Chapter 43

The intelligence agent’s eyes widened at my answer.

“The Empire? Are you with the Empire?”

“For now, let’s say I am.”

The Empire was the continent’s most dominant power, and it was notorious for its obsession with stealing other nations’ technologies and secrets to maintain that supremacy. With centuries of precedent behind it, the Empire was a name easy to sell anywhere on the continent.

There was no real risk of being exposed as a liar.

Even if he had doubts, what could he do?

Go to the Imperial Embassy and say, “Is it true this spy was sent by your country?”

The royal intelligence agent’s nod, half doubtful and half resigned, came from understanding that futility.

“True. If it’s the Empire, I can believe they could operate beyond our surveillance… and know more than we do. But wait….you said Winter Winslet is a spy?”

“That’s right. He’s the one who tipped us off about the caraphine being manufactured inside the academy.”

It was a tightrope walk of deception and manipulation.

If everything went perfectly, I could clear myself of the illegal caraphine manufacturing charge.

And if it went even better, I could manipulate the information flow about the Heptangam Society to weaken Sakis Lubas, the spy who had marked me for death.

I asked,

“Have you ever heard of a group called the Heptangam Society?”

“No. Not at all.”

“The Heptangam Society is the name of a secret society we’ve been tracking. Their base is in Laurencia, but they control the Thieves’ Guild and wield influence across the entire continent. They’re a massive criminal organization.”

In reality, the Thieves’ Guild was run by just one of their seven members, and the Heptangam Society itself was more like a gathering of would-be traitors, each with their own hidden agenda. But I exaggerated on purpose to scare him a little.

And it worked.

“I’ve never heard of such a large organization before.”

“Looks like Laurencia’s public security department is full of bumbling fools.”

“……”

The royal intelligence agent pursed his lips in displeasure.

“So what’s the connection between this Heptangam Society and the illegal caraphine manufacturing at the academy?”

“Caraphine production is a covert operation led by the Heptangam Society. They’ve already extended their influence throughout the academy, pulling strings from the shadows to make it happen.”

“Then… Mr. Glenn’s death must’ve been…”

“He was probably discovered contacting your side. Wasn’t he trying to expose the caraphine manufacturing site?”

“How did you know about Mr. Glenn’s room?”

“I got the information from a mole we planted inside the Heptangam Society. I came here hoping I might snag a sample of the illegally produced caraphine, a ripe fruit left behind without an owner.”

“If what you’re saying is true, it explains what I’m seeing right now. But by ‘mole’… do you mean Baron Winslet?”

“That’s right.”

“Why is he cooperating with you? Did he have a reason to infiltrate the Heptangam Society? What’s his relationship with your side?”

“You could call it a quiet partnership. Our goals align, so we’ve temporarily joined forces.”

“And what goal is that?”

“To uncover the true nature of the Heptangam Society. From what I’ve seen, Baron Winslet views the group as a cancerous threat to the kingdom. He wants to take it out before it grows beyond control.”

“And what about your side?”

Fishing always requires the right tension on the line—

So I intentionally left an opening.

“Let’s just say… intellectual curiosity?”

“Heh.”

“And maybe a touch of justice.”

“I’m speechless. Fine, let me guess then. Your people want the caraphine production technology, don’t they? The Empire’s always lagging behind in magic engineering, so you’re trying to get your hands on it…even if it comes from criminals. Am I wrong?”

“Not bad.”

It meant he was quite good at misunderstanding.

“But there’s still one question that hasn’t been answered.”

“What now?”

“Why didn’t Baron Winslet report the Heptangam Society to the royal family? If he had consulted us first, we absolutely would have helped him. That would’ve made much more sense than cooperating with the Empire.”

“You’re only seeing half the picture.”

“Huh?”

“Are you certain? Can you really say for sure there are no Heptangam Society spies within your own organization?”

“What do you take our intelligence department for…?”

“Hiding it won’t help. You’ve probably already seen signs of suspicious activity within your ranks. And how do you think I know about that? You really believe there are no Imperial moles among you either?”

“Tch…”

The royal intelligence agent was at a loss for words.

As a long-time player of Candela of Judgment, the things I knew inevitably brushed up against the truth.

“Winter Winslet. He probably knows more about the kingdom’s darker side than you do. If that’s the case, wouldn’t he have decided the only person he could trust… was himself?”

Saying that, I wet my lips with a heavy layer of saliva.

Trying to paint Winter Winslet as some noble figure made me cringe to the core.

“A rare patriot, isn’t he? If someone like that had been born in the Empire, we’d have been lucky.”

At that, the agent snapped back with a firm tone.

“If you people are thinking of convincing Baron Winslet to defect to the Empire, forget it. Our kingdom will do whatever it takes to protect him.”

People believe what they want to believe.

The same intelligence agent who had initially suspected Winter Winslet of running an illegal caraphine operation was now convinced he was a patriot the kingdom must defend at all costs.

I let out a scoffing laugh.

“Naive. What if everything I told you was a lie from start to finish?”

“Whether it’s true or not….that’s for my superiors to decide. I’m only here to report exactly what I’ve seen and heard.”

The agent relaxed the tension in his eyes and added,

“Besides, you handed over that valuable piece of caraphine from the start. I trust that gesture. I’ll recommend to my superiors that we maintain a good relationship with you.”

“Suit yourself.”

“I’d like to continue exchanging information with you. Won’t you share a contact method?”

“No need. When I need something, I’ll come to you.”

“Huh, then at least tell me your name. That much should be fine, shouldn’t it?”

A name.

Originally, I had only intended to deceive the royal intelligence agent, not to go as far as crafting a full-fledged cover identity.

But this wasn’t a bad opportunity.

If I could use it properly, it might come in handy later when defending myself against the royal court.

He would know it was a fake name anyway, so there was no need to put too much effort into it.

What kind of name would leave a decent impression?

After a brief moment of thought, I spoke.

“Goodman.”

“Sorry?”

“Call me Nice Goodman.”

The royal agent blinked for two full seconds before complaining.

“Seriously, who has a name like Nice Goodman…?”

***

After retrieving the caraphine from Glenn’s dorm, I returned to the mansion.

Now that I finally knew the secrets of the Heptagram Society and Winter Winslet, it was time to have a discussion with Sakis Lubas.

As before, I told Dahlia to lock the doors and went up to the second-floor study. I sank into the armchair and surrendered both body and mind to black magic.

[Casting spirit projection spell.]

Thus returned the black-and-white world.

In the colorless spirit realm, Sakis Lubas who was summoned by my call was waiting.

It had been about two weeks since we last met.

“I have waited quite a while, my noble friend.”

“It took time to clean up the personnel inside the academy. I had to root out any other potential traitors or threats.”

“Well, I understand, but don’t you think it took a bit too long?”

“If you had kept the courier that betrayed us alive, it would’ve been over much faster and easier.”

“We both have things to say, so let’s end the bickering here.”

Taking a step back first, Sakis Lubas rubbed his palms together, looking anxious.

“So, you summoned me here, which means you have something to say. Do you bring good news, perhaps?”

“I’ve secured the goods the traitor stole. And the next shipment as well.”

“At last.”

“But there’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“A royal spy has latched on. They’ve already figured out that caraphine is being manufactured at the academy.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“It’s not fully exposed yet. As long as we erase the traces now, we’ll be fine.”

“But what about our deal, then? We agreed to three exchanges in total. So far, only one has been fulfilled.”

The first exchange had resulted in a loss because the traitor stole the goods.

This second exchange was supposed to recover that loss and deliver the next shipment.

If the deal were to fall apart before reaching the third exchange, the spymaster trying to obtain a high-powered bomb to overthrow the Kingdom of Lorentia would likely suffer a stress-induced stomach spasm.

But what I really wanted to say was,

And what are you going to do about it?

I hold the technology to produce caraphine.

“I’m halting caraphine production.”

“Are you hearing yourself right now?”

[Warning]

[A death flag has been updated.]

“If we continue with the plan like this, we’ll get caught. Once the royal investigation begins, you’ll be in trouble too, won’t you?”

“I’m not letting this go.”

“I’ll hand over everything we’ve manufactured so far. It’s more than what was promised for the second exchange, so your losses shouldn’t be too great.”

Of course, every batch of caraphine I gave him would have built-in defects.

Ensuring the bombs would never work.

Unaware of that fact, Sakis Lubas barely swallowed his anger and agreed.

“…Fine. But since the third exchange won’t go through as planned, you won’t be receiving your full compensation either.”

“And?”

As an advance payment for this operation, Winter Winslet had once received top-secret information about the Kingdom of Lorentia—

Specifically, about the Candela Knights.

Based on that information, he had pursued an engagement with Josephine, the current captain of the Candela Knights.

So then, what was the promised reward for handing over all the caraphine?

The man spoke.

“We’ll be lowering your access level to Longsoniere’s intelligence network. You’ll now have level 2 clearance, with limits on the number of contacts you can call upon and how often you can use them.”

“I can live with that.”

All I’d done was clean up the mess Winter Winslet had made, yet I ended up with a valuable new channel for gathering information—

Like finding a rice cake in your sleep.

“The second shipment will be delivered through the Thieves’ Guild. You’ll gain access to our intelligence network after that.”

“Understood.”

[Notification]

[A death flag has been cleared.]

[Achievement points have been awarded.]

With that, the deal with Sakis Lubas came to an end.

Although I’d cleared one death flag, others still remained.

I couldn’t afford to relax just yet. From now on, I’d keep feeding the royal family information about the Heptagram Society to keep him in check.

And if that wasn’t enough—

I might have to get involved personally.

Winter Winslet, the greatest villain in Candela of Judgment, now had to run around to preserve the peace of the kingdom.

This man was saving the country for free.

Well… that’s how it turned out.