Gathering Husbands with a System in a Game Like World [BL]
Chapter 27: The thief, the artifact and the missing pieces.

Chapter 27: The thief, the artifact and the missing pieces.

Kai woke up feeling extremely dizzy the next morning. The artifact sat on the small table where he had left it, wrapped in a cloth. He sat on the edge of the bed for a long moment, staring at it, before deciding he needed clearer answers.

"Run Appraisal."

[Activating skill: Arcane Eye.]

[Artifact residual analysis ongoing.]

[Anomalous violet energy signature confirmed.]

[Corruption appears deliberately introduced rather than naturally occurring.]

[Origin and purpose: Insufficient data.]

Kai rubbed his face and leaned back against the headboard.

"So someone really did put it there on purpose."

[Correct.]

He stared at the ceiling. A thought ran through his head, Dexter had never explained how he found him.

"Hey system, how do you think the fox found me?"

[Beast men posess exceptional tracking abilities. Now when someone is a high tier thief...]

It’s okay! I got it..

[Noted]

He met Elias downstairs an hour later. The assassin was already leaning against the wall near the entrance, arms crossed, looking far too awake for someone who claimed not to sleep much.

"You’re late," Elias said, pushing off the wall with a lazy smile.

"And you’re early, let’s go!" he said, the same skin itching irritation creeping up to him.

Elias fell into step beside him as they left the inn. After a few minutes of silence he glanced sideways, eyes narrowing slightly.

All through the way Elias discovered that Kai hadn’t said much. Quite unsual.

"You’re quieter than usual. Something happen last night?"

Kai kept his eyes forward and adjusted the strap of his bag, buying himself a second.

"No."

"You’re a terrible liar, you know that?"

Why does everyone seem to be saying this?

"I’m not lying."

"You’re most certainly distracted. And you keep touching your bag posessively like you’re checking something."

Kai forced his hand away from the place where the artifact rested and exhaled through his nose.

"Drop it."

Elias studied him for another second, then shrugged and let the subject go. For now. Kai could almost feel the man filing the observation away for later use.

They spent the morning following the paper trail of the merchant Dexter had robbed. Their forged identities opened enough doors to get them access to shipping logs and warehouse records. Kai used the Eye discreetly on documents and cargo seals while Elias handled the talking, slipping into the role of a bored security consultant with ease, a skill Kai found incredibly impressive .

By midday they had a clearer picture. They found out that the merchant had moved several similar objects through Voltra in the past month. Some reached their destinations. Others vanished somewhere between the docks and the private buyers. One recurring mark appeared on the manifests: a simple geometric symbol that made Kai’s stomach tighten, for some reason the symbol looked familiar.

"This is creepy" he muttered, tapping the symbol with one finger.

Elias looked at it over his shoulder, expression sharpening.

"Have you seen it anywhere before?"

"I am not sure."

Before Elias could press further, a voice familiar to Kai cut across the street.

"You two look busy."

Kai turned. Dexter stood a short distance away, hands in his pockets, fox ears angled in mild interest, looking for all the world as if he had simply been out for a stroll. Elias’s posture changed immediately, shoulders squaring up, weight shifting forward instantly ready for a fight

Kai stepped forward first, voice flat.

"How do you keep finding me?"

Dexter’s smile was unapologetic, one ear flicking.

"You might think you are discreet don’t you Ren?"

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only one you’re getting today."

Elias moved closer, voice low and cold.

"You’re the thief from yesterday."

Dexter’s gaze flicked to him, unimpressed, tail swaying once in mild dismissal.

"And you’re the one who tried to pin me and failed. Twice. Still sore about it?"

"Try me again without the crowd."

"Tempting. But I’m not here for you."

Kai stepped between them before the tension could snap, one hand raised.

"Both of you stop. Dexter, why are you here?"

Dexter’s attention returned to Kai, the sharp edge softening slightly. He rolled one shoulder in a casual shrug.

"I kept looking after I left last night. The merchant wasn’t the original owner. He bought the artifact a few weeks ago from someone else. I tracked the chain back. It came from outside Voltra. Same buyer has been collecting several of these things. I don’t have a name, but I know where the next transaction is supposed to happen."

Kai stared at him, genuinely thrown.

"whoa?"

Dexter shrugged again, tail swaying once more.

"Impressed right?"

"I will admit"

"I don’t like unfinished puzzles especially in potentially interesting stories "

[Candidate Dexter Runt – Relationship Development: Positive.]

Kai ignored the notification, though he felt the weight of it.

Elias did not ignore the chemistry. He watched the two of them with eyes narrowed, furious and ready to kill, then he leaned in toward Kai’s ear just loud enough for Dexter to hear, voice dripping with false sweetness.

"New favorite already? That was fast. Should I be jealous?"

Kai’s face heated. He stepped away sharply.

"Shut up."

Dexter’s ears flicked, clearly entertained, a low laugh escaping him.

"He’s easy to fluster. I can see why you keep following him around."

Elias’s smile was all teeth, perhaps accepting that he couldn’t win a fight against him.

"I was here first."

"And yet he still looks happier talking to me. Curious, isn’t it?"

Kai pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled hard.

"Both of you are exhausting. Can we focus?"

They eventually established that the next artifact transaction would take place in one of Voltra’s more dangerous districts—an area of overlapping criminal territories and poor lighting where the city guard preferred not to linger. Storming in was impossible.

They needed information and a plan.

Dexter prepared to leave as evening approached, already turning toward a side alley. Kai stopped him with a direct question, the words coming out before he could second-guess them.

"Are we going to see you again?"

"We??" Elias sneered.

Dexter’s smile was slow and knowing, ears angling forward.

"Would you miss me?"

"No."

Dexter laughed, warm and unoffended, the sound carrying easily in the cooling air.

"I’ll take that as a maybe. See you around, Ren."

He vanished into the crowd with effortless ease. Elias watched him go, then turned to Kai, expression unreadable for once.

"so he was the reason you didn’t sleep well last night?"

Kai nearly exploded, spinning to face him fully.

"None of your concern perv!" Rens eyes instantly darkned, he held Kai’s hands and backed him against a wall.

Then he spoke in an entirely different voice that was so borderline creepy that he was locked in fear.

"It’s my concern Mr Ren Arclight,i was here first remember, you don’t have to do me like that"

"Let go of me Elias"

Elias raised his hand and caressed Kai’s face, he swallowed down a ball of spit and after a few seconds let Kai go instantly retracting back to his light, playful form.

"You fucking psycho did you want me that bad that you wanted to assault me in the streets?"

"I would have done it, but where is the fun in that?"

"I fucking hate you Elias!"

"I love you Kai!"

"Uh!"

Elias looked at him "Do you like him?"

Kai opened his mouth, closed it, and settled for a glare that did nothing to wipe the knowing look off Elias’s face. The System chose that exact moment to display a quiet notification in the corner of his vision.

[Candidate Dexter Runt.]

[Affinity: 45%]

[Relationship Development: Positive.]

Kai stared at it, then at the street where Dexter had disappeared, and groaned under his breath, dragging a hand down his face.