A Dark Fantasy Spy

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There are two main types of spies deployed overseas.

The first type is the officially recognized White Agent, well-known as White, and the second type is the unofficially recognized Black Agent, known as Black.

My identity was closer to White. While Black would be more suitable for conducting proper operations, considering my face was already well-known in the world, there was no better status than that of a diplomat to ensure my safety.

Thus, the Military Intelligence Agency seated me in the position of Defense Attaché, allowing me to receive protection under international law. The Defense Attaché has the same privilege of immunity from arrest as a diplomat.

As long as I maintained my status as a diplomat, I could avoid arrest and detention.

However, to be dispatched overseas as a diplomat, I had to gain the consent of the host country.

In diplomatic circles, this procedure is referred to as agrément.

Typically, agrément is a procedure undergone when dispatching high-ranking diplomats such as ambassadors, ministers, and consuls, but since I was in a somewhat special position (as a Hero’s colleague), Abas broke protocol to formally seek agrément from the Magic Tower. There hadn’t been any particular hints given from above, and according to custom, as long as there weren’t any significant issues, the approval would surely be granted, which is why everyone, including myself, had been unconcerned about this matter.

The problem was,

—”At today’s emergency press briefing, the chief spokesperson from the Magic Tower announced that Colonel Frederick Nostrim’s agrément has been denied. While they stated that entry in a personal capacity would not be blocked, experts well-versed in diplomacy raised serious concerns regarding the situation…”

—”The Cult expressed deep regret over the Magic Tower’s announcement denying the entrance of Saint Lucia. Meanwhile, the visiting party, including Saint Lucia, has canceled all scheduled official events and is now in seclusion…”

—”According to government officials, an emergency meeting has been convened at the Prime Minister’s Residence, and representatives from the Magic Tower are expected to be summoned…”

The Magic Tower has denied agrément.

—

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

“Make it a good one.”

“Where?”

“Over there. From that forest to here.”

At my gesture, Camila Lowell spewed flames. A bright red fire erupted from her fingertips, spreading rapidly, consuming the trees.

After a moment.

“Kyyeeeeek—!”

“Aaughhhhh—!”

The monsters could no longer withstand the heat and burst forth from the woods.

And at that moment—

-Whoosh!

A massive flame pierced through the monsters’ mouths, penetrating deep inside. As the intense heat tore through their soft flesh, the monsters writhed and went insane.

Just then, a gust of wind blew from somewhere. The smoke rising from the burning trees enveloped the monsters. The sturdy skin of the monsters, resisting the bombardment, and the soft flesh beneath turned crispy in the blink of an eye. A crisp outer shell, moist inside.

Watching the monsters tumble on the ground, I pulled back with Camila, who was joyfully casting spells. I grabbed my radio and issued an order.

“Uh, it’s me. I’m out of range, so go ahead and fire.”

With those words, a shell fell to the ground, followed by a barrage of shells raining down over the monsters’ heads.

The artillery brigade was now making its move.

As I looked at the barrage raining down, ready to turn the ground upside down, I smirked while holding the tactical map.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah!”

“Let’s move to the next area. We can head east from here.”

In a no-man’s land slightly off the border. A mixing pot of monsters, vagrants, and refugees.

In this lordless wasteland, against the backdrop of the burning mountains, a soldier and a magician soared through the sky on a broom.

Just another ordinary afternoon in this familiar dark fantasy world.

—

With the continent buzzing from the Magic Tower’s official announcement, a clash of pride between the Cult and the Tower was about to begin.

The Magic Tower kicked things off by officially denying the entry of Lucia, a saint of the Cult, igniting controversy across the continent regarding this denial of entry.

The Magic Tower, always wary of the Cult, and the Cult, who were obsessed with hunting down wizards, witnessed the birth of two saints for the first time in the continent’s history, and all this while grappling with the public security crisis sweeping across the land, the invasion from the north by the demon race, the heated civil war pushing up from the south, as well as crop failures and epidemics.

As the first two saints were born into the current tumultuous situation, the international community engaged in a game of watchfulness, now shaken.

With the ice cracking, numerous issues began to rise their heads, and people representing various positions appeared on camera, fanning the flames of an already burning house.

Trying to explain in detail would be rather complicated.

It would be simpler just to say the continent was turned upside down. It’s not exactly an incorrect expression.

In any case, with the Magic Tower applying the persona non grata to Lucia, the tension between the Tower and the Cult began to visibly escalate. The Tower, long plagued by rumors of heresy and being behind dark magic, seized the mic and rapped about how the Cult was slandering them, while in contrast, the Cult dismissed the Tower as immoral and corrupt, branding it a manifestation of collective self-interest going against the urgent need for peace in the current climate.

Honestly, I have no clue what’s right. The politicians probably don’t know either.

So many events erupted in quick succession that both seasoned political figures and high-ranking diplomatic officials lost their bearings. The same went for the information agencies.

Now, everyone was scrambling to grasp the situation.

The only thing certain was that this situation caught everyone off guard, and not only the Cult but also the Abas government expressed their displeasure at the Tower’s decision.

The Cult suspended all official events for Lucia and the entire visiting group.

The Prime Minister, who was scheduled to have discussions with cult officials regarding a trade agreement on the third day, exploded with anger upon discovering that a crucial agreement was derailed (to be precise, it risked ruining economic policy).

According to domestic media reports citing ‘government officials’, the Prime Minister personally summoned the ambassador of the Kien Empire and the representative of the Magic Tower to the residence for reprimand. Given that the Magic Tower was not an official state but a vassal of the Empire, it made sense politically and diplomatically.

However, the fact that it was not a minister but the Prime Minister himself who summoned the diplomatic envoys for a scolding was an indication of how seriously the government took this situation. That implied the current circumstances were anything but ordinary.

I had no idea what the diplomats blurted out to the Prime Minister (which was not mentioned in the articles), but judging by the government’s unchanged stance, it seemed that no valuable information was exchanged that could shift positions.

Anyway.

In politics, business, or espionage, the truth is not very important.

What truly matters is timing. From that perspective, the Tower’s ambush was quite well-timed. It probably prevented the lurking serpents from taking the opportunity to sink their teeth into the Cult by breaking the ice themselves.

While many politicians and diplomats were holding their breath, soon there would be official statements from various governments regarding the current situation.

How do I know that?

—“They’re planning to make a statement this week from Rushan and Patalia. It’ll be along the lines of supporting the Tower while criticizing the Cult.”

“Is that a declaration of support?”

—“Not quite. It seems they plan to issue a statement and then gauge the atmosphere.”

Veronica was passing me high-level information.

Once a high-ranking information officer from the Imperial Guard HQ and now an active lobbyist, she was more like a politician scheming for her own benefit than a saint of a benevolent and righteous religion.

And her skills shone brightly in this chaotic situation.

I scribbled down all the intel she poured out.

“What about the Empire’s stance?”

—“Officially, I’ve heard they’ve only put forth the usual platitudes.”

“What about unofficially?”

—“It’s complete chaos.”

Veronica said that the Imperial Guard HQ and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were passing the buck back and forth.

—“The Tower is nominally a vassal of the Empire, yet even if their sovereignty is guaranteed, this crosses the line, doesn’t it? In reality, it’s a failure of the Empire to manage their affairs…”

“So they need a scapegoat to pin the blame on.”

—“Exactly.”

“Okay. Let’s talk again later. If anything new comes in, let me know right away.”

I jotted down every piece of information that came from Veronica’s mouth. I worried that my handwriting wasn’t good, and I might not be able to read it later, but there was no other way. It really sucked not having a smartphone at times like this.

As I wedged the communication device between my neck and shoulder and scribbled in an awkward position, Veronica suddenly asked me a question.

—“Hey, where are you that your voice is echoing?”

“In the bathroom.”

—“…Why are you taking my call in a place like that? Gross.”

“Well, what do you expect? Should I go outside?”

—“Are you out on business?”

“No, I’m fulfilling an official schedule.”

Veronica suspiciously asked again with a tone of inquiry.

—“I thought Lucia didn’t have any official events today? Are you with the Hero?”

“Yeah.”

—“What are you doing?”

I slightly opened the bathroom window and looked outside. Thick smoke was rising, and the red-haired magician was roasting marshmallows over the burning wood. I relayed my answer to Veronica.

“Campfire.”

Today’s schedule was to burn the forest.

—

A fragment of a novel I had read a long time ago suddenly came to mind.

Burning things was fun.

In a future where books were banned, reading a novel about a man whose livelihood was in burning books was a small source of happiness I could find amid my hasty overseas life.

When I had unearthed a first edition at a dusty secondhand bookstore, I was beyond elated. Finding a first edition on a trip to Japan with Yasunari Kawabata’s “Snow Country” was the only similar experience, making it rather rare both then and now.

At this moment, the memory of that long-ago novel surfaced because of Camila.

“Hehe.”

The former muggle, now magical girl Camila Lowell, held up a perfectly roasted marshmallow, grinning like a child.

“Camila, do you find joy in burning things?”

“No? Why do you talk like I’m an arsonist?”

You kind of are an arsonist.

I nearly responded but decided to keep my mouth shut. Camila turned the trees she had set ablaze into firewood, relishing various snacks as she chewed and savored them.

As my fingers grazed a marshmallow shaped like a salamander, it flailed its limbs, trying to escape.

Camila jabbed the salamander marshmallow on a stick without a hint of hesitation and tossed it into the flames.

Then, tearing off one leg, she brightly smiled and offered it to me.

“Want some?”

“Uh, no thanks.”

She popped the golden-brown marshmallow into her mouth and munched.

I asked her with a look of disgust on my face.

“Is that really edible?”

“It’s food!”

“No, I mean now that you’ve—”

“There’s no Greenpeace around here, so what’s the deal?”

Camila, confidently spewing nonsense, tugged at the salamander leg.

Is it really okay to set fire to a perfectly good forest just because there are no claiming environmentalists? That logic was pure absurdity. Those who blew up Greenpeace ships would probably applaud her. Maybe.

It was ridiculous, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything more, letting out a deep sigh.

“Ha… The elves are going to be upset. Another forest burned down.”

“…Elves?”

“They exist. A race that loves nature.”

The kind of eco-fascists who love nature a little too much, that’s the problem.

As we exchanged this trivial banter, we took in the charred forest we had lit.

“But what is this place, anyway?”

“…Are you really asking that now? Not before we burned it?”

“Hey, I thought it was just a training ground since it was said to be a magic practice area. But if it was a training area, it should be public land, right? Can we really burn it down?”

You really ask questions quickly.

I tossed a dry, twisted branch to the side and explained.

“This is a no-man’s land. It’s not publicly owned.”

This place is a no-man’s land.

Land where no state can exercise ownership or actual governance. In other words, a no-man’s land is land without an owner.

Of course, there are cases where people enter no-man’s land for reasons like railroad development or natural resource extraction. There are even people who live here, making the term “no-man’s land” somewhat misleading.

However.

“No-man’s land is mostly a habitat for monsters, so under normal circumstances, the military won’t even enter. Large corporations managing national projects go in under military protection, while for civilian development, they hire adventurers to push inside.”

“Really? So what’s the reason for burning it here?”

“Well… winter’s coming soon, right?”

Winter is a challenging season for all living beings.

Therefore, ectotherms hoard food like stock market speculators waiting for a bull market, while endotherms go into a deep sleep for the entire winter.

Monsters are no exception.

They’re living creatures too; they need something to eat to maintain their activity.

“So, around this time when winter is approaching, monsters always come down to cause havoc among civilians. It’s kind of like animals occasionally nibbling at crops; the problem is they eat people instead of crops.”

“I see.”

Camila nodded as if she finally understood.

So I brought her here to save on budget while letting her practice magic at the same time!

However, because of the recent disturbances (noted fainting spells), there hadn’t been any significant issues, and we managed to burn much more land than expected, leaving the Ministry of Defense thrilled at the budget savings.

Handling a workload that a whole battalion was supposed to manage alone left them utterly ecstatic. They’re probably flipping somersaults if I told them I would participate until the operation finished.

Although I had no intention of hiding it, Camila’s remark made me feel a bit strange.

“……”

“Frederick.”

“…Yeah?”

While I was lost in thought, she suddenly spoke up.

Camila was smiling brightly as always.

“Please tell me honestly.”

“…About what?”

“Don’t hide it.”

What is she talking about?

As I tilted my head in confusion, she leaned forward and quietly asked me.

“This… I don’t have to compensate for, right…?”

“…What?”

“For burning the forest.”

“No, that’s…”

“What if I end up getting sued when I don’t even know who owns this land…?!”

She screamed softly.

“I really don’t want to get hit with a damage claim for this…! I paid thousands of dollars for accidentally burning a cornfield once! My legal team went through hell that time…!”

I stared at Camila, who was tearily whining, completely overwhelmed with emotion.

And I desperately thought.

This woman might not be right in the head either.

“Do I at least have the right to appoint a lawyer…?”

“……”

“Please tell me I do…?”

Calming her down about the fear of a lawsuit took about 15 minutes.

Taking care of people probably isn’t my thing after all.

—

The next day, Camila and I participated in the no-man’s land barren land operation once again.

And there, I encountered an unexpected guest.