Chapter 78.1: Shadow Freon (3)

So it was from the side of Santea?

But if one thought about it, there was no other force besides them who would dare bring a spy directly to Calderic.

And as far as I remembered, the Shadow was a person who carried out the imperial family's request several times and was in close contact with them.

I continued asking her.

"What is your purpose of infiltrating this castle?"

"Gathering information about the Seventh Lords"

"Why did the imperial family request such a thing?"

"I don't know the detailed reason, because I'm only receiving a fee and carrying out the request. But… A mysterious person has become the new Lord of Calderic, so wouldn't it be natural for Santea to send someone to investigate?"

Well, that's not really surprising.

They requested the Shadow to spy at the Seventh Lord, even infiltrating the castle. Certainly, what other purpose would there be besides me?

I didn't ask further and just stared at her.

She averted my gaze with a worried expression on her face.

It didn't matter that the one behind her was Santea.

Anyway, whether it's Calderic or Santea, they planted spies in each other's camps without stopping.

Of course, having a spy infiltrate a Lord's castle was still a pretty serious matter.

However, in a case like this one, it would be unfair to blame the castle's security. Because the opponent was the Shadow.

"Hey, my lord. May I say something?"

She looked at me and cautiously opened her mouth.

"It is a great honor that you recognized me at first glance, and I think you probably know a lot about me, but I am not someone who's affiliated or entangled with any faction."

"…"

"This time, too, I was just accepting the request from the imperial family in a very thorough, business-like manner, and there was no personal intention. Of course, it might sound shameless to say this when I'm caught like this…"

"What do you want to say?"

I stopped her from talking because all I could hear was nonsense.

"I understand that there will be a Neutral Nations Conference soon. If you wish, I could make a full confession to the fact that I was a spy sent here at the request of the Imperial Family. If you would just show a little mercy on my life…"

She said with a nervous laugh.

Since the emperor would directly take part in the Neutral Nations Conference representing Santea, what she's suggesting would give Calderic a strong cause to squeeze them openly.

I said, "Huh," and laughed.

I knew that the Shadow's character was roughly like this. For her, nothing was above her own life.

That's why there was no hesitation in selling her client like this.

I wondered if she knew nothing would come out if she continued talking nonsense, so she sold out her client to survive.

But her offer wasn't very appealing.

Because I wouldn't really get anything by putting pressure on Santea. It would not help my next goal.

Now more than anything else, I was more interested in her existence itself.

What should I do with this woman?

Being a spy was a crime that could immediately send her to be executed, but I had no intention of killing her.

It was a waste to just execute such a talented person.

Few people in the continent was as quick as her, with excellent information gathering skill and tracking abilities, not to mention a fighting power equivalent to level 67.

She's not a character who played a specific role in the game, like helping the player or something. But it's not like she had ever done anything villainous.

I needed an excellent informant more than anything else.

I had so far been concentrating on finding mysteries, but now my aim going forward was to focus on the full-fledged main story.

For events that would occur in the future, my game knowledge might not be enough to solve it. I needed to gather important information.

The only problem was that she's not a person who I could put under me and let her obey my orders.

If I let her go collect information, she would surely run away and disappear.

The problem is that there's no way to catch her easily and deal with her.

If I released her to collect information, they would run away and disappear. Or maybe she would then stab me in the back if it's convenient for her.

Those whose names or nicknames spread throughout the continent didn't have such a reputation for nothing.

She wasn't the kind of person who would easily succumb to halfway threats or weaknesses.

Even if she was now acting with a low posture, as if she would lick my feet at any minute, she was still looking for ways to survive out of this situation.

…Ah.

Locked in my thoughts, I let out an exclamation inwardly.

That's because it reminded me of one thing she possessed. It would be extremely useful in the current situation.

"I have no intention of killing you. Yet."

"…Really? Thank you."

She replied, but her face did not brighten at all.

Maybe it's because I added the word 'yet'.

And she was right being anxious.

"Stigma ring."

"…Yes?"

"The ancient artifact you have. There's no doubt you have it now. Take it out."

Her eyes trembled.

But it was only for a moment, and soon she asked again with an expression as if she didn't know what I was talking about.

"Stigma ring…? Ancient artifact? Excuse me, what are you talking about?"