A Devilish Presentation
A heavy silence filled the warehouse.
At my feet lay the corpse of the guard knight Nagaku, split cleanly in two.
And in front of me was the Third Prince, Dogorgon Lagract, who had collapsed to the floor, trembling violently.
Enjoying the lingering sensation of the black shadow wrapped around my fingertips, the aftereffects of the Blessing of the Evil Dragon, I slowly walked toward His Highness.
Clack. Clack.
The soft footsteps of my Sky-Treading Leather Boots echoed like a countdown to the execution platform.
“Hii…!”
Prince Dogorgon crawled backward across the floor.
His face was pale like a wax doll, cold sweat pouring down him like a waterfall.
Yeah, that’s understandable.
The evil dragon he had been relying on got eaten by me, and his strongest guard was turned into something like sliced cheese in an instant. Poor thing.
“Well then, Oniisama?”
I tilted my head cutely and smiled sweetly.
“I won’t give you time to beg for your life… but if it’s a last message, I might listen?”
Come on, turn into experience points.
Just as I raised my right hand to form a blade of shadow…
“W-Wait!! Wait, Alice!!”
Prince Dogorgon shouted in a shrill voice.
He desperately steadied his breathing, forced his trembling knees to move, and staggered to his feet.
Oh?
I thought for sure he’d start crying and begging for mercy, but he’s got more guts than I expected.
“… Hear me out. Killing me won’t be too late even after you’ve heard what I have to say.”
Though his face was twisted with fear, he struggled to keep the light of reason alive in his eyes.
I stopped my raised hand and widened my eyes with interest.
“A story? Hmm… I kinda want to level up quickly, though.”
“You won’t lose anything! …Listen carefully. Think about this calmly, Alice von Kleinert!”
Prince Dogorgon started speaking rapidly, almost as if convincing himself.
“You are strong. I admit that. Abnormally strong. But… what happens if you kill me here?”
“What happens…? I feel refreshed and get experience points, I guess?”
“E-Experience… points?”
Prince Dogorgon stared at me like he’d just seen something impossible, speechless.
Huh? Is that so strange?
Ah, right.
By this world’s common sense, leveling up comes from hunting monsters or training. Gaining levels by killing people, that privilege belongs only to my Blessing of the Murderer.
The prince’s face twisted further with fear.
Ah, I know that look.
That’s the face of someone realizing I’m not a noble young lady you can reason with, but a “predator” wearing human skin.
“… Ugh…!”
His throat wheezed loudly.
His lips trembled as he tried to shout something.
Probably insults like “monster” or “you’re insane.”
… But.
At the last possible moment, the prince clamped his mouth shut.
I heard the sound of him swallowing something down.
Oh?
I felt a little impressed.
Normally people would scream and run away here, or fly into a rage and start yelling.
But he held it in. Well, anyone with half a brain knows insulting the person you’re about to negotiate with will ruin the negotiation.
Yeah, yeah. I don’t dislike that kind of guts.
Hang in there! Fight on!
“… I see. So that’s it. That’s how you became strong.”
The prince forced a strained smile, pretending to accept my madness.
His voice was shaking, but it passed.
“Hehe, yep! Honestly, I didn’t really want to level up like this either, but thanks to my Blessing there’s no more efficient method, so I had no choice…”
“… Y-Yes. It’s very efficient.”
Prince Dogorgon nodded repeatedly, sweat pouring down his face.
Trying desperately not to upset me, he inhaled deeply.
“B-But! …Listen, Alice. Why don’t we expand that discussion of efficiency a little further?”
As if trying to shake off his own fear, the prince began talking quickly.
“Think about it. If you kill me here and gain experience points, what happens to you afterward?”
He raised his voice.
“I may be rotten, but I am still royalty! The Third Prince of this country! If I am discovered as a ‘mysterious corpse,’ how do you think the kingdom will react!?”
I placed a hand on my chin.
“… It would cause a huge uproar, probably.”
“Exactly! A nationwide investigation will begin! The Royal Court Magicians, the Knight Orders, and even spies from neighboring countries will move!”
Watching my reaction, Prince Dogorgon stepped forward and pressed on.
“If it is discovered that you are the culprit, you will have the entire authority of the nation as your enemy! No matter how strong you are, do you think you can continue living as the same ‘elegant duchess’ as before!?”
…!
My eyebrow twitched.
“Can you guarantee you will erase every trace of killing me? Can you truly say there are absolutely no witnesses? You never know where your crime might be exposed!”
True.
I went a little wild tonight. Who knows what might lead back to me.
“And if you are suspected of being the culprit… the House of Kleinert will be stripped of its title. Your father, your mother, the servants… all of them will be sent to the execution platform as ‘relatives of a royal murderer’!!”
Prince Dogorgon’s argument was painfully accurate.
I quickly ran a risk calculation in my head.
Right now I’m protected by the social position of “Alice.”
A fluffy bed. Delicious sweets. Sera’s heavenly massages. And most importantly, the strongest disguise imaginable, the title of “duke’s daughter,” which lets me gather information without raising suspicion.
If I kill him here and become a wanted criminal, I lose all of that.
Living in the forest. Sleeping outdoors. Drinking muddy water while endlessly dealing with pursuers…?
… Ugh. No thanks.
That’s nothing but a trash game.
“… I see. Killing you really would have terrible cost performance, Oniisama.”
When I crossed my arms and muttered that, hope suddenly lit up on Prince Dogorgon’s face.
Seeing his chance, he changed his tone.
Suppressing his fear, he spoke with the sweet temptation of a devil, the negotiation skills of royalty.
“Exactly. Alice, you are a clever child. In that case, wouldn’t the ‘optimal solution’ be for you to join hands with me here?”
“Join hands?”
“Yes! If you keep me alive, there is no disadvantage for you! On the contrary… once I become king… I will treat you generously as the ‘Shadow Ruler’ of this country!”
Prince Dogorgon spread his arms and spoke passionately.
“You are wasting that power, aren’t you? Playing the perfect young lady in public while secretly starving for blood and violence behind the scenes… am I wrong?”
Oh?
Sharp, Your Highness.
“I can provide you with the ‘best hunting grounds’! Political enemies, criminals, soldiers of other nations… I will use royal authority to provide you with ‘experience points’ you can kill legally!”
… Oh?
My heart wavered a little.
A legal supply of experience points, huh.
So that means I wouldn’t have to sneak around every night looking for bad guys. The prey would just come to me on its own?
“Money, status, honor, slaughter! If you support my path to supremacy, everything you desire will be yours! Well? It’s not a bad offer, is it!?”
Prince Dogorgon panted slightly as he stared into my eyes.
Perfect.
The structure of his logic. The benefits he presented. The proposal for risk avoidance.
No matter how you look at it, it was an incredibly persuasive presentation with almost no room for rebuttal.
Normally speaking, the benefit of killing him here is only “experience points.”
But if I join hands with him, I get “a stable future supply of experience points” and “a peaceful life as a duke’s daughter.”
Short-term profit or long-term investment.
For an efficiency-obsessed gamer, the correct path is obvious.
“… Hmm.”
Resting my hand on my chin, I slowly walked toward him.
Prince Dogorgon swallowed nervously.
In his eyes was the look of a man who believed he had won the gamble of a lifetime, relief mixed with ambition.
“… I expect a wise decision, Alice. We should become the best partners.”
I stopped in front of him and looked up through my lashes.
Then I smiled sweetly.
“Amazing…! As expected of you, Oniisama! That was perfect logic!”
I clapped my small hands together.
“You pinpointed exactly what I want most and used it as your bargaining chip… that truly is the vessel of a king!”
“R-Really!? You understand!”
Prince Dogorgon’s face twisted with joy.
“Of course! We are comrades! Together we shall seize this country… no, the world!”
He extended a trembling hand toward me.
A hand asking for a handshake.
If I take it, the contract is sealed.
I would become the future king’s secret weapon, living a safe yet blood-soaked, wonderful gamer life.
Yeah.
Logically speaking, that’s the perfect answer.
And so, I reached out my small hand toward the large hand he had offered.
What do you think about this chapter?
