The cunning thief

In the city of London, Ervin, an almost 20-year-old teenager with a moderate build and average looks, wearing a luxurious black coat and pants with a white shirt underneath, strolled towards a 3-star hotel. After giving a dazzling smile to the local security officer, he entered.

Though a bit confused about his identity, the hotel staff welcomed him and directed him towards a nearby table to dine.

He ordered the best food in the hotel and, as they were preparing his order, he moved around and greeted the other customers in the hotel.

"Hi there, I am Ervin. I live in an apartment nearby. What's your opinion of the food here? Is it good?" he asked the others, obtained their reviews, and at the same time suggested a few items that he liked.

While they were distracted by his words, his hand moved nimbly, snagging their purses and any other valuable items they had.

He stole the purses of as many customers as possible, took out the cash, and placed the purses back where he had stolen them from.

He did that until his order was prepared, ate the delicious food, paid the bill, even gave a hefty tip, and dashed away before anyone else could notice the missing money in their purses.

For Ervin, that was an occupation.

He was a thief who would wear luxurious clothes to trick some rich teenagers, steal their belongings, and dash away.

But that day was different. Just like every other day, he dressed up and approached a 5-star hotel, but as he neared its gates, his eyes caught sight of a brand new gold-plated Lamborghini Aventador heading towards the parking area of the hotel.

Immediately, he took out his mobile and called one of his many contacts saved as Bladie.

"Hey Baldie, I am selling a gold-plated Lamborghini Aventador for 50% of its original price! Congratulations, you are the lucky winner to get it!" he beamed while informing the other guy, only for him to scoff,

"Stop calling me that, damn it. I have a name, and it's John. Anyway, 50%!!! Do you take me for a fool!? Why would I pay so much for a stolen vehicle which I won't be able to use without modifying it substantially? I will pay 10% of its original price."

"40%. I am risking a lot to get it. Come on, I deserve that much," Ervin shot back as they both proceeded to negotiate a price until John agreed to buy it for 20% of its original price.

"Tch, you are so stingy. Anyway, transfer half the amount to me and the other half to the orphanage," Ervin informed and cut the call.

He then sneaked behind the security guard of the hotel and knocked him out with a chop on the head. After which, he disguised himself as a security officer and approached the car owner who was taking pics of himself with the car.

"Sir, the parking area is reserved. Can you please move your car somewhere else?" Ervin requested the owner of the car, only for him to stare back suspiciously.

"I don't see any board indicating this area as a reserved spot."

"I am sorry, sir. It was my mistake. I forgot to place a barricade over here. Please don't inform my higher-ups; I will lose my job. I…I will personally park your car in a good area and also spread your car's image on social media," Ervin practically begged, all while buttering him up.

Eventually, after a bit more back and forth, the owner gave the car keys to Ervin and ordered him to park it properly.

Ervin waited for the man to go into the hotel and then disappeared with the car.

He sold the car on that very day and sneaked out of the city.

The owner of the car made a big fuss, and eventually, a case was filed against Ervin. Police searched every nook and cranny of the city, but he was long gone from that place before they could find any lead about his whereabouts.

A month quickly passed by, and after finding no information about him, the police gave up on the case.

While all that was happening, the thief in question was enjoying a relaxing vacation on a beachside, playing beach ball, getting massages, spa treatments, and everything else the place had to offer, or so it should have been but…

Ervin's POV

"Ervin…you died," were the first words I heard after opening my eyes.

It all felt like a dream, yet somehow my instincts were telling me that I was not in a dream.

I had no idea what was going on, but I was in a glowing white room that had no visible windows or doors. Ok… that's not normal.

Apart from me, there was also a cute girl and a black cat in the same room.

The girl looked no older than 16 years of age, had green eyes, brown hair, and wore a blue frock with a cloud-shaped shawl on her shoulders. Somehow, despite her small stature, she exuded a sense of elegance.

She was the one who informed me about my supposed death.

"That's not a good joke. Is this a film shooting or something?" I asked while trying to approach her, but the black cat jumped between us.

"Hey you, don't approach Terra-sama," it spoke while hissing at me.

Did the cat just speak!? What's happening? My mind raced, thinking of all possible reasons for my predicament. I was in a suspicious room with no exit options, there was a girl who was telling me I died, and also a talking cat.

"I see, I finally went mad."

"I agree," the cat huffed back. I didn't know what its problem was, but for some reason, I was getting irritated.

'Deep breath, deep breath,' I told myself while turning towards the girl Terra and said, "Can I ask you a few questions?"

She bobbed her head up and down, expressing her approval.

"How did I die?" was the first question that I wanted the answer to. I just couldn't remember how I died.

In response, the girl took out a comically large file out of thin air, opened the last page, and then said,

"After selling a gold-plated Lamborghini car, you used the money to buy a beachside house, hoping to laze around on the beach. One day, you saw someone surfing in the sea and wanted to try it too. You bought a surfboard and entered the shallow side of the sea. The problem was that you didn't know how to swim, didn't wear a life jacket, and didn't know how to control the surfboard. The board drifted away from the shallow parts, causing you to panic and slip into the sea. You died by drowning."

"Pfft…you deserve the dumbest death award for that one," the cat laughed while rolling on the ground, and I had to restrain myself pretty hard to not smack the damn thing.

Deep breath, deep breath…after calming myself, I turned towards the little girl.

"So…what now? Who are you? Where am I? And what's going to happen to me?" I asked the girl, and for the first time since I saw her, I found the girl showing emotions as she stared at me with stars in her eyes.

"I am Terra, the goddess of a fantasy world, and this cat is Systie, my subordinate."

Systie!? What kind of lame name is that? I grin at the black menace which hid its face in shame behind Terra's legs.

"Hang on…fantasy world!? As far as I can remember, Earth isn't a fantasy world."

The goddess immediately jumped at that, "That's correct, your world isn't a fantasy world, but your soul was so embarrassed by the way it died that it ran away from Earth in shame and somehow entered this room."

It was now my time to hide my face while the cat snickered at my expense.

'Damn cat, it needs to be disciplined,' I complained internally as the goddess continued to talk.

"Um, you don't need to worry. I will allow you to reincarnate in my world," she offered, but I felt something fishy.

She saw that I was suspicious and elaborated, "You see, there is an underground organization conducting some nefarious experiments on the monsters of my planet, and it's causing some serious harm to the planet's ecosystem. So… I want you to find out who they are."

Yep, that sounds dangerous. "No thanks," I immediately shot down the idea.

"I see. That's too bad. I guess I have no other choice but to send you to hell. You were a notorious thief in your world, after all," she informed me while shedding a few obvious crocodile tears, causing me to turn pale in fright.

"That's a joke, right? Right?" I asked repeatedly as an ominous red magic circle appeared under my feet.

"Wait, wait…stop. I will listen to your request," I practically screamed, and immediately the magic circle disappeared.

"Excellent!" the goddess exclaimed while clapping her hands and proceeded to explain more about her world. "Everyone in my world has a system with classes and skills. It's like a game world. If you agree to reincarnate, then I will also give you a special perk."

I see. I liked games, and living in a game-like world along with a perk didn't sound bad. I didn't have much of an option either way.

"So, I just need to investigate these people and inform you about them. That's all, right?" I asked her, to which she bobbed her head.

"That's right. After you complete the task, I will even fulfill any one of your wishes. As for your perks, you will be born in the world with your complete memory intact, and the common languages of the world will automatically be installed in your brain. Along with all that, Systie will follow you to the surface and help you grow stronger."

"Eh...no, you can't do that, Terra-sama," the cat cried out in distress, and I immediately knew what my decision was going to be.

"We have a deal," I informed the goddess while extending my hand, which she immediately shook.

The cat hissed at me in outrage while holding onto the legs of the goddess like its life depended on it.

"Wait, you can't do this. I don't want to go," it complained aloud, but the goddess easily pried the cat away from her and threw it towards me, saying, "You can't stay cooped up in this room forever. You need to go out and enjoy."

"I don't want to. If I go away, then you will be all alone," the cat sobbed and tried to rush back towards the goddess, but a circular barrier stopped it from moving as two blue magic circles gradually materialized under our feet.

The goddess glanced at the sobbing cat one last time and then turned towards me with a gentle smile on her face. "Please take care of Systie," she requested as we disappeared from the room.