How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 245 - Portlak (3)

The count seemed to be scrutinizing Terka carefully, as if he had heard about him from his daughter. He appeared to be calculating. I could guess the reason.

Even if they had nearly taken over the east, it wasn’t complete. The south, being farther away, was likely still untouched.

It was clear he was assessing whether Terka was of noble birth and if he was talent worth recruiting. Meito, his attendant, had a similar look in his eyes.

I saw him calmly observing our group. I stood quietly, pretending not to notice.

“By the way, I heard you were from a duke’s family.”

“That’s correct.”

“Is it because of that incident about ten years ago?”

“You remember.”

“How could I not when the king changed?”

The count nodded and looked our way.

“And who are these friends?”

“They’re members of my group.”

“A mage? That staff looks extraordinary.”

As the count pointed at me, I slightly bowed my head.

“My skills aren’t that great. This staff is too good for me.”

“If the three of you can pull a carriage, you must all be quite capable. Am I wrong? Where are you from?”

It was a question asked because mages were often nobility. I had originally planned to pretend to be a fallen noble like Terka.

However, Terka spoke faster than me.

“This is my younger cousin. We’ve been traveling together since that incident.”

It wasn’t a bad excuse. Two from one family would be better than two unrelated fallen nobles meeting.

The expectation in the count’s gaze diminished slightly.

This was because the average skill of street-born mages, who weren’t of noble birth, wasn’t particularly high.

“For two to have survived, you must have been lucky.”

“It was a chaotic time, wasn’t it?”

“True, quite a few families were purged then. But for that, the staff is quite good. Is it a family heirloom?”

“Yes. Thanks to my older brother, we were able to keep it.”

The count looked at Terka. He seemed somewhat curious. The staff was clearly extraordinary to anyone who saw it.

The fact that they had been able to keep it until now meant they had skill.

“You must be quite skilled.”

“I’m fairly confident.”

Terka spoke with a proud face. The count smirked.

“We’ll have to verify that. By the way, I think we need to talk privately. Would that be alright?”

It seems he had roughly sized us up and was ready to start the real conversation.

“Of course.”

“Meito, please guide these people.”

“Yes, Count.”

Rina and I followed the attendant to another room. It didn’t particularly matter. We weren’t the main characters anyway.

And I could eavesdrop using winds. Terka knew this fact too. After Meito returned to the count, I operated winds as carefully as possible.

-Before we get into the main discussion, I’d like to see your skills first.

-By all means.

The two left the reception room and headed to the training ground. The following duel was quite one-sided.

One of the count’s knights came out, but Terka easily won. The count called another knight.

A stronger one, likely his confidant. Terka had a slightly harder time but still won comfortably.

The count let out an uncomfortable groan. It seemed to be a mix of surprise and dissatisfaction.

-Impressive, to have grown so much on the streets at such a young age. If you had remained with your family, you might have written your name in history.

-You flatter me.

Writing one’s name in history meant becoming a Sword Master, so it was an unusually high compliment.

-Let me be frank. With skills like that, it doesn’t matter whether what you said earlier was true or not.

He meant that even if the claim of being a duke’s child was a lie, he could make it true. For such a conversation to occur meant he had passed some level of test.

In fact, with Terka’s level of skill, it was natural that anyone would want to recruit him.

-It is the truth.

-Regardless, what’s more important is your mindset. I heard you hope for the devil’s victory in the battle between the Empire and the devil on the continent. Is that certain?

-Yes. Those unbelievers should disappear. Doesn’t darkness make the moon shine brighter? Lu Nanna loves the night too.

Terka acted better than I expected. The count paused for a moment. His slightly turning head checked Meito’s expression.

As if permission had been granted, the count continued.

-Then you could become a duke of the south again.

-Are you saying you’ll move for my sake, Count? It would be difficult for you to reach the south…

Terka expressed concern, but the count smirked.

-Don’t worry. We’ll discuss the details at midnight. You’ll know everything then. It’s almost dinner time, so let’s eat.

-Are we going far at midnight?

-Far? What do you mean?

-Mino said there was someone to meet…

-Mino said that?

I sensed the count’s head turning slightly through winds. He was checking Meito’s expression.

-Yes. At first I thought it was you, Count, but hearing you speak like this, it seems to be someone else…

-No, we’ll talk here.

Thanks to Terka’s quick thinking, we were able to gain new information. The person to meet was probably Meito.

Afterwards, we in the reception room were also called to dinner.

When Terka looked at me, I nodded to indicate I already knew everything. At the dinner table, I observed carefully before speaking.

“If it’s alright with you, Count, could Rina and I stay outside?”

“Why?”

“Forgive my impertinence, but we’re still uncomfortable in places like this…”

This was to allow us freedom of movement. There wasn’t much need for excuses. I had said I was from a fallen noble family, but I was very young at the time.

However, the count tilted his head. As someone born noble, it might be an area he couldn’t understand. Instead, Mino Leoble whispered to the count.

“They say they’re lovers.”

The count frowned slightly, glanced at Meito, and nodded.

“Do as you please.”

As we continued the meal, I gave Terka the agreed-upon signal. I touched my nape as if it was stiff.

This meant I would move first, so she should survive on her own. The count and Meito. It wasn’t enough to kill Terka.

As we headed to the inn after dinner, I noticed people following us. There were two. Well, it didn’t matter much.

“Will you use one room or two?”

“One.”

The innkeeper greeted us with an annoyed tone. I added:

“By the way, what’s in the north?”

“The north? I’m not sure. Why?”

“I was wondering if there’s work. Actually, I came for monster hunting, but it turned out to be unnecessary. I heard the count has been going north recently, so I thought there might be work for mercenaries.”

“Ah, I don’t know. And it’s not north, it’s east.”

With this, I pinpointed the direction. There were many methods, but I took the easy route. Of course, this could also be a deception, but they probably wouldn’t be so cautious in their own territory.

“I see. Then do you know anyone around here who might have work?”

“Leto at the restaurant has been having trouble with rats…”

I frowned.

“I meant something more substantial.”

“Well, it’s so peaceful around here…”

I nodded, thinking that peace wouldn’t last long.

***

As soon as we entered the room, I sat down calmly to organize my thoughts. They had answered no when asked if they were going somewhere.

That meant they would reveal Meito’s identity and tell Terka the truth only at midnight.

He had passed the count’s inspection for now, but whether Meito felt the same would be something they’d have to discuss together.

So I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

‘There will be a gap in their defenses.’

The devil wasn’t in the count’s mansion. When I examined it with winds, there were no hidden spaces.

Normally, Meito would be with the count, protecting the devil.

Today, while talking with Terka, Meito would be at the count’s mansion.

This meant there would be an opening for me.

I wasn’t sure if I could find it today, but I intended to go look.

As soon as we returned to the inn, I told Rina:

“We’re moving now.”

“Right away?”

“The devil is somewhere nearby. I don’t know where, but…”

I brought Rina along to easily detect their traces. Rina had an extraordinary eye for finding things.

Being a Great Thief means having talent for finding and taking hidden things. That talent could possibly shine when finding a hideout.

We slipped out quietly through the inn’s window. Their surveillance was sloppy. I wasn’t sure if they were devil worshippers or the count’s people…

We hid in an alley with a view of the inn entrance. It would be easier to kill them, but we couldn’t. We might not find it today.

“Let’s go.”

Rina and I climbed onto the roofs and moved east as fast as possible. Once outside the city gate, I expanded winds to the maximum.

From now on, we had to determine the direction by intuition. South of the east gate was a small mountain, and to the north was a forest.

“Rina, mountain or forest, where would you hide?”

“Forest.”

“Forest?”

“The mountain is safer, right? It’s rugged and has many hiding places, so people would look there. And since the count needs to come and go, the forest would be better.”

It made sense. We headed to the northern forest. It wasn’t far. We moved for 15 minutes and searched for about an hour and a half.

I left the direction to Rina. Since winds didn’t detect anything, I trusted Rina’s intuition more than mine. Then it happened.

“Carlyn.”

“Yes?”

“There. Doesn’t something seem strange?”

Under the faint moonlight, the forest was dark. It was difficult to find anything strange with the naked eye. However, after staring intently for about 30 seconds, I did feel something off.

Only after getting a bit closer did I realize it was magic. A high-level barrier magic.

“Well done.”

I was glad I brought Rina. I might have passed by without noticing. A Great Thief was indeed a Great Thief. It took about a minute of careful observation to know for sure.

It was also my blind spot. If such a barrier had been at the count’s mansion, I wouldn’t have found it. I should keep this in mind next time. I whispered quietly to Rina:

“Now, wait outside the south gate. If I don’t come back by 4 AM, move on your own. The secondary rendezvous point is Ryungpel as agreed. If there’s no news after a week, return to the Empire.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”

“Don’t worry.”

I didn’t expect such barrier magic, but I had a way to break it. Once recognized, I could just break through with Sword Energy.

However, that would alert everyone inside.

I reluctantly decided to use the Amulet of the Season That Doesn’t Exist. The amulet doesn’t simply provide a space.

It allows me to stay in another space above the world I’m currently in.

It sounds complicated, but it means I can move within that space, and that movement applies to reality as well.

The difference is that the time axis is slightly twisted.

‘My mind gets corrupted the more I move, but the 3rd prince who became emperor in the game didn’t survive long for nothing.’

After confirming Rina had moved away, I infused mana into the amulet. An opaque and blurry world appeared, along with a rising sense of discomfort.

Gritting my teeth and enduring, I took a step forward.

The hazy world wasn’t as clear as reality. The terrain appeared as opaque outlines, which I had to use as a guide to move.

The psychological pressure intensified as I moved, but I moved calmly. There was a tunnel where the barrier was. I entered the tunnel stealthily and carefully.

As I was traversing a different space, there was no interference even deep inside. And at some point, I felt an incredibly strong power wave even in this blurry world.

‘It’s the devil.’

Although the form wasn’t clear, its power itself was unmistakable. I had faced it directly before. I circled around behind it.

Actually, I didn’t expect the devil’s energy to be visible like this, but I was luckier than I thought. It felt like even the heavens were on my side, including meeting Mino Leoble.

Could this thing respond? I hoped not. Taking a deep breath, I raised Moonlight.

I infused mana into the amulet again.

“…Huh?”

And I couldn’t help but be surprised. Clearly, there was a being containing the devil’s power right in front of me…

But it wasn’t a person, it looked like a huge egg. No, it was an egg. With thick, dark purple veins pulsating on the membrane.