A Cunning Resupply Plan
“Fufu. Just like I thought.”
Late at night, alone in my bedroom.
I spread the newspaper back out on my bed, the very one I’d just tossed aside earlier with a “It’s too hard to reaaad.”
Splashed across the front page was a sensational headline.
“Mysterious Alleyway Deaths! Two Bodies Found Under Suspicious Circumstances!”
According to the article, the victims were thugs infamous around town.
No witnesses. No weapon found. No trace of the culprit. It said their deaths were inexplicable, almost as if they’d been attacked by a ghost.
I smiled, without letting a sound escape, just curling my lips.
In this world, printing technology using the convenient magic known as [Automatic Scribing] was widespread, so newspapers were commonplace even among ordinary citizens.
Thanks to that, I could check my own results, well, my kill log, like this.
“Alright then…”
I neatly folded the newspaper and placed it on the side table.
Status check complete. Next up: future measures.
Thanks to yesterday’s “lost child incident,” the mansion’s security level had gone up.
Even if I begged Father with “I want to go outside again!” like before, he probably wouldn’t allow it now.
In other words, physically “leaving through the front door and going into town” was close to impossible.
And there was an even more serious problem.
For a six-year-old, my level had risen way too much. What if someone used the [Appraisal] skill on me right now?
“Level 27? Skill: [Blessing of the Murderer]? … Ojousama, what in the world is this?”
If that happened, it’d be game over on the spot.
That’s why what I needed now was “armor” to completely hide these abnormal stats, and a set of “legs” to reach town without anyone noticing.
“Alright, let’s go.”
I silently slid down from the bed and pulled out a certain item I’d hidden deep in the closet.
It was a “spare key to the armory” I’d swiped from the control room while borrowing a dagger before.
Back then, I’d crawled through a narrow ventilation shaft leading underground like an inchworm, so I ended up covered head to toe in soot and dust… it was a real pain destroying the evidence in the bath without Sera noticing.
But now, thanks to this spare key, I didn’t need to get dirty anymore.
I muffled my footsteps and slipped out into the hallway.
Carefully avoiding the patrolling guards, I made my way to the armory beneath the mansion.
—Click.
In front of the heavy iron door, the small sound of a key turning echoed.
I slipped inside the armory like a shadow through the narrow opening.
Chilly air.
And the sharp smells of machine oil, rusted iron, and old leather.
From inside my pocket, I took out a lantern containing a magic stone, dimmed to the lowest brightness. Then I fitted my trusty [Monocle of Appraisal] over my left eye.
“Alrighty, time for a treasure hunt!”
I wove between the shelves, appraising every promising item in sight.
As expected of a ducal family’s armory, even a random sword lying around would be worth several gold coins if sold at a shop.
But today, I wasn’t after weapons.
I needed armor to hide my “abnormality” and gain freedom.
After rummaging through small boxes on the shelves for several minutes, my sensor reacted to a single pendant.
A simple pendant: a black gemstone set into a silver base.
[Necklace of Deception] Rarity: SREffect: Status Camouflage
Notes: Displays whatever status values the wearer envisions to the target.
“Alright, this puts my mind at ease for now.”
I slipped the pendant around my neck.
It could pass as a “cute accessory,” and I could keep it on at all times except when bathing. No one would complain about a ducal daughter wearing a pendant or two.
“Still, to think something this useful was just sleeping here, as expected of a ducal family!”
Thinking I should thank my birth for once, I went deeper inside.
In a dusty wooden box at the back of a shelf, I found exactly what I’d been hoping for.
A creepy skull mask made of pure white bone.
The eye sockets were covered with a black, glass-like material.
Effect: Darkvision, Presence Concealment
Notes: Thins the wearer’s very existence, causing them to slip from others’ awareness. Also allows even the deepest darkness to be seen as if it were daytime.
“Ohhh! Amazing! This might be really useful.”
The design sense was the worst, but the performance was flawless.
With this, I could fight in lamp-less alleys like it was broad daylight. And it even blocked presence, what an incredible magic tool!
Alright, that should be enough for armor.
Now, if only I had a magic tool that let me freely go in and out through windows…
I headed to the deepest part of the armory, an area sealed with especially heavy wards.
Beneath a shelf, hidden behind a dust-covered wooden crate, sat a single pair of black lace-up boots.
Short boots with a chic design, made of glossy black leather.
No notable decorations. A plain design you’d expect to see in an ordinary shoe shop.
“Hm? They just look like normal shoes…”
Without thinking much of it, I focused my monocle and activated the appraisal skill.
[Sky-Treading Leather Boots] Rarity: UREffect: Wind-propelled jumping and acceleration, complete silence, automatic size adjustment
Notes: Crafted from leather blessed by the Wind Spirit King, converting the wearer’s mana into propulsive wind.
“… Huh?”
I doubted my eyes, took a second look… no, a third.
“U-UR!?!?”
I nearly shouted, hastily clapping both hands over my mouth.
My heart hammered wildly.
UR, true top-tier rarity, surpassing even SSR and SSSR.
A broken item that only a handful existed of in the entire world, the kind classified as a “national treasure” or “mythical-grade.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me… why is something this national-treasure-level just lying around here so casually… what is up with my family…?”
How terrifying the ducal armory is.
With trembling hands, I lifted the boots. They looked exactly like mass-produced leather shoes.
“… Ah, but maybe that’s actually perfect.”
I snapped to attention and grinned.
The performance was absurd, but the appearance stayed within the realm of “slightly nice leather shoes.”
If I wore these every day, no one would bat an eye.
“Alright! My ultimate personal loadout, complete!”
I hugged these outrageous treasures to my chest.
Now then, back to my room, I’ve got a fashion show to start!
◆◇◆
Back in my room, I immediately equipped the items and began my fashion show.
I threw on a thick black cloak I’d pulled from the back of the closet.
Pulling the hood low, I put on the [Phantom Mask] I’d just acquired. It covered my eyes, yet strangely my vision felt perfectly normal.
Around my neck went the [Necklace of Deception].
And on my feet, the black leather [Sky-Treading Leather Boots] that melted into the darkness.
The moment I slipped my feet inside, the leather tightened with a soft kyu sound, clinging to my small feet like it was custom-made. A perfect fit.
I stood before the mirror.
Reflected there was no trace left of a delicate ducal young lady.
Wrapped in jet-black robes, face hidden behind a skull mask… death itself. The stance was unadorned, overflowing with pure functional beauty meant solely for harvesting lives efficiently.
“… Ku, kukuku.”
I laughed, shoulders shaking, at my reflection.
“I am shadow. The stronger the light, the deeper and darker the judging gloom that pools at its feet…”
I struck a pose.
My right hand raised before my face, glaring into the void through the gaps in my fingers.
Cool.
Too cool, me!
This is it, this is it! If you’re going to be the ultimate player killer, you need a creepy skin like this!
Anyone who sees this would never dream the one inside is a six-year-old girl!
“Hmph. Tremble in your sleep, you villains…”
At that point, I suddenly came back to my senses.
I stared at myself in the mirror. Skull mask. Black cloak. Over-the-top pose.
… Wait. Objectively speaking, isn’t this bad?
I’ve just become a weirdo cosplaying a character straight out of a chuunibyou black-history notebook!
“Ugh…! Th-this is embarrassing…!”
I could feel my face burning red.
Even if no one was watching, I’d gone all-in saying stuff like “judging gloom”!
“B-but! This is necessary equipment! It’s not like I like this kind of thing or anything! I’m just prioritizing specs!”
I desperately rattled off excuses to the empty room.
Right. Exactly. I just chose the optimal solution to clear this world, and this is how it turned out.
“Ahem.”
I gave an exaggerated cough and pulled myself together.
Finally, from a hidden spot in the closet, I took out the “blackened dagger” I’d been maintaining for a while and strapped it to the belt beneath my cloak.
Now, preparation was complete.
An everyday necklace, a mask for stealth, a dagger for combat, and magic boots as the key to mobility.
The black shadow reflected in the mirror.
There was not a single fragment left of an adorable ducal young lady, only pure, efficient functionality designed to reap lives.
That figure was unmistakably… the very embodiment of the “Grim Reaper” who ruled the night.
What do you think about this chapter?
