After wrapping up the ninjas, it was time for the usual nom nom.
This tasted different from the Knight or the Thief.
Does the flavor change depending on what job you pick?
Maybe if I went with a Patissier it'd be tastier?
Anyway, let's set aside that dumb fantasy.
I still need to settle this score properly.
Which idiot sent those ninjas after me?
Ninety-nine percent chance it's that old guy.
I use Clairvoyance to scope out what he's up to in town.
It's the dead of night, and he's still got his room lit, pacing around restlessly.
His retainer seems to have said something to him, but the old guy just shouts back.
Seriously, yelling like that at this hour — you're going to bother the neighbors.
But he's obviously acting suspicious, so it's gotta be him.
He's the culprit, right?
I'm not some great detective, and I'm no saint either.
I've got plenty of pent-up frustration, and even if this guy isn't the real culprit, whatever.
If that turns out to be the case, I'll just track down the actual one and kill them then.
I manipulate the invisible threads I've strung up throughout town.
They're so thin they're practically invisible, so they slip easily through gaps in windows.
Without a sound, I wrap them gently around the old guy's legs.
And now — activate Poison Attack.
Normally Poison Attack is most effective when it enters the body, but even contact deals a bit of damage.
The old guy's Status is no different from an ordinary person — actually, slightly below average — so my super-powerful Poison Attack should be more than enough, even on contact.
The old guy crumples to the floor.
Doesn't even try to break his fall. Just a heavy thud.
Ouch — he went down headfirst.
Looks painful.
Well, he probably can't feel anything anymore.
His retainer rushes over in a panic.
Desperately shakes him, trying to wake him up.
Sorry, pal. He's not getting back up.
While the retainer is in a daze, I retrieve the threads coiled around the old guy's legs.
Heh heh heh.
I have to call this a flawless assassination.
Not many people could even detect that an assassination happened.
And nobody should think I was the one who killed him.
Absolutely flawless.
Perfect crime, achieved.
Even I have to admit — beautiful.
Now then, the obstacle is gone. Time for bed.
I have Status Abnormality Immunity, which includes Sleep Immunity, so I don't technically need to sleep. But it's a matter of mood.
Sleeping soundly is happiness.
Eating and sleeping.
An honest lifestyle breeds an honest mind.
Well then — goodnight.
Good morning.
Mm.
Finished a job last night, so I woke up refreshed.
Today's shaping up to be a good day.
I wonder what happened to that old guy after he died?
I check out the mansion he was using in town.
Turns out he'd been borrowing a room in the Vampire girl's family home, right in the middle of town.
Guess he had that much pull, but once you're dead, power means nothing.
Money, honor, power — once you die, it's all worthless.
The inside of the mansion is in quite a state of commotion.
A man who looks like the Vampire girl's father is giving instructions to the servants while wearing a thoroughly exhausted expression.
Has he been up since that night, by any chance?
Well, a mysterious sudden death did happen inside his mansion.
Probably got shaken awake in the middle of the night and hasn't stopped moving since.
Tough break.
But more notable than the tired-looking town lord are the people with faces white as ghosts.
Those are the old guy's retainers.
They look like they could keel over and die any second now — absolute pallor.
Impressive.
I had no idea humans could go that pale.
I've never seen a real person with a colorless, ghostly face like something out of a manga.
Granted, most people who've faced me have looked a little pale, but never like this.
Are they afraid they're next?
Maybe they think their master's murderer is still out to get them?
That would make sense. The retainers who were present last night would be suspicious.
But the others weren't in the room — no reason for all of them to go pale.
Are they all thinking they'll be the next to die?
If so, that tracks, but nothing's happened for a whole night now, so they should be calming down.
Every time the town lord speaks to them, they flinch and stammer something back.
What the hell actually happened in there?
If their master simply died, that wouldn't explain faces this ghostly.
I'm curious.
But I don't understand the language, so I can't pick up the details.
Hm.
Not knowing the language is a real pain.
D could've at least been a little more thoughtful and built in a language translation function.
Having it translate only system-related stuff is rough.
Well, I suppose if system-related text had been in this world's language too, I'd be completely lost, so I should be grateful.
If I keep eavesdropping on the town as a daily routine, I'll probably start understanding eventually — but "eventually" could mean a long time from now.
Right now I only know a handful of words.
Mostly names of sweets and fruits.
At this rate, it's going to take at least years.
Oh — how long is one year in this world, by Earth's calendar?
I don't even know that.
Hm.
Is there some quick way to acquire language skills?
It'd be nice if a Skill like that existed.
There isn't, of course.
Just as I was thinking that, the Voice of Heaven suddenly rang out.
"Entity Zana Horowa — Entity Queen Taratect have been integrated."
...Excuse me?