"So, we either ditch our current identities and skip town, or we bring in a third party," Klein said, his expression turning serious.
"You just pointed out that anything involving both Intis and Feysac spies is no small matter. This is Loen's capital, the home turf of the Loen military. I could report this to them, let them stir things up, and the Intis ambassador might not have time to bother with me."
Clap, clap, clap!
Evah gave an enthusiastic round of applause, then asked with genuine curiosity, "And if the ambassador's so cautious that, even with the Loen military crashing the party, he still sends someone to silence you?"
"Uh…" Klein faltered, hesitating for a few seconds. His eyes flickered, but he pressed on. "Then I'd have to find a way to take them out."
Even a pushover has limits, and Klein wasn't spineless. If someone came to kill him—and not for the first time—he wasn't above fighting back.
Besides, anyone ruthless enough to order a hit without a second thought clearly wasn't a saint. Taking them out would practically be a public service.
"How do you plan to pull that off?" a voice asked.
Klein opened his mouth to answer, then realized it wasn't Evah speaking. Glancing over, he saw Mr. Red—Medici—lounging on the sofa, having appeared out of nowhere. A cigarette dangled between his fingers, its tip igniting on its own without any visible effort.
"Can you smoke outside? Or at least by the window?" Evah said, exasperated, scooting back with a look of distaste.
It wasn't an act—Evah genuinely didn't smoke and had no love for secondhand fumes.
"Heh, kid," Medici said, glancing at Evah with a mocking smirk.
"Not as bad as you, you thousand-year-old fossil," Evah shot back, rolling his eyes.
The living room's tense atmosphere lightened in an instant. Klein, quick to play peacemaker, stepped in to calm Evah, who looked ready to bristle, then turned to Medici with sincerity. "Mr. Red, smoking in a closed space isn't great. Want me to open the window for you?"
Medici gave him a look, then shifted his gaze to Evah, who mouthed something about a "tea party."
Medici let out a "tch," but didn't stub out his cigarette. Instead, he sauntered to the window, opened it, and perched on the sill, puffing away.
Evah's face screamed "saved at last."
Medici surveyed the room's chaos and repeated his question. "Kid, how're you gonna take them out?"
Klein blinked, caught off guard, then thought for a moment. "I could hire a powerful Beyonder to deal with them."
"Got the cash for that?" Medici asked slowly, clearly aware of someone's financial situation.
Klein's expression stiffened. He didn't have that kind of money, but…
As the Fool, I can post a commission on the Tarot Club and pay with something else.
Klein thought it but kept it to himself—couldn't exactly say that out loud.
Evah, meanwhile, stroked his chin. He hadn't planned to meddle in the spy case plot, content to watch Rosago's iconic moment from the sidelines. But now, a wild idea sparked in his mind. "Actually, we might not need to kill the Intis ambassador."
Klein looked at him, puzzled. "Jack, what's your plan?"
"What if we could make the Intis ambassador think we're on his side?" Evah said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Huh?" Klein was floored, staring at Evah in confusion. "Are you serious?"
They had zero connection to the ambassador, except for the fresh grudge from Meursault's death . How could they possibly pass as allies?
"Little Red, you're on the Hunter pathway, right? And a high-sequence one at that," Evah said, smiling at Medici.
"What's your sneaky little scheme now?" Medici narrowed his eyes. He didn't buy for a second that Evah just wanted to resolve the issue.
"It's no secret that Intis is crawling with Hunter pathway Beyonders, while Loen barely has any. So, Little Red, could you pose as a high-sequence Intis spy infiltrating Loen?" Evah said, not beating around the bush.
"No way that'd work…" Klein started to dismiss the outlandish idea but trailed off. Theoretically, it wasn't impossible.
He thought it over seriously, then raised a concern. "But someone like the Intis ambassador is a big deal. Even if Mr. Red is a high-sequence Hunter, without some solid proof of identity, would the ambassador buy it?"
"That's where our great Mr. Red comes in," Evah said, grinning at Medici. "I'm sure he knows exactly what kind of proof would convince someone of an Intis official identity."
Evah wasn't naive. Since regaining freedom , Medici wouldn't have ignored the state of Intis or its Hunter families, especially since Intis fell within the True Creator's sphere of influence.
At Evah's words, Klein instinctively turned to Medici.
Under their scrutiny, Medici let out a scoff. He casually snuffed out his cigarette and looked at Evah. "I could get the proof to fool that so-called ambassador, no problem. But why should I help you two?"
Yeah, why would Mr. Red bother? Klein realized belatedly, caught up in Evah's confident pitch.
Evah didn't flinch, meeting Medici's gaze with a smile. "Because this benefits you too, Mr. Red."
"What benefits? Let's hear it," Medici said, crossing his legs. He knew if Evah gave a direct order, he'd have to comply as a "worker", even if grudgingly. But he was curious what spin Evah could put on this.
"Little Red, you're keen on sparking a revolution to shake up Loen, right?" Evah said, grinning.
Klein froze, blurting out, "What revolution?"
He'd just overheard something massive.
Evah blinked, explaining, "Oh, Sherlock, you didn't know? Mr. Red's boss is a real high-moral type. He can't stand Loen's status quo, places like the East District . So, he's planning a big reform push."
(End of Chapter)