Those Who Live Without the Law Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Lunaseeker eting (3)

After a long journey by train, I finally arrived in Renterhorn.

The mont we arrived, Nora was wearing an incredibly joyful expression. One of Renterhorn’s specialties was handmade candy.

It was even nicknad “His Majesty the Emperor’s snack pouch.” For soone like Nora, who loved sweets, this was heaven on earth.

“Tasty?”

“No.”

She said no, yet had five pieces of candy stuffed in her mouth. The fact that all of that could fit inside her mouth—truly a mystery of the human body.

Mumbling around the candy in her mouth, Nora led the way.

“A laundromat, huh.”

The place the Lunaseeker Agency had chosen for the eting was a laundromat. There were no people coming or going, and a man who looked like the shop’s owner was ironing wrinkles out of a shirt.

“I see you.”

The man, still pressing the wrinkles with the iron, spoke to the three of us.

“Ahem.”

At those words, Nora cleared her throat once, then pulled a pen from her pocket and perford an astonishing trick.

Her five fingers bent backward over the back of her hand to grip the pen. Rather than grasping it with her palm, she clasped it with the back of her hand.

There may have been many ways to prove soone was a Lunaseeker agent, but could any thod be clearer than this? There was no need for useless code phrases or secret ssages only they could understand.

“Nora Galatea.”

The laundromat owner set down the iron and glanced briefly at Nora, then turned his gaze to Kairus and Irena.

“And the two with you. Welco. Co with .”

We obediently followed the laundromat owner.

In the area piled with laundry, there was a hatch in the floor. The man opened it.

After climbing down a ladder, a small and dim space erged. There was a light fixed to the ceiling, and beneath it, a desk and four chairs.

The laundromat owner sat first, followed by the three of us taking our seats.

“Every mber of Featherwing is dead. That’s been confird.”

“Not exactly breaking news.”

I responded as if it were no big deal, though part of felt relieved. It seed the emperor had really prepared thoroughly. If even the Republic’s Lunaseeker didn’t know I was part of Featherwing…

“I received a report from Nora that you use a technique very similar to Cloud Seizing Art. Headquarters has instructed us to verify this.”

Again, sothing that was easy to guess.

“So, they want to confirm if it really is Cloud Seizing Art?”

At my words, the laundromat owner shook his head.

“That’s not important. It’s fine even if it is, and fine even if it’s sothing that rely imitates it.”

What mattered was how complete it was. The Lunaseeker Agency wanted to verify that.

“And if the results are satisfactory?”

“Then there will be support for Nora’s request.”

Kairus sat silently in his chair, watching the man across from him. This guy was a Lunaseeker agent too. Just from his presence—or lack thereof—it was obvious. It wouldn’t even be strange if he disappeared right before our eyes.

“Seems like you’ve seen Cloud Seizing Art before.”

At Kairus’s remark, the laundromat owner gave no response. But silence didn’t an ignorance.

After all, unless soone had experienced Cloud Seizing Art firsthand, they wouldn’t be able to tell whether the technique Kairus was using was the real thing or not.

“We don’t have much ti, so let’s get started. Show the thundercloud. The space is cramped, so I’ll only check the process.”

The laundromat owner’s gaze pierced sharply into Kairus.

“I’ve received a report that this is an inferior imitation of Cloud Seizing Art, interpreted in your own way. You wouldn’t have dared to call it a knock-off if you couldn’t even form a thundercloud, right?”

It wasn’t a particularly difficult request. Kairus answered not with words, but by drawing his sword and adjusting his hip flask.

Once the moisture and temperature conditions were t, two streams of air with stark temperature differences flowed through the small room. The laundromat owner, scanning the surroundings, gave a nod.

“This much… yeah, it’s sothing you could imitate. But… right. This clearly can’t be called Cloud Seizing Art.”

The laundromat owner acknowledged that what Kairus had ford was sothing resembling Cloud Seizing Art.

But there was a deep sense of regret in his voice.

“What, are you mourning Featherwing now, even as a Lunaseeker agent?”

Kairus looked at him incredulously, and the laundromat owner replied.

“I fought Featherwing for seven years. Do you think I have no right to miss those who are now gone?”

Kairus let out a small sound of realization.

“I don’t think that’s wrong.”

It wasn’t rare to develop complex feelings for a long-standing enemy.

After all, when a rival you always swore to kill on sight suddenly got wiped out in an imperial blade dance, it was bound to leave you feeling empty.

‘Looks like the Lunaseeker Agency actually respected my family more than I expected.’

To be precise, they must have acknowledged them—as enemies.

“All that’s left now are fools who blow wind like electric fans.”

The laundromat owner stared steadily at Kairus.

“That’s why I had a sliver of hope.”

Kairus stared at the laundromat owner for a mont before speaking.

“Tell the most impressive one.”

“What are you talking about?”

The laundromat owner asked at Kairus’s question.

“I’m curious what real Cloud Seizing Art was like. That’s why I’m asking. What was the most impressive Cloud Seizing Art you saw or experienced?”

The laundromat owner gave a faint smile, then replied.

“Morning Glory.”

It was a technique Kairus knew as well, one detailed in the Cloud Seizing Art manual. A formation of clouds created through the technique.

If he had to put it into a taphor, it would be like a roll cake made of clouds stretching several kiloters long.

From the outside, it might have just looked like a beautiful cloud, but inside, violent turbulence swirled—far stronger than anything found in a thundercloud. That’s why the cloud rolled inward like a roll cake.

For Kairus, who was still in the middle of training with thunderclouds, it was a technique far beyond his reach.

What the laundromat owner had experienced was a Morning Glory that spanned approximately three kiloters in length.

“Anyway.”

The laundromat owner, having lingered in his mories for a mont, adjusted his expression again.

“I’ll approve the support that Agent Galatea requested. And during this assignnt, you are to remain accompanied by Agent Nora Galatea at all tis.”

“So, you’re just going to watch openly. Now I’m curious about your real objective.”

In other words, they were assigning soone to monitor him. For Kairus, the one being watched, this wasn’t exactly welco news.

“We’re going to assess the scale and power of your Cloud Seizing imitation.”

“And if it exceeds expectations?”

“Then we’ll bring you in.”

But the laundromat owner’s eyes were cold even as he spoke of recruitnt.

“Let’s see how well you did—enough to shalessly use words like reinterpretation or imitation after learning swordsmanship from soone else’s family.”

Kairus let out a dry laugh.

“Picking a fight over my knockoff Cloud Seizing is one thing, but do you really need to drag Swift Blade into this too? I learned that with permission.”

The laundromat owner slowly rose from his seat and said,

“They probably never thought the swordsmanship they taught would be used by a criminal.”

“So what? They’re all dead now. If they’re pissed, they can climb out of their graves and grab by the collar.”

Kairus spoke coldly toward the laundromat owner. If his deceased parents really did climb out of their graves to grab him by the collar, he knew he’d be so happy he’d cry.

No, he would absolutely cry. He’d talk for days and nights, recounting everything he’d been through.

But well, they were all dead now. And Kairus had already fully accepted that truth over the years. That’s why he could talk about the downfall of his family so casually.

“You speak lightly of the downfall of the family that once showed you kindness.”

“I had the qualifications and the skill, so I learned. From the way you talk, you’d think they were handing out charity to so beggar.”

In truth, the only person in this room with the right to speak of Featherwing’s fall was Kairus.

“Now hand over what you promised. I’ve got no reason to stay here any longer.”

The laundromat owner looked at him briefly, then handed over a file.

“Take it. Everything you need is in there. And Agent Galatea.”

“Yes, ?”

The laundromat owner handed Nora a box.

“Take it. Company-issued support gear.”

Inside was an iris-blue silk scarf. It wasn’t just for show—it was an add-on.

‘I’ve never heard of that kind of equipnt. Must be sothing new.’

All of Kairus’s knowledge of Lunaseeker equipnt—including things like the shock baton—was based on records left by his family. But while he was locked up in the labor correctional facility for six years, the Lunaseeker Agency hadn’t exactly been idle.

“Ah, thank you!”

Nora accepted the scarf imdiately and put it on right away. It wasn’t long enough to dangle; it just lightly wrapped around her neck.

‘She did score high, didn’t she.’

As he looked at Nora wearing the scarf, the laundromat owner recalled the records he had reviewed earlier.

Nora Galatea. A high-performing agent, but one who never quite received evaluations that matched her performance. The reason lay in what people called her temperant or disposition.

Her tendency to avoid killing whenever possible didn’t suit the Lunaseeker mold. Even so, she had been allowed to beco an agent thanks to her excellent grades.

During the final graduation exam, she had broken all previous records. One of those had even belonged to the current Lunaseeker director.

“If you could just fix that personality of yours, you might even end up holding Moon Sand one day.”

“Hehe. No need for that. I’m not the only agent here, you know.”

Listening to the conversation, Kairus nearly flinched.

‘Moon Sand?’

The Veil of Plud Mist of Featherwing. The Moon Sand of Lunaseeker.

There weren’t many battle gears that could rival the Veil of Plud Mist, but Moon Sand was one of them.

‘This isn’t just a case of her being better than expected.’

Kairus barely managed to maintain a neutral expression.

Not many people knew about Moon Sand. Outside of the Lunaseeker Agency, perhaps only their forr rival, Featherwing, had that kind of intel.

And he already had to keep his identity hidden. If he let slip that he knew about Moon Sand, it could be dangerous.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Oh, nothing special. You probably don’t know, oppa, but I’m actually a pretty capable person. Just keep that in mind.”

With that conversation wrapped up, Kairus and the others left the laundromat, checked into a hotel in Renterhorn, and examined the items provided by Lunaseeker.

Among them were an ID proving affiliation with the Lunaseeker Agency, a profile for the identity Kairus would be impersonating, and so details about upcoming Lunaseeker operations in the Empire.

“Spy.”

The forged identity portrayed him as soone from the Imperial Intelligence Departnt who had infiltrated Lunaseeker. The person didn’t actually exist—he was a fabrication created by the Lunaseeker Agency.

“If he’s supposed to be from the Intelligence Departnt, they’ll probably notice.”

“Roderick used to be a Security Bureau executive.”

Dostic counterintelligence and foreign espionage were entirely different domains. Since this wasn’t based on a real person’s identity, the Intelligence Departnt would likely see through the forgery…

But it’d be harder for the Security Bureau to do the sa. Even if they claid to share information, the two agencies were fundantally competitors.

‘No way they’d share even the personal data of spies they sent themselves.’

It was like expecting a battle gear manufacturer to disclose detailed specs of their products to a rival company.

Nora set the file down and said confidently,

“If we can fool the Security Bureau, Roderick will at least believe in your cover identity.”

“He won’t believe in my intentions, though.”

Even if he didn’t suspect Kairus’s identity, he would definitely doubt his motives. And that wasn’t sothing the Lunaseeker Agency could help with.

Kairus would have to handle that on his own.