A Dark Fantasy Spy

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If there is oil in the world, then in this neighborhood, it is the magic stone that takes its place.

The magic stone is the most important resource in modern society, a pillar supporting civilized living.

Magic stones are produced through mining.

High concentrations of magic gather and condense underground in their natural state, and after a long time, when internal pressure increases or there is an external impact, the terrain changes, and the concentrated energy bursts forth, allowing the magic stone to be extracted from the ground.

People refer to the exposed underground as a rift.

“…Rift?”

Camila, leaning her head against the window, muttered a questioning remark.

“I think I’ve heard that term in the conference room before. It’s said to be a place where immensely valuable resources are buried.”

“You’ve got a good memory! That’s right. There are only a few facilities more important than a rift in the North.”

A rift would be an “A” grade national importance infrastructure if it were in South Korea. It means a place that must be protected at all costs in the event of a war.

“So, where are those few places?”

“The Military Government Headquarters and the Duke’s stronghold.”

Currently, there are only two facilities in the North that are more important than a rift. One is the Military Government Headquarters that commands the Imperial Army, and the other is the stronghold of the Duke who has ruled the North for a hundred years.

“The Duke?”

Camila tilted her head involuntarily.

“He’s the one who rules the North. By lineage, he’s a branch of the royal family and a powerful archmage who participated in the Magic Tower-Cult War. You know Francesca’s last name is Ranieri, right? He fought alongside the ancestor of that family.”

“I guess we can’t just mess with him.”

In any case, a rift is that important.

And Francesca is currently dispatched to one of those rifts.

“Camila.”

“Yes?”

“You’re going to see something really interesting soon, so just bear with the cold and roll down the window for a moment.”

Camila’s head tilted to the side. After a moment of puzzlement, she rolled down the backseat window and peeked her head out.

The cold winter wind and biting chill seeped into the vehicle.

The car, traversing the snowy road, soon passed through open fields and entered a forest, climbing up a gently winding mountain road.

Finally,

“…Wow.”

Camila’s eyes, gazing out the window, widened like lanterns.

In the sharply cold winter sky, a blue aurora, radiating a chilling glow, adorned the daylight sky.

—–

Episode 11 – No Issues on the Northern Front

The daughter of the great archmage Ranieri.

An elite civil servant in the Magic Tower Secretariat’s Economic Management Department.

An alchemist surpassing even the Ivory Tower, the bastion of alchemy.

There are many titles that describe Francesca.

From the moment of her birth, she belonged to the upper class by blood, and her abilities were so exceptional that before the ink on her diploma could dry, she entered the highly sought-after Secretariat in the Magic Tower.

Especially in alchemy, she was unmatched.

The Ivory Tower, famous for its arrogance in the Mauritania continent’s magic society, to the point where even the alchemists of the Red Desert, known to enslave for gold, acknowledged her skills, requires no further explanation.

“Administrator, where should I move this?”

“Follow the instructions from the message received two days ago. The golem deployed on site must not cease to operate. Regularly maintain the joint lubricants to prevent freezing…”

“I received an official document from the Secretariat; how should I handle this, Administrator?”

“Bring me Form 37. Just send it to the room.”

“Administrator! The Oracle committee members today…”

After riding in the car with Camila for three hours, Francesca was having the busiest day of her life at the rift.

Despite the storm of approval and examination requests from the dispatched Secretariat personnel, Francesca was handling everything without showing much sign of strain.

“Ah…”

Francesca, who was directing the Secretariat staff, suddenly met my gaze.

She seemed momentarily taken aback, unaware that we had arrived, but quickly composed herself and gave a small greeting with her eyes.

“Excuse me for a moment. Everyone, come back later.”

“Understood, Administrator.”

The magicians of the Magic Tower vanished in an instant. After exchanging pleasantries, Francesca turned to Camila and me.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s been four days.”

“How have you been, Hero?”

“Yeah!”

Francesca smiled brightly at Camila’s cheerful reply.

“I’m relieved. I worried a lot since you’re stationed on the front lines. You seem healthy, so that eases my mind.”

“I feel the same! Back then…”

Camila paused, glancing around. Then she lowered her voice and continued.

“We hadn’t seen each other since I returned from the black market. I was really worried.”

The genuine concern was evident in her words, causing a smile to form on Francesca’s lips.

“Thank you for caring. Nonetheless, I know you’re having it much tougher than I am at the rear. You’re on the front lines, after all…”

“Ah! I’m just burning down a forest, no big deal!”

“…You’re burning a forest?”

“Yeah!”

“…Not trees?”

Francesca seemed to ask in disbelief as if she didn’t quite understand. Her violet eyes blinked in confusion.

However, Camila casually waved her hands dismissively, as if nothing was amiss.

“How can you just burn a few trees and clear a mountain range? Once the fire ignites, it needs to be spread quickly!”

“…….”

“Anyway! Even though the southern winds slow progress, I’m certain we’ll have part of the mountain range ablaze by February.”

“More specifically, by February 17, we can secure the routes and supply lines needed for the offensive operation. Before that, we plan to clear the protruding outcrops of the Naroda mountain range first.”

“Right. Sometimes those mountain ranges are where monsters come down, right?”

Francesca’s expression became quite interesting at the thought of clearing a part of the mountain range entirely. If another magician had said such things, it would have been treated as boastful, but Camila was on a different level, incomparable to an ordinary magician.

Francesca, who was looking at Camila with her mouth slightly open in a daze, suddenly muttered.

“…What exactly is she doing?”

“…….”

Was it something I had said without thinking? Suddenly, Francesca regained her senses and hurriedly closed her mouth, fixing her expression.

Fortunately, Camila was too engrossed in the aurora in the sky to have heard Francesca’s muttering; only I was aware of it.