How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game

To be honest, what’s more important than the fact that Duke Benim siphoned off magic bombs is how I fabricate it.

It’s common for powerful nobles in charge of commanding roles to siphon off a bit of the magic bombs they’re supposed to supply.

In other words, the problem is how to disguise this as a bomb targeting the second prince.

And that too, at this point with only about 11 hours left until midnight.

There are many ways to do it.

But it’s difficult in that it needs to be made believable without any suspicion.

‘Well, whatever method I choose, they won’t believe it without any suspicion.’

I decided to give up on perfectionism to some extent. In fact, plots are far from perfect. It was my greed.

The situation is what it is. If I try to make it perfect, I might waste this opportunity.

I’ll accept some degree of suspicion. Anyway, it’s good if it works, and if not, that’s that. It’s even better if luck is on my side.

Honestly, given the second prince’s nature and his previous anger, I don’t think I’ll need that much luck.

Even if there are points of suspicion, I think he’ll move according to my intentions without any problems if the situation is right.

‘It’s better for me to move than to pull in someone from the first prince’s side to guide them.’

Since the situation has changed, it was difficult to create suspicious behavior from the first prince’s side right away.

At this busy time for everyone, it’s enough to just give the second prince a reason to suspect the first prince.

After a brief deliberation, I made a decision. I need to move secretly and catch attention.

I knew the second prince’s people well. It had been my main job to observe the princes recently.

‘There are plenty of suitable people.’

Among them, I chose Idri, a guard knight of the second prince. He wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

He was from the second prince’s in-laws’ side and wasn’t exceptionally strong or smart. But he wasn’t particularly lacking in any area either.

In terms of skills among the guard knights, he’s the last, but he’s close to the prince because he’s a relative from the in-laws’ side.

He’s also trying to make a good impression on the second prince.

He was the most suitable person to take the bait I would throw. Since he was on duty yesterday, today should be his day off.

Before going to find Idri, I stopped by my lodgings to prepare and then headed to his residence.

‘He’s still sleeping.’

It’s still 2 PM. It seems he’s trying to get some sleep after changing shifts in the morning. I waited for him to wake up.

When he wakes up, he’ll surely come out of the house.

In times like these, there’s no luxury of resting on a day off. He’ll do something after getting minimal sleep.

The wait took about an hour. 3:10 PM. Idri got up from bed.

After a quick wash, he immediately went out of the house. He’s probably heading to his father, who is the second prince’s confidant.

‘That person will do.’

I looked for someone who seemed suitably weak among the passersby. It’s important that the altercation doesn’t last long.

After selecting the person, I slowly left the alley and walked towards Idri, who was coming towards me.

And when Idri got close, I intentionally, but inconspicuously, bumped shoulders with the passerby I had just pointed out.

A bundle of papers falls from my bosom to the ground. The winds naturally guide the paper to the front of Idri.

“Ack, s-sorry.”

Because I deliberately chose someone who looked weak, the passerby immediately bowed his head and apologized as soon as we collided.

I didn’t pay any attention to him and hurriedly picked up the fallen papers and quickly put them back in my bosom.

Idri was watching the paper and my appearance from the corner of his eye. I didn’t acknowledge him.

“…Be careful!”

I glare at the passerby for a moment with sharp eyes. Then, I look around inconspicuously before increasing my speed.

At this point, it’s important that looking around is noticeable while not being noticeable. Just a quick glance.

My act seemed to have worked properly. I could feel Idri’s gaze fixed on the back of my head.

Of course. It wasn’t for nothing that I went all the way back to my lodgings. It was to bring paper used by the imperial family.

A man in casual clothes carrying paper used by the imperial family, treating a passerby he bumped into with contempt.

This alone is suspicious, but I paid particular attention to the intonation and manner of speech when speaking condescendingly.

In the empire, even when saying the same thing, the pronunciation differs according to social status. Just like there’s a noble accent in England, it’s largely divided into three types.

Noble, wealthy people or knights who are close to nobles, and commoners.

What I used was between the second and third. To be precise, it’s the pronunciation of the empire’s elite soldiers.

The speech of those who want to become knights, the second type. It would have immediately caught the ear of Idri, a guard knight.

‘He’s following.’

I walk calmly. But I reveal a slight tension. I glance around every time I turn a corner or change direction.

Idri followed at a bit of a distance. He didn’t seem to be too worried about me.

This is as intended. Since I’m much stronger than Idri, it wasn’t difficult to act weak.

After wandering around for a while, I headed to my original destination. It was an alley with few people.

And there, I waited for a while, looking around. Pretending to wait for someone, I periodically check the time.

After 5 minutes, I impatiently tapped my foot, and after 10 minutes, I checked my watch every 10 seconds. 15 minutes like this. This should be enough.

“When on earth are they coming…”

After muttering just loud enough for the focused Idri to hear with, I hurriedly take out the paper and add some writing.

Then, before going to find Idri, I pulled out a brick I had previously dug out of the wall and put the paper in there.

Then I hurriedly check the surroundings again. I look at my watch and check the wall where I hid the paper with worried eyes.

And with slightly reluctant steps, I walk away, checking one last time before hurriedly leaving the space.

I could feel Idri’s conflict. Whether to chase after me or check the paper I hid in the wall.

I increased my speed a little more. A distance where he would judge that he was slightly late in chasing me while hesitating.

Well, in fact, the answer was already set. As expected, Idri headed towards the alley wall instead of chasing after me.

He, too, looked around before digging out the brick and taking out the paper. His eyes widened as he read it. No wonder.

-Duke Benim has set aside some bombs separately. But it doesn’t seem like the usual hoarding of supplies. A guard knight of the first prince who was supposed to be off duty came, and the second prince was mentioned. Caution is needed.

-15 minutes have passed, so as agreed initially, I will return first.

This was the content of the letter I had hidden. In other words, I pretended to be an informant for an Imperial Intelligence Agency agent.

Intelligence agency agents each have their own informants. Humint. It could be a noble, a knight or soldier, a merchant, or a bar owner.

Of course, there would be quite a few among the empire’s elite soldiers as well. I acted as a soldier reporting to an intelligence agency agent.

The second prince’s guard knight couldn’t have missed this. The direction I headed was also towards the imperial palace.

‘As expected.’

After checking the letter, Idri hid it back in the wall and started running urgently towards the imperial palace.

There’s no need to follow since I can’t hear the conversation inside the palace anyway. I retrieved the letter I had fabricated.

***

From the evening, the nobles on the second prince’s side started moving busily. This was because Duke Jonau, who had left the imperial palace, called together the main trusted people residing in the capital.

It wasn’t difficult to eavesdrop on the conversation since it was outside the palace. Even with magic, my winds have developed a lot.

-Did you check what we talked about earlier today?

-Yes. It was true. I confirmed that Duke Benim had set aside bombs separately. But from what I saw, it didn’t seem like he had such intentions.

-Hmm. This is serious.

-Is His Highness still sensitive?

-Yes. He really thinks the first prince is targeting him.

It was Duke Jonau’s worried words. Despite being enemies with Duke Benim, he seemed calm.

Well, if they move according to the second prince’s anger now, a good situation won’t be created.

Also, it’s a difference in perspective. If you think it’s not true, it seems endlessly untrue, and if you think it’s true, it seems endlessly true.

I aimed for the second prince’s psychology, so I’ve already succeeded to some extent. Then someone spoke up.

-But, couldn’t His Highness’s concern be right?

-Honestly, isn’t it hard to believe? In this situation, the first prince who had been quiet since the Karantang Forest incident?

-I think similarly, but weren’t there signs of them watching our side even before Vasto fell?

The confidants’ opinions on this matter were all different, and they started to speak up.

-But it’s not an actual report from an intelligence agency agent, it’s just a guess from an informant under them, isn’t it?

-That informant is an elite soldier of Duke Benim. Also, would an intelligence agency agent use just anyone as an informant?

-They might be thinking of listening to this and that and then verifying. Are we going to believe everything an informant says?

Still, the overall atmosphere seemed to be that while it could be possible, the likelihood was low.

Well, this was somewhat expected.

If I had tried to convey it more directly, they would have found it suspicious.

-Anyway, we shouldn’t take this lightly.

-That’s true. We should be cautious. Even if there’s nothing, there’s no harm in being careful.

-To be honest, I’m a bit worried. No, very worried.

-Count, aren’t you overreacting? Now, with war ahead? Being cautious is enough.

-No. Rather, that’s why I feel it’s dangerous. Magic bombs, weren’t they the terrorist weapons of the devil worshippers?

-…

-Bluntly speaking, if the first prince detonates it and His Highness gets injured, who would be suspected? Not the first prince, but those madmen would be considered the culprits.

The count’s words are followed by a moment of silence. There are five nobles gathered. They probably don’t all think the same.

I guess they’re holding back their words.

In fact, they can’t say it’s not too dangerous. If something happens, they might be treated as traitors.

Even if nothing happens, their loyalty might be doubted.

-To be honest, I think this chaotic situation is more opportune. Aren’t there more gaps now? Because we’re also focusing more on preparation than vigilance.

-Tell me more.

-And even if we raise questions to the intelligence agency from our side, it’s easy for the first prince to escape. It’s the usual hoarding of supplies, that wasn’t the intention, it’s a misunderstanding. It’s easy to make excuses.

-Hmm…

-We can think about it from another angle too. When Karantang Forest exploded, wasn’t the first prince nearby?

-Surely not?

-After that, the first prince showed an extremely passive attitude. And before that, His Highness had warned the first prince, right?

Oh, this was a point I hadn’t thought of, but there were unexpectedly connecting parts.

It was a good connection point for me.

-Are you saying the first prince is suspicious of us?

-I’m saying it could be. It’s absolutely not the case, but couldn’t the first prince think that we’ve colluded with the devil worshippers?

Unlike when playing the game, I quite liked this count. How could he look so lovely?

-What I’m saying is, if the previous terrorist attack wasn’t carried out by the first prince, contrary to His Highness’s thoughts, the first prince’s side could suspect us in the same way. Then there would be enough reason for the first prince to target His Highness.

Perhaps because of the count’s passionate speech, Duke Jonau’s tone of speech that followed was slightly different.

-Indeed, the first prince might be thinking that way. I wondered why His Highness was so worried…

-Yes. His Highness might not have wanted to tell us again that it might not be the case when he had told us that the first prince was definitely trying to kill him.

After a brief silence, someone asked Duke Jonau.

-So, what does His Highness want us to do?

-As the count said, there’s no point in talking to the intelligence agency. They’ll just make excuses. There’s no room to dig deeper either.

-Then…?

-Don’t we have something set aside separately too?

-Pardon?

Confusion spreads. Duke Jonau continued.

-His Highness wants us to attack first if they try to make a move.

-…

-He said it would be better to move first than to be caught off guard.

A sense of bitterness could be felt in Duke Jonau’s words.

Even though the count’s words were persuasive, it seemed he didn’t want it to be true deep down.

But seeing him speak like that, the second prince’s will must be quite firm too. Another commotion before the war.

Hmm, I wonder if this spark is burning bigger than I thought.

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