A Dark Fantasy Spy

---

It was a chaotic world.

The battles against an indescribable force took away many things.

Stability, peace, opportunity, trust, lives.

The chill seeping deep into my bones and the long darkness cornered everyone.

However.

Neither the cold northern winds nor the endless winter darkness could break a person, even if they took something away.

“……”

On a park bench with the cold wind blowing fiercely.

While I was watching the snow piled up, I exhaled a puff of mist. Then, as I was about to toss the discarded cigarette butt into the trash can, I suddenly bent down and looked at the ground.

The snow slightly melted under the warm sunlight. Between the icy sidewalks, a small sprout quietly broke through the surface, unnoticed by anyone.

As I gently caressed the tiny leaf, I brushed the snow off my pant legs and stood up.

“……”

After the frigid northern winds passed, a spring that arrived a little early.

With my hands stuffed in my pockets, I strolled through the quiet street as dawn broke, heading to the hospital.

This happened a week after the battle with the demon.

—

Episode 13 – A Land for Magicians Does Not Exist

—

Immediately after finishing my drink, I returned to the military hospital.

I handed the sleepy-eyed medic at the reception desk a fatigue recovery potion I bought from a convenience store and used a card key from a snoring hospital official to enter through the heavy door.

So I entered the secure ward of the military hospital.

While quietly passing through the hallway, I encountered a military doctor emerging from the duty room.

“Huh?”

“Ah….”

“What are you doing here?”

I froze upon seeing the doctor, who looked just as surprised at encountering a patient in the hallway as I was.

“By the way, what’s that smell? You didn’t smoke again, did you?”

However, that initial surprise quickly changed to anger.

“Ah, patient! I told you not to smoke! Last time you opened the window to smoke right after being admitted to the ICU post-surgery, and now you went outside to sneak a smoke?”

“Um… well….”

Attempting to concoct a flimsy excuse, I bowed my head and apologized to the doctor.

“I’m sorry….”

“I told you to refrain because it could affect your recovery.”

Sigh.

The fuming doctor paused, starting to massage the back of his stiff neck. After a moment of silence as if calming himself, he let out a big sigh.

“Fine. It doesn’t seem like you’re the type to stop just because I say so anyway. Since there’s still a long way to go with your treatment, I’ll just notify the unit.”

“Ah, please don’t….”

“Rules are rules.”

The doctor began to examine the medical records of the secure ward.

One thing, the document he pulled out didn’t have the unit name written on it. He checked the paper thoroughly, explored the intranet, and eventually sighed deeply before pulling out a notebook and a pen.

“Which unit are you from?”

—

In the underground parking lot of the military hospital.

In an area where only a few vehicles were parked, a tinted van stood out.

“……”

“……”

A blonde thug hanging his arm out the driver’s window and a dwarf looking at me in disbelief as he opened the door.

The dwarf, who had been silently observing me, let out an impressed sigh.

“Wow…. I know a lot of folks from the company who went to the military hospital, but you’re the first manager caught smoking in the ward.”

“…Shut up.”

The thug, resting his arm on the window frame and placing a hand on the steering wheel, pushed up his sunglasses as he smirked.

“Let it go, Pippin. You were on the brink of death; a smoke or two should be fine, right?”

“…You shut your mouth.”

“Man, you really are frustrating. Seriously, Manager. After all you’ve been through, you still want to smoke? What kind of escort did they provide for you in the Empire that you couldn’t wait…?”

With pitying eyes, Pippin looked at me, and I buried my face in my palm, feeling utterly defeated.

“Alright, I’m sorry….”

“You were doing fine abroad, but now that you’re back, you’re embarrassing the unit. Truly, you are magnificent, Manager.”

Pippin slapped the back of Jake’s head, who was laughing.

As Jake, startled with bulging eyes, calmed his racing heart, Pippin let out a faint sigh and brushed her hair back behind her ear.

“Stop acting pathetic in the parking lot and get in the van.”

“…Okay.”

I loaded the bags overflowing in my hands into the van.

—

It had already been a week since the demon crusade ended.

So many changes had taken place during that week.

First and foremost, the date had changed.

The calendar depicting an unbearable December was tossed into the trash, and a new calendar took its place on the corner of the office desk. The year had changed.

New Year’s, especially the beginning of the year, is a crucial period for intelligence agencies, but the year that had changed now meant nothing to me.

“How have you been?”

I casually inquired as I settled into the seat.

“What do you think, Manager?”

“Well. I can tell you’re angry, Pippin.”

Jake in the driver’s seat peeked at me through the rearview mirror while grinning.

“You definitely have a discerning eye.”

“Shut it!”

Pippin yelled as she slammed the door shut and drew the curtain, while the van’s wheels began to roll.

The van smoothly transitioned from the silent underground parking lot onto the road, merging seamlessly with the flow of traffic.

Jake, expertly steering, tucked his sunglasses into the front of his shirt.

“Pippin and I have been doing fine. We underwent a light investigation as soon as we returned to the country. We’re currently on leave as instructed by Director Leoni.”

“Leave? Nice. Sorry to pull you back suddenly while you’re on break.”

“It’s work for you, so it’s only natural for us to come in. There’s no need to apologize.”

“Thanks, Pippin. Has Charnoy also gone on vacation?”

Pippin nodded.

“He worked really hard too….”

Jake chuckled as he adjusted the speed while stepping on the accelerator.

“Are you saying you’re the only one who suffered?”

“Be quiet.”

I lightly brushed aside his nonsense and leaned comfortably in my seat, gazing out the window.

The capital at the beginning of the year was quite bustling.

The streets were filled with vehicles. Waves of various colors flowed seamlessly, leaving not even a tiny gap.

The crowds were so thick, the streets had no room to step.

Among them, I spotted a couple walking with a child, possibly family.

The rings on their ring fingers openly revealed their partnership. A youthful pair radiating freshness passed by beside that family.

Some people were seen dragging their luggage under the guidance of a priest holding a flag.

“Are they tourists?”

“Must be? They look like people going on a pilgrimage. Especially with a priest in the group.”

Pippin and Jake casually talked while looking at the scenery of Abas.

However, having lived in a zone under martial law, I felt a strange disconnection from that peaceful scene.

Eventually, I looked away from the window and turned to Jake in the front seat.

“…? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. How about others? I heard many got injured.”

“Yes, lots of injuries. Not as bad as you, but everyone is recovering from severe injuries.”

Including me, Camila, Lucia, and Francesca were all injured during the crusade.

From minor skin tears and burns to major fractures, concussions, internal bleeding, and traumatic pneumothorax, some suffered injuries that would have been life-threatening without immediate surgery.

“Well, thanks to Saint Lucia and Saint Veronica doing emergency treatments right on time, we avoided the worst scenarios. Without them, we might have been mourning by now.”

Thankfully, we managed to avert catastrophic outcomes thanks to the efforts of Veronica and Lucia at the scene.

After receiving emergency treatment, we were promptly moved to a further back hospital.

“They said it was a military hospital managed by the Imperial Army, right?”

“Yes, that military hospital. I nearly died trying to retrieve the four of you from there.”

“Why didn’t you just let us have our surgery there? Why go through the trouble?”

“What power do we have? They insisted from above not to send you to the Imperial Army hospital by any means. So what could we do? If they say it like that, we just had to comply.”

“Well, we had to consider security.”

The Ministry of Defense brought me, who was being transferred to the Imperial Army hospital, to Abas.

Publicly, they claimed it was to facilitate communication between the patient and the medical staff, as well as issues regarding medical equipment, but the real reason was the security of the hospital itself.

“Well, with necromancers, monsters, and demons running around… it wouldn’t be easy to just leave it alone.”

“Yes, they sent people from the cult and the magic tower because of the same issue. Saint Lucia and Administrator Francesca are being escorted to a safe facility back home.”

For the record, Camila reportedly followed Francesca to the magic tower.

While it’s a bit disappointing not to see her face, health comes first, so there was no choice. I tapped the cigarette pack and shook out a cigarette, biting the filter tip as I lit it.

“Have there been any updates from the north?”

“We don’t know much either. We’re on leave.”

Pippin flipped through his notebook densely packed with notes and continued.

“But I did hear from a junior analyst that reports from the embassy are being sent to the company, so we’ll find out details once our leave is over.”

At that moment, Jake, who had been focused on driving, glanced at me sidelong.

“Um, Manager.”

“What?”

“On that day, I heard passing whispers from the military government headquarters that a duke appeared in the north. Is that true?”

“……”

I gazed out the window with a blank expression.

“…Sigh. You idiot, did you really have to ask that now?”

“I didn’t mean to….”

“Shut up and turn on the radio, Jake. The audio is silent.”

As Pippin chastised him, Jake sulkily turned on the radio.

With crackling static, a pleasant melody gradually became clearer.

The soothing melodies of classical music filled the car.

In the distance, the imposing gate of the Military Intelligence Agency came into view in front of us.

—

After a long absence, the Military Intelligence Agency had changed quite a bit. The structure of the building, the interior decor, even the office supplies and restroom toilet paper had all been revamped.

I parked, verified my access card to get through the main entrance, and walked through the company lobby with a slightly relieved mind.

The reason was simple.

“Hey, Pippin, Jake. Am I getting a leave too?”

Pippin, Jake, and Charnoy were all granted leave immediately upon their return to the country. To be precise, Director Leoni had sent them on leave.

“Before you head out, you’ll have to write a testimony along with a report, addressing what happened in the north to the proper officers….”

Pippin trailed off, nodding in response.

“Well, we’ve got the materials the three of us prepared, so it shouldn’t take long, right?”

“Still, it won’t be a quick investigation, so you won’t be able to take a long leave. Even though the demon was caught, operations will continue until the conflict ends.”

“How long will we get?”

“About three to four days?”

“That’s too few!”

“They’ll make up for the shortfall with a cash bonus. Honestly, looking at the results, you quite deserve a medal, don’t you?”

“Ah, that’s true. The north still hasn’t properly recovered from damages, so it may be impossible to get commendations right away, but they won’t be able to keep their mouths shut out of sheer face-saving.”

“But if I get a medal from the Red Team, will that even be recognized as a national merit?”

“Are you crazy?”

Voices droning in from the side reached my ears, but my focus remained solely on the holiday.

Even though operations weren’t fully over, shouldn’t it be okay to take a few days’ worth of rest after all the labor we put in?

Surely the company would recognize my hardships and grant me even a short vacation; I believed without a doubt.

But…

This is…

Something feels…

—

Thunk!

A thick envelope landed right before my eyes. It was a substantial envelope full of money.

On top of it lay a thin object resembling a letter.

Curious about its contents, I looked inside and pulled out a thin ticket.

As I read the writing, my hand holding the ticket began to tremble.

“……”

Staring blankly at the ticket, Clerbens’s voice reached my ears.

“I’ve received reports on everything that occurred over the past month. Verification and investigation remain, but there’s ample time ahead.”

“……”

“Don’t think too hard about it. Just consider it an overseas trip paid by the company, and it will be easier to understand.”

He lightly patted my shoulder as he spoke.

“Have fun in Patalia.”

The ticket boldly read ‘Warp Gate Pass to Patalia.’