Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 35

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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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Chapter 35
Joel’s balcony held a small tea table and a chair.
From the look of it—the same kind he’d seen inside his house—he must have moved it out here.
Joel pulled back the chair smoothly, inviting Nina to sit.
“The weather’s grown quite warm lately. I thought it would be nice to have something like this out here.”
“It really is. Lovely.”
Nina settled into the chair with a bashful smile, looking up at him.
A crack appeared in his otherwise expressionless face.
Before Nina could notice, Joel turned his head away quickly, smoothing his features back into place before sitting across from her.
Then, as if he’d prepared it beforehand, he withdrew an unusually shaped Tea Pot and cup, pouring the tea.
Nina’s eyes widened as she watched steam rise gently from the liquid.
“My goodness. Hot tea already? When on earth did you brew this?”
“This Tea Pot is a Magicraft I created myself. When you pour hot water into it, the power of Magistones warms it for you.”
“How remarkable. You really are extraordinary, Joel.”
As Nina clapped her hands, her eyes shining brightly, Joel found himself nodding without meaning to.
Gazing into those spring-green eyes, he felt as though spring itself had finally been completed.
‘There I go again, getting lost in thought.’
Snapping back to awareness, Joel shifted his expression and changed the subject.
“You said you wanted to ask me something.”
“That’s right! Joel, will you tell me about my grandmother?”
“You mean Rikita Bonz?”
“I know it must seem strange asking you about my own grandmother, but since I never met her, I thought you might know more than I do.”
The moment she said it, Nina felt a sudden weight—the reality of inheriting the legacy of someone she’d never known.
How could she be given an entire inheritance based solely on bloodline when she knew less than a stranger?
‘She didn’t even know what kind of person I am. What if I’d been a terrible person? What would she have done then…’
Seeing Nina lost in thought, Joel produced a cupcake from somewhere and held it out to her.
“She was someone known about in certain circles, though she kept herself hidden. She donated generously throughout Soltem, but beyond that, it was difficult to know what she did or how she lived—quite a mysterious person, really.”
“Still, you must have seen her often since you lived next door?”
At Nina’s curious question, Joel offered a prepared answer.
“We crossed paths occasionally, but there was no real interaction. She simply preferred not to draw attention to herself.”
“I see.”
Nina sighed regretfully before pressing on with another question.
“What about Plovben, who was her butler? Do you know anything about him?”
“The will notary, you mean?”
“That’s the one!”
Joel felt a flicker of unease.
Plovben—the will notary and butler—had proven to be rather troublesome within the Alliance’s assignment.
The original plan had been for him to arrive with the will a week later.
Before Nina could fully claim the Townhouse, spy teams from five different nations were supposed to investigate as much as possible.
But he’d altered the date without warning and shown up unannounced.
As a result, the dawn investigation teams carefully assembled across five nations had fallen apart.
So to Joel, Plovben was simply someone who’d broken an appointment—but he couldn’t say that to Nina.
“I know little about him as well. He was always at Rikita’s side, and the only thing anyone could say was that he was taciturn.”
“Even the family knew only that much. It seems the same was true from outside the Townhouse.”
Nina swallowed her disappointment along with her tea and cupcake.
Joel refilled her cup as he spoke.
“Would it be all right if I asked you something as well?”
“Of course. What would you like to know?”
Nina answered with a bright smile. By now, she’d grown used to Joel being curious about her.
“……?”
As Joel gazed at that radiant smile, something felt odd. He pressed a hand to his chest. Lately, it felt as though a loosely-wound Magicraft sat in there, producing an unsettling sensation.
“Joel? What’s wrong? Are you unwell?”
“No, Nina.”
He shook his head at the concern in her eyes and opened his mouth again.
“I’m curious about how you lived before you came here.”
“That’s not a story fit for a fine young man like you.”
Nina waved her hand dismissively with a soft laugh.
“I’m quite good at listening to frightening tales.”
“If you’re asking about the time I worked as a maid, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. It hasn’t been long since I left, and I can’t betray the loyalty I owe my former employer.”
Nina spoke gently but firmly.
Joel nodded as though he’d anticipated this.
‘She seemed to value a maid’s sense of duty and pride, so I knew she’d be reluctant to discuss her employer’s private affairs.’
Instead, he decided to approach the matter from a different angle.
“Setting that aside, I’m curious—when did Nina become so remarkably strong?”
“Oh! I can talk about that.”
Nina smiled brightly and continued.
“Even at the Orphanage, the Director used to be startled by how strong I was, so I suppose I was just born this way.”
“Born that way? Even as a child, you could lift adult men?”
“No, nothing like that. I was simply stronger than my peers. By ten years old, I could lift fruit sacks that other children would strain and struggle with.”
“I see. So your muscle development increased exponentially as you grew.”
Joel had withdrawn a notebook at some point and was jotting down Nina’s words.
As he did so, Nina checked the time and rose from her seat.
“My goodness, look at the hour. I mustn’t be late for dinner with my family, so I should be going.”
“Nina.”
Joel stood reflexively, calling out to her.
As Nina turned from where she now stood upon the railing, her auburn hair and skirt fluttered in the breeze.
“Be careful, Nina.”
“Hmm?”
Nina’s mind suddenly recalled the message Plovben had left behind.

Since she’d already crossed by rope several times before, he wouldn’t have bothered to warn her about being careful on the way back.
“My family?”
At her subtle question, Joel’s eyebrows twitched.
“Who told you that?”
“Hmm.”
As Nina rolled her eyes and evaded the answer, Joel stepped closer to the railing.
“I’d say it’s wise to be wary of everyone, not just your family.”
“Everyone?”
“Yes.”
“Even you?”
From her position atop the railing, Nina’s line of sight had grown higher, and she gazed down at Joel quietly.
Joel met that gaze calmly and nodded slowly.
“…Yes.”
Nina’s expression grew puzzled for a moment, her eyes blinking—then she suddenly broke into an innocent laugh.
“Too late for that. I’ve already walked in here on my own two feet.”
Joel placed his hand silently upon his chest again.
……
“You should be wary of me too. Thanks to this rope, I can walk in whenever I please.”
Then, bathed in the last of the fading daylight and the reddish glow of the sunset beginning to deepen, she turned and departed.
Joel watched Nina’s retreating figure crossing along the rope, then withdrew a radio transceiver.
“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll attend today’s meeting.”
* * *
Late at night, somewhere in the Border Region of Soltem.
A meeting was convened with every member of the Alliance operation present—an uncommon occurrence.
It was unusual for Joel Smiler, Soltem’s Magicraft developer, to attend, though given the circumstances, his presence was hardly suspicious.
“The inheritance settlement is complete. When do you intend to open the Safe Box?”
As the Master of Ilite posed the question, all eyes converged on a single point.
It was Rikita’s Safe Box, placed at the center of the long table.
They had secured the Safe Box inside a chest that required five Masters to place their palms upon it to open—another of Joel’s creations.
Admittedly, it could not have been opened without Nina’s cooperation, but all the Masters had agreed on this method of safeguarding it.
Everyone understood that, now the inheritance was settled, they would all be thinking the same thing.
The Masters and Spies gazed at the Safe Box with its additional lock mechanism, their lips curving with anticipation.
‘Now Rikita’s inheritance is no longer the property of a defeated nation, but Nina Bonz’s personal possession. Under Alliance law, there’s nothing wrong with any one person claiming it all. …And if it gets stolen, there’s nothing to be done about it.’

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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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