I’m an Immigration Officer!

For the past three days, I’d only done three things.

First, stayed up all night with my eyes wide open.
Second, ate and got indigestion.
Third, sighed deeply as if the ground would cave in.

"More accurately, that’s all I could do."
Ever since I realized what I’d done, those three things were the only things I was capable of doing.
And on the morning of the fourth day, I let out my 297th sigh right in front of the main gate of the Southern Border Immigration Office.

"Sigh…"
Despite everything, the suffocating feeling wouldn’t go away.
Four days since the denial of entry.

And yet, nothing much had changed in my daily life as an Immigration Officer.
— Bang!
"Good morning, everyone!"

If there was one thing that had changed...
"Chief Inspector, you’re here!"
"A fair and just morning to you, sir!"
"A border without exceptions!"
It was that every single staff member in the Immigration Office was now looking at me with eyes brimming with admiration.

Usually, they just looked at me as their superior. Now, they were practically oozing reverence.
Not even when they received their paychecks did they look at me like this.
Despite having worked overtime for nine straight days without a single break, they were all moving with alarming enthusiasm.

"Since when was our Immigration Office ever this lively?"
The atmosphere in the office was completely opposite to how I was feeling.
They even went as far as to change their greetings amongst themselves.
"A border without exceptions!"
"Oh, Chief Inspector! A border without exceptions!"

From every direction, that same damn line echoed towards me.
"…Good morning."
I was too exhausted to tell them to stop, so I just accepted it.

— There are no exceptions at the border.
The words I’d shouted like a declaration to the pilgrimage group — no, to the Crusade Army.
"Why the hell are they using that as a greeting now?"

Apparently, those words had left a hell of an impression. I was hearing it everywhere now.
But those very words were what made me feel like I was going to die.
After wading through countless shouts of "A border without exceptions," I finally slumped into my chair and let out my 298th sigh.

"Sigh… What the hell do I do now…"
The denial of entry for the Crusade Army.
My choice to uphold the law even against the Pope’s proposition.

There was no other way to put it — I had lost my damn mind.
Who else in this world would have the guts to refuse a direct request from the leader of the continent’s largest religious order?
I didn’t regret saying those words.

If I ever stood before the Visual Inspector, at least I wouldn’t feel ashamed.
But the aftermath that was sure to follow… that terrified me.
Even now, I could vividly remember the last words the Pope said as he tried to calm the infuriated Crusade Army.

— "Do not worry, my sons. This too shall soon disappear."
"Disappear."
There was no need to explain what — or who — he meant by that.

The moment the Pope’s proposition was rejected, he didn’t even glance at me again.
Without a word, he turned away with Mohaim and led the Crusade Army back to their encampment.
That was a clear signal.

He wasn’t going to negotiate.
From a diplomatic perspective, it was a disaster.
"Damn it. This is clearly a grave mistake. If they press for accountability, I won’t be able to escape."

For the thousandth time in three days, I went through the same cycle of worry.
I was fiddling absentmindedly with some useless paperwork when the five inspectors approached me.
"Chief Inspector."
"If any of you greet me with that goddamn line, I’ll send you all to retraining."

Please, at least you guys. Don’t do this to me.
"— A border withou—"
The Gustatory Inspector, who had just opened his mouth, immediately froze.

"B-Border… Ugh… H-Hey, the weather’s nice today, huh?"
The outside was shrouded in thick fog.
I decided to let it slide, considering the effort.

The Olfactory Inspector spoke up next.
"Did you get any rest?"
"I took a nap in the conference room, so I’m fine."
That was a lie. I hadn’t slept a wink.

I felt like I was going to die.
The Olfactory Inspector looked at me with a face that clearly said, "You’ve got to be kidding me."
"…Why don’t you get some sleep? We can handle things for a bit."
"What’s with you, Olfactory Inspector? That doesn’t suit you."
"You look terrible."
"What… what do you mean by that?"

The Tactile Inspector handed me a mirror.
"Honestly, sir… you look less like a Chief Inspector and more like a zombie right now."
In the mirror was a ghastly ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) figure with bloodshot eyes and a scraggly, unshaven face.

"Ugh."
Since I’d only been washing with water, my hair was dry and unkempt, and my complexion was sallow from all the indigestion.
I pushed the mirror away.

"I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with me."
That was a lie.
There was too much wrong with me. So much that I felt like I was being crushed under it all.

"I’m fine, so just get back to your posts and—"
"You’ll be dead before we even hear back from the capital," the Auditory Inspector said bluntly.
I closed my mouth.
"…I’m sorry. Because of me, you’re all in a tough spot now."
"Yeah, a bit. You’ve been walking around like a corpse for days."

They spoke as if nothing were wrong, as if this situation was perfectly normal.
It pissed me off.
"Aren’t you all worried? About what’s going to happen next?"

They were innocent.
Of course they were.
Everything that happened was purely my doing.

They didn’t have the time or opportunity to stop me.
None of this was their fault. Not a single thing.
But the world wouldn’t see it that way.

They were my direct subordinates, and the word "direct" carried a lot of weight.
If I fell, they’d all fall too.
If I died, they’d all go down with me.

The Olfactory Inspector shrugged.
"Honestly? I’m scared. I have no idea what’s going to happen now."
The others chimed in.

"If it’s been four days, the capital’s already heard about it."
"It’s over, really."
"All because we got stuck with the worst boss ever."
Every word stung like a knife.
But then the Olfactory Inspector said something unexpected.

"But that day… you didn’t compromise, sir. Unlike Gerard."
"Olfactory Inspector…"
I stared at him, stunned.
For him to bring up Gerard…

Before becoming my subordinate, he was one of Gerard’s men.
Though he hadn’t directly participated in any corruption, he still got his hands dirty.
That man was now looking at me with a faint, sincere smile.

"You were a role model, sir."
There was no mockery in his expression.
Behind him, the other inspectors nodded in agreement.

I felt strange.
Shouldn’t they be cursing me right now?
Shouldn’t they be furious at me for dragging them into this unprecedented disaster?

But instead of worrying about the storm ahead, they were… praising me.
For doing the right thing.
I felt strange.

Really, really strange.
So all I could say was,
"…Thank you."
"Yes, sir."

At that moment, my personal aide approached from a distance.
"Chief Inspector. How are you doing?"
Before the awkward silence could stretch any further, I turned to greet him.

"Oh, good morning."
You’re the first aide today who didn’t greet me with that awful line.
As expected of my personal aide.

But he wasn’t smiling.
Instead, he handed me a crystal orb.
"…The Minister of Foreign Affairs is requesting your presence, sir."

It’s here.
 
****

— "I’ve heard the news."
The first thing the minister said was curt and to the point.
But his expression was anything but calm.

— "What the hell is this mess? You’re supposed to be the Chief Inspector of the Southern Border!"
The conversation started with a jab at my appearance.
He wasn’t wrong.

I had tried to clean up as best as I could before the meeting, but there was no hiding how utterly exhausted I looked.
— "I… I was so worried about what’s to come that I couldn’t really take care of myself properly."
— "If you were so worried, you damn fool, why the hell did you—"
The minister caught himself, taking a deep breath to calm down.

— "Let me ask you one thing. Why did you do it?"
A simple, direct question.
— "Why did you deny entry? Give me a reason. Was it really such a grave matter that you had to go against my orders?"

I had expected accusations, anger, and rebuke. But instead, the minister asked the question calmly and evenly.
"If I tell him the truth, will he believe me?"
The supposed pilgrims were actually a Crusade Army.

Who in their right mind would believe that?
Even I had doubted it a thousand times before reaching my conclusion.
Moreover, judging by his serious expression, something must have already happened behind the scenes.

I had no choice.
I decided to take a gamble and lay all my cards on the table.
— "They weren’t pilgrims."
— "What?"
— "The pilgrimage was a lie. They were a Crusade Army, transporting Holy Knights and weapons for the Holy Order."
— "Then… what about all those people?"
— "Ordinary citizens gathered as a cover. They were there to maintain the appearance of a pilgrimage, to justify the Holy Knights’ presence."

I laid all my cards on the table.
I exposed the truth without holding anything back.
And the minister’s reaction was far beyond anything I had expected.

— "Goddammit… so that’s why the queen insisted on attending the Council meeting."
— "The queen? What does the queen have to do with this?"
— "You didn’t know? She’s a devout follower of the Holy Order. If the Pope told her to, she’d jump off a cliff without question."
The minister clicked his tongue, a bitter sneer twisting his lips.
— "And yesterday, there was a Council meeting. The Foreign Minister, Intelligence Director, Immigration Director, Inspector General, and the Interior Ministry officials — all of them were there."

A list of the most powerful people in the kingdom, one after another.
The minister pulled out an elegant letter from a drawer and placed it on the table.
— "And during that meeting, your actions were the main topic. Alongside a protest letter sent by the Holy Order."

A protest letter.
The moment I saw it, I understood the Pope’s words.
"He’s trying to erase me from existence."

— "Insulting the Pope and the Holy Order. Unjustly denying entry to a peaceful pilgrimage group."
The minister threw the letter down.
— "The queen was screaming for your immediate execution. She was foaming at the mouth."
— "…"

The alliance between the Pope and the queen.
It was so absurd that I couldn’t even respond.
— "If that were true, you’d already be dead. Executed by the Inspector General. You know that, right?"
— "…Yes."

In a world ruled by power and influence, there is no justice.
If you’re a hindrance, you’re erased.
If you’re useful, you’re exploited.

I bowed my head, feeling the crushing weight of reality.
But then the minister said something that made me lift my head again.
— "But Hailyn… she stood up for you."
— "What? H-Hailyn? The Director of Immigration?"

Hailyn Metaharashin.
Director of Immigration of the Kingdom of Crossroads.
The very woman who hired me for this position.

— "She’s a hell of a woman. She stood in front of the queen and the Inspector General and said you’d never do such a thing."
She… defended me.
My chest tightened painfully.

She still cares about me.
— "Thanks to her, instead of immediate execution, you’ll stand trial in the capital once the pilgrimage ends."
Behind me, I heard the five inspectors exhale in relief.

But the minister’s words still carried a dark undertone.
— "…But in the end, it’ll still end in execution, right? My words mean nothing compared to the Pope’s."
— "Hah."
The minister snorted as if I had said something stupid.

— "Yes, the punishment for an Immigration Officer is execution. But that’s only for a clear, irrefutable mistake."
He pointed a finger at me.
— "Did you break any regulations?"
— "No."
— "Did you insult the Pope or the Crusaders in front of everyone?"
— "No."
— "Did you make a decision based on personal feelings instead of the law?"
— "No."

The minister slammed his fist against the table.
— "Then why the hell are you sitting there like a beaten dog?!"
His booming voice echoed through the conference room.

The five inspectors turned pale at the sight of the minister’s furious outburst.
— "Did Hailyn teach you to just shut up and wait to die when you’ve done nothing wrong?"
— "M-Minister?"
— "Those fanatics tried to bribe you and failed, and now they’re trying to pin it all on you! Why the hell aren’t you tearing them apart?! Why aren’t you screaming about how unfair this is?!"
His voice grew louder and angrier.

— "If you denied them entry according to regulations, then stand tall and proud, you idiot! Don’t let them steamroll you! Don’t you realize there are people who will believe you?!"
The words struck me like a bolt of lightning.
After his outburst, the minister began to cough violently, wiping the sweat from his brow.

After a moment, he caught his breath and spoke again.
— "We’re going to try and pull some strings. If we can gather the right witnesses, we might be able to get your sentence reduced to a stay of execution."
— "Minister… You’re going this far for me?"
— "But… there’s one thing we can’t prevent."
The minister cut me off and pulled out another letter — a far more extravagant, ornate envelope.

— "In three days, a royal decree will arrive. A command from His Majesty ordering the immediate entry of the pilgrimage group."
A royal decree.
Words that felt like a death sentence.

— "We couldn’t stop it. Be grateful we at least stopped your immediate execution. That’s the best we could do."
— "I… I understand."
— "Now all we can do is wait. Once the royal decree arrives, the border must reopen. If you refuse it… even we won’t be able to protect you then."
— "…Understood."
The minister closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.
— "What a goddamn mess. A religious order trying to control the state…"

With a muttered curse, he ran a hand down his face, as if trying to wipe away the exhaustion.
— "That’s it. You can go now."
The storm of his words subsided, leaving a ringing silence in the room.

I moved to deactivate the crystal orb, my mind still reeling, when the minister spoke again.
— "…Nathan."
He called me by my name.

— "Y-Yes?"
I was stunned.
The minister had never called me by my name before.

He had always addressed me as "Chief Inspector," never as "Nathan."
I was so shocked that I couldn’t move.
"What… What is he about to say now?"

The minister slowly removed his monocle.
The spot where the monocle had pressed against his skin was marked with deep, indented lines.
Those lines were the mark of a man who had spent years in his position — a testament to his service and experience.

And now, he was taking off that monocle in front of me.
That’s when I realized.
I was no longer talking to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I was talking to Karton Grayson.
In other words, what he was about to say was not an official statement.
Karton remained silent for a long time.

Then, finally, he spoke.
— "Public servants, especially those in positions like yours, are often faced with countless temptations. Some of those offers are simply impossible to refuse."
His words were no longer sharp.

Instead, they were calm, almost like a personal confession.
— "Offers that, if not accepted, could get you killed. Unjust, unreasonable offers. Countless public servants have caved in to such pressure, choosing to compromise rather than fight back."
He fell silent again.

His deep, tired eyes gazed at me intently.
— "You did well."
A short but powerful compliment.

For the first time —
In the five years that I had known him —
I saw pride flash in Karton’s eyes.

— "Keep moving forward. Don’t bend."
Something welled up inside me.
So, all I could manage to say was:

"…Thank you."
— "End of transmission."
The light in the crystal orb faded.
Silence engulfed the room.

"…"
My chest felt hot.
Burning.

I felt like my heart was going to burst.
Right.
I had forgotten.

The reason I became an Immigration Officer.
The reason I refused to compromise.
The reason I refused to bend to authority.

[As the Immigration Officer, do you swear to face the world and to show your truth to all those who come through this gate?]
I clenched my fists.
Bit my lip.

I couldn’t let myself cry in front of my subordinates.
Then, the Olfactory Inspector stepped forward.
"Chief Inspector."

He approached me, his expression as serious as I’d ever seen it.
It looked like he had made up his mind about something.
After a brief pause, he spoke.

"You should cry here."
What the hell?
Before I could respond, the Gustatory Inspector clenched his fist and raised it in the air.

"Yes! A border without exceptions!"
Hearing that, every aide in the room shouted in unison from the distance.
"A BORDER WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS!!!"

These crazy bastards.
"I told you not to say that!"
Despite myself, I burst into a dry, humorless laugh.

And with that laugh, the suffocating feeling that had been crushing me for the past three days finally began to lift.
The sense of impending doom that had weighed down on me felt lighter.
And in its place, something strong and burning began to fill me up.

Without a word, I clenched my fist and raised it high.
"…Everyone."
I didn’t know what that feeling was yet.

"You heard the minister. I’m in a pretty dangerous position right now. So…"
But people usually call it hope.
"Will you help me?"

Their response was immediate.
Ninety-six fists shot up into the air.
"YES!!!"

My life, extended by a mere few days.
Three days until the royal decree arrives.
Within that time, I had to find something.

Something that could completely turn the situation around.
Perfect evidence to use at the trial.
Or a powerful ally to stand by my side.

Something that could stop the entire pilgrimage group and the Pope’s scheme.
And I had just three days to find it.
 

****
"Hmm. Denial of entry, huh…"
A woman stood in a shabby alley, her violet eyes fixed on the posters plastered along the wall.

[Shock! Holy Order’s Pilgrimage Group Denied Entry!]
[Day 4 of Denial: Will the Border Reopen for the Pilgrimage?]
[Immigration Officers Refuse to Comment…]
She scratched her head in apparent annoyance.
"This is going to be a real pain. According to the contract, the abduction was supposed to happen after they passed through the northern border…"

But judging by the headlines, it was unclear when the border would reopen for the so-called pilgrimage group.
"If it takes too long, the client said they won’t give me the information."
She fell silent, lost in thought. Then, as if a light bulb had gone off, a sly grin spread across her lips.

"Oh, right. The contract said not to abduct them inside the Kingdom of Crossroads."
Meaning, as long as it was outside the border, anything was fair game.
Her violet eyes drifted slowly toward the southern border wall, beyond which the endless sea of tents belonging to the pilgrimage group stretched out.

"So, since they’re currently outside the Kingdom of Crossroads…"
If she executed the operation outside the border and then brought the target back into the kingdom, there would be no problem.
"Perfect."

Shahal, the Vice Master of Blackhand, smirked.
There was no reason to hesitate.