NOVEL WEB Chapter 99
Rochelar Mining Company Kien Empire Branch Security Officer,
Esilu Motors Kien Empire Market Evaluator,
Port Security Chief of Tuhermina Shipping Kien Empire Branch,
Resident Officer of the Kingdom of Abas Consulate General in Kien Empire,
Information Manager of the Defense Attaché Office in the Kingdom of Abas Embassy in Kien Empire,
Or the 401st Brigade Commander of the Abas Ministry of Defense, Chief of Overseas Operations at the Military Intelligence Agency Kien Empire Branch.
Leoni has held an innumerable array of positions, but right now she has just one title pointing to her.
“It’s been a while, Director.”
“What’s with the pleasantries?”
Director of the National Operations Division, Royal Intelligence Department, Leoni.
I met an old superior who had become a policy maker in a national intelligence agency at the Magic Tower.
She was sitting in the backseat of a van, looking utterly exhausted.
“You sure look radiant.”
“Is that an insult or a compliment?”
“Take it whichever way you like. So, what brings you to the Magic Tower? You aren’t thinking about returning to the field, are you?”
I didn’t know what a Royal Intelligence Department director actually did, but I figured it was pretty obvious.
Document approvals, and policy-making.
Technically part of the staff, but not the kind to roll around in the field.
Leoni stared at me with a face that looked a decade older.
“Do I look like someone who would go back into fieldwork at my age?”
“You still seem pretty spry.”
“At this age, they wouldn’t even ask me to go to the field, let alone call me back.”
The seasoned operative gazed out the window. The heavily tinted glass seemed to sever the world from the van like a magic mirror.
The glass partitioning the world looked like it cast a dark shadow, and there seemed to be a shadow cast on her reflection too.
Perhaps intoxicated by the atmosphere, or perhaps lost in the passage of time,
Leoni fell into silence for a while, before suddenly speaking up.
“I heard you got shot?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Is there really any secret in this world?”
Leoni smoothly diverted the conversation, concealing her sources. I didn’t pry further.
In this world, there were no secrets.
“Why are you here? You didn’t come just to offer me a job, did you?”
“Is it odd for someone my age to be looking for new opportunities?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Leoni continued, her gaze still fixed out the window.
“I just came out for a brief field inspection. A promotion is just around the corner, and there’s a lot to do.”
A promotion from director.
I nodded and offered my congratulations.
“Are you moving up to Chief? Congratulations, Director.”
“It’s not anything you’d be particularly thrilled about.”
“……”
I didn’t feel the need to respond to such idle chatter. Leoni wouldn’t have called me just to share this silly news. If she had, I would have felt a little offended.
As I pondered this, Leoni still staring blankly out the window, pulled something out from her coat.
“What’s that?”
“A gift.”