I Am the 5-Year-Old Spy Who Kidnapped the Villain - Chapter 3

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

【Chapter 3】

Since they’re inside the castle, and Dorothy is the only spy here, this person must definitely be from Croste.

‘Phew.’

As I slipped inside the robe, I felt a cozy sensation like being inside a tent.

‘He’s taller than I thought.’

Squirming as I stood between the man’s legs, I grabbed the robe like a curtain and peeked out with only my eyes to watch ahead.

I could see Dorothy standing at the entrance to the garden.

Having run here without rest, she was so angry that her face was red as if it might burst. She looked like a bright red bubble gum from hell.

If I’m caught, it’s over.

“…Outsiders can’t enter the garden, so who could it be.”

I was trembling like a frightened meerkat while watching ahead, when a low bass voice from above pierced my ears.

I slowly raised my head.

Though I couldn’t see his face because of the hood, judging by his way of speaking, he seemed to be someone with quite a high position in the castle.

I didn’t know who this tent man was, but I had to make him my ally no matter what.

I poked just my face out from inside the robe and looked up at the man.

“Um, mister…”

“Gardener?”

That’s when it happened.

A huge palm gently pushed my face back in, and then I heard someone calling out.

Having been pushed back, I sat down on the ground and grabbed the man’s pant leg to stand up, when I heard a familiar voice from beyond.

“I apologize for entering without permission, but I see you’re in the garden. Have you perhaps seen a young child running this way? A girl about 5 years old.”

It was Dorothy.

By the way, so the tent man I was hiding with was a gardener. His way of speaking was so refined that I thought he’d be at least an aide, so this was unexpected.

“Why are you looking for her?”

“She’s a suspicious child. That child said she knows where the lost princess is.”

“The lost princess, you say.”

Perhaps because I thought he was hiding me, I listened to their conversation feeling somewhat relieved.

Though I had to tense up again because of his suddenly lowered voice.

‘What? His voice sounds a bit different?’

The hand gripping his pant leg stiffened.

For the first time, a chill crept into the low voice that had been calmly speaking even in this confusing situation.

Though he was a gardener, perhaps he was someone who understood his master’s trauma well.

“Th-that is…”

Dorothy also seemed to sense the changed atmosphere and hesitated.

“I was planning to keep her with me separately until the audience request was completed… but she shook off my hand and ran away.”

Damn. If she says that, he’ll obviously send me back to Dorothy. I crouched quietly, suppressing my presence as much as possible.

A brief quiet silence settled. My heart began to pound.

What if the gardener hands me over to crazy Dorothy?

Then I’ll have to expose that woman’s identity.

Of course, I might also be found out as a spy, but since I helped the Croste side anyway, they might look favorably on me.

‘Right. Let’s die together.’

Having steeled my resolve, I grabbed the gardener’s pant leg and glared with triangular eyes.

“I haven’t seen any child.”

…He’s hiding me?

“I see. Then excuse me.”

Thud.

I was so surprised that the hand clutching his pant leg dropped.

My pounding heart gradually calmed in rhythm with Dorothy’s rapidly fading footsteps.

“Come out now.”

“…”

“It’s okay. The maid is gone.”

As the low bass voice pierced my ears, I made up my mind and came out from under the robe, bowing my head.

“Mister. Thank you for helping me.”

“You know where the princess is?”

The man knelt down to meet my eye level.

“If this is a prank, you know it’s going too far, right? How do you know the princess’s whereabouts?”

Thanks to our closer proximity, the man’s lower face was revealed beneath the hood.

A moderately masculine jaw and tightly pressed lips. Though his full face wasn’t visible, it was clearly a handsome face.

‘…Is he really just an extra?’

Slightly flustered, I hid my inner thoughts and answered calmly.

“I was at the same orphanage as the princess.”

“…An orphanage?”

The man’s lips twisted slightly.

“Yes. Then I escaped for personal reasons, and the princess is still there.”

Of course, this was a lie. But having read the original story, I knew which orphanage the princess was at.

“…Where is that orphanage?”

The man’s firm voice seemed to shake slightly, but I didn’t mind and answered.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I’m going to tell the duke directly. But only if you grant my request.”

“…Hah, what’s the request.”

He sighed softly and asked as if chewing the words. He looked somewhat anxious.

‘Of course he would. When someone knows about the princess his master has been searching for so desperately.’

Duke Croste would be much more desperate. So I had to propose something big.

I took a breath and suppressed my nervousness. Then I firmly grasped the hem of the robe the man was wearing.

“Mister. Are you perhaps unmarried?”

“…What?”

Though I couldn’t see it, I could feel the gardener’s brow furrowing.

He seemed like he never imagined receiving such a question from a 5-year-old.

But I was desperate.

“If you’re unmarried, I’d like you to become my legal guardian. It doesn’t have to be you specifically. Anyone from the Croste ducal family would do. I’ll ask the duke for that.”

Seeing that an explanation seemed necessary, I added more.

“If I tell you the princess’s location, and the bad people behind this notice and attack me, right? Then I need someone to protect me.”

The man, who had gone quiet as if at a loss for words, answered softly.

“…The Croste ducal family will protect you.”

“Until when?”

“Until you’re safe.”

“What’s the scope of my safety?”

But the gardener hesitated at the continued questioning.

I know.

Though this man seems blunt, he has quite a kind personality. That’s why he protected a strange child he could have ignored.

If he’s this kind of person, he wouldn’t abandon a child, even an adopted one, when they’re in danger.

So I had to ask for help from someone like him.

“Pose Duke will chase me to the very end.”

As I spoke while clenching my small fists, his gaze sharpened.

“Pose Duke? Don’t tell me Pose Duke kidnapped the princess?”

“…I-I don’t know about that… but I do know that the Pose ducal family is evil.”

Glance-

I looked away at empty air, playing innocent. Then, worried he might refuse, I hurriedly added.

“…Actually, my current goal is to somehow survive and eat delicious desserts, make friends, and even find a lover.”

“Don’t you have any friends?”

That’s a harsh blow to a little kid?

“No?”

“Really?”

“…I do have them? I have many?”

“I have several.”

“….”

I needed to change the subject. I recalled the original story’s setting to discuss something important right away.

This was a world where supernatural abilities called divine blessings existed.

The Croste Ducal Family of the Frozen Kingdom had ice abilities. The Pose Duke’s Family of the Kingdom of Odtia had poison abilities.

The two ducal families maintained the world’s balance by competing for power using their abilities.

That didn’t mean those without abilities couldn’t wield influence.

People from families without abilities learned swordsmanship to become knights, or memorized spells to become mages and advance in society.

Good. Let me try appealing in that direction too.

“Ahem. Let me introduce myself first.”

I cleared my throat and began speaking.

“I’ve grown up struggling like a dog since I was little, so I don’t expect much from you, Gardener. Just provide me a place to sleep. I’ll find my own food.”

“What?”

“And unlike typical 5-year-olds, I have a biorhythm that wakes me up at 5 AM. I also have good stamina, so you’ll be satisfied using me as a garden worker.”

“…That,”

“Just raise me until I’m legally an adult.”

The gardener opened his mouth as if to interrupt, but I wasn’t going to allow that.

“And let me tell you about my life plan. I have better physical abilities than the average kids my age, and I’m planning to use that to become an S-rank mercenary in a free nation.”

“….”

“S-rank mercenaries make a lot of money, so later I can give you generous allowances and repay your kindness. If you’re going to try raising a child anyway, how about growing a golden seed instead, Gardener?”

I pointed at myself dramatically.

“Of course, I’m the golden seed. So please raise me, Gardener.”

Good. What parent wouldn’t like this kind of speech?

I suppressed my inner pride and stared at the gardener with determination.

“Ow.”

The man who had been spacing out for a moment gave me a gentle flick on the forehead.

“I refuse.”

“…What? Why?”

“Why? You’re asking why?”

The man who had been tilting his head bent his knees.

And he looked down at me somewhat dangerously with his elbows resting on his knees.

Though I couldn’t see his face because of the hood, just having such a large man take that posture was intimidating.

“Do you know who I am?”

After hesitating for a moment, I answered.

“I know you’re an adult who protects children.”

Then I hurriedly rolled up my sleeve to show off my impressive bicep.

“Look here. Pretty impressive for an ordinary 5-year-old, right?”

“That’s not a bicep, that’s a slime, isn’t it?”

“….”

I’m supposed to be a spy, and he calls it a slime.

My pride hurt, I pouted.

“It’s a giant slime.”

“?”

“Very firm and strong…”

That’s when it happened.

“Enough about slimes.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly he stood up.

“Talking with you seems like it’ll never end, so just follow me for now.”

The man sighed as if annoyed and walked off somewhere without even telling me where we were going.

His emotionless low voice showed no expectations for me whatsoever.

Why is he like this? Are my specs insufficient?

“Ah, mister. Would you be satisfied if I became a mercenary king instead of an S-rank mercenary?”

I tried hastily upgrading my specs, but it was useless.

“I don’t need that kind of thing.”

“If you don’t like mercenary king, I’ll earn money and buy you a baronet title!”

I followed the man who wasn’t listening to me at all, shouting as I trailed behind.

“Please see my potential, Father!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————