How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 254 - Elf (1)

After washing up thoroughly, I immediately went to find the divine doctor. In my absence, he had brewed tea, as two steaming cups were placed in front.

“Sir, I sincerely thank you once again.”

“Thanks… It’s fine now that you’re well. I had a hard time too, but you must have had it worse. Are you not feeling tired?”

Well, I wasn’t particularly tired. It’s not that I didn’t feel it at all. There was a sense of fatigue, but perhaps I didn’t feel it was that severe because every day had been Worst Condition.

In fact, rather than fatigue, I felt strangely hungry. You could say my appetite was stimulated.

“I’m fine.”

“Hmm. Is it relatively okay because your original condition wasn’t good? Normally, you’d be about to fall asleep right now.”

“I think that’s probably it.”

The divine doctor seemed to have the same thought as me. After hearing my words, he nodded and pointed at the table.

Come to think of it, some wild grass was placed next to the teacups.

“Chew and eat that. Then drink the tea.”

“Yes.”

I sat down in front of it and picked up the wild grass. It seemed to have been washed once, but after purifying it, I put it in my mouth. I didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t taste bad.

That doesn’t mean it tasted good. It’s just in comparison to the terribly bitter decoction I had before.

There was a slight sweetness at the end of the bitter taste, and the texture was, of course, not great.

Hmm. Come to think of it, the fact that I think it’s not bad might also be an effect of Worst Condition disappearing. Unlike usual when I had no appetite, now I feel hungry.

After eating all the grass, I took a sip of tea. The tea had a clean and bland taste.

“Stay here for about 4 days from now on. There’s a need to nurture the weakened soul.”

“Yes.”

“Go to sleep for today. We’ll see each other again tomorrow.”

The divine doctor left with just those words and stood up. I hurriedly stopped the divine doctor as he rose.

“Um, sir, I have something to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Is it possible for you to treat Mysophobia as well?”

I was given a total of 4 penalties: Eccentric Actions, Worst Condition, Devil’s Blood, and Mysophobia. Now that the divine doctor had treated Worst Condition, there were only 3 left.

Even if Eccentric Actions was a variable, I wanted to treat Mysophobia if possible. Despite having purification and winds, it wasn’t without inconvenience.

“Mysophobia? That’s impossible. It’s not a disease, but a psychological domain.”

“…I see.”

Well, is Mysophobia a kind of mental illness? It must be. It’s largely influenced by psychology. To be honest, I’m not sure if I would change even if Mysophobia suddenly disappeared from my trait window.

The fact that door handles others have touched are dirty and that the hygiene of food from most city restaurants is not good is already ingrained in my mind.

There are psychiatrists in modern times too, but they don’t cure all mental illnesses. To treat Mysophobia, wouldn’t you need to tamper with the memories themselves?

There is a bit of disappointment in some aspects. I did feel a little like, “The divine doctor treated even the soul, but can’t treat Mysophobia?” Of course, I couldn’t question it.

“Rest.”

“Please go in.”

I bowed to the retreating divine doctor. With my comfortable body condition, the first thing that came to mind was wanting to swing Moonlight.

“Just in case, don’t do anything foolish on moonlit nights and just recuperate for 4 days.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

However, the divine doctor suddenly turned and uttered a warning. It felt like he had read my mind. Well. It’s not strange that he knows the psychology so well, given that he must have treated more than one or two knights.

There was no need to move unnecessarily if the divine doctor said so. Marhan entered through the open door, perhaps having talked during my absence.

“Carlyn, congratulations. Your long-standing illness has finally been cured.”

“Thank you. I was just thinking how nice it would have been if this had happened earlier.”

“Yes. If it had, we could have trained you to be even stronger.”

“No, I was able to grow this much thanks to you, Marhan.”

“Thanks to me? I don’t know how to react when a Sword Master says such things.”

Marhan said jokingly and laughed. I scratched my neck with an embarrassed face. Marhan changed the subject.

“The duke is looking for you.”

“Yes, I should go see him.”

The duke had told me not to think about meeting him and to go back if the treatment didn’t work. Now that it had worked, I thought he might be a bit confident.

As I expected, the duke greeted me with an arrogant posture, his legs crossed.

“How is it, are you alright?”

“Yes. I didn’t know I could feel this comfortable in normal times again. Usually, it was something I experienced only once or twice a year.”

“That’s good. It would have been better if we had found the divine doctor earlier. That damned old man, how well he hides as he wanders around. It took nearly 10 years since you came under me to find him.”

“I’m just grateful to you, Father.”

“That’s enough. It’s a gift for a departing son, so don’t worry about it. Actually, I have many things to apologize for to you.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

As I returned his words similarly, the duke chuckled and stood up.

“Did he say you need to stay longer?”

“He said to recuperate for about 4 days.”

“This place is safe, so rest comfortably before you go. I need to leave first.”

“Are you busy?”

It was a polite question. As the Chief of Intelligence, he must be busy. Actually, if we were to meet like this, it might have become a bit uncomfortable for the time we were apart.

“I have to go. It’s not good to be away from my post for too long. Even if the empire is busy, surveillance of the continent hasn’t stopped.”

“Yes. I’ll see you again.”

“It would be better if we don’t. If we meet again, doesn’t it mean there’s a problem?”

The duke spoke grumblingly, and I showed an awkward smile.

“Won’t there be another chance when things become peaceful and time passes? I’ll come to visit you.”

“Alright. You’ll do well on your own. Don’t overdo it.”

***

After Duke Brusek and Marhan left, I stayed with the divine doctor for 4 days. The duration itself didn’t matter.

I had planned for a month, considering the treatment period. I had thought it might take up to 2 weeks. I had even considered it might take longer.

Worst Condition was a penalty trait, and if it could be treated, I couldn’t gauge how long it would take. 4 days was an extremely favorable timeframe.

Anyway, on the evening of the 4th day, the divine doctor came to find me.

“I’ll be leaving first. I’ve left herbs and tea for tomorrow as well, so eat them as you see fit.”

It didn’t matter as I had been doing that for the past 4 days. I had been brewing and drinking what the divine doctor had prepared separately. Although I had returned to a comfortable body condition, I still felt at ease every time I drank it.

While the divine doctor’s ability itself was a mystic, his medical knowledge was also at a considerable level.

“Sir.”

Of course, I had no intention of letting the divine doctor leave like this. With his abilities, he could play an enormous role in the fight against the devils.

For instance, if the divine doctor had been in the empire earlier, Minteron wouldn’t have died. Considering future battles, it was essential to recruit the divine doctor as there was a high possibility that Erendil or I could be in danger.

“What is it?”

The divine doctor spoke with an annoyed expression. It was a face that knew what I was about to say. I continued, watching his reaction.

“Would you consider staying in the empire for a while?”

“No.”

“Please, at least until the war with the devils is over.”

“Not possible.”

The divine doctor shook his head firmly. His eyes were fierce. Although he had treated my illness, his appearance didn’t look kind.

Of course, from the divine doctor’s perspective, it might sound like I’m asking for more after he saved me, but…

It was a matter of not only my life but also the fate of this continent. If the devils win, even the divine doctor can’t guarantee his survival.

“Is there perhaps another reason?”

“I can’t belong anywhere. I just wander around, treating people I meet or those who seek me out according to my choice.”

“The people you meet can only exist if the continent remains intact, sir.”

The divine doctor stared at me silently for a while, then said something out of the blue.

“There are two cases for mystics. Either they suddenly bloom one day, or they are chosen at a certain place. I was the latter.”

The divine doctor continued with a serious face instead of the annoyed one from earlier. As the atmosphere had changed, I listened attentively.

“And even in the latter case, very rarely, restrictions can occur. I cannot belong anywhere even if the world falls apart. I just have to wander like this. That’s what the mystic that chose me wants.”

“…I see.”

I don’t know if those words are true. I haven’t heard of restrictions on mystics, but I couldn’t be certain as I don’t know everything about all mystics.

I examined the divine doctor’s face closely, but it didn’t seem like he was lying.

“Think about how I haven’t belonged anywhere until now. It’s a different issue from not having material desires. The wandering life is interesting, but sometimes, no, often troublesome.”

That’s right. For ordinary people, travel is fun because it’s a temporary escape. If it continues, it becomes painful.

If it’s involuntary wandering, it would be even more so.

With the divine doctor speaking like that, I couldn’t persuade him further. Even if it wasn’t true, I couldn’t force the divine doctor either.

“Please don’t think badly of me.”

“Not at all. I’m sorry for causing you discomfort unnecessarily.”

“Then I’ll be going. I wish you good luck.”

The divine doctor left just like that. I expressed my gratitude and asked if he had any wishes for the sake of maintaining some relationship, but he just shook his head.

The morning after the divine doctor left, I packed my things and headed to the southwest.

***

One of the objectives of this trip to the southwest was to observe the elves, to check their movements. To see if they were hiding in their forest preparing for war or plotting something strange.

There was also the option of persuading the elves, but after some thought, I ruled it out. I had to.

‘All we can offer is the emperor’s sincere apology and the return of the lands where the elves originally lived.’

Of course, material compensation would follow, but even so, the benefits we could gain were not clear.

First of all, the bad blood between the elves and the empire was too long-standing. It was uncertain whether they would even accept the apology.

Furthermore, if they pretended to accept the apology, we would be making a bad move by letting enemies deep into our interior.

The empire apologizing to the elves would also lower the prestige of the empire and the emperor.

There was even a possibility that the elves might attack us after hearing our proposal.

For example, the elves might think, “The empire is struggling in the fight against the devils, so they’re reaching out to us despite our long-standing bad blood.”

‘There are too many possibilities for unfavorable outcomes.’

In the end, the best option was for me to observe the elves’ movements while pretending to be a devil worshipper and causing trouble.

For instance, proposing an alliance to them while setting ridiculous conditions or disrespecting their race.

If they were in league with the enemy, they would stab us in the back no matter what I did, and if not, we could exclude the elves from the war.

Of course, I know it’s morally wrong… but this was the best choice I could make right now.

The journey wasn’t long. After traveling for nearly 5 days, a sudden green forest appeared on the horizon of the distant wilderness.

This is the elves’ territory. It was a place so uninhabited that I saw many monsters on the way.

As I approached, I could see that the entire forest was surrounded by mana. And this mana was different from the ordinary kind.

Clear but sharp mana. Having lived on this land for a long time since the founding emperor, this place had now become the elves’ land.

‘Returning their former lands would be meaningless.’

The land where they live has different mana itself. Even if we returned the elves’ past lands, it was clear they wouldn’t migrate there.

The moment I took a step into the forest, I felt the forest’s mana curiously poking at my body.

It was as if the forest’s mana itself had life. This… I thought infiltration itself wouldn’t be a problem, but…

It wasn’t. If the mana is like this from the entrance of the forest, it might not be as easy as I thought.

While the elf Archmage Shahri is famous, it’s not that there are no strong ones among the elves. There must be at least two Sword Masters.

But I couldn’t back down. I took another step forward, thickening the winds wrapped around my body.