Records of the Weakest Emperor

The snatcher was surely a fast runner. With his expertise pertaining to the streets of Ashmelion, he weaved through the crowd, and in just a few seconds— he vanished from Calvin's eyes.

But Calvin wasn't willing to give up, two Joselian pesos may not be a lot but a million pesos started from one peso.

Calvin was never someone who disdained the value of a single coin for he preferred the value of a thousand coins.

He ran after the snatcher.

His knowledge of Ashmelion was no less than the snatcher.

His movements were even more practiced than the snatcher, so in a blink of an eye. He managed to catch up and could finally see the back of the snatcher.

"Stop right there!"

"Make way, that's a thief!"

The crowd had thickened even further, it was understandable since it was lunchtime. The people working in the Center Borough and the commercial shops within the Southern Borough flocked towards the nearby wet market where the snatcher was heading.

The thief was wise, he knew how to use the crowd to his advantage.

Calvin had never been a thief, so he was baffled with the snatcher's proficiency in mixing himself to the crowd.

He stood on an elevated platform and using his wide view angle, he perused the crowd— looking for that thief.

Just where in the hell did he go?

Damn... His frame is too average when compared to others and he's also wise not to use clothes that will make him stand out from the crowd.

What should I do? Maybe... I can find him by filtering the crowd based on their actions?

Fuck... There are too many shady individuals in Ashmelion!

Man, I'm starting to hate those drug smugglers. I can spot a dozen drug mules in this crowd, but none of them is the snatcher! I'm sure of it.

Damn it, man...

My two pesos...

Calvin mourned for his two Joselian pesos, but he knew that it was impossible for him to retrieve it anymore.

He walked down the platform and let out a sigh.

But before he could even walk any further...

Calvin had a brilliant idea in his mind.

What if I used Spiritualistic Magic to find the location of that bastard?

Hmmm... I don't think it's worth it to sacrifice my blood essence just to retrieve my two pesos...

But wait... I'm not the only one that had my money stolen from me! If I managed to find that thief and return the item to its owner, there's a chance that I will be able to get some monetary rewards...

That's it! I can use this opportunity to get myself some money and use that money as capital to further increase my financial capability...

And also...

Calvin lightly chuckled.

The Cavaliers were a group of mysteries people, but they would certainly investigate a matter once they detected that Spiritualistic Magic was involved.

If Calvin could use this opportunity to get himself some money and also attract the attention of the Cavaliers onto him for a chance to join their ranks. This would be worth it...

Calvin let out a smile and decisively bit on his left cheek.

Blood immediately filled his mouth as he spat it into his palm and chanted.

"Oh, our Beloved Goddess Grace..."

"The Magister of Light and the Commander of Compassion..."

"I invoke your name with my essence, bestow guidance upon your lowly servant..."

"Show me the path to which leads to the thief..."

"Tremunt!"

Upon firmly saying the word, "Tremunt", Calvin splashed the blood that he had in his palm onto the pavement. A sense of fatigue and weakness came over his body as he felt his strength waning due to the effects of Spiritualistic Magic. But this sense of fatigue was also a piece of solid evidence, indicating that the ritual had succeeded.

Calvin turned to look at the blood that he splashed onto the ground and discovered that...

It was a mess...

The blood had haphazardly collided against the ground and no message nor guidance could be deduced from it.

At this moment, Calvin's pupils constricted.

Spiritualistic Magic had the Law of Equivalent Exchange. It would never succeed if the god or goddess in question judged that the sacrifice wasn't enough for the request. But since Calvin felt a sense of general weakness washing over his body— the ritual should've succeeded.

Yet, why was there no message at all depicted on the blood?

There were two possibilities.

First, someone directly intervened in the ritual.

By interference, the thief probably used a great deal of sacrifice to render his location unable to be discerned by another ritual for a certain amount of time. But items necessary for Spiritualistic Magic was expensive in this current Epoch. How could a mere thief afford those items?

But what if the thief used his blood essence similar to how Calvin used his blood essence every time he did the ritual?

The chance of that happening was impossible.

Why?

It was because Calvin was the one who discovered and pioneered the use of blood essence as a sacrificial material!

Apart from him, no one knew that one could use their blood essence as a sacrifice.

In other words, it was unlikely that interference had happened.

What about the second possibility?

Calvin used Spiritualistic Magic to find the location of the thief, but what if the thief... Wasn't that thief anymore?

What if he changed his identity the moment he disappeared from Calvin's eyes.

The First Cataclysm trapped all sorts of unusual monsters in the world of Las Felipinas, so it was not entirely false that a monster that could change appearance existed. In fact, the existence of that monster would explain everything!

Why did Calvin's Spiritualistic Magic fail to find the location of the thief despite his substantial sacrifice?

It was because that thief never even existed in the first place!

In short, the identity of that thief must be a doppelganger!

Doppelgangers, also known as Imitators were monsters that could take the form of anyone, even beasts that they have encountered. The biological sex didn't matter, so long as the doppelganger was powerful enough.

It could take on the form of everyone, even the form of one of the Seven Gods and Goddesses!

Having the ability to take the form of anyone, Doppelgangers were creatures that shouldn't even resort to stealing.

Yet, why did this Imitator went ahead and became a thief for the sake of a few Joselian pesos?

It didn't make sense.

Calvin pondered.

This robbery...

It's not so simple!