I'll Be Villain to Everyone! Except for my Cat...

Chapter 78: Assassination Contract

Two weeks later.

For days now, I’ve been tormented by the same nightmare.

Strangely enough, I can never remember what it’s about.

When I wake up, my heart is pounding wildly, and my vision is blurred with sweat. It’s as if I were running away from someone.

Running... running... running...

But every time I opened my eyes, I whispered the same phrase in fear...

...

"...They got me!"

He was breathing heavily and blinking in fear. As if he still didn’t realize he had finally woken up.

Before his eyes was the familiar, shabby ceiling, and also...

"..." Deep blue eyes looking down at him from above.

"...Kitty." he whispered.

Along with the whisper, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

’It was just a dream...’

"Meow..."

"Everything’s okay now." He smiled and scratched her behind the ear. "By the way, aren’t you a little too big for a regular cat? Of course, I actually like it, it’s just a little heavy."

"..." She gave him an indifferent look and climbed down from his chest.

Mr. Nobody chuckled, finding her reaction amusing.

"Well then... Time to start a new day, kitty. And, of course, a new contract."

...

Walking into the kitchen, he was surprised once again by how small it was.

Instead of a full-sized table, a small countertop jutted out from the wall, with a single bar stool beneath it. Other than that, the small kitchen contained only a refrigerator, a stove, and a coffee machine.

"Put on some music, Paymax."

"What would you like to listen to?"

"Something like the James Bond theme. You know, when he’s getting ready for a mission."

"...I’ll see what I can do."

Soon, slow, noir-style sounds drifted in from the room behind him.

It sounded like something straight off a vinyl record.

"That’ll do," he said with a smile.

... The cat had already climbed onto the countertop and was looking down at him again from above.

The inside of the refrigerator was divided into two sections.

The first half was dominated by green, with rare bright splashes of fruit. Mr. Nobody’s section.

The second... was red. There was only fresh, bloody meat there. The cat’s section.

The only shared section was occupied by white bottles of milk.

Mr. Nobody liked to drink it cold, and the cat liked it warm.

*Tap* Soon a snow-white plate with a large piece of meat lay before the cat, along with a glass of warmed milk.

"..." While waiting for his coffee, he ate his tasteless vegetables and watched her bloody meal with a smile.

...

A long sofa, situated right in the center of the room. He didn’t even sleep on it, and someone might call that a simple waste of space...

But things weren’t quite that simple.

"..." Relaxed, he swayed lightly to the music and found a certain button under the sofa with his foot.

Soon the sofa began to transform into something else and quickly took over most of the room.

Mr. Nobody called it his mobile operations center.

Simply put, it was a long table that held most of his weapons, as well as a place for planning missions.

There were about five different pistols, three different types of grenades, a couple of traps, knives, and other gear. The selection was truly vast.

"Meow..." The cat jumped onto the table, landing under his left arm.

"..." Mr. Nobody smiled and set his coffee mug next to the silenced pistol.

Then his left hand began to stroke the smooth, dark fur.

Meanwhile, the right hand casually played an invisible piano over the weapons, searching for the right one.

Soon, it settled on the one in the center—a long-barreled revolver whose silvery steel looked almost skeletal.

"Requiem..." he whispered with a smile. That was exactly the inscription on the revolver he’d received from old man Dum in the Pit.

In his opinion, that name was perfectly suited to this weapon.

"Paymax, brief me on the gig," he said, stroking the revolver’s barrel with his right hand, just as he’d stroked the cat with his left.

"Contract... Assassination. Difficulty bonus: x1.5." Soon, projections with various data and a map of the mission area appeared on the operations center. "Your destination is the largest nightclub in Como, converted into a concert venue. An exclusive performance for very wealthy people is taking place there today."

"How many people will be there?" he asked with a smile, exchanging glances with the cat.

"About five hundred. There will be a strict ban on bringing firearms or bladed weapons into the premises. They’ll be monitoring this particularly closely, and there won’t be any exceptions—not even for wolves in suits."

"Hmm..." He set the revolver aside. "So, how many people will I need to eliminate?"

"I assume you’ve already reviewed the profiles on these individuals and are familiar with their personal affairs. It’s the entire lineup of the band Bengou... Also, you’ll most likely have to take out all their bodyguards."

"Does that apply to them too?"

"Correct... But it doesn’t matter much to them. Given all the inhumanity they’ve gotten away with, there’s no doubt these people are privileged and well-off. They can afford at least one bodyguard from the Path of Concord, and as a rule, people like that don’t even need weapons."

"...Because they’re weapons themselves, and I can’t even sneak a gun in. Most likely, it’ll be like trying to open a can with my fingers. A real challenge of insane difficulty." He sighed wearily, then picked up his half-finished coffee and the cat. "Wouldn’t be the first time."

"Meow." The cat meowed in his ear.

"Are you thinking the same thing I am, kitty?"

"..." It seemed she was just asking to be let go.

He smiled and walked over to the coat rack by the front door.

Putting on his usual wolf suit, he paused for a second, holding the mask in his hands.

"If they won’t let you bring a can opener, then take something less conspicuous, okay, kitty? Like a diamond toothpick that turns into the sharpest dagger."

"..."

"I agree, that’s not a very good example... But I think you get the point."

He pointed his finger at his fringe. Among his gray hair, one strand stood out in particular—it had no black root.

It shone with a magical silver hue, yet was indistinguishable from the rest of his hair.

"Paymax, this thing won’t let me down at the most critical moment, will it? Just like you love to do."

"...The Solitium is ready for use and is under your complete control."

"Then we’ll finally find out what a piece of the very Peak of Solitude is capable of." He smiled at the cat "Try not to get lonely, kitty. It’s time for vengeance. And it never waits."