I had a dream.
Maybe it was a reality that had already passed.
In the dream, I was showing hallucinations derived from memory to a human wandering near the back alley.
That day’s target was a girl with green hair. She had come last time too, but I had missed her.
She was a girl with considerable talent, so she remained particularly memorable.
To draw her deeper, I leaked whispers.
It was a voice that she could never overlook according to her memories.
As expected, she couldn’t regain her senses from the hallucination I showed her and the whispers I shared.
I caught hold of her as she approached me.
This time, I made sure to catch her so she couldn’t escape. I didn’t have ill feelings towards her, but if I couldn’t eat a human that day, I would be in danger.
Around the time I caught her, another human came into view.
While not as significant as the one I had caught, they too were a remarkably talented individual.
I glanced down and saw a terrified human kneeling. It was a girl with golden hair, calmly laid down.
Should I kill her?
For a moment, I stood there in contemplation.
However…
“Don’t go…”
“…”
Squeak.
The girl with green hair clutched the sleeve of my clothes.
Didn’t I put her to sleep? At such a young age, she had this level of resistance.
I turned my gaze back to Celine. She still had her eyes closed.
Perhaps it was an unconscious action. Was she trying to stop me?
In the end, I decided not to kill the girl with golden hair. After all, it didn’t seem like she had seen my face.
I took Celine and hid deeper in the back alley.
“Goodnight, Celine. Or should I call you Arhene? Your parents didn’t abandon you.”
Arhene, who came from an abandoned village.
Left alone in a remote house, she believed her parents had abandoned her and discarded her previous name.
She was angry at the parents who had given her that name.
But in reality, her parents had died at the hands of monsters and couldn’t reach her.
Poor Arhene.
I decided to make her happy, even if it was just in a dream.
*
Waking up early, I decided to prepare to enter the empire’s underground.
First, I headed to the market to purchase the necessary items.
My funds were okay. I still had plenty of money left from what I stole from the mercenary group.
There might be fierce combat in the empire’s underground, so I bought a few high-grade magic stones and spare weapons.
While I wanted to avoid combat as much as possible, it was for precaution. I hoped I wouldn’t have to use the magic stones.
But there was a problem.
With silver hair and red eyes, I was conspicuously noticeable.
The probability of being born with silver hair among humans is extremely low. The probability of having red eyes is even lower.
While there might occasionally be humans with silver hair or red eyes, there is truly no one else who has both.
You couldn’t find anyone like me even if you searched the entire continent.
Thus, silver hair and red eyes basically meant that I was Celine, a student at the academy. I was like a walking ID.
Usually, red eyes symbolize monsters, but there was a reason people didn’t suspect me of being a monster.
The probability of a monster perfectly mimicking a human while studying at the academy is as low as that of a human being born with silver hair and red eyes.
After all, monsters capable of speaking human language are that rare.
In the end, I was treated as a mutant by humans and similarly in the realm of monsters.
Anyway, I had to do something about this silver hair and red eyes.
While I could just wear contact lenses for my eyes, the hair was a problem. How could I hide that?
“Hmm…”
While passing through the market, I stumbled upon something that looked promising.
“Is this hair dye?”
“Yeah, so what?”
“How long does it last on a single application?”
“As long as you don’t remove it, it’s permanent. Why, do you want to buy one?”
That’s a bit troublesome.
If I wanted to go back to the academy after finishing my work, it would need to wear off quickly or be easily removable.
I asked the shop owner.
“Is there anything that can be easily removed?”
“There’s something like that. Just a moment…”
The pretty brown-haired shop owner replied with a somewhat drawn-out voice and rummaged through the storeroom.
Then she pulled out a blue bottle.
“This is the most easily removable one. It’s a sample made with Frost Flower dye. If you dry it under sunlight for a long time and wash it with water, the color will fade quickly. But it only comes in blue. It’s tough to change natural dyes.”
I dislike sunlight.
But at the moment, I couldn’t afford to be picky.
“Then I’ll take that.”
“Alright, but is this your natural silver hair? It’s the first time I’ve seen it in reality, it’s really beautiful. Can I touch it just once?”
“No.”
“I’ll sell it to you for half price! Frost Flower is a precious material, so it’s more expensive than you’d think, you know? Normally, it’s two for large ones, but I’ll only ask for one from you.”
“……”
What’s so good about a color that only draws unnecessary attention?
Since it wouldn’t wear off just because someone touched it, I accepted her offer.
“Alright then.”
As I stepped forward to make it easier to touch, she placed her hands on my head with a creepy expression.
“Hehe, hehehe, your hair is really lovely… Do you use anything on it?”
“No.”
“You mean this is unmanaged hair? You must have a talent for driving people crazy!”
“I’m just here for the product…”
The sensation of someone touching my hair randomly wasn’t pleasant, as I wasn’t used to it.
I wanted to buy the item quickly and leave, but she didn’t let go easily.
“I’m really sorry, but can I just cut a tiny bit? I feel like I’d get a huge inspiration from it!”
“Can you stop it?”
“I’ll give it to you for free.”
“Hmm.”
Two gold coins could be a whole month’s salary for a commoner in the Central Empire.
Getting that much for a chunk of hair would surely be a good deal. The shop owner rummaged through the storeroom and brought out scissors.
“Hehe, I’ll just cut the ends. How about this much?”
“That’s fine.”
Today, I got my hair cut.
In the end, after receiving the blue hair dye, I bought golden contact lenses to change my eye color.
Curious about how they felt, I tried wearing them right there, and they were stickier than I expected.
At first, my eyes stung, and even tears spilled out, which I hadn’t realized were dry until then.
Each time I closed and opened my eyes, I felt a slight foreign object sensation. This would probably be a sensation I wouldn’t get used to easily.
But there was a good point too.
With my eyes concealed, I couldn’t read people’s memories even when I made eye contact. Of course, I couldn’t show hallucinations either.
Reading memories against one’s will is an incredibly mentally exhausting process.
Overusing that ability would drain my stamina considerably.
Still, my eyes felt uncomfortable enough, so I took them off right away.
There wasn’t any need to wear them at the moment.
Anyway, after buying all the necessary items, I arrived at Leonard’s workshop. I wanted to gather information.
“I’m planning to enter the empire’s underground tonight. Where’s the place where the monsters are trapped?”
“You’re actually going there? Didn’t you listen to what I told you before?”
“They say the empire’s main forces are gathered there.”
“That’s true, but the place you’re aiming for is under Albert’s jurisdiction. If a monster enters, they will definitely die. No, since you’re a mutant, it’s possible you won’t die but could be used as a test subject. Both are equally bad. You’ve heard of him, right?”
Was he that famous?
I had heard that many professors at the academy also did other jobs. Albert was probably the same.
The mana amount I roughly saw in his first class was around 37,000. Lucia, the top first-year student, had around 4,400, so it was undoubtedly an insane figure.
He was a mage who single-handedly defeated the Seed of the Demon King. But I had done the same without worrying too much.
“Unless you’re a monster roughly equivalent to that rumored Back Alley Monster, it’s better to give up.”
“I’m that Back Alley Monster.”
“……?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is it okay for you to tell me that?”
“You won’t remember today’s events anyway.”
There are two ways to erase information. The first is to kill the target, and the second is to erase the target’s memory.
As I possessed the ability to erase memory, I chose the latter path.
Leonard had a face that seemed quite curious about me, but he didn’t particularly like the name Back Alley Monster, so I didn’t feel the need to reply.
After a few rounds of questioning, he stopped inquiring further, understanding that I would not answer.
After all, even if I answered, he would forget it, so he figured it was pointless.
“I was surprised, you’re different from what I imagined.”
“What kind of image did you have in mind?”
“A bit fiercer, scarier-looking?”
“……”
Once I revealed that I was the Back Alley Monster, Leonard began to approach me cautiously. It was only after I indicated I had no intention of attacking that conversation became possible.
In the empire, I seemed to be classified as the worst kind of monster threatening human life, but I wasn’t particularly hostile as long as I wasn’t hungry.
That was my distinction from other monsters. If I weren’t a peculiar creature that could only consume humans, coexistence might have been possible.
Even though I was a monster, I had no intentions of attacking Leonard, who was human. At least, not at that moment.
“You need to go to the Empire headquarters number 13. The security is tight, so be careful.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think so.”
I read his memory to verify the truth of his words.
It didn’t seem like a lie. I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out a gold coin. It was a sort of information fee since he had helped me more than I expected.
“Thank you for the information.”
“It’s me who received the big coin, so no worries.”
Bouncing a gold coin into the air, Leonard skillfully caught it. I assumed someone like him would know how to receive it.
Lastly, I locked eyes with him and erased all memories of me. After all, it didn’t seem likely I would ever meet him again.
I decided to go home and dye my hair.
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