The man stood in the inn’s lobby, talking to the innkeeper. His face showed a mix of fatigue and irritation.
“I’m thinking of leaving the inn before tonight,” he said, massaging his temples. “It’s unbearable, all that noise. All night, I hear screams, footsteps, doors slamming. I can’t sleep properly.”
The owner frowned, clearly worried about her reputation. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll talk to the other guests…”
“No need.”
Hiro appeared on the stairs, followed by Lena, Lucia, and Cassian. He bowed slightly to the man. “You don’t need to leave. We’re leaving today. I apologize for the disturbance.”
The man looked at him, then nodded with relief. “Ah. Thank you.”
Cassian observed Hiro more closely. Slight bags under his eyes. He didn’t sleep well?
Or he didn’t sleep at all?
Outside, a light rain was starting to fall—fine droplets that barely got them wet.
“We should find transportation,” Hiro suggested, consulting the map. “The village is several days’ walk away.”
“Good idea,” Lucia approved. “Should we split up to search?”
They divided—Hiro on one side, Lena and Lucia together, Cassian alone.
An hour later.
Cassian returned to the meeting point, soaked and irritated. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
“Same,” Hiro sighed. “Everyone refused.”
“The town is small,” Lena explained. “Almost no traffic toward our destination. And there’s a shortage of transport. Everything’s already taken.”
Lucia looked exhausted. “We asked everywhere. Nothing.”
Earlier, during Lena and Lucia’s search.
Two young men were chatting near a market stall when Lena and Lucia approached.
“Excuse us,” Lucia started politely. “Do you know where we can rent transport to…”
One of the guys—brown hair, charming smile—froze, his eyes widening. Two beauties. Two ABSOLUTE beauties. Lock-in. LOCK-IN.
He straightened up, adjusting his shirt. “Uh, yeah! Of course! I can…”
“WOAH!” His friend exclaimed loudly. “Did you see those boobs?! They’re HUGE!”
Time froze.
Lena and Lucia stared at them with identical expressions of disgust.
The first guy turned slowly to his friend, his eyes completely blank. What did I do to deserve a friend like this?
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“I don’t know him,” he said in a flat voice. “We have nothing to do with each other. He’s a stranger.”
“What?” The friend blinked, confused. “Dude, we’ve been buds since…”
“I DON’T KNOW HIM.”
Lena grabbed Lucia’s arm. “Let’s go.”
They left quickly.
The first guy watched them go, his soul visibly leaving his body. He turned to his friend.
“Why,” he said slowly, “why are you like this?”
“Like what? I just said the truth!”
“THE TRUTH?! YOU LITERALLY RUINED MY LIFE!”
“You’re exaggerating, man.”
The first guy slumped against the wall, staring at the sky. What did I do in a previous life to deserve this?
---
After searching the whole town without success, the group resigned themselves.
“We walk,” Hiro decided.
A few hours later, the light rain had turned into a downpour.
The drops were heavy, pounding against their heads and shoulders with surprising force. Visibility was reduced to a few meters. The ground had become a slippery quagmire.
This is a catastrophic quest start, Cassian thought bitterly, her bare feet sinking into the mud with each step.
Fortunately, all our sensitive stuff is in the storage ring.
Then a realization hit her.
Wait.
I forgot to buy clothes. And SHOES.
She looked at her muddy feet.
How did I forget that? Why is it NOW that I remember?
“This rain is too annoying!” Lena shouted over the noise. “We’re all soaked!”
Lucia pointed. “There! A house! We can take shelter!”
They ran toward the structure—a small isolated house in the middle of nowhere.
Hiro knocked on the door. No answer.
He pushed lightly. The door opened easily, creaking on its hinges.
They entered, dripping on the floor.
It was dark. A small house—one main room, some basic furniture.
But the walls…
The walls were covered in sketches. Detailed plans. Precise. Obsessively precise.
And on most of them…
Underwear.
Drawings of bras from every angle. Panties of every style. Measurements annotated. Scribbled notes.
“This must be a underwear designer’s house,” Hiro said, uncomfortable.
Cassian frowned. This doesn’t look like design drawings. It’s more like…
…stalker obsessions.
SPLASH.
The door burst open.
A goblin ran in, not noticing the group. He was soaked, muttering under his breath.
“Annoying rain… why today… my preciouses are wet…”
A lightning flash illuminated the inside of the house.
For a fraction of a second, the goblin saw the four figures.
He froze.
Then pivoted immediately toward the door.
But Hiro was already behind him, blocking the exit.
The goblin spun in circles, panicked. Surrounded.
“Wait,” Cassian said slowly, remembering. “I think I know. It’s the underwear thief.”
Lena snapped her fingers. “Yeah! There was a quest at the Guild for that!”
“A goblin underwear thief,” Lucia confirmed. “The quest said it always targeted the same ones.”
Hiro placed a hand on his sword hilt, drawing it slightly. “What do we do with him?”
The goblin quickly assessed his options.
Then dove between Hiro’s legs.
He looked up, expecting to see… something.
Nothing.
Just fabric. No skirt. No opportunity.
The goblin seemed deeply disappointed. He sighed, got up, and kept running toward the door.
“HEY!” Hiro turned. “GET BACK HERE!”
The group chased after him, bursting out into the pounding rain.
Fifty meters later, the goblin collapsed against a tree, panting violently.
“What… what endurance is this?” Lena muttered, barely out of breath herself.
The goblin looked up at them. Four adventurers. All stronger than him.
It’s over.
He spread his arms, looking at the sky, a mad smile forming on his face.
“If I have to die now,” he shouted, his voice echoing despite the rain, “I won’t die ALONE!”
Hiro tensed immediately.
“I’ll blow up this whole area! For KILOMETERS!” The goblin laughed hysterically. “You’ll all be reduced to DUST!”
“BACK UP!” Hiro stepped in front of the girls, sword raised.
The goblin started blinking.
Literally. His body emitted pulses of light.
“SHIT!” Hiro pushed Lena and Lucia back. “CASSIAN, GET BACK!”
A bright light enveloped the goblin. An energy ball formed around him, growing rapidly.
Hiro braced to take the explosion head-on.
Flash.
The light exploded.
But…
Tiny.
The energy ball imploded on itself, collapsing violently toward the center.
The goblin was disintegrated instantly. No scream. No resistance. Just… poof.
All that remained was a small smoking crater where he’d stood.
Silence.
Then Lucia burst out laughing.
A laugh so hard she had to double over, holding her stomach.
“HE… HE JUST…” She could barely speak. “HE SELF-IMPLOSIONED!”
“What?” Hiro blinked.
“All the energy,” Lucia explained between laughs, “wasn’t directed outward but INWARD! He must have spent so much time developing that magic!”
She wiped her eyes. “And it was his first time using it. He mixed up the directions. Instead of exploding outward, he exploded inward.”
Lena snorted. “So he just… vaporized himself?”
“Exactly.”
Cassian approached the crater cautiously, sensing the residual mana.
And froze.
This is huge. The mana residues are HUGE.
“Hey.” She turned to Lucia. “When the goblin said he’d blow up the area for kilometers… was he serious?”
“Uh…” Lucia stopped laughing, frowning. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m detecting massive mana residues.” Cassian touched the crater’s edge. “If he’d directed it properly…”
Hiro paled. “We’d all be dead.”
“Yeah.” Cassian nodded slowly. “Really, really dead.”
An uncomfortable silence fell.
Then Lena said softly, “We got lucky.”
“Too lucky,” Cassian murmured.
That underwear-obsessed goblin could have pulverized us.
The rain continued to fall, washing away the last traces of the goblin.
And the group stood there, realizing how close they’d come to death.
Because of a suicidal panty thief.
