A Dark Fantasy Spy

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“Juan Pablo Martinez. 46 years old, male. A Patalian national from the Nicario Republic. After graduating from the Academy, he became an adventurer, operating on the Mauritania Continent. Appointed as a Magic Tower civil servant 15 years ago. Currently serves as a coordinator in the Secretariat. He has no family and all his friends are civil servants….”

Swish!

Documents scatter like curling stones sliding on ice.

“What’s the status on this jerk’s background check?”

Pippin quietly raised her hand. With a pen wedged between her fingers, the analyst blurted out the response.

“According to the information agent’s report, there are about six people in the northern regions who maintain a close relationship with Martinez. All are civil servants from the Secretariat and are currently dispatched to the north.”

“Anything else?”

Jake uncrossed his legs.

“I looked into his lifestyle, eating habits, and health.”

As I extended my hand, a document was placed in it. I began to read through Jake’s report as he continued.

“With the help of the Magic Tower’s information officers, we secured the medical records of Martinez and the other targets. Here, it shows they’re all suffering from various ailments, primarily affecting the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Some have high blood pressure or digestive issues.”

“And what’s the cause?”

“They say it’s stress. There are also issues with their eating habits.”

Jake shuddered as he added, “Isn’t that a modern affliction? People are always working late, so it must be illness brought on by that.”

At that moment, Pippin, who was organizing the documents, flinched and shivered.

“Isn’t that us…?”

—

Episode 12 – The World’s Strongest Magician

—

Ever since Leonie issued her order, we became busier than bees.

Based on the information acquired through Francesca, I reviewed the operation with my subordinates.

“I went through the documents and noticed everyone has some illness.”

Using the compiled information, I searched for assassination methods.

“What about using a disease for a poisoning assassination? What do you think?”

“Hmm…”

Pippin nodded thoughtfully as she crossed her arms.

“I think it’s a good idea!”

The analyst started to analyze the targets’ situations.

“The medical records show that the designated subjects are suffering from minor to serious ailments. Liver, gallbladder, pancreas, heart rate, digestive abilities… Stress might be the cause, but if they have these diseases, their immunity would likely be significantly lowered.”

The first plan was a poisoning assassination, precisely mixing poison into food considering their illnesses.

Stress, chronic illnesses, and eating habits have significant effects on the body. The most directly affected organs would be the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, cardiovascular system, and digestive tract.

In other words, consuming toxins would directly harm these organs.

“A low-lethal poison would be sufficiently threatening in this state. With their health issues, their tolerance to toxins would be low. I think there’s a possibility.”

Using a non-lethal poison would likely lead the investigation agencies to look for health-related causes rather than an assassination.

Therefore, selecting the first operation would increase the chances that any subterfuge would go unnoticed and the information officers executing it could easily avoid detection.

Pippin positively evaluated the first operation plan.

“I’m against it.”

Jake, sitting across from Pippin, interjected suddenly.

“Poisoning is a high-success assassination method. However, there are too many factors to consider for this approach to succeed.”

Jake tapped on the documents in front of him.

“Poisoning is used mostly to prevent collateral damage, increase success rates, and maintain control over the situation. But right now, the targets have no opportunity to consume poison.”

The crux of poisoning is that the target must willingly or unwillingly ingest the poison.

They might drink something placed out of sight after intense exercise, or enjoy whiskey that they keep on the shelf daily.

People each have different lifestyles and habits, and the information agencies actively delve into these aspects during assassinations.

Jake pointed this out directly.

“The Magic Tower’s officers frequently go out on assignments. Their tasks and activities vary, making it impossible to ensure they could be poisoned. They eat at different restaurants every day, and drink water like everyone else while fetching it outdoors or using water filters—how can you carry out an assassination?”

As the information officer countered, the analyst frowned, folding his arms in thought.

“What about spiking the water filter?”

“The Secretariat doesn’t exclusively use the water filter. What if some unwitting person drinks the poison instead?”

“Then what about procuring the schedule and bribing the restaurant staff?”

“We need to know which restaurant they’ll eat at to do the bribery. If we want them to consume poison, we have to engineer that scenario ourselves.”

I dragged the documents over and snapped, “Is there an alternative? Using poison in this situation is too risky.”

“If you want poisoning, there are plenty of other ways.”

“List them. More options mean easier evaluation.”

Jake then proposed an alternative.

“Why not switch out the medications or supplements they take?”

The second plan was still a type of poisoning, but it had a slightly different twist.

Mixing poison into food or drink involves considerable risk of an incident. If shared meals or drinks are consumed with others, non-target individuals could also ingest the poison.

For that reason, information agencies typically avoid adding poison to shared dishes or soups.

But drugs are another story.

“Usually, only the prescribed person takes medication, so the chance of a civilian unrelated to the operation dying is slim. The same applies to supplements. If a target has cardiovascular issues, administering non-toxic medications can still lead to death, can’t it?”

“If people with high blood pressure take the wrong medication, it could spell disaster.”

Of course, there are other methods.

An officer from the Secretariat could secretly sneak into a medical room while someone is getting treated and swap medications, disguising it as a medical accident. Another method could involve releasing a poisonous creature while they are asleep—maybe tossing two or three vipers into a bag and shaking it around before tossing it onto the bed, left to bite at limbs or faces.

However, none of these methods guarantees a perfect success.

Pippin expressed her concerns.

“If the medication gets mixed up, the assassination might fail. Plus, you might have to sneak into their quarters to find out the specifics on medications or supplements. Most importantly, the use of poison in an assassination would be revealed during an autopsy, so if the Empire’s investigative agencies examine the ingredients in the medications or supplements, they would quickly uncover the mastermind.”

“Using a grudge could point to someone who has bad relations with the individual being targeted.”

“But Manager, that would mean we’d have to create an alibi for ourselves.”

“Do you think I’m unaware of that? Just keep talking. More options make it easier for us to scrutinize, and besides, this isn’t officially our operation.”

As Jake rifled through the documents, he chuckled.

“Let’s just switch the medications. If they eat and die, we can just say we didn’t know. We only provided the information, after all. The actual operation will be conducted by other staff members. And besides, it hasn’t even been decided whether we’re going to assassinate them yet, right?”

“Not sure about that…”

I retrieved a bottle of medication from the cabinet. I then tossed it to Jake.

“Here.”

“What’s this? Isn’t it what you take, Manager?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s my painkiller.”

The bottle contained painkiller tablets that Lucia had obtained from a doctor while I was unconscious.

I pointed to the cap of the painkiller bottle with my finger.

“Take a closer look.”

“…?”

Jake squinted and examined the cap. Pippin, who had been scribbling with a pen, leaned in next to Jake to check as well.

The pristine white cap of the painkiller bottle had a faint line etched into it that would only be noticeable from up close.

“What’s this line? It doesn’t look like a perforation.”

“I drew it.”

“What? Why did you even draw that?”

“To prevent anyone from secretly opening it to swap the medication.”

I gestured toward the bottle that Jake and Pippin were holding.

“If someone among the targets had a contingency plan like this, the operation would blow up in our faces. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that all high-ranking company officials would think this way. There are many people they want to get rid of…”

“…….”

Pippin stared at me with a puzzled expression. Suddenly, Jake burst into laughter.

“Manager, I hate to say it, but your personality is quite strange. Do you possibly have a mental illness?”

“Is this punk out of his mind? How dare you suggest your superior has a mental illness?!”

“Jake….”

I kicked Jake in the shin, and Pippin looked at the jumping Jake with disdain.

Just then, Charnoy returned from an outing, raising something high in the air and shouting.

“Everyone, look at this…!”

It was a huge glass jar filled with glistening candies.

“On the way back to the hotel, Luciano gave Charnoy some sweets…! Truly a benevolent act…! Feeling joyous, I will share candy with everyone for welfare purposes…!”

Ecstatic, Charnoy began to hand out candies to Pippin and Jake from the jar. Pippin gratefully patted Charnoy on the head, while Jake, rubbing his shin, had tears welling in his eyes as he shoved the candy into his mouth.

While整理的资料 and preparing to send them to the embassy, Charnoy approached me after distributing candies to the subordinates.

“Frederick, you should have one too…!”

“Uh, thank you.”

“Ah!”

Charnoy suddenly looked up at me with a realization, as if something had just struck her.

“By the way, Luciano has been looking for you… Hurry and go meet her….”

“…….”

I popped the candy Charnoy gave me into my mouth. The sweetness burst forth.

Feeling the sugar rush, I grabbed my pistol, magazines, and a knife from my bag.

“I’m just stepping out for a bit.”

Pippin, who had been conversing with Charnoy, peeked her head around.

“Where are you going?”

I turned the doorknob and replied.

“To work.”

—

As I stepped out of the hotel and walked toward the back entrance, a narrow alleyway awaited.

A shadowy spot in the metropolis. Hidden behind skyscrapers, it was a place untouched by the blinding city lights, where Lucia awaited.

“Did you call for me?”

As I slightly lifted my head, golden hair, reminiscent of molten gold, cascaded out from beneath her white cloak.

“You’ve come. I bumped into Nymph on the way and heard some news from her.”

“Try not to be so conspicuous. It doesn’t bode well for people to know that the Saint and I are moving separately.”

“Are you concerned for my well-being?”

“I’m merely advising caution.”

“Then I’ll take it as such. Thank you for the advice.”

Lucia replied with a smile, lightly clasping a heavy wooden box to her side while a small bag dangled from her shoulder. She approached while scanning the surroundings, conscious of her surroundings.

“Today is the first day, so there’s no need to overdo it. How much time can you spare?”

“I can move for about two hours. If I don’t hear from the military government, I can stay out for an hour longer.”

“Not as ample time as I’d hoped. Still, I’m sure we can manage to explore at least one city. Oh, and I’ve arranged what you requested.”

Lucia produced several documents and passports from her possession—clear imprints of the Holy See and the Imperial Military Government Headquarters, namely passports from the cult and a transit permit for the northern regions.

I took the passports and permits while quietly stating, “Let’s go. We’re hunting a demon.”