A Dark Fantasy Spy

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In the sandy pit, Lucia was German Suplexing Camila, meanwhile, a similar scene was unfolding in the desert thousands of kilometers away.

Akande, quite literally, fell from the sky.

It wasn’t enough to kill him, but the impact was significant, evidently causing him to lose consciousness. Naturally, that was the outcome of slamming headfirst into the sand.

To rescue the unfortunate lump stuck in the sand, I pulled him up with all my might. A diagnosis by an unlicensed medical professional concluded that aside from a mild concussion, he was perfectly fine.

“The healing is done, and he should regain consciousness soon.”

“Really?”

“Do you doubt me?”

Veronica shot me a side glance full of dissatisfaction.

“It was just a simple concussion. I could cure something like this with my eyes closed.”

“Are you bragging?”

“Of course!”

Her confidence was so sky-high it was ridiculous. What a character she was!

I shook my head in disbelief.

—

Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

Having successfully treated Akande, Veronica began to discuss her actual plan.

“I’ll gather my colleagues. It’s great to have a specific goal, but do we have a way to find them?”

“Of course.”

The knight clashed his gauntlets and breastplate together.

“I know a few spots where our colleagues might be hiding. If we get closer, we can sense each other’s presence.”

“Oh, that sounds good. But can’t we just call them instead of searching?”

“Of course, there are ways to summon them directly….”

His words trailed off awkwardly, as if he found something displeasing.

The knight, after a moment of silence as if choosing his words, began to stroke the chin part of his helmet.

“The angel I could call that way isn’t one of my colleagues.”

“If it’s not a colleague, then?”

“Perhaps a neighbor. Or maybe an acquaintance.”

It meant he wasn’t particularly close.

So even among angels, relationships existed. I glanced at Veronica, who seemed just as puzzled.

Anyway.

Finding a colleague would likely take some time. It wouldn’t be a matter of resolving the ‘angel’ problem overnight. We might have to settle in and operate for about a week at least.

“Alright then. Let’s figure out a hideout first.”

“Sure. Let’s secure a place to stay before we think further.”

Just as I was about to say to let me know if she found a good place, both Veronica and I spoke simultaneously.

“Veronica. Please arrange for some lodging.”

“Fetch a place for us, Colonel.”

“…?”

“…?”

—

As I led the two, alongside something I couldn’t determine if it was human or angel, I deep in thought.

Old sayings say that if you get caught by a woman, you may end up losing everything.

That saying was indeed true.

“Living this long, and I end up transferring a house title to a woman….”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Smack! Someone’s foot slapped my right cheek. It was Veronica, sprawled on the sofa.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I just wanted to snap you back to reality with a little joke since you were talking nonsense. Yes.”

Her audacious behavior left me speechless for a bit.

I pointed at her as she lounged on the sofa and finally found my words.

“No, what nonsense are you talking about? This is my house, you know?”

“You said it’s a hideout. Isn’t it company property then?”

“I received it from an acquaintance!”

The house I brought the two of them and the ambiguous entity to was a safe house I managed in the Mauritania Continent. Technically, it was a place within the territory of the Hassan Warlord.

It was a refuge provided to me by Victor, an orc informant I had connections with since the imperial branch days.

This was a base I used when I was coordinating with the Hassan Warlord, and it was where the shaman and Camila had stayed when they had that showdown after betraying the warlord. Since it only needed to be used for critical moments, it had been left untouched since the operation ended.

Thinking I would no longer need to use it, I had planned to return it to the owner.

But upon meeting Victor, he insisted that “a house needs someone to stay in it to be a good house.”

“You have good acquaintances. I wish I had a friend who would gift me a house as well.”

Hearing that I received a house made Veronica stick out her tongue, looking envious. It was slightly absurd to see a saint acting like that. Aren’t they supposed to be above material desires?

Isn’t there something emphasized in Buddhism? Moving beyond the fetters of desires and achieving some state of liberation or whatever…?

“Isn’t it funny for a person with ample money to be envious of just a house?”

“People always see others’ things as bigger, don’t they?”

Ah, that’s why she approached the guy her sister had her eye on without hesitation.

Of course, that was something I could never voice out loud. He wasn’t the type who would take a comment like that easily. It’d be like yelling into a void.

As soon as we arrived at the lodge, Veronica began to make herself at home like it was her own place. I decided Akande would stay in bed until he regained consciousness.

While glancing around the silent living room and hallway, I opened my mouth.

“Where is the knight?”

“I saw him enter that room over there a moment ago.”

Her finger pointed to the empty room. What could he be doing in there?

I briefly considered peeking in but gave up on that thought.

“Anyway, what’s our next move? Can we really find this angel or whatever?”

“I don’t know either.”

Veronica shrugged nonchalantly, resting her chin on her hand.

“I can’t make any judgments without knowing what plans the knight has. I might have a bit of insight regarding matters related to demons, but I’ve only seen angels in scriptures.”

According to her, ‘angels’ were supernatural and mysterious beings frequently appearing in scripture.

They were entities of heaven that assisted and accompanied the divine. Often mentioned not only in scripture but also depicted in paintings and sculptures, angels were seen as inseparable from religion and regarded as companions in religious life.

“Typically, the choir and worship formations in churches were initially created based on angels’ formations. Due to frequent mentions of angels in statues, religious paintings, and scriptures, there were times when there was an increase in reverence and faith towards angels. There’s even a historical fuss about whether it was idol worship according to the Holy See.”

In that sense, angels and demons stood at opposite ends of the treatment spectrum.

One side was beloved to the point of having to worry about idol worship, while the other was met with annihilation at the first sight.

“I get it now.”

I nodded knowingly.

While demons had to be tracked down relentlessly, angels were beings that religious folks wouldn’t feel the need to chase after. Theologically, they were close proxies of the divine and generally benevolent beings.

Actually, even if one wanted to pursue them, they might find no means to do so.

Demons were notorious for causing trouble everywhere, but I had never heard of an angel showing up on Earth. Veronica agreed on this point.

“If a demon crawled up from hell, we could’ve tracked them down easily with holy relics. A navigator’s map, a split dragon’s spine, Lucernatus, Plaga, or bones of Saint Balthazar…though it’d be tough to boil those for transportation, anyway.”

As it stood, we had come to the conclusion that we had no means of finding the colleagues the knight had mentioned.

Though the knight confidently claimed to have a method, there was no guarantee that it would work. Sitting around doing nothing also posed a problem.

So, I thought about adjusting our plans considering the initial method had failed, but a solid outcome was hard to grasp.

“Hm….”

I sat next to Veronica, shoulder to shoulder, pondering.

What should we do?

The most certain method would be to seek expert assistance.

Religion.

“First, we should turn to people from the cult for assistance.”

We weren’t entirely sure if we were dealing with an angel or not, but if the knight was indeed an angel, we needed the help of the religious sector.

Veronica rested her chin in her hand, pondering apathetically.

“Even a saint like myself finds it hard to grasp the situation. Do you think our old fogies will be able to help?”

“Not the old fogies, but there’s a high priest, isn’t there?”

“Aha!”

The high priest. Looking back, the high priest was the one who knew the knight best.

The high priest had urged to treat the Knight of the Cedar Coffin with utmost respect, and judging by the knight’s attitude, which implied a certain degree of familiarity, they seemed to know quite a bit about each other.

Perhaps the high priest would know where the knight’s colleagues were.

“Or it’s possible Akande knows. His tribe has been protecting the Cedar Coffin for generations.”

“Could there be other coffins with the tribe?”

“Perhaps…?”

Jumping to conclusions too early wasn’t wise, but it was possible that there were more angels in Akande’s tribe.

Of course, this was merely speculation. It would be good if it was true, but conversely, if it were wrong, it’d just be a shot in the dark.

“That’s a fair assumption. For now, let’s observe how the knight searches for colleagues and then make a judgment. Do you agree?”

“……”

“Colonel?”

…Hmm.

“By the way, doesn’t something seem off?”

“What seems strange?”

“The knight.”

If he really is an angel.

“Why didn’t he reveal from the start that he was an angel?”