Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 57

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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 57
The Shopping District was crowded despite the early hour, thanks to a small town festival in full swing.
Nina wandered about with bright, delighted eyes, taking in the sights with unbridled joy.
“Miss Nina, the shop we’re after is this way. Do watch your step.”
Ryan caught her hand gently just as the crowd threatened to sweep her away, guiding her through the throng.
Still unaccustomed to being escorted, Nina withdrew her hand with an awkward smile.
Then, spotting the shop Ryan had led her to, her face brightened noticeably.
“A Magic Gun shop! Though I’d think Joel could craft Magic Guns himself?”
“Before we purchase a gift, there’s a particular Magic Gun I’ve been wanting to see in person. If you don’t mind, shall we step inside?”
“Of course. Do you have a fondness for Magic Guns, Ryan?”
As Nina posed the question upon entering the gun shop, Ryan obliged as if he’d been waiting for it, subtly revealing a small Magic Gun holstered at his hip.
“I do. I’ve kept it quiet all this time for fear of surprising Joel, but truthfully I take considerable interest in well-crafted Magic Guns.”
“Is that so! I’m quite fond of them myself, you know?”
“I hadn’t known that. How fortunate our tastes align.”
“I didn’t know much about them at first, but working as a maid taught me. They’re quite fascinating tools.”
Nina sighed contentedly, her expression distant with memory.
Ryan made a show of surprise as he replied.
“Curious indeed. There was a time when I too felt drawn to the work of ‘servants’ and ‘valets,’ even seriously considered making such a change.”
Nina’s expression brightened further.
“Is that right! The way you care for and look after Joel so devotedly tells me you’d have made an excellent servant. You’re a remarkable physician now, as well.”
“You’re too kind. Joel is a pleasant master to serve. Until I’ve fulfilled my true dream, I intend to give my all in attending to him.”
“You have another dream?”
Ryan stopped between the narrow shelves of the shop and gazed at Nina with eyes that held a story.
“Yes. I come from an Orphanage, you see, and I’ve always harbored the dream of having a family. To meet someone good and build a happy home—that’s my most earnest wish.”
“My goodness…….”
Struck by both kinship and sorrow, Nina clasped her hands together and spoke with genuine warmth.
“I come from an Orphanage too. Now I’ve been blessed with a warm family, but before that, I dreamed of families like this every single day. I truly hope you find a good one as well, Ryan.”
“I should like that.”
Ryan smiled sadly, his fingers absently brushing the nape of his neck. With each movement of his hand, his shirt collar shifted, the front opening slightly.
Startled by the unexpected exposure, Nina instinctively averted her gaze—and in that moment, Ryan stepped closer and spoke in a low voice.
“It seems you and I share many similarities.”
“Haha. We certainly do. How can such things be? It’s truly remarkable.”
He turned his head to make sure she looked directly at him, then slowly extended his hand toward her chin.
“In the world, they say such things are called fate—”
“As if you’d done background research on me all this time and approached me on purpose!”
But Nina looked him straight in the eye first, breaking into an innocent smile.
“……Ha. You do have a sense of humor.”
Ryan’s heart sank, but he quickly composed his fractured expression and laughed as if genuinely amused.
While he was trying to gauge whether Nina had somehow seen through him or if she was simply joking,
something unbelievable entered his field of vision.
“……!”
“…….”
Joel emerged from the crowd with a Telescope pressed to his eye, then slipped away just as quickly.
At first Ryan doubted his own sight, but even as they moved to another shop and he helped Nina select gifts, Joel’s silhouette appeared and vanished several times over.
“Ryan, what do you think of this one? It’s in Spray form.”
“……Splendid.”
Thankfully Nina seemed unaware, but Ryan found it impossible to concentrate on his task.
While Nina selected convenient self-defense items suitable for Joel, then purchased Soltem’s distinctive Spices and an embroidered handkerchief for Countess Sejak,
‘What the hell is that fool doing, always tailing us like this? If the Target catches on, what then……!’
Even as Ryan went to great lengths to evade Joel’s surveillance, Nina completed her outing by writing a brief message on a Postcard depicting Soltem’s peaceful scenery and mailing it.
* * *
After that, whenever Ryan went out with Nina or stood with her at a window, Joel invariably appeared.
He never approached or spoke to them, but the sight of him standing at some distance with a Telescope to his eyes was impossible to ignore.
Fearing Nina—far more perceptive than he’d anticipated—might notice, Ryan found himself anxious and unable to execute his plans smoothly.
He eventually requested a meeting with Soltem Master, and the moment it was arranged, he meant to ask the Master to prevent Joel’s interference.
“You’re in the way.”
But it was not Ryan who spoke those words earnestly—it was Joel.
“What? Who do you think you are! You’re the one constantly interfering with my work, you bastard!”
Ryan glared at Joel, incredulous.
Soltem Master muttered that this was giving him a headache and rubbed his temples.
Of late, Soltem Intelligence Agency had been consumed with efforts to keep mercenaries from ever setting foot near Nina’s Townhouse.
Yet even amid this preoccupation, the Soltem Master received reports on Joel’s movements through Ryan and Guguoo. Joel was such an unpredictable subordinate that the Master found little peace of mind.
But when Joel’s sudden impulsive actions were added to the mix, the Master could no longer keep his concerns locked away—they spilled out at last.
“Joel Smiler.”
At the Master’s stern voice, Joel lifted his head.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m assigning you a Delivery Mission. You’ll depart early tomorrow. It’s crucial material—you’ll need to retrieve it personally.”
Joel saw through it at once: the Master meant to separate him from Nina and Ryan. His gaze drifted toward the window.
Nina’s Townhouse caught the sunlight in bright, peaceful harmony.
“Do you think I’ve lost my focus, sir?”
“Everyone needs time away from their post now and then—to clear their head. You’ve been cooped up indoors far too long.”
The Master showed no sign of reconsidering his order.
“What should I bring back?”
“Records from the Human Cloning Experiment that the Dotchen Kingdom once conducted in secret. Retrieve it discreetly, alone.”
“Understood.”
Surprised by Joel’s ready acceptance, Ryan exhaled quietly in relief.
‘Now I can execute the operation without interference.’
* * *
After the Master and Ryan departed, Joel went straight to the Balcony to find Nina.
“Nina. Are you there? Nina? …Guguoo, go and fetch her for me.”
“Guguuru~”
Guguoo launched into the air with vigor and glided across to Nina’s Balcony.
“G-Guguoo? Easy does it.”
Shortly after, Nina emerged onto the Balcony with strands of her hair caught in Guguoo’s beak.
“Nina.”
“J-Joel. I guess I didn’t hear you calling me—I was busy with something else.”
Joel recognized at once that she was pretending not to have heard him.
With Ryan away and the day quiet, Nina had kept herself shut in her room, worried that her family—or Joel—might ask her about the Film.
“What did you need?”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to show you the Projector for a while.”
“Is that so?”
Only then did Nina’s attention turn toward Joel.
“I’ll be away from the Townhouse for a time, to convalesce.”
“Oh my. You need rest? Whatever shall we do?”
As Nina’s brow furrowed with concern, Joel’s hand trembled slightly despite himself.
“Don’t worry. Check my Balcony tomorrow. That’s all.”
He left the Balcony with only a cryptic message in his wake.
His puzzling words kept Nina imagining what might be waiting until sleep finally claimed her.
But the next morning, what awaited her was far more moving than anything she had imagined, and her eyes grew wet.

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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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