5. Bread and Dagger (35)
Senior Neris arrived early.
It was around the time that I had only been staying in the camp in the coniferous forest for one day. I left the tent after receiving a call from senior Neris at dawn.
As always, it was a secret call.
The Imperial Intelligence Service always carried a tool that emitted microscopic sound waves. It had the ability to resonate with specific objects, one of which was the seal in my bosom.
An imperial imperial seal with a dragon on it.
It was proof that I was the closest aide to the emperor and had been handed over the branch of the Imperial Intelligence Service. In fact, I didn’t even know how to get this seal.
However, the swordsmith had only heard the approximate circumstances.
There was a riot in the interrogation room of the headquarters of the Imperial Intelligence Service.
Of course it wasn’t me, it was the work of ‘me’ who came from the future. Because I didn’t have the skills to do that.
After all, he was a good human being. It’s only natural that he’s playing the role of a hero in the future.
I didn’t have the confidence to live like that yet.
The trajectory of his life, which he sacrificed for the world, throwing away everything one by one.
The current me lacked the ability and determination.
I was just doing what I had to do one by one.
Today’s meeting with senior Neris belongs to that category.
The coniferous forest was completely scarce. Not only the elves, but even Yurdina’s military camp had to be viewed with suspicion.
Even in the worst case scenario, it was okay.
At the forefront, every piece of information was valuable. This was because the presence or absence of reliable information could determine the outcome of one’s life. But don’t trust the allies’ information network.
Then I had no choice but to call another ally.
At least there was no way Neris-senpai would betray me.
Other people knew of the existence of my ‘dragon blood character’. It meant that he knew better than anyone what it meant to be hostile to me.
As if to prove this, senior Neris always showed a compliant attitude towards me.
It was the same today.
As soon as I entered the outskirts of the camp, a shadow fell from a tree. Immediately, a polite tone flowed from the mouth of the kneeling woman.
“Sorry for the delay, Ian.”
Rather, it arrived earlier than I expected.
I don’t know what kind of education the future ‘me’ received, but whenever Neris saw me, he tended to be more nervous than necessary.
It was a bit of an unfair treat for me. Didn’t I just show a favorable attitude to Neris?
Even though there was an unfortunate incident of pouring whiskey instead of water at the first meeting.
Of course, I didn’t mean to go all out in detail. I just swallowed my bitter heart and threw a gentle compliment to Neris senior.
“No, you came earlier than expected. It took a lot of hard work to come all the way to the North.”
Neris-senpai’s body trembled at my congratulations.
And that gaze looking up at me as if wondering.
It was a look of disbelief. It was a scene that clearly showed how I was recognized in the mind of senior Neris.
I’m used to the treatment now, so I didn’t even feel sad.
But I wanted to get to the point quickly.
“Senior Neris, I would like you to directly help us gather information.”
Senior Neris didn’t say anything back.
He just quietly waited for my instructions to follow.
“Someone is intentionally cutting off information directed to Delphine. We need to find the ringleader and collect information about the elves’ cult.”
“all right.”
It was an answer without the slightest hesitation.
The tone was so resolute that I felt like an idiot as I was pondering what to say next. I kept my mouth shut for a while.
Seriously, senior Neris showed a calm expression, as if he had to be like this. She casually added a few more words.
“There is one thing I would like your permission to do. I randomly brought someone with me in case it would be helpful… … .”
“You do as you please.”
Now it was Neris-senpai’s turn to keep his mouth shut.
Her breath stopped for an instant, and her strange eyes turned to me. It was a gaze filled with complex emotions.
Regardless, I showed my trust in Neris-senpai.
As much as Neris-senpai believed in me, I also wanted to trust Neris-senpai.
Above all, there was a reliable support called ‘dragon blood text’.
“Isn’t that what Neris-senpai was supposed to do anyway? Also, if I didn’t trust Neris-senpai, I wouldn’t have called you here in the first place.”
On the contrary, senior Neris seemed even more uncomfortable with my praise.
After hesitating for a while, she lowered her head even more and answered.
“Yes Yes… … .”
Was it an illusion that her cheeks looked slightly red?
As I sorted out my useless thoughts, I clapped my hands as if I had come to my mind and added.
“Oh, and would you mind looking after Her Highness for a bit?”
At my words, senior Neris showed a puzzled expression for a moment.
Of course, it was only an instant.
Neris sunbaenim immediately lowered his head, as if he wanted to, oops. He didn’t even ask why, even though he was ordered to look after the imperial family.
As if her mouth was burning, she moistened her lips with her tongue and replied.
“Yes, four! I will take care of it.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to be supervised… It’s just that I’m worried these days. You might be in danger. Since you are a person with dragon blood, please report only simple trends.”
It was an excuse that was somewhat awkward.
It was entirely due to lack of time to make up. In fact, I couldn’t understand why I wanted to spy on the princess.
However, unless the saintess was also an eyewitness to that night, naturally, the only remaining suspect was the princess.
And what I saw last night was a little strange.
In many ways, it was an opponent that I had no choice but to care about. Of course, mobilizing public power for this was a separate issue.
I decided to comfort myself by saying that it wasn’t until ‘instruction’.
Yes, it was a ‘please’.
It was like a small bonus, handed over from person to person.
It was a time when I was trying to ignore the voice of my conscience with such sophistry.
Senior Neris looked at me and carefully asked.
“Ah, Ian? Even if I introduce the people accompanying me… … ?”
Ah, I inadvertently let out a faint exclamation.
I forgot about it because I thought it would take care of itself, but Neris senior said he brought another companion. Of course, it was natural to introduce him to me.
I immediately nodded.
“Yes Yes. Of course it should. But who the heck… … .”
It was then that I felt a wave of popularity.
It was right behind the tree where Neris-senpai was hiding. I didn’t notice it because I was on guard until now, but I could feel the weak breathing behind it.
I didn’t even know that I didn’t notice even a handful of hostility.
In addition, the opponent’s presence was very faint.
My eyes naturally turned to the source of the sound. There, there was a little girl with gray hair.
He was a familiar figure somewhere.
I, who narrowed my eyebrows for a moment and lost myself in agony, soon guessed the other person’s true identity.
“… … Avian?”
It was Avian, an elf who had a short relationship with me earlier.
There were no scars as the treatment was completed successfully.
It was fortunate. Still, as a woman, I tried to avoid scarring as much as possible, but it seemed that it was worth paying attention to on purpose.
The only thing I was embarrassed about was the clothes Avian was wearing.
It was a costume that any aristocrat would have seen.
Whether living in mansions or castles, nobles do not get their hands dirty. It was a virtue that there were people who could fill that role.
It was the users.
To be precise, the clothes worn by Avian belonged to the kind worn by maids.
Avian’s eyes seemed to be ashamed of my outfit, and there were thin water droplets in Avian’s eyes. Feelings of resentment were conveyed through his trembling body.
It was worth it.
Avian had strong pride as an elf. It meant that he hated mankind that much.
But to think that she had to wear the clothes of a maid serving humans.
It was bad taste.
I looked down at Neris-senpai with somewhat tired eyes, but she only had a rather proud look on her face.
The woman proudly introduced me.
“My name is Avian, the maid who will serve Ian for a few days.”
And while weeping, Avian kneels in front of me.
The form of bowing down to the head was a posture of complete obedience.
“Now, thank you… … .”
I had no choice but to be silent again.
Only one question came to mind.
What the hell did he do to Avian?
Senior Neris only had a meaningful smile. Those dark green eyes were shining with enthusiasm for the first time in a long time.
Without a doubt, it was the appearance of a senior who was happy to have a successor to bully.
Avian’s hardships seemed to have just begun.