Ch.112Episode 6 – The Omniscient Spy’s Perspective

The smell of alcohol brought back old memories.

When I close my eyes, I see the funeral hall. The pitiful scent of incense rising from scattered ashes.

My mother crying her eyes out, my grandmother comforting her. My grandfather with his head bowed in silence. My father smiling brightly. A dark green soju bottle. An ashtray filled to the brim.

Occasional visitors don’t even sign the guest book before placing white envelopes in the condolence box. After bowing twice before the portrait, they scatter to exchange greetings with family members.

Too exhausted to cry out loud, I sit leaning against the wall, and passing men stroke my head with bitter expressions.

When sleep finally overtakes me after crying, I would look at the small badge clutched in my hand before closing my eyes.

When I close my eyes, I see the funeral hall. The pitiful scent of incense rising from scattered ashes.

When I fall asleep exhausted from crying, what appears on my retina is…

Always…

A small torch.

Episode 6 – Betrayer of the Revolution

The common point between alcohol and cigarettes is that they both harm the body.

Cigarettes damage the lungs and reduce pulmonary function, while alcohol ruins the liver and leaves you exhausted. Both alcohol and cigarettes even cause withdrawal symptoms. People with alcoholism shake like they have tremors, and those addicted to smoking live with constant headaches.

That’s why I don’t drink or smoke. More precisely, I quit. Twenty-eight years ago.

When I think about those days of shouting at the top of my lungs in the early morning and making pancakes on utility poles, shame suddenly washes over me, jolting me awake even from sleep. Especially cigarettes. I was fine normally, but during training, I’d quickly run out and sleazily ask colleagues or juniors to borrow “just one smoke.”

A junior officer’s salary wasn’t much, and smoking every day left me with nothing. Worse, the entire unit was full of chain smokers, so whenever we went on extended training, we’d all run out of cigarettes midway and become restless.

Watching people desperately searching for cigarettes was like observing a kingdom of beasts. Of course, I was one of those beasts too.

Looking back now, it was truly disgraceful behavior.

“So there’s nothing crazier than someone who both drinks and smokes. Spending money to ruin your health—what’s the point? And if you’re going to get drunk, do it gracefully. Why roll around in sandpits?”

As I was spouting these old-fashioned remarks, Veronica sitting across from me sniffled with a “sniff” sound.

I clattered the frying pan and clicked my tongue.

“See? That’s what happens when people smoke.”

“…It’s a cold.”

“You caught a cold from drinking and sleeping outside.”

“…Shut up.”

Her voice was meek, probably because she knew it was embarrassing. There was even a slight nasal tone to it.

Ignoring Veronica’s whining complaints, I transferred food from the frying pan to plates. Today’s breakfast menu was simple.

“Eat up.”

“What’s the menu?”

“Toast, pancakes, fried eggs, sausage, bacon…”

I briefly summarized today’s breakfast menu.

“Ah, whatever. Just think of it as army food and eat.”

It actually was army food. That’s what the morning military diet in this neighborhood was like, and I ate a lot of it when I was in the military. Although it wasn’t prepared by a cook or civilian kitchen staff, but made by ordering juniors around.

I scooped the remaining food from the frying pan onto a plate and sat down.

“Eat.”

“Aren’t you going to work?”

“After all this commotion, you expect me to go to work?”

For reference, I canceled all of today’s schedule. With the stitches on my gunshot wound having burst, why would I even think about going to work? Besides, Project 73 wasn’t so busy that operations would be paralyzed if I took a day off.

While taking a break was nice, it wasn’t particularly pleasant when it came at the cost of dealing with a drunk’s antics. So with a sullen expression, I stabbed a sausage with my fork, and Veronica asked in a whining voice:

“Why the long face?”

“Are you seriously asking that?”

“Heeeng…”

Her voice was so annoying I wanted to smack her.

“I didn’t call you just to drink, you know? Why are you being like this…”

“Stop whining and eat your food, Saint.”

Veronica ate her breakfast with a dejected expression. Though it was only her expression that seemed dejected. Just her expression.

Leaving the whimpering Veronica alone, I took out my burner phone and secure terminal to check the morning intelligence.

The first thing that caught my eye was intelligence from other branches.

[12 Kiyen Empire Reconnaissance Command agents entered Lushan Federation. Tracking failed.]

[5 suspected Reconnaissance Command male agents used Warp Gate at local time 0830. Destination unknown. Passport copies attached.]

[Unidentified cargo from Kiyen Empire en route to Magic Tower. Customs documents unavailable for verification.]

[Decrease in classified communications from Kiyen Empire delegation at Magic Tower. Wiretap data attached.]

Seems like the Empire folks are plotting something these days. However, I couldn’t be certain they were planning operations in the Magic Tower. There wasn’t enough intelligence.

I pressed buttons to check if any useful intelligence had come in.

Military cooperation trends, election trends and political analysis, ROC (Required Operational Capability) for military and police small arms procurement, newly developed military magic formulas, updated sea monster habitat locations, important international military and current affairs information, international terrorism trends, weekly activities of key Kiyen Empire figures, and so on.

There was certainly a lot of information, but none of it was what I needed. What do I care if other countries hold elections or not? Whether foreign militaries order new rifles or what new magic is developed—none of that mattered.

I alternated between checking my burner phone and secure terminal, looking for information I actually needed.

[Francesca Ranieri not staying at hotel. Presumed on duty at Secretariat.]

[Magic Tower Information Police lost track of Camilla Rowell during surveillance. Attempted wireless report to commander but no response.]

[Lucia out. Reason for outing is medical volunteer work. Escorted by Magic Tower Information Police and local security company. Details on activity area and security arrangements attached.]

The alchemist hadn’t come to the hotel because she was working overnight, and Lucia had left for the slums for medical volunteer work. Camilla went out but the Magic Tower police lost her. Idiots. How hard is it to tail one civilian?

“…Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and put down the burner phone and secure terminal. Sensing someone’s presence, I turned my head slightly to find Veronica right beside me, with bacon in her mouth, peering at the screen.

Chomp.

“What exactly are you looking at?”

“The terminal.”

“……”

My neck suddenly stiffened. I raised my hand high and brought it down on Veronica.

The blue sea and sky filling one side of the living room caught my eye.

The sky was high, and the horses were fattening.

It was autumn.

*

“I almost lost an eyeball!”

“You’re fine.”

After finishing breakfast cleanup, I sprawled out on the spacious sofa.

It wasn’t my home, but nominally it wasn’t Veronica’s either (it was under a borrowed name), so I didn’t need her permission.

I’d notified the delegation that I was taking a day off, and since I could check business and intelligence reports on the secure terminal, I decided to rest comfortably today.

The living room offered a spectacular view.

Magic maintained the indoor temperature at optimal conditions, and the high-end sofa was soft and plush.

It was the perfect place to rest for a day. And it didn’t cost me anything.

It was truly ideal. I still thought so.

If only that chattering human wasn’t here.

“Major, why are you sleeping here and making a fuss?”

“Come on, let me sleep. I’m injured.”

Last night, the sutures on my gunshot wound burst, and I had a hard time fixing it. In all my life, I’ve been stabbed before but never shot. I had no idea how to re-stitch a gunshot wound when it opened up.

Anyway, this was all Veronica’s fault. Why did she have to get drunk and cause such a mess?

Tsk.

“Excuse me. When someone’s talking to you, you should sit up and look at their face.”

“Ah, please go away. Do you know how hard it is to carry someone? I’m exhausted, so please leave.”

I waved my hand dismissively, and Veronica looked at me with an incredulous expression.

Her attitude was quite brazen. It was so absurd that even I was dumbfounded.

“What? Going to drink again?”

“…Never mind.”

Veronica plopped down next to the sofa. With a sulky face, she took out her mobile phone and muttered while tapping on it.

“Why isn’t this person answering…”

“What is it?”

“Ah.”

Wondering what nonsense she was talking about, I asked, and Veronica showed me her mobile phone. It looked similar to an old 2G phone model.

In South Korea, it would be considered garbage that no one would use even if given for free, but I’d seen plenty of phones like that. These old-model phones were everywhere on Third World streets, and sometimes spies in the field deliberately sought out such models. They provided some security and were disposable after use.

But here, this was the latest phone model. That’s what happens in a pathetic neighborhood without internet.

“I was supposed to meet someone. Actually, I wanted to introduce them…”

“To whom?”

“To you, Major.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

I was speechless.

“Why would you introduce someone to me? I never asked for that.”

“Oh, you know, what we talked about last time.”

Veronica was my informant.

And recently, the only information she had conveyed to me was about the coup that would take place in the Magic Tower.

“……”

An informant’s informant, huh.

I didn’t like that she was suddenly bringing someone without being asked. She kept showing signs of being out of control. Either the Imperial Guard had trained her poorly, or this was just her nature.

As I lay on the sofa thinking, I could hear Veronica chattering away.

“I was going to introduce you yesterday, but suddenly there’s been no contact since last night. I wonder if something happened?”

“……”

From a handler’s perspective, when an information asset suddenly goes silent, that’s an incident. One day might be fine, but if they don’t show up at the meeting place, then probably…

-♪!

The sudden ringtone interrupted my thoughts. Veronica, who had been muttering to herself, looked at me.

“What call is that? Were you supposed to contact someone?”

“No, I don’t have any appointments unless it’s an urgent call.”

Who could it be?

From the ringtone, I could tell it was coming to my burner phone. So it was a work call. I searched for my phone while lying awkwardly on the sofa. Unfortunately, I had put it in my left pocket, so I had to use my relatively uninjured right hand to reach into my left pocket and grab the burner phone.

The small screen of the burner phone displayed a phone number that was familiar yet unfamiliar.

“……”

Without saying anything, I got up from the sofa, moved to another spot, and pressed the call button.

Click.

“Hey. Long time no see, Sophia?”

-‘Nice to hear from you, Merlot. How have you been?’

“Where are you?”

The call was from Sophia.

-‘Me? I’m just outside the Magic Tower for a bit.’

“Don’t tell me you’re in the Empire? No wiretaps?”

-‘Calling the Magic Tower isn’t an international call. Don’t worry.’

So she says.

I wonder why this person who had disappeared is calling now.

“Why are you calling?”

-‘Do you have plenty of time today?’

“What?”

-‘Something interesting got caught in our intelligence network today. Someone from the Magic Tower contacted an executive from an Abas private company.’

“And?”

-‘That person is a Magic Tower civil servant. You probably know them well?’

The National Security Bureau investigator, Sophia, said:

-‘Francesca Ranieri, she’s here right now.’

“…Where are you now?”

-‘I’ll send you the address. Come if you can.’

=

Intelligence agencies collect a wide range of information across various fields. The National Intelligence Service gathers intelligence not only on North Korea but also from the East and West, collecting and processing even seemingly trivial intelligence into information.

This processed information is shared with relevant agencies (Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Unification, police, prosecution, etc.) and the Blue House, which has now faded into history.

For reference, the report given to the highest-level policy maker (head of state/government) who receives the information is known as the Daily Intelligence Briefing (DIB). The DIB typically includes information that could affect national governance and reports on projects that each agency is focusing on.

The image is from the National Intelligence Service website. I believe they recently renovated their website, and there are fun quizzes there that you might enjoy trying.