Chapter 79

After staying at the Myth Clan for about 5 days and checking people’s status windows, I still haven’t found anyone particularly suspicious of being a spy.

“Well… I didn’t expect to find anything in such a short time anyway.”

Of course, not all members of the Myth Clan are currently staying at the Clan House, so I shouldn’t rush and need to investigate slowly.

“Didn’t they say one party is returning tomorrow?”

According to Yoon Yeon, one of the parties that went out will return tomorrow.

“I can’t attach a Chimera to each one, and if I’m unlucky, it might take too long…”

Investigating all those Myth Clan members is a ridiculous idea. It’s better to detect anything strange in the status window first, and then attach a Chimera to avoid wasting unnecessary time.

“And… I need to send a letter too.”

The duration of the Clone Clay is a maximum of 7 days. I had to write about my situation and send it to the clan. Otherwise, chaos would ensue.

I didn’t mention the spy in the Myth Clan. It wouldn’t make sense for me, a non-Returner, to know about a spy in the Myth Clan in advance.

“Maybe… I can just write that I came regarding an alliance with the Myth Clan…”

Of course, unless Yoo Ju is a fool, she’ll ask how the alliance was formed, but there’s nothing I can do. It’s impossible to hide everything from her.

I even considered telling Yoo Ju that I saw the records of the first round, but I couldn’t muster the courage.

“If I tell her I saw the records of the first round, I’ll inevitably have a deep relationship with her.”

Given that she and I weren’t ordinary in the first round, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. Because once I do, I can’t avoid having a deep relationship with her.

“Anyway, I’ve written the letter.”

Still, sending the letter should prevent the clan from worrying too much.

“Probably… but…”

What worries me more is whether there’s really only one spy.

“There could be multiple, and at least one of the executives is likely a spy.”

I don’t think just a regular clan member being a spy would lead to the outcome I saw. It’s highly probable that there’s a spy among the Myth Clan’s executives.

I even suspected the woman who seemed to be Yoon Yeon’s aide might be a spy and had her watched for a while, but so far, nothing unusual.

“It’s only been 5 days, so it’s too early to judge.”

*****

Two days later, the Clan House became noisy as the day approached for the party that had been outside to return.

Soon, I saw the people entering the Clan House. The man at the front greeted Yoon Yeon, who had come out to meet them.

“Clan Master, we’re back. You didn’t have to come out to meet us…”

“No, you’ve worked hard.”

“These are… the Myth Clan’s 3rd party. Is the man in front the party leader?”

He had a quite handsome appearance, the kind that would have been good at studying back on Earth. The type often called an elite.

I checked the man’s status window.

[ Name: Shin Joo-tae ]

[ Age: 31 ]

[ Job: Senior Assassin (Hero Grade) ]

[ Titles: Actor on Stage, Despicable Assassin ]

[ Unique Traits ]

Afterimage (Hero Grade) – Temporarily creates an afterimage. The afterimage disappears after a short while, and depending on the opponent’s level, they might notice something odd.

Bright Ear (Rare Grade) – Can hear through objects or walls. The range of hearing is slightly increased.

[ Traits ]

Master of Dagger Arts (Hero Grade) – Greatly increases understanding of dagger arts.

Master of Dagger Throwing (Hero Grade) – Greatly increases understanding of dagger throwing.

Master of Trap Disarming (Hero Grade) – Slightly increases understanding of trap disarming.

Tracking (Common Grade) – Can track the traces of people or monsters.

[ Stats ]

Strength – 82 Agility – 88

Stamina – 83 Luck – 56

Magic – 80 Resistance – 78

“… Look at this.”

The titles and traits caught my eye. The titles didn’t seem normal, and the problem was the unique traits.

“He can hear through walls?”

A trait optimized for being a spy.

Of course, I can’t conclude that this man is a spy just based on his titles and traits, but it’s possible.

Given his stats and demeanor, he’s definitely an executive, so he likely knows some important clan information, and there’s a high probability he knows information beyond his scope. His unique trait is good for gathering information.

I checked the status windows of those behind him, but nothing special stood out.

“By the way, Clan Master, who is this…?”

“Ah, this is a guest from the Eternity Clan.”

Upon hearing Yoon Yeon’s words, he extended his hand to greet me.

“Ah… I see. Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Joo-tae, the leader of the Myth Clan’s 3rd party.”

“… Nice to meet you too. I’m Lee Yun-seong from the Eternity Clan.”

“… So you’re from the Eternity Clan. What brings you to our Clan House…?”

“Ah, I have some business to discuss with the Myth Clan Master, so I’ll be staying for a while.”

I couldn’t say I came to catch a spy in your clan, so I made up an excuse.

Yoon Yeon also chimed in.

“We’ve received some help from the Eternity Clan recently, so…”

“I see.”

“Well, that’s how it is. Anyway, you must be tired, so go in and rest.”

“Understood. Then I’ll head in now.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him for now.”

Currently, Shin Joo-tae is the most likely suspect, so keeping an eye on him is a reasonable decision.

As he passed by, he glanced at me and then left.

“… Did he sense something strange?”

He probably didn’t notice the Chimera. That wasn’t the look. It just felt like he thought it was strange that I was staying here for a while.

Even if it’s for business talks, it’s usually done in a day. Staying for such a long time is practically unheard of, so it’s not unreasonable for him to feel something was off.

Currently, in the Myth Clan…





The reason why there’s even a rumor going around is because of this. I heard it in passing, but there were strange rumors flying around about Yoon Yeon and me being in a relationship or something like that.

Yoon Yeon is aware of this fact too, but we didn’t bother to clear up the misunderstanding. Since we need to catch the spy, it’s better to let this misunderstanding slide for now.

I think Shin Joo-tae might be under the same misunderstanding too.

Anyway, after welcoming the returning Myth Clan members, Yoon Yeon and I ended up in her office together.

Yoon Yeon was the first to speak.

“So… why did you suddenly give me that look earlier?”

“…It’s not confirmed yet, but a suspect has appeared.”

“…Bringing this up now means you must’ve found something from the clan members earlier, right?”

‘As expected… she’s not clueless.’

“Correct.”

“Sigh… I was shocked when you said there was a spy in my clan, so I looked into it. And it turns out, you were right about the Outlaws attacking us. Honestly, I didn’t want to believe it, but I can’t deny it now.”

This is definitely one of Yoon Yeon’s strengths. Despite the difference in our social positions, she didn’t dismiss my words as nonsense and instead looked into it herself, trusting me.

“So, what did you find?”

“Like I said, it’s not confirmed yet. But… I noticed something strange about Shin Joo-tae’s status window…”

“Wait, are you saying Shin Joo-tae is the suspect?”

Yoon Yeon looked genuinely shocked. She never imagined Shin Joo-tae could be the suspect.

“…Yes. Is he someone close to you?”

“…We’ve known each other for a long time. He’s also a subordinate I trust.”

‘This isn’t good.’

It didn’t seem likely, but if Yoon Yeon were to deny or reject this, it would put me in a tough spot.

“Let’s stay calm for now. I told you it’s not confirmed yet. I’ll write down Shin Joo-tae’s status window for you.”

I decided it would be quicker to write it down and show her, like I did at the previous lord’s mansion, so I took a piece of paper and wrote it down before handing it to her.

As she took the paper, I could see her expression slowly hardening.

“…..”

“As you can see… his titles and unique traits are suspicious, so I plan to investigate further. In fact, I’ve already started.”

“…What?”

“I attached a Chimera to Shin Joo-tae earlier.”

“…You’re quick. That’s commendable.”

“..Thank you. Oh, by the way, I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Last time, I asked about the expedition, right? From what I remember, there wasn’t a concrete plan, just some opinions being thrown around. Was Shin Joo-tae the one who suggested it?”

“…Yes.”

‘Then… the chances of him being the spy are pretty high.’

I don’t know exactly when the scene I saw in the Library of Records took place, so I can’t be sure if the expedition Shin Joo-tae suggested is the cause of that scene.

But still, the possibility is there, and that’s undeniable.

“Has the timing been decided?”

“…It’s just opinions for now. There’s talk of a place suspected to be a dungeon…”

‘Looks like we have some time to spare. That’s a relief.’

Anyway, since the scene I saw was a result of the expedition, the current situation, where there’s still plenty of time before the next expedition, isn’t bad.

I felt the tension I didn’t even realize I had starting to ease.

“By the way… this might be a bit rude, but can I ask you something? If it’s too much, you don’t have to answer.”

“Go ahead.”

“You said you attached a Chimera to him. What exactly is the mechanism behind that? How does it reveal if someone’s a spy? I know it’s for information gathering, but I’m curious.”

‘Hmm…’

Well, since she already has an idea about the Chimera’s purpose, I thought it was okay to explain.

‘It feels like I’m revealing too much of my hand, but I guess there’s no choice.’

At this point, Yoon Yeon knows more about me than most of my clan members.

Just the information she has about me includes my status window, the Chimera, and my unique traits.

The reason I’m open with her is because, despite knowing my unique traits, she hasn’t tried to threaten or pressure me, and she’s been friendly. Plus, the scene I saw in the Library of Records was decisive.

“Well… you can think of it as something that secretly follows the target and records their surroundings without being noticed.”

“Does it have no combat ability at all? Or did you remove combat abilities to focus entirely on surveillance?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“That’s an unusual approach.”

“Well… even if I improved my combat abilities, there’s a clear limit. So I thought about developing other areas instead.”

“Hmm… can I ask one more thing?”

“If you’re curious, just ask.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“…Huh?”

“I don’t get it. Why are you so friendly towards me? Oh, it’s not that I think you have bad intentions or anything. I just really don’t understand why.”

“…….”

Since I can’t tell her about the first round, it’s better to just dodge the question.

“…Well, I just want to gain favor with the top-tier strong and the clan.”

“That’s not very honest. Well, I’ll let it slide.”

“…I’m serious.”

“Just in case… you don’t like me or anything, right?”

“…Excuse me, but are you feeling unwell?”

“Haha… your reaction tells me it’s not that.”

“That’s just your overconfidence. Seriously, go see a doctor.”

“Wow, you’re really cheeky.”

“……”