A Dark Fantasy Spy

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“…Hmm. So, it’s about exile, huh?”

“Yes.”

“To be honest, I just got the message and jumped into action, so I don’t really know the details, you know? It’s a bit overwhelming, to say the least. So I’m asking.”

“Go ahead.”

“What on earth is going on?”

“Oh, that? Honestly, it’s nothing much.”

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my suit and chuckled lightly.

“Where should I even begin…?”

—

Episode 10 – Change Course to the Northwest

—

It all began at the embassy.

Upon realizing that the exile had failed and that Ekaterina from the Imperial Guard HQ was pursuing the advisor, the Military Intelligence Agency demanded a countermeasure.

I pondered ways to smuggle the advisor, his wife, and daughter out of the country today, and found a clue during a conversation with the second secretary.

‘What’s the situation with the vehicles at the diplomatic mission?’

‘Oh, that? It’s nothing serious…’

The Abas embassy in the Kien Empire, staffed by over a hundred employees, was reeling from a recent rush of diplomatic expulsions.

Even the administrative and manual workers on contract returned to Abas, leaving the embassy struggling to operate without supplemental personnel.

The personnel shortage at the embassy impacted every area, and one of those areas was transportation.

‘In fact, there are quite a few vehicles idling at the moment. Since both diplomats and administrative and manual employees have been expelled in large numbers, the number of people needing vehicles has decreased…’

With the number of personnel able to use the vehicles reduced, the vehicle utilization rate had been well below half for a long time.

The important part is that diplomatic vehicles are subject to immunity privileges.

Therefore, no matter what I did with the embassy vehicle, law enforcement agencies in the Empire, including the police, couldn’t take actions like seizing or towing it.

Of course, checks couldn’t even happen without the diplomat’s consent.

Once I considered that, I scanned the vehicles remaining at the embassy and reported back to the ambassador.

‘I will use the diplomatic vehicle for the exile.’

As soon as I submitted my report, the Military Intelligence Agency coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to plan a new route for the exile. Countless communications flew into the embassy, and I headed to the wiretap security office to instruct the advisor to come to the embassy immediately.

Of course, it was impossible to move the advisor and his whole family to the border using only my vehicle.

It was predictable that anyone would expect an exile arriving at the embassy to travel in a diplomatic vehicle. The Imperial Guard HQ, which had dealt with foreign intelligence agencies’ exile operations for decades, would certainly know this.

Naturally, I had a plan.

Under the guidance of the Minister of the Royal Intelligence Department and the Colonel of the Military Intelligence Agency, I posed a few questions to the gathered information officers.

‘Could anyone here drive a vehicle? Raise your hand!’

The information officers, who functioned as official cover for the diplomats.

Among them, I identified several information officers with driving skills rivaling those of the Imperial Guard HQ.

Fortunately, there were information officers at the embassy who had received driving training before coming abroad. I requested that they drive other vehicles.

‘If the exiles come to the embassy, they will surely expect them to be moving by vehicle. Therefore, we should mobilize multiple diplomatic vehicles.’

If the advisor’s family came to the embassy and I boarded the vehicle with them, that vehicle would likely become a target.

Thus, we needed to deploy as many vehicles as possible to avoid the surveillance of the Imperial Guard HQ.

In fact, this was one of the methods to evade vehicle surveillance from counterintelligence agencies, and the information officers were well aware of this.

We devised a plan to transport the advisor and his family to the border. Once I had the three of them in the vehicle, the staff would take on the role of decoys.

‘If the Imperial Guard HQ realizes the exile, they will block the border from the start.’

Now that the operation was exposed, the Imperial Guard HQ would block the border.

The likelihood of intensified inspections by the Border Guard, as well as identity verification for passengers on trains and vessels, was very high.

At that point, escaping by sea through the western harbor would be impossible. The route to the south faced the same issue.

Considering that it would take two or three days of nonstop traveling by train from Petrogard to Nastasia, where the Magic Tower is located, the advisor and his family would likely fail to pass through the inspections of police and railway authorities stationed at each station.

In other words, the remaining route for the exile was the Kien-Latuan border, situated across the river to the east.

‘The only place we can cross the border without inspections is to the east.’

‘Yes, we literally have no other options. We can’t go to the north, which is under martial law, or to the no man’s land swarming with monsters.’

‘But isn’t the Kien-Latuan border defined by the river? The river is wide, and it’s quite deep as well. If we were to cross it in winter, we could very much drown and die instantly.’

The information officers made a valid point.

Even though the temperature had plummeted due to an unusual cold snap, it would be madness for a couple with an 18-year-old daughter to walk across a frozen lake.

Moreover, the river along the Kien-Latuan boundary was famous for not freezing over well even in winter. The moment one puts their foot down on seemingly thick ice, they could just as easily slip and drown.

Of course, I anticipated that as well.

Naturally, I had prepared a countermeasure.

‘There is a way for the exiles to cross the border safely without inspections. We just need to get them out of Petrogard and get them near the border.’

‘That’s the problem. The moment we set foot outside the embassy, inspections throughout the city could tighten, so how on earth can we escape Petrogard?’

‘I don’t think we need to leave Petrogard at all. Why not just fly our way out?’

‘Are you joking?’

I was dead serious.

I called the person who would be as far away from the center of Petrogard as possible among our party.

‘Is this the Colonel?’

‘Francesca. You mentioned meeting someone this evening in the outskirts of Petrogard, right?’

‘Yes. A professor I owe a favor to from my studies at the Magic Tower has moved to the Imperial University, and I was going to visit him.’

‘Do you happen to have the address?’

Coincidentally, Francesca was just about to meet the professor living in the eastern outskirts today. I received the address of the apartment from her.

‘I’m aware it’s a bit rude, but could you wait a little longer at this apartment today?’

‘Uh, I see my professor after a few years, so I’ve cleared quite a bit of my schedule, but I’m curious about the reason…’

‘Just know that I’m going to pick up an administrator.’

‘Oh wow! You’re coming to pick me up?’

‘Yes. I’ll explain more when we meet.’

Though it might have been an impolite request, Francesca gladly agreed.

Fortunately, as it was a private meeting, no assistants would accompany her, and as the professor lived alone without family, there would be no increase in people needing to keep their mouths shut.

With the address given by Francesca, I contacted another acquaintance.

‘Hello?’

‘Camila, can you talk right now?’

‘Of course I can!’

Camila, who had headed to the library, picked up promptly.

While analyzing the northern disputes after reading a magical tome, I explained the situation as briefly and concisely as possible.

‘I need your help, Camila. Do you happen to have cash on hand?’

‘I do have some leftover money from taking down monsters with you at the Magic Tower. Honestly, I haven’t had much need for it… but why?’

‘I’m going to give you an address. Please head there by 6 PM. I’ll explain the method.’

‘So, I should go to the address you give me by 6 PM… Sure, but what’s going on that’s got you suddenly asking this?’

‘Three people need to go into exile, and if we can’t succeed today, they will die. They’ve been caught by counterintelligence.’

‘Where should I go?’

Camila immediately boarded a tram heading to the eastern outskirts of Petrogard.

The staff from the Imperial Foreign Affairs Department and police assigned for security inquired about her destination, but Camila insisted that she just wanted to explore the capital on her own for a bit.

Thus, while keeping in touch with me, Camila skillfully used public transport to shake off any potential tail.

‘I’ve arrived near the destination. What should I do now?’

‘If memory serves right, there should be an old magical tool shop nearby. Go in, showcase some magic, and buy a winter cape enchanted with warmth and two brooms. Normally, they would check your ID, but that’s a shop run by an elderly couple, so they don’t really enforce that.’

‘Do I need to put the people you mentioned on the brooms and fly them to the border?’

‘Yes. If you fly east, you should reach a major river dividing cities. Just drop them off there, and afterward, the agency will handle the rest.’

‘I’ve bought the broom and cape. But where exactly should I drop them? I’m not familiar with the geography here.’

‘Just wait at the address, and someone will come to guide you there.’

‘Someone to guide me?’

‘I don’t have time to explain, so put your hat low and get to the apartment now. Hurry!’

Having bought the winter cape and brooms, Camila arrived at the apartment and knocked on the door. There, she found Francesca waiting after receiving my message.

As soon as Francesca heard that I had sent Camila, she introduced her to the professor as if it were part of a scheduled plan.

Fortunately, noticing the situation, Camila went along with the charade, allowing the professor to invite her into his home without raising any doubts. Later on, I heard that he was quite honored to meet a valuable guest from another world.

Anyway, by the time Camila reached the apartment, news arrived that Advisor Vasiliy Vladimirovich and his family had entered the embassy.

After exchanging a few words with Advisor Vasiliy, I quietly called over his daughter to explain the situation.

“I… have to take my parents to the eastern border…?”

The advisor’s daughter was a third-year student in the magical studies department at the Royal Academy.

According to the Empire’s education law, the fourth year of the Academy, referred to as “the 10th grade,” is mainly focused on graduating and preparing for university, making it the last year wherein students can actively engage in their school life. Thus, when Vasiliy took a vacation under the pretext of a “last family trip before graduation,” nobody suspected anything. Of course, they failed to leave the country due to not preparing the necessary documents.

Anyway, the advisor’s daughter was one of the promising students slated to graduate.

And as magical studies students often partake in fieldwork to accumulate credits for their university applications, the advisor’s daughter frequently participated in such practical exercises.

For reference, in recent years, her fieldwork had involved “forest disaster monitoring activities in the eastern mountainous regions” overseen by the forestry office.

In short,

The advisor’s daughter had experience flying across the eastern mountains several times for wildfire monitoring.

“The closest border is to the east. I’ve heard you’ve often monitored wildfires during your fieldwork, so you know where that is, right?”

“Yes… it’s the Latuan border. I’ve been there a few times. Sometimes, per government officials’ suggestion, they let us tour around when we fly far…”

“Exactly. If we get there, we can safely cross the border. We’re going to move beyond the border guard’s inspections by crossing the river. Of course, we don’t need to fly right above the river; we’ve arranged a boat on our side.”

“Can… can I really take my parents to the border…? I have a weak heart…”

“Well, that depends on your courage. But if we don’t cross today, we’re out of options.”

‘……’

“Can you do it?”

Could she risk her life flying to the border to save her parents’ lives?

Even an adult would struggle with that question, but the advisor’s daughter clutched her skirt tightly and, trembling, managed to nod.

With that, the daughter took flight with the advisor and his wife, alongside Camila, heading towards the distant eastern sky and the border.

In the end, they succeeded.

—

The advisor and his family successfully arrived at the Kien-Latuan border. Cutting through the whirling snowstorms, they set foot on the bank of a river shimmering with splendid night lights.

“Be careful. Watch out for the water, don’t fall in.”

“Start the engine and go get three blankets. The ones enchanted with warmth.”

“Go down to the cabin so we don’t get caught by the border guard. If there’s an inspection, just say you’re travelers.”

The huge river that crossed the Kien-Latuan boundary.

The advisor and his family boarded a vessel from a civilian travel agency based in the Latuan region.

The vessel, which had sold water and underwater leisure programs for several years, departed from a docking station in the Kien Empire, crossing the bridge where border guards searched, and reached a docking point in the Duchy of Latuan.

The captain, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, pressed a button on the radio before stepping onto the deck.

I received a 500-character message sent from the Royal Intelligence Department, visible against the night skyline of the imperial capital, Petrogard.

“What does it say?”

“It says they’ve safely crossed the border and are now in the Duchy of Latuan, and all three are in good health.”

“Wow!”

Camila exclaimed, jumping for joy. Any lingering anxiety vanished, and she wore a blissful smile.

“What are you so surprised about? Didn’t we see them cross the border?”

“Well, they dropped me off near the border, but I didn’t actually witness them crossing.”

Bubbling with excitement, Camila let out a sigh of relief. I stepped into the driver’s seat and turned on the heater as she lovingly organized the broom she had ridden on, basking in the warm air.

“That girl was so adorable! And she could ride the broom well too! Although her parents probably had acrophobia since they kept their eyes shut the whole flight.”

“That’s good. Was the flight tough?”

“Don’t even get me started… It was so cold flying for over two hours that I thought I was going to die. Oh, and also this.”

From her pocket, Camila pulled out a document envelope prominently imprinted with the insignia of the Ministry of Defense.

“They said if you deliver this, you’ll know what to do.”

I checked the contents of the envelope. It contained confidential documents issued by the Ministry of Defense.

Having succeeded in the exile, I would relay the rest of the information to the Abas Information Agency while the advisor was being interrogated. I neatly packed the advisor’s final gift into my bag.

“Warm up. I’ve turned the heater up good.”

“Thanks!”

Camila smiled brightly.

“The work in the intelligence agency was way more thrilling than I expected! It felt so intense, like my heart was racing!”

‘……’

“Are you going to ask me to do it again next time?”

“I told you not to get too interested in this kind of stuff.”

“Don’t say that~”

As she rambled, I shifted gears while smiling.

“Where to now?”

“Home!”

“Let’s go then.”

Camila pointed towards the direction of the hotel, and I pressed the accelerator.

A single black sedan sliced through the radiant city of the imperial capital, Petrogard.

—

Episode 10 – Change Course to the Northwest – END –