Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 8

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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 8
While Nina was away from home.
The family, who had been plotting in secret, found themselves wrestling with the latest information that Cheyson, who played the role of uncle, had brought back.
“There’s nothing new about the Count’s household where Nina worked? Is that really everything we found out investigating in Soltem?”
Kathari, playing the role of elder sister, sighed in disbelief.
“The Ilite Kingdom is your homeland, Cheyson. You don’t know anyone there personally?”
At Natalisha’s question, who played the role of aunt, Cheyson shook his head while letting out a soft groan.
“Organizing the intelligence: Count Sezak’s household clearly belongs to the newly risen nobility—they accumulated their wealth through wartime speculation. They’re still conducting business with Hemostatic Agent, after all.”
“We already know that.”
Exci, who played the role of older brother, nodded with eyes that gleamed with unusual sharpness.
Not long had passed since he’d woken from deep sleep, having succumbed to the Sleeping Poison that Nina dropped.
For the first time since entering the Intelligence Agency’s training facility, he’d slept so soundly that his face glowed with vitality.
Cheyson clicked his tongue at the sight of how his skin had grown noticeably fairer, softening his usually sharp demeanor.
“But his history before that is murky. The fact that so little is known about him suggests he might be part of the newly risen nobility.”
“Newly risen nobility? You mean someone who bought his title? Isn’t that illegal?”
Cheyson nodded in agreement with Natalisha’s question. In the Ilite Kingdom, trafficking in titles was illegal.
“If he purchased it before the war, he could be from a defeated nation. But it’s all speculation—there’s practically no real intelligence.”
Exci drew in a sharp breath through his teeth.
“It’s suspicious either way. Nina is suspicious. Even the place where she worked as a maid is suspicious. Double suspicious, if you ask me.”
Then, unlike the other family members, he glanced at the residential Clockwork Doll he’d met late—Number 4 Jugger.
“That unsettling clockwork thing is suspicious too. We should dispose of it.”
Click-clack.
Click-clack.
Jugger Number 4 moved directly in front of them, though none of them had made a move.
「Why the hostility? Are you curious to see what taste the Mosbug might give you? Then shall we make a proper. first. ac. quaintance?」
“Exci. I told you this insane machine shouldn’t say things like that—it bullies people.”
As Kathari cast a reproachful glance at Exci, Natalisha opened her mouth.
“We’ve had our introduction. I have a question for you, Jugger Number 4.”
「Speak.」
“If you’re Number 4 and Number 3 is the one holding the Remington…… where are Number 1 and Number 2?”
Jugger Number 4 rolled its eyes, emitting a sound like mechanical laughter.
「Would you like to meet them? I can arrange an introduction.」
“Just tell me where they are.”
At Cheyson’s irritated words, the mechanical eyes that had been rolling stuttered to a halt.
「That is information I cannot disclose. I recommend you ask no further. That is a matter. of. pri. vate. af. fairs.」
……
When Jugger Number 4 clicked the Mosbug into view with menace, there was nothing more they could say.
“Everyone, I’m home!”
Right on cue, their target and newest family member, Nina, arrived home.
The family turned away from Jugger Number 4 and headed toward the lobby, then froze at the sight of what Nina was carrying.
Something partially wrapped in white cloth—whatever it was, it could only be……
“N-Nina. Is that a Magical Gun?”
“That’s right! I received it as a gift from Joel. Isn’t it pretty? It looks just like sweet chocolate!”
Nina cradled the Magical Gun in her arms with great satisfaction.
The family members, alternating their gaze between the front and back of the Magical Rifle protruding from the white cloth, ground their teeth.
‘What was that sickly shut-in thinking, giving our target a weapon like that?’
Naturally, the easier it was to get close to a target, the fewer weapons they had and the less they knew how to use them.
None of them could understand what Joel had been thinking in giving her a Magical Gun.
Exci rubbed at his arm, where a lingering sting remained.
“D-dangerous. It’s not pretty—it’s bad.”
“I showed some interest in Magical Tools, and he was kind enough to gift it to me. I’m really wondering what I should give him in return.”
Then Jugger Number 4 glided closer and spread its hands out exaggeratedly to the sides.
「Such a finely crafted, handmade Magical Rifle. What a wonderful gift of a Magical Gun—I must say, your neighbor is truly grate. ful.」
“Right?”
Nina, who had been smiling in response, suddenly remembered something as she looked at Jugger Number 4.
“Oh! I should go back to the warehouse where I found Jugger Number 4. I haven’t fully explored it yet, and it looked like there were lots of antiques and rare items.”
“W-wait, Nina. You mean you’re keeping that Magical Gun? Nina……!”
Unhearing of Natalisha’s flustered voice, Nina descended into the Basement with delight.
There were several storage rooms in the Basement.
Nina stood contemplating which one to open first, her face bright with anticipation, before reaching out to one of the door handles.
“Be careful. That door—if you open it carelessly, it’ll trigger an alarm.”
Nina’s hand jerked back at the sound of Jugger Number Four’s voice from behind her.
“Oh. Then what about this one?”
“That one will too.”
“So Grandmother enjoyed a bit of suspense, did she?”
Breaking into a cold sweat, Nina finally opened the door where Jugger Number Four stood and stepped inside.
She didn’t know much about her grandmother yet, but the old gentleman who’d brought the will had mentioned that she’d been granted a Marquis Title in the Ilite Kingdom.
He’d said that while titles weren’t hereditary in the Ilite Kingdom, as her grandmother’s direct granddaughter, Nina could enter the Ilite Royal Academy without taking the entrance examination.
‘I had no idea any of that was true.’
As Nina wandered through the storage room, she found herself wondering what her grandmother had done in the Ilite Kingdom to earn such a title.
‘What’s this?’
That was when she spotted a palm-sized album on a shelf.
The moment she thought there might be photographs of her grandmother inside and turned the lock to open it—
a sharp spark crackled across her fingertips.
“Ow!”
She dropped the album with a yelp, and photographs scattered across the floor in a cascade.
Nina’s eyes went wide as she examined the first photo.
A young Likita held a fishing rod in the picture.
‘Now that I look at it, she really does look so much like me. Was Grandmother a fisherman?’
But then she saw a photo of her holding a clock and tools, and reconsidered.
‘Ah, the fishing must have been just a hobby at a resort. So Grandmother was a clockmaker.’
Yet with each photograph she turned to—
‘After that she was a teacher, and then worked as a stable master…… and even became a member of the clergy……?’
It became harder to guess what her grandmother’s actual profession was.
‘She was a postal worker too, and then a gem miner, and a soldier… This is a Kibon uniform, isn’t it? And then after that…’
Nina scratched her head, tilting it in confusion.
‘A Luzein military uniform? This is a Soltem military uniform, and this one is from Ilite…’
Puzzling over how one person could have held so many professions, Nina arrived at what seemed like the only reasonable conclusion.
‘Grandmother must have been a model or a clothing designer. She probably made all these outfits herself.’
In any case, she decided that Likita had been a remarkable person and closed the album, returning it to its place.
Then she discovered something covered in paper wrapping and smiled with satisfaction.
She’d found something worthy of giving as a thank-you gift for the Magical Gun.
Nina smiled brightly as she carefully took it with her.
‘Perfect. This will do nicely! I’ll bring it tomorrow.’
* * *
Meanwhile, Joel sat silently on the Balcony.
He had no idea what he’d been thinking when he sent Nina off with a freshly laundered handkerchief.
Afterward, he’d contacted the Intelligence Agency to have the fallen intruders removed cleanly, but the scenes that had unfolded there continued to circle in his mind.
This incident was, as expected, a combination of retaliation and intimidation from a foreign intelligence agency.
Psychological warfare was something the Masters engaged in—but striking at everyone from the middle ranks down to the foot soldiers was their way of venting.
Ryan, Joel’s senior at the Intelligence Agency, slouched out onto the Balcony.
“Heard there was quite a commotion, but it looks cleaner than I expected?”
“The intruders were subdued with considerable skill.”
“Show me the footage later. But what about Likita? How is she?”
Ryan had always been curious about Nina.
As the only blood relative of Likita, and with something suspicious about her to boot, she made for a very appetizing target to an enthusiastic intelligence operative.
But since he’d only ever seen her in blurry photographs, he desperately wanted to see what she looked like in person.
Joel gestured indifferently toward the binoculars placed on the Balcony.
“If you’re curious, look across the way. You’ll find an utterly useless person sitting there—about as inefficient as a defective Magical Tool.”
“Oh.”
Ryan quickly grabbed the binoculars and peered into the room beyond the opposite Balcony, then turned back to Joel with a puzzled expression.
“I don’t see any such person. There’s just a spring fairy sitting there.”
Joel’s brow furrowed with frustration.
“Dammit. Even to your eyes, does Nina appear as a spring fairy—perfectly designed for some grand scheme? So it wasn’t my eyes that were off after all.”
“……Are you out of your mind?”

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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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