Another Side
“A job change?”
“That’s right, a job change.”
Muil suggested this to the demon spy, who was feeling dejected, believing he could no longer live as a spy and would have to live the rest of his life with people pointing fingers at him.
However, from the spy’s perspective, Muil’s words were incomprehensible.
Muil and the spy had only just met.
They hadn’t had any interactions that would foster trust or confidence.
The spy wondered if Muil possessed something beyond the reach of an ordinary person, but without showing any signs of concern, Muil grinned and said.
“It’s not a difficult matter. Your master has abandoned you. So you have no place to return to, right? In that case, working for us should be no problem.”
What an outrageous statement.
Common sense dictates that it would be impossible to easily poach personnel who handle such confidential information.
Even if it were possible, pursuers would naturally be dispatched to eliminate the spy.
What Muil was suggesting was tantamount to making enemies of the faction that hired the spy.
Making enemies unnecessarily could also endanger Jiro.
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with this industry would naturally grasp this logic.
Information, in any world, is worth its weight in gold.
It’s only natural to conclude that Muil Henderberg, of all beings, would understand this.
If Muil is saying this despite knowing all this, then there must be something more to it.
However, the spy had no way of fathoming such circumstances.
All they knew was that this was a riskier proposition than imagined.
For those who operate in the shadows, betrayal is an act that can never be overlooked or forgiven.
For those who dedicate their lives to this profession, betrayal means dispatching pursuers, and their lives end there.
Even if it’s within the same army’s organization, if it’s outside one’s faction, it’s said to be a certainty.
It would be fortunate if dying were the only consequence.
The probability of not being killed but being subjected to torture and becoming a canary who spills all their information is higher.
There was no way the spy could take such a dangerous gamble.
They even considered committing suicide right then and there, but they couldn’t because they were wearing a collar that suppressed self-harm.
The spy’s current situation was like a fish on a cutting board.
Free to be boiled, grilled, or filleted as one pleased.
Faced with such a proposal from their captor, the spy was bewildered, unable to gauge their true intentions, and at a loss for words.
“Let me be clear from the start, I’m not helping you out of pure kindness.”
This sounded perfectly natural and obvious, but the spy knew that there were fools who helped others out of kindness.
However, if asked whether Muil, known as a hero, would resort to such emotional methods, the answer would be no.
“As you know, Jiro-kun’s foundation is not exactly solid. He lacks the necessary personnel and is called the weakest General Candidate by the lords. He has neither the status nor the achievements to counteract that. Even if he wins the selection and becomes a general, his future will be precarious if his foundation is weak.”
Muil laughed cheerfully, “He’s lacking in so many areas,” which only made the spy more uneasy.
“Are you asking me to help build that foundation?”
“That’s right.”
The spy felt their anxiety grow, as if they were being told there was no bright future ahead.
“Why me, in the first place? To be blunt, I hate people. It’s insane to keep someone like that close. And are you inviting others too?”
The spy concluded that Muil’s intention was to hastily supplement his organization’s lack of talent by casting a wide net and trying to reel in anyone he could.
He had heard information about Jiro Tanaka, a General Candidate.
A general candidate who rose from obscurity.
For some reason, he has interactions with various generals, but despite that, he’s viewed with caution due to his lack of inherent strength, and is underestimated, believing he can catch up later.
It’s hard to believe he’s facing such a severe shortage of talent that he’s resorting to asking for help from anyone, but the logic of the situation makes sense and is understandable.
However, whether he could accept it was another matter entirely.
Lacking inherent strength meant that even if he were to betray them, he wouldn’t be protected.
Who would invest in a future without prospects?
The spy looked at the hero before them with eyes full of doubt.
If I may be so bold, even if he becomes a general, why is the hero so invested in someone who seems inferior to other generals and so eager to secure talent?
It was puzzling.
He had heard that the hero’s granddaughter was married to this Jiro Tanaka. Could he have held a weakness over him? But it was unlikely that Muil, a hero, would passively obey. If anything, he might have thought of a plan to bring down Jiro Tanaka instead.
Yet, he showed no signs of having such thoughts and appeared to be fully backing him.
It was then that Jiro Tanaka finally sparked an interest in the spy.
Or rather, the spy had always harbored some interest.
To be more precise, it was a new direction of interest that had emerged.
The spy’s previous interest in Jiro Tanaka was purely as a general candidate, an interest aimed at gathering information about him as an opponent.
In contrast, the interest that began to bloom within the spy was in the realm of measuring a person’s character, and more deeply, their virtue – their good and bad qualities.
“No, you’re the only one I invited. I let the other spies go after extracting their information. They’re probably desperately planning how to hide themselves right now.”
“What? Why me?”
“I like to think I have a good eye. I saw that you were immature and raw, but that you had the potential to shine if polished. And also…”
“…”
The spy’s eyes widened at the information that further fueled their curiosity.
Despite being repeatedly warned, Muil spoke of the spy’s potential, and the spy, curious about what came next, waited silently.
“You resemble my past self a little. Reckless, with high ideals, just charging forward.”
The spy thought, ‘What is this?’ upon hearing what Muil said.
Muil’s reason for inviting him was that he resembled Muil.
The spy momentarily thought Muil was joking, but Muil’s expression remained unchanged, his gaze serious.
“…You don’t think I’ll betray you?”
“If that happens, then my judgment was simply flawed. I’ll just clean up the mess so that Jiro-kun isn’t inconvenienced.”
The spy glared at Muil, wondering if he wasn’t afraid of betrayal, but Muil showed no fear, likely because he was already restrained.
He stood there, as if daring the spy to betray him.
The spy, who had never expected the hero to be afraid, considered this.
He took it to mean he was a disposable pawn.
Therefore, to make a living going forward, he would either have to wash his hands of this industry and live a secluded life in the mountains, or find a new employer.
An opportunity was right there, and he couldn’t just ignore it, yet he remained cautious.
However, the conditions were not bad.
Although there were uncertainties about the future, there was still room for improvement depending on the terms.
The prospective employer was well-known, and as a rising force, there was potential for advancement.
Furthermore, by combining this with the information he possessed, the spy could further enhance his prospects.
He wanted time to determine if this ship was a brand-new vessel or one destined to sink.
That’s why.
“Let me think about it.”
“Very well. You have three days. I expect a favorable answer by then.”
The spy chose to confront the hesitation they harbored.
Muil nodded in satisfaction, having received their answer, and communicated the grace period.
From Muil’s perspective, merely implanting the seed of interest in Jiro was a victory.
Looking at Muil’s retreating back as he left the room, the spy contemplated their future.
Meanwhile, Muil, having left the room with the prisoner, set off towards the next room with a prisoner.
“Alright, that makes eight people now.”
“Will that person defect to our side?”
“Saying ‘defect’ sounds a bit crude, though it’s not entirely inaccurate.”
“Sorry.”
Outside the room, a somewhat youthful-looking Dark Elf, who had been brought as a bodyguard, was waiting.
He had been stationed outside the room just in case of any unforeseen circumstances, but against Muil, he was of little use.
Although he had retired from active duty, he possessed enough skill that harming him would require bringing in a general-level opponent to avoid significant casualties.
The bodyguard believed that even if the spy had tried to strike by surprise, they would have been lucky to leave so much as a scratch.
He knew that even if poison were used, it would be dealt with before it could take effect.
Muil’s relationship with the bodyguard stemmed from a clan lineage that owed him a debt of gratitude for saving them during a war.
Muil, the Dark Elf, enjoyed making acquaintances and deepening his connections in various places.
It was precisely through these interactions that he had forged friendships and received invitations.
“Will he also be invited to the party hosted by Jiro-dono?”
“Eventually. For now, we need to quickly establish countermeasures against espionage; otherwise, there’s no point.”
The bodyguard had participated in parties hosted by Jiro Tanaka several times, giving him an opportunity to understand his character.
Muil had instructed Jiro to keep quiet and, through the recommendation of other nobles, allowed those deemed trustworthy to participate in Jiro’s parties to assess them.
Muil believed that whether they experienced this or not would significantly alter the future developments.
In fact, his actions had proven highly effective.
The opportunity to learn about Jiro Tanaka’s personality and capabilities had a tremendous impact.
At the very least, knowing or not knowing the difference between him and the humans from Isal drastically changed how people responded to Jiro.
Initially, the group had gathered under the banner of Muil, but they were gradually beginning to rally under the standard of Jiro Tanaka.
A prototype of a faction willing to cooperate favorably with Jiro Tanaka, composed of various races, was starting to take shape.
While there were also merchants and nobles cooperating for their own profit, Muil preferred to prioritize factions that had significant interaction with Jiro, thus slowing down the selection process.
He envisioned a faction that would grow gradually, steadily, and robustly. Hence, he wasn’t in a hurry.
Although he believed he was significantly behind schedule, he didn’t feel the need to rush.
From the perspective of factions aiming to produce other general candidates, his expansion appeared rapid.
Muil’s plan was for a larger faction to have been formed by now, but they had encountered considerable interference from other factions, leading to numerous difficulties.
The more hardship they faced coupled with the increasing caution Jiro was generating, the more his abilities were recognized. This brought a slight sense of joy to Muil, which he kept hidden.
“However, to capture a spy so easily, do you have some secret strategy?”
“Nothing special. The opponent is simply letting their guard down. In the future, there will be those who cannot tolerate such recruitment methods. This is just a preliminary test.”
He carefully suppressed that feeling and responded to the bodyguard’s question about how he planned to deal with the spy.
Preventing spies was a common practice, but it was by no means easy.
Spies’ primary professions were to hide and blend in.
Such individuals were deployed in various directions.
It was rare to consider that the person next to you might be a spy.
Suspecting everyone was virtually impossible, yet Muil’s continued captures were due to the spies not being of the highest caliber.
Furthermore, Jiro currently had no territory, limiting the scope of his defenses.
This allowed him to reduce the effort dedicated to counter-espionage.
It could also be said that they could respond because the opposing side had not yet gone all out.
If spies or assassins were embedded as Muil imagined, things would not progress so easily.
Despite the constant worries, Muil found it rewarding.
“My blood is boiling.”
He also enjoyed undertaking this task.
Driven by something that welled up from the depths of his heart, urging him not to be outdone by the younger generation, he arrived at the next prisoner’s room.
He looked at the guard and entered the next room.
He looked forward to seeing if the next person would be a gem, and continued his endeavors in the shadows.
End of Another Side
“Speaking of which, Jiro-kun.”
“What is it?”
He had come to sense that something was happening behind the scenes, suspecting it might be Muil’s doing.
Today, like any other day, he had met various people, talked with them, tested them, and been tested. After his last meeting, he returned to the Tester Division’s First Department floor.
He sat down at his desk and finished his remaining tasks in an empty space, with only Keiri-san present.
At this pace, he thought he might be able to go home a little early today and see his daughters while they were still awake, when Keiri-san spoke to him.
“I’ve been wondering for a while, but some people were treated with particular care compared to others, what’s the distinction?”
“Just a feeling.”
“Just a feeling?”
“That’s really all there is to it. Their methods of investigation were different. I felt that, perhaps.”
“What do you mean?”
He wished he could ask his hardworking adoptive father, who wasn’t here now, about that question.
As he listened to Keiri-san’s exasperated voice, he subtly glanced at the calendar.
“Next month, huh.”
The calendar had a large mark on it.
That day would be the day his fate was decided.
Today’s Word:
One should always be prepared.
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