Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 13
Nina smiled brightly at her family.
“Once Joel has finished looking at the Harpoon Gun, I’ll take him back safely, I promise.”
“Then do so. Let him see the Harpoon Gun, and your guest—the Harpoon Gun?”
Cheyson, who had been nodding along without thinking at Nina’s innocent, rabbit-like expression, suddenly went wide-eyed.
They all gasped when they spotted the Harpoon Gun mounted on the railing of the Balcony.
‘So that’s how she managed the rope—she’s even got a Harpoon Gun.’
Natalisha glanced around Nina’s room with only her eyes.
The wardrobe stood half-open, and a weighty-looking Duffel Bag lay outside it.
Exci had already failed to search Nina’s room once before.
That time Nina had been sleeping in the room, but what if she weren’t here?
The four exchanged keen glances and formulated a plan.
It was an opportunity to speak with Nina in secret, away from Joel, while simultaneously conducting a thorough search of her room in his absence.
They couldn’t keep letting themselves be manipulated like this, wasting time.
“Nina. Come speak with your uncle for a moment.”
Cheyson decided to pull Nina away into the Reception Room alone.
“Now, Uncle?”
“Yes. As the elder of this household, I have something urgent we need to discuss.”
“But Joel…”
Nina glanced uncertainly at Joel.
“I understand your excitement at staying with family in your own home for the first time, but there are things even family must respect.”
“…!”
At Cheyson’s following words, Nina suddenly realized she had made some grave mistake, and her face flushed red.
That moment was what Kathari had been waiting for.
“Nina. Your neighbor—the young gentleman from next door—we’ll look after him. You go ahead and talk with your uncle.”
“Is that alright?”
“Of course. We’re hardly strangers anymore.”
“That’s true. Joel must feel closer and more bonded to all of you than to me.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Kathari swallowed the words about how that country of his was building up bonds—bonds she wanted to punch straight through.
“Joel. I’ll leave this Magnifying Glass here. We’ll be back after I speak with your aunt, so look at the Harpoon Gun while we’re gone.”
“…”
Joel, taking the Magnifying Glass, looked sourly at these fake family members, as if dissatisfied.
“I am to remain with these people?”
“Yes. If you’re feeling unwell, shall I take you home right now?”
“That’s right, young man from next door. You look rather pale—if you’re struggling, you should go straight home.”
Kathari gave the healthy, broad-shouldered Joel a quick shove toward the door, but he didn’t budge an inch.
“No, Nina. Please go ahead.”
His curiosity had overcome both shame and awkwardness.
This was an opportunity to observe a Harpoon Gun modified in a way he’d never seen before.
He couldn’t leave with these spies masquerading as Nina’s family—he had no idea what they might do to the weapon.
“I shall use this time for investigation.”
Joel gripped the Magnifying Glass firmly and took up a solemn stance before the Harpoon Gun.
His heart raced with anticipation now that his gaze had shifted from the worthless spies to the Magical Tool.
The moment Nina and Cheyson left the room and the door shut with a snap, Kathari leaped onto the back of a small sofa and landed in front of the wardrobe.
“I’ll take the wardrobe.”
“I’ll handle the remaining drawers.”
As Natalisha opened the desk drawer, Exci positioned herself in front of the Duffel Bag.
“I’ll search the bag and under the bed.”
Joel didn’t even turn to look at the three busy figures as he spoke.
“Don’t touch the Magical Tools. I’ll be examining those myself.”
“Greedy, aren’t you—standing there with a Harpoon Gun and making demands. What’ll you do if we touch it?”
Kathari shot back, and only then did Joel turn slowly to face her.
“What I endured at the preliminary meeting apparently wasn’t sufficient.”
“Why you—!”
With Nina gone and her patience finally exhausted, Kathari hurled a coat rack aside and charged at Joel.
Behind them, Exci crumpled hastily under the bed, and Natalisha sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead as the two collided.
* * *
Cheyson sat facing Nina in the Reception Room where he had first greeted her.
Tea and cookies sat on the table, but this was not a social gathering.
“I’d like to know how you came to invite Joel so suddenly. And how the rope between the balconies ended up connecting them.”
She needed to determine whether these fox-like Soltem operatives were attempting a honey trap in secret.
Nina shrank into herself before she’d even opened her mouth.
“I saw Joel’s companion dove, Gugu, collapse, and I was so startled that—without thinking—I used the Harpoon Gun, which is essential equipment for a maid, to jump to the neighboring house.”
“Essential equipment for a maid…….”
“And then Joel wanted to see my Harpoon Gun, so I invited him and brought him here.”
Nina lowered her head in an apologetic expression.
“I’ve only been in this house for a few days, and I’m sorry for bringing a guest without permission.”
“I’m, I’m not trying to scold you for that.”
Cheyson steeled his softening resolve.
“From now on, see that guests enter through the proper entrance. It would be even better to inform the family beforehand or have them make introductions.”
“I will. I got too excited and ended up being rude.”
Nina’s shoulders sagged.
Cheyson wanted nothing more than to press a handful of sweet cookies into her hands and comfort her on the spot, but there was still more he needed to ask.
‘I said I’d repay the favor of the gun.’
He had to prevent Likita’s inheritance from slipping into Soltem’s hands, no matter what.
“Now that I think of it, didn’t you say you’d find something in the warehouse to give to Joel?”
At that question, Nina’s head snapped up as though she’d touched a flame.
“Don’t worry about that. The warehouse didn’t have a Withdrawal Record Sheet on file, so I made one myself and filled it out.”
“A Withdrawal Record Sheet?”
“Yes. It’s what you use when removing items from the warehouse. I wrote down the type of item, the withdrawal date and time, my name, and the purpose. Since I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to take the item, I left money as though I were purchasing it.”
“……You went that far?”
Cheyson was taken aback, but Nina seemed determined to convey that she didn’t want to be disrespectful to the family.
“You said the Will requires notarization, so I haven’t actually inherited anything yet, and there are people who originally lived in this house. I’m essentially freeloading in a home where I have nothing to my name. I’m well aware of that.”
“……It seems like you could afford to be a bit more at ease.”
Cheyson nearly told her that every speck of dust in this house belonged to her.
He’d never felt his conscience sting so frequently in his life.
“Ahem. So what did you end up giving Joel?”
“Oh. This one I couldn’t give him.”
Nina handed Cheyson a pouch containing the Magical Engineering Cube Toy.
“Lightning struck whenever anyone who wasn’t Grandmother’s blood relative touched it.”
Cheyson quickly withdrew his hand from the pouch and tied the opening shut tight.
“Wh-what a discriminating object.”
He’d nearly exposed himself in front of Nina—proving with his own actions that he wasn’t a true member of the family. A chill ran through him.
Glancing at his watch, Cheyson judged that he would need more time to search Nina’s room thoroughly.
So he ventured a remark befitting an uncle.
“No matter how sickly a young gentleman Joel Smiler may be, there isn’t much age difference between the two of you. It would be wise to be careful so no misunderstandings arise.”
Nina burst out laughing at that, waving her hand.
“Come on, Uncle. You don’t need to worry about that. Joel couldn’t possibly take an interest in me.”
“What are you talking about? You’ve grown up beautifully, even in difficult circumstances.”
It wasn’t flattery—it was the truth.
Likita Bones was an extraordinarily graceful and beautiful spy, and Nina bore an exact resemblance to her grandmother in her youth.
When she aged, she would look exactly like the portrait of Likita hanging in this house.
“But that’s not what determines a protagonist, is it?”
Nina continued, her smile still bright at the corners of her lips.
“It’s always the protagonist who catches the eye of someone like a neighboring prince. Not a supporting character like me.”
“……?”
Cheyson felt an uncomfortable foreign object lodged in his chest.
Nina’s thoughts and worldview were immaterial to the mission.
Yet because of that innocent expression and those clear eyes—
He found himself asking a question he didn’t need to ask, one that had nothing to do with the mission.
“Why do you think you’re a supporting character?”
“Think? My thoughts? Well…….”
Nina rolled her eyes as if hearing an unfamiliar word, then answered.
“No one waits for a supporting character’s story, do they? Not even I, as a supporting character. I simply wait for the Lady’s commands.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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