A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The subtly heightened gaze difference seems unfamiliar even after 28 years.

Plop. Plop.

Dragging my slightly feverish head, I stood before the table. My body shivers slightly.

I slipped my legs into pants tailored by the hotel. Not a high-end bespoke suit, but an off-the-rack one.

Dressed in a suit that barely fits my eyes, I slung a brown briefcase and a coat over my shoulders. After tucking a personal pistol and two spare magazines into the jacket’s holster, I completed an almost suspiciously ordinary embassy employee look.

Thus, I finished preparing for work.

However, since the high-ranking individual said it was alright to come in late today, I simply sat on the sofa in my casual clothes, staring out the window as I wasted time.

Outside the window, it was still dark, and the world told me it was dawn with the bluish sky painted above.

The only difference was that the leaves of the street trees were gradually turning a reddish hue.

“…….”

Yes, that day has come.

The end of summer. The gateway to winter.

The twenty-eighth autumn had arrived.

Episode 7 – Everyday Life

The season has changed. Autumn has come.

A lot has happened in the last month, and many things are changing. No, things are in the process of changing.

Fluctuations in international trade and the securities market. The restructuring of diplomatic relations. Anti-government protests. Elections and appointments. Labor disputes. Rebellions. Civil wars. Conflicts.

The Magic Tower economic crisis is sweeping across the continent, and the global magical community is experiencing a tremendous internal turmoil. Yet, time flows like a river, and daily life continues.

People are gradually starting to regain their routine. While not everyone is returning to everyday life, many are in the process of doing so. Moreover, countless individuals are struggling to reclaim that daily life.

I was no exception.

“Good morning, Colonel.”

“Yes, hello. Detective. Was there any trouble last night?”

“Fortunately, nothing major.”

I casually exchanged greetings with the Magic Tower Police Information Officer and headed towards the cafeteria.

It was an unusually ordinary conversation for a spy and someone hunting spies, but no one questioned it. I was a diplomat after all.

Not just any diplomat, but a Resident Officer. Moreover, I wasn’t merely a career diplomat; I was a spy, but no one knew that.

However, there are no eternal secrets in this world.

As I chatted and smiled with the Information Officer, Veronica, who knew I was a spy, looked at me with a strange expression.

“Why the hell are you laughing and chatting with the police? Aren’t you uncomfortable? I wouldn’t be able to say a word if I were in your shoes.”

“Isn’t it strange for a saint to think of it as uncomfortable?”

“Oh come on. Why do you think I’m strange? If you find someone more diligent and honest than me, let them come forward.”

Saint Veronica, the 58th of her order, smiled slyly and sang her own praises.

I hadn’t noticed when apart, but Veronica turned out to be more talkative than I expected, making conversations quite exhausting. Somehow, sharing a hotel stay with her had become part of my routine.

“Kind, diligent, honest. Where else do you find a saint who goes out of her way to take action overseas without being asked? I’m doing better than all those old fogies stuck in their offices, aren’t I? Those idiots don’t even exercise… And I’m not sneakily stuffing my face; I’m out in public. Plus, I’m not even ugly.”

“That’s true.”

“There’s no one micromanaging me, so I could just quit being a saint and go play emperor forever. If I’m not diligent and honest doing this with my meager salary, then the world is wrong.”

“That actually makes sense.”

“Colonel, are you listening to me right now?”

“Yes.”

“What did I just say?”

“I don’t know.”

“…….”

Veronica looked at me with a face like a sad cartoon character and, after momentarily twitching her lips, let out a sigh full of grievance.

“Hah….”

Whether she felt comfortable with me or if it was because our relationship wasn’t strict, Veronica had a tendency to be particularly talkative in front of me.

And I didn’t want to invite any unnecessary misunderstandings, which is why Veronica’s behavior didn’t sit well with me.

“Saint. No matter how comfortable I am, there must be boundaries. What kind of clergyman wakes up in a hotel room after drinking with an outsider? You should also think of my position. If this continues, it’ll be scary to face my escorts.”

“Isn’t it the old fogies who are always whoring around? Why can’t I have my fun?”

With the attitude befitting a mid-level executive, she was quite brazen. Or maybe she had no shame.

Come to think of it, Veronica had always acted boldly even when breaking the law.

“You need to exercise some caution. There are people watching, and it won’t be just one or two who will have trouble if you keep crossing the line and acting illegally.”

“Francesca breaks the law as casually as she eats. Not me.”

“Does breaking the law because others do it make it right? Seriously? What if you get caught?”

“If I don’t get caught, who cares?”

“…….”

“As long as it’s not me!”

Veronica’s declaration of rebellion made my neck tingle. This has been my routine lately: indulging Veronica’s nonsense. It should have been easy to get used to, but I just couldn’t.

From morning till evening, listening to Veronica’s endless chatter and drunken ramblings while staying at the hotel made me question if this had really been my purpose. Honestly, it would probably be more fulfilling to get deployed to South Sudan or Syria for three years instead. Of course, it’s not that I actually want to go there again, but still.

This wasn’t it.

No matter how much Veronica lived a chaotic life and acted recklessly (she’s a chronic offender; a chain smoker, drinks during work, leaves her post, sneaks across borders, commits economic crimes, and espionage), it still wasn’t normal.

It wouldn’t be an issue if Veronica were just a complete stranger. Yet she was my informant. If she got caught by the media like other cardinals or bishops, it would be my loss.

To curb the informant’s waywardness, as I voiced my concerns, Veronica crossed her arms with a pout.

“Whatever. Just take this. Ugh, my head hurts….”

“What is this?”

“Bribe.”

At the sudden mention of a bribe, I looked at Veronica with a slight frown.

“It’s charity for taking care of our younger siblings.”

Hmm.

I didn’t know why it was ‘our’ younger siblings, but oh well, it meant she was hinting for me to take good care of Lucia and Francesca.

As I accepted the box she handed and fell deep in thought, Veronica suddenly asked me with a flirtatious expression,

“What’s wrong?”

“I was thinking; receiving money from a spy is a crime, but giving money to a spy… I’m contemplating if that would also be a crime.”

Veronica looked at me, stunned by my perplexity.

“Are you crazy?”

*

In a world half-crazed, speaking my mind had me treated like a madman. I’d lived here for 28 years, yet even I couldn’t understand why the world was this way.

Hearing my sanity questioned by my informant, I nearly wanted to slap her, but unfortunately, the moment I swung at Veronica’s tiny head, agents from the Inquisition would hang me up high to teach me about faith. So I decided to just hold it in. Right. I was scared of the Inquisition, but it wasn’t solely about fearing my military pension being stripped away.

Anyway.

Today, I headed to the representative office for work as usual.

Truth be told, while it’s called a representative office, it is indeed a diplomatic mission. It functions the same as an embassy, consulate general, or legation. Since it’s a diplomatic mission, most of the people working here are directly dispatched from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Government of Abas, and security within the mission is handled by a security team also dispatched from the Abas government.

I am a Resident Officer formally dispatched by the Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Abas, and I handle documents related to the military office and various other tasks here.

Of course, handling embassy work is no easy feat.

“Manager, where did you put last month’s activity report? I’ve received a fax requesting the documents to be sent to headquarters as soon as possible.”

“Manager, the Operations Planning Office has requested us to confirm the quantity of supplies lost during the mission.”

“Manager, the higher-ups are asking if we can move the debriefing date earlier; how should I respond?”

“Manager, the press corps at the Magic Tower is unsure how to frame this article. What should we do?”

“Manager, the branch office is asking if you will attend the upcoming defense industry exhibition hosted by the Kien Empire. It’s being held near the Magic Tower, and in truth, the Empire is the most likely candidate for the next assignment.”

Upon arriving at work, a multitude of documentation requests flooded in.

I had to tackle the incoming tasks without even a moment to remove my coat.