Chapter 6

-Sniff sniff. Sniff sniff.

Baskervill, with their nose pressed to the ground, was putting all their effort into tracking.

As Baskervill strolled leisurely through the streets with a leash around their neck, the gazes of passersby began to focus on them one by one.

“Oh my, are you out for a walk? Your dog is so cute~”

“Can I pet them just once?”

“Well, a light petting should be fine.”

“Kyaa, their fur is so fluffy~”

The passersby giggled as they petted Baskervill.

Baskervill, receiving such affection, soon began to stick out their tongue and drool.

-Pant pant.

Ah, this is dangerous.

I pulled on Baskervill’s leash to restrain their behavior.

“Hold back for now. You’ll get to eat after the job is done.”

Back in Hell, they would hunt on their own or I’d throw troublemakers their way as food… I guess I need to train them not to eat people for a while.

Thinking this, I walked Baskervill through the streets for a few hours.

Before I knew it, Baskervill had settled in one spot and began to lift their head.

A massive mansion that looked like it belonged to the wealthy… Could this be the underwear thief’s hideout?

“No, that can’t be it.”

Why would the upper class stoop to stealing underwear?

Moreover, the underwear thief we’re currently tracking has recently started targeting the upper class.

So it’s more likely that they’re operating here rather than this being their hideout.

Having deduced this, I climbed over the mansion’s wall and instructed Baskervill to continue tracking the scent.

To figure out how the culprit managed to infiltrate and evade the detectives.

-Whimper!!

At the end of the trail, Baskervill let out a small cry.

Following their gaze, I looked up and was greeted by a small ventilation duct.

A ventilation duct. It’s a perfect entry point, as most buildings have them scattered around.

But it’s only possible if the size allows. The duct I see now is far too small for an average adult to fit through.

Could the culprit be a child?

“Hey, who’s there!”

Oh no, it’s a guard.

I quickly pulled Baskervill back into my body and swiftly turned the corner of the mansion.

Then, taking advantage of the guard’s momentary lapse in sight, I released the magical energy holding my form.

As I transformed into a low-hanging black mist, the guard who had turned the corner after me wore a bewildered expression.

“W-what? I swear someone was here just now.”

They didn’t notice me, as expected.

After all, it’s not every day you see someone vanish into thin air like smoke.

And with this form, I should be able to enter the ventilation duct the culprit likely used.

“Being summoned has its useful aspects too.”

Slipping in, my misty form entered the ventilation duct.

Arriving at the room at the end, I quietly observed the scene unfolding within.

What I saw was a masked figure in black rummaging through a wardrobe.

But their body was incredibly small.

With their back hunched, their overall height barely reached the knee of an average adult male.

Yet, the professionalism in their thieving hands showed they were no mere child.

“This is much more unique than I expected.”

“Kyaaak?!”

The thief, reacting to my muttering, flinched.

I smirked and began to solidify my misty form.

“Oh dear, did you hear my muttering?”

Getting caught because of muttering during infiltration.

It’s a habit I picked up in Hell, where everyone was just looking for a fight, to cope with loneliness.

Well, it’s not like I can’t handle this.

“Since we’re here, why don’t we have a face-to-face chat?”

“Kyaaaak!!”

The thief screamed and lunged at me.

I dodged their attack to the side and lightly pulled off their mask.

Upon seeing the revealed face, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Haha, I didn’t expect this.”

Green, rough skin, pointed ears, and nose.

At first glance, it was clear they weren’t human, but identifying them was incredibly easy.

After all, the being before me was a staple in fantasy media I had encountered when I was human.

“Who would have thought the thief was a goblin.”

A goblin.

A small, agile creature with some level of intelligence, capable of using tools and forming groups, a type of demi-human.

But even with their intelligence, it’s primitive, making coexistence with humans impossible, hence they’re branded as monsters and thoroughly ostracized in human society.

So why is such a monster in the heart of the city… No, why are they breaking into upper-class residences to steal underwear?

-Kyaaaak!!

At that moment, the goblin screamed and hastily fled the scene.

Chasing after them in my misty form, I reached the rooftop only to see the goblin leaping to another building’s rooftop, quickly disappearing from sight.

And with such bold movements, as if they had planned their escape route in advance.

“A goblin with an escape route planned out…”

I had heard that goblins’ intelligence was at best that of a child’s, but seeing this, it’s beyond ridiculous.

But what’s more concerning is why the goblin is stealing underwear.

The goblins I knew from the Romancing Academy were incredibly primitive in nature.

They felt sexual desire, but it was purely for ‘reproduction’; it had nothing to do with physiological reactions… For example, getting excited over underwear, a ‘sexual fetishism’, was a concept that couldn’t possibly exist for such primitive beings.

Yet, here was such a primitive race stealing underwear in the heart of civilized society.

“…I need to observe this a bit more before catching them.”

Yes, there must be someone behind this goblin.

Having deduced this, I leaped off the rooftop, avoiding the guards who had come running at the commotion.

Transforming back into mist, I hid in the shadows, intent on tracking my target.

*****

Herta Shi is the most prosperous city in the empire, but not everyone living there leads a wealthy life.

For someone to become wealthy, someone else must become poor.

Naturally, as the wealthy’s standing rises, the poor’s domain also expands, making Herta Shi’s wealth gap increasingly severe.

And spreading throughout the city like roots are the streets where the impoverished reside, known as the ‘back alleys’.

These streets, out of the wealthy’s sight, are the perfect hiding spots for criminals.

“Kyaaah…”

In the heart of the back alleys, after leaving the target mansion.

Even after entering, Gobuta, still on edge, adjusted the bundle on his back and ventured deeper into the alley.

His actions were more meticulous than usual.

Unlike before, today someone had spotted him during his work.

Worried that they might be tracking him, he had taken several detours.

Only after sensing no presence behind him did Gobuta finally relax upon reaching his destination, squeezing through a hole in the wall.

A passage he had traversed dozens of times.

Through his long life in the city, Gobuta had learned that his small body could easily pass through places an average human couldn’t.

And it was none other than the person he called his parent who had taught him this.

“Oh, you’re back, Gobuta.”

Inside the abandoned building, amidst rows of old iron cages.

The caretaker, feeding the creatures inside, greeted Gobuta with a head pat.

“Did you do well today? Didn’t get caught or hurt, did you?”

“Kyaah!”

Though he had been spotted by someone today, Gobuta decided not to mention it.

He had already shaken them off, and he didn’t want to worry his parent by highlighting potential dangers.

“Haha, that’s good. You did well today.”

The caretaker, pleased with Gobuta, checked the bundle he had brought.

Seeing the underwear inside, the caretaker smiled contentedly.

To him, the monsters here were like his own children. Feeding them to their fill was his greatest happiness now.

“Thanks to Gobuta, everyone can eat their fill.”

At first, when Gobuta, due to poor training, started stealing underwear instead of valuables, the caretaker had been at a loss.

But ironically, those very underwear had become a crucial part of solving their financial troubles.

In the black market of the back alleys, underwear with someone’s scent on it sold for a high price.

From newlywed brides to popular actresses, and even noble ladies raised in high society…

The caretaker didn’t care about the perverts obsessed with mere underwear, but if they were willing to pay top dollar, they were good customers.

“Kyaaah.”

“Ah, right, Gobuta, you need to eat too.”

Gobuta, who played a key role in this money-making scheme, was a source of pride for the caretaker.

Watching Gobuta silently eat the meal provided, the caretaker patted his head with a bittersweet smile.

“That’s right, step by step… We’ll pay back the humiliation we suffered to the world.”

Though stealing underwear was a minor act, it had recently become enough of a nuisance to warrant a bounty.

Every time Gobuta skillfully evaded the detectives, the caretaker felt a sense of triumph deep within.

He could never forgive those who had cast aside the activities he had devoted his life to.

Though he had no power or authority, he held onto the hope that even these small acts would eventually bear fruit.

“If we keep this up…”

“We’ll show them what we’re made of.”

As he repeated this wish, a voice made him shudder.

Turning towards the source, he saw a man’s figure gradually taking shape from the shadows.

“From what I hear, you’re trying to make money and settle a grudge, but isn’t seeking revenge on the world a bit too modest for such a grand goal?”

“W-who are you!?”

The moment a stranger appeared in his secret hideout.

To the caretaker’s wary question, the man smiled softly and replied.

“Just a humble butler.”

“A… butler?”

“Though I should add ‘in need of money’ to that.”

An endlessly gentle voice.

Hearing it, the caretaker almost mistook the man before him for a harmless individual.

“Of course, if it’s just about making money, doing shady things like you is one way, but unfortunately, I can’t do anything that would trouble my master.”

But this was a place even the detectives couldn’t find.

Only Gobuta was allowed passage here, so the man before him couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

“In that sense… turning in someone with a bounty to the security office is quite a healthy way to make money, don’t you think?”

Yes, this man was clearly his enemy.

Realizing this, the caretaker’s hand reached for the lock on the cage where his children were kept.