A Dark Fantasy Spy

---

The wizards’ petty rebellion seemed to conclude as a mere incident.

Francesca reached an agreement with Evangelos Rysidike, the Commander of the Magic Tower Magician Battalion. The two decided to keep a tight lid on any discussions regarding the Archmage, the Duke, to prevent any dissent from arising for the time being.

However, hoping that this would solve the situation is a rather comforting thought.

“This is nothing more than a stopgap measure,” Francesca commented.

“Even with me or Sir Evangelos involved, we can’t control all the wizards. It’s like temporarily plugging a cracked dam with sand.”

I nodded heavily.

“I know that.”

Reluctantly accepting the truth, reality is far from easy. No matter how much I want to look away, the reality cannot be ignored.

As I am not a magician, I can’t empathize with the nobility rebelling against the Duke’s decision, but I do understand that simply silencing them won’t resolve the underlying issues.

The conflict between the Magic Tower and the Cult runs deeper than one might imagine.

Currently, for wizards, the news that the Inquisition is conducting investigations in the North may be as alarming as a Jewish person hearing that the Gestapo has stormed into their village looking for someone.

Though the authority of the Duke and the Oracle may temporarily calm things down, it will eventually resurface over time. Especially if the Inquisition spends its time in the North without achieving any results.

A faint unease remains in a corner of my heart, like soot—a certainty that this issue will be brought up again soon.

“…A fundamental solution will be necessary,” I muttered.

At my half-hearted remark, Francesca raised her sleepy eyes towards me.

“What do you mean by a fundamental solution, Colonel?”

“Quite literally.”

I added quickly, almost spitting the words out.

“Why do you think all of this happened in the first place?”

The root of the current situation stems from some random thug suddenly showing up and slashing people with a knife.

Initially, it was the Imperial Army Combat Magician, then the Magic Department Investigator and escort troops, and now it’s me along with four Inquisition Officers.

The suspects in the earlier two incidents are presumed to be the same individual.

While I can’t be sure that the one who killed the wizard and the investigator that attacked me are the same person, circumstantial evidence suggests a high probability that the scoundrel is behind the wizard’s murders.

Someone who knows how to deal with the divine and clearly knows how to incapacitate others.

Most importantly, the staff.

From the moment I first met him, the investigator has never been seen without his staff. And surely, he used that staff to slay the Inquisition Officers in a single stroke.

In other words, there’s no need to beat around the bush since we’ve stumbled upon the answer or something close to it.

As I pushed myself up from the desk with great difficulty, Francesca cautioned me not to overexert myself.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“To the Cathedral.”

I hurriedly packed my belongings and exited the room.

“I need to prepare to catch that investigator.”

—

Episode 12 – The Mightiest Magician in History

Now that I’ve found the root cause of all the issues, there is no time to delay.

The Cult that has suffered humiliation, losing several clergy members, the Magic Tower struggling with internal divisions over the Inquisition’s investigation, the Empire desperately trying to maintain control of the situation, a dictatorship hiding in the North, keeping a low profile, and the Government of Abas.

There are many entangled parties, and their interests are sharply opposed.

It’s a powder keg situation, ready to explode at any moment. Who knows when, where, and how an incident might occur, or how far the impact of an explosion might reach?

But if there’s something that needs to be done, it must be done.

“Pippin, Jake, Charnoy. Stop everything you’re doing right now. You’re searching for a person from now on.”

As soon as I stepped into the hotel, I summoned my subordinates. Jake, who had been organizing data, looked startled.

“Suddenly? You just showed up without any notice, what are you talking about? What about the investigation into the terror incident?”

“I’m changing the priority.”

Pippin asked, “Is that a directive from the chief? I haven’t received any orders.”

“I’m going to report directly to Leoni. I’ll take responsibility, so follow my orders.”

I halted all ongoing operations I had been assigned.

The Empire’s Information Agencies must be on high alert right now. Even though I have the Duke’s approval and the situation is urgent, fundamentally the Inquisition is still an intelligence agency.

The incident took place in the North, a region under martial law.

Various advanced weapons developed painstakingly by the Imperial Army are piled up like mountains, with strategic resources clustered together, and friendly country regular armies and foreign military attaches have also taken up residence.

Based on my experience, whenever such a situation arises, intelligence agencies tend to be on high alert. The group that despises foreign agencies the most is the counterintelligence agency, which would do anything to prevent their secrets from being stolen.

Even if we’ve somehow avoided incidents so far, there’s no guarantee accidents won’t happen in the future.

So, there’s only one thing to do now.

Cover up the traces.

“Leave only the important documents behind, back up the key materials, and shred everything else. We don’t know when the Protection Agency or the Counterintelligence Bureau might come barging in.”

I instructed that all documents be destroyed to ensure no one knew what we had been up to.

Pippin and Charnoy quickly began shredding documents and backed up data onto secure devices for hiding.

By the time my subordinates gathered with the documents carefully organized, I disseminated a new command.

“I’m going to gather information on the Inquisition’s independent investigation.”

While I had spoken boldly to Francesca, I did not formally possess the status to investigate.

This place is a hostile country, a battlefield under martial law. An intelligence agency would never let a foreigner run rampant in such an area.

The Inquisition, which has obtained formal investigative authority from the Duke of the North, may exist, but that’s their affair. I have no real authority here.

Of course, I wasn’t someone to sit quietly just because I lacked investigative authority.

“My target is a middle-aged man. He reeks of decaying corpses and covers that stench with a terrible perfume. He operates mainly in secluded areas, always leaning on his staff. You all need to go out and gather information on this scoundrel. Don’t worry about how much money you spend; find him no matter what.”

“Understood.”

“He’s incredibly dangerous, so if you happen to spot him, get away immediately. Report to me as soon as you ensure your safety.”

I promptly sent agents to begin gathering intelligence for the investigation.

Once I pass the information to the Inquisition, they might take care of it. Or I could deal with it myself; either way works.

Separately from the activities of Pippin, Jake, and Charnoy, I mobilized the local intelligence network.

“Administrator. Do you have access to speak with the Guild Master right now?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then check if there’s any new information. Do it subtly, not directly.”

The first bit of intelligence regarding the investigation came from Hormoz. I obtained the information again through Francesca from the Palm Tree Trade Guild.

For reference, it was not for free.

“I hate to bring this up, but I can’t do it for nothing. We haven’t established enough trust with the Guild Master yet.”

“How much do you need?”

“They’re not asking for cash but rather physical goods. It seems they are planning to supply medicine to the foreign armies that have come to the North, but the guild’s stock is insufficient to handle it.”

“Are you saying they’re selling drugs?”

“More precisely, painkillers. It seems the troops over there are in need of potions produced by the Magic Tower, but the commanders prefer cheaper medical supplies. It seems they are reluctant to frivolously spend military funds sent from their homeland. They are short on extra funds.”

“It’s not that they’re short on money; it sounds like they’ve been skimming off the top. Anyway, I understand. I’ll contact Victor.”

Hormoz, the Guild Master of the Palm Tree Trade Guild, intended to supply medical supplies to the dictatorship’s military in the North.

While the troops seemed to require the fast-acting potions from the Magic Tower, the commanding officers had different thoughts.

Just like soldiers from a dictatorship, they were fulfilling their military duties and filling their pockets with misappropriated military funds. As a result, they seemed to be seeking narcotic painkillers instead of potions that can treat injuries in the short term.

I was diverting humanitarian aid from democratic states for the benefit of the dictatorship’s military.

More precisely, I handed over specialty medical supplies that were ostensibly “accidentally” omitted from the goods sent by the Government of Abas under humanitarian aid laws.

“Is the quantity sufficient?”

“This amount could supply painkillers to the entire North.”

“Make sure they don’t just toss them in the streets; that could become a headache for the Administrators.”

Francesca rationally provided drug-based painkillers.

The dictatorship’s military bought the relatively inexpensive medicine in bulk, while an ecstatic Hormoz was satisfied with the success of the new market and the juicy profit.

If this were a time of leisure, I would have been happy to walk away here, but I decided to take another step forward and seek out new informants.

“Colonel Nostrim. I’ve heard a lot of rumors about you.”

“Nice to meet you, Commander.”

“Commander? I’m just a battalion commander in the North, nothing more.”

“I’ve been told you like that title, Colonel. I’ve heard you did a commendable job during the civil war, making you a war hero, do you not?”

“All I did was quell the rebellion of tribes wanting to break away after losing an election. Let’s just sit. While it’s not my hometown, I’ll treat you well.”

I sought out the commanders from the dictatorship’s military who had dealt with the Palm Tree Trade Guild. I made a list of decent candidates and filtered out those with clear motives for persuasion.

While they seem a bit lacking since they’ve been skimming off military funds, they are elite troops from a pro-Empire dictatorship.

These individuals would likely provide information regarding the military government’s secrets that I do not know and information about the Empire’s intelligence agency operating in the North. And since I have dirt to blackmail them with regarding their embezzlement, I can threaten them if needed.

My rampage didn’t end there.

“Is this the embassy of the Cult? I’m Frederick Nostrim at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Abas in the Kien Empire. Yes, that’s the Frederick. I would like to make use of your line for a moment; I have urgent information to convey to Director Petrus.”

I communicated with Director Petrus through the Cult’s embassy. To prepare for potential wiretapping, I subtly mixed in metaphors and was introduced to a route to receive information regarding the operations of the Inquisition in the North.

There were many other contacts I turned to.

“Victor, it’s me. Do you know anyone in the Magic Department?”

Victor connected me with a person who had access to investigative materials among the Magic Department staff.

“Oh, sister. Sorry to bring up work first, but do you still have contacts in the Imperial bureaucracy?”

From my older sister, Adela, who had worked as a diplomat, I received several personal contacts of staff in the Imperial Administration.

Having lived here for 28 years, I’ve hardly ever worked this hard in my life. It must be that kind of day.

I started contacting acquaintances I didn’t often speak to like sending year-end greetings. Of course, most of them weren’t normal acquaintances.

In any case, I worked diligently to catch the investigator.

And I suppose my hard work must have been recognized at the company.

“Yes, this is Colonel Frederick Nostrim of the Kien Empire.”

-‘This is the Military Attaché calling, Colonel.’

“Oh, yes. But may I ask why you’re calling so suddenly?”

-‘The Ministry of Defense has summoned you. You should come to the embassy.’

The Military Intelligence Agency reached out to me.

—

-‘What are you doing right now?’

As soon as the secure line was established, this unexpected opening statement hit me.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m at the embassy following instructions.”

-Does someone not know what you’re doing? What on earth are you doing in the North?’

Clevenz’s voice came through the encrypted communication. It felt pleasant to hear it since I hadn’t heard from him in a while.

“Just work as per usual. I’m following through on my assigned tasks, and business is going smoothly. I should be able to submit my report by the end of the year.”

-‘No way! The current state of affairs at the company is chaotic; how can you be saying that?’

Clevenz’s remarks flew out like a torrent. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was becoming senile given how chatty he was.

-‘The emergency dispatch from the embassy this morning has caused quite a stir. Why are these corpse-fetching types suddenly showing up in the North?’

“Indeed.”

From what I gathered, they must have reached out to me due to the report I submitted yesterday. I suppose the time difference caused the embassy to delay the report.

As I brewed coffee, I continued speaking in a calm tone.

“Four Inquisition Officers were affected. They were with me during the operations.”

-‘The Inquisition Officers? What happened?’

“They were ambushed while pursuing a monk suspected of heresy. They were taken out before they could even retaliate.”

-‘So the suspects are tied to this terrorist incident then.’

Recently, I had gathered investigation materials regarding the terror incident from the company’s archives. The subordinates were sorting them out.

Since investigations into terror incidents belong to the domestic department, and the management of those materials also falls on them, it’s likely that Clevenz inferred the situation based on my recent activities.

He certainly is quite perceptive.

“That’s correct.”

-‘So how did you end up tracking that guy?’

“Well, the story is a bit lengthy….”

I explained the circumstances surrounding my pursuit in detail.

Hormoz’s tip, using sorcery and the child caught up with the Inquisition Officers and clergy. I unraveled the situation, revealing to the child the location of the village and my actual participation with the Inquisition Officers. I shared every detail.

Though we are in different departments, since this information was originally meant to be forwarded to the domestic department in charge of terror investigations, it wasn’t strange to pass the information to Clevenz.

Listening quietly to my story, Clevenz murmured suddenly.

-‘So that’s how it was. A necromancer was behind the terrorist incident.’

“That’s still speculative. By the way, has nothing happened at the company? Have you received any intel?”

-‘Don’t even mention it. Your report has caused chaos in the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and even the Office of the Prime Minister.’

The Office of the Prime Minister? Why on earth would they be involved?

Concerned something may have gone awry, I raised my brow at Clevenz’s continued explanation.

-‘All the reports you’ve submitted have gone up to the Office of the Prime Minister. Didn’t you know that?’

“Uh, no. Why would they reach that far?”

-‘What’s that? You thought we’d just circulate the reports among ourselves and be done with it? That’s rather peculiar.’

Ah.

To be honest, I expected my reports to go up to the Minister of Defense or the Intelligence Bureau, but I never thought they would reach the Office of the Prime Minister.

A bit shocked, I blinked, and Clevenz decided that this conversation should wrap up given the time constraints. He changed the subject.

-‘That’s good. I actually had something to relay to you.’

“Something to relay?”

-‘Indeed. There are two directives for you.’

Clevenz spoke up.

-‘The foreign affairs department has ordered you to send in a few operatives to the North. They want you to look into it.’

“To the North?”

-‘Is that a difficult task?’

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…”

I trailed off, feeling uncertain.

Sending operatives to the North, especially at this time?

With a perplexed expression, I couldn’t hide my confusion as I posed a question to Clevenz.

“Why the sudden urge to send staff to the North?”

-‘Oh, it’s nothing significant.’

Clevenz said with a carefree tone.

-‘They’re planning to deal with a person up there.’