I’m an Immigration Officer!

The shock and horror didn’t last long.

As an immigration officer, panic is a luxury we can’t afford.
We are the first line of defense, the face of the nation, and we must maintain composure in any situation.
“Ahem, ahem!”

After taking exactly two seconds to fix my expression, I spoke as if I had been expecting her all along.
“Greetings, Saintess. It is truly an honor to behold your esteemed presence in person. The journey must have been long — I hope the fatigue hasn’t weighed too heavily on you.”
Of course, my inner thoughts were a completely different story.

'Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!'
Behind my polite smile, I was screaming silently.
Oh, dear God.

What the hell is this?
Why is the Saintess standing right in front of me?
'This isn’t how it’s supposed to go!'

When a VIP or a noble arrives at the border, there’s a standard protocol.
They don’t wait in line with the commoners. They are escorted directly to the inspector or even given a group inspection with their entourage to expedite the process.
While the inspection itself can’t be skipped, every other possible convenience is extended to them.

'At the very least, that’s the proper treatment for a VIP.'
They expect such preferential treatment and are accustomed to it. Normally, they send a representative ahead to announce their arrival and show up leisurely — usually at least an hour later than scheduled.
Annoying as it may be, that kind of tardiness is a show of power.

Frankly, it’s more convenient for us, too.
The Saintess should’ve done the same. Her status is far higher than any state guest.
She’s practically the embodiment of the Holy Order itself.
But instead...

“Hahaha, not at all. Our brothers and sisters in the north are waiting for us, so there was no time to dawdle.”
Then why the hell are you standing right in front of me?
“…I see. That’s a most admirable sense of duty.”

Maintaining my strained smile, I looked past the Saintess to the Holy Knights standing behind her.
“With the Holy Knights protecting the pilgrimage, I assume the journey was peaceful. I hope your stay in the Kingdom of Crossroads will be just as tranquil.”
A pleasant, congratulatory remark acknowledging their hard work.

Of course, the underlying message was different.
'You guys know the protocol. What the hell happened?'
What were you doing while she bulldozed her way to the front of the line? Didn’t you even try to stop her?

My eyes, still smiling, were clearly saying,
'You’re making things really difficult for us right now. You know that, right?'
In response, a middle-aged knight with a scar over one eye spoke in a low voice.
“We merely followed the will of the Lord.”

His tone was formal and stiff.
But his expression said everything.
'What the hell do you expect us to do?'

It was the same expression I made whenever the Minister chewed me out.
Exhaustion, humiliation, and resignation.
Ah.

Right.
These guys were just following orders too, weren’t they?
The anger I felt quickly dissipated. Yeah, I get it.

When your superior decides to do something, you can’t exactly oppose them. The best you can do is pray nothing goes wrong.
Clearly, they had tried to dissuade her, but the stubborn Saintess dragged them all to the front of the line.
Misery loves company.

The plight of those caught in the middle is always the same.
'Hang in there.'
'Thanks. We tried. We really did.'
I nodded slightly to show I understood, and the knight bowed his head in a silent apology.

In that brief moment, we forged an inexplicable bond as fellow sufferers in this bureaucratic hell.
But then, the Saintess opened her mouth.
“It’s my first time being inspected at the Crossroads Kingdom. I’m so nervous. What if I say something wrong?”
“A-Ah, no need to worry.”

I barely managed to stammer out a response as reality crashed down on me.
The Saintess was still an applicant seeking entry into our kingdom.
All applicants must undergo inspection. No exceptions.

Race, status, gender, age, origin, ideology — none of it matters.
The absolute rule of the Immigration Office must be upheld.
And who is the one who enforces that rule?

The immigration inspector.
And who is the inspector standing right in front of her right now?
Who else but me.

'...Damn it.'
Grimly accepting my fate, I spoke.
“I-I apologize, Saintess. Could you give me a moment?”

I needed to take a deep breath.
Starting off by inspecting the biggest, most untouchable figure in the entire pilgrimage was not good for my heart.
I needed to prepare myself.

And it wasn’t just her.
“Oooh! The Saintess herself is gracing us with her presence!”
“Who the hell is that guy standing up to the Saintess?”
“Why is he blocking our way at the border? Is he a heretic?”
“A heretic?! A heretic, you say?! Where?! Show me!”
Behind the Saintess, dozens of fanatical devotees glared at me with eyes brimming with religious fervor — no, insanity.

If I said the wrong thing now, it wouldn’t just be a diplomatic incident. They’d drag me away by the hair and beat me to death.
In situations like this, there was only one thing a Southern Border Chief Inspector could do.
“Smell Master. This officer has some urgent business to attend to. Can you handle things here for a moment?”

Offer up a sacrificial lamb.
Sorry, Smell Master.
But if I die here, it’s bad for the Immigration Office.

So, please, for the sake of the greater good, take one for the team.
But the reliable werewolf who should’ve been by my side was nowhere to be seen.
“…Smell Master?”

Instead, a familiar voice echoed from afar.
“Alright, step right up! Form a line! We’ll get you through quickly!”
That damned wolf was already far away, organizing a new line and starting the inspection.

How long has the gate been open? And he’s already set up a new line?!
“Smell Master! I just need a quick wo—”
“Pilgrims to the right! Regular entrants to the left! Move along! The Smell Master is on the job!”
That bastard. He’s pretending not to hear me, doing everything he can to avoid getting dragged into this.

'Damn it. That wolf’s instincts are too sharp.'
But individual inspections aren’t a one-man job.
'Good thing I’ve got another card up my sleeve.'

I still had one more ace.
A veteran, experienced, unshakeable rock of a partner.
The pride of the Southern Border. My trusted right hand.

An elf with breathtaking beauty and unrivaled skills.
“Hearing Master. If it’s you, I can trust you to—”
“Oh my, you’re from the Mahallan Kingdom? Their bread made from flour is absolutely delicious~.”
The 500-year-old alcoholic elf was already on the other side of the gate, charming the crowd while stamping entry permits with uncanny speed.

It felt like both my arms had just been ripped off.
She was acting completely oblivious, her back firmly turned to me as she busied herself.
“I can hear you. Don’t pretend you can’t.”
“Ohhohoho~ Yes, indeed! Elves love bread, too!”
“You, pointy ears!”
“Next, please~.”

She could hear a bird flapping its wings beyond the horizon, yet she was pretending not to hear me.
'You really can’t trust anyone in this world...'
So this is how they repay me after all I’ve done for them?

My father was right.
In this world, there are no permanent allies.
“Oh, it seems like everyone else has already started...”

The Saintess looked around and said with a sweet, dangerous smile.
— Scrrreeech.
Before she even finished speaking, the assistants scattered like cockroaches, leaving only me and my direct aide standing in front of the Saintess.

“Well then, shall we begin, Inspector?”
With a dazzling smile, she chose me as her target.
'Ah. I want to go home.'

Why is my house the only thing on my mind today?
Swearing revenge against those two traitors, I forced my lips into a smile.
“…Yes. Sorry for the wait. This way, please.”

In the end, the biggest problem fell squarely on my shoulders.
 
****

“Phew, alright. We’re almost done.”
At the man’s words, Erjena turned her gaze to the hourglass resting on the table.
The sand hadn’t even reached the halfway point yet.

— “Please state your name, place of origin, and purpose of entry. You have five minutes.”
The questions were purely formal. Boringly so.
There were no follow-up questions or signs of suspicion.

'As it should be.'
All the necessary information must have already been sent in advance through the envoy.
Now, he would just cross-check the personal information with the records, and if there were no discrepancies, he would proceed with a simple inspection of her belongings before letting her through.

Besides, who in their right mind would question the Saintess herself?
'Still, it was quite the entertaining sight.'
Erjena tapped her fingertips on the table as she watched the man scanning through the documents.

“Let’s see… Er… Erje… Ah, here it is.”
Slight dark circles beneath his eyes suggested he was tired.
His black eyes moved mechanically from side to side as he read the text.

Soft hands without a single callus — clearly someone who had never practiced martial arts.
A moderately handsome face, appearing to be around her age.
His expression when the gates first opened was priceless.

In just two seconds, he had run through shock, horror, despair, resignation, and acceptance in record time.
She couldn’t help but laugh at the vividness of his honest reaction.
It had been a long time since she’d seen such raw emotion on someone’s face.

'He looked at me as if he had seen a ghost.'
It wasn’t the usual reverence, jealousy, or uneasy awe. It was a pure, unfiltered expression of a man caught off guard.
Because of that, Erjena was in an unexpectedly good mood.

Watching him struggle so desperately to avoid dealing with her was amusing.
He acted as if she were a vial of deadly poison — one wrong move, and he’d drop dead.
Compared to Moahim, who was always deadly serious, the Holy Knights, who treated her with utmost formality, and the ordinary believers, who considered it a blessing just to speak to her, this kind of treatment was refreshingly exhilarating.

Maybe that’s why Erjena found herself staring at Nadin with a gaze tinged with curiosity and suspicion.
'Could this man be the Chief Inspector?'
She wasn’t sure.

According to Moahim, the Chief Inspector was the youngest person ever to reach the top rank of inspector. But earlier, she had seen a young girl heading to the cargo inspection area who looked much younger.
'If we’re talking about the youngest, it must be that girl they called the Taste Master.'
But then again, it didn’t add up.

If someone was going to inspect the Saintess herself, it would only be appropriate for the highest-ranking inspector to handle it. That’s standard protocol.
Which meant that the man in front of her was, in fact, the highest-ranking inspector at this Southern Border Office.
Or, at the very least, the highest-ranking inspector present right now.

But if that were the case, then he couldn’t be the youngest.
The contradiction made Erjena frown.
'Should I just ask him outright?'

There was still time left.
And the inspector had already finished his questions.
Now was the perfect moment to slip in a casual question.

She opened her mouth, the words “Are you the Chief Inspector?” dancing on the tip of her tongue.
But then, she remembered her conversation with Moahim from yesterday.
'Saintess. Don’t forget, the reason we’re visiting the Kingdom of Crossroads isn’t to verify the Talent Manifestation rumors.'
'But what if we just check it in passing?'
'No. You can verify the rumors later, after the northern expedition. For now, focus on the main objective.'
'But what if, by pure chance, I happen to meet the Chief Inspector? Would it be okay to ask then?'
'Haaah… Fine. If, by some miraculous coincidence, you happen to meet him, then… once. Just once.'

The pilgrimage’s objective was the northern expedition.
Verifying the rumor about the Chief Inspector being a Talent Manifestation holder was purely Erjena’s personal interest.
If she started digging into that now and raised unnecessary suspicions, the Holy Order’s true objective — purging the Evil God Cult — could be exposed.

'Moahim’s right. Let’s just wait until after the expedition is over. There will be plenty of time then.'
It was disappointing, but Erjena decided to hold herself back.
After all, once the holy mission was complete, no one would be able to stop her.

Finally, the inspector finished filling out the documents and ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ spoke.
“Erjena Selaf.”
“Yes.”
“Your statement and identity verification have been confirmed. Therefore, based on my judgment, there are no grounds for denying your entry.”
They were now reaching the final stage of the entry process.

A slight smile formed on the inspector’s face.
It was the subtle relief of a man who was about to free himself from a nightmare.
Seeing that, Erjena couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

'How cute.'
No matter how much he tried to hide it, it was written all over his face.
With a firm stamp, he said:

“Welcome to the Kingdom of Crossroads.”
— Thunk.
But something was wrong.

Even though he had stamped the document, the word [ENTRY APPROVED] didn’t appear.
“Huh?”
The inspector tilted his head in confusion, checked the stamp, and said,

“Oh, damn. My apologies. The ink on the entry stamp has completely dried out.”
“It’s fine. There’s still time.”
Erjena said nonchalantly, then turned to look at Moahim.
'I kept my promise.'
'Yes. Well done. Let’s keep it that way.'

They exchanged thumbs up.
Everything was going smoothly.
No problems whatsoever.

“Thank you for your patience. We’ll resolve it immediately. Assistant?”
At the inspector’s call, the assistant rushed over.
“Yes! I’ll fetch a new one right away, Chief Inspector!”

Chief Inspector.
Erjena’s head snapped around.
Moahim, too, flinched and stepped forward.

“Chief Inspector?”
“You… You’re the Chief Inspector?”
For the first time, the Saintess’s voice rose in pitch.
She barely managed to keep the grin off her face.

Inside, she screamed.
'Found you!'
And Moahim?

'Oh, no.'
It felt like the sky had fallen on him.