou should be trustworthy. Besides, it would be difficult to do anything here without him noticing."

Recalling the magical abilities the Beastman had just displayed, Little John understood Uncle Musa's point. It would indeed be difficult to hide their actions from him. 'Besides,' he reasoned, 'since he has ties to the boss's sister, he must be somewhat trustworthy.'

"You're... you're actually going to spy on a Bishop? This... this..." Mamadou frowned, his words faltering. Just as Little John was about to offer a few words of reassurance, Mamadou suddenly exclaimed, "This is fantastic! It must be so much fun!"

"Huh?" Little John froze. 'That's not the reaction I expected.' Shouldn't a normal person's first instinct be to run as far away as possible from this kind of conspiracy?

"So, have you figured out how to do it? Are we getting some Church outfits to blend in? Or are we sneaking up to the Bishop's bedside at night, knocking him out, and kidnapping him?" Mamadou walked over, rubbing his hands together. In the dim light of the warehouse, the tusks at the corners of his mouth seemed to gleam.

"No, we can't do that! I have friends in the Earth and Life Church," Little John said, waving his hands frantically.

"Brilliant! You've already planted a rat—no, an informant—inside." Mamadou gave Little John a thumbs-up. "So what's next? I'm telling you, I'm an expert at staking out a target and keeping watch. It's just... this face might make it a little hard to blend into the Church."

"Mamadou," Uncle Musa cut the Beastman off. He held up a hand, as if to quell the bizarre mix of emotions from the other two. "Things haven't reached that stage yet. We're still in the planning phase, and this isn't some grand, dramatic mission like you're imagining."

"Oh, is that so?" Mamadou sighed. "I thought it was going to be a lot of fun. I was ready to jump right in."

"He's a Bishop of the Church," Little John was quick to remind him. "Even if he's only a Regional Bishop, he's still a Bishop. He's a very powerful figure."

Mamadou glanced at Little John, then nodded with a smile as he walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "You're right. I was oversimplifying things." With that, he walked behind Little John and came to a stop beside Uncle Musa.

"See? You know the Bishop is powerful, so we can't be too—wait, why do you have my coin purse?" Little John's eyes went wide as his hands flew to his lower back. His purse, which had been tucked safely inside the leather pouch on his belt, contained dozens of Gold Coins. He instantly recognized the embroidered maple leaf on the purse Mamadou was holding. Mary had sewn it for him, a symbol of a safe return home, like a leaf returning to its roots.

"When did you...? Was it just now?" Little John quickly patted his lower back again, then caught the purse Mamadou tossed to him. He would have sworn that with his current abilities, it would be next to impossible for any common thief to steal his purse without him noticing.

"Now you see how skilled I am, don't you?"

"Aren't you a Mage Apprentice? How did you...?" Little John shoved the purse back into his pouch, checking the clasp twice to make sure it was secure.

"It seems a reintroduction is in order. My name is Mamadou, the Beastman who will one day be the Great Thief King." Mamadou made a few flashy gestures with his hands, then gave a polite bow, just like a nobleman.

"I still think Mage Apprentice has better career prospects," Little John muttered. The moment he saw Mamadou straighten up, he immediately slapped a hand over his pouch.

"Then leave it to me. I'll investigate that Bishop and see what hidden treas—er, hidden information he has," Mamadou said with a grin. "By the way, what's his name?"

Seeing Mamadou's offer and Uncle Musa's lack of objection, Little John advised the Beastman, "His name is Bishop Luther. He's probably a very powerful man, so you need to be extremely careful. If anything goes wrong, your top priority is your own safety."

"Oh, right," he added with serious emphasis, "this Bishop might also have some strange 'collections'."