Chapter 11

When Victor, who had missed the ghost, was deeply lost in thought with an unusually serious face.

Suddenly, the sound of clacking shoes echoed from outside the alley.

The familiar sound of high heels.

As he looked up, there stood Victor’s assistant, her eyes filled with disgust.

“…Mr. Victor, or should I say, you pervert. What on earth happened to you?”

“Ahh, Assistant. Could you possibly bring me some clothes? As you can see, I got hit pretty hard.”

“I brought some just in case… but it seems combat gear won’t be necessary after all.”

The assistant handed Victor a thick coat, unable to hide her inner astonishment.

Even though the ghost had disappeared, the evidence around him—like the scattered pieces of money on the floor—made it clear how things had gone.

Mission failed, huh?

It had been a while since she felt this emotion, and the woman’s gaze sharpened.

“Such a disappointing outcome. If only the tracker had more time, we wouldn’t have needed to chase so desperately.”

“Hmm, well, expecting both a film device and extended battery life might’ve been too much. Besides, if its appearance had changed drastically, the ghost would’ve surely noticed.”

Victor lightly shook his head at his regretful assistant, saying there was nothing they could do about it.

The method by which these two pinpointed the ghost’s location was simple.

It happened earlier when the ghost was attacked by an apprentice.

They had slipped counterfeit bills embedded with film-like trackers into the apprentice’s wallet.

However, due to structural limitations, the tracker couldn’t hold a battery, allowing them only four hours to locate the ghost.

If the tracker were to cut off unexpectedly mid-pursuit, Victor would have no choice but to endlessly wait in back alleys for another encounter with the ghost.

Thus, in order to finish the job this time, he had no choice but to chase the ghost barefoot, wearing only his gown.

“So, what are you going to tell the client, Mr. Pervert? The mission was either to capture the ghost or uncover its identity. Neither has been achieved, right?”

“Hmm. That is a problem. Do you think saying we faced an unexpectedly strong opponent or that bad luck struck would work?”

“…If only someone hadn’t taken a bath right before the operation time, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Guh, d-don’t press on my forehead. It hurts…”

Victor avoided eye contact as his assistant glared at him.

Had he been fully equipped, or even just wearing something other than a gown, he wouldn’t have been so easily outmaneuvered by the ghost.

Having built an impressive success rate of 90% over the years, this failure meant an enormous loss.

“Hoo… Well, saying this now doesn’t mean much, but I did think that even if Mr. Pervert went naked, he’d succeed.”

“Ahem, sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations…”

But regretting what’s already done is meaningless.

The professional woman pressed her temples, trying to calm down, then calmly asked him:

“So, what was the ghost like? Almost like a peacock ardently courting you.”

“Hmm, every move it made pleased me. You could say it’s one of the good ones in this city. Just from our brief encounter, I could tell it possessed remarkable skill, strong conviction, and mental fortitude.”

“That’s… surprising. Was it really that praiseworthy?”

“Yeah, absolutely. I wish our apprentice could be half as good as the ghost. It’d be great if they could cooperate.”

Victor’s praise for the ghost was completely sincere, and there were several reasons why.

In the underworld, where helping others without gain was seen as foolish, the ghost had helped without asking for anything in return.

Despite possessing skills that caught Victor’s eye, whether dealing with petty thugs or dangerous vampires, it merely subdued them without causing further harm.

And finally, the very last moment—it fell from the rooftop onto a pile of soft garbage bags.

With tendencies closer to the outside world than the underworld, it was impossible not to like such a character.

“Hoo, honestly, I wish we had more time…”

“That’s not possible. We’re leaving this city tomorrow.”

“Figures.”

Victor scratched the back of his head, showing his regret.

Unfortunately, he had accepted a request a month ago, so he had to leave Night Haven soon.

This current request was just something to pass the time, so he couldn’t afford any more delays.

If only he had known, he would’ve kept his schedule clear.

After pondering for a moment, Victor sighed and said:

“Hmm… Then I guess I’ll have to ask a reliable friend to take over.”

“Mr. Pervert—I mean, Victor. Do you even have friends?”

“It’s hurtful to hear that with such a serious face… Well, let’s call him an old comrade.”

He continued speaking as his assistant tilted her head.

“Have you heard of someone named Raven?”

Victor smirked.

Thinking about seeing his old comrade again and believing Raven was trustworthy enough to handle the ghost, he felt a sense of joy.

Of course, if the ghost, whose real identity was unknown, had known this fact—

It would’ve screamed internally: “Isn’t that the protagonist of the original story?!”

But no one realized this.

The wheels of fate simply continued to turn.

*

Several dozen minutes later.

The Black Jade Society, the largest beastmen faction in the western labyrinth.

Upon hearing the report of the failed mission from Victor, the organization’s leader, Wang Qian, sharply shrieked as her long rabbit ears shot upright.

“Wha-what?! Even Double-Digit Victor couldn’t catch this ghost?! Hiiiyaaak! Why did something like this appear in our territory?! Nooo! I hate it!”

Her reaction was akin to spotting a swarm of cockroaches in a newly moved-in house.

“Lady, please calm down and maintain your composure.”

“How can I calm down?! A man who can destroy an entire battleship single-handedly gave up and backed off! This is like having an absurd bomb planted in our territory!”

Wang Qian, despite being the leader of a powerful underworld organization, had a timid personality.

The despairing news made her want to cry.

Double-Digit Pixie.

That term referred to pixies ranked within the top two digits among the over 10,000 official pixie rankings worldwide.

Destroying massive battleships alone.

Decimating entire armies of nations.

Single-handedly bringing cities close to ruin.

Those who ranked within the top 100 globally were beings beyond human comprehension—closer to superhumans or monsters.

For Wang Qian, who became the leader purely due to her lineage, such figures were terrifying beyond measure.

And now, even a renowned Double-Digit like Victor had failed?

This meant the ghost was no ordinary creature—it was on par with those monstrous beings.

“Hah, hah… I-I can’t handle this! I need to do something, anything…!”

“Lady.”

“But what can we do if even Victor failed?! We’re dead! Dead, I tell you! That ghost will suck us dry of blood and guts!”

“Lady…”

This behavior was far too undignified for an adult woman, let alone the leader of an organization.

Unable to bear it, her subordinate, a lizard beastman, grabbed Wang Qian’s long ears from behind.

“Ow! Owowow! I’m sorry! I’ll pull myself together! Really, I will!”

“Calm down and listen. According to Victor, the ghost seems to have a fairly gentle nature. So far, the victims have only been third-rate thugs or vampires. The ghost’s level is estimated to be around Triple-Digit Pixie.”

“Hmm… Still, even Triple-Digit is dangerous…”

“Yes, but there’s an insurmountable gap between Double-Digit and Triple-Digit. I doubt the ghost is as dangerous as you imagine.”

The lizard beastman judged the ghost’s threat rationally.

So far, the ghost hadn’t displayed particularly dangerous tendencies.

Over the past three months of activity, no one suffered injuries beyond unconsciousness, and even those victims were low-life thugs who oppressed and tormented others.

Moreover, while Double-Digit Pixies were walking missiles or tactical weapons,

Triple-Digit Pixies were opponents that even the scum of the underworld could defeat under the right circumstances.

Thus, there was no need to fear the ghost excessively.

Instead, the lizard beastman felt the need to take a firm stance.

“Lady, let’s spread rumors about the ghost’s misdeeds.”

“Rumors about the ghost?”

“Yes. Then, use those rumors as an excuse to demand the ghost reveal its identity.”

“Hmm… But will the ghost willingly reveal itself?”

“It doesn’t matter if it does or not. In fact, it’s better if it doesn’t. That way, we’ll have a reason to put a bounty on the ghost.”

The lizard beastman’s reasoning was this:

No matter how justified the ghost’s actions were against those victims, they couldn’t allow a ghost running rampant in their territory.

The more people who received help from the ghost, the more the influence of the Black Jade Society, rulers of the western labyrinth, would diminish.

Thus, his plan was as follows:

Subtly spread negative rumors about the ghost, then use them as a pretext to demand the ghost reveal its identity.

If it complied, great. If not, claim the rumors were true and place a bounty.

Naturally, greedy bounty hunters would come from outside to challenge the ghost.

Eventually, the ghost would slip up—it was inevitable.

“Hmm… Alright, I’ll do it. Sorry, ghost, but spreading bad rumors is the way to go, right?”

After somehow pulling herself together, Wang Qian ordered the spread of rumors portraying the ghost as a villain through the beastmen of the western labyrinth.

She also commanded that a notice be posted throughout the labyrinth under the name of the Black Jade Society:

Within one week, the ghost must reveal its identity to the Black Jade Society and explain the rumors.

Though there was minor backlash from those who had received help from the ghost, the influential Black Jade Society’s firm stance ensured the notice wasn’t withdrawn.

Even after a week passed, the ghost didn’t show up.

Ultimately, the Black Jade Society placed a bounty on the ghost with the condition of capture.

This was how, in just three months, she became a wanted criminal.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me! Why am I worth so much?! With this money, I could buy 40 more beds!’

For the ghost herself, this development was truly like a bolt from the blue.

*

Meanwhile, as news of the ghost spread widely through the underworld via wanted posters,

A pale-faced man crumpled one such poster in his hand and furrowed his brow.

“This person? The one who crushed our race’s grand plan?”

The man’s name was Drakel.

He was the leader of Bloody Pool, to which the dozens of ghouls and vampires destroyed by the ghost had belonged.

At this moment, he was extremely displeased.

After releasing dozens of ghouls into the underworld to create countless blood slaves,

His grand plan to establish a new domain for vampires had been shattered by some reckless son and this ghost.

To make matters worse, his hideout had been exposed, forcing him to flee Night Haven.

If he didn’t retreat quietly, Double-Digit or Single-Digit Pixies might descend to wipe him out.

Of course, resisting to the point of ending his vampire lineage was out of the question.

Though bitter, bowing his head and waiting for another chance was far wiser.

But retreating with his tail between his legs like this was unacceptable to his pride.

Thus, before leaving, he decided to carry out one small act of revenge.

“I’ll bathe this damned underworld in blood! All of it!”

And so, a thick stench of hatred and blood began seeping from the deepest parts of the western labyrinth.

*

While the Black Jade Society trembled before the ghost,

Bounty hunters drooled over the absurd reward amount,

And vampires swore revenge,

The ghost, the center of everyone’s attention, barely managed to endure the overwhelming shame threatening to crush her.

‘I’m so embarrassed. I want to die. Why am I in this situation…?’

The reason for her feverish embarrassment was none other than this:

Against her will, she was currently wearing an incredibly embarrassing maid costume.

Why was she standing here without even a scrap of white cloth?

To understand this, we need to rewind time slightly.

It was about a week after she had escaped from the pervert.