A Dark Fantasy Spy

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Suddenly, a group of heavily armed soldiers barged in.

They were dressed in military uniforms.

Next to the uniforms, there were more uniforms, and there were even more uniforms behind them. They were Military Police Special Task Force members armed with bulletproof vests and rifles. Judging by their equipment, they weren’t just regular Military Police on guard duty, but rather a special task force.

In the midst of the special task force, I spotted several Suit Men who looked both very familiar and strangely out of place. They were investigators from the Military Intelligence Agency Counterintelligence Division.

It hit me all at once that they were donning bulletproof vests over their suits, which they normally wore during commutes and outside duties, and were walking this way with their pistols drawn.

And only after I caught sight of the pale faces of the agents monitoring the spies from afar did I realize just how badly the situation had gone awry.

Something went wrong. It was wrong on so many levels.

As that thought crossed my mind, I stood up to protect Camila Lowell and hurried to her side.

The Military Police Special Task Force and the heavily armed investigators raised their weapons and prepared to fire, while the investigators who realized the operation had derailed jumped out of their hiding spots, and the spies, seeing the arrest squad, got to their feet in a panic.

However.

The team leader’s movements were even quicker.

In a situation where no one could foresee what would happen next—

The team leader pulled the trigger, aiming at the spy.

—

Episode 3 – Fantastic Vacation

—

A sharp gunshot echoed through the air.

The team leader fired as Giada Bianchi stood up from her chair, and despite her title as a magician, the bullet struck her abdomen, sending her tumbling backward.

It was an unexpected turn of events, and the sudden gunfire startled everyone—civilians, soldiers, and agents alike.

However, the special task force seemed to respond as if they had anticipated this. As soon as the gunfire rang out, they hesitated for a moment before pouncing on Giada Bianchi, pinning her arms behind her back.

“Everyone, stay calm and remain in your seats! We are executing a major counterintelligence operation!”

“Hey, you over there! Don’t move and stay seated!”

“Junior! Hurry and bring the restraints!”

“Just act like you’re seeing nothing; we’re just catching a spy here!”

The special task force swarmed Giada Bianchi like flies on a corpse, swiftly restraining her with handcuffs to ensure she couldn’t use any magic, sorcery, or divine abilities, binding her mouth shut to prevent suicide. Once they exited the research institute, her custody would be handed over to the Military Intelligence Agency.

Thus, the arrest operation concluded quickly, far too rapidly for the week-long efforts and sleepless nights that led up to it.

The team leader relayed the situation to the bewildered investigators, assigning each a task while they began to sort through all materials related to the operation, classifying it into destruction or preservation.

The Military Police Special Task Force had subdued Giada Bianchi. They rendered her incapable of any magical or divine actions, and once outside, she would be handed over to the Military Intelligence Agency.

While the arrest operation wrapped up, Camila Lowell’s body inspection was completed as well. This was somewhat expected; there was no way to conduct inspections when a senior researcher was shot and labeled a spy.

In any case, the plans may have gone awry, but the arrest operation successfully concluded.

The investigators processed the closed procedures in accordance with the Military Intelligence Agency’s regulations and tidied up the office that had served as the operation’s headquarters. Additional Military Police were deployed to stabilize the interior of the research institute while those on the periphery had been handling the external security.

Yet even as Camila Lowell left the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute, she remained entirely oblivious to the chaos that had ensued.

To be precise, she simply didn’t grasp what was happening; she was too busy with her own business for anyone to explain the situation to her.

Eventually, before leaving the research institute, Camila Lowell learned from me that “actually, Giada Bianchi was a spy, and public security had identified and arrested her,” finally realizing she had become embroiled in a major security incident.

Although I had omitted some crucial details, what I told her about the situation was fundamentally correct.

Of course, I, too, was ignorant of the ‘crucial details.’

I had no idea why this operation had gone askew, why the team leader fired at her, or what had motivated him to lead over half the crew upstairs.

So, I offered up some plausible reason as I sent Camila Lowell off to a safer location.

Only after countless follow-up tasks were concluded did I grasp the full tale of what had transpired.

“…So you’re saying the spy who got shot and arrested wasn’t Giada Bianchi?”

“Correct.”

Oh, for crying out loud.

—

Honestly, it was absurd. I thought the team leader was pulling a fast one.

If you asked me to pick the three most ridiculous moments since I fell into this world, I’d say it was becoming a hero’s companion, being assigned as an operative, and precisely this moment right now.

Understandably so: the reasoning given after he disrupted the operation and fired was, “The spy we thought was Giada Bianchi was actually not Giada Bianchi.”

It was utter nonsense, clear as day.

No matter how clueless I was about magic, even I could tell the team leader’s explanation was utterly preposterous.

“How on earth is that possible?”

“It seems like sorcery was used. They likely transformed their appearance into that of Giada Bianchi using parts of their body.”

The team leader, with a fatigue-ridden visage, spoke with an air of importance.

Some shady character without any proper identification had impersonated Giada Bianchi, wearing her flesh.

What he stated could have been dismissed as a ludicrous claim, something any student from the Academy’s Department of Magic would easily ridicule and dismiss out of hand.

Yet, as life often dictates, there’s no such thing as absolute certainty.

“This is a human body found on the ceiling of a residence.”

“…….”

The team leader held up a bag containing ‘evidence’ using only his index and thumb.

“Fingers, toes, hair, skin tissue—various remains were discovered.”

“…….”

Holding the bag briefly, he dropped it as if he had seen something unpleasant.

Thud. The evidence bag landed on top of another labeled ‘Evidence 37.’ In apparent shock, something slimy sloshed around inside the bag, resembling a thin layer of cornea squirming about.

“And this was information we obtained via a request for data-sharing from related agencies. It’s a report on a sorcerer who was apprehended seven years ago while trafficking drugs in the southern region. They used similar sorcery to avoid the Border Guard’s surveillance when trying to cross it, after paying a hefty sum to the refugees.”

“…Uh, I see.”

This was pure horror movie material.

“Nevertheless, given the urgency of the situation, we had no choice but to apprehend them. Are you alright, Colonel?”

“Ah, yes, well. Yes.”

“Glad to hear that.”

The team leader seemed averse to even looking at the bag filled with evidence and push it aside. I then questioned him.

“…Then where exactly is Giada Bianchi? Did she really study at the Magic Tower in the first place?”

“The person who went to study at the Magic Tower is indeed Giada Bianchi. Her family sent her off directly through the Warp Gate, so unless someone swapped her out at home, it must be her.”

“Are you saying she went missing at the Magic Tower?”

“Well, we don’t know yet. None of our investigators are astrologers.”

Ah, right. If they knew that, they might as well become shamans instead of civil servants. I nodded along to his explanation.

The team leader took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“What on earth is happening….”

He exhaled a thin stream of smoke in a heavy sigh.

“In any case, the spy will be handed over to headquarters for interrogation. Given the nature of this case, it seems there will be a joint investigation.”

The Royal Intelligence Department, the Cabinet Security Office, the Special Investigation Bureau—all of them summoning themselves to investigate together. What I thought was just a straightforward spy case had suddenly snowballed into something much larger.

I had no idea what was going on, but I felt like there was nothing more for me to do here.

“The wizard is arriving soon, so you should head up first.”

“Are you staying here, team leader?”

“Yes. I have to clean up and investigate the chief, Fernand, and see if there are any other connections. What about you, Colonel?”

To be honest, after seeing what was in that bag, I had no desire to get further involved in this matter. I had already worked hard for two months. And after all, my job was merely to apprehend a spy and nothing more than that.

“I’ll head back for now. Well, I’ll take my leave.”

“Take care.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

With a knot of unease in my chest, I left the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute.

—

“Where did you come from?”

“I just came from the Royal Intelligence Department. Please hop in.”

“Ah, for crying out loud.”

—

Episode 3 – Fantastic Vacation -END