A Dark Fantasy Spy

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Dim light at dawn. I woke my groggy mind with cold water and sat on the sofa.

“…Yawn.”

Having skimmed through the reports that came in through the security line overnight, it was exactly 6:43 AM. It was too early for work or even to eat the hotel breakfast. What should I do until it’s time to leave?

“……”

I thought long and hard, but there was really nothing to do. I had already finished everything.

I turned on the TV.

[…As the imperial police’s pre-emptive inspection measures are expanded, protests are erupting mainly in the southern regions. There are reports of searches being conducted not only on domestic wizards but also on foreign wizards, leading to calls from various sectors to cease the repression. Foreign ministries are summoning embassy officials….]

Click.

[…We previously reported a fire at the customs warehouse on the 9th. Police and fire authorities are investigating the precise cause and extent of the fire, while not ruling out the possibility of arson targeting the humanitarian supplies stored in the warehouse. However, they are facing difficulties in the investigation due to a lack of witnesses or clear evidence….]

Click.

[…Due to the ongoing economic crisis and civil war in Mauritania, the number of refugees crossing the sea has significantly increased. The first landing place for these refugees is the Lushan Federal Kingdom. On the 6th, reports surfaced of the Lushan Federation’s Royal Coast Guard firing on vessels refusing refugee entry, drawing criticism from the international community…]

Click.

[…This morning, the police chief who ordered the re-investigation of the mysterious death of an exiled imperial politician was shot by a mysterious thug while heading to work in Vijerte…]

Click.

[…The Deputy Minister of the Magic Tower met with representatives from the Abas delegation. The two sides reportedly had a pleasant atmosphere, yet dodged questions from journalists about the meeting’s topic….]

Thud.

I turned off the TV and lay back on the sofa, closing my eyes.

“…Same old news.”

Nothing unusual today either.

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

As I’ve said multiple times, the Information Agency is a state institution.

Like any other government agency, the work of the Information Agency progresses according to a set schedule, and the first order of the day is the morning meeting.

During this meeting, we share the intelligence reports that came in overnight, determine the direction of operations under the officer’s judgment, negotiate the specifics among team members, and communicate any notes or precautions. Almost every information agent begins their morning this way.

And,

The 73rd Task Force,

A project-based operative unit,

Or task force.

We are no exception.

“Manager, are you awake?”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Ah, you’re here? Was there anything unusual last night?”

In a tranquil hotel dining room, Pippin and Jake, who had arrived at some point while I was eating breakfast, sat down with their plates.

“Yes, thankfully there were no issues.”

“Good. Let’s start the report.”

Thus, the morning meeting commenced.

*

“We received a communiqué from headquarters this morning stating that they failed to grasp the movements of the Empire side. The branch made some efforts, but specific details have not yet come in.”

Apparently, the Military Intelligence Agency could not track the movements of the imperial army. More precisely, they had failed to identify the affiliation of the operatives monitoring Fabio Verati’s youngest daughter.

The empire branch is renowned within the Military Intelligence Agency for its tough conditions, which means it’s typically staffed by elite intelligence officers and operatives, making this clearly an unusual situation.

Assuming the branch were operating correctly, that is.

“Well, things out there are not ideal…”

“Are they still struggling to fix the disrupted information network?”

“They say recovery is slow. One staff member went missing, and with the pre-emptive inspections underway, everyone is on edge.”

In recent years, the overseas division of the Military Intelligence Agency’s imperial branch has not yielded any results. The entire branch has been decimated by the empire’s counter-intelligence operations, as well as counter-measures.

Such phenomena are common occurrences in the global arena, especially faced by Western intelligence agencies infiltrating former communist states like China, Russia, North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran that devote major efforts to counter-intelligence.

Starting with basic surveillance to threats of kidnapping and murder, nonsensical calls in foreign tongues, delivery of animal carcasses, and so forth. If the pressure escalates, they hit you where it hurts by digging into your family’s personal history. In extreme cases, they might even engineer accidents or assassinate or abduct intelligence operatives or their affiliates.

There are countless variations beyond that.

From instigating fights leading to police involvement, to blackmailing by photographing someone in bed with a woman (usually a hired informant), to piling enormous debts which mobsters can then use to threaten the individual.

Such things are commonplace for Military Intelligence Agency staff infiltrating the Empire. Those who could not bear it have all left, and those who survived have either crossed the Jordan River long ago or been dragged off to prison. Or maybe they are long-term patients in a hospital.

“So there’s no way to know who’s tracking Subject 51?”

“Correct.”

Hmm. This issue is too big for me to handle. It’s something the higher-ups need to resolve, not me.

Holding onto it would only add unnecessary worries, so I decided to leave this matter to headquarters.

“Let’s stop talking about this. The headquarters will take care of it. Is there anything else?”

“It appears the Magic Tower Police no longer suspect us. The consulate crafted a scenario that depicted your schedule as monitoring hot zones that day, and with the testimony from foreign police stating you visited due to the Saint’s medical services, they are treating it as mere coincidence. Apparently, the focus is shifting towards murder during a robbery or kidnapping as planned.”

“Good. How’s the status of Subject 51’s relatives?”

“They are in good health. Nutritional status is normal. However, hygiene is an issue.”

“Isn’t there a place for them to shower?”

“No way. It’s a derelict factory.”

Hmm. I kidnapped them to use as leverage, but if the hostage appears disheveled, it might push Fabio Verati’s emotions in a more dramatic direction, but if the hostage’s health deteriorates, that’s another problem.

“Are there any female employees among the staff? Or any magical tools to clean them up?”

“Such expensive items?… There is a female staff member in the intelligence gathering team; should I send her?”

“…No. Just leave it as it is. We’ll be starting operations soon; let’s not complicate things unnecessarily.”

“Sure. When shall we schedule the interview with Subject 51?”

“Let’s set it after the alchemist’s preventive measures.”

After that, we continued our breakfast while discussing various topics.

The movements of the Magic Tower police and counter-intelligence agencies, affairs concerning the Patalian National Security Agency, the situation in the empire undergoing preemptive inspections, communiqués from the Military Intelligence Agency, and documents passed on from related agencies, among others.

We also talked about Camila and Lucia.

“The hero and the saint are looking for a book.”

“Can’t they just request it from the Magic Tower?”

“Actually, we looked into it, but since it’s an old publication, we couldn’t find anything to send even after checking the entire library. All were too worn out or borrowed by someone, or lost.”

“What’s the title? We should head to a used bookstore.”

Then, just as breakfast was nearly finished, a slightly different topic came up.

“Oh, right. The preventive schedule you mentioned was set this morning.”

“Preventive?”

“The alchemist.”

Francesca Ranieri.

The meeting with the alchemist has finally been scheduled.

“It’s set for next Friday at lunchtime. The schedule is tentatively fixed, but there are still coordination tasks pending, so it could be postponed if things go sideways.”

“Ah, security and protocol issues?”

“Yes.”

*

Although the meeting with the alchemist has been scheduled, that doesn’t mean I can meet her right away. There are mountains of issues that need to be resolved.

The most significant problem is with security and protocol.

The Magic Tower is treating Camila, Lucia, and me as state guests, and likewise, Francesca Ranieri is a significant figure at the Magic Tower, so we must make sure to attend to both security and protocol.

Moreover, protests were currently underway at the Magic Tower.

Various groups centered around extremist factions were holding anti-government protests against the Magic Tower (although not recognized by the international community, from a wizard’s point of view, the Magic Tower is a state), and with a critical event taking place where guests and outsiders would meet amid an unstable political climate, it’s imperative to be cautious regarding the meeting place and security. Especially since Lucia is from a cult.

However, the real trouble arose from the political aspect.

The relationship between the cult and the Magic Tower is at an all-time low, and even though Lucia may have entered as an individual despite her status as a saint, the rift from centuries of feelings runs far too deep. Moreover, in a harsh international landscape, the Magic Tower has been bombarded by the joint onslaught of the cult and the empire without any significant allies to support them.

What would happen if, at an official event hosted by the Magic Tower, Lucia were to be treated as a state guest?

It doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out. If treated as a state guest, they would undoubtedly face a backlash from internal voters, and not treating her as such would undoubtedly spark rumors in diplomatic circles.

As a result, the cult and the empire would dance like mad dogs on the international stage, and the government, having to bear the political burden of mistreating a saint who offered concessions despite domestic backlash, wouldn’t have an easy time either, making the Magic Tower vulnerable to yet more international criticism, subsequently causing the protesters to stir up enough to execute the Oracle committee members on the spot. There are no voters who enjoy a government being beaten around while not speaking up against hostile nations.

In short, it’s a deadlock.

Either way, it results in a complete mess. No matter what I do, it leads to a politically foolish outcome.

This was the result of playing in a game designed by the cult, and ultimately, someone had to take the reins and resolve this situation.

Sadly, that someone turned out to be me.

“The position of the Magic Tower is quite delicate. Don’t you think?”

I called the cult representative while pretending to be the Defense Attaché.

“Hmm… This feels a bit too much like a joke…. ”

“Are you saying this has been a joke all along?”

“Well, not exactly a joke… More like we’ve been playfully stroking it? ”

To Veronica.

“Seriously… With just a couple more playful strokes, the government would have been overthrown.”

“Who cares? There’s no intelligence agency here, so it’s the perfect place for some jokes.”

“Is that really the sort of thing you should be saying?”

I retorted her blunt remarks with irritation.

Veronica is my informant, a saint who can be involved in the politics of the cult, and as a lobbyist active in the international community, she’s really the only person who can help me resolve this matter right now. To be precise, there’s no one else I could ask for assistance.

Veronica, as if she understood this, responded with a tone full of mirth over the phone.

“Why are you calling me so early in the morning just to say this? Did you really call just to talk about work?”

“Then what should we talk about?”

“How about ‘our’ Lucia…?”

Why did she have to say ‘our’ Lucia?

“…No, it’s, um, ha.”

“Can’t I even joke around?”

I rubbed my face with my free hand in exasperation.

Thanks to the culture’s antics, the schedule was completely derailed. The embarrassing situation caused by the Magic Tower on the international stage led to protests, and the Magic Tower’s already precarious position became even more so.

The line of blame primarily lies with the Imperial Guard HQ, which mishandled personnel management, provoking the Magic Tower into a position of independence, but in politics and business, one concerning results instead of processes.

“In other words, the victim ends up being the fool. Results are what truly matter, after all, right?”

And since international society essentially lives in the political arena, there’s no pity for the Magic Tower being stripped on the international stage.

Those who failed to respond only have themselves to blame, as Veronica said.

I approached my communication device and told Veronica,

“Given everything, isn’t it about time to wrap this up? Honestly, you’ve played enough, haven’t you? What on earth is going on? I haven’t even seen the faces of those whom I’ll be working with for over a week.”

“Hmm… Actually, there’s quite a bit of chatter within the cult. They’re questioning whether we’re being too hard on the Magic Tower. Moreover, the empire’s internal sentiment is also concerned that the Magic Tower might lose support along the borders due to this incident.”

“……”

“Honestly, people are keeping an eye on other countries too. Both the cult and the empire have political stances to uphold….”

In short, both the cult and the empire were starting to get worried. More precisely, they were getting nervous about the sentiment from the higher-ups regarding this incident.

I mentally calculated while considering everyone’s positions, and conveyed what our foreign ministry had said to Veronica.

“Why don’t we just bend our little pride this time? You’ve milked this situation dry.”

“Is that implying I’m the one who caused trouble for the Magic Tower?”

“Aren’t you a saint?”

I could hear Veronica’s laughter over the phone.

With the upper hand clearly in her favor, Veronica maintained a haughty attitude towards me throughout the conversation.

However, the urgent one here is me, not her.

“I’m begging you. Please.”

“What will you give me in return?”

“What do you want?”

“Hmm… Well, let’s see?”

Veronica trailed off ambiguously, teasing me like a clown who offers candy to a child and then snatches it away.

Despite still being in her debt, she didn’t cross the line but instead dangled just outside of it to torment me.

Having dealt with the chaos between the cult and the Magic Tower, her panic was nowhere to be found at this moment, instead clad in a relaxed demeanor that was all too familiar to her.

She had certainly surpassed the eccentricities experienced during my little over a decade working at the Intelligence Agency.

“Well, okay. I’ll help you out due to my younger sibling and my debt.”

“Your sibling…?”

“I know a younger sibling who’s close to the Magic Tower. Anyway, I’ll try to persuade the National Affairs Council to smoothen the protocol as much as possible. However, you must ensure security is on point. Understood?”

“Of course, that’s a given.”

“I’ll call you tonight to discuss further progress and details. Does that work for you?”

“…Just don’t call me in the early morning like last time.”

While it’s unlikely that someone like the Imperial Guard HQ would invade the conference room and cause disturbances, since it would be an informant’s request, I decided to agree.

So, after making arrangements for a later call in the evening, I finally ended the call.

I wiped my face, which felt sticky with either cold sweat or something indistinguishable. It felt as if I aged ten years in an instant.

“…Huff.”

Having dealt with one idiot, it was now time to confront another.

“……”

– “Yes, this is journalist Sofia from the international department.”

“Where are you?”

– “Merlo? What’s going on that you’re calling so often?”

“Let’s meet up for a bit.”