A Dark Fantasy Spy

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“So, what brings you here?”

Camila, fixing her tousled hair, asked. She looked like she had just woken up from a nap.

“I’m bored.”

“…Aren’t you a grown adult with nothing to do?”

“Yeah.”

“…….”

—

Episode 10 – Turn North-Northwest

—

“Camila, let’s go out for a bit.”

“Right now?”

Camila drew back the neatly drawn curtains. The pure white snowflowers sparkled against the slightly dark navy sky, and the entire world was blanketed in white.

She glanced at the swirling snowflakes and kept looking back at me.

“Wha… You want to go out to see this?”

“No. ‘Cuz when you’ve been cooped up in a hotel for too long, you get antsy. And now that it finally snows, you’re being all dramatic about it? Right now?”

“I still don’t think that’s a good idea.”

With her messy hair pressing down with her palm, Camila opened the door, and then frowned slightly.

“Goodness, why are you so cold?”

“Um… ‘Cuz I just came back from outside?”

“Well, come in first. It’s warm inside.”

She swung the door wide open, and I stepped into the hotel room, rubbing my frozen hands. I had forgotten to buy new winter gloves after my old ones tore.

Camila switched on the lights and started up the coffee pot. The magically powered coffee pot bubbled vigorously, releasing white steam.

After hanging my damp coat on the rack and sitting briefly on the sofa, Camila came back with two mugs and began pouring in the black tea.

“Where on earth have you been in this weather? It looks freezing outside.”

“Just work stuff.”

“Ah… the company?”

“Yep.”

Camila’s eyes widened a bit as she poured the tea, clearly caught off guard.

“Weren’t you on vacation? Even if it’s work, isn’t it illegal to make you work during vacation…?”

“That’s technically true, yeah.”

But when something urgent comes up, the Information Agency calls you even in the early hours of the weekend. It’s a blessing if they even manage to get in touch. There have been times I’ve had to report to the office past 10 PM, after all.

“How’s your magic study going?”

As she handed me the mug, Camila asked.

“Yeah. Thanks to Francesca’s help, I’m learning pretty well. She explains things nicely and demonstrates well too.”

“Really? That’s great! Have you made any achievements?”

“Well, I’ve learned a few spells, but whether they’ll work in practice is still a question mark.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because I faint.”

“Ah.”

I held the mug, trying to warm my hands and gasped. The researchers from the Abas Advanced Military Magic Research Institute, the Royal Magic Society, and the Magic Tower were all racking their brains trying to find out what causes the fainting, but they still couldn’t pinpoint the cause.

But Camila, looking unconcerned, smiled brightly and reassured me.

“It’s alright. I’ve learned from experience that as long as I control it properly, I won’t faint when casting magic. And after I wake up, I don’t feel anything weird.”

“How do you know that?”

“Instinct…?”

“Oh, come on….”

Despite my half-hearted admonition, Camila merely laughed. While she was busy making the tea, I blew on the cup she prepared as I took a sip.

The hot tea warmed me up. I was starting to feel alive again.

“So, what really brings you here?”

“I came to see you.”

At that moment, Camila froze.

“…You mean you came to see me ‘cuz you’re bored?”

“I’m just kidding. I’m not so crazy to wake someone up from their nap just because I’m bored.”

The truth is, I was a bit bored, but it wasn’t just to hang out with her.

Tentatively placing and removing a few sugar cubes, Camila dropped two into her cup and asked again.

“So, what did you actually come for?”

She asked in a slightly abrupt tone.

“Camila.”

“Yes?”

“How long has it been since you’ve trained? It’s been quite a while since you’ve skipped physical training because of the snow, hasn’t it?”

“…….”

I smiled brightly and said,

“Geez, you’re not thinking what I’m thinking, are you…?”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking, so put on your clothes right now.”

Camila’s face went pale.

I looked out at the blizzard swirling outside and started putting my clothes on.

—

A few hours later, we arrived not in the splendid city center but in a rundown industrial area.

I turned off the vehicle’s engine and spoke to Camila in the passenger seat.

“Get out.”

Camila opened the passenger door and got out. After stepping out myself, I walked to the trunk to grab the supplies.

I could see a sign swaying in the biting winter wind. It faintly read, “Welcome to the Blessed Land.”

As I busily stacked the large boxes and tied them to the sled, Camila, scanning the area like a meerkat, trotted over and asked,

“Where is this place?”

After locking the trunk and putting the keys in my pocket, I answered her question.

“Anworthin.”

“Anworthin?”

“It’s the name of this area. Anworthin.”

I casually moved away from the vehicle and started walking slowly. Camila adjusted her hat and tightened her collar as she followed.

She stared at Anworthin as the snowflakes danced around.

The wide streets reminded me of La Défense in Paris, where I went with my parents during high school. Modern red-brick buildings stood alongside older structures in the distance. The town across a single railway seemed to have frozen in time.

“Anworthin… What is this place for?”

“It’s a ruined city now. At its peak, it housed hundreds of thousands of people.”

A ruined city?

Camila tilted her head in confusion.

“Why did it ruin?”

“It used to live off coal mining.”

Anworthin’s economy relied on coal. I pointed to a certain spot.

“See that lake over there? Beyond the mountains behind it, there’s a range full of high-quality coal deposits. That’s where it is.”

In the picturesque lake, a rowboat floated. In the distance, the peaks of a massive mountain range brushed against the lake.

I kicked the railway crossing the road and continued,

“I’ve heard that thousands of workers commuted to the mine via trams and boats. This railway is the route that trams took. Oh, right, tram is a Russian word, right? Is it called trambai in English?”

“Yeah.”

“I think it’s more similar to elektrichka (Электричка) than a tram, though… but I’ve never seen one myself. Anyway, Anworthin was a prosperous place, where they said you’d become rich after just 20 years of working in the mine.”

After the Royal Geological Society published a report claiming ‘there was a large quantity of high-quality coal,’ the small town with a few residents suddenly flourished.

Hundreds of thousands of residents, thousands of miners, enormous private mining corporations, factories lining the streets, and mines that harvested millions of tons of coal annually without running dry.

A railway was built next to the small town, and beyond it, a city filled with accommodations and factories rose. People looking to live there and people wanting to sell them goods flocked in, transforming the small town into a bustling metropolis.

The golden days of glory. The most beautiful and happy moments in life.

That was how Anworthin became a blessed land.

Until the discovery of magic stones.

Even the massive city that survived the advent of oil and natural gas plummeted rapidly after the discovery of magic stones. All that remained here were those who couldn’t abandon their longing for past glory, and those without any hope.

“It completely fell apart. Originally, land here was so scarce that prices were exorbitantly high. But now, not only are there no amenities, there’s not even a grocery store. Nobody wants to come. The security is a mess. It’s a popular joke that Anworthin is land even the king abandoned.”

“From what I hear, it sounds like Cleveland or Detroit.”

“Those places are better. In Anworthin, other than the old town, no one knows who lives in the buildings.”

“Could it be homeless people?”

“Better it be humans. Sometimes monsters come out and the military gets dispatched to deal with them…”

Camila gasped at the mention of monsters. Then, she started glaring at me. She didn’t say anything, but I could roughly guess what she was going to say.

“Why are you only telling me this important information now…?!”

“Relax. It’s okay. This industrial area is safe. There are still companies operating, so there are residents, and the government is continuously sending police to try to keep it livable. Though where we’re headed is likely safer.”

“Seriously! You scared me!”

“Ah! Don’t hit me!”

Camila thumped my back with her fist in frustration.

She looked really mad, breathing heavily. Thankfully, her fists weren’t that strong, and due to her understanding nature, if it had been Older Sister Adela, she would have probably pinned me in the snow and stomped on me.

I clicked my tongue softly.

“Can’t I even make a joke?”

“Are you really calling that a joke?!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m sorry….”

Camila exhaled a sigh as if to cool off. Her white breath mingled into the navy sky.

After calming down for a moment, she stuck her hands into her pockets and mumbled something before throwing a question at me.

“So, where exactly are we going now?”

“Huh?”

“You’re not bringing me all the way here just to show me a ruined city.”

Camila urged me to answer quickly. But I just smiled mysteriously without being too eager to respond.

“Are you not going to tell me?”

“You’ll see for yourself.”

“…What?”

Ignoring the curious expression on Camila’s face, I pointed with my chin somewhere. Her gaze followed my gesture.

At the end of her line of sight was…

“…a farm?”

It was indeed a farm.

—

There was a cozy house and a farm situated atop what could be better described as a gentle hill rather than a mountain.

We passed through the year-round green coniferous forest to reach the farm. Because the road was narrow and it had snowed, we couldn’t drive in, so we left the vehicle behind.

Following the path that threaded through the conifer trees, a fence appeared, beyond which lay flat land.

A serene farm covered in snow.

I pulled the sled along, heading toward the farm with Camila.

“This is where you’ll stay for the time being.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Camila surveyed the farm and after briefly gaping, nodded as if she had come to a decision. I began unloading the boxes I had brought from the vehicle.

“You’re not even curious about what this place is?”

“Um….”

Camila briefly cleared her throat and opened her mouth to answer.

“If there were sacks of fruit or grains here, I would have asked what this place is. But seeing all these army cots, anyone would guess what kind of place this is.”

I smirked and nodded.

“This is an outpost. It’s a safe house operated by the Military Intelligence Agency.”

“A safe house? Like the ones that always appear in movies?”

“Exactly. And for the time being, it’s where you’ll be staying.”

To be precise, I should also be staying there, but I had no intention of moving in right now, so for now, Camila would stay alone.

Of course, what was important now wasn’t that.

“For a little over a week, Camila, you’ll be undergoing a few training sessions here. You’ll learn shooting skills and general knowledge about intelligence collection and analysis.”

“Here?”

Camila looked bewildered, scanning the surroundings.

“But there’s nothing here. What can you learn in such an open field?”

“Nothing? Why would I say that? I brought everything with me.”

I opened a box and showed her its contents. There were devices and communications equipment used by the Military Intelligence Agency, stamped documents, and various tools that were hard to identify.

Camila’s mouth dropped open.

I worried she might drool, bending down slightly to sneak a peek, but it seemed she quickly realized and shut her mouth.

“You’re telling me all of this is equipment?”

“That’s right. There’s intelligence collection equipment and just office equipment like computers… and there are documents I need to show you.”

“Documents?”

“The documents about the next deployment location. Oh, and don’t worry. I’m showing you this with permission.”

They’re documents produced by the Abas diplomatic office of the Empire. Originally, they were confidential documents that shouldn’t be shown to civilians.

“As long as I have permission, it’s fine. If I have authorization from the clarification officer and the head of the agency, I can show them to you.”

“Can that really happen?”

“It’s usually a bit tricky, but the clarification officer is my colleague.”

“Oh.”

The person in charge of secret documents in the Empire happens to be my colleague in the Military Intelligence Agency. The director is about to retire soon, but for now, he is still active-duty, and as we know each other, it was easy to get the approval.

To begin with, it wasn’t anything so extraordinary—it just contained information about the current situation.

Camila’s mouth was open in surprise again as she peered into the box. She was practically squatting to look inside and I couldn’t help but worry she might bump her nose.

“Alright!”

I clapped my hands to redirect Camila’s attention.

“Let’s quickly unpack and get everything ready before it gets dark. Today, we’ll just rest and training starts tomorrow.”

“…Huh?”

Camila blinked as if trying to understand what I just said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“What do you mean by what?”

“I’m not going to be here by myself?”

What on earth was she talking about?

“I’m supposed to stay here too. Are you telling me to just find a place for myself and commute every day like I’m at an inn?”

“…Huh?”

“This outpost is the house assigned to me by the company for my upcoming mission. So of course, I’m meant to stay here until my vacation is over.”

“…….”

“I’ve got to go back to my hometown in two days, so aside from that, I’ll be here all the time. It’s cold, so let’s light a fire and quickly get ready.”

I closed the box and pushed it to the corner. Camila followed me, staring blankly into space.

Thus began a peculiar cohabitation.