Volume 4 Chapter 12 The Fate Of The Spy
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”There has been an update to the orders. Activities at the Viscount Fennec household are to be suspended. Take a certain man and escape abroad—or outside the continent.”
The words fell like quiet thunder.
An unusual visitor. A girl warrior named Tiet, absurdly strong. Her appearance coincided with the emergence of a dragon—signaling the end of years of infiltration.
Spies do not show emotion. They must not.
Yet that day had been too much. An avalanche of surprises, one after the other.
”Are you really going to throw away the position you finally got used to after several years?” she asked, her voice quiet but tinged with disbelief. “What happened to the one in charge on the Empire’s side? I heard she was dismissed because activity became impossible.”
”Unfortunately, Leicia has died,” came the reply. Calm. Hollow. Absolute. “It has been determined that Suzette has the highest probability of success for this mission.”
The words caught in her throat. Leicia was dead?
Soon they would depart the villa. She had to ask what she could while there was still time—but if the words wouldn’t come, there was nothing she could do.
Another comrade. Gone.
How many had it been now? Always shrouded in silence, buried without recognition. The truth about the Demonkin never came to light. Surely, it had been a comrade who killed her. Their corpses always vanished, erased to protect the secrets of their kind.
—This was the usual way.
”As for the man in question, his name is Klock Livorno. He is from a former noble family in the rural north of the Kingdom. He is currently wanted internationally for opposing the hero. Around 30 years old. Confirmed to have passed through the adventurer town of Yuba in the western Federation a few days ago, heading east.”
Klock Livorno.
The name confused her even more.
That man had been personally invited by Viscount Fennec to this villa. He was introduced as a fallen noble—was that also a lie? She never imagined he would be considered an enemy of the hero.
”Understood. I will join him and carry out the mission,” she said, her tone steady.
Orders revised: escort the man abroad or off-continent.
It didn’t sound too difficult. The most dangerous phase—contact—was already complete. All that remained was the escape.
True, he was wanted as an enemy of the hero, but the mission’s goal was simple. Easier than maintaining her cover as a spy.
More importantly—
”…Um, Leader. What happened to her body?”
”…Leicia? She has already been cremated. Was there something?”
Burned. Then there was no hope.
If she had vanished into the sea, maybe—just maybe—she could have escaped. But if her death had been confirmed with witnesses, there was no chance.
”No… it’s nothing.”
”…I see. I understand the feeling of mourning for a comrade’s death. However, you cannot do this job with sentimentality. Harden your heart.”
Lies. All of it.
They weren’t mourning anyone. All they cared about was identifying allies and enemies. The woman in front of her—Leader Gildegant—had eliminated numerous comrades without blinking.
The leader. Gildegant. The Demon Lord. They would sacrifice anything for their goals. They would kill a fleeing spy without hesitation. And if captured by the Humans, one could expect a quiet assassin to follow close behind.
Leicia had tried to escape that hell.
She’d endured countless dangerous missions, clinging to duty for the sake of her homeland and family. But being a spy… it was more brutal than war. Keeping suspicion from fellow spies was harder than fooling enemies. Capture meant death. The toll on body and mind far exceeded life as a soldier.
Leicia had long since broken.
And without anyone noticing… she was gone. Her life discarded like a tool used and tossed aside.
—Who would be next?
What should I do?
* * *
”What’s wrong, little lady? Standing there dazed with your ticket in hand.”
She snapped back to reality.
A middle-aged man in a slightly plump merchant’s garb looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Ah—right. This was the harbor.
She had come to board the ship to Nushutei, departing tomorrow.
”…No, excuse me. I seem to be a bit tired,” she said with a small bow.
”Well, you better get a good rest tonight. The departure’s tomorrow morning, so don’t be late.”
He walked away, leaving her with her thoughts.
Just unnecessary worries. She shook them off and turned back.
She had completed the arrangements for tomorrow—tickets for three. It hadn’t taken much time.
The sun had not yet set. If she bought food for two or three days, her work would be done, and she could return before nightfall.
Tonight, the three of them could rest together.
It was the last night they’d spend on the Human continent.
”…Is this really okay—”
That quiet whisper escaped her lips.
Was it really okay?
The mission was to help him flee the continent. Boarding the ship was not part of the original orders. If she crossed that line, she would be suspected of betrayal.
The day she heard about Leicia’s death… the way they looked at her… it had been chilling.
She was under suspicion. One strange move, and she’d be next.
But thinking about it now—there was no point.
She had already crossed the point of no return.
Her heart had been made up long ago.
She had decided to follow him.
He hadn’t treated her like a warrior or a colleague. He had treated her like a woman.
He had made her a woman.
There was a good chance something new now stirred inside her. A fragile life.
Then wasn’t this the right path? If she followed his whims, it meant she was a good woman, right?
As a spy, she had been violated and taken from the battlefield.
But now she wasn’t a spy anymore.
Now, she was his woman.
Sir Klock. Miss Adelina. From now on, she would act only for the two of them—and herself. That was enough.
Still… if only…
”I would have liked him to at least say, ‘Come with me.’ What a useless man.”
She muttered with a bitter smile.
Violated. And now he bore the burden of responsibility.
It was laughably far from romantic. And that hurt. If he’d just said, I need you, she would have followed without hesitation.
Just thinking about it made her stomach twist. She wondered what he was doing right now.
”You better not have laid a finger on Adelina after turning me down all those times,” she murmured.
The more she thought about him, the more anxious she became.
She wanted to go back—right now.
Stay by his side all night. Because if she didn’t, he’d crumble.
If she didn’t stay close, he’d start cheating without even realizing it. He was that kind of man—careless, clumsy, and hopeless with women.
As long as Miss Adelina didn’t rein him in, it would be her job to keep him steady.
He was full of holes, and she had to fill those gaps for him.
So please… at least think of me too—
”Welcome back. Buying a ticket—where exactly do you plan to go?”
A voice called out.
Just after leaving the docks, two women blocked her path from the side.
”Who are you? Are you mistaking me for someone else?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
They felt… strangely familiar.
One had brown hair, shoulder-length with soft waves. A robe with an adventurer’s cut. Her vibe was casual, but something in her posture spoke otherwise.
The other wore the vestments of a sister. Dark brown hair, petite—but with an unusually large chest. Was she a girl, or just short?
”No, it’s definitely you,” the brown-haired woman said with a cool smile. “You must have some idea why we’re here, right?”
Her tone was too sharp. That friendly air was a mask. There was pressure behind her voice.
”Well then. I’m just a humble traveler. I can’t imagine what business strangers might have with me.”
”Oh? The Human Continent doesn’t allow demons to roam free. Don’t you think it’s unreasonable to just waltz around like this?”
Her heart froze.
The woman smirked.
The sister’s gaze turned razor-sharp.
They knew. They’d seen through her. Demonkin magic—its signature was different from human spells. That they could discern that meant—
”I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said flatly. “But I will at least ask what you want.”
”Oh really?” the woman said, lips curling upward. “Then can you explain why you’re trying to take that scum—Klock Livorno—with you?”
”──!!”
That name. No mistake—they were enemies.
No time to waste.
She invoked acceleration magic instantly, propelling her body in a blur.
But before she could fully escape, the sister crouched and lunged forward with shocking speed.
—So fast!!
The distance between them—more than five meters—vanished in a single bound.
From the flutter of white cloth, a fist surged out. Too fast to follow with her eyes.
She barely dodged, her instincts guiding her.
—Not hit.
But it had been close. Too close.
She leapt back to regain distance, trying to assess.
The sister wasn’t a healer—she was a combat specialist.
At close range, she was no match. She had to maintain distance.
But then—
”Are you going to fight? Or escape?” the sister asked, calm but firm. “I won’t stop you, but resist too hard and it’ll hurt more.”
There was already someone behind her.
When—!?
She hadn’t noticed the movement at all. It was like she had teleported.
A mage?
She was surrounded.
”──Who are you?” she demanded.
”Oh, have you forgotten my voice?” the brown-haired woman said. “You should’ve met me once in the Federation. Well, I just remembered you myself.”
Her words carried a strange familiarity. Buying time—or something else?
She turned around slowly, as if caught in a dream, her eyes locking onto the stranger’s face—illuminated in the dusky glow of the sinking sun.
There was nothing. No flicker of recognition. No memories surfaced.
──”Huh?”
A complete void. An unfamiliar woman.
And in the instant that realization struck, her form began to shimmer—distorting.
Like water agitated in a jar, her features twisted and blurred.
──A transformation.
”──You are!? The princess──”
”There’s an opening!!”
She’s changing.
That single thought flitted through her mind like a moth to flame. But while her instincts reached for understanding, her opponent had no intention of waiting. The words had been a ploy, and she’d fallen for it.
Hair as dark as a raven’s wing spilled down her back, framing a face of exquisite beauty.
Third Princess Hermine. A powerful sorceress. A proud member of the Hero Party.
And already—
──the sister had moved.
No, not a sister. If this one was Hermine, then the girl facing her must be──
”Die, demon! There is no mercy!!”
”────Nn… Gik?!”
The blow came too fast to register.
The attacker’s body was small—so slight and delicate she looked better suited for tending flower beds than wielding deadly force.
And yet, with those slender arms, she drove her attack straight through her target’s abdomen.
There was no pain. The sensation was gone before it could even form. The strike had pierced through her stomach and severed the nerves cleanly.
”Hey, Oriana! Hold back──”
”Please die!!”
A second blow followed with cruel finality. As if the cracked cobblestones beneath her feet mirrored the destruction wrought within.
A fist came down. She didn’t feel it—her body was already losing connection to itself.
Ah──this──.
Her vision dimmed. Was that the sky? Or the ground? She couldn’t tell.
She had been hit. That much was clear. But everything from the waist down—gone. Numb.
A pool of vivid, spilling red greeted her gaze.
It was hers.
There hadn’t even been a stab, yet the blood overflowed like a tipped basin.
A mortal wound. Unrecoverable.
”Wait, Oriana! Don’t kill her yet!”
”But she’s a demon──”
”We need information first! Calm down!”
Up. Down.
Voices reached her, but they might as well have come from beneath a lake.
Balance—gone.
Feeling—gone.
Her entire body was motionless, with only the warmth of escaping blood to remind her that she was still alive.
──It’s over.
There hadn’t even been a fight.
This is what it meant to face a Hero Party. Someone like her couldn’t measure up.
──I’m going to die.
Her consciousness wavered. Fading like mist at dawn. The warmth abandoned her one inch at a time.
──It ended so quickly.
Her life—snuffed out. But at least… she wouldn’t suffer.
Was that her only solace?
──No.
It was frustrating.
Just a little more…
Just a little more, and maybe… maybe she could’ve lived a life like everyone else.
Sir… Klock…
In the final moment, she thought of him—
The man who, despite everything, wanted to be with her.
And with that—her consciousness vanished.
* * *
”Phew… I managed somehow. That was close,” Hermine muttered, exhaling slowly.
”S-sorry, HerHer…” Oriana murmured, fidgeting, eyes downcast.
The mysterious third party. A woman believed to be a demonkin spy.
In the attempt to subdue her, Oriana had gone too far—nearly killing her outright.
Hermine, only barely able to pull her back from the brink with her immense healing magic, sighed again.
The demon woman had been run through the abdomen and spine—nearly cleaved in two with the second strike.
Death had been a near certainty.
Only through the top-tier magic of a court priest and Hermine’s own spellwork had her life been preserved.
Still, she remained unconscious. Drenched in blood, her features obscured, it was impossible to tell if she’d truly stabilized.
”Almost lost a crucial witness for nothing,” Hermine muttered. “The last spy we caught in the Empire didn’t even make it to trial. Killed en route. I was hoping we’d do better this time…”
”Ugh~ I’m really sorry~” Oriana said again, her voice faltering under the sharpness of Hermine’s glare.
They stood in what resembled a garden of death—hands stained, the cobblestones below dyed red.
A battlefield, not a courtyard.
No one could laugh here.
”When I think about demons, I just… I lose control. The Theocracy’s teachings──”
”That doesn’t excuse you ignoring the plan,” Hermine interrupted coolly. “You’re just afraid of demons.”
The demon race—sworn enemies of mankind.
With such an ingrained belief system, Oriana didn’t just fight them—she feared them. Hated them.
Tracking Klock and his companions to this town hadn’t been difficult.
Cynthia’s magic was a blazing beacon.
They’d waited. Watched.
And when the saint and the strange woman finally split up, Hermine struck.
She’d gone after the unknown ally first—but things had gone sideways.
As soon as she’d gotten close, she realized the truth: a demon.
But by then, it had been too late to back out.
None of them had expected a demon to be allied with Klock.
If they had, they would’ve brought Tiet.
Oriana had gone too far—driven by hatred. But at least… she hadn’t killed her.
Barely.
They needed her alive.
As a spy—she held value.
”If anything, you’re the scary one,” Hermine said pointedly. “You absorb doctrine like a sponge. That’s admirable. But you connect dots where there aren’t any. Think before you act.”
”Y-yeah… I’m sorry… You really see me that way?”
”Yes,” Hermine said. “Like that imaginary prince you claim to have met in the Kingdom.”
”Eh?! That wasn’t imaginary!!” Oriana gasped.
Despite the blood-soaked setting, the two conversed like siblings bickering in a sunlit kitchen.
Oriana may have been older, but between them, Hermine played the big sister.
Brushing dust from her black robe, the princess rose and lifted her palm.
A ripple formed in space—a distortion.
A small hut-shaped object materialized from nowhere.
”A pocket dimension,” she said. “We’ll seal her there for now. She’s not the only one we’re taking.”
”The saint… and AnnAnn’s ex?” Oriana asked. “We can leave them at the castle for a while, right?”
”No chance. What if she gets assassinated while we’re not watching?”
Their last captured demon hadn’t even been confirmed a spy.
This one? This one was involved with him.
They wouldn’t risk anything this time.
They’d make sure she talked.
No matter what.
* * *
”Welcome!”
A small establishment, yet rich in charm.
The blue-painted wooden door creaked open, and a voice rang out from within.
”We’ve been waiting for you, customer! You’re Mr. Klock, right? The manager told me all about you!”
A woman emerged in a frilly dress—ears twitching atop her head.
Not as chatty as Irina, but warm in her own quiet way.
”Ah, so you’ve already heard from Irina,” Klock said, easing into the room.
”Yes. I was told to treat you like royalty! –One guest to the VIP seat!”
With a cheerful flourish, she raised a golden invitation above her head.
In response, a group of adorable, cat-eared girls bounded out to greet him, smiles bright and welcoming.
This… was amazing.
His heart raced in anticipation.
It had been a while since he’d set foot in this shop.
Tonight, at least—he’d allow himself a drink.
The seal on his restraint cracked.
He’d indulge, just this once.
Notes:
• Tiet – A companion and friend of Anna. A holy knight from the royal capital. She wears light armor and carries a shield adorned with a dragon holding a sword, indicating her affiliation with the National Military Police. She is concerned about Anna’s well-being and tries to support her emotionally.
• Suzette – The older maid from Viscount Fennec. The head maid at the Viscount Fennec’s villa. She is confident, clear-spoken, and professional.
• Gildegant – One of the Four Generals of the Demon Lord. Flame General.
• Adelina – The slave girl.
• Hermine – A companion and friend of Anna. The mage. She is pragmatic and encourages Anna to focus on her duties as a hero rather than her personal revenge.
• Oriana – A Princess. A companion who assists in explaining the situation to the kingdom. She is supportive and helps Anna navigate her responsibilities. Her appearance is slender, with dark hair and sharp features.
• Irina – She introduced herself as the innkeeper’s name, a 32-year-old with a youthful appearance, who enjoys being sexually satisfied by Klock. A beastkin cat.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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