A Dark Fantasy Spy

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I just got back from a mission and a huge amount of money was spent.

The tailoring shop quoted me about a million won for a custom suit. Depending on one’s income, it could be a lot for some, or just a little for others.

For me, it was the latter.

No matter how many allowances the information agency gives me, a civil servant’s salary is pretty much the same. It’s not a job where you make a fortune.

Still, I don’t have a family to support, so I manage to live decently.

But I did have one family member.

“Hey. We’re in trouble.”

— ‘Fred, what do you mean by “hey” to your sister? You wanna die?’

“Ayla secretly swiped my card.”

— ‘Where are you?’

That would be my younger sister.

—

Side Episode – Handle Personal Information Carefully

Ayla Nostrim.

As the second daughter and youngest child of the Nostrim Family, Ayla is a magician.

Considering that her family has little connection to martial arts, magic, commerce, or politics, Ayla’s existence might seem out of place, but honestly, she wasn’t really that out of the ordinary.

There was a magician among her maternal ancestors.

Of course, her maternal family isn’t exactly a prestigious family like the Rainieri, but given that the magical community accepts as a general rule that “magical abilities are inherited genetically, except in special cases,” it’s clear that Ayla has inherited the blood of a long lineage of magicians.

Perhaps due to her good ancestry, Ayla has a high magical affinity and is quite intelligent.

Thus, she ranked at the top of her classes in school and at the academy, eventually gaining admission to a prestigious university. I hear she even joined a social club meant only for high achievers or those from good backgrounds.

She was recognized by professors to the point where they suggested she join their research lab, so it’s safe to say Ayla is a promising talent.

Yet, Ayla’s current job is that of an idle person.

Not just any idle person, but a completely lazy one, unstudied, unemployed, and not even working part-time.

It’s a mystery why a magician who graduated from a prestigious university is living like this, but no one knows the reason. Not even her family.

A dutiful daughter who constantly vexes her parents, yet they couldn’t sever ties with this child they gave birth to after laboring through pain. At least until last year that is.

According to my brother, our mother said, “Don’t come home until you find a job,” and kicked her out. Given that I haven’t heard any news of her returning home, it’s clear she’s still unemployed.

Of course, Ayla wasn’t really thrown out with not a dime to her name. She’s been rotating between the townhouse in the capital and her brother and sister’s houses, plus receiving various support from family elders who feel sorry for her. To top it off, Jerry, Adela, and I also chip in to give her living expenses for her meals.

But this damn kid tampered with my bank account while I was away.

Without further ado, I exerted my authority as an information officer and summoned my information agents.

“Are you here?”

“Fred!”

At 1:30 AM, when humans become the cruelest, I arrived at the townhouse located in Abas. I was loaded with alcohol, but thanks to my insomnia, my mind was still sharp.

Jerry and Adela were already there, waiting for me at the front gate.

“Where’s Ayla?”

“Hey, hey, Fred. Calm down. You look ready to take someone’s life right now.”

“Enough. Where is Ayla right now?”

With a hand on my shoulder, Jerry gently tried to calm me down.

“It’s been three years since we last met, and this is how you handle it? Just take a deep breath.”

Adela, standing there with a bored expression against the gate, chimed in.

“Hey, who’s in a bad mood? Lighten up.”

“Can you lighten up if you were me?”

“Damn it… Look at you glaring at your brother and sister. I must be an idiot for raising such a brat.”

“That wasn’t Mom, it was you who temporarily babysat me for the money you were promised, right?”

“Such cowardice to bring up facts, huh?”

Jerry and Adela held me back and continued with their pointless banter, effectively blocking the door.

Civil servants from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs faced off against a Ministry of Defense official over one single door.

The first to speak was Jerry, working at the Ministry of Finance.

“Fred, I know you’re mad, but just calm down and listen to me, okay?”

“I’m not mad.”

“Then why are you clenching your fists?”

“Just hitting someone would make me feel better…”

But saying that made the situation seem too serious. Hitting thirty times would certainly let some steam off.

As I stood there observing, Adela from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs smirked.

“Let it be. Remember when Ayla maxed out your card in the city and nearly caused chaos? Wasn’t that back in freshman year?”

“Oh, right,” I nodded.

Ayla was not a first-time offender. Back when I was a squad leader deployed to the front lines during my freshman year, she once spent money I had saved up to buy a car without my permission.

It was a fund I’d been accumulating to get a used SUV for commuting, as the roads near the No Man’s Land were terrible. I guess she used it up while playing in some social club. And all of that happened in just one night.

Thanks to that, I had to walk to work every day.

Jerry, who had his hand on my shoulder, suddenly seemed to remember something and smacked his forehead.

“Oh, right. That time, she bought drinks with my card.”

“Jerry, are you actually laughing right now?”

Adela poked him in the ribs to get him to read the mood.

“She asked me for some pocket money under the pretense she was going to study, but I think she ended up gambling.”

“How do you know she was gambling?”

“She was hanging out with my friend. We’re alumni.”

What a scene.

In this way, Ayla was an absolute menace. The only reason she hadn’t resorted to loan sharks was that she simply broke everyone’s backs financially.

Regardless, that’s not what’s important right now.

What matters is that Ayla emptied my wallet.

“Where’s this idle brat? Get her here now.”

I pressed them as if I were a loan shark looking for a runaway debtor. She used a card that was meant for meals to get fitted for a suit, and if I catch her, she’s going to be in big trouble.

I had no mirror to check how I looked right then, but I probably didn’t look great.

Adela, catching sight of me, said she was heading inside since it was cold.

As I watched her back, I turned to Jerry, who was awkwardly smiling.

“So, what’s she doing now?”

“Uh… Well, this isn’t something to discuss outside. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Jerry scratched the back of his head, opened the door, and led the way, casually dropping the bomb.

“By the way, the kid just got a job.”

—

The Nostrim Family is quite a historically significant baron family.

While they may not have accumulated prestige over hundreds of years like other noble families nor excelled in commerce, politics, arts, law, finance, or magic, they have produced civil servants for generations.

Of course, they didn’t only produce civil servants. Digging through the family tree shows there are some high-ranking officials, famous university professors, clergy, lawyers, actors, and politicians.

Still, even a family like that hasn’t managed to own a mansion in the capital due to the sky-high property prices in this area. The safer the land, the more astronomically the prices soar. People with money tend to settle in places like islands where monsters don’t roam, the capital, or key military strongholds, and due to the struggle to survive, real estate prices hit record highs daily.

The Nostrim Family townhouse situated in the precious land of the capital is solely thanks to the maternal family.

“Did Mom get off from work at the royal palace?”

“There’s no such thing as getting off from being a royal court maid. She has to stay by the Queen’s side all the time.”

In this town, a class system still persists, and the maternal family is one of the few noble families enjoying prosperity within that system.

Without needing to look too far, Mom, who works as a royal court maid, serves as a prime example.

Unlike the lowly maids who only do menial tasks, royal court maids are from families trusted by the royal family. They are selected only from families with a solid background, and her maternal family was one of those reputable families.

It’s puzzling why a mother raised in such a fine family would marry my father, but they appear to have done it for love rather than for a political marriage, so I can’t really say anything.

In the aristocratic townhouse living room, I turned to my siblings with a question.

“So, Ayla really got a job?”

“Yeah.”

“After being idle for years?”

Jerry nodded.

“She’s working now.”

Hearing about Ayla’s current situation after three years was truly unbelievable news.

“Are you sure you’re not lying?”

“Hey, would I lie about something like this?”

I pushed aside Jerry, who was sulking in frustration, and turned to Adela.

“Is it true?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you two working together to mess with me?”

“Me? With him?”

Adela scowled at Jerry, pointing at him.

“That’s a ridiculous thought!”

“What do you mean? I’ve never had a brother like you!”

“This family is really moving in circles.”

I ignored the two siblings who were bickering and fell deep into thought.

They say the idle kid finally got a job. She was the same sister who had been lazing around until I got dispatched to the cult.

I couldn’t believe such a storyline.

As Adela kicked Jerry off the couch, claiming her right to the biggest room, I directed another question to my siblings.

“Why does a kid who just got a job need to get a suit tailored with my money?”

“A suit?”

“Did she really get a suit made?”

Both Adela, who was trying to kick Jerry off the couch, and Jerry, who was just trying to escape stinky feet, looked at me at the same time.

I showed them the documents I had brought.

“It’s real.”

Adela, who glanced at the invoice, murmured.

“Is there a reason for Ayla to get a tailored suit? Where did she get a job?”

It’s true that a tailored suit can be obtained easily with money in 21st century South Korea, but at least in this town, that’s not quite the case.

First, the price of suits is a little higher than in South Korea, not to mention that due to the class system and the social environment, the attire worn varies by workplace. Hooded clothing is worn only by magicians, and my sister is a magician.

I directed a question towards Jerry.

“Jerry, did Ayla get a job outside of magic?”

Jerry examined the text closely, stroking his chin as he leaned back on the couch.

“I’m not sure how to explain this, but it seems like she got a job at a private company.”

“A private enterprise?”

“Yeah. I think it’s a company that develops and exports magical items.”

He spoke, being a civil servant, sharing what he found out about his little sister’s workplace.

“I checked a bit, and there doesn’t seem to be any major issues. Corporate registration, office location, properties, and factories all seem normal. Financial statements and accounting records also appear to be fine.”

“Is she not involved in any crime?”

“Nope. I asked some acquaintances at the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice, and they said everything’s clean.”

He had investigated through friends in law enforcement and found not a single speck of dust.

I turned my gaze slightly.

“Why? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was just wondering if you knew anything.”

“I’m not a private detective or anything….”

The foreign ministry officer, who had been lounging around idly, whined.

“I took a quick look, and it seems fine. Just an ordinary trading company.”

“Oh really?”

I never thought I’d see a day like this. That lazy kid finally got a job.

I recalled the days when that little sister would barge into my apartment and mess it up, and felt a strange mix of emotions. I can now barge back into her apartment just as freely. What a feeling.

After that, my brother and sister presented a few more pieces of information.

“The company Ayla works for is in the countryside. It’s a safe area.”

“The registered corporate name is Pax. They develop various things, including magical items, but that’s still in its early stages. Essentially, they’re a company that survives mainly by exporting raw materials.”

“It’s a small to medium enterprise, but it seems pretty solid, even if it’s not that big.”

“They have gone through both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, and they are currently working on a few projects with the Trade Promotion Corporation and the International Investment Cooperation Agency. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Ayla has been in the countryside for a few months now, and she might be coming back soon.”

I listened to the conversation for a while, and then I couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.

“While some people are slaving away overseas, my little sister is being pampered.”

“Your news is everywhere; just turn on the TV.”

Adela pointed to the newspaper next to her.

“Look. Because you’ve become so famous, reporters are even trying to cover our family too. They even wrote the addresses of our home and townhouse here.”

“I can’t deal with this. Is there a problem?”

“Except for the police hanging around the house, there doesn’t seem to be any.”

At least it seemed everyone was doing fine so far.

When I checked the time, it had already passed 3 AM. With the last train long gone, I decided to stay the night and began preparing to go upstairs.

“I’m going to sleep here, what about you?”

“We don’t have a car.”

“Who’s going to use the big room?”

“Me!”

Adela sprang up, eager to claim the largest bedroom for herself. Some things never change regardless of age.

Ignoring the bickering of my siblings, I retrieved a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard.

“I’m off tomorrow, so don’t wake me.”

“Day off?”

“Yeah. They told me to take it easy and not show up at the office.”

“Got it. Should I prepare breakfast before your shift?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Waving my hand to dismiss the matter, I paused halfway up the stairs.

“Oh, by the way, let me know when Ayla comes back from the countryside.”

“Why?”

I answered my brother, who had a strange look on his face.

“I need to collect my money.”

I still hadn’t gotten my money back.

—

As I fell asleep, intoxicated, I always awake with a hazy mind. Opening my eyes, I felt my mouth dry and a faint smell of alcohol wafting up.

-Ding Dong.

Half-asleep, I glanced at the clock and saw it was already 8:57 AM. A wave of anxiety hit me at the realization that I was late, but I suddenly remembered the unmovable need to stay in the government residence for a while due to some disciplinary issue. Who said that? Charnoy or Colonel Clevenz?

Looking around, the 10 square meter government residence was nowhere to be seen; instead, a spacious and clean room lay before me. Right, this isn’t the government residence.

With that realization, I burrowed deeper into the blankets like a caterpillar. Today too, the cozy warmth inside the blankets felt safe.

-Ding Dong.

Errrrrg, is that a snot bubble? With slightly open blankets, I noticed that the door was ajar. Oh right, Adela left it open when she went out yesterday.

-Ding Dong.

“Who the heck is it?”

I kicked off the blankets and got out of bed. I was already annoyed at my sister, and I wanted to find out who was interrupting my much-needed sleep on a day off.

As I moved down the stairs, I noticed Jerry and Adela had already left for work. There was breakfast laid out on a table covered with a cloth.

Meanwhile, the bell kept ringing incessantly.

“Who in the world is ringing the bell like a maniac at this hour…?”

I was ready to unleash a torrent of swear words when I opened the front door and froze in place.

Standing there were some familiar faces that were looking right back at me.

“Hello!”

“…Camila?”

“Yes!”

“Why are you guys here…?”

“We came after seeing the news!”

“……”