A Dark Fantasy Spy

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On a starry night, an oppressive atmosphere enveloped Shizuya.

The air in Azadi Palace was heavier than ever.

Despite the late hour, cabinet officials from the Republic of Ashtistan had entered the palace. The diplomats from the Kien Empire, who had just come from the embassy, stared at them with blank expressions.

The friendly greetings that used to accompany their occasional visits were nowhere to be seen, and all the security committee members who used to exchange pleasantries with the imperial diplomats had vanished somewhere.

The intuition honed from long palace life warned the palace maids that ‘now is the time to hold one’s breath.’ It was an instinctive alarm, and the maids were careful even in their steps.

As the uncomfortable currents carried by the westerly wind echoed through the palace corridors, the chief architect of all this commotion, Duke Alexandra Petrovna, shared delicacies with an infinitely calm expression.

“It’s chilly, isn’t it?”

Jainav Eskander, sitting across from her, gently caressed his chin. With his head lowered, he supported his chin with one hand, softly closing his drowsy eyes.

“Well, it’s nighttime.”

“What a rather noisy night.”

“The calm only truly finds Shizuya at dawn.”

Duke Alexandra Petrovna savored the fragrance that the tea offered. As always, the aroma was splendid. Of course, the taste was exquisite too.

As the archmage slowly tasted, she set her teacup down with a clatter, and then, as if realizing something, she spoke up again.

“Then the dawn should arrive quickly. This disturbance needs to settle down soon.”

The priest smiled sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, Sasha. It’s been a while since you came, and it seems my preparations were lacking.”

“It’s fine. What’s there to quibble over between us? I just hope there won’t be problems like today in the future.”

“Of course. It’ll be so.”

Although no clear measures were presented, that was enough. Once the sun rose, everything would return to its rightful place.

The punishment for the troublemaker, along with the efforts to prevent a recurrence, all relied on Jainav, who led the Republic of Ashtistan. The issue was practically resolved.

“Such unfortunate luck. What reason do we have to sully each other’s faces? To raise a fuss knowing well the relationship between us, tsk…”

“Sasha, are you angry?”

“Angry? What an odd notion.”

“Then are you upset?”

“I’m just frustrated. Frustrated.”

The duke shook her head, wearing a bland smile as she sighed. Who would have thought the security committee would commit such a blunder?

“Abas and Ashtistan…”

Caressing her teacup, the duke began murmuring softly to herself. In truth, she had partly caught onto the circumstances. Why the security committee had tapped Camila’s communications.

It wasn’t that they were wary of Camila; they were monitoring the person beside her disciple. The Kingdom of Abas and the Republic of Ashtistan were adversaries. Someone with a background in the military had come, so surveillance seemed justified.

Yet this incident was surely an exception.

No matter the adversarial relations, to surveil a guest brought in by oneself could easily be interpreted as a sign that the Republic of Ashtistan’s government did not trust her, couldn’t it?

The duke carefully crossed her arms as she ran her fingers along the edge of her teacup.

“What does the Abas Foreign Ministry have to say?”

“Nothing at all.”

The priest of the Republic of Ashtistan replied as he stared at the darkened window, supporting his chin. Jainav Eskander answered nonchalantly.

At this, the duke of the Kien Empire nodded, relieved.

“I hope there will be no issues. If there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word.”

“Thanks, but I’ll just take your goodwill.”

The hand that had been supporting his chin was withdrawn. Jainav Eskander focused his gaze on Alexandra Petrovna’s face.

With a generous and satisfied smile, he expressed his gratitude to his long-time friend.

“Just your presence here is enough.”

—

Episode 20 – Who Threatened with a Knife?

The stormy dawn passed, and the morning that followed was nothing but quiet.

The hotel, which had been bustling like a flea market, regained its peace, and my mind and body were settling down.

As I woke up in a groggy state, I sluggishly got out of bed and, after laying out countermeasures against surveillance, checked the company network on my PDA, where an interesting breaking news flash had appeared.

“I have good news.”

“What is it?”

“They got fired. That guy, Jandhar, or whatever his name is, the Chairman of the Oversight Committee.”

Camila, who was having breakfast at the buffet, blinked her eyes wide in surprise. As the egg she had speared on her fork dripped down, I, having set my PDA on the table, looked around and added a small explanation.

“This morning, I got a document.”

“COMINT (Communications Intelligence)?”

“Yep. The sender was Azadi Palace, and the recipient was the headquarters of the security committee on Rabdari Street. The content was simple.”

1. Immediately exclude the Oversight Committee Chairman and subordinates from their duties.

This could be a temporary measure, but the crucial part was the context.

And the next phrase attached to the document was a very good clue to gauge that context.

2. Await further instructions at home.

Indefinite standby. Moreover, the directive was to wait at home.

At first glance, it seemed like a considerate gesture to rest at home, but in reality, it was tantamount to a severe reprimand. Being ordered to stay at home was essentially a notice to not go outside.

Suddenly, excluding all staff of the oversight department from duty and confining them at home? It was an unmistakably bad omen.

Of course, only from their point of view.

“To be put on standby without any position assigned is practically a purge. This method is usually used to send someone to a shoddy post or strip them of their office entirely.”

I placed my bets on the future where those fellows would soon be collectively dismissed.

“Well…. That might well be the case. No, I also think they got sidelined for sure.”

Camila agreed with this part.

As she popped the egg in her mouth, she pinpointed the most critical context.

“It was a personnel order from Azadi Palace, right? That means it was a direct instruction from the priest. By the authority of the head of state.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“And typically, the authority over personnel decisions in major intelligence agencies lies with the head of state or the government leader.”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

So this was comparable to the case where the President of the United States dismissed the CIA Inspector General.

For reference, the CIA Inspector General can only be appointed by the U.S. President, so being dismissed from there almost certainly meant being disfavored by the President.

The same goes here.

Thus, the news that the oversight department of the Ashtistan Security Committee had been entirely revamped was evidently fortunate.

“Wow…. That’s sweet.”

I raised my coffee from the breakfast buffet in a toast. The taste was exhilarating, and in a good mood, it felt doubly delicious.

“Are you perhaps too happy? That’s incredibly blunt.”

“So what? What are those guys going to do now?”

Camila shook her head vehemently, as if resigned to bluntly accepting the truth. Nevertheless, facts are facts, and she didn’t have much to say.

Sharing this delightful news, we were able to commence our day in good spirits.

Even if my planned operation had been quashed, there had been unexpected gains. This was sufficient for the Military Intelligence Agency to be pleased with the results.

As Camila set down her butter knife after spreading jam on her bread, she took a bite of the well-baked traditional Ashtistani bread and posed a question.

“Do you have any next plans? With a vacancy in personnel, there might be a chance to sneak in.”

“You’ve become quite the spy. Talking about work while eating.”

“Chuckle.”

“What are you laughing at….”

I felt as if I were witnessing something grotesque while watching her smile uncontrollably.

Could it be she took it as a compliment? No way, who would be happy about being a spy? (Fact: The one saying that is also a spy.)

While Camila, unable to wipe the smile off her face, took a tissue to cleanse her lips, I muttered in a drifting voice as I finished the remaining breakfast.

“I do have a plan, but to get it approved by headquarters, I need to prepare a bit more.”

“So, are we just waiting around for now?”

“Probably?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“There aren’t any immediate directives, so seems like we’ll have to wait for a while.”

“Ah.”

Camila, wiping her mouth shyly, wore a mischievous smile.

“Planning to slack off?”

“Shut it, Camila.”

“I can’t just stand by while taxpayer money goes down the drain.”

“No, aren’t you British to begin with?”

“What a rowdy morning.”

Just as we were in the midst of our playful bickering, the duke suddenly entered the buffet, wearing an extremely solemn expression.

What’s this? Is she here to end the war? Her arms seem nothing but intact.

“Professor!”

“Yes?”

“Where have you been? You weren’t in your room.”

Duke Alexandra Petrovna smiled gently, stroking Camila’s head. A bizarre sound that resembled a strange yelp came from her as she bounced around.

“I was just out for a drink.”

Though Camila had urged her to eat breakfast, the duke waved her hands, claiming she had already dined.

She took the seat beside Camila and then dropped a letter envelope onto the table with a thud.

Gazing momentarily at the envelope, I exchanged glances with Camila. Could it really be for me?

“What is this?”

“They told me to deliver it to you. I don’t know the contents either.”

Before I opened the letter envelope, I examined the front and back.

There were no identifiable marks that could indicate the sender, but the quality of the envelope was quite luxurious. Most importantly, the magical energy permeating it.

Even I, who wasn’t particularly close with magic, could distinctly sense the powerful magic embedded in that envelope. And that provided a clue about the identity of the sender.

Only one person could channel such vast magic into an object and have a high mage deliver a letter.

The Priest of Al-Yabd.

Jainav Eskander.

“…….”

I pushed aside the opened envelope without resistance and began to read its contents slowly.

And then.

“…Excuse me, I’ll take a quick call.”

I rose from my seat, pulling out the security mobile phone that had been dormant in my pocket.