165 Ghostly mischief—

Finished disposing of the ninja. Routine consumption.

This flavor differs from knight or thief alike.

Does a person’s taste vary by profession?

Perhaps a pastry chef would find them delicious?

Anyway, dismiss such foolish speculation.

The matter must be resolved properly.

Who sent this ninja? Some fool, surely.

Ninety out of a hundred chances it’s that old man.

Using clairvoyance, observe the old man lingering in the city.

Even at this hour, he still wanders restlessly, light still on in his room.

A servant seems concerned, speaks up—only to be shouted down in return.

Ah, shouting so loudly at this hour—neighbors will be disturbed.

Yet his actions are clearly suspicious. This man is the culprit.

Is it fine to call him the culprit?

I’m no famous detective, nor a good person.

There's accumulated frustration from before, and even if this man isn't the culprit, it doesn't matter anymore.

If he's not the real one, I'll find the true perpetrator and kill them later.

Manipulating the invisible threads woven throughout the city.

Too fine to be seen, they slip through gaps in windows and enter rooms unnoticed.

Gently wrapping around the man's foot without detection.

Now, initiating the venomous attack.

The poison is most effective when internalized, but even contact inflicts minor damage.

The man's status is that of an ordinary civilian—slightly weaker, in fact. My super-strong venom attack will be sufficient even through mere contact.

The man stumbles and collapses.

No attempt to break the fall. A heavy thud.

Ah, hit the back of the head.

Must hurt.

But he likely won't feel pain anymore anyway.

The servant rushes to the man.

Shakes him desperately, trying to rouse him.

Unfortunately, the man will not wake.

While the servant is shaken, the thread缠绕 on the man’s foot is retracted.

Fufufu.

One must admit it was a perfect assassination.

Few can detect an assassination.

No one will suspect me.

Perfect.

The crime is complete.

Even I must admit, it is beautiful.

Now that the nuisance is gone, time to sleep.

No need to sleep—status effect: sleep is无效—but it is a matter of mood.

Feeling good while sleeping is happiness.

Eat. Sleep.

A healthy life harbors a healthy mind.

Then, good night.

Good morning.

Hmm.

Fresh awakening after finishing a task last night.

Something good might happen today.

What became of that dead old man?

Visiting the mansion where that old man had established his base.

That old man, incidentally, had been using a room in the vampire child’s family residence at the city’s center.

Possessed considerable influence, evidently. Yet power means nothing after death.

Money, honor, authority—none of it matters once life ends.

The interior of the mansion appears disheveled.

A man resembling the vampire child’s father issues commands to servants, exhaustion evident on his face.

Perhaps he’s been awake since after that incident?

After all, a mysterious death occurred in his own mansion.

Awakened in the middle of the night, forced to move without rest.

Hard work, indeed.

Though, among those present, the ones with pallid faces are more striking than the city magistrate’s tired expression.

They are the old man’s retainers.

A face as pale as if on the verge of death.

Incredible.

Humans really can turn that shade of blue.

I've never seen a human face turn that color before—like a comic.

Everyone who's faced me before turned pale, but never this much.

Is the master dead suddenly, and they're being suspected of the crime?

No, that can't be.

If they were present yesterday, suspicion might be understandable, but the others weren't in the room, and no one else has a reason to be this pale.

Do they think they're next to die?

That could be possible, but it's been a full night with no incident—shouldn't they be calmer by now?

Every time the city magistrate speaks to them, they flinch and mutter something in panic.

Seriously, what happened?

Just the master's death wouldn't cause such a reaction.

It's concerning.

But I can't understand the words, so I can't grasp the details.

Hmm.

Not understanding language is inconvenient.

It'd have been nice if D had put in a bit more effort and added a language translation function.

The fact that only system-related terms are translated is frustrating.

Well, if even system terms were in this world's language, we'd be in trouble. So I should be grateful for that, I suppose.

If I keep monitoring the city's surveillance daily, I might eventually understand it, but I don't know when that 'eventually' will come.

For now, I’ve only grasped a few words.

Mostly names of sweets and fruits.

At this rate, it’ll take at least a year.

Ah, how many days is a year in this world, anyway?

I don’t even know that.

Hmm.

Is there a way to learn the language quickly?

It’d be nice if there were a skill like that.

But there isn’t.

And as I was thinking such thoughts, a sudden celestial voice (temporary designation) echoed.

『Individual, Zana Holowa, integrated with individual, Queen Taretect.』

Yes?