Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 62

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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 62
Nina had grown happy the moment she opened her eyes each morning lately.
She bubbled with anticipation from the night before, the way a child waits through the evening for morning to come so she can run to the playground.
It was all because of the Test that Joel had entrusted to her.
Even after several days, she couldn’t quite believe that such a space existed just for her—that it was her own private playground. It fascinated her so completely that she could spend hours inside without a shred of boredom.
There had been one or two days when Ryan had joined her midway, which had been slightly disappointing, but strangely he hadn’t appeared since then.
She’d reasoned that he must have gone to Joel’s recuperation retreat, yet she couldn’t help worrying whether he might show up again asking to participate in the Test together.
Her family, who had been pestering her about when the next film would be shown, stopped pressing once they learned that Joel had left.
Still, the curiosity never quite faded. Night after night, she seemed to linger outside the Projector Room, and she appeared to be trying to open the other locked doors as well—but Nina decided to pretend she didn’t notice.
Not that she wanted never to see the next film.
She knew that someday, not too far from now, she would have to open the Projector Room again.
Perhaps that was why.
When she was absorbed in Joel’s Test, her mind went blank and she felt only joy and peace, but the moment she returned home, something heavy rolled around in her chest, leaving her unsettled.
‘Why did Grandmother do that to me? Could it be that she inherited everything to me just to lure me into this house and kill me? In which case, all the property would revert to the family anyway……?’
In those moments, Nina would turn away from her thoughts of the Projector Room entirely, drowning them out.
For all her spirited nature—Nina, who had never run from anything in her life—she found it impossible to maintain that same confidence when it came to her grandmother.
She didn’t want to harbor suspicions that someone in the family she so desperately longed for might hate her enough to kill her. She didn’t want to doubt that her own existence was unwelcome to them.
That was why she had stopped exploring the locked rooms, the Underground Storage, and even Lekita’s quarters.
Just one more day. Just one more day.
Nina wanted to believe that her family cherished her as much as she cherished them, that the bomb trap in the Projector Room was perhaps only some malicious prank.
‘Joel will come back, and then the Projector Room will open anyway. For now, I don’t need to think about it. I have to help with Joel’s Test today. I’m busy with my own work.’
With that thought, Nina started the day with her usual vigor and headed out onto the Balcony for the Test, then stopped short.
“Good morning, Nina. I hope you’ve been enjoying your time.”
“J-Joel…….”
Joel was standing on the adjacent Balcony.
Gratefully, he looked well. He stood with his arms draped over the railing, a serene smile on his face.
Though he was clearly a welcome neighbor, Nina found herself disappointed.
And she was disappointed in herself for feeling that way.
‘It should be good that Joel’s come back from his recuperation—it’s a relief. Why am I like this? I must be a terrible maid. Maybe I deserve a scolding from the lady to come to my senses.’
Joel was taken aback by Nina’s dark expression and dejected posture.
She had always greeted him with a bright, radiant smile, but now, after he’d been away for days, she didn’t seem glad to see him at all.
‘Could Ryan’s operation have succeeded……?’
No, that couldn’t be it. The Test recordings and logs that Nina had willingly helped him with showed that she’d spent most of her days in his Town House.
Ryan had briefly joined them in the middle, but it had been fleeting, and throughout it all Nina had looked happy.
It was difficult to imagine why she would act this way now.
Joel decided to address what he sensed was the priority—to handle what mattered most to her first.
“Nina. I can check whether the Film Projector is working properly today itself.”
“Ah……. I see. Thank you.”
“……Nina?”
Yet her expression grew even darker, leaving him confused.
Uncertain how to respond to her incomprehensible reaction, Joel didn’t press further. Then Nina forced a brighter expression.
“Then I’ll let the family know you’ll be visiting today. What time should I arrange to pick you up?”
“……No, that won’t be necessary. My time recuperating has left me quite restored. I think I’ll be able to walk there on my own.”
He had expected that, based on every version of Nina he’d known before, she would object—insisting it was nonsense, telling him to wait while she came to get him.
But Nina simply nodded without hesitation or deliberation.
“That’s a relief then. I’ll expect you this afternoon.”
Joel stood rooted to the spot, watching Nina’s retreating back as she moved deeper into the Balcony, and only after she vanished entirely did his hand reach out too late.
“…….”
His hand closed on empty air. He stood frozen there, his mind suddenly blanched white by a fear whose source he could not name.
* * *
“……So that’s why you called me?”
Ryan fixed Joel with an incredulous stare.
It had been only a day ago that he’d taken a long leave of absence and purchased a Town House that had served as his operational headquarters, just so he could evict all the Spy Organization agents and drive himself half-mad.
He’d been planning to file a complaint with the Audit Office for interference with official duties this very day.
<Senior. There is no one better suited than you to discuss this matter. It’s urgent, so please come at once.>
He’d believed Joel must have come to his senses belatedly, which was why he’d called so insistently. But instead, Joel was spouting what sounded like romantic advice.
The fact that he’d been flattered by the words “no one better suited than you” and had been hooked was something he intended to ignore.
“I thought you only saw Nina as a research subject, like some Magical Device.”
“That’s true as well, but isn’t it the proper procedure with a Magical Device to disassemble and repair it if something goes wrong? No matter how important a research subject Nina is, she is a person. I cannot disassemble and examine Nina.”
“Thank goodness you have at least that much sense.”
“Besides, Nina isn’t just anyone—she’s a woman. The entities that Ryan encountered so distastefully often during his missions aren’t the same thing, are they?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m not thinking straight.”
Ryan exhaled heavily at Joel’s serious remark.
For all his smooth talk, his hands wouldn’t stay still—fidgeting, restless—and his agitation was plain to anyone watching.
‘Even during interrogation resistance training, he was unshakeable……’
Ryan felt a prickle of displeasure at seeing Joel anxious for the first time.
More precisely, because the cause was Nina Bonz.
“So what exactly are you trying to do about Nina?”
“Nothing much. I’m simply going to craft a Magical Gun that suits her perfectly.”
Joel answered without hesitation, and there was no sign of him trying to hide anything.
“You already made enough Nina-specific Magical Guns to fill the display case. What are you talking about?”
“No. Those are all imperfect. They lack something, so I plan to discard them.”
“If those guns lack anything, it’s weight. They’re too light.”
“That weight is precisely what suits Nina best.”
At Joel’s firm response, Ryan felt his pride sting a little.
“Suits her best—?! Then what kind of gun do you actually want to make!”
“A Magical Gun that Nina can enjoy handling the most.”
Ryan’s head went numb.
It was startling enough that a word like “enjoyment” came from Joel Smiler’s mouth, but now he was hoping someone else would feel joy in wielding his creation.
“……So you’re saying you want Nina to be happiest when she’s using your gun right now?”
He asked again, unable to believe it, but Joel didn’t deny it.
“That’s one way to put it, yes.”
“This is insane.”
Ryan had already noticed that Joel was beginning to harbor personal feelings for Nina.
How could he not, with Magical Guns meant for Nina alone lining the entire display case?
The tender affection of a freshly come-of-age boy was hardly something to worry about. But……
‘He’s made dozens of Magical Guns and even bought the neighboring house—all to make Nina Bonz happy? This isn’t a light crush. This is genuine emotion?’
Joel’s erratic behavior had broken Ryan’s patience more than once.
But this time felt different.
Looking at Joel’s eyes, luminous with clarity even beneath his expressionless face, a chill ran through him.

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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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