#18: Chapter 18 — Leveling M*rderer – If I Don’t Kill Someone Once a Week, I’m Going To Die, so I’d Rather Do Good Than Evil~ (WN)

I hadn’t been able to sleep a single wink last night.

It was only natural, seeing as I thought I’d received true-feeling chocolates from the person I liked, only to nearly get killed right after.

This was truly the definition of going from heaven to hell.

Putting on my suit, I left the house a whole hour earlier than usual.

When I opened the office door, the only employee inside raised their head, and,

“Morning…!!?”

They froze with their eyes and mouth wide open.

“Good morning. You’re early today, Hosotani-san.”

“—W-W-Why…!”

That employee was Hosotani-san.

“Why am I alive, you mean?”

“W-My chocolate… you should have eaten it…”

Her face was pale and her voice shook.

Looking closely, her hands seemed to be trembling too, though surely not just from the cold.

Right at that moment,

“Brrr, it’s freezing, o-yo. Oh, you two are early this morning. What’s up?”

A senior employee walked into the office.

“Good morning. Both Hosotani-san and I thought we’d make up for taking yesterday morning off, so we came in early.”

“Oh, I see. Good work.”

The senior employee sat down at a desk further inside.

Stealing a glance to ensure the senior employee wasn’t looking, I crouched down and whispered softly right into Hosotani-san’s ear.

“Hosotani-san, let’s change locations for a moment.”

“—F-Fine.”

Leading Hosotani-san, who looked visibly terrified, I headed up toward the rooftop.

The scene changed to the company rooftop.

In the dead of winter, there was practically no employee who would ever come up to a place like this, making it a spot where we could talk with peace of mind.

“D-Didn’t you eat the chocolate I gave you…?”

“Don’t look at me with such caution. If I intended to kill you, I would have done it ages ago.”

“Cough… Answer me! Did you eat it, or didn’t you?!”

Hosotani-san shouted as if to shake off her fear.

Her breath turned instantly white in the freezing air.

“I ate it. And then I almost died.”

“Then why are you still alive?!”

I couldn’t just answer stupidly and honestly that I could use antidote and healing spells.

After all, Akira had warned me about that.

“Well, never mind about that. Next is my turn. How did you know I was a killer?”

“…”

She didn’t answer.

“I answered one of your questions, so Hosotani-san should answer mine, too… or I’ll kill you.”

I had no intention of killing her right now, but the threat seemed to have plenty of effect.

“—My spell—a spell that detects killers. That’s how I knew you were a killer.”

Hosotani-san spoke up honestly.

“A spell that detects killers…”

Now that she mentioned it, Akira had said something about there being a spell like that.

“And so you tried to kill me?”

“Ever since I found out you were a killer, I’ve been walking on eggshells, terrified of when my true identity would be found out! My level is only 6—it’s kill or be killed before I get killed, isn’t it?!”

“Level 6?”

“That’s right. Got a problem with it?”

Meaning Hosotani-san had already killed five people.

I wondered how she’d react if she found out my level was only 4—lower than hers.

However, I didn’t want to reveal my hand just yet. I’d keep quiet for now.

Meeting Hosotani-san’s sharp gaze head-on, I spoke evenly,

“Answer me just one last thing.”

“—What is it?”

“Do you still intend to kill me, Hosotani-san?”

“I don’t even know that myself! More importantly, what about you—do you intend to kill me?!”

After a brief pause, I answered,

“—No, I’m not going to kill you, Hosotani-san.”