It started from a simple request from the guild.
Track down and apprehend an unidentified individual entering the Dungeon illegally, someone who kept bringing out rare materials in large quantities, then selling them on the black market.
Nothing too unusual. Smugglers were rare but not unheard of.
The problem is they had already sent Bell and his team but they failed.
Not injured beyond recovery but soundly outmaneuvered. That alone was… troubling.
With no upcoming expedition for at least a month, I decided Loki Familia could handle it.
A minor mission, I thought. A good chance to keep the team sharp.
I wasn't careless.
I wasn't overconfident.
We prepared extensively. Full formation. Complete coordination. I anticipated resistance but I expected something more manageable.
I did not expect… this.
What just happened?!
The Hostess of Fertility was in ruins.
Tables shattered. Chairs upended. Food scattered across the floor like the aftermath of a festival gone horribly wrong.
For a long moment, no one said a word.
I looked around.
Gareth stood at the far end, drenched and dripping, his beard squelching as he wrung it out with both hands. "…Never been waterboarded and frozen at the same time before," he muttered. "That was new."
Bete was slumped against a wall, pants finally back in place, barely. One eye twitched as he growled lowly, "Kill... kill... I'm gonna kill that bastard."
"Not before I do," Tione snarled, arms crossed over her chest, visibly trembling not with fear, but with sheer anger.
Tiona groaned beside her, voice faint. "That {Drain Touch} thing… felt like someone yanked my soul out through my toes. Could anyone carry me back to manor?"
Riveria, ever the paragon of composure, stood upright. Her condition might be the best compared to others, only minor impact, her elegant robes stained with soot, and a fine tick twitching at her brow. Her long hair was tangled, and a few strands clung stubbornly to her face.
Lefiya, meanwhile, hadn't moved. She stared straight ahead, blank and hollow-eyed.
"…He canceled my chant," she whispered. "By talking."
Riveria inhaled deeply. "Yes. Yes, he did."
"Is that even allowed?" Lefiya turned to her with the desperate gaze of someone questioning the foundations of her magic education.
"No," Riveria replied flatly. "It is not."
At the edge of the wrecked bar, I stood quietly, one hand on my chin.
Most of my dignity was still intact.
Mostly.
I reviewed the battle in my mind.
This wasn't just dumb luck. He moved with purpose. His tactics were erratic, yes, but they weren't reckless. He adapted faster than I expected—too fast. He wasn't just throwing out skills; he was reading us, reacting in real-time.
And that teleportation spell…
That alone was enough to put him on a high priority list.
A threat.
"Well… he's not a standard irregular, that's for sure."
"You think?" Bete barked.
Finn's gaze turned serious. "That wasn't just dumb luck. He was calculating. Improvisational. He used abilities that shouldn't exist in this world and strung them together like a tactician. That teleportation spell alone is already cause for concern."
I looked toward Ais, who had silently sat down on the edge of a fallen stool. She stared blankly ahead, expression unchanged. But somehow she looks angry now?
I coughed lightly.
"…Ais, are you… alright?"
"…He took my underwear."
"Y-Yes. He did."
"He took it with magic."
"...He also took my spear."
Riveria pinched the bridge of her nose. Don't know how to fent her anger.
"Just how much magic and skill he have? Invisibility, magic that able to steal things, teleport, canceling magic, rope magic, draining ability... or is it magic? He also able to use at least four elements and possessed high level dodge." Riveria muttered.
There was a long pause.
Then Gareth raised one thick finger. "So, uh… I guess we should write up a report that says: one, the target is extremely dangerous. Two, he's using unknown, possibly divine magic. Three, we walked into his hideout and still got outplayed…"
Everyone paused.
Lefiya looked like she wanted to cry.
Riveria looked like she wanted to incinerate something.
Ais remained quiet.
"At least we know how capable he is..." I said to lift up the down atmosphere. "And he somehow not that strong physically."
All eyes looked at me when I said it.
"What do you mean, captain?" Tiona asked.
"Despite how bad he outplayed us, and how he could dodge every attack... He almost faint when Garreth slammed his body to the wall."
Everyone went silent, hearing my observation.
Ais remained stoic. Too stoic.
Then she whispered, softly but with absolute clarity.
"…I want them back."
I exhaled and smiled faintly.
"Of course. That will be part of the next mission."
Riveria sighed sharply. "You're not serious, aren't you? You're going to mobilize the Familia over… underwear?"
I met her gaze, smile widening.
"No, Riveria. I'm mobilizing the Familia because we were just humiliated—utterly outmaneuvered by a man in a weird mask quoting himself mid-battle and pulling panties out of the air."
Another pause.
Even Bete didn't argue.
Then I continued, voice hardening.
"Tomorrow. We regroup. I want full reports on everything—his appearance, his magic, that mask. We investigate. We cross-reference. We don't stop until we find out who he is… and where he is."
The fire returned to their eyes.
Ais stood.
Riveria nodded silently.
Even Bete smirked.
Because now it wasn't just a mission.
It was personal.
***
[Kazuma POV]
In a small rented room in the slums.
I laid on the bed, face down, groaning.
"I just wanted to cook, damn it… Now I'm jobless... Hiks."
I reached my pocket.
The triangle cloth was still there.
"…okay, maybe I deserve some of this."
I inhaled deeply.
"…But only some."
The spear? Already sold it for 10 million valis.
Good deal. Definitely.
Now what should I do?
I have some money to survive, so let's just stay really low.
No adventurer thing, no more selling things, no more fine job, just stay low.
Basically become a shut in.
Shit! Even though I tried to live a normal life
Hiks.
I looked at a white triangle fabric in my hand again.
Sniff.