“Hey, hey, you!”
A girl with dog ears spoke to me. She looked about fourteen years old. Just barely on the edge of being a loli.
“Watch out for the sisters, alright? They’ll perform mouth-to-mouth with their lower mouth.”
“What on earth are you talking about!?”
“There’s someone like that in Tristain.”
“Is the neighboring territory that scary!?”
Alright, warning delivered. Good deed done.
“But that’s not what I came here for!”
“No, it’s definitely not something to dismiss. Those lolis are the type that like to touch.”
“Well, yeah, you’re right, but… no, that’s not what I meant! It’s about the thief Rodan!”
Oh, right. She started talking to me because I reacted to Rodan’s name.
“My name is Lilitina. I serve Lord Albedo here at the lord’s mansion.”
Ah, so she’s connected to Albedo.
“Anyway, Lord Albedo is actually looking for the thief Rodan.”
“Him? That old man who eats panties like sashimi?”
“Yeah, the old man who eats panties like sashimi. Apparently, there’s something Lord Albedo wants him to steal.”
“Hmm.”
Thief Rodan. He’s a pervert, but he’s one of the Seven Supreme Beings of humanity. Naturally, he possesses an unconventional forbidden EX skill.
If I recall correctly, his ability is…
“EX Skill: ‘Caspalyrig of the Netherworld ~ The Thorny Flower Blooming in the Night Under the Rose.’ It allows him to completely disappear from this world and be recognized by no one, right?”
“That’s right.”
As far as I know, it’s the ultimate stealth skill.
It’s not just about turning invisible or hiding your scent. When he uses his ability, he completely vanishes from everyone’s memory.
Well, except for me, of course.
“He’s the guy who uses that skill to steal panties left and right. Though, he leaves a lot of money behind, so some victims aren’t sure whether to be happy or angry.”
“Still a pervert, though. Anyway…”
Lilitina looked up at me, wagging her tail. What now?
“Lord Albedo is counting on his ability to retrieve something.”
Oh?
“It’s called the ‘Elixir!’ It’s a sacred royal medicine that can heal any wound, and Lord Albedo hopes to use it to recover her body.”
…Oh?
◆ ◇ ◆
And so, led by the beastman girl Lilitina, I arrived at the lord’s mansion.
“Lord Albedo! I brought someone who’s a friend of that pervert Rodan!”
“Can you stop introducing me like that?”
That introduction is ruining my reputation.
“Lilitina! Did you tell someone else about the ‘Elixir’!?”
The one who stood up from behind the desk was Albedo, a nun with her eyes almost fully closed.
She’s not as bad as the perverted nun Anemone, but she still has some questionable tendencies.
“I told you not to speak of it to anyone…”
“But once they hear why, they’ll definitely help with the search for Rodan!”
“You trust people too easily.”
She said, putting her hand to her head.
Well, trying to steal the Elixir from the royal family is a major crime, even just planning it.
“Seems like you’re struggling with your subordinates.”
“And you are… wait, Jade!?”
“Oh, you finally recognized me.”
I had spoken briefly with her in the past, while in my Jade form, when I came to this town.
Yet she didn’t recognize me at first glance.
Was my impression that weak, or…
“Are your eyes really that bad?”
“…Yes.”
She placed her hands over her eyes. “The disease in my eyes has been progressing,” she murmured sadly.
“Thanks to the introduction of Lady Sara, the Dark Lady, Lord Iscal has provided us with various technological support. Thanks to that, the town has been completely transformed, and we’ve gained access to excellent people and the latest academic knowledge. My body, once covered in old wounds, has been feeling much better lately.”
“Glad to hear it.”
I had ordered Callisto to give them everything, from medicine to nutritional science. Knowledge only spreads when it’s shared.
“But my eye disease seems to be beyond help now…”
“I see. So that’s why you’re after Rodan, to have him steal the ‘Elixir’ from the royals.”
“Yes. I take it you’ve heard everything from her…”
She looked at Lilitina with a hint of embarrassment.
Lilitina, however, despite her obvious panic, simply bowed her head and said, “Sorryyyy!” It seemed she wasn’t taking things too seriously—but my ‘Evil Dragon Ears’ caught it.
“…Should I erase them…?” came the murderous whisper caught in Albedo’s throat. Scary.
“Wow, so you actually know Albedo-sama? Small world!” Lilitina exclaimed.
“Y-Yeah.”
Lilitina, seriously, pay attention. You’re about to be wiped off the face of the earth.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name’s Jade, a Rank 3 adventurer from Tristain.”
“What?! Rank 3!? I thought you’d be better considering your height! You need to step it up!”
She slapped my back hard. Wow, that’s infuriating.
“I-I apologize for Lilitina! This girl really has no manners.”
“It’s fine. She wasn’t around before, but did you hire her after becoming a lord?”
“Yes, well, various things happened.”
Hmm, it makes sense to have more aides as you rise in status, but why hire a ‘beastkin’?
“Sharp observation, Jade-san! Actually, I was part of an assassination organization! We were hired by the former lord’s relatives to kill Albedo-sama!”
“Lilitina!?”
“But it turns out she was crazy strong! She wiped everyone out! Oh, and by the way, she also killed the former lord and his family! Although, apparently, there was a hidden child, and that person…”
“LILITINA!!!”
…Wow, she just spilled the entire story behind the lord’s overthrow.
“Hey, Albedo, you know beastkin are strong but kinda dumb by default, right? Though, this kid seems more clueless than dumb.”
Beastkin. In most fantasy worlds, they’re often persecuted, but here they’re pitied.
The reason is simple. Beastkin are born from women who’ve been defiled by ‘demi-human monsters.’
This girl’s head and tail are canine-like. Her father was probably a werewolf, or something like that.
“I’m not trying to be racist, but why’d you hire her?”
“Uh… I just felt sorry for her and thought it was the right thing to do as a Sister…”
“Enough with the goody-goody act. Tell me the truth.”
“Ugh!?”
Her lady-like expression contorted. Your mask is falling apart, girl.
“Ugh… Fine. Given that I rose to power through illegitimate means, I figured I might be targeted again in the future. Since beastkin are stupid but loyal if you treat them well, I thought she’d make a good bodyguard.”
“Wow, she just admitted it all.”
I see. Lilitina, relatively speaking, is smart.
Some beastkin can’t even speak, so she’s a good find, in that regard.
“Wait, what!? I thought I was saved out of mercy or something!?”
“No, you weren’t. I hired you because I don’t know if I can fend off the next assassination attempt with my failing eyesight. I just happened to find a suitably dumb but instinctively capable meat shield.”
“A meat shield!?!”
Wow, she’s really not holding back.
At this point, there’s only one way this can go.
“And yet you… You went and said all those unnecessary things…! I never intended to tell you about the Elixir theft…!”
“Well, I couldn’t help it! Albedo-sama, you were mumbling in your sleep about ‘hiring some Rodan scum and getting the Elixir’!”
“Oh, so you’ve been sharing a bed?”
“Shut up, both of you!!”
Oh, she’s finally snapped.
“I should’ve killed you back then! You and Jade, just get out of my sight!”
Albedo’s tone shifted, becoming that of a ‘murderer.’
Invisible knives appeared around us, their tips aimed at us.
Lilitina didn’t seem to notice, just standing there, teary-eyed and confused.
“Uh, Albedo-sama?! I-I was only trying to help you!”
“Shut up, mutt!”
The demon woman’s shout drowned out her servant’s tearful plea.
“After seeing the adventurers from Tristain, I remembered my dream! I want to get stronger! Stronger and stronger until I become like the Dark Dragon, a being that doesn’t need to bow to anyone, and live my life on my own terms! That’s why I became a lord, to gain money and skills…!”
Her eyes opened wide, pupils clouded with rage as she glared at Lilitina.
“Because of you, everything’s ruined! You and that Jade over there can both dieeeeee!!”
Countless blades were unleashed. As Lilitina muttered a final, “Sorry…”, realizing she was really about to die, I spoke up.
“That’s enough.”
“!?”
In 0.02 seconds, I shattered all the blades.
“What…!? My ‘Faceless Thousand Blades’…!?”
“Hey.”
I sat down on the guest sofa and gestured for Albedo to do the same.
“Take a seat.”
“What?”
“Sit.”
“!!”
It seemed Albedo was quite perceptive. She noticed the subtle pressure—an implication that I’d kill her if she didn’t comply—and, sweating, sat down across from me.
“Looks like you’ve calmed down. Now then…”
Let’s have a useful conversation, shall we?
