Chapter 6 | The Assassin Puts On a Disguise
We were flying to the capital on our hang gliders, moving much more swiftly than we would have on the road.
A trip to the royal capital by carriage required days. Quick information and movement were what gave me the edge on my opponents.
At some point, the pleasant flight began to make me feel a bit mischievous.
“I’m gonna try the spell you created, Dia,” I stated.
Her spell used a system built on sound logic that ejected pressurized air heated by flames to gain extreme acceleration. That Dia created this with no prior knowledge of jet propulsion showed her incredible sense for magic.
I would be able to make even better use of it, however.
“Be careful. I didn’t like the sound the hang glider made when I tried it. You can use wind magic, so I doubt the hang glider would hold if you went all out,” Dia warned.
“I’m calculating the intensity carefully,” I assured her.
I’d made the hang gliders as light as possible so they offered the least resistance when accelerated with wind magic. There was a bit of leeway, but if I went above the top velocity the glider could handle, there would be a risk of damage.
“Did you already finish your version of the spell?” Dia inquired.
I nodded. “Yeah, before we left.”
It seemed like it would come in handy, so I’d put together a modified version of Dia’s formula.
I’d made two revisions. The first was to use wind magic to gather the air around me more efficiently. The second was to add a non-elemental spell to cover the hang glider in a coating that shielded it from the propulsive force.
I called the revised bit of magic Thruster.
It would come in handy for both travel and battle. The high-pressure gas I expelled would be extremely lethal, and it would enable me to perform powerful attacks while moving at very high speeds.
It was time to test Thruster out.
I used Multi-Chant to twine together fire and wind mana, then finished the incantation for Thruster and activated the spell.
We accelerated with astounding speed, our faces distorting from the wind pressure. We were moving ridiculously fast. It felt so good that I could see myself getting addicted to it.
I ended Thruster just a few seconds later. Any more and I worried the glider might fall apart.
“This spell is incredible,” I said.
“Ah-ha-ha, that was amazing! That’s what happens when you combine my work with wind magic and your outrageous mana capacity,” Dia cheered.
“It seems that way… I’ll have to redesign the hang glider so I can make effective use of this.”
I would need to increase its sturdiness enough to withstand the incredible velocity, even if it made it heavier. Constructing a frame to handle Thruster made more sense than holding back on the spell’s strength.
“That would be nice, but I don’t think there would be any point if you’re the only one who can use it. Look, we can’t even see Tarte anymore,” Dia said.
“You have a point there.”
I quit using wind magic and switched to just gliding to give Tarte time to catch up. After a short wait, I heard her voice on the radio.
“I lost sight of you after you whooshed ahead… I can’t keep up with that at all…”
It sounded like she was in tears.
As Dia had claimed, Thruster was pointless if we got separated.
Wait, I’m going about this the wrong way.
“Okay, I know what I’ll do. I’ll make a four-person aircraft designed with Thruster in mind.”
I’d initially built gliders instead of an airplane because I couldn’t manage the necessary propulsion and because I could move faster by prioritizing lightness. According to my mental calculations, however, Thruster would allow superior speed even if I increased the aircraft’s weight and designed it for four passengers.
“…What kind of monstrous thing are you going to make? You’re scaring me a little,” Dia commented.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” I answered.
The final product would no longer be a hang glider, but a private jet.
I would need to work out a design.
We landed on the outskirts of the royal capital. I wasn’t the only one in disguise this time; Dia and Tarte were as well. I did their makeup and chose their clothes.
I’d also prepared fake identification papers. We could have gotten into the city using our academy IDs, but our goal with this trip was to win over the witness of my would-be saboteurs. I couldn’t risk anyone realizing that we had visited the royal capital.
Frowning, Dia said, “I don’t like dyeing my hair. I hope you haven’t damaged it.”
“Don’t worry. I took that into account. This is a new Natural You product,” I assured her.
I was very fond of Dia’s silver locks. I would never do anything to harm them.
I had developed this dye as merchandise for my cosmetics brand. There was a demand for hair coloring among the wealthy, both for hiding grays and for achieving more fantastic beauty.
The selling point for all of Natural You’s products was that they were as good for your health as they were for your looks. That was why it reigned as the top company on the market.
I had designed this dye so that it would actually provide care for your hair instead of harm it, and it flew off the shelves after word about it spread.
“That disguise is unbelievable. Everything about you feels different, Lady Dia,” observed Tarte.
Tarte herself had long, straight red hair. I’d used a binder to flatten her chest and gave her the makeup of a pampered lady. She appeared nothing like her usual self. Her easy-to-approach atmosphere was gone, replaced by that of a young woman of noble birth.
After looking at Tarte, Dia checked a mirror.
“…I don’t care too much for the neck up, but would it be bad if I wore the rest of the disguise every day from now on?” she asked.
“Yes. That would bring you no satisfaction,” I answered.
Dia’s hair was black, and she was wearing it up. I used her cosmetics to intentionally dirty her fair skin and give her freckles to give her the appearance of a country girl. By contrast, I dressed her in expensive and gaudy clothes.
Anyone who saw her would think the girl was just some rural person enjoying a trip to the capital.
There wasn’t a trace of her usual noble, doll-like beauty. The facade completely spoiled her good looks. That she was still cute was a testament to her natural fairness.
Dia, however, wasn’t focused at all on her face. She couldn’t take her eyes off her chest, which I had padded to look bigger.
“I can’t believe how real this looks. You should offer this at Natural You. It would definitely sell! I would totally buy this!”
“…Yeah, it probably would.”
Some upper-class women stuffed their busts, but it was always crude and easy to spot. They could fool people to an extent if they wore thick dresses, but the padding felt too different from the real thing. It was unnatural.
However, the lining I’d fashioned, combined with a special bra, made the fake chest look entirely real. The shape and texture were perfect. Even touch wasn’t enough to figure out it was fake. Initially, I’d created the false bust for assassination, without considering the potential sales.
“This is the best. They’re soft, and they even bounce. I love them so much. I can finally say things I’ve always wanted to say! ‘Having a large chest is really hard on my shoulders.’ ‘Running makes them bounce, which is painful and makes me lose my balance.’ ‘These are just a hindrance.’”
Dia looked very satisfied with herself as she complained about her new chest. Despite her gripes, she seemed to be taking great delight in this.
For some reason, Tarte’s face was flushed. I then realized that Dia was mimicking Tarte’s voice.
“Lady Dia, that’s mean! Those are all things that I’ve said!”
“Heh-heh, this is payback. Now you understand the anger and pain the less-endowed feel when they hear those words!”
Dia was a near-perfect human being with one insecurity: the size of her chest. I decided I should let her have her moment.
I worked on my disguise as I watched the two girls banter.
“All right, let’s get going. Be careful not to lose your fake identification. We can’t enter the capital without it,” I announced.
Tarte blinked a few times. “…Um, is that really you, my lord? You couldn’t look more like a girl. You’re more beautiful than me… I think I’m in shock.”
“Me too. I’ve never seen a girl this beautiful, even at parties here in the capital,” agreed Dia.
I was cross-dressing. Being a woman better suited my plan.
My physical appearance was relatively androgynous, and with a good enough disguise, I could pull off a perfect feminine figure. I was sure of my acting as well.
When I was a young boy in my previous life, I would sometimes dress as a girl to seduce and kill my targets.
“You made this fake chest originally so you could look like a girl, didn’t you?” asked Dia.
“That’s right. I figured it would come in handy at some point. There’s no more effective facade than one that presents you as a different gender,” I answered.
I’d thought about disguising Tarte and Dia as boys, but no matter how convincing their appearance was, it would have been impossible for them to act masculine. There was a high chance people would be suspicious, so I had decided against it.
My behavior, on the other hand, was effortlessly feminine.
“…You’re pulling this off so perfectly you’re making me wonder if this is a long-held fetish of yours,” accused Dia.
“That reminds me, Lord Lugh used to wear girl clothes all the time!” exclaimed Tarte.
“Oh yeah, he was dressed as a girl when we first met!” recalled Dia.
They both looked at me with suspicion.
“Give me a break. My mom forced me to wear those outfits,” I protested.
“I know, I know. I’m just teasing, Lugh,” said Dia.
“I will accept any hobbies of yours, my lord!” insisted Tarte.
My head hurts.
They were giving me no choice. Once we finished this job, I would have to show them just how manly I was. I needed to regain my honor.
First, I needed to take care of the pressing threat. My plan for doing so was already complete.
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