A New Identity
'A condition?'
Naturally, that didn't sound like something pleasant.
In fact, I felt a surge of irritation.
'I stopped a near-catastrophe and even caught the culprits, and now he wants to add conditions?'
Still, I forced myself to stay calm.
'Fine. Let's hear it first.'
…To possess a dragon—
In a fantasy world, that was practically equivalent to reaching the pinnacle of existence.
So there was no way I could let this opportunity slip by.
Strictly speaking, such a feat was only possible for those who possessed the highest-tier Tamer-type Fate Card: "Dragon Trainer."
Even then, it wasn't something easily achieved.
'You have to find the dragon, wear down its HP just enough, calculate the capture probability, use the right skill…'
And finally, raise affinity until the bond succeeds.
It was a grueling, multi-step process.
But—
'If I use the Lair of the Death Dragon, I can get one much faster and easier—maybe not a full-grown battle force, but close enough.'
There was absolutely no way I was letting that go.
"..."
And if negotiations broke down?
'Then I'll just sneak in.'
Retreat wasn't an option.
"I'll hear you out first."
Feeling my mind cool a little, I asked,
"What's this condition of yours?"
"Well…"
Vice Commander Erec Kaid sighed softly.
And then, he dropped something completely unexpected.
"Your Highness, we'd like you to assume the guise of a Revolutionary Army agent and help us resolve our current predicament."
"…What?"
What was that supposed to mean?
Was he joking?
But his face was deadly serious.
"To put it simply, we want you to act as one of our secret operatives—a covert special agent, as though you'd been one from the start."
An absurd notion.
Asking an Imperial Prince to play the role of a Revolutionary Army spy?
Yet… something about that line rang familiar.
A flash of memory crossed my mind:
—We humbly ask that you, traveler, take on the role of one of our 'covert agents'… just as you've done before.
'Right, that's straight from that faction scenario!'
The moment the scene replayed in my head—
a bright system message appeared before my eyes.
***
[Faction Scenario "Agent No. 7" has appeared!]
[Accept? Yes / No]
***
An unexpected faction scenario.
But I knew this one well—
and it took every ounce of willpower not to grin from ear to ear.
My lips twitched uncontrollably.
'No way… it's unlocking here?'
The Revolutionary Army scenario "Agent No. 7" was actually one of the ones I'd been hoping to trigger.
If the earlier "War Recon Unit" scenario involved traversing the entire continent to hunt down war instigators…
'Then Agent No. 7 lets you dig deep into the Revolution's inner network.'
Even better—it could be continued later, even after switching factions,
since it naturally branched into the Double Agent storyline.
'…The only question is why it's popping up now, of all times.'
Fortunately, Erec Kaid kindly explained his reasoning.
"What happened yesterday was, frankly, an incident that could have shaken the unity of our entire Revolutionary Army."
I nodded.
The Kishiris Order, which turned out to be behind everything, was one of the key pillars supporting the Revolution's infrastructure.
And now that such a faction had committed heinous crimes against children…
If left unchecked, the entire army would be thrown into disarray.
"What we need now," Kaid continued, "is a symbol to restore order."
"Ah. I see."
Now I understood.
They needed a way to redirect public attention away from this unpleasant tragedy.
"If Your Highness agrees…"
He chose his next words carefully.
"We will announce that Shan Aledro was, from the very beginning, one of our agents—secretly working to thwart the plot."
Oh?
Rewriting the entire narrative, are we?
"And as for the culprits of the Kishiris Order, we plan to connect them to the rumors spreading about the Empire."
…and conveniently shift the origin of the conspiracy outward.
'As expected of a shrewd old fox.'
I nodded inwardly.
It might seem far-fetched, but people don't believe the truth—they believe what they want to believe.
And Kaid was exploiting that perfectly.
The citizens of the Revolutionary Army would—
'Prefer to see this as a secret clash with rival powers rather than a petty internal feud.'
Even if the lie was 2 percent short of perfect, it would still be enough for now.
Hmm. Impressive.
Vice Commander of the Revolution wasn't a title won over a game of cards, after all.
"Well then, Prince Gilroshan," Kaid said, folding his hands together, "what is your decision?"
"If you accept our proposal, you'll immediately receive the official credentials of a Revolutionary Army special operative—'Shan Aledro.'
With that, you'll be authorized to move freely throughout the Azure Mountain Range."
"..."
Players who accepted the Agent No. 7 scenario gained access to the Revolutionary Army's Secret Operations Division, separate from any existing factions.
'That means my identity as the Third Prince will stay completely hidden.'
Two birds with one stone.
I had no reason to refuse.
So much so that I was struggling to keep from laughing outright.
'Can it really go this smoothly?'
Still, I didn't jump at the offer.
Instead, I fixed Erec Kaid with a cool, measured stare.
"...You're asking quite a lot, Vice Commander."
The blade was already in my hand, after all—
and the push-and-pull had only just begun.
Of course, I intended to wring every possible benefit out of this.
"Then please agree to a few of my conditions as well."
"What sort of conditions?"
"Well…"
And so began our little round of negotiations.
By the time it was over—
the one smiling was, naturally, me.
***
[You have successfully negotiated with a neutral NPC.]
[New Title acquired — "Skilled Negotiator."]
***
'Jackpot…'
Satisfied with the reward, I smiled.
Meanwhile, the Vice Commander looked utterly drained—
his face nearly lifeless.
"Prince, I didn't take you for such a ruthless man. You've stripped this old mage down to the bone."
As he grimaced, new messages appeared above his head.
***
[Faction Scenario 'Agent No. 7' activated.]
[Scenario Quest 'Peace of the People' granted.]
[Please check your reward list.]
***
The rewards I gained from that negotiation were extremely worthwhile—
each one directly tied to my upcoming preparations for the challenge ahead in the Lair of the Death Dragon.
"Saved Money, Avoided Hassle."
[Reward List]
Revolutionary Army Secret Operative Identification (Pre-Issued)
1st Legion Armory Access Permit (3 uses)
1st Legion Magic Storage Access Permit (3 uses)
'The equipment and magical supplies of the Revolutionary Army's 1st Legion…'
I was planning to take a few of those for myself.
Three times each, to be exact.
'Maybe I pushed it a little far?'
But I felt no guilt whatsoever.
Compared to the psychological stability of an entire organization, this much was nothing.
Even so, Vice Commander Erec Kaid let out a long, weary sigh that jabbed at my nonexistent conscience.
"Our budget was tight enough already, and now I'll have to dip into my own personal funds to make up the shortfall."
…Didn't hear that. Don't care.
"But a promise is a promise. I'll authorize it."
Groaning as if in pain, the old man still managed a faint, rueful smile.
"Then I'll be counting on you, Agent Shan Aledro."
***
The rewards were spectacular, but what I'd actually done was absurdly simple.
All I had to do was attend the public trial for the Kishiris Cathedral offenders and give a few statements.
The trial ended quickly.
But even that alone was enough to sway the public opinion of Aulrax exactly the way the Vice Commander intended.
'The priestesses who conspired with the Empire will be executed, and the peace of the Revolutionary Army will be said to have been safeguarded by the Secret Operative.'
[Scenario Quest "Peace of the People" completed.]
Afterward, Erec Kaid guided me deeper into the Revolutionary Army headquarters—
to fulfill the rest of our agreement.
However, someone followed us without an invitation.
"Hey there."
It was Eve Wyler.
She was dressed lightly, almost as if on a picnic, and trailed after me with a spring in her step.
"So you've been staying at the Grand Cathedral of Aeolem, huh? Comfortable enough?"
"What the—why are you here?"
Her mere presence was irritating.
When I frowned, Eve stuck out her tongue.
"What? I'm not allowed here? This is part of my active zone, you know?"
I turned to Kaid for clarification, and he chuckled softly.
"According to our records, Lady Wyler is officially assigned to the 1st Legion's direct-command assassination squad.
The Legion Commander acts as her sponsor, and she operates under the identity 'Eve Regal'."
…Ah.
'Right, I know that one.'
That was clearly from the scenario called "Blade of the Legion."
It let players meddle in various parts of the Revolutionary Army's affairs, much like Agent No. 7,
but with far less freedom.
A scenario I wouldn't have touched even if it had been handed to me.
'So that's why she was involved in the Third Prince assassination incident.'
One of the linked quests in that scenario was literally "Assassinate the Third Prince."
'Guess I nearly died because of that… great.'
Knowing that only made her even more annoying.
But Eve wasn't done being infuriating.
Once the 1st Legion's supply vault opened and we were left alone,
she looked at me with an almost mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
"Gilroshan, I heard you're setting up to raid the Lair of the Dead Dragon. That true?"
"…?"
Huh? Wait a minute—
Could she be…?
Whipping around, I glared at her.
"Don't tell me you're planning to copy my strategy?"
There are always people like that—
shameless leeches who steal someone else's raid tactics and use them as their own.
Utter parasites.
But not on my watch.
"Stand down, will you? That's just pathetic. Seriously low."
Eve only grinned, utterly shameless.
"So what if it's low? We're talking about getting a dragon."
"..."
Unbelievable.
What kind of person even says that out loud?
"Fine. Whatever. If you want to trade your pride for scales, be my guest. But—"
I shook my head firmly.
"You can't pull it off. It's too dangerous. You don't even know the proper mechanics—you think just copying me will work?"
She simply smiled.
"Thanks for worrying, but you don't have to."
"…What?"
"Come on. You really think I'm gonna tame a dragon at this point?
I followed your strategy twice before, and I'm lucky I didn't lose my mind."
"Uh…"
So she wasn't here for the strategy?
Then what was this about?
While I was still trying to figure it out, Eve gave me a strangely wistful smile.
"I came to say goodbye. It was short, but… thanks.
Take care of yourself, Gilroshan."
…Goodbye?
I blinked in confusion.
"Wait, what do you mean goodbye? Where are you going?"
Like me, Eve Wyler didn't have a fixed path.
Players determined their own fates.
"The Revolution's leadership gave me a ship."
…A ship? That ship she'd mentioned before?
"When you head into the Azure Mountain Range, I'll be sailing out.
Maybe somewhere far enough that we'll never meet again."
"Hold on—"
"I can't tell you everything. Or maybe I don't need to—
You're probably too busy obsessing over your dragon to care anyway."
"Hey, what's that supposed to—"
"Anyway, stay alive. Bye."
Having said everything she wanted, Eve turned sharply and walked away.
All I could do was stare blankly at her retreating figure.
"…What the hell was that? Catching a bad case of the 'cool-act' or something?"
The faint floral scent drifting past my nose made me frown.
'Still had a lot to ask her…'
And somehow,
a strange heaviness lingered in my chest.
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