A Dark Fantasy Spy

---

The air against my skin suddenly turned cold, and a rough wind swirled around me.

Though I couldn’t feel the magic, I instinctively realized—I had just teleported.

“…….”

As I slowly opened my eyes, I was greeted by a vast, blue sky.

A city of millions instantly shrank into a tiny dot beneath me.

The rough wind gently supported my body, and the fluttering edges of my clothes tickled my skin.

Against the expansive backdrop of the sky, Camila, glowing with purity, smiled at me.

“…You’re awake?”

She was speaking to me.

—

Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

—

In the skies above Petrogard, the capital of the Kien Empire.

Red flames danced in the blue sky.

“Ha-ha, an Englishman appears!”

Camila said, leaping into a peculiar stance as she uttered her strange phrase. Around her, embers lingered in the air, still not extinguished.

Camila, with her fiery tail-like flame, pulled out a box from her robes. The cube-shaped box, seemingly carved from stone, was something I had never seen before.

It was a magical tool.

“Yap!”

As I pressed the groove on the side with my thumb, a clear clicking sound echoed, and the cube began to move.

The top spun two turns to the left, the bottom spun three turns to the right, and the left and side faces rolled up and down.

Not even the slightest noise emerged from the rotating stone. The cube accepted the magic flowing in through my thumb, rotating smoothly as it emitted a gentle glow.

Just as the cube began to align rapidly, it stopped operating.

– Pop!

A bright flash erupted, enveloping us in red magic.

“Got it!”

Camila announced.

“Now that the magical tool has activated, I suppose we don’t need to worry about falling.”

As she said this, Camila was standing in mid-air, as if an invisible floor existed beneath her.

“Try standing up.”

With a doubtful glance, I watched as Camila confidently pointed to the air with her hands on her hips.

Despite turning my head in the direction she pointed, there was nowhere for me to stand, even if I rubbed my eyes.

“Come on!”

“…….”

“Oh, come on, you really don’t trust me, do you?”

As I clung to her back, looking around nervously, Camila shot me a side-eye, showing signs of frustration. But I felt wronged.

What did she expect me to do when there was absolutely no place to stand? If only there was a glass floor, I wouldn’t be worried at all.

Yet her calm demeanor, as she stood in mid-air, was utterly serene. It was as if she were standing on solid ground. Camila was naturally treading upon the sky.

“I’m serious! Why can’t you believe me?”

She insisted, her voice filled with a clear sense of indignation as she began to bounce up and down in place. It was her way of proving that it really was safe.

Of course, from my vantage point atop her back, it felt like a precarious ride.

“Whoa…!”

Like a redneck riding a bull, I clung to Camila’s shoulders, flailing about. Regardless, the magician couldn’t contain her overflowing energy and kept bouncing around.

Finally, I felt overwhelmed and decided I should get down. Searching for a spot to land, I managed to awkwardly lower myself down.

“…….”

To my surprise, the sensation of standing in mid-air was exceedingly comfortable.

“What the?”

“See? I told you it was safe!”

It was real.

I muttered while tapping the air beneath me.

Even though I had imagined that my feet might slip through and drop me down, my feet stayed firmly planted in the air, even after I had released my grip on Camila.

Clouds drifted beneath me as I turned my head to see the blue sky.

Once I took stock of my surroundings, a small gasp escaped my lips.

“Look at this!”

While I stood dumbfounded, Camila started to sprint across the sky.

Zooming ahead, she put all her might into a jump, leaping from cloud to cloud.

Her agile movements resembled a frog enjoying its first contact with water. She raced through the sky, bouncing effortlessly between clouds.

Having completed her teleportation, Camila was casually strutting atop the clouds. In awe of this surreal scene, I could only blink. Looking back, she flashed a beaming smile and spoke.

“Isn’t this your first time experiencing something like this?”

I nodded in response.

While there were certainly wizards who could soar through the sky on broomsticks or carpets, Camila was the only one I had ever seen jumping around up here.

Even the mighty Defense Ministry, which researched magical engineering, or the Magic Tower and Ivory Tower, had never showcased such magic. I wondered what kind of trick she was employing, so I asked how it worked.

“Oh, this? It’s the power of the magical tool.”

Camila displayed the cube and beamed.

“To fly, you need a broom, right? But brooms are expensive and, more than anything, cumbersome.”

The cube in her small hand made a mysterious sound as it shook.

“So, when I asked the professor if there was any other way, he gave me this.”

“What is it?”

“A flying cube!”

Camila lifted the cube triumphantly.

“Of course, it doesn’t actually make you fly; it just lets you walk in the sky like it’s the ground. A friend of the professor made it and gifted it to him, but the professor said he didn’t need it—I should just take it.”

“If it’s a friend, could it be the Archmage?”

“Yep.”

I stared at the cube with astonishment. A magical tool made by an Archmage, no less.

Since the war with the Cult, the possessions of an Archmage had risen to immense value. Not only were those items historically significant because they belonged to a great figure, but their magical value was also renowned.

Even a common household item would bear the residual magic of its user.

The notion of “magic residue” was a familiar term in criminal investigation, and it was also an important concept in the study of magic. With it, one could study a bit of the owner’s magic.

Therefore, implements and clothing used by Archmages were designated as treasures. Not ordinary artifacts, but national treasures.

But this was no ordinary item; it was a magical tool.

“…….”

Considering how the Magic Tower was splurging enormous sums to procure magical tools left behind by Archmages, this was astonishing.

The Grand Duke’s decision to carelessly hand this over to Camila was nothing short of shocking.

I glared at Camila, who was gently caressing the cube with cautious gestures.

Sigh.

“Receiving stolen property was one thing, but now you’ve gone and pilfered a national treasure. You must really be British.”

“Shut up.”

—

As promised by the Grand Duke, participating in Camila’s magic practice gifted me with a uniquely memorable experience unlike anything I had ever encountered before.

“Yah!”

Now up in the clouds, Camila was showcasing various tricks.

I had grown accustomed to running and leaping between clouds. While she repeated her sprinting and jumping, she decided to attempt something more novel, something daring.

“Leap of Faith!”

Camila shouted out a bizarre name for her technique before launching herself between the clouds. She took an odd pose, legs together and arms behind her back.

Imitating an assassin with a cut-off pinky, she soon begun to try something else.

Lying flat on her stomach, she shot flames like a supernatural being, and with her thumb and pinky extended, she pretended to shoot webs like Spider-Man.

She didn’t just imitate fictional characters; she also began to whimsically mimic a singer, swaying her legs against the blurred moon in the background.

“Camila, that’s not a British singer; that’s an American one!”

“Music knows no borders.”

“Wait, you’re not even black…”

The moment I mentioned it, she began to sing as well.

Camila effortlessly belted out a song from a legendary British rock band that had risen to prominence in the ’70s, a tune well-known as the title of a film even now, 29 years later.

I silently watched her joyfully sing. Her face was radiant as she hopped around the clouds, humming the lyrics.

“Oh, that was fun!”

After a while of singing and dancing, Camila flashed a big smile. It was the expression of one who had played enough.

“Is life in the Empire suiting you?”

“Don’t even mention it.”

With a dazzling smile, Camila brightly replied that she was happier than ever and added that each day was exciting.

“I’m not bored at all! Every day is new and different. This is the most fun time of my life!”

She certainly looked it.

As Camila bounced closer, I began instinctively scanning the surroundings.

There was only the clear blue sky surrounding us in our open space, absent of any clouds.

“What are you looking around for?”

“Nothing. I’m just glad to see you’re doing well.”

Confirming there wasn’t anyone listening, I turned to address Camila. In truth, my reason for coming to the Empire wasn’t solely her safety.

“Has nothing odd happened while you were staying with the Grand Duke?”

“Odd occurrences?”

“Have there been any suspicious circumstances? Like if any intelligence agencies were tailing you?”

Camila shook her head.

“I haven’t seen anyone suspicious. But why are you asking all of a sudden?”

I answered candidly.

“My information agent was assassinated.”

“…Assassinated?”

“More accurately, executed.”

I began to explain to Camila what had transpired. My agent had been killed by a body thought to belong to the Empire Information Agency.

If it had been in the past, I would only have shared information she was entitled to know, omitting details, but given the circumstances, I fully divulged everything.

“The NSA had someone—a journalist managed by our allied nation’s intelligence—who disappeared during a regular contact session. They sent someone to check on him and discovered the dead body.”

“Do you know who was behind it? Did you check the surrounding CCTV?”

“I couldn’t. During that time, the hotel’s generator and magical power supply went down. They probably had a hand in it.”

The fact that they had pinpointed the location and disabled all surveillance equipment meant this was a premeditated crime. A classic intelligence agency maneuver.

Camila’s expression turned serious as we reached that point. Her face darkened, and she began to ask questions.

“Was there a leak of information?”

“No, not that I can tell. It seems they weren’t targeted for being foreign spies, but rather due to their anti-establishment connections.”

“Are there ongoing investigations?”

“Personally, yes.”

“Personally? What does that mean?”

“It means the organization isn’t investigating.”

As unfortunate as it was, the deaths of agents were a common occurrence.

Intelligence agencies maintaining a national level network managed numerous operatives. Because of this, when they began combing through their network, several agents often lost their lives.

Intelligence agencies are not omniscient beings either.

With limited budgets and personnel monitoring hundreds of nations, these agencies had to prioritize everything, including agents’ lives.

Thus, while thorough investigations and ceremonial funerals led by the organization for intelligence officers ended up involving compensations for grieving families, agents’ deaths remained far removed from the public eye.

Because they weren’t considered part of the organization.

The ones who employed the agent were the intelligence officer and operative on-site, not the headquarters. If evaluating the worth of a staff member trained at a cost of millions against an agent purchased for mere pocket change, the agency would invariably choose the officer.

“……”

Upon hearing this, Camila’s expression turned sour.

Avoiding her gaze, I began to speak as if it were of little consequence.

“Why do you look at me like that? Is this new information to you?”

I presumed Camila was disheartened by the harsh realities of the field.

But it seemed my assumption was mistaken.

“…Are you okay?”

Her voice was laced with concern as she addressed me.

I was about to respond when she sent me a worried glance, so I swallowed my words.

In the end, all I exhaled was an exasperated sigh.

“…Will I be okay?”

I took a small breath.

“It was someone I had been working with for years. They died without me being able to do anything.”

“……”

Losing agents wasn’t a first for me, but I still refused to adapt to it. I didn’t even want to grow accustomed.

As I sighed heavily and lamented, I felt a small hand on my shoulder. Camila gently stroked my shoulders, offering consolation.

“So that’s why you asked me? If I met anyone suspicious?”

“Yes. You never know when it comes to people.”

“……”

With a worried expression, Camila finally began to speak about something that had happened last week.

“Actually, last week, some people who seemed to be from the intelligence agency came to the mansion.”

“The intelligence agency?”

Camila nodded her head.

“Why would they visit?”

“I didn’t receive the details. All I heard was that they were checking the overall safety and security of the mansion.”

Regarding the mansion’s safety and security—was it a routine security check?

After all, it was the Grand Duke’s mansion, and it made sense that the intelligence agency would come for a security check since a member of the royal family resides there.

Still, something felt off about it.

As Camila mentioned last week, she began to tilt her head in confusion. With a grunt, she continued her explanation.

“The people from the guards and the police shrugged it off as no big deal, but the professor spoke strangely.”

“Strangely?”

“While he didn’t say anything specific, he…”

She added, “Said an important guest was coming.”

An important guest.

If the Grand Duke, as the Northern Duke and senior member of the royal family was mentioning, that individual would undoubtedly be no ordinary person. The Grand Duke’s authority could outweigh that of important figures such as the interior minister and the head of the Imperial Guard HQ, not to mention the chief of staff.

Who could it be?

As I pondered, stroking my chin, Camila seemed to recall something and said, “Ah,” softly.

“Family.”

She revealed, “He said a family member would be coming.”

—

After hearing all the subsequent explanations, I began to piece my thoughts together.

Alexandra Petrovna is a senior member of the royal family. She is the younger sister of the previous emperor, making her the aunt of Nikolai VI, and the great-aunt of the crown prince.

Therefore, when she refers to family in the Empire, it inevitably means the royal family. The Grand Duke’s maternal line ended with her, so that is the exception.

The crucial piece of information here is what the Grand Duke said.

He mentioned that a member of the royal family would be coming to his mansion and emphasized the term “important guest.” Given that she is a senior royal, an important guest would surely be a direct lineage.

Nikolai VI suffers from dementia and is unable to move, so it was highly likely he was referring to the Crown Prince. Broadening further, it’s possible that it could be the Crown Prince’s elder sister or a more distantly related royal with greater lineage.

“…….”

Regardless of who it is, it’s certain that a royal is moving. There’s a chance that senior figures in the Magic Tower or Ivory Tower might also be involved, but if someone from there were to visit, I could find out through Francesca.

However, in the tightly monitored and controlled environment of Petrogard, maintaining contact with her would require visiting the embassy. Specifically, the communications and surveillance room of the embassy.

I transferred my attention back to Camila after organizing my thoughts.

“Let’s go down.”

“Okay.”

With Camila now attached to me, she activated the cube.

Gripping the cube that emitted a gentle magic, she inserted her fingers into the groove and pressed down hard. The wind swirled around us, and suddenly,

“Waaaaaah…!!”

We began to plummet toward the ground.

I was tethered to Camila using the equipment. While slicing through the wind that pulled us downward, I spread my arms and legs to stabilize my position in front of her.

Through my goggles, tiny dots twisted and twisted below; those dots converging made up the city on the ground.

“Is there a way to land safely?!”

I shouted.

Camila, with her goggles fixed, yelled back, “I’ll use magic!”

For safety reasons, the teleportation destination was locked at high altitude over Petrogard. One wrong misstep could land us in an underground area or smack us against a building’s exterior.

Considering that teleportation and flying were both prohibited in the capital, this was quite a rare circumstance. Had the Grand Duke not secured permission from the government, the moment we appeared overhead, we might have been intercepted by combat magicians sent from the air defense corps.

“Why are we up here so high?!”

“It’s not my doing! It’s because of the professor!”

Of course, even when she utilized teleportation magic, she was backed by the Grand Duke’s assistance.

While Camila was a skilled magician, she was still limited in the number of spells she could cast per day. Magic isn’t simply a skill that could be unleashed whenever one’s magic gauge is full.

But as always, the Grand Duke found a method.

Alexandra Petrovna had engraved magic circles in the backyard of her mansion to help Camila practice her magic. While limited in area, as long as she stayed within it, Camila could use her magic freely without restrictions.

Thanks to that, Camila, backed by the Grand Duke’s support, succeeded in soaring high into the sky. However, since she had now moved out of the backyard, using magic freely was no longer an option. Just one magic for landing would suffice.

As the city, which had appeared only as clouds before, drew nearer, Camila began to prepare her spell.

“…Huh?”

Camila suddenly spoke, sounding baffled.

I gave her a puzzled look. Having been busy preparing to cast the spell, she now seemed unsure as she attempted multiple casting maneuvers.

– Zzzzt.

A foreboding sound echoed as the magic coiled in her hand dissipated. It felt like some sort of ill omen had been voiced.

In an instant, a sense of unease washed over me. Before I could blink, Camila turned to me, her gaze wide with worry.

“…I can’t do it!”

“……”

Blink. Blink, blink.

Camila awkwardly smiled as we exchanged glances. I could only stare blankly at her.

As silence reigned, I reached behind me. But no matter how much I groped around, there was no parachute to be found.

It dawned on me all too suddenly.

Ah.

I forgot to bring a parachute when we set out.

“…Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

At a safe altitude, not far from the ground, the screams of the two panicking figures pierced through the skies of Petrogard.

—

Fortunately, two unrecognizable corpses wouldn’t meet the asphalt of Petrogard.

Thanks to Camila’s quick thinking.

“Kyahhhhhh!!”

Holding onto me, Camila screamed at the top of her lungs. The courage she had shown when leaping between the clouds seemed to have evaporated instantaneously.

“What do we do? What do we do?! How are we going to survive?!”

“Why are you asking me?!”

“We’re all going to die!”

As we were sent into a downward spiral, Camila began to bawl.

We’re all going to die, she sobbed, but after a short while, she regained her composure and began looking around. Her eyes landed on something.

“Over there!”

A lake!

Camila pointed at the lake, shouting, “If we dive into the water, we can survive!”

“If we crash into the lake from this height, we’ll die!”

“Oh, but we can use magic!”

“You can’t use magic!”

The plan to use teleportation magic to safely return to the ground had already unraveled. She’d tried multiple times, all failing.

But when push came to shove, she was a magician. And being a prodigy, with a background attending a prestigious institution, she could analyze why her magic had failed even while plummeting.

Focusing on the task, she discovered that she still had magic left within her. Concluding that the reason for her earlier failures came from outside sources, she reasoned that the limitations were due to distance.

Alexandra Petrovna had laid countless magical circles in her backyard. The purpose of these circles was to enable Camila to practice her magic without being bound by limited opportunities.

However, just before conjuring teleportation, the Grand Duke had added another magical circle—one that increased the spell’s distance.

“I can’t teleport far in one go! Without the support of auxiliary techniques, I would have landed not on the sky but on the top of the mansion instead!”

“Just give me the conclusion already!”

“The mansion is out of my reach now!”

Camila was convinced.

“While I can’t reach the mansion, I can teleport directly above the lake!”

Having noted that the loss of kinetic energy occurs temporarily when using magic, she planned to teleport above the lake; thus, we would only need to endure the minor fall of distance instead of plummeting to the ground.

Of course, this was based on her intuition.

Never in my life had I heard that using teleportation magic could significantly diminish one’s kinetic energy. I was neither a magician nor a scientist, so I had no reason to study such things in the first place. But it turned out to be irrelevant—crashing into asphalt or hitting the lake yielded a similar fate. If we were doomed to die anyway, we might as well take a gamble.

“Ah, let’s do it quickly!”

As a bird passed by, flapping its wings, Camila readied the magic.

Our destination was the lake.

And we had only one chance.

“Eeep…!”

A scream slipped through my clenched teeth, and simultaneously, sparks ignited from the hem of my clothing.

Like a meteor piercing the atmosphere, we began to envelop in flames, and I locked my eyes on the quickly approaching lake as I shut them tightly.

Before the swirling flames engulfed us completely, a massive splash echoed as magic detonated around us, sending water flying everywhere.

“……”

“……”

Droplets cascaded down, splashing on the lakeshore as fish floundered about, while bewildered citizens stared at us in astonishment.

Dazed as I gazed at the gawking citizens, I tilted my head skyward. The immaculately clear sky of Petrogard looked down upon us, appearing to question what had transpired.

“…Camila.”

“…Yes?”

“Next time, let’s make sure to bring a parachute.”

Camila nodded silently in response.

With the tumultuous downpour around us and flopping fish scattering across the grass,

There we lay, staring silently up at the sky.

It was the final dance of our lives.