The Philanthropist Wearing an Angel’s Skin
When I descended lightly from the warehouse beams, the air in the room froze solid.
Prince Dogorgon’s eyes turned into dots.
As for the giant bodyguard, Nagaku, he immediately placed a hand on the hilt of his greatsword, watching me with the wary eyes of someone facing a wild beast.
There’s no need to be that cautious.
A cute little duchess just showed up, you know? Normally this is where you relax and put your weapons down.
“... Y-You… it can’t be…”
His Highness Dogorgon blinked as if staring at something unbelievable.
The dim lantern light illuminated my hair.
“From the House of Kleinert… Alice, is it?”
Ah, so you recognized me after all?
Even though I’d undone my disguise, we’d only exchanged greetings once at a royal-hosted party. I’d thought there was no way he’d remember the face of a six-year-old child—but apparently my cuteness is the kind you never forget once you’ve seen it. Mmm, how sinful of me.
As if pinching up the hem of a dress, I gracefully lifted the edge of my black cloak.
“Good evening, Prince Dogorgon-sama. It’s an honor to see you on such a lovely late night.”
Smile.
A perfect curtsy fit for royalty.
Behind me lay rolling corpses and a grotesque shadow monster.
Yep. A combination this mismatched is basically modern art, right?
“W-Why… why is a child like you here!?”
Prince Dogorgon shouted in agitation.
“What is the ducal house thinking!? Letting a sheltered young lady wander alone at this hour of the night!”
A perfectly reasonable argument.
But you see, Your Highness, I’m not a sheltered young lady. I’m a midnight predator.
“Heehee. I was out for a stroll when I heard such lively voices.”
“A stroll!? Don’t be absurd!”
Dogorgon flushed bright red and shot a look toward Nagaku at his side.
“Nagaku! Seize her! We cannot allow a witness to roam free!”
Oh? Straight to force, are we?
The giant called Nagaku drew his massive greatsword with ease.
Level 64 killing intent pierced my skin.
… Yep. Scary, scary.
If I fought him head-on, I might end up minced meat.
Which is exactly why…
I flipped the board over with the most innocent voice I could muster.
“Oh my? Is that really wise, Your Highness?”
Tilting my head slightly, I looked up at him from beneath my lashes.
“You may kill me if you like… but wouldn’t that invalidate your contract with that ‘black gentleman’ over there?”
“… What?”
I pointed at the shadow monster floating in the air, the spirit of the evil dragon.
“He said so himself, didn’t he? ‘I shall grant my Blessing to the one who kills with the least guilt.’”
I took a step forward.
“That makes this a contest, right? And if that’s the case, the more participants there are, the better the chances of finding a superior ‘vessel.’ … To eliminate a participant just because your odds of winning shrink?”
I placed a hand to my lips and narrowed my eyes pityingly.
“For someone who claims to possess the vessel of a king… that’s rather… ‘small,’ don’t you think?”
“Wha…!?”
Apparently I’d struck home. Dogorgon’s face twisted in fury.
Provocations like this work wonders on prideful royalty-sama.
“Y-You dare mock me!?”
“Perish the thought. I’m merely worried that people might misunderstand and think Your Highness is… ‘small-minded.’”
I pressed both hands to my mouth and lowered my brows theatrically.
A flawless performance of a “concerned maiden.”
“After all, if word got out that you avoided competing against a six-year-old child… people might assume you ran away because you weren’t confident in your own talent as a villain, you know~?”
“S-Silence!!”
Dogorgon screeched.
At that moment, the shadow of the evil dragon, who had been silently observing, let out a low chuckle.
[…Kukuku. How amusing.]The shadow wavered and looked down at me.
[You do not even tremble before me… Very well. Grant that child the right to challenge as well.]“B-But! What could such a child possibly accomplish!?”
Dogorgon protested, but the evil dragon cast him a frigid gaze.
[Do you admit that your vessel is inferior to this child’s?]“T-That is…!”
Checkmate.
A man made of pride could never admit that. Dogorgon ground his teeth and glared at me resentfully.
“… Hmph. Very well. She will surely break down crying and flee soon enough.”
Permission granted.
I pumped my fist inwardly.
All right! Now I get to enter this amazing-sounding contest that I don’t actually understand at all!
But the evil dragon’s shadow was still eyeing me suspiciously.
[…However, girl. Words are cheap.]A pressure like the depths of hell settled onto my small shoulders.
[I have watched countless heroes and countless villains. Those who speak of cruelty with ease, yet when they grasp a blade their hands tremble and their eyes waver like common rabble.]The evil dragon’s aura stirred an instinctive, biological fear.
An ordinary human might have wet themselves under that gaze alone.
—Shlk.
A wet sound echoed through the warehouse.
The evil dragon’s words cut off.
At some point, a dagger had appeared in my hand.
At my feet lay one of the drugged underlings who had been groaning earlier.
The blade was buried deep in his neck.
A single efficient strike that severed carotid artery and windpipe in an instant.
Fresh blood sprayed like a fountain, staining my white cheek red.
The man died before he could even scream.
—Ding!
[Level Up! You have reached Level 32]As the fanfare rang in my mind, I pulled the knife free and flicked the blood from the corpse.
“… Eh?”
Prince Dogorgon let out a foolish little sound.
Nagaku’s eyes widened as if witnessing the impossible.
And the evil dragon’s shadow, clearly shaken, wavered visibly.
[………… Wh…]I wiped the blood from my cheek with a fingertip and licked it clean.
The taste of iron.
Then I tilted my head with a dazzling smile.
“I’m sorry, Ojisan. It sounded like your story was going to be long, so I couldn’t wait.”
The evil dragon’s shadow shuddered violently.
Ah… is he recoiling from me? If so, that’s kind of mean.
“Eh? What do you mean…? I just killed him.”
I answered blankly.
What an obvious question.
The evil dragon groaned.
His voice had shed all dignity now, trembling like an old man frightened of some unknown lifeform.
It was as if he was desperately trying to analyze not my actions, but my “inner self”, and encountering a fatal error.
[I have lived for three thousand years! I have seen countless humans! Even conquerors who slew their parents and seized thrones had hands that trembled with fear of retribution when gripping a blade!]Heat, and unmistakable terror, began to seep into his words. His shadowy body shook so violently it struggled to maintain form.
[Even madmen who carved apart their beloved and drank their blood would flare their pupils like beasts, panting in obscene excitement at the moment of killing! Even saints who massacred tens of thousands for a cause had souls that screamed between guilt and duty!]The evil dragon roared.
It was a primal rejection, a scream against the fact that the “obvious truths” of life no longer applied.
[But you possess none of that! No fear, no sorrow, not even a sense of mission!]His crimson eyes peered into my abyss, and froze.
[What lies there is… absurdly enough, “innocent fulfillment”!]His voice shook as if staring at something incomprehensible.
[Like a child who has found the toy she has long sought! Or a farmer harvesting wheat from a bountiful field! You ended a life with such brightness, and such joy!]His gaze was locked onto my smile.
Reflected there was not a blood-starved beast, but something far more alien. Something harder to grasp.
[…I do not understand. I cannot understand your existence at all…!]He spoke as if fearing an unknown beyond comprehension.
[What are you seeing? Beyond those corpses, what are you finding that makes you smile? To your eyes, what kind of “scene” is this world… this act of taking a life…!?]Ehh, if you put it like that, it’s embarrassing.
But I suppose you’re not wrong.
Because to me, this world is a game.
Does a player tremble over the “weight of life” every time they defeat a slime in a game?
No, right?
Experience points gained. Lucky. Everyone happy.
Just a fun little routine task.
The evil dragon swallowed audibly, as if brushing against some forbidden truth.
[To you… what is killing?]The warehouse fell silent.
Prince Dogorgon-sama and Nagaku both held their breath, waiting for my answer.
What is killing?
If you suddenly ask me that…
… Hmm.
In this world, there’s really only one answer.
As I brushed the blood from my skirt, I smiled gently, like a saint, benevolent and kind.
“If I had to say…”
I spoke with wholehearted goodwill.
“Helping people, I suppose♡”
That’s right.
If you die, you get to log out, don’t you?
I’m sending them back from this nightmare death game to the warm real world.
What volunteer work could possibly be more noble or filled with compassion than that?
I’m saving them.
While receiving experience points as my little reward.
I spread my arms wide and flashed a triumphant grin.
Maybe the blood on my cheeks was running like tears, but right now, I must have been shining brilliantly.
At the edge of my vision, I saw Prince Dogorgon-sama recoil with a small shriek, “Hih.”
Evil Dragon Ojisan’s shadow wavered wordlessly as well.
… Ahh. I might not even need to wonder. I’ve completely freaked them out.
Watching their reaction, I calmly grasped the situation.
But it couldn’t be helped.
The world we were seeing was fundamentally different.
To them, this was the one and only “reality.” Life was heavy; death was eternal.
But to me?
This was a tasteless virtual space created by a “bad AI.” Death was salvation. Killing was delightful leveling.
When the fundamental premises diverge this much, understanding each other is impossible.
“So then, Ojisan?”
I tilted my head and asked innocently,
“Which of us gets the prize for the contest?”
What do you think about this chapter?
