Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 68

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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 68
Joel turned off the screen and spoke.
“Master, I have a question. After this operation concludes, what becomes of Nina?”
“Have you forgotten that wondering about a target who’s no longer useful after the mission ends is harmful to the Agency, to the Agent, and to the target alike?”
Despite the Soltem Master’s grave reply, Joel remained unshaken.
“I remember. It’s what we were taught when completing the Training Facility course.”
“And yet you’re still curious what happens to Nina after the mission ends?”
“She’s not a target I’ll cease to need. I’m her neighbor, Master. Her first neighbor, and her closest one.”
“You really…….”
The Master lost his words once more.
According to Ryan, Joel harbored rather serious personal feelings for Nina. Personal feelings that, by itself, disqualified him as an operative—and given that he’d already caused fatal interference with the mission, any punishment would be justified.
Yet Joel was too valuable a talent to dispose of or cast aside. If another nation recruited him instead, it would be a catastrophic loss for the state.
The Master was deliberating how to make Joel cooperative when he noticed the Note protruding slightly from his pocket.
Joel pointed at it. “Wait. That Note—Guguror gave it to you, didn’t he?”
“Hmm? Yes, that’s right. Isn’t that your handwriting?”
Pulled from his thoughts, the Master took out the Note and showed it, perplexed.
Joel examined it with a grave expression.
“The paper is far too blue. Besides you, who else has touched this Note?”
“I only verified it discreetly and came straight here. It was already somewhat blue when I received it, though. Is something wrong?”
“……I applied a solution to the paper that becomes bluer the more hands touch it. This means someone opened the Note before you did.”
“Wh—what?”
The Master had no time to marvel at when Joel had developed such a thing.
He grew grave, matching Joel’s demeanor instantly.
“When I received the Note, Guguror showed no signs of injury or exhaustion. He never mentioned anyone trying to forcibly take it from him either.”
“That means…….”
The instant Joel clenched his fists and opened his mouth, the Soltem Master’s Radio Communicator crackled to life.
“Wait. I said to only use the radio for urgent matters.”
He pulled out the Radio Communicator and pressed the button.
“This is Soltem. Soltem Alt speaking. What is it?”
-This is Soltem Base. Master, the prisoner in the Detention Cell……. May is dead.
“……!”
Joel approached the Master with a startled expression.
The Master himself seemed quite shaken, his voice rising.
“Dead? Who raised the interrogation intensity without authorization?”
-No, sir. Today was a day without interrogation—we only brought her food. There was no poison.
“Then how exactly did she die!”
-She took her own life. By the time we discovered her, she was already gone, and the restraints had been undone.
“The restraints……?”
The Master turned to Joel with an expression of disbelief.
The restraint devices in the Detention Cell were all built by Joel himself—their design made it impossible for a prisoner to undo them alone.
Joel’s complexion had grown noticeably pale as he spoke into the Radio Communicator.
“Where is Guguror?”
“Why are you asking about Guguror at a time like this?”
The Master’s bewildered question hung in the air as the answer came back from the Radio Communicator.
-Nothing is confirmed yet, but several agents witnessed Guguror leaving the Detention Cell before we discovered May’s death.
“What do you mean by that? And how did Guguror even get into the Detention Cell in the first place?”
“……I’ll contact you again.”
Joel ended the transmission, his expression hardening with dismay.
The Master watched him silently, certain that Joel knew something.
“Joel. Speak.”
“……I gave Guguror a custom-made Lockpick so he could find information about the Traitor.”
“……!”
The Master, about to press Joel further, suddenly understood what was coming and froze.
The Note that someone had apparently opened.
Joel’s custom Lockpick, capable of undoing the Detention Cell entrance and restraint devices.
Guguror, who possessed the Lockpick, vanishing from the scene—leaving behind the restraints undone and a prisoner who had taken her own life.
“You don’t mean to suggest the Traitor is…….”
Joel could not deny the Master’s incredulous murmur.

* * *
A few hours earlier.
Guguror had arrived not at the Soltem facility, but at a temporary headquarters of Holich spies situated near the Townhouse.
He passed through the intricate mesh wall with practiced ease and slipped into the innermost room.
It was the Holich Master’s temporary office.
Guguror had perched on the windowsill and was about to tap the frame with his beak to announce himself when he caught sight of someone else in the room and froze.
“Master. It’s been three months now. The operational funds haven’t come through, and the other spies have started contacting me about it.”
It was Natalisha, the Holich spy playing Nina’s aunt.
The Holich Master exhaled with obvious displeasure before speaking.
“Haven’t you received money from Nina?”
“That money… you want me to use it?”
“Why not? The girl inherited more than enough to spend on her own—more than she could possibly need.”
Natalisha’s mouth fell open in shock.
Nina had distributed hefty purses to every member of her fake family, yet none of them had touched the money.
The expenses for life at the Townhouse and the mission itself were covered entirely by the Agency’s operational funds.
Beyond that, spending someone else’s inheritance—even one obtained through deception—weighed too heavily on the conscience.
Even the servant spies whose eyes had lit at Nina’s weekly wages were merely hoarding the money, showing no intention to use it until they left the spy work and became real servants.
Natalisha sensed something amiss in the Master’s casual suggestion to spend it without care.
“Master. Surely there hasn’t been a problem with Holich’s finances?”
“Problem? Nonsense. The coffers are just a touch light momentarily—the Agency’s operations run smoothly enough. And things will fill back up soon enough, so don’t trouble yourself with such thoughts.”
“That means… you’ve invested a considerable sum somewhere, to the point you can’t pay the agents their wages? But that’s the budget Holich provides!”
At Natalisha’s alarm, the Master’s gaze turned sharp.
“Running the Agency on the state budget alone has always been tight. I invested it somewhere trustworthy, so it’ll multiply several times over.”
“But—”
“How much longer do you think we can trade on Holich’s reputation for Gun Technology? We’re in the age of advanced weaponry now. We’re already far behind. Once I recover the investment returns, acquiring Gun Technology will be child’s play.”
“……”
“You’ll need to start understanding the Agency’s true situation and the broader state of affairs. Surely you know I’ve earmarked you as my successor?”
Not just the Master, but all the Holich spies regarded Natalisha as the next Master.
She had always taken pride in that fact, and while sitting at a desk overseeing spies was still a future dream, she had demonstrated exceptional skill in the field.
She understood that at a position like Master, one couldn’t accomplish only clean and good deeds.
But she had never imagined it would come down to spending someone else’s wrongfully obtained inheritance.
“So from now on, you should begin managing your connections—”
The Master was adjusting his hat as he continued.
“Wait.”
Natalisha suddenly sensed a presence and cut him off, drawing a fan from her pocket and gripping it tightly.
As the sharp edge of the fan pointed toward the window, Guguror fluttered up and landed on the Holich Master’s shoulder.
“You’ve come.”
“Coo-oo-oo.”
Natalisha frowned, glaring at Guguror.
“Why is a Soltem pigeon here…?”
“Easy. This pigeon isn’t the enemy.”
The Master deftly untied the Note wrapped around Guguror’s leg and unfolded it, his expression suddenly serious. He quickly refolded it and retied it.
“Impressive. Lord Aman will be pleased.”
Lord Aman. The name was unfamiliar to Natalisha, and her confusion deepened.
“Natalisha. What you’ve seen of this pigeon—keep it to yourself.”
“……Yes.”
Natalisha hesitated a moment before nodding in agreement.
Meanwhile, Guguror made his way into the coop communications room the Holich Master had prepared and tapped rapidly on the pad with one foot.
Sender: Guguror. Destination: Count Sejak’s Estate in the Illite Kingdom.

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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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