"You becoming one of the Thirteen Faces was also a tacit understanding of sorts between the Serpent Around the World and the Alliance's upper echelons, wasn't it?" Yu Lian asked.
"...Actually, as far as I know, there are even understandings with people higher up than that." Captain Planck wiped away the sweat on his brow again. "I became one of the Thirteen Faces so quickly because of the joint three-nation 'Snake-Slaying Operation.' But even so, what does that change? It's not as though we can really fight to the death. No matter how long this snake has been around, it's still just a secret society. It has no leverage to bargain with. We can only grit our teeth and muddle through these miserable, murky days that feel like chaos."
Were they some kind of star-crossed couple who couldn't get divorced because they had property disputes?
"How interesting. If you have an understanding with the Alliance, I assume you have one with the Empire too?"
"They do, they do... I'm really just an ordinary, unfortunate wage slave. Once I was forced into this line of work, I became a tool for carrying out all sorts of tacit understandings." The captain spoke cautiously, his voice lacking conviction. Then his eyes lit up with hope.
"I think it's time for the Commonwealth to reach a few delicate understandings with the Serpent organization, too."
Yu Lian admired the man more and more. A wage slave who'd volunteered to become a three-faced spy—that was more than dedication to the job. It was professional spirit shining through.
More importantly, by the end of his career as a spy, every target he infiltrated probably knew exactly who he was. Yet he'd managed to protect himself through the sort of "understandings" he'd mentioned.
Frankly, if he could keep