How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 250 - Lull (3)

“Sir Mondegreen?”

I hadn’t seen him while flying towards Denif. I thought he might have come running after seeing a dragon flying from afar.

The desert sky was so clear that it felt like you could see its end. Mondegreen, who seemed to have rushed over, relaxed when he saw me.

“Carlyn.”

“What brings you here?”

“I was tired of wandering and thought I’d stay at my disciple’s grave for a while. Then I met this fellow.”

Right. There was a grave of his youngest disciple near the ruins. He seemed to be more affectionate than I thought.

Well, considering how he doted on Terka, his love for his disciples did seem great.

“How have you been? I heard you became a Sword Master.”

Mondegreen said with a grin. His face showed both pride and joy.

“Yes. Thanks to your teachings, I was able to find my path. I’m truly grateful.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Mondegreen rubbed his nose with a satisfied expression. Then he turned his gaze to Denif.

“Because of you, this friend got fired up and kept begging me to look at his sword.”

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Denif.

“…You were searching for the ruins properly, right?”

“I tried.”

“Are you sure?”

“No. Listen to me. I found it but it wouldn’t open. The location is correct, right? I just happened to meet Sir Mondegreen in that situation and asked for help.”

Denif argued earnestly. He didn’t seem to be lying. If this is the case, the glowstone is out. Well, I didn’t have high expectations.

Even back then, the desert temple tried to expel us. Denif’s mystic sand didn’t work either.

It was really fortunate that Rina had brought two at that time. Though it’s still disappointing. Mondegreen cut into our conversation.

“We should have another sword match.”

It seemed he was trying to change the subject to defend Denif. I nodded with a smile.

“Of course.”

“What about Terka? Is Terka working hard too? He must have been inspired by your achievement.”

“Yes. He’s working hard.”

“So, do you like him as a person?”

It was a question with an obvious desired answer, so I gave an awkward smile.

“He’s adapting well. Except for his fondness for women.”

“Ugh. He seemed to restrain himself a bit when he was under me, but I guess he can’t do that there.”

Right, he knew. I thought this guy, being a Sword Master, couldn’t have not known. He just had a blind spot for his disciple.

“I’m controlling him well.”

He guffawed at my words.

“Except for getting caught in an explosion recently.”

“What?”

Mondegreen was shocked. It’s understandable to be surprised hearing such news about your first disciple at your youngest disciple’s grave. I hastily shook my head.

“He’s fine. Don’t worry. Only one side of his hair got burned.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Just his hair was burned. He’s quite upset because of it.”

“Hohoho. I thought it was something serious. No wonder he’s upset. He cares so much about his appearance.”

Mondegreen sighed in relief and smiled.

“Come to think of it, I heard that old man Faorn also went to the front lines, is everyone doing well?”

I couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment as it was a question about the well-being of the Sword Masters. Mondegreen, still in the southeast, probably hadn’t heard about the northern news.

Seeing my expression, Mondegreen seemed to sense that something was amiss.

“Looks like something happened.”

“Lord Minteron was defeated by a devil.”

“…That friend? Did he pass away for good?”

“Yes.”

“Oh no.”

Mondegreen frowned and clicked his tongue. Denif, who was listening, also seemed quite shocked. However, Mondegreen’s face looked a bit ambiguous.

I don’t know about the relationship between Mondegreen and Minteron. They seemed to have some degree of acquaintance, if not as close as Rudehrn. Well, they were of similar age.

“Were you close with Lord Minteron?”

“Well. Rather than being close, we had a lot of bad feelings. We were frenemies.”

“Is that so?”

“We pursued different directions. We clashed a lot when we were young. We became Sword Masters only a few months apart. Of course, I was a bit faster.”

Mondegreen spoke with a serious face but finished with a playful expression. He didn’t seem to want to talk more about the memories, so I changed the subject.

“A state funeral will be held soon in Chenarus.”

“I should go.”

Actually, meeting Mondegreen here was fortunate. We had been trying to bring him in since Erendil became emperor.

The battle with the devil. The power of one Sword Master is more than we think. And now that Minteron has passed away, it’s a top priority.

“Would you like to come with us?”

“On a dragon, you mean?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s do that. I was planning to go anyway, so it’s good for me. Thank you. Thanks to you, I get to ride a dragon.”

Mondegreen smiled. He seemed to find it interesting, but to me, it felt closer to a bitter smile.

“Do we have to leave right away?”

“No. Two or three days should be fine.”

“Let’s leave tomorrow. I need to say goodbye to my disciple.”

“Goodbye?”

It was Denif’s question.

“I probably won’t be able to visit for a while.”

There was a hint of solemnity on Mondegreen’s face as he said that. I quietly nodded. I was contemplating how to persuade Mondegreen.

I thought I might need to use Terka, but it didn’t seem necessary. It looked like Mondegreen would stand by our side with his sword on his own.

***

“Let’s have a match. It’s about time.”

After Mondegreen went to his disciple’s grave, Denif naturally challenged me to a duel.

“Why, did you gain some confidence from learning from Sir Mondegreen?”

“Of course. From my perspective, I’ll catch up to you soon.”

Denif isn’t the type to brag without reason. It seems he had achieved something. However, those words didn’t seem entirely true.

The realization of becoming a Sword Master wasn’t something you could talk about so confidently.

Of course, from my standpoint, I’d like it if it were true. The upcoming battles will be tough. Still, I had to shake my head.

“Sorry, but no.”

“Ah, why not again? What’s the reason this time?”

I silently showed my right arm. It was the wound from the darkness spewed by the sphere. There wasn’t a major problem, but I didn’t want to overexert myself as there was still pain.

Denif was also surprised to see the wound.

“Damn, what’s this?”

“A wound I got in the east.”

“What? I thought nothing much happened in the east since you came back so quickly, but what exactly happened?”

I told Denif about what had happened. Denif listened with quite a serious face.

“Great Devil, you say?”

“It’s speculation, but yes.”

“Then shouldn’t we stop it quickly?”

“That’s true, but it’s in the east, of all places. It’s hard to move right away.”

Whether it’s north, south, or west, anywhere but the east would be under the empire’s influence, but… it had to be the east.

“Why does it seem to get harder as we go? I feel like we’ve been running around a lot.”

Denif’s complaint echoed my own feelings. Maybe even more so for me. Since coming to this world, I’ve been struggling to stop them.

However, they always find another way to escape.

Of course, it’s true that we’ve cornered them this far thanks to our efforts, but honestly, there were parts that felt unfair and frustrating.

If you think about the game, we’ve done really well. There wasn’t even this much hope in that world.

However, the feeling of playing the game and actually jumping in and taking risks is different, so it feels more intense.

“I know, right.”

As we sighed together in agreement, Denif suddenly looked at me.

“Oh right, Carlyn.”

“What?”

“I got in touch with Father on the way here, and he said he wants to meet you sometime.”

“With me?”

“Who else?”

Hmm, right. It was a stupid question. It had been a long time since I met Duke Brusek. I didn’t think I’d meet him since I had become the emperor’s bodyguard knight.

“Do you know why?”

“I don’t know what Father is thinking.”

I can’t understand the reason. There was no need for Duke Brusek and me to meet. It would only increase unnecessary risk factors.

And Duke Brusek wasn’t foolish enough not to know that. There must be a reason.

It was hard to guess. The empire was cooperative with Haisen, and Haisen was doing well too.

In such a situation, why would he want to meet me? Suddenly, I remembered the mention of considering me for the next Chief of Intelligence.

‘Surely it can’t be that. The emperor’s bodyguard knight becoming Haisen’s Chief of Intelligence?’

That didn’t make sense. Hmm. Anyway, Duke Brusek wasn’t one to say unnecessary things, so it seemed I should meet him once.

I could move after bringing Mondegreen to the empire.

While going to the south, I thought it might be good to stop by the southwest as well.

For two reasons. One was to meet Ines, and the other was to gauge the elves’ movements.

Ines had promised to tell me if she saw anything about me, but there had been no contact so far.

‘But Ines only saw things when she saw me or right before meeting me.’

Everything Ines said had come true. Now that the devil had escaped to the east, it seemed okay to meet her once.

And if the southwest was stabilized, I thought I might be able to bring her to the empire. Of course, I’d have to ask for Ines’ opinion.

I also needed to check on the elves. They could become a headache in the southwest when the war with the devil hiding in the east begins.

Even if I don’t face them directly, I could observe their movements from nearby.

‘Or I could pretend to be a devil worshipper and cause trouble.’

If they’ve already joined hands with the devil, they’ll attack us no matter what I do.

If not, they might come to hate the devil worshippers even more after seeing me.

It was a no-loss deal for me. Denif, who had been watching me ponder deeply, pouted and said,

“Well, it could be a good thing for you.”

“A good thing?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what he wants to give to someone who serves the empire’s emperor.”

Denif’s complaint was mixed with a lot of playfulness. Of course, some sincerity was felt too.

“I’ve helped Haisen that much.”

“I worked hard too, you know?”

“Who made the emperor?”

“…”

Denif couldn’t argue back. By the way, a good thing for me… There shouldn’t be anything Duke Brusek could give me.

In terms of martial arts, I’ve already obtained the Moonlight Technique and become a Sword Master, so it’s meaningless.

As for elixirs, the ones Erendil gives are much better. No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

At that moment, one thing occurred to me. The divine doctor. Duke Brusek had always been looking for a divine doctor because of my Worst Condition.

If he found a divine doctor, it makes sense. The empire would have also been looking for a divine doctor because of the emperor’s incurable disease.

Haisen was monitoring the empire’s movements, so they might have figured out the whereabouts of a divine doctor in the process.

‘Could it really be a divine doctor?’