Starting as Cipher-The Flame-Chaser Identity System(Honkai Star Rail)

The next morning, when Cipher woke up, she noticed that the Wanted Poster had been removed from the Adventurer's Guild hall. Two soldiers stood guard, immediately silencing anyone who mentioned the "Round-Faced, Pointy-Mouthed, Bald Phantom Thief" with a stern, "No talking about that!"

The adventurers who had been chatting were startled. "Hey, what's your problem? Why are you policing our conversations?"

The soldiers were adamant. "There's no such thing as a 'Round-Faced, Pointy-Mouthed, Bald Phantom Thief.' You can talk about anything else, just not that!"

One adventurer grew agitated. "So what if I mention it? Are you going to arrest me for that?"

In response, the soldiers drew their weapons and pointed them at the adventurer.

The adventurer's eyes widened in panic. "Whoa, whoa! I take it back! I won't mention it again!"

In this world, not all Class Holders were adventurers. Professionally trained soldiers, for example, didn't need to take on quests at the Adventurer's Guild to earn a living. They simply followed the City Lord's orders, trained daily, and received a fixed salary.

Most of the soldiers were actually "Warrior Class Holders," possessing strength comparable to Bronze Adventurers. When fighting as a unit, they could even outperform ordinary Bronze Adventurers.

The Silver Adventurer whose conversation had just been interrupted had no intention of taking on an entire city. He could probably defeat one or two soldiers, and with some effort, maybe even three or four. But against an army of dozens or hundreds, he'd be utterly overwhelmed.

Cipher watched in astonishment as the disgruntled adventurer turned and left the scene. She had only meant to discourage the rumors, but this was beyond absurd.

Cipher's original intention had simply been to prevent Viscount Braun from actively spreading malicious rumors. That should have been enough. She never expected her actions the previous day to have terrified him so thoroughly, leading to this overreaction.

To be fair, Cipher had never explicitly threatened to kill Viscount Braun for disobedience. She harbored no murderous intent whatsoever. Stuffing his finger up his nose and drawing a turtle on his face were just minor acts of petty revenge, nothing more.

The rumors of the "Round-Faced, Pointy-Mouthed, Bald Phantom Thief" gradually faded, replaced by tales of the "Phantom Thief Cat."

Today, a large number of ragged commoners flocked to Stone Pine City from the surrounding towns and villages. Most had received "donations" from Cipher and were there to purchase supplies.

For the past five years, the Grand Duchy of Kandela's grain harvests had dwindled year after year. Yet, Viscount Braun continued to raise taxes. Gradually, some commoners found that even after a full day's hard labor, they couldn't afford a single loaf of black bread to fill their stomachs.

Malnourished and increasingly frail, their physical strength deteriorated, leading to lower productivity. This, in turn, reduced their wages, trapping them in a vicious cycle of poverty and despair.

Fortunately, the Church of the God of Life learned of their plight and dispatched priests to distribute free food. Without this intervention, countless people would have starved to death.

Despite the Church's efforts, as harvests continued to dwindle and wildlife attacks on farmland became increasingly frequent, more and more ordinary people found themselves unable to secure enough food. Even the Church's resources were stretched thin.

Priests could cast Divine Magic without expending any personal resources—a divine privilege granted to them by the gods. The only limitation was the number of times they could use it.

Take, for instance, the commoner who came to Stone Pine City. He waited in line at the Church all day, only to learn that the priest's Divine Magic had run out just as his turn arrived. Despondent, he returned home, having gone hungry for days and unsure if he would even live to see the next sunrise. Then, he discovered a crumpled piece of paper at his doorstep—inside lay a gleaming Gold Dragon!

Or consider the husband who toiled all day but couldn't earn enough food to feed his family. Watching his wife and daughters grow increasingly gaunt, he ventured out in search of other means of sustenance—only to never return. His wife and daughters were left alone until yesterday, when she too found a crumpled piece of paper at their doorstep.

While not everyone was in such dire straits, it couldn't be denied that hundreds of people owed their survival to the Gold Dragons distributed by Cipher. For a noble, a single Gold Dragon might represent a mere fraction of their wealth, perhaps one ten-thousandth. For an adventurer, it might be just another day's expenses.

But for these ordinary folk, a single Gold Dragon was enough to see them through the winter!

The paper wrapping the Gold Dragons was marked with a Cat Head symbol. Combined with the recent news of the theft at the Viscount's Manor in Stone Pine City, it wasn't hard to deduce that someone had stolen the Viscount's Gold Dragons and given them to the commoners!

Thus, the moniker "Phantom Thief Cat" gradually spread among the populace.

Since no one had ever seen the Phantom Thief Cat, speculation about their appearance ran wild. Some imagined a winged angel, others a benevolent prince concerned for his people, and a few even wondered if it might be a cat with extraordinary intelligence.

Yet, strangely, few seemed to consider the possibility that the Phantom Thief Cat might be a beautiful Catfolk girl.

In Stone Pine City, besides the commoners purchasing life-saving supplies, a small number of people were visiting the Adventurer's Guild to post quests.

The truth was, the common folk had always needed adventurers to solve their problems, but most couldn't afford to hire them. Now, however, with each person receiving a Gold Dragon, they could pool their resources. By contributing half a Gold Dragon each, they could collectively post several quests, resolving all the troubles plaguing their villages at once.

It was no exaggeration to say that the Adventurer's Guild had received nearly twenty new quests in a single day.

Cipher stared at the overflowing quest board, silently marveling, "Am I single-handedly boosting the economy?"

The Hero Party hadn't been particularly active lately, largely due to a lack of suitable quests. With free time on their hands, Aria spent her days helping Cassie track down the culprit, Feidric remained in his inn room reading, and Douglas trained at the guild's practice grounds.

As for Cipher, after a quick glance at the quest board, she returned to her room to continue drawing Cat Heads. She planned to donate the second batch of Gold Dragons she had stolen from Viscount Braun's Manor as well.