<233 - Foundation's Spy>
“Stop!”
“Huh? It’s not over yet?”
Yumi’s face grew a bit more downcast.
“Just looking at your skills, it’s incredible. Your talent is… truly genius-level for a Mosquito Master. I doubt even vampires can handle mosquitoes as well as you!”
“Hehe, thanks for the compliment!”
“Meeting such an amazing junior makes me feel good. As a return gift, I’ll show you something nice.”
Yumi took a pouch from her bosom and sprinkled red powder into the air. Moments later, with a weeing sound, three tiny mosquitoes buzzed around her.
Zip zip.
The little mosquitoes diligently picked up the red powder with their tiny legs and sucked it up like a drink with their proboscis.
“Blood powder?”
“Correct. It’s blood-fried powder made by mixing flour to increase viscosity, frying it in oil, and then grinding it.”
“Wow!”
“Do you want it that badly?”
“Yes!”
“You’re quite the peculiar one. Just like when you were searching for the Bloodstone. I never imagined there would be such an amazing Mosquito Master hiding their identity like you. Honestly, tell me. You’re not secretly a vampire, are you?”
“I don’t know!”
“Then maybe one of your parents is a vampire. Such precision is hard to achieve without bloodline abilities.”
Yumi felt a deep sense of kinship. The sight of Oknodie, tilting their head while pretending to be clueless, showed the struggles of a Mosquito Master who couldn’t proudly reveal their job.
They were likely also conscious of the maid quietly observing from behind.
“Here, take this. If you sprinkle this powder, the wild mosquitoes within a 100m radius will gather, so be careful. The magical signal to control the mosquitoes I’ve written down on this note, memorize it and use it in the field.”
“Wow, thank you!”
“But what are you planning to do with the mosquitoes you borrowed from me?”
“I have some students I want to teach a lesson to during the sports festival!”
“Be careful. If you mess up, you might end up in a cell like me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind!”
Hehe. What a promising junior.
Yumi waved goodbye to Oknodie and the mosquitoes as they headed through the ventilation shaft.
*
April, the Foundation spy planted in the Gift Academy at the Wahyhiemhai Foundation, disguised as a cat-eared cleaning maid, had been given orders to infiltrate the Great Prison and recruit its inmates as internal collaborators for the Foundation.
When she met Yumi, apart from being a Mosquito Master with an unknown background, they were incredibly strong.
“Why is a maid here? Are you here to take my stuff from my room?”
“Don’t you resent being deprived of freedom because of your unpopular class?”
The moment she tried to raise the stakes for recruitment, sharp hostility pricked her skin.
Refined hostility, like a mosquito’s sting, was aimed precisely at her vital spots.
The dense aura of a professional assassin made her almost clench her legs.
‘No, if I move my legs or tense my muscles…’
If the tail she installed to disguise herself as a beastkin reacts, they would realize she was wearing such perverted equipment for infiltration, and she’d have to flee from the evil “punishment” of the higher-ups in the Foundation.
“Hmph. You came to suggest joining an organization with a weird name like the Bikini Warriors or Demon Minion Association, didn’t you?”
Despite April’s effort to act calm and collected, recruitment was clearly leaning towards failure.
With remarkable skills that even other organizations coveted, low social status, and a tendency to be anti-social, Yumi the Mosquito Master had already received many recruitment offers, leading to a reluctance to join.
Unfortunately, the Foundation’s orders had failed.
Could it be that no “punishment” would be administered?
What if they sent a larger cat tail during this growth phase?
The realistic fear made her legs tremble.
“Ah, so it was here! No wonder you weren’t in your cell.”
In an unexpected turn, Oknodie, the Chief Scholarship Student, showed up.
Why was the next great figure of the Foundation here?
The grand sports festival was in full swing outside.
“Can I borrow some mosquitoes for a bit?”
Incredibly, Oknodie was doing something ridiculous, asking to borrow mosquitoes from a Mosquito Master.
Contrary to her expectations of embarrassment, Oknodie showcased a stunning skill that even the active Mosquito Master Yumi found astonishing.
‘Vampire bloodline ability!’
Listening to the conversation between Yumi and Oknodie, April felt a chill of fear.
Noble vampires of the night.
Their reputation was legendary among beastkin, unlike most beastkin who worked jobs like cleaning maids; bat-people rose to elite status in beastkin society with the appealing name of vampires.
They enthrall their targets, drain their blood, and enslave humans, acting as self-made businessmen, revolutionary figures, and role models for life for the beastkin, who were akin to a slave class.
‘Well, I may not be a real beastkin.’
Every night, the bothersome dogkin Happy, whining for play, would probably shout “I love vampires!” at least thirty times until he got hungry.
As the secret of identity unraveled, Oknodie met her gaze and casually said, “I’ll go first!” before disappearing into the vent.
‘Should I report this to the upper echelons of the Foundation?’
April hesitated.
Did they show it on purpose?
Moreover, why did Oknodie borrow mosquitoes?
If they were really a vampire, they could easily get mosquitoes themselves outside.
Caught in a tangled web of thoughts, Yumi asked her, “Are you okay? You look troubled. You haven’t been able to sit still since earlier.”
“I-I’m fine.”
“Shouldn’t you take a break first instead of recruiting? Your organization seems like a problem. It’s cruel to exhaust your members like this. Give up and go back. I’d never want to be part of a dangerous organization that treats its members poorly.”
As April nodded and prepared to leave the meeting room, a key phrase from Yumi’s statement aligned perfectly, expanding her thoughts like a key into a lock.
What could be the reason that the Chief Scholarship Student interfered with the activities of the Foundation’s spy?
Because they must have known it would fail.
Why did they openly display their vampire bloodline abilities?
It was a direct warning about whom to align loyalties with, either the upper echelons of the Foundation or themselves.
The reason why they didn’t correct her, even after her espionage was discovered in the Instructor’s Building?
It showcased their generosity.
There was no reason to ease her fears while continuing to play at thievery with leftover potato chips or confiscated items.
That meant she had been recruited by Oknodie!
‘If it’s certain that Oknodie will grow to be a great figure in the Foundation and the upper echelons sent orders to keep them in check, if I have to choose one…’
Foundation upper echelons sending beastkin tails vs. generous Oknodie, who covered for her negligence by pretending to steal the confiscated potato chips.
It was clear which line she should align with.
April made her decision.
Though she was small, her heart was as big as 230cm, she would support this lady.
*
“Alright, mosquitoes! Go nip the skin of the naughty students, paralyze them, and suck their blood!”
During the grand sports festival, newcomers worked hard to participate in events, intermediates built their physical prowess to achieve good results, while masters avoided the unfairness and hunted down those causing unfair play.
[A student attempting to knock Arcadia off balance while pretending to fall was hit by a mosquito’s bloody shot and lost balance, falling the other way.]
[Control Skill EXP +5]
[A student stealthily put spicy powder into Son Ohchun’s bowl during the eating contest, and mosquitoes moved spicy powder into their plate.]
[Control Skill EXP +5]
[While pretending to hang decorations, a first-year student trying to drop an item on their head was startled by a mosquito creating a loud noise and lost balance, falling.]
[Control Skill EXP +5]
[The mosquitoes that continuously consumed quality mana are happy.]
[Taming EXP +10]
[The challenge of educating the villain (1) has been completed.]
[300 Points acquired.]
Hehe.
Those cowardly unfair players.
As long as I’m here, the unfair play is only against you.
Getting 1st place in an individual competition earns only 10 points.
Teaching a lesson to unfair players earns 100 points.
Even a toddler would know which one is easier.
…Then again, I’m 11 years old now, so am I a toddler?
Yeah, even I, an 11-year-old elementary school student, can tell!
“Khehe.”
While I was hiding in the bushes, teaching another unfair player a lesson, I heard a rustling behind me.
“Ma’am? We saw each other in the Instructor Building and the meeting room, right?”
“Excuse me. I thought you’d want this information…”
The maid handed over a list with many student names on it.
“What is this?”
“A list of Foundation scholarship students and internal collaborators.”
“Huh??”
“The people Oknodie is hunting right now are our Foundation’s scholarship students and internal collaborators.”
No way, really?
I was just casually hanging around, preventing unfair play and trying to earn points, and now it’s those from the Foundation?
“Then why are those people causing disturbances?”
“They’re creating conflicts on campus since they won’t earn points as lowerclassmen anyway. Of course, Oknodie is already warning them without needing the list.”
“Warning???”
“If the upper echelons of the Foundation give the orders, they can’t execute operations that go against your will… They aim to show the scholarship students the superiority of strength and induce obedience, right?”
Seeing the eager eyes of the maid, I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint her.
“…That’s right! You figured out my intentions perfectly. You’re really amazing!”
“I, April, will from now on report the contents of the Foundation’s orders and support campus activities for Oknodie. Please take care of me!”
Suddenly, I had gained a spy from the Foundation.
