The Spy Who Knows the Devil Too Well

< p >Joshua, who knew the Devil of All Nations far too well, slumped wearily into the carriage as it rolled back toward the Information Bureau. < /p >

< p >Outside, he maintained his usual dignified posture, but the moment he slipped into a private corner where no one could see, his defenses dropped completely. Today, watching him sprawled almost fully reclined on the sofa with an exhaustion that felt even deeper than usual, Cale spoke up. < /p >

< p >“You look even more tired today, Vice-Minister.” < /p >

< p >“It was terrifying. When that guy gets really worked up, he doesn’t discriminate between fire and water.” < /p >

< p >“And he seemed so gentle with you, too. And the two of you looked very close.” < /p >

< p >“That’s exactly what scares me. Eliot never cared about human feelings—trash on the ground level. He would kill even someone he was close to without the slightest hesitation, just to rip out their heart with his bare hands.” < /p >

< p >Although Cale knew Joshua’s true identity as an Empire spy who had once fought side by side with Rai, the conversation between them in his eyes still felt like old comrades gathering to reminisce over memories. < /p >

< p >Both men carried unusual personalities, so they teased each other mercilessly, yet they understood each other perfectly and actually enjoyed the banter. It was strangely comforting to watch. < /p >

< p >Cale could have dismissed it as guilt over betrayal, but he knew exactly how much weight Joshua carried. And he knew far better than Joshua himself just how dangerous Rai truly was. < /p >

< p >Since he understood that more than half of Joshua’s “jokes” were pure truth, a chill ran down his spine at the cold precision hidden behind that innocent smile. < /p >

< p >“Anyway, just because he’s that kind of person doesn’t mean you should get friendly with him.” < /p >

< p >“Would I ever have the chance to become friends with the Devil of All Nations?” < /p >

< p >“Who knows? His charm is terrifying. That’s why Duke Edelian couldn’t stop chasing him. They’ve even traded punches a few times. Everyone—Edelian, Person, Selfit, and Georg—likes him. Even the Emperor, though he never says it out loud, is his biggest fan.” < /p >

< p >Cale fell silent. The very idea of casually discussing the Emperor was unthinkable, and Joshua’s words sounded far too believable. < /p >

< p >Ignoring Cale’s reaction, Joshua leaned back on the seat, stared at the ceiling, and pondered for a moment before continuing. < /p >

< p >“Arrange a meeting with Melanie for me.” < /p >

< p >“Do you mean Lady Melanie Philburg?” < /p >

< p >“Melanie, is there anyone else?” < /p >

< p >“I was simply wondering whether you wanted to meet anyone else, since you always avoid her.” < /p >

< p >As Cale had predicted, Joshua had no desire to meet the former Devil of All Nations subordinates who had defected to the Empire. < /p >

< p >The moment they saw him after the kingdom fell, they hid their rage perfectly. Joshua had answered with mocking laughter, but he deliberately avoided them to not provoke his former comrades into retaliation. < /p >

< p >Even after seven years of surrender, Joshua’s encounters with those officers were limited to a few passing encounters in the corridor at best. < /p >

< p >Cale recorded the details in his notebook, then tore the paper into small pieces and burned it. A habit typical of someone who only kept the minimum necessary records. < /p >

< p >“Would it be possible to ask why you suddenly want to meet Lady Melanie?” < /p >

< p >“By now she’s probably already tailing me. If she reaches the Academy, things will get complicated.” < /p >

< p >“The Information Bureau has already diverted her attention.” < /p >

< p >At Cale’s words, Joshua let out a soft, mocking chuckle. < /p >

< p >“Do you really think I was fooled?” < /p >

< p >The sharp, mocking glint in his eyes as he laughed made Cale fall silent once more. < /p >

< p >“Eliot… no, now I should call him Rai. His subordinates were all excellent. You’ll see for yourself once you meet him. Rai has a talent for discovering people who are overlooked by others, and he also knows how to nurture that talent. And those subordinates who survived until surrender were monsters in at least one field.” < /p >

< p >“I know their skills are impressive, but I’ve never heard that Lady Melanie is particularly good at tracking.” < /p >

< p >All of the Devil of All Nations’ former subordinates who remained in the Empire were skilled, of course. But excluding Joshua, who had joined the Empire from the start, most were former generals who had been shuffled around to minor posts. < /p >

< p >The Information Bureau constantly monitored them, and reports on their activities never stopped flowing in. < /p >

< p >“I’ve never heard anything like that about her either,” Joshua shrugged. < /p >

< p >“…” < /p >

< p >Cale closed his mouth in quiet understanding. There were far too many things he wanted to say, but he knew that when Joshua spoke, the truth would only emerge if he let the man finish. < /p >

< p >“But she possesses a talent similar to Rai’s.” < /p >

< p >“If she has a talent similar to the Devil of All Nations… what kind? Tactical genius? Winning the war?” < /p >

< p >“No. A talent for creating the outcome he wants.” < /p >

< p >“That’s different from simply winning or having tactical skill.” < /p >

< p >Puzzled, Cale frowned and asked for clarification. Joshua held up one finger. < /p >

< p >“For example, there was the Battle of Dukan Plains.” < /p >

< p >“It wasn’t a draw… The Devil of All Nations won that battle.” < /p >

< p >The Devil of All Nations, who had burned the Dukan Plains and launched a suicidal charge, had defeated the Empire’s army. The Empire claimed it was a draw since both sides had retreated, but in reality the Empire had suffered a crippling blow that prevented them from continuing the war. < /p >

< p >Of course the Kaylen Kingdom suffered heavy losses as well, but when viewed objectively, Rai had secured victory by breaking a battle that should have been lost. < /p >

< p >“General… cough, I must be careful with my words. Because of my habit, I spoke nonsense. Do you know what Rai said the moment he arrived at Dukan Plains?” < /p >

< p >“It’s trash?” < /p >

< p >“Ah, he did say that. More precisely, ‘This land is trash.’” < /p >

< p >“You mean the Dukan Plains?” < /p >

< p >The Dukan Plains was an ideal location—vast, fertile, with abundant water, perfect for food production. On the entire continent, very few places matched its quality. < /p >

< p >Moreover, it was the strategic junction where the Kaylen Kingdom and the Empire met. < /p >

< p >Yet the moment he saw the Dukan Plains, the Devil of All Nations declared it useless. The more perplexed Cale became, the more Joshua continued. < /p >

< p >“Rai thought the Kaylen Kingdom didn’t have the strength to defend it. That was a perfectly reasonable expectation. With only the Ketranka Gate to rely on, no one would think a weakened Empire could hold the open plains.” < /p >

< p >“But the Kaylen Kingdom was different.” < /p >

< p >“Exactly. I thought with Rai there we could stop them. They really were too naive. Of course he held the line a few times, but Rai couldn’t protect the entire kingdom alone. It was surrounded by enemies. Eventually, when he left his post, Duke Edelian invaded.” < /p >

< p >From that point onward, the events Cale knew well unfolded. The late-returning Devil of All Nations unleashed his conversation-style suicidal tactics and drove the Empire out of the Dukan Plains. < /p >

< p >Although reckless, the tale of tactical victory left Cale still unable to grasp the concept of “creating the desired outcome.” Surely it was merely a matter of winning or possessing tactical skill. < /p >

< p >Joshua’s lips curved into a small, meaningful smile as he watched Cale struggle to follow. < /p >

< p >“After the battle, how did the Empire respond?” < /p >

< p >“They declared the scorched land worthless and left it as a buffer zone for years to come.” < /p >

< p >“True, that’s exactly what the Kaylen Kingdom did too.” < /p >

< p >Joshua wore a meaningful smile. Cale imagined the unimaginable: an Information Bureau agent who analyzed every piece of data and predicted enemy actions, yet still felt revulsion at the idea of a loyal Imperial army casually destroying a strategic plain. < /p >

< p >The Empire and the Kingdom both desired the Dukan Plains, so why not simply erase it entirely! < /p >

< p >For some reason, the words sounded eerily familiar. A wicked smile like Joshua’s spread across Rai’s face as he burned the plains flat. < /p >

< p >A general, without any royal permission, destroyed land the Emperor—or even the King—coveted. It was not the act of a soldier who valued loyalty. < /p >

< p >“Even if the king had gone crazy, Rai judged the land useless ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and turned it into something he never wanted. As a result, for two years he fought only minor border skirmishes with the Empire—exactly as he desired—while stabilizing the other borders.” < /p >

< p >“What did the Kaylen King say?” < /p >

< p >“In a moment of absolute crisis, the hero who drove the Empire back—what could he possibly order? The land was destroyed while fighting. Probably worthless now. He ended things at Ketranka Gate.” < /p >

< p >Cale understood how pathetic the Kaylen Kingdom had become at the war’s end, though the Information Bureau’s behind-the-scenes manipulations had surely helped. He had never imagined the agency would predict the complete collapse of a border kingdom. < /p >

< p >While war raged on the frontiers, the Empire’s only protector—the Devil of All Nations—had watched the grand strategy unfold and, without the King’s approval, destroyed a strategic plain. < /p >

< p >Even without direct information, if his personality was what Cale suspected, he had likely pleaded with the King multiple times. And the King, of course, had ignored him. < /p >

< p >What now? So I’ll destroy it myself. < /p >

< p >Again, the voice sounded like a hallucination. Cale decided he would re-examine the Dukan Plains battle report the moment he returned. < /p >

< p >“Let’s return to the original topic. Melanie also possesses a talent similar to Rai’s. If she were not an adjutant but another general, our Empire’s Dangerous Spectator Operation might have failed.” < /p >

< p >The “Dangerous Spectator Operation” was the plan to pin Rai down at Ketranka Gate while flanking through the treacherous swamps. If Joshua’s assessment was correct, Melanie’s barrier magic would have sealed the operation. < /p >

< p >The Kaylen Kingdom’s ability to resist despite its massive size difference was due to both the presence of the Devil of All Nations and the defensive terrain along the borders. < /p >

< p >The easiest point was Ketranka ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gate itself; the rest required accepting enormous casualties just to advance. < /p >

< p >Had a general with talent similar to Rai’s existed in such a place, he would have been impossible to breach. < /p >

< p >“So what exactly does the woman who creates the desired outcome desire most?” < /p >

< p >“Rebuilding the kingdom after finding the Devil of All Nations?” < /p >

< p >“What? What nonsense are you talking about? If the kingdom is rebuilt, she would have destroyed it first. She’d smile dreamily while smashing every soldier in the army.” < /p >

< p >Cale knew the Devil of All Nations’ subordinates harbored deep resentment toward the Kaylen Kingdom, yet as an Empire loyalist he found it impossible to admit. < /p >

< p >Despite the hatred, they followed the King’s orders faithfully and endured unfair treatment and terrifying battlefields. It even seemed they spread false information to cause trouble on this side. < /p >

< p >“Then what do they want?” < /p >

< p >“That’s pure love.” < /p >

< p >Joshua drew two hands as if shaping hearts and laughed. Though it was a ridiculous sight from a middle-aged man, Cale simply endured with firm patience. < /p >

< p >“Were the two of them lovers?” < /p >

< p >“No. Rai is a notorious womanizer, so he never kept anyone. They probably slept together a few times, but I can’t confirm it. Still, Melanie truly loves Rai passionately. Sometimes I was even scared by how obsessive she became.” < /p >

< p >“…” < /p >

< p >“If what you say is true, Lady Melanie will head straight to the Academy the moment she hears the Devil of All Nations exists.” < /p >

< p >“Exactly. And if she abandons everything and acts, countless eyes will turn toward her. Naturally, Rai will surface once more.” < /p >

< p >The Kingdom was already chaotic enough; another unpredictable variable was bound to cause trouble. < /p >

< p >Cale sorted through the information in his mind and began crafting possible scenarios for how this would unfold. < /p >

< p >“Ah, that’s why I told you not to go. Stubborn people never listen.” < /p >

< p >Joshua sighed as he spoke. Cale scanned his surroundings. < /p >

< p >The “stubborn people” he referred to were the directors and deputy directors of the Information Bureau. Though cursing a superior carried severe punishment, Joshua never held back—especially dangerous in an agency where loyalty was constantly questioned. < /p >

< p >“Because of that scheming woman, this whole mess happened.” < /p >

< p >“What on earth is the Headmistress thinking?” < /p >

< p >“Thinking? She called me to use me.” < /p >

< p >“You, Vice-Minister?” < /p >

< p >Cale’s question was met with silence. Joshua picked up a stack of documents from the carriage corner and began reading. The busy Information Bureau never stopped working, even during travel. < /p >

< p >“Honestly, I don’t know how much she knows, but she seems to have swallowed over a hundred crocodiles.” < /p >

< p >“What benefit could summoning Vice-Minister Joshua possibly bring?” < /p >

< p >Cale asked again, but Joshua simply wrote something on the documents and answered. < /p >

< ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠p >“Shall I summarize the scenario she expects? First, she will continue luring the hidden Devil of All Nations into the open. She’ll expand his activity zone to Legandia, then… wait, is it Jadis? No, Panniac.” < /p >

< p >“Ah, that. Even if it’s expensive, she adjusted only 0.1% of the Academy budget and bought enough alchemical materials to flaunt them in front of Rai. She wants him out among people—making him show off, boasting that a truly powerful warrior exists at the Academy! He can’t stand being ignored.” < /p >

< p >Joshua tossed the checked documents to the floor and grabbed another. While Cale sorted the scattered papers, he continued speaking. < /p >

< p >“Second, the Information Bureau, irritated by the situation, will send me. Why? Because I’m the one closest to and best acquainted with Rai. I’ll investigate what he’s thinking and what state he’s in, and I’ll warn that scheming woman too. I told her he would never think such things. Why send someone else? Because during the war era we did too many dirty things, so everything seems dangerous now. She’s afraid.” < /p >

< p >Once more cursing the Information Bureau, Joshua scanned the surroundings and checked the driver. < /p >

< p >“Third, if I go, Melanie will move. She’s openly said she’ll remain loyal to the Empire but never forgive me. She’s been watching me closely. Fourth, Melanie will head to the Academy because of her feelings for Rai. Fifth, the Devil of All Nations will learn of the former adjutant’s reckless action. Conclusion: the Academy, now a hotspot, will cause chaos throughout the Empire.” < /p >

< p >“…” < /p >

< p >If Joshua’s assessment was accurate, this matter was far too significant to overlook. Anyone who caused disorder within the Empire fell under the Information Bureau’s immediate jurisdiction and required swift handling. < /p >

< p >Cale’s gaze sharpened, but Joshua shook his head. < /p >

< p >“Don’t think that way. If you kill her, the Devil of All Nations will rampage. That scheming woman probably hasn’t prepared any safety measures of that scale. Besides, our talented Rai has too much slave-like loyalty; he would obey anyone above him perfectly. If she dies, at minimum he’ll seek revenge. And then I’ll have to say goodbye to the Information Bureau quickly.” < /p >

< p >His words implied that if Rai went berserk, the Information Bureau would be completely destroyed. Though Cale didn’t believe the Devil of All Nations possessed that level of power, seeing how carefully Joshua spoke made an inexplicable unease settle in his chest. < /p >

< p >If his words were true, what madness had driven the people above to release him into the world? No matter how hard he thought, he could find no answer. If the Emperor hadn’t been there, he might have cursed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the decision aloud. < /p >

< p >Joshua sensed the dissatisfaction behind Cale’s composed expression and tossed the documents aside again. < /p >

< p >“That’s why I’m suffering. Melanie will handle me, so don’t worry. A scheming woman always gets her way—something I can’t stand.” < /p >

< p >“…” < /p >

< p >“May I ask one disrespectful question?” < /p >

< p >“Why did you bring up Rai?” < /p >

< p >“…” < /p >

< p >Cale asked cautiously, still unable to comprehend. Joshua looked at the ceiling once more and spoke in a distant voice. < /p >

< p >“Her… and the gift… Is it… Irena?” < /p >

< p >“…” < /p >

< p >“I can’t tell you any more.” < /p >

< p >Cale frowned at the even more tangled response, but the lonely smile on Joshua’s face stopped him from pressing further. < /p >