A Dark Fantasy Spy

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Lucia showed no significant reaction to the unexpected encounter.

It hadn’t been long since I last saw her, just a few days, not enough to warrant a “long time no see,” yet I expected at least a greeting of some sort.

But still, Lucia’s small lips remained tightly sealed, not even twitching, like someone caught off guard.

The silence lingered for a moment.

Then, Lucia hesitated, lowered her gaze, and shyly opened her mouth.

“…I’m glad to see you too.”

—

Episode 12 – The Strongest Magician in History

—

“Where have you been heading?”

“Um… The nun from the parish asked for a little help, so I was returning after assisting her.”

I ran into Lucia on my way to a certain room where Veronica had requested my help.

It may seem like a simple coincidence – me, who received a favor from the saint, and Lucia, who was helping the nun.

But deep down, I felt this was no mere accident. I suspected that Veronica had a hand in it.

No need to look for evidence.

It was Veronica after all.

Honestly, she’s quite crafty. If she were an animal, she’d surely be a fox.

I sighed inwardly, imagining a smirking Veronica in the room right now.

I then turned to the shy Lucia, avoiding eye contact, and pressed on with the main point.

“I heard from Saint Veronica. You seem to be facing some issues?”

“……”

Veronica had asked me to keep an eye on Lucia, who had been acting strangely since battling demons alongside Camila and Francesca.

I wondered if Veronica had caught wind of what had happened with Lucia, but based on her demeanor, she didn’t seem to know anything.

In other words, Veronica sincerely entrusted me with Lucia’s care.

The essence of the request was for me to spend time with her and check on her condition.

I didn’t want to be some sort of undercover investigator. Normally, I’d refuse outright, but since Lucia was involved, I found it hard to decline.

“Saint Veronica is worried. She said you seem unwell these days.”

“……”

“So she asked me to find out what’s going on.”

I stepped a little closer to Lucia.

And then,

“Is something bothering you?”

“…No, not really….”

“Lucia.”

I grabbed hold of Lucia’s hand, which had been shyly trying to pull away as she averted her gaze.

Her delicate, pale hands felt warm even in the frigid winter air. Maybe it was because Lucia has a high body temperature, at least compared to Camila.

She hadn’t shown any signs of resistance to being grabbed. Lucia, who had been stepping back, suddenly halted in her tracks.

Her breath caught, and she stiffened, her body locking up as I slowly raised her hand.

“Lucia.”

“……”

“Look at me.”

Her blue eyes slowly lifted.

Those eyes, reflecting the waters of Jerusalem, held a beauty beyond words.

“Is something troubling you?”

Lucia stared at me blankly before shaking her slightly flushed face.

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Really?”

“……”

Lucia, still holding my hand, sank her head low.

Fearing she might completely turn her body away if I let go, I held onto her hand. She was doing the same.

Hidden behind her flowing hair was a new expression I had never seen on Lucia before.

It seemed like she was smiling and crying at the same time, perhaps trying to conceal more surprise and joy.

Though I couldn’t identify her exact feelings, I could tell Lucia didn’t want to reveal her emotions to me right now.

So I slowly released her hand.

The moment her small hands slipped away, Lucia’s head subtly raised just a little.

“You don’t have to say anything if it’s uncomfortable. But if, by any chance, you change your mind, come find me.”

“……”

“Can you promise me that?”

Lucia, with her gaze fixated on the floor, turned her body slightly. Her head gradually lifted.

“When the sun begins to set, around twilight.”

Her profile, half-hidden by her brilliant blonde hair, revealed only her nose and lips. After a moment of hesitation, Lucia fidgeted with her fingers and continued.

“There’s a confession booth set up in the northwest for confessions.”

I had no words to add.

As I nodded, Lucia brought her fidgeting hands to her lips. She looked like she was struggling with shyness or perhaps silently asking me to keep a secret.

Just as I was about to turn away and leave the hallway, a small voice whispered in my ear.

“…I’ll be waiting.”

—

Unrest loomed over the northern regions.

A massive storm, unusual in its severity, had wreaked havoc across the entire north, entangling the web of interests that complicated matters further.

Though there had been no official announcement, everyone could feel that war was creeping closer. I felt it too.

A sense of unease clung to my skin, like sticky summer heat that refused to shake off.

The reason I felt this ominous sensation amidst the perfectly managed cathedral was simple.

“The demon told the Colonel to leave the empire before the new year, didn’t it?”

“Yes.”

In one of the highest rooms of the cathedral, I began my story in Veronica’s office, where she managed the demon exorcism.

“During the grand exorcism with Lucia, the demon let slip a few things to me.”

“Like what?”

“It seemed to recognize who I really was. It knew what I was, why I came to the north, how I dealt with those around me… And then it warned me to leave the empire right away if I didn’t want to die.”

I swallowed a gulp of brandy and exhaled a hot breath as I set the glass down.

“I came to see if you knew anything.”

“Well….”

Veronica, adorned in the pure white garb that signified her status as a saint, furrowed her brow as she contemplated. Tapping her red lips with her fingers, she let out soft sounds of distress, occasionally frowning like she was deep in thought.

“A demon’s warning… it doesn’t seem to be anything special.”

“What do you mean it isn’t special?”

“Just as it sounds.”

Veronica began explaining, folding her arms, suggesting that the situation I faced was common.

“Demons are creatures that lie a lot, to the point someone should be suspicious even if they made pasta from flour. It can vary depending on their nature, but most exorcists approach demons with the assumption that whatever they say is a lie.”

A demon refers to the evil beings that rise from hell.

Demons, devils, Satan, ifrit, mara, etc. The terms might vary slightly by religion, but the 58th saint of the cult defined them as follows.

“Generally speaking, they’re a bunch of scummy creatures that offer no help to humans, according to the doctrines of faith.”

That was quite a harsh assessment.

I tilted my head.

“But if they’re so unhelpful, why do people reach out to demons?”

“That’s because demons provide something to those who call for them.”

“That doesn’t add up. You just said they don’t help.”

“Paying at a restaurant isn’t helping the owner or chef, right? It’s not support or charity; it’s just the price for the food you ate. Demons operate in the same way. They give something because they’ve received something in return. They aren’t volunteers either.”

Leaning against her chair, Veronica twisted to adjust her posture.

“In that sense, the words spoken by demons are no different. Do you think a demon would say nice things to you because you’ve done something for it? That lowly one, willing to suck the soul out of the necromancer just to save itself, would have had no reason to offer kindness. It probably threw out some random nonsense to mess with you.”

With her brusque explanation wrapped in a less-than-polite tone, Veronica’s main point was clear.

Don’t worry about it.

“Don’t let it bother you. You’re busy enough without being distracted by some demon’s nonsense, right?”

“……”

Coming from someone who had slain two demons, her words struck a chord, but even Veronica’s reasoning couldn’t completely wipe away the strange unease lodged in my heart.

Maybe she sensed my turmoil.

Veronica, still with her arms crossed and gazing silently at me, let out a deep sigh and said,

“But if you’re really concerned, I could look into what the demon might be up to, just to ease your mind. How does that sound?”

“…Thank you, Veronica.”

“If you’re grateful, at least be nice to my little sister. She seems to be struggling lately… Or slip in a favor for me sometime.”

“I’m broke.”

“Then you’ll have to pay with your body.”

After joking to round off the conversation, Veronica picked up a fountain pen from the tray and gently ordered a spell for purification.

“I have to go, I’m busy. Please send my regards to my sister.”

—

War is a continuation of politics.

War and diplomacy are actions taken by a nation to achieve the goals pursued by that collective, acts undertaken in pursuit of the interests of countless individuals composing that nation.

In other words, there’s nobody who craves war so much that they crawl onto the battlefield. Likewise, there’s no one who joins the army because they love it.

Because of this, every magician from the Magic Tower who was dragged to the scene wore a look that seemed to be chewing on rocks.

One of the soldiers passing by brought a translator and shouted at the magician.

“Hey, you! You need to dig over there from that point!”

“Yes….”

The magician responded with a bewildered expression as a worn-out speaker crackled overhead.

“This is the situation response team from the firefighting agency. The ground is extremely unstable. Be cautious as the building might collapse during your search! While people are inside searching for survivors, please make sure to conserve your magic power! Repeat….”

At a collapsed site in a major northern city.

Ruins of buildings and sunk roads filled the area, creating an image of a giant stepping down. The edges were lined with fragmented concrete and exposed rebar, stretching long.

Firefighters dispatched by the empire clambered over the fallen buildings laden with heavy equipment.

– KUUUUM!

With a thunderous noise shaking the road, a giant revealed itself.

With skin like clay, the giant made its way carefully towards the buildings, passing by the police controlling the scene, avoiding contact with the people.

Upon arriving, the giant’s first action was to clear away the debris of the fallen building.

– THWACK!

As three of its fingers, covered in dust, clutched a piece of concrete with protruding rebar, remnants cascaded down like a landslide.

The giant eventually succeeded in clearing the debris it tussled with.

Thanks to this, a narrow path opened between the buildings where it had been impossible to navigate, allowing the search team from the Military Government Headquarters to dash out and squeeze through the cramped gap.

The giant then descended into the ruins to move to safety. Like a wrestler, he froze in a designated spot, abruptly stopping as if the very air had turned to ice.

At that moment, the giant’s earthen body began to crumble.

– THUDUDUK…!

Like a sandcastle swept away by a wave, the mound of soil poured down. The giant had transformed into a handful of dirt. All that remained was a modest mound of earth and a cog slowly spinning in the air.

As a woman watching approached and extended her hand, the cog floated toward her as if attracted by a magnet.

With luscious purple hair wafting, the magician gazed down at the core of the golem in her palm. Simultaneously, a butterfly flew in on the wind and lightly landed on her index finger.

“……”

Having witnessed this, Francesca reached out and clasped the butterfly. Despite her hand being many times larger than the tiny creature, it offered no resistance.

Francesca slowly raised her hand, bringing the butterfly close to her lips. Just within reach, her fingers created a hollow cave.

As the wind swirled inside, the fingers that had confined the butterfly gradually loosened, and as soon as her joints fully opened, the fierce winter wind brushed over the palm where the butterfly had been trapped.

The splendidly patterned butterfly was nowhere to be seen.

“……”

Within the icy winter air filling her lungs, Francesca exhaled, shifting her gaze to her side as a fellow colleague suddenly approached her.

“What are you thinking about?”

With fiery red hair and blue eyes like a clear sky, Camille smiled bright and posed her question to Francesca.

“What was that just now? The butterfly disappeared. Was it magic?”

“Well, unfortunately, it isn’t any kind of illusion.”

“So what was it? Please tell me!”

“Of course, I’m more than happy to share with you. But first….”

A pair of eyes like violets turned slowly to the side.

Where Francesca’s gaze landed was a massive hole that had collapsed.

Amidst the evident signs of battle, Francesca, gazing into the underground waterway, broke into a smile and directed her attention back to Camille.

“It seems I should meet with the Colonel right away.”