A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The early dawn abruptly shifted the atmosphere with the unexpected arrival of an intruder.

“Wh-what do I do…?”

Struggling to cover herself, Lucia mumbled as she surveyed the chaotic room, oblivious to the blanket trailing on the floor.

Her usual composure and tranquility were nowhere to be found, replaced solely by anxiety and restlessness.

—

Episode 12 – The Strongest Magician of All Time

– Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of hurried knocking echoed through the door. A voice, noticeably sulky, came from the other side.

“How long are you going to keep your sister outside?”

If the door were to open now, I might catch a glimpse of Veronica, pouting with her lips jutting out.

With her arms crossed and one leg propped up, she exuded a sulky demeanor without restraint.

But,

“Uh? Uh, sis, it’s, um….”

“Lucia? Is something wrong?”

Despite Veronica’s urging, Lucia did not open the door. No, she couldn’t.

After all, the moment her sister saw her in a room with a naked man, the cathedral would surely erupt in screams.

If the priests heard that commotion and rushed in to witness the scene, someone would definitely be swinging from the gallows today. Most likely the man who had shared her bed.

What should she do?

Clutching the doorknob as if it were a lifeline, Lucia tightly shut her eyes.

If she had the bad habit of biting her nails when nervous, they might very well be in tatters at this point. Praying that the door wouldn’t open, she quickly calculated how to save the one person from her sister, who was even abandoned by the Pope himself.

There wasn’t anyplace to hide in the room. She could crawl under the bed, but the slightest movement could give her away.

Could she escape through the window? That probably wouldn’t be a good idea either.

For a regular person to jump from the fourth floor without any gear? There’d be no way her body would remain intact. Something would definitely break. She might even get lucky if it just ended with something breaking.

– Creak!

As she agonized over holding the handle to prevent her sister from entering, the sudden sound of a window opening behind her startled her.

She reflexively turned her head and saw a man leaning out of the window.

“F-Frederick…!”

A shrill scream burst from Lucia’s mouth.

Instead of addressing him as ‘Brother,’ calling him by his name felt embarrassing and awkward, and she hadn’t done so for months. But in her panic, it slipped out naturally.

Lucia rushed to the window, holding Frederick back as he was about to jump. She feared he might get hurt.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing right now…!”

“Can’t you see? I’m getting out of here.”

“Even so, through the window…!”

“It’s better than getting caught and dying with a broken leg, right? But if you’re really worried….”

His upper body suddenly tilted forward.

His blue eyes widened in surprise. This sudden and bewildering action clearly caught her off guard.

Just for a brief moment, their lips brushed together. The grip on his collar slipped away.

“Just pray that I don’t die here.”

Frederick met Lucia’s stunned gaze and, with a quick peck, launched himself out of the window.

—

It’s widely known that jumping from a four-story building isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.

Especially when trying to hide the fact that he just had relations with a saint named Lucia, and jumping out to avoid another saint, Veronica, was even more ridiculous.

“Haah….”

A sigh mixed with a groan quietly escaped. Relief clashed with self-loathing.

Lying sprawled on the stony street next to the cathedral, I felt the warmth of the rising sun against my skin as I looked up at the window where I had just been standing.

Ultimately, I hadn’t sustained any injuries, so it was a success, but unlike my whole body, my mind wasn’t so at ease.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be jumping out of a window because of a woman.

Lying on the ground, unable to hide my despair, I wiped my face. Sweat, dirt, and melted snow mixed into a slushy mess in my palm.

I must have stared at the muck pooled in my hand for quite a while, wondering how my life had come to this.

Though a wave of deep skepticism washed over me, I needed to move. I had to get out of the cathedral before someone saw me, so I quickly set my feelings aside.

“Ugh… alcohol is the real enemy….”

Staggering to my feet, I took one last look at the window I jumped from, catching sight of Lucia, now dressed and closing the window.

“…Ah.”

She smiled gently at me, waving her hand.

For a moment, I waved back at her small gesture.

Lucia quickly turned around and shouted something before bowing to me, then closed the window.

As I watched her retreating figure fade away, I felt a twinge of regret before I started limping down the stairs.

—

Morning had broken.

With the remnants of a midsummer night’s dream behind me, it was time to return to the mundane. I made a quick stop at the hotel to change clothes before heading back to work.

So here I was, at the Military Government Headquarters. The previously frantic atmosphere felt oddly different.

It had only been yesterday since I spent the night with Lucia. The battle with demons, necromancers, and monsters had occurred the day before, so naturally, it seemed related to those events.

“Welcome, Colonel.”

“Good to see you. You’ve been working hard since morning, haven’t you?”

“The translator, Senior Lyudmila, is waiting for you. This way, please.”

After exchanging greetings with the military officers using an awkward pronunciation, I met with Lyudmila, who appeared to be utterly fatigued.

The collar of her uniform was soaked in sweat, sagging, and the trash bin was filled with remnants of food she probably had forgotten to throw away during her night shift.

At that moment, I realized she hadn’t gotten off work in quite some time.

I also detected that the imperial army officers had been awake in the headquarters all night, just like her.

Everyone was half-dead and dragging themselves around. There was a pile of cigarette butts and paper cups collected in the ashtray tucked in a corner. The entire aura of the building and its inhabitants screamed that the atmosphere here was anything but normal.

The cause of this change in mood was painfully obvious. It had to be due to the events of the day before.

Given the tremendous uproar, it was strange for the Military Government Headquarters to be so quiet.

They probably hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet, or even if they had, they wouldn’t show any signs on the surface. Either way, the group most shocked by the incident—excluding the demons and necromancers—must surely be the Military Government Headquarters.

As expected, as soon as I entered the office, a request came from the headquarters to assess the conditions of Camila, Francesca, and Lucia.

I passed through the hallway to reach the communication room while eavesdropping on the conversations around me. The discussions among the officers gathered in front of the communications room were anything but ordinary.

“Did the ground really sink?”

“Yeah. The foundation collapsed, causing several buildings to fall. The fire department’s mages evacuated people, but it seems there are still some trapped under the rubble. But they can’t rescue anyone.”

“They evacuated something like several hundred people, but where are we supposed to shelter them? The shelters are already at capacity.”

Talk about the grounds collapsing suggested buildings around the area had fallen, and even with mages dispatched, there were signs of more collapses, resulting in citizens expressing their anxiety after hearing gunfire and monstrous cries from below ground all night.

In between the conversations, words like Inquisition, joint investigation teams, Magic Tower, patrols, Magic Battalion, identifying sympathizers, and civil turmoil popped up.

With all the noise making it hard to grasp the situation, I could still surmise what they were discussing just by looking at their serious expressions.

As for the matters regarding the Magic Tower, I could at least hazard a guess.

“…Hmm.”

It seemed I needed to meet Francesca.

Right now.

—

Responding to the Military Government Headquarters’ request to find out the conditions of the group, I started checking on the three.

Honestly, considering the intelligence gathering capabilities of both the Reconnaissance Command and the Counterintelligence Command handling the northern regions, they likely knew the movements of the three much better than I did. However, establishing communication was my original task, and I too was curious about their well-being, so I decided to play along with the imperial folks.

Upon entering the communications room provided by the Military Government Headquarters, I attempted to contact my companions.

The first person I reached out to was Camila.

“‘Oh? Have you clocked in?’”

“Yes, I just got here. What are you up to, Camila?”

“‘I’m just getting off work! I’m on my way home after a late shift.’”

“What do you mean late shift? You’ve just been out burning down mountains, that’s not a late shift, that’s a campfire!”

“‘Oh come on, I didn’t just burn down the mountains! I had to deal with monsters too! I thought I was going to die from exhaustion!’”

Through the communication network came Camila’s whiny voice.

Returning in a military truck while being escorted, she launched into a litany of complaints using the imperial army’s communication equipment.

“‘I dropped my clothes off for washing, but before a day even passed, they reek of burnt stuff again! This time, there’s monster blood on them, and they say they can’t wash them. The fabric itself is ruined or something. They said it’s better to just throw them away and buy new ones!’”

“Well, there are some tough ones among the monster bastards. They sometimes dissolve military boots and all. Are you hurt at all?”

“‘Me? I’m perfectly fine! The demon is nowhere to be seen, while monsters pop up every now and then. Everything’s been normal on this front today.’”

Fortunately, it seemed Camila had come out unscathed.

As always, her bouncy energy lifted my spirits, and after venting her frustrations, she hung up.

My worries melted away as I watched her consistently upbeat demeanor despite her struggles.

Right after finishing the call with Camila, I contacted Lucia.

I connected without a hitch to the cathedral where the priest was always waiting, but I couldn’t hear Lucia’s voice. The priest who answered said, “I’m sorry, but Saint Lucia is unavailable for contact at the moment,” avoiding any specifics.

It was probably because of Veronica.

I was a mix of curiosity and slight unease about what the two were discussing, but there was nothing I could do at that moment. Ultimately, I had to move on to the next person without hearing Lucia’s voice.

Unlike Lucia, the next person I reached was able to respond directly.

“Oh, Francesca. How have you been?”

“‘Colonel.’”

“Everything been okay lately? I wanted to see you for a moment. Do you have time?”

“‘I think we might be in trouble, Colonel.’”

“What do you mean?”

“‘It seems like there’s going to be a riot.’”

“What!?”

“‘I think the mages are planning to stage a protest.’”

“What!?”