The Knight Commander of the Second Male Lead [Novel] Chapter 108

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 108

Chapter Title: Infiltration Preparations

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Nina gazed silently at Adrian upon hearing those words.

He met her eyes without the slightest flinch.

"Got it."

Nina replied, then tilted her head slightly. A water droplet fell from the hair near her ear with a drop.

"Then you tell me too, Adrian."

A lot had changed, but if he saw Fiona, he might sense her fate at first glance.

Right?

Just like the moment I first laid eyes on Adrian.

It would feel awful if he learned about it later from someone else.

No, if Fiona became special to him, that would be a bit irritating.

What has she even done to deserve that?

Still, just in case.

As Nina thought that and spoke, he looked shocked, as if hearing something completely unexpected.

He studied her face for a moment before saying,

"I'll do that."

Could such a person exist?

Is it even possible?

I don't think so.

Adrian averted his gaze from her and asked,

"So, what was Nina's wish?"

"I lost, remember."

Now, of all times.

"You never know. What was it?"

"I was going to ask you to play the violin."

"Nina."

He called her name and smiled.

"You can ask me that anytime."

"Even if I ask you to play all night?"

"Ah, of course."

Adrian smiled.

"I'd be happy to."

Once Jack joined them, Randell made a displeased face.

But he had no choice but to agree with Nina's words: 'We need an expert's help, right?'

He was a mage, not a thief, after all.

"I'm no thief either, you know."

Jack said that as he handed over a list of necessary items.

"The Isle of Sages is a closed-off place. Strangers wandering around would be noticed immediately. How do you plan to handle that?"

"Two methods. One is turning invisible, the other is subtly altering the target's perception."

"Altering perception?"

"When they see me, they'll think I'm someone they know well. If they think about it later, they'll realize I'm a stranger. But by then..."

By the way, it doesn't work on the Sages.

Jack's eyes sparkled with interest.

"How wide a range of familiarity can you instill? Could it make them think we're very close?"

"That's impossible."

"I see. Still, impressive magic."

"So, which one?"

"We'll use both."

Jack grinned and rubbed his chin.

"This is getting more fun than I thought. Let's ransack the Isle of Sages."

"I've rarely seen anyone as skilled as you claim to be. I hope you live up to it."

At Randell's words, Jack raised an eyebrow and replied,

"I call people fools if they trust words alone and get burned. I hope you're not one of them."

"......"

"......"

"Feels like forming a party."

Nina muttered, "Well, aren't we?" as she looked down at the list Jack had given her.

"You wrote this out meticulously."

"Just in case."

"Whoa, no uniform for me? What's this list saying?"

"No, just in case a big battle breaks out, I thought you might don the uniform, tie your hair back, and declare, 'I am Sword Emperor Nina.'"

"I won't."

"What a shame."

"Whatever."

There was nothing else noteworthy besides the uniform. They decided to prepare accordingly and depart two days later at night.

"Once we open a passage to the Isle of Sages, resetting the coordinates takes at least three days."

"So, we have to stay at least three days once we're in?"

"Yes."

"But Taruk is important, right? They probably hid it deep inside somewhere."

He licked his lips at Nina's words and answered,

"My master is a Taruk researcher."

"Really?"

"Yes. I think we can find related materials in her lab. They might have cleared it out already, but since Taruk research is a key project, they wouldn't have removed everything. Plus, there's a secret spot only I know about."

His words poured out rapidly, like reading from a pre-planned script.

"Alright, then. Let's start there."

"Before that, could I at least get a rough map of the Isle of Sages?"

Jack intended to extract every bit of information he could, now that things had come to this.

The Isle of Sages was so insular that gathering info on the Sages was incredibly difficult.

Even piecing together scraps from Sage gatherings only scratched the surface.

If he had a chance to storm their home base and rummage through it, turning it upside down for intel was basic informant work.

Nina dyed her noticeable hair and eyes brown, braided it with a long ribbon, and coiled it up.

Braiding it like this and pinning it up made it hard to gauge the length unless examined closely, perfect for concealment.

She also got an old tunic.

"Smells like dust."

"You're lucky it's just dust."

At Jack's words, Nina nodded, agreeing, "Fair enough."

Poko made her a staff from regular steel, not mithril.

Her mithril sword was infused with spirits and too eye-catching, so there was no choice.

Instead, Poko made a dagger from mithril and explained,

"Twist the pommel at the bottom here, and it pops out. Then slot the staff in, and you can use it as a spear."

"Whoa, for real. Thanks, Poko."

"No problem."

Poko said to Nina with a serious face,

"Please come back safely."

"Don't worry."

"If Lady Nina doesn't return, the owner of my masterpiece disappears. Remember that mithril ingot from the other day?"

Her mouth quirked up slightly despite the serious tone, making it obvious she was joking.

Nina replied earnestly,

"Of course. I can't let Poko's sword go to anyone else."

Nina took her hand and whispered,

"Everything Poko makes is mine."

At the low whisper, Poko's face flushed red, and she shouted,

"Ka-blana!"

"Huh?"

"No, it's... like 'my goodness' in Rengish."

"Didn't sound like that."

"Um, a very strong 'my goodness.'"

As Poko stammered in embarrassment, her face grew even redder, so Nina let go of her hand.

Poko sighed.

"I know Lady Nina's charms well enough; no need to use them on me."

"Didn't know the workshop head was in on it too."

Nina laughed as she connected the dagger and staff Poko had given her.

She spun the short spear around, checked the joints, and smiled in satisfaction.

Poko said,

"Lord Lui handles spears beautifully too."

"He does. It's been ages since I last saw Lord Lui wielding a long spear."

"He practices every day."

At Poko's words, Nina turned to her.

"How do you know?"

"I'm making him a practice spear."

"Aw, and here I thought it was a romance story."

Nina grinned, and Poko waved her hands.

"No. With someone like him..."

"Why not? Lord Lui looks deeper than the surface."

"Anyway. It's not for Lady Nina to meddle in. If you're happy, please leave."

She shooed her out with waving hands, and Nina left laughing.

She separated the staff and dagger again, packed them and the other items into her backpack, and strapped on a waist pouch.

Adrian saw her off, saying,

"Be careful."

"Yeah. I'll come back alive, even if I have to trample my enemies."

"Please."

Adrian said that and gently pulled her shoulder.

His lips touched her forehead.

"May the Great Spirits bless my knight."