How to Replace Dad
When Mila left to take a break, I told the Irregulars my suspicions.
But...
“What? Even the captain suspects her?”
“She’s really good at lying.”
“How do you know that?”
“The arsonist in the orphanage fire was her.”
He said he knew from the first time he met her.
He smelled gunpowder on his hands.
So, he must have come to the lake to verify her identity.
Mila screamed as if in a fit.
“Ah, no! What evidence do you have for that…!”
“Vice-Captain, please find a bathroom nearby. They probably set someone up there to wait.”
“…!”
Bettyom is the medicine for diarrhea.
By leaving for the bathroom, they would have her kidnapped.
He brought up human trafficking to avoid suspicion.
The vice-captain immediately moved.
And in less than 30 minutes, he brought back three boys with red, yellow, and blue hair.
When they were caught, the boys looked terrified.
As soon as they saw Mila...
“Yes. She ordered that girl!”
“Yes! It’s Mila!”
“She told us to wait in the bathroom and then hand us over to the guild!”
It was irrefutable evidence.
I shook my hands and stood up.
“Will you take the fall? The key.”
“Th-that will save me, right…?”
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t a transaction. It’s an order.”
With that, Antonio grinned and said.
“When this happens, the lady is so cool.”
After finding the key, things went smoothly.
I sat quietly in the carriage, and three Irregulars went in and searched the warehouse.
The elite soldiers set up by Andres couldn’t even match them.
The barrier was solved with code.
“And while we were at it, we blew it up too.”
“Well done.”
Then we couldn’t catch the tail from Andres.
The carriage started moving.
I told the vice-captain.
“What are you going to do with Mila and the boys?”
“We’ll send them to the mines. They have to atone for their sins through labor in the meantime.”
“Ah ha.”
* * *
Back to San Miguel.
With a mountain of treasures, the members came running like puppies getting snacks.
Of course I thought it was Antonio, but it wasn’t.
“Ah! We can replace the weapons…!”
“Salary. We don’t have to worry about next month’s salary…!”
The vice-captain in charge of administration was overjoyed, tears streaming down his face.
Was the financial situation that dire?
It was tight, but still, they were Irregulars.
I said to the vice-captain who was sighing in relief with the others.
“Is there something wrong with the castle?”
“Excuse me?”
“I was wondering if the lack of funds was due to some incident.”
“Ah. It’s because we have to allocate a large budget.”
“What is it?”
The vice-captain, truly relieved, approached me after rubbing the treasures on the members’ cheeks.
“You know that the Valboa Marquisate has been expelled.”
Valboa is the Ayabel family.
We couldn’t not know about the expulsion.
I had taken a solid share there.
“The empty Valboa territory is scheduled to be absorbed by another jurisdiction.”
“Where is it? Sintes?”
“Applications are open from all regions.”
“…!”
I was startled.
Valboa territory boasted an area several times larger than a normal jurisdiction because it was under the Three Rivers jurisdiction.
It was close to the Duchy direct territory, so commerce was developed.
The number of subjects was enormous, generating huge tax revenue for the jurisdiction.
“How is the absorption area determined?”
“There is no announcement yet, but we will put all our funds and military strength into it.”
So, the captain had checked the military warehouse.
“Then it’s information warfare for now.”
“Yes. So, the intelligence leader, Captain Yuis, is scheduled to return.”
Yuis?
I knew the name.
As the intelligence leader, he does a lot of external activities compared to other elites.
I don’t know his face though.
It was almost like espionage.
He changes face, identity, even gender to infiltrate.
In the game, his face was always blacked out, so I was curious.
Plus, there’s special setting.
“When is he coming?”
“By tomorrow, he’ll arrive.”
It was when I had a thrilled face.
“I hope he doesn’t come…”
“…?”
Antonio sighed with a relieved face.
Antonio was also frowning.
I tilted my head.
* * *
That strangeness was resolved the next day.
The next day, Captain Yuis entered San Miguel castle.
“Even when you see him, his face is gloomy.”
“Have you not calmed down yet?”
“If you’re going to enter the dormitory, wash your feet. Feet.”
...As soon as he came, he grabbed Antonio like catching a rat.
The Irregular guild’s six squads are similar in tendency to the squad leaders.
Antonio’s squad is simple and comfortable, specialized in attack.
The vice-captain’s squad is seemingly strict but kind administrators.
And Yuis’s squad is...
“I’m going to die. The sweat smell is real.”
“Don’t come close. My jacket will wrinkle.”
It seemed like he was in charge of the grooming team with beautiful handsome men.
Moreover, he seems to spend money lavishly.
The vice-captain looked at the ledger and gritted his teeth.
“This clothing purchase expense… is this…”
“Captain Yuis said that intelligence agents must make people open up by winning their favor, and the easiest way to win favor is appearance, he said.”
A beautiful handsome man with a smiling face handed a rose to the vice-captain.
The vice-captain didn’t even take the flower, but clutched the ledger tightly.
Well, Captain Yuis’s squad had better financial conditions than others.
The Irregulars use 40% of the money earned by each squad as operating funds for the squad.
Since it’s the intelligence squad, with the most requests, it should be abundant.
Compared to that...
“Wow, is that really expensive? Can I hear it?”
“Perfume costs 10 gold?! How many real potatoes can that buy…”
The attack specialized squad, Captain Antonio, is poor.
There aren’t many great battles for Antonio’s squad to take on, and even if there are, they cause so much trouble that nothing remains.
“Yuis?”
“He’ll be coming soon.”
“Without greeting the captain and the lady, where did he go?”
At the word ‘lady’, Captain Yuis looked at me at the same time.
The gazes of the beautiful handsome men shot sharply.
Oh, first, greeting.
It was when I was about to raise my hand.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
Captain Yuis’s members simultaneously handed flowers.
Then.
“We greet the lady.”
“You are more beautiful than expected.”
“It is an honor to meet you.”
...Wow.
Captain Antonio’s face turned green.
“Bad luck.”
“That’s what I said.”
The members of the vice-captain’s squad also sighed.
* * *
After greeting Captain Yuis, I went to the garden.
I was worried because I had left the garden unattended for a long time, whether it was ruined.
Charley, who had now fully taken over my duties, was with me.
Charley had managed the garden while I was away.
“How is it? Is it okay? Right?”
Charley asked with a very excited face.
“Yeah. You did great.”
“I worked hard. Thinking I was in Captain Yuis’s squad.”
“Does Captain Yuis like flowers that much?”
“I don’t like it, I hang what is necessary?”
When I looked like I didn’t understand what that meant, Charley answered.
“By winning the favor of women like that. Isn’t favor that important?”
“It’s because I’m in a position where I have to use anything.”
“Use?”
I cut a protruding branch and answered.
“Intelligence squads aren’t something you can make in a short time.”
Intimate information is originally in the house.
But great families don’t casually let people in.
They check career or family thoroughly.
So, like growing a tree, they slowly build a history that no one can suspect before they can let in a spy.
But the Irregular guild’s history is short.
It’s a position where you have no choice but to win favor somehow and infiltrate.
Charley nodded at my explanation.
“But isn’t it not always risking your life like us?”
“Risk your life. Intelligence agents usually carry poison for instant death.”
“Why?”
“Because those who know too much are dangerous even to allies.”
To prevent them from spilling secrets they can’t handle.
“So, training for intelligence agents includes enduring high stress.”
“...I didn’t know. I was doing amazing things.”
“Then. The biggest part in determining the success of the mission is information.”
Charley nodded.
“I won’t think of them as unlucky trash from now on.”
...Did you think that?
* * *
“... as follows.”
Captain Yuis’s meeting room.
Yuis’s subordinate was delivering the conversation between Yustea and Charley from the garden to Yuis.
Yuis, who was listening with crossed legs, sneered.
“He speaks smoothly. Did he seduce the captain and elites that way.”
Yustea Andres.
Since she came, the members guarding San Miguel have been strange.
When Antonio called urgent communication,
[What do these kids like lately?]
“Why are you wasting my time asking that?”
[It’s important.]
“Is it a mission?”
[No. The little teacher doesn’t eat two bowls of rice. There’s definitely something bad happening, right?]
Click.
When urgent communication came to the vice-captain,
[Return immediately.]
“Is it an attack on Esglott castle?”
[The lady went out to find herbs and didn’t come back. Investigate...]
Click.
“Mad.”
Yuis waved his hand with an annoyed face.
“Let’s move on to the next topic.”
“Sintes viscount recently bought a Magerst farm.”
“Did you find some great effect in Magerst? Look into it more.”
“Yes. Next is news related to the saintess. A letter came from Theresa priestess wanting to send holy knights to Esglott...”
Since there was no Yustea talk, his mind was at ease.
* * *
The next day.
An invitation came.
The sender was Asta.
Yustea, how are you?
I’m doing well.
Excluding the longing for Yustea.
Recently, I thought that time and affection might not be proportional.
Our meeting time was short, but Yustea gave me...
(omitted)
So, the thing is, I want to invite Yustea to our group’s tea time.
I’ll attach the attendee list.
If you’re not busy, please attend.
At the end of the long letter of four pages, an important sentence was written.
“Party?”
I quickly checked the attendee list.
They were all daughters and wives of great houses within Esglott.
“If I can get good information here faster than sending the intelligence squad.”
I quickly left the room.
And went to the vice-captain, showing the letter and attendee list.
“Indeed, this is a good opportunity to get the Valboa territory.”
“Yes? Going to the party. So, preparation is needed. Very thorough preparation.”
“Even for tea time, do you need such preparation?”
“Nobles’ social gatherings are, vice-captain...”
I said with wide eyes.
“It’s a battlefield without sound.”
A battlefield where you calculate every word to gain advantage.
There was a reason nobles uproot their roots to bring their children to social debut.
Seeing my momentum, the vice-captain nodded.
“If you write a list of necessary items, I’ll prepare immediately.”
“Yes, and I need the intelligence squad.”
“Send the intelligence squad to get information...?”
If these daughters and wives have dated and broken up, you can’t bring up common topics.
Even if this wife was sexually inferior to that wife, you can’t bring up that topic.
If this daughter has a grudge against that daughter’s family, you have to clearly choose a side.
After saying all these things, the vice-captain nodded.
“I’ll call Yuis right away.”
“Yes.”
“Please wait a moment.”
I sat quietly on the sofa waiting for Yuis to come.
I was really curious.
What kind of person would he be.
“Gamers guessed he’s a woman.”
They even did gender inference with community events.
After a while.
There was a knock.
“Enter.”
I was startled.
Even though my intuition was sharp, I didn’t feel any presence.
Indeed, the squad leader of Irregular intelligence squad.
The vice-captain said.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
I quickly stood up.
“Hello. I’m Yustea.”
And when I looked up, what I saw was...
Long platinum blonde hair gathered like moonlight.
In the sky-blue eyes close to the color of the sky, there was some mysterious atmosphere.
And facing Yuis, I...
Got a bit disappointed.
I expected a beautiful woman, but it was a pretty man.