How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 65 - Punitive Expedition (1)

The pitch-black sky was filled with stars. Carlyn stood by the window of the palace corridor, gazing at the night sky.

Though it was a beautiful sight, his purpose wasn’t really to admire it but to conceal his expression.

-So, Duke Tenvohen is siding with the eldest brother?

-It’s not confirmed yet… but I’ve confirmed that there have been discussions.

-Damn it. What does it matter who was born first? Wouldn’t it be better to subtly communicate it?

-Rather than that, I think it’s better to focus our efforts on Duke Canin. I’m worried we might miss out on the best outcome by trying to get the second best.

-…Fuck!

The sound of the Third Prince throwing a bottle reached Carlyn’s ears. Soundproofing by magic usually didn’t mean much to Carlyn unless it was a room so tightly sealed that air travel was impossible.

If the space wasn’t sealed to the extent that it blocked air movement, the Winds would pass through anywhere.

Of course, if it was a magic implemented by a mage of a certain level or higher, the situation might be different. Like where the Sword Master was.

Even within the palace, there were places where Carlyn’s Winds couldn’t reach. Where the Emperor resided was one of those places.

In any case, as Carlyn had already confirmed, Duke Tenvohen was still neutral.

However, intentions mattered aside from the facts, too.

If it was a fact that the Third Prince was attempting to involve Duke Canin instead of Duke Tenvohen, it was sufficient.

The rest would be utilized by Haisen’s intelligence agency. They would either spread misinformation or subtly leak information.

‘For now, that’s enough for the Third Prince.’

Three months had passed since Carlyn became a knight in the Princess’s bodyguard.

It was an amount of time when the movements of the stars he observed every other day were physically noticeable.

Meanwhile, Duke Egni had nearly lost his power, as if he was on the brink of extinction.

The princes had put forth their strength, but the one taking action was the Emperor. With sufficient justification, resistance was meaningless.

The intensity of the surveillance had also weakened significantly. To the Empire’s observers, Carlyn seemed solely focused on his guarding duty.

He was so textbook that there was no room for suspicion about anything.

Occasional outings consisted solely of drinking sessions with Emmet.

Of course, at first, he appeared too pristine to seem completely normal, but after three months, that wasn’t the case.

‘Suspicion is a double-edged sword.’

In the intelligence field, excessive suspicion was as harmful as having none. If you doubted everything, you would eventually be unable to do anything.

Thus, the number of people observing Carlyn had decreased to just two.

‘They shouldn’t drop it further. But I can’t completely exclude it.’

Carlyn moved his Winds. On the paper held by Phiri outside the palace, words began to appear.

Carlyn was obtaining higher-quality information from the entire intelligence unit under Haisen.

Initially, every time Carlyn reported, a lot of misinformation that the Haisen intelligence agency had was corrected.

It was a natural outcome when he could directly overhear conversations among the people in the palace. It was something only Carlyn could do.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Phiri.’

Though they met like this every other day, the last time Carlyn had only seen her face was in Haisen.

They avoided encountering each other. It was also because they intentionally kept their paths separate.

“Why do you always stare at something?”

At Emmet’s words, Carlyn turned her gaze from the window.

“The stars are bright.”

“Do you actually like looking at the night sky?”

“Yes.”

“For a knight, you’re quite romantic.”

Emmet said teasingly. Since it was said in jest, Carlyn responded with a faint smile.

After all, he had already conveyed everything he heard. Carlyn moved to stand next to Emmet.

Dawn. The time when the princess slept granted the escort knights a bit more freedom.

During sleepless nights, conversation was the only way to pass the time, so Carlyn also had to participate.

“By the way, did you hear that story?”

“What story?”

“About the western lands. They say the situation isn’t looking good there.”

“Oh. Yes, I read it in the newspaper.”

Prince Rohalak controlled 70% of the western region. The remaining areas were also on the brink of being conquered.

It was a deviation from the Empire’s predictions. Naturally, the Haisen intelligence agency hadn’t anticipated it either.

‘Rodri must be preparing as well.’

Since they were a cooperating organization with Haisen, they naturally exchanged information.

Since Rodri would be the one governing the West after Prince Rohalak, he absolutely couldn’t die.

Carlyn was concerned because his intervention could change the future.

Originally, by now, he might have been in the western province after being struck from behind and losing his family.

“It seems quite dangerous.”

“You mean within the Empire?”

“Yes. Absorbing so many kingdoms won’t make internal issues a joke. To resolve that, they’ll need another enemy.”

Though he hadn’t seen his face clearly while he thought, was it due to the war? Carlyn felt anew that Emmet’s insights were deep.

In reality, Prince Rohalak was unifying the West and attacking the Empire.

“They’re probably preparing above as well, don’t you think?”

“I’m not sure. People around here don’t seem too concerned. They think it will collapse soon.”

“But it’s still the Empire. The Emperor and the intelligence agency must be considering it.”

Emmet nodded casually as if to say it didn’t matter.

“Still, it’s a problem. The Emperor has announced the competition, so shouldn’t the princess also go out?”

In the Empire, participation in military campaigns was a virtue among the nobles. Considering the Emperor’s personality, that was even more the case.

“Whatever happens, a war is imminent according to you.”

“I see it as a flow that can’t be stopped anymore. But the nobles who support the princess are too few. The number of soldiers might be enough, but it’s questionable whether the commanders will follow orders.”

It was a reasonable concern. If they were given an army, nobles would also be assigned alongside it.

Since it would be difficult to fill the ranks solely with nobles supporting the princess, nobles from the prince’s faction would also be included.

Disobedience at critical moments could lead to the princess being cornered into danger. But if she stayed in the rear, it wouldn’t yield good results either. Carlyn responded positively.

“Who knows, seeing the princess up close might change their minds.”

“Ha. I hope so, but…”

Emmet trailed off.

A deep sense of regret showed on his face. As someone who was entirely loyal to the princess, the regret was evident.

‘Huh?’

At that moment, Carlyn sensed people suddenly coming out from the Emperor’s residence area.

He couldn’t discern what was happening. The strength of the soundproofing magic, combined with his careful observation due to the Sword Master’s presence, made this a cautious location.

People were moving in this direction as well as toward the other princes. It was the Emperor’s summons.

After a few minutes, the Emperor’s messenger arrived.

“The Emperor commands your presence in the conference room.”

As expected. There were personnel stationed beside the princess besides just the escort knights. Carlyn woke up the maid in the adjacent room.

Soon enough, the tired-looking princess appeared.

“Let’s go.”

In the early morning, the corridor of the palace where the princess walked was quiet. Carlyn expanded his Winds widely.

The princes were also heading to the conference room. What could be going on? It wouldn’t be long before they found out.

“Two days from now, all of you will depart for the northeast.”

“Yes?”

At the Second Prince’s reflexive question, the Emperor frowned. The Second Prince closed his mouth and bowed deeply.

“Because of those crazy dwarf bastards, chaos is increasing. Go and suppress it. It means to make it quiet for a while.”

The dwarves hidden deep within the mountain ranges in the northeastern part of the continent distributed a drug-like substance called Plen Powder.

In the game’s setting, it was a failed experiment by dwarves attempting to enhance their bodies.

The highly addictive powder had side effects that turned humans into monsters and animals into ferocious creatures.

The animals turned into monsters lost their rationality and maximized violence. Yet, they still formed groups, only attacking humans, not dwarves.

‘Was there also a campaign in the northeast around this time?’

In a fantasy-based game, there were creatures resembling monsters in the southeastern desert, northwestern plains, and northeastern mountain ranges.

If you chose the combat orientation, you had to visit these places a few times due to experience and resources.

Among them, the northeastern region was the most avoided due to the creatures resembling monsters becoming stronger.

The rampage of these creatures was quite a significant variable in the game.

The creatures and monsters in the northeast had no intelligence, so they didn’t follow orders. They were entirely random events.

Carlyn had also experienced events that annoyed him when significant events were about to happen and triggered events occurred.

“I will provide each of you with an equal number of troops. Command them yourselves. Since this isn’t a war, don’t bother bringing the nobles along needlessly.”

Everyone present understood that this was a test.

“Don’t take it lightly. If you can’t decide the winner among yourselves, I’ll make a decision based on your performance. I’ll also differentiate your tasks in the future.”

Carlyn realized that this expedition was quite an important turning point. A war against the West was imminent.

The evaluation to be given this time would also affect the war with the West.

“I will solely evaluate you based on the resources supplied. Hmm. For the monster heads, reward the slayers with double the heads of the monsters.”

Carlyn thought that somewhat unfair results might arise from this.

Whether it was a person under the influence of the drug or an animal, the strength of each entity wasn’t the same.

‘No, it’s actually advantageous for us.’

He was sure that if he used his Winds to scout, he would have an easier time with the combat.

Wait. Something flashed in Carlyn’s mind.

‘If we’re just counting the number of supplies, doesn’t that mean it’s okay to steal supplies?’

* * *

At the Emperor’s sudden words, the palace became busy from dawn.

Each prince was calling their supporting nobles. After hearing about the expedition, no one could sleep.

Even if they were called now, they would only arrive by morning. However, Erendil also contacted the nobles near the palace.

Emmet and I were also in the meeting room.

“What do you think?”

“I’m not particularly quick-witted, but I think it’s alright. Without the involvement of nobles, the evaluation will be based solely on the princess’s abilities.”

Those were Emmet’s words. One was right, and the other was wrong. Erendil’s gaze turned toward me.

It was a signal for me to speak.

“Nevertheless, there will be differentiation. Even if the number of soldiers is the same, there’s a high chance of qualitative differences. This applies to the knights who will be provided as well.”

Outwardly, it seemed like the princess couldn’t become a competitor to the princes. Even those who would distribute the soldiers were on the princes’ side.

Especially when it came to knights. The supporting nobles would send their own knights.

“Your concern is similar to mine. Moreover, it’s the first time for me to participate in a punitive expedition, unlike the First and Second Princes.”

Erendil smiled slightly when she saw Emmet’s darkened expression.

“But it will be more equal than at other times, as you say.”

Since it was a pacifying statement, Emmet bowed his head.

“In the end, we won’t know until we try. We have to see how to utilize the troops and make decisions.”

I contemplated inwardly and then spoke up.

“But there’s something else to worry about.”

“What is it?”

“The attacks from the other princes.”

The princess frowned.

“Even if I don’t say anything specific, Princess’s brothers’ nature isn’t good. Even though….”

The princess grasped my intention while speaking.

“Yes. Based solely on the resources, princes who are low on supplies might attack due to suspicions. Even though our numbers are the same, their eyes are on the supplies.”

Initially, I thought of stealing. What if I secretly took some? However, it wasn’t that easy.

I couldn’t steal everything by myself.

And the idea wasn’t exclusive to me.

Though I couldn’t think of it right now, when the end of the punitive period drew near, the princes’ greed might lead to such ideas.

Considering the Emperor’s personality, the side that got stolen from would be considered foolish.

“That’s right. It makes sense. Whatever our achievements are, we’ll likely be the weakest in terms of quality.”

“Indeed.”

The princess gazed into the distance. In any situation, we were the most appetizing targets.

Perhaps the two princes might join forces. They wouldn’t go as far as three since it would lead to distribution problems.

It wasn’t like the princes got along well.

“Those were good opinions. Very wise.”

“Thank you.”

The princess looked at me with a renewed expression. As a spy, I hadn’t had many chances to show anything.

Saving the Empress was the only thing I had done.

“Because of that, there’s something I’d like to propose.”

“Speak. You worried first, so there should be solutions as well. I’m looking forward to hearing them.”

She seemed genuinely interested, her eyes shining. She seemed to have thought about something herself.

I wanted to ask as well, but given our ranks, I held my tongue quietly.