A Dark Fantasy Spy

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At first, it was a bit ridiculous.

I wondered why they assigned me a liaison officer when I didn’t even need one. I had some doubts.

However, the diplomats seemed to think differently.

“Translation? Oh, it’s no big deal.”

The Kien Empire diplomat, Abas, smiled sheepishly as he passed by.

“When a foreign officer arrives, the Ministry of Defense assigns someone fluent in the language as a translator and guide. Think of it more as a guiding role than translation.”

“Guide?”

“Yes. After all, foreign officers visiting the Empire are usually not very familiar with local circumstances. Even if they’ve been trained, it takes a bit of time to adapt, right?”

Hearing that, the explanation sounded reasonable.

This was, after all, my first time entering the Empire. Previously, I had been operating under an unofficial disguise, using a third-country passport to move around.

“The staff in the officer’s room mentioned that they would be entering military meetings starting this week, right?”

“That’s right.”

“The person you were introduced to will probably provide some guidance on various things. You can ask questions and they’ll answer.”

The secretary added, “Of course, they’re not just responsible for translation and guidance… but just think of it as something to be slightly cautious about.”

“Uh, I understand.”

It wasn’t outright surveillance, but it meant I needed to be careful with my words and actions.

I wasn’t entirely relieved, but I accepted it for now. It wasn’t uncommon for intelligence agencies to keep an eye on diplomats.

“…Yeah, I guess this is just a minor concern.”

That liaison officer was likely to move around while keeping an eye on things in moderation.

Could they really just come out and target me directly?

I thought that way at one point.

But my expectations were completely off.

“No matter how I think about it, this is just not right.”

“Did I not hear you correctly?”

“Oh, no.”

The liaison officer, Senior Lyudmila, made my life a bit of a nightmare. Whenever I made contact with the Ministry of Defense staff or government officials, she would sidle up and insist on interpreting.

Sure, I understand. I might need Kien translation when talking to an Empire person.

But this person insisted on joining even when translation wasn’t necessary.

In meetings with diplomats from third countries or conversations with high-ranking officials who already had interpreters, I could somehow understand the need for double interpretation.

But following me into spaces where Kien wasn’t even spoken was utterly baffling.

“Our Lushan Federation has always valued cooperation with Abas. However, we must express our concern regarding the recent unfortunate events that have occurred in Mauritania, particularly the provocative actions between the parties involved.”

“It’s a matter that’s hard to discuss, so I’m not in a position to comment.”

“I understand, officer. Your Ealam language skills are quite impressive. But who is the person next to you from earlier…?”

“…”

I couldn’t respond to the Lushan Federation officer’s query.

I was discussing military activities of the Abas troops stationed in Mauritania and the Lushan Federation troops, and I couldn’t figure out why Kien translation was even needed.

In fact, this woman…

“…”

Didn’t even understand foreign languages other than Abas.

I couldn’t grasp why she was present when she couldn’t even comprehend the conversation. I couldn’t make sense of it, and neither could the foreign officers. We often parted ways after superficially discussing work in an uncomfortable atmosphere without building any rapport.

The silver lining was that she didn’t interrupt our conversation, and she clearly knew where not to insert herself.

Finally freed from translation, I dragged my weary body to join my group.

“Did you come? Have a seat and take a break.”

“Thanks. It’s exhausting trying to talk for a full hour.”

As I loosened my tie to catch my breath, Camila, who was sitting in a corner of the party venue, muttered with a bright smile as she spotted the liaison officer.

“Is she a monitor?”

“I’m not sure yet. She seems more like a simple translator and guide…”

It seemed like that lady could indeed translate. She managed to understand even a rapid speech and provided quite good translations into Kien, effortlessly interpreting the complicated Kien that nobles might use.

But still…

“How should I put it? She’s a bit … dim-witted?”

“Pfft!”

“Hey, don’t spit. Get away from me.”

As Camila dabbed her mouth with a napkin, she held back her laughter and commented.

“So what do you think? Is she dangerous or not?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous… but it’s something to be particularly cautious about.”

“Don’t befriend her?”

“If possible.”

The liaison officer, who was scribbling something in a notebook, sat there blankly, staring into space and blinking her eyes.

I shook my head with a displeased expression.

“What kind of situation is this since day one….”

*

After keeping my spot at the banquet, mingling with bureaucrats and diplomats, and touring the embassy to get introduced to the facilities and staff, my schedule was finally wrapped up upon arrival at my lodging.

The first day passed like that.

For reference, the accommodation I stayed in was exclusive for diplomats. Unlike Camila, Lucia, or Francesca, I had a separate place because of my diplomat status. But it wasn’t anything extravagant.

Typically, diplomats reside in certain areas. These are locations that are near the embassy and local government offices or areas where many third-country diplomats reside.

The place I arrived at by embassy vehicle was a two-story single-family house.

“We’ve arrived. This will be the lodging where the officer will stay from now on.”

The second secretary kindly explained while pointing at the residence.

If you exit the main gate and turn left, you can go somewhere; if you exit to the right, it leads to the embassy. There was no one to usually manage the garden, but if requested, they would send a person hired by the embassy. Additionally, they listed how to separate the trash, nearby restaurants or grocery stores…

I listened carefully, curious if anything had changed in the Empire since it had been three years since my last visit, but there was no new information.

“You can use the vehicle assigned exclusively for you.”

“A vehicle? Don’t I need to request it?”

“Oh, normally that’s the regulation, but you have a somewhat special status, and recently there have been a lot of situations with the embassy…”

The implication was that since diplomats had been getting expelled left and right, using a vehicle wouldn’t be an issue anymore.

“Anyway, if you find anything inconvenient during your stay, just let the embassy know. You have a meeting with the Ministry of Defense tomorrow around 10 a.m., so please don’t be late, and since you’ll need to adjust to the time difference, go in and get some good rest. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Thank you for your help. Good day.”

After expressing my gratitude to the diplomats who took the time to assist me despite their busy schedules, I entered the lodging.

The diplomat-exclusive accommodation was surprisingly spacious, and the decor and furniture were moderately decent. Spotting a refrigerator, I opened it to find some unopened food. I quickly dumped everything from the fridge and pantry into the trash.

I wondered it if was right for me to be living alone in a two-story house with no servants, but I figured it was probably cheaper than staying at a five-star hotel, so I decided to live there without any complaints.

As soon as I found a satisfactory room, I began setting up the gear I had brought from Abas.

If this were the earthly community, I would connect the INMARSAT (International Maritime Satellite Organization) satellite phone and the encryption devices, or I would catch signals via satellite antennas to establish a communication network, or, I could securely communicate indirectly with the company via the embassy’s computer, but this wasn’t Earth.

Thus, I had to establish a secure communication network in a very complicated and convoluted way.

In fact, assembling the equipment and catching the signals was relatively easy, but organizing the wires took nearly an hour.

After that, it was straightforward. I powered on the encryption materials, connected the communication, read the numbers, got confirmed, and then waited until the approval came for the code to connect to the communication network.

Finally, I finished establishing the communication network by exchanging data and checking the connection state.

“Oh, right. The listening device.”

I activated the wiretapping equipment. If any communication of any kind occurred near the lodging, the equipment would collect those signals. Analyzing that would reveal what communications were exchanged.

However, for now, since I needed to sleep, I decided to leave the analysis to the military intelligence department’s communication team.

Considering the time difference between Kien and Abas, it was around morning commute time over there, and the officers would have arrived at the office and started working as soon as they got there, but that was none of my concern.

Having set up the communication network, I was about to catch some sleep when—

-♪!

Suddenly, the device started ringing.

As I wriggled in bed, I quickly shot up and sat in the chair.

“Communication Security. Kien Empire Officer Frederick Nostrim speaking.”

-‘It’s me.’

It was Leoni.

I checked the figures and line connectivity displayed on the screen.

“There’s no issue with receiving. What’s the matter?”

-‘Did you arrive at the lodging?’

“Yes. I arrived two hours ago—”

-‘Any special matters?’

The irritated voice cut me off. Ah, this old man is starting again. I can’t believe Leoni hasn’t changed one bit in three years. I actually would have preferred if Clevenz kept following up.

-‘Aren’t you going to answer?’

Seriously, what a temper.

I tsked inwardly and tried to summarize only the essential content.

“I made contact today with personnel from the Ministry of Defense, local bureaucrats, diplomats from third countries, and the officials of the quasi-military organizations from the cult and magic tower operating in the North during today’s banquet. For now, we just got acquainted, and I plan to discuss in more detail during the meetings throughout the week. The nearest meeting is the military exchange conference happening tomorrow at 10:20 AM.”

-‘Next.’

“I have received information concerning the situation in the North. Due to a massive influx of refugees into the rear, there are disruptions in the supply of medical supplies and distribution of essentials, which the administrative power in the North seems unable to handle. This came from the knights belonging to the ‘Order of Saint Andrew’ mentioned in the last information report.”

-‘Those who hang people on the cross. So, what about the sorcerers?’

“The magic battalion is said to have some troops encountering demons and monsters in the rear area of the North.”

-‘In the rear?’

“Yes. I’ve heard that the demons and monsters are coming down along the mountain ranges and rivers.”

The northern regions of the Kien Empire, close to the ‘Frozen Lands,’ have a notorious reputation.

With rugged mountains and sharp rocks. Evergreen forests are abundantly lush year-round, but relentless blizzards blow continuously.

It’s incredibly hard to secure visibility, and the presence of the coniferous forests makes aerial reconnaissance difficult. Because of the shadow zones caused by the terrain, even professional detection equipment can become ineffective.

Leoni was not ignorant of this either. After all, she was someone who oversaw the Kien Empire branch.

-‘Understanding the northern mountains makes sense. The thick coniferous forests and rough terrain would make it difficult to track them even with mountain troops. Find out more details.’

“Yes. The officers from the Knights Order and the Magic Battalion will also be attending tomorrow’s military meeting, so I’ll investigate then.”

-‘And?’

“Yes, and well. I’ve met all the people I need to meet. I should be able to wrap things up before heading to the North.”

-‘I hear they assigned a woman to tag along with you.’

Suddenly, Leoni launched out at me. That sharpness in her tone, while casual, felt almost like an interrogation stance.

Did other officers report this? Maybe it’s an officer from the Royal Intelligence Department. Leoni had worked in the Royal Intelligence Department for a few years before her recent return to the Information Agency.

I blinked once and accepted the information.

“I was planning to mention that.”

I had little to say. They assigned someone as a translator and guide, so I could only go with the flow.

“Senior Lyudmila Smirnova. Female, in her early 30s. Her rank is Senior, but I’m not sure of her affiliation. She majored in linguistics and appears to be an expert in Abas. Her translation skills seem quite impressive.”

-‘If you look into her background, something will come up. Roughly seems to be a watchful type, so don’t get caught up unnecessarily.’

“Yes.”

-‘Make sure to attend the meeting tomorrow morning without being late. Submit a progress report by tomorrow.’

Before I could respond, the communication was cut off. Leoni just stated her piece and disconnected the line.

I stared at the device dumbfoundedly, puzzled at her behavior, then burst into a chuckle out of disbelief.

“Seriously, what a cranky old man…”

I glanced at the clock, and it was already 2 AM.

Just as I shut down the device and was about to turn in for the night—

-Beeep!

The wiretapping device I had set up in the corner flashed a red light.

The signal intelligence collection device with an antenna pointing out the window began to emit an ominous beep and blared loudly.

As I prepared to lie down again, I walked over to the window and glanced outside.

Just a few meters away from my lodging, under a streetlight, was a tinted vehicle parked.