IPBT 07

Chapter 7

Before I explain what I did, let’s turn back the clock a little.

Nothing happened while I was hiding in the maids’ quarters.

Was I relieved?

Not in the slightest. If anything, it felt like the calm before a storm.

Night finally fell amid that deeply unsettling peace. Time for the home invader to get up and collect some coins.

Just in case, I erased any traces I might have left behind, gathered my belongings, and left the room.

For now, I wasn’t using my Invisibility Pass because I wanted to save every last second of it. However, I kept it ready to activate the instant I needed it.

Also, twenty-four hours had passed, so my Light on Your Feet and Quiet as a Mouse passes had expired. Of the two, I repurchased the latter.

Originally, I’d had so many complaints about Quiet as a Mouse that I wasn’t going to buy it again, but….

[Quiet as a Mouse — 1-Day Pass ver. 2 | 1 Coin]

[For 24 hours after activation, reduces all sounds made by the user to a level so low that even a person with exceptionally sensitive hearing cannot hear them.]

The system had upgraded Quiet as a Mouse while I was asleep.

On top of that, the Mascot went into full-on sales mode.

—And that’s not all~!

[Celebratory Double-Duration Event for the Quiet as a Mouse Pass!]

The twenty-four hours in the item description had changed to forty-eight.

Why are you guys so desperate?

—Ah! Just trust me this one time!

In the end, I gave in and bought only Quiet as a Mouse again.

The two passes had similar effects to begin with, and Light on Your Feet had been so inconspicuous that I couldn’t even tell whether it was doing anything.

Just before leaving the annex, I activated my Invisibility Pass. I couldn’t see anyone nearby, but that didn’t mean I could assume no one was there.

Actually, I should be fine without Light on Your Feet, right?

When I looked back at the path I’d taken, there were no footprints.

—Exactly! If you have to choose between the two, Quiet as a Mouse is obviously the way to go~! You made an excellent purchase, dear customer~! You’re practically our ideal customer!

The mansion was so enormous that it took me over five minutes to walk through it. Fortunately, I didn’t run into a single person on the way to the quest location.

As I passed the first day’s section of the quest, the notification window appeared.

[Quest: Chapter 1–1 — Ainsworth Mansion, Main Building, First-Floor Corridor]

[GAME START]

[RUN!]

This was the third time I’d seen it, but it was still pointlessly cheerful.

Unlike yesterday, there was now space behind me starting from Day Two, so I walked carefully, keeping an eye on every direction.

Wait, doesn’t each day of the quest cover roughly ten meters? That would be a hundred meters over ten days. This corridor doesn’t look anywhere near that long, does it?

—Huhhh? I dunno! Why think about something so complicated~!

Just as the Mascot said, I’d leave the trivial stuff to the system and get on with collecting coins.

Since I was invisible and had no fear of being discovered, I quickly picked up the coin and waited for the hiding spot indicator to appear.

Clomp, clomp, clomp.

But today, the footsteps of the guards came before the hiding spot lit up.

So it’s not just one person again.

—Ahem….

It had actually picked up on my pointed remark.

The footsteps gradually drew closer, a little heavier than those of the servants the previous day.

Soon, just like on Day One, a side table and a door began to glow, so I entered the room again.

Then I positioned myself near the window, ready to flee if necessary.

To be honest, I’d planned to hang outside the window again today, but the guards arrived too quickly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Worse, they flung every door wide open, leaving me no time to open the window and get out.

Of course, with my Quiet as a Mouse pass, I could open the window without making a sound.

However, it couldn’t cover noises beyond my control, like the sound of the wind. I decided not to take any unnecessary risks.

Still, wouldn’t it be better to get out and deal with the situation rather than wait here?

The moment I finished weighing my options and moved my foot, a man and a woman entered the room I was in.

No good….

They split up, each taking one side of the room and searching as they walked along the walls.

“This is definitely where the sound came from….”

What?

—Gasp?!

Sure, sounds carried better at night, but had they really heard the tiny noise I’d made opening and closing the door?

Hey. Didn’t you say it was upgraded?

—W-Well… Ahem! Maybe it doesn’t work on knights who’ve been trained beyond the point of being merely sensitive! I don’t know either!

The Mascot babbled in a panic, then vanished in a flash.

I don’t even have the energy to curse anymore….

I stared blankly at the spot where the Mascot had been, then pulled myself together.

Whether that cowardly little black bean was beside me or not, nothing was going to change.

It hadn’t even told me to stall for time this time. Maybe I really was on my own.

Ah, but what do I do? If they’re that sensitive, they might even hear my heartbeat.

What would happen if I got caught this time?

Last time, I’d worn a mask and concealed my hair color, so they hadn’t seen anything that could clearly identify me.

However, I’d worn tight-fitting clothes for mobility, so it would be easy enough to deduce that I was the same person as the previous intruder based on my build alone.

That meant I absolutely could not turn off my Invisibility Pass, not even by accident.

But am I really sure nobody can see me?

Quiet as a Mouse had made me lose faith in the system’s items.

I slowly crossed the center of the room, keeping the two knights under close watch. Just like on the first day after possessing this body, I placed one careful step after another.

The knight stopped where I’d been standing moments earlier and muttered, “Something feels off….”

At once, both knights seemed convinced that something was in the room and began searching frantically.

They definitely couldn’t see me, yet somehow I felt like I was being herded into a corner.

This was way too nerve-racking. I needed to hurry up, even if only a little.

Until now, I’d been moving as slowly as a snail. With that decision made, I picked up the pace slightly.

I backed toward the door without taking my eyes off the knights.

Then, just for a brief moment, I turned my head to check where the door was….

Whoosh!

One of the knights suddenly swung his sword through empty air.

I reflexively crouched and barely dodged the blade.

Holy sh—!

My heart felt like it was about to leap straight out of my throat, and I clamped both hands over my mouth.

The knight stood motionless with his sword extended. The other knight looked at him.

“We’re definitely the only ones here, so why does it feel like someone’s around?”

“More importantly, didn’t you feel a gust of wind just now?”

The instant the second knight finished speaking, both of them turned their gazes toward me as if they’d rehearsed it.

“……Look at this. There are footprints here, as though someone’s standing right here.”

The moment I realized the knight was pointing at the carpet, I bolted.

Caught or not, escaping came first.

I made plenty of noise as I ran, and the knights immediately took off after me.

“Catch them!”

“This way, right?”

Don’t follow me!

I sprinted at full speed, looking back over my shoulder, and promptly crashed into something.

Thud!

“……?!”

Before I could even identify what I’d hit, a hand clamped around my neck and slammed the back of my head against the wall.

Ugh….

With someone choking me and no space behind me, I couldn’t move an inch.

Through my pain-blurred vision, I barely managed to make out the face in front of me.

The landlord…!

The Grand Duke tightened his grip while calmly addressing the knights who’d been chasing me.

“Got them.”

His voice was as relaxed as ever.

I couldn’t even breathe, but apparently that didn’t stop him from taking his sweet time.

I gritted my teeth and swallowed the groan threatening to escape me.

“How many intruders are going to show up? This one seems to be using an artifact, too. I didn’t know an artifact that could render someone invisible had been developed.”

As he spoke to the knights, the Grand Duke shifted his gaze to my face.

From his perspective, he was probably just looking at the approximate location where an intruder’s face ought to be.

That was all it should have been….

Yet it felt as though his eyes met mine directly, piercing straight through me.

“You’re short, with a slender neck and small hands….”

The landlord trailed off as he listed the features he’d deduced about me, then narrowed his eyes. He even loosened his grip a little.

Apparently, he’d decided he could restrain me without exerting himself.

As if he were going easy on me.

In his characteristic languid voice, the Grand Duke spoke to me with what sounded like a mocking laugh.

“I don’t mind staying like this indefinitely, but your artifact has a time limit. Shall we see if you can keep this up all day?”

What the hell are you talking about?

It wasn’t as though I’d just been sitting there doing nothing while he had his hand around my neck.

After desperately trying—and failing—to pry off that hand of stone, I changed tactics and searched through the system shop.

I looked for an item that could create even the smallest opening, but there was a reason I hadn’t bought any of the available options.

They’re expensive!

If I could just get out of his grip, I could buy anything I wanted. But spending several coins just for that seemed like such a waste.

You little black-bean bastard… Are you seriously not going to show up even now?!

—Ding!

[Limited-Time Event Shop Open!]

The system window appeared as if in response.

The Mascot was nowhere to be seen, but the shop had been useful before. I decided to trust it one more time.

Thwack!

I punched the landlord in the face as hard as I could. The Grand Duke had relaxed his arm just enough for me to reach him by the skin of my teeth.

Through my transparent arm, I could see his eyes perfectly clearly.

Indifferent blue eyes. They looked so utterly unconcerned that he didn’t even feel the need to remove my fist from his face.

But he’d made one mistake.

Because this was the item I’d bought!

[(HOT!) Pikachu’s One Million Volts — Single-Use Ticket | 1 Coin]

CRACKLE!