Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Denif (3)

“By the way.”

Just as an agreement seemed to be forming, Toun suddenly tilted his head. He seemed to realize something was strange upon thinking about it.

Denif perked up his ears and took notice.

“If it’s about delivering a message, it seems more fitting for you, Denif, to go.”

He’s not wrong. Neither Denif nor Toun Zaha are the type to use their heads much.

It was the duke’s order, and since there was no one they could fully trust, they had decided to move together.

“You can’t trust me now?”

“Do you want me to be frank?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t trust you.”

“Toun!”

Denif trembled with indignation. His eyes shook in shock over his aggrieved expression.

“Considering we need to handle unforeseen situations, even if you specialize in field ops, I’m the better choice.”

Well, I think Toun’s assessment is correct too. Following intelligence agency tradition, it would be proper for Denif to return.

I’m also more comfortable with Toun around.

Thinking ahead, even more so. Toun is someone whose actions are predictable.

But Denif has the potential for sudden impulsive behavior, doesn’t he?

Since Toun will be closely observing my actions, I might feel more at ease with Denif by my side instead.

‘I don’t know.’

Each has its pros and cons. It would be ideal if both could accompany me, but that’s not the situation.

I decided to just observe for now.

Denif glanced at me. His eyes pleaded for my help. But when no signs of support came, he quickly gave up.

Of course, he didn’t forget to give me a slight glare.

“Toun, it’s been years since I last saw Carlyn. It’s not like any problems will arise if you and I switch places.”

“Hmm.”

“What? We’re brothers reunited after years apart! And Carlyn isn’t going to do anything major in that short time, right?”

“Well, there is one scheduled matter…”

Denif looked at me with shocked eyes, as if I had betrayed him or something.

“How can you say that? You just said how could I kill my own brother? You should be on my side.”

Hmm. It’s a bit awkward to ignore him when he speaks like this. There is the bond of our friendship, after all.

There’s no need to intentionally distort things.

“As Denif said, it’s nothing major. It was already planned, so I intended to do it whether you two were here or not.”

Toun gave me a meaningful look.

“I’m not saying it because of what Denif said. You know my character.”

“Well, Carlyn, you’re not the type to do that. I trust you.”

Toun nodded.

“But why don’t you trust me then?”

“Carlyn has proven himself a lot.”

“I’m disappointed.”

“Be very disappointed then.”

“Toun!”

Toun burst into laughter. It didn’t seem he was being serious, and had just been teasing Denif up until now.

It didn’t really matter who accompanied me, after all.

Denif kept staring at Toun, hoping for the answer he wanted from his mouth.

‘It has been a long time since we last met.’

If the situation had been different, I would have been overjoyed too. Quite some time has passed since the days I spent with Denif, separate from the in-game information.

In any case, the situation itself wasn’t as bad as I had worried.

Since I mentioned the tracker, they won’t immediately summon me back to Haisen right away.

If the imperial spies inside find out, they’ll immediately press towards Haisen.

‘There’s just one issue.’

Whether the duke will accept my opinion, or insist on having me as a periodically communicating outside organization.

It didn’t seem like he would just let me be. I hope we can reach a compromise between those two options.

Then it might be okay.

It would mean I can maintain a connection to Haisen while still operating as I intend.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’ll completely ignore my opinion at least.’

The fact that Toun and Denif came to find me was evidence of that. The duke had changed his stance.

The Empress’ assassination.

Even I hadn’t anticipated that incident. Yet the duke’s intent to protect me meant he had deduced the truth.

He would view me more favorably. He would feel I had dealt with the Empress for Haisen’s sake.

Perhaps he might even keep me at a distance while still utilizing me when needed.

“Alright. I’ll go then.”

My brief contemplation ended with Toun’s answer. Denif, having received the answer he wanted, jumped on the spot.

“Thank you, Toun!”

After shouting that, he giggled and whispered to me with a curious gaze.

“You’re going to fight, right? Tell me I’m right.”

Should I consider his perception of these matters to be beyond imagination? Maybe he had even aimed for this.

Well, simply chasing after me would have been quite dull for someone like Denif.

When I silently nodded, Denif reached the point where he could no longer hide his smile.

Seeing that, Toun sighed and shook his head slowly.

“Anyway, where are you planning to go?”

“I intend to handle a matter in the east, then head to the southeastern desert.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“I’ll have to see when I get there.”

Denif cut in.

“I’ll keep in touch.”

There would naturally be a way to report separately. Toun Zaha retreated on those terms.

Perhaps we’ll meet again in the southeastern desert.

***

“By the way, how did you find me?”

It was something I had to bring up. It meant my trail had been left somewhere, so I needed to be more careful going forward.

Denif chuckled amusingly.

“Well.”

“Want to just go back? If we run at full speed now, it seems we could still call Toun back.”

“Oh, Carlyn. Why the hurry? You should hear people out to the end.”

Denif hastily grabbed my arm. When I silently pressured him to speak with my gaze, he let out a sigh after glancing around.

“I heard about a dashing mercenary in Huberto.”

“Is that all?”

“If talk of a dashing mercenary comes from a place you were likely to be, it’s obviously you. Your face is hard to disguise with just makeup, you know. That’s where I became certain.”

It’s not impossible. The issue was just that it took quite some time to put on a proper disguise.

Tsk. Looks like I’ll have to do it properly from now on, no matter how bothersome.

“And after that?”

“They said the dashing mercenary left through the east gate. I didn’t think it was a ruse. Since you had fought devil worshippers while coming from the west, you wouldn’t be heading back west or to Haisen.”

That sounds plausible. So they had been tracing my trail all the way to the west, unbeknownst to me.

“It seemed unlikely you’d go to the Empire, so east was the only remaining direction.”

It seemed my intentions had been somewhat read. Well, it was only natural since he deduced my previous route.

In any case, I resolved to pay more attention to disguises.

Before introducing them, I briefly explained my relationship with my companions to Denif.

Denif agreed to play along for now, since nothing was set in stone yet.

He seemed a bit disgruntled earlier, but it shouldn’t be a major issue.

I told him they were talented individuals worth nurturing, regardless of Father’s intentions.

“Boss, what’s going on?”

Osten, who had been watching us with puzzlement from afar, asked.

“It’s nothing. This is my brother.”

“Brother? Ah…!”

Aron, Osten, and Mary immediately understood since they were roughly aware of the situation.

I had mentioned having brothers while talking about Haisen, and that our relationship wasn’t bad.

Ju Rina took on a more guarded stance after seeing the others’ reactions.

She hasn’t heard about my past yet. Jofor had a clueless expression.

“But you two were fighting earlier?”

“A duel. This guy is obsessed with combat.”

“Obsessed with combat? Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Obsessed with combat, not just crazy.”

I turned my gaze back towards my companions.

“He’ll be traveling with us for a while. It won’t be a problem. It’s for a new cooperative relationship.”

Aron’s eyes lit up as he looked at Denif.

“If he’s your brother… then he’s my big brother too!”

“Big brother? Who’s your brother?”

Hmm. I don’t know why, but I didn’t like the sound of that. Denif is usually quite affable.

Denif turned his gaze to me.

“Come to think of it, he’s been calling you big brother since earlier. Did you two become sworn brothers or something?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

It was an unexpected remark. How did he make that connection?

“Then why does he call you big brother?”

“Do you have to become sworn brothers to call someone brother?”

“…I guess not?”

Why did he suddenly become so foolish? He wasn’t like this before.

“Aron follows me because I rescued him when he was being held hostage with his younger sibling.”

I pointed to Mary as I explained the situation. Of course, I didn’t forget to mention they were orphans.

Denif’s expression became ambiguous.

“Oh, is that how it was?”

Since we were brothers reunited after so long, was he feeling jealous that someone else was calling me brother?

I honestly couldn’t understand it. Did he have a strong need for affection?

Well. That would explain why he launched a terror campaign against the Empire alone when the Chief of Intelligence was killed.

“Okay. You can call me big brother too.”

Denif readily nodded. It was amusing how he was making a big deal out of something so trivial.

“Of course, Big brother!”

Aron was quick-witted and nimble. With the hostility gone, he immediately bowed his head respectfully.

In any case, Denif’s gaze towards Aron and Mary had changed drastically.

Perhaps because he was an orphan himself, he unexpectedly favored those from orphanages.

It was the same when I first joined the duke.

I went ahead and introduced each of my companions one by one. Jofor and Rina exchanged greetings for now.

Afterwards, I called Jofor and Rina aside.

“Didn’t you say you had no backing, like you were alone? It seems there is something after all.”

Rina asked with sharp eyes. Well, it’s understandable she’d feel that way. I hadn’t expected this situation either.

“It’s just an old connection. I left that place on quite good terms. As I said, I’m in the process of forming my own organization.”

“Hmm.”

“You saw the kids’ reactions earlier? They seemed to know about it. I had intended to tell you two as well after some time passed.”

“A test of sorts?”

Beside her, Jofor nodded in agreement with Rina’s words.

“Indeed. You can’t just recruit someone for a secret society based solely on talent. Additional verification is only natural.”

It’s convenient for me that he sees it that way. Well, if I had known things would turn out like this, I would have told them from the start.

“In any case, you’ll still have a choice after hearing the full story. Whether to stay or leave. The kids were given the same opportunity. I have no intention of harming you if you choose to leave.”

“Really?”

Jofor asked with a skeptical expression. Normally, leaving after hearing such a story would mean death.

“Yes. I’ll let you choose whether to hear more or not halfway through.”

“I understand, Big Brother.”

“Well, I figured as much too.”

Ju Rina and Jofor agreed more easily than expected. However, Rina seemed concerned about another aspect.

“The plan won’t change, will it?”

“No. You saw us fighting earlier, right?”

“You were fighting well.”

“He’s a skilled fighter around my level. He’ll be helping with this operation. Things will be easier. Nothing will change.”

Rina nodded.

“Alright. I’m in no position to complain about receiving help.”

That was the end of the discussion. After all, the main reason for recruiting Rina was to deal with Arachne.

As long as she accomplishes that, it’s fine.

Rejoining the group, I glanced at Jofor, just in case his reaction was poor.

“Is there perhaps an issue?”

“No, of course not. Another secret society… I just think you, Big Brother, have been more remarkable from long ago, being part of such places.”

His face was full of childlike innocence. Should I consider that pure, or was he just unique?

When we returned, Denif was conversing with Aron. Aron’s expression was ambiguous.

“What? Just block the attack! Then counterattack!”

“Aren’t you oversimplifying it?”

“Then what else? If you don’t like that, just dodge and thrust instead.”

It seemed they were discussing swordsmanship. The ever-eager Aron must have asked for advice.

Hmm. Denif has talent but isn’t really gifted at teaching.

Who could understand if he explains it like that? As I approached, Denif saw me and hurriedly stood up.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah.”

“If you’re done talking, let’s have a match.”

He was suggesting another duel.

Why is he suddenly like this again?

“Don’t you remember we fought like 30 minutes ago?”

“30 minutes? That was ages ago.”

“You’ve become even crazier since we last met.”

“Hey, I was the one chasing after you, right? How boring do you think that was, not causing any trouble? I was itching to fight.”

Well. It must have been a dull mission for someone like Denif. He probably resented not being able to fight. Still, I had no intention of dueling again.

“No can do. It’s time to move on.”

“Ah, why not! No way! Let’s do it!”

Denif shook his head vigorously. I didn’t respond and boarded the carriage. If I indulge him, it’ll become a bad habit.

Denif’s tantrum didn’t last long.

He knew that once I made up my mind, I didn’t change it.

And so we headed east to deal with Arachne.

Author's Thoughts

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