Chapter 406: There's an Underwear Thief (Patreon)

"Store Manager, have you seen Kurumi?"

"Hm? She didn't slip off to the break room to goof off again, did she? What do you need her for?"

"There's a new order. I wanted her to get the ingredients ready."

"I'll do it myself." Jhin first gave a squeeze to the little hand of Ikuyo Kita, who'd been holding his under the table, then left a kiss on Hitori Gotoh's temple. Only then did he get up and go to work.

Takina watched the scene, which was enough to make a single dog die of spite, and thought quietly: Good thing Chisato didn't stand up. If she saw this, she'd probably faint again.

Kurumi was in the break room at that moment, frowning at the little basket under the closet where she kept her clothes. She'd gotten new clothes from Jhin and tossed them in the washing machine to wear another day, but she'd accidentally soaked her hoodie in the process and run back to the break room to change.

But while rummaging through the basket, she discovered that a pair of underwear was missing. And it was one of her favorites, too. She clearly remembered taking it down when she collected the laundry from the rooftop.

Had someone taken it? But Chisato and Takina had no reason to do something like that.

And that shut-in adoptive little sister who hid in the basement all day was hardly likely to come into her room.

After turning it over and over, Kurumi concluded there was only one answer: Jhin had finally given in to the filthy desires lurking in his heart, sneaked into the break room at some point, stolen her underwear, and taken it home as a side dish for his manual labor.

Hmph. This brat always puts on the act of a perfect gentleman around two beauties like Chisato and Takina, and now I've caught him doing something sleazy behind their backs.

Kurumi smiled smugly, then felt a pang of grief for her beloved pair. That was a limited-edition custom Hamster Knight design, after all!

Even if it got returned after being defiled by that guy, there's no way I could pretend nothing happened and keep wearing it. Rest in peace, my darling underwear. I will avenge you!

Just then, Jhin happened to pass by the break room. He knocked, then poked his head in. "Hey, slacker ****, if you keep dodging work like this, I'm docking your pay. Get out here and help!"

Heaven offers a road and you ignore it; hell has no door and you barge in anyway.

Kurumi had originally planned to just blackmail him in private and call it a day. But with that one sentence, she decided to go big instead. His little girlfriends were all out there, after all.

She shot a "you're dead meat" glare at Jhin's retreating back, then strolled out of the break room with her hands clasped behind her, perfectly composed. After checking that there were no other men in the shop, she demanded at the top of her voice, "Jhin! Where's my underwear?!"

Besides Kurumi herself and Kazami Kazuki, nobody knew her age for certain, since it had never been made public. She even had the nerve to put on the act of a young girl in front of everyone else, and it was fair to say that this trick had won her a lot of free meals and slacking time.

Kessoku Band and the Mihama Academy delegation were also in the dark. They only knew that Kurumi was actually not that young. Jhin had never told them exactly how old.

But now, coming from that childlike appearance, a line like that sent eight pairs of eyes snapping onto Jhin all at once, silently interrogating him.

"Your underwear's missing, so why ask me? I've never once collected any of your clothes. Everyone handles their own. Don't go smearing my good name out of thin air!" Jhin's righteous reply cleared away a good deal of suspicion, and the girls turned their eyes back to Kurumi.

She had her reasons too. "I clearly remember putting all my clothes away! When I went looking just now, one pair of underwear was gone!"

Chisato, known throughout the shop as Jhin's biggest fan, was the first to stand up for him. "Impossible! Jhin-nii would never do something like that!"

"I know you trust him a lot." Kurumi put on an understanding look, then changed tack and said earnestly, "But think about it. This guy's been living with us day in, day out lately, and he's barely seen his girlfriends. What if he couldn't hold back?"

"Th-that… Jhin-nii, you wouldn't do something like that, right?"

"Could you at least sound a little more sure?" Jhin sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. To prove his innocence, he walked over to Hitori Gotoh without a trace of shame, pulled her to her feet, and straightened her hunched back. "Kurumi, take a good look. This is my girlfriend."

"I'm looking. What's your point?"

Jhin gave Kurumi a pitying glance. Then, before Hitori could react, he pulled down the zipper of her tracksuit. The pair of wobbling, oversized black bunnies instantly filled Kurumi's field of vision. He promptly zipped her back up, pulled her into his arms, and patted her back to soothe her.

"Do you understand now?"

"Gah!" Kurumi staggered back several steps, clutching her chest as if she'd taken an unprecedented blow. Still, she stuck to her guns. "M-maybe you just wanted to change tastes!"

"You don't have any proof that I took it, either."

"Can you prove you didn't?"

"Members of the jury! I object! This slacker **** is being unreasonable!" Jhin raised his right hand in protest. But apart from Kurumi, every girl had been sunk by Hitori's AoE missile and lay sprawled across the sofa or chairs, unable to get back up.

Oh, except Pecorine. She'd been absorbed in Jhin's cooking from the start and was completely unaffected.

The greatness of a foodie needs no further comment.

For a guy, proving his innocence in a situation like this is very difficult. But Jhin wasn't about to back down. He gently laid his girlfriend, who had fainted from embarrassment, down on the sofa. Then he walked up to Kurumi, bent over with a roguish swagger, and said in a gruff voice, "Little girl, are you trying to blackmail me into buying you a game again?"

"No. I haven't beaten the last one yet."

"Which game? At your clear speed, that shouldn't be the case."

Kurumi spat a name from her little mouth with a blank face. "Bishoujo Mangekyou."

"That series, of all things… No, wait. Don't think you can derail the topic!" Jhin put on a stern look. "If you want to smear my good name, first show me proof that your underwear is missing. Otherwise I have every right to dock your whole month's pay!"

"Hmph. Then come with me to the break room."

"Fine by me. I walk straight and sit upright!"

The two of them went into the break room, followed by a figure with no presence at all, silently watching the show.

Kurumi pointed at the basket of folded clothes in the closet. "There used to be eight pairs of underwear in here. Now there are only six."

"I don't know your original total."

"That's easy." She pulled a tablet out of her tech-packed little nest and played him a recording of her sorting laundry not long ago. "See? There are clearly eight pairs."

"Mm. All animal designs. They suit you."

Kurumi glared coldly at Jhin and raised a bare foot to stomp on his. "Now it's your turn to prove your innocence."