Ch.175Episode 10 – Turn Your Course to the North-Northwest

“Camilla, do you know one of the virtues intelligence agencies require from their employees?”

After receiving my question, Camilla let out a short “Hmm,” before blurting out her answer.

“…Mischief?”

“……”

“I’m joking. Patriotism, right?”

Camilla grinned mischievously. It was the answer I expected.

Of course, her answer wasn’t entirely wrong. But it wasn’t the response I was hoping for.

As Camilla sipped her tea wrapped in a blanket, I explained one of the most important virtues.

“Patriotism is correct, but the real answer is asceticism.”

“Asceticism? Like, self-restraint?”

I nodded.

“In this line of work, you often have to do things you don’t want to do. But more importantly, you frequently can’t do the things you want.”

“For example?”

“If you’re deployed to a Middle Eastern country where alcohol is prohibited, you can’t touch a drop. People who love domestic cigarettes have to smoke local brands abroad. You have to adapt to food that doesn’t suit your taste, can’t date, can’t see your family during holidays, and have to wake up at dawn for video conferences…”

“Wow, that sounds terrible.”

“Can people always do what they want in life? Well, you can’t play around and still get paid at a regular company either. It’s similar to that.”

I kindly sat Camilla down and explained 101 cases of labor law violations one might experience when joining an intelligence agency, all while enjoying our tea time.

But Camilla seemed only half-listening, merely fiddling with her stainless steel teacup.

After my explanation ended and a long silence, she finally spoke in a curt tone.

“So, is that why you woke me up before dawn? For asceticism?”

“Yep.”

“……”

Just then, a strong wind rattled the windows. A snowstorm was raging outside the farmhouse. The sight alone made my teeth chatter.

Perfect weather for training.

“Let’s go.”

Episode 10 – Turn Your Course to North-Northwest

The shooting training began the same way as before. Since she was already familiar with pistols and rifles, we skipped precision shooting and moved on to dynamic shooting.

The farmhouse had training equipment, so we didn’t need to request additional supplies. Interestingly, there were even new model bulletproof vests suitable for both men and women.

“Start when the buzzer sounds. Put on your hearing protection.”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

“Alright, here we go.”

-Beep!

When the signal sounded, Camilla fired at multiple targets. She alternated between targets on the left and right sides, hit moving targets, and sometimes engaged targets that appeared suddenly.

Her skill was precise.

Of course, Camilla didn’t just practice shooting.

“Malfunction!”

Camilla also received training on emergency procedures. This was training for situations where the gun jammed or had other issues during shooting.

When I signaled, she quickly threw the magazine over her shoulder, pulled the bolt, and fired the weapon.

Her form was quite good, suggesting she hadn’t obtained her gun license just for show. Camilla demonstrated her adaptability by handling the rifle adopted by the Abas military with ease.

“Why are you hesitating when pulling the bolt?”

“Um…”

“Don’t hesitate, pull it quickly. Tilt the pistol grip inward, remove the magazine with your left hand, and just pull straight through.”

“Like this?”

“That’s right. Why are you hesitating when you’re doing well?”

The Kiyen Imperial Army rifle was a bit awkward, but she seemed to adapt well with repeated practice.

-Bang! Bang-bang!

In the snowstorm-swept farmyard, Camilla exhaled white breath as she continuously repeated her training. She hit various targets from a standing position, cleared jammed rounds, and quickly replaced empty magazines.

As Camilla began to get accustomed to the training, I cleared the accumulated snow and brought in the vehicle parked outside the farm to move on to the next training session.

“You need to learn how to shoot while taking cover behind a vehicle. You’ve seen people using vehicles as cover during firefights in movies, right?”

“Yes.”

“If there’s no other cover around, a vehicle can be a good option. But no matter how sturdy a vehicle looks, not all parts will stop bullets. If you don’t want to become a sieve, position yourself carefully.”

I demonstrated personally.

First, I showed her how to engage an enemy approaching from the front of the vehicle.

“If an enemy appears in front, take cover behind the vehicle. Never hide behind windows, but the area behind the wheels will provide decent protection from bullets. At least as long as bullets don’t penetrate the entire vehicle.”

“What about when enemies approach from the left or right?”

“Then you should hide near the engine compartment. That’s actually the sturdiest part.”

I demonstrated shooting positions: tilting the gun while using the engine compartment as cover, and lying behind the wheels to shoot from under the vehicle.

“Tilting your weapon like this exposes less of your body than placing the gun on top of the engine compartment. You can take much better cover this way.”

“When shooting from a prone position, be careful not to let debris enter the barrel. Keep the barrel sufficiently elevated from the ground, even if it’s uncomfortable. Otherwise, your weapon might malfunction or you’ll suffer from sand or snow kicking back at you.”

The training continued without a break.

Camilla rolled around in the snow until lunchtime, and after lunch, she repeatedly got in and out of the vehicle. She was so dedicated that despite the cold weather, she was drenched in sweat.

As time passed, sweat stains soaked through her clothes and bulletproof vest, and whenever she stopped moving even briefly, Camilla shivered in the December cold.

“I-i-it’s t-too c-cold! I think I’m g-going to die of h-hypothermia…”

“You’ll be fine. You won’t die, you won’t die.”

“How can you be so sure…?”

“Because I’ve been through it.”

I removed the whistle from my mouth and smirked, causing Camilla to shudder as if she’d seen a demon.

After training for quite some time, she collapsed the moment I said we were done. Then she hugged her rifle tightly and lay down.

“Haaah…!”

“Pretty tough, isn’t it?”

Nod, nod. Camilla’s weak head movements continued. Snow clung to her red hair.

I removed the magazine from Camilla’s rifle, pulled the bolt several times, and fired into the air. Only after completing this safety check did the shooting training officially end.

“Good work. Now let’s go inside to wash up and warm ourselves.”

Camilla, still catching her breath, asked in a weak voice:

“That’s the end of shooting for today, right…?”

“What about night shooting? Do you think combat doesn’t happen at night?”

“Ah.”

A short exclamation escaped with her white breath. Her eyes lost focus.

I helped the limp Camilla to her feet, brushed the snow off her, and offered some advice.

“It’s easier if you just give up.”

*

After the shooting training, we cleaned up the yard and went inside for a short break.

While I took out military intelligence equipment and cables to set up, Camilla lay on the bed and tried to sleep quietly.

I found a power source to supply magical energy, connected cables to get a signal, ran security programs, and accessed the network to download files that had been updated during the day.

The safe house had excellent speed, but due to the enormous file sizes, it still took quite some time.

The process of downloading data and sorting documents took about two hours.

By the time all preparations were complete, the sun was beginning to set.

When I entered the room, I could hear Camilla’s wheezing breaths. She was curled up like a caterpillar under the blanket, wandering in dreamland.

“Camilla.”

“…Mmm.”

“Camilla, wake up.”

“…Just 10 more minutes.”

I shook the soundly sleeping Camilla to wake her up.

But the exhausted Camilla resisted getting up, and only after I forcibly raised her upper body did she finally open her eyes.

“Get yourself together and come out. Everything’s ready.”

“Haah… I’ll wash my face and be right out.”

It took Camilla about 5 minutes to wake up, wash her face, and come out.

As soon as she staggered to the table and sat down, a new training session began.

*

“…What did you say today’s training was?”

“Intelligence collection and information analysis.”

“Hmm, just hearing that makes my head hurt…”

Camilla muttered while pressing her temples.

“Do you need a headache pill?”

“Oh, do you have some? Could I have one, please?”

I took headache medication from the cupboard and handed it to Camilla. She popped two pills into her mouth and swallowed them without water.

“Haah…”

As if her headache had subsided, Camilla sighed and spoke to me.

“I think I’m feeling better. Let’s start.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Since I’d committed to teaching her the knowledge needed to become an intelligence officer, I had no intention of doing it halfheartedly.

Although Camilla had majored in National Intelligence and had SIS internship experience, that alone wasn’t enough.

Until her weaknesses could be addressed, we needed to hide them and emphasize her strengths.

And her greatest strength was information analysis.

I operated the terminal to display the data and turned the screen toward Camilla.

“What’s this?”

“These are documents prepared by the Abas Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The countries listed here are places we might visit in the future.”

Camilla, who was drinking tea, slightly furrowed her brow to better see the text on the screen.

“Hmm. Some of these names are familiar. I think I’ve seen them a lot in newspapers and news.”

“Which countries stand out to you?”

“Latuan, Kirkebor, Edhelond, Brudi, Sragna, Al-Rabiya, Tarkhan…”

She recited the names skillfully.

“…Donorias, Suryati, and Kiyen. There are so many! More than fifteen, right?”

“Why did you stop counting halfway?”

“There were too many.”

What a clear answer. Well, there are indeed many countries in this region.

I typed with my left hand and rummaged through a pile of documents with my right as I continued speaking.

“The Foreign Ministry report lists exactly 37 countries. All of them are suffering from war, civil war, epidemics, natural disasters, mysteries, demons, magical races, or monsters. These are also places we might have to visit.”

“My goodness, when will we ever visit all these countries?”

Camilla, slumped over the desk, muttered while holding her head. Her expression was so funny that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t mean we’ll visit all of them, just that there’s a possibility we might go to some of them someday.”

In other words, it’s a prediction.

The Abas Foreign Ministry collected various information from diplomats dispatched worldwide and from foreign diplomats stationed in Abas. Based on this, they created a list of countries we might visit. So this document is essentially an analysis report.

After hearing this explanation, Camilla asked:

“Aren’t there international organizations here? Like the UN Security Council or peacekeeping forces…?”

“Of course there are.”

Countries are fundamentally interest groups—large communities that maintain governments and promote national interests.

As human history proves, every country has its own circumstances, and their interests rarely align. Just look at trade disputes and strait blockades for evidence.

Conflicts tend to arise between countries that oppose each other for historical, religious, political, or economic reasons. And since these issues often involve complex underlying circumstances, it’s difficult to find methods that fundamentally resolve the conflicts.

That’s why the UN was created.

An international organization established after World War II for cooperation and world peace. There’s something similar to the UN in this region too.

The problem is,

“But it’s not functioning properly right now.”

It’s become dysfunctional.

“Why?”

“Recently, a bunch of espionage activities were exposed, so they expelled all the diplomats and closed the missions. The democratic countries, monarchies, and dictatorships were already fighting among themselves, but when diplomatic issues erupted, things went slightly haywire.”

“Ah, I saw that on the news. They expelled ambassadors, right?”

Of course, we were responsible for that diplomatic expulsion rush, but that’s not my concern.

What matters is that the international organization has become dysfunctional.

“Originally, you, Camilla, should have been affiliated with the international organization. When they created the international organization, they agreed to bring heroes, guardians of precepts, and divine warriors into the international organization.”

“Really? But I don’t think I’ve ever seen such news.”

“That’s because you’re the first person to be summoned after the international organization was created. You’re the first non-native who could enter the international organization.”

“Wow!”

Camilla smiled brightly and exclaimed.

“Don’t get too excited. You’re not joining right away.”

The Abas government wants to support and manage Camilla as much as possible. More precisely, they want to keep her under government influence.

So they’re using countries friendly to Abas (democratic countries, dictatorships with pro-democratic tendencies, etc.) to actively cause disruption. To ensure the international organization remains dysfunctional.

Of course, there are complex behind-the-scenes reasons involving major powers like Abas, Kiyen, and Fatalia that led to the international organization’s current state, but that’s not important right now. Besides, sending Camilla to a dysfunctional international organization doesn’t seem right anyway…

Anyway.

“According to the Foreign Ministry’s assessment, there’s one country that’s likely to be our next destination. It seems relatively better off compared to other countries, but since it has strong influence in the international arena, it’s almost confirmed as our next destination.”

“Where is that?”

I pressed a key, and the screen changed to display a flag.

“The Kiyen Empire.”

I continued my explanation while advancing through the slides. The screen filled with information about the Kiyen Empire’s politics, society, economy, culture, industry, defense, and diplomacy.

Over 200 ethnic groups. Territory as vast as a continent. Three major religions. Nine parliamentary parties. Enormous natural resources. Large rural workforce. Low food production rate. Major industries including steel, chemicals, heavy industry, and electronics. A leader among monarchical-dictatorial states. An enormous standing army, and so on.

It looked like enough to make one’s eyes pop out, but Camilla showed surprisingly strong concentration.

She quickly scanned the text and charts on the screen while listening to my explanation.

“This is basic information about the Kiyen Empire compiled by the Foreign Ministry. By the way, intelligence agencies also receive this, so read it carefully.”

“Do intelligence agencies receive Foreign Ministry materials?”

“Since modern times, foreign ministries have played the role of intelligence agencies. Modern intelligence agencies as we know them emerged through the First and Second World Wars.”

Even in the 21st century with intelligence agencies like the CIA, SIS, and Mossad, foreign ministries demonstrate foreign intelligence collection capabilities comparable to intelligence agencies.

“There’s only a paper-thin difference between foreign ministries and intelligence agencies. That’s why the U.S. State Department hires intelligence officers who analyzed information as information management officers, and British intelligence recruits diplomats who have worked in one region for a long time as regional intelligence officers. If you ever change your mind, consider the Foreign Ministry instead of SIS. It’s not a bad idea to build your career there slowly while considering your path.”

“A diplomat… I’ve never thought about it, but that’s good advice. Thank you.”

It’s nothing, really.

As I continued flipping through the materials, I found one document.

“Anyway, back to the main point. The Kiyen Empire has recently been engaged in a conflict with demon tribes along its border. It’s not a full-scale war but a localized conflict that’s been going on for about four years. Initially, the Kiyen Empire advanced with overwhelming force, so we thought they would win easily, but…”

“But what?”

“It seems pushing back the demon tribes isn’t easy. They’ve recently started receiving support from magic towers, religious orders, and allied nations.”

At the word “support,” the Cambridge University student’s brain started working.

“Isn’t support quite common? The Soviet Union received support from East Germany during the war in Afghanistan. Similarly, pro-Soviet countries in the Middle East received Soviet support during wars.”

“……”

“I think there must be some other reason, don’t you?”

Camilla asked with a gentle smile. In response, I smiled back.

“We don’t know either.”

“…What?”

I moved to the next screen.

“Since the time of active hostilities four years ago, the imperial government has imposed movement control orders in the frontline areas. All civilian movement, including entry, was controlled, and no one except authorized military, police, and civil servants could go up there.”

“……”

“The control orders declared in the frontline areas were eventually changed to martial law and expanded to the northern region, which is relatively behind the front lines. Now martial law covers the entire north, so no one can enter or leave. Naturally, intelligence collection became impossible because the informants we infiltrated couldn’t return.”

“…Were they captured?”

I shook my head.

“We don’t know that either. Due to the loss of contact, they’ve been classified as missing for now, but assets that have been out of touch for years should probably be considered dead. Whether they were caught by counterintelligence or unfortunately caught in combat.”

Judging by the strengthened counterintelligence activities of imperial intelligence agencies, including the Imperial Guard, about two years after the conflict broke out, some were probably captured. They likely tortured the informants to get information on intelligence officers, accumulated evidence, and then struck all at once.

Afterward, intelligence networks were successively exposed by the Imperial Guard, Counterintelligence Command, and police. Operations to infiltrate informants and operatives into the north were all suspended. At least, that’s what I know.

As Camilla’s expression grew more serious, I found a document from the mountain of papers.

“This is a Foreign Ministry report that organizes the materials I showed you earlier. It contains more detailed information and knowledge that you, Camilla, need to familiarize yourself with.”

Camilla’s face showed bewilderment as she received the document.

No wonder, as it was hundreds of pages thick—almost like an encyclopedia.

“Wow, how thick is this? This book could cover my entire head. Let me see.”

Camilla held the thread-bound document up to her face. It really did cover her entire face. Is Camilla’s head small, or is the document just that large? Probably both.

I organized the documents neatly and instructed Camilla.

“Read that by tomorrow.”

“…What?”

“I said, read it by tomorrow.”

“All of it?”

“Yes. All of it.”

“……”

Camilla glared at me with a fierce look. As if asking if I was crazy.

“What?”

“I told you that for an analyst’s report to be credible, comprehensive knowledge of the target region is necessary. Politics, economy, society, culture, philosophy, history. You can’t analyze without knowing these things. So you need to learn them.”

“…No way.”

With an expression that seemed to say “surely not,” Camilla blurted out:

“You’re not asking me to analyze what’s happening in the north right now, are you?”

“Wow. You understand with just half the explanation? Amazing…”

“……”

The life drained from her blue eyes. It was as if her soul had left her body.

While Camilla hugged the documents with a lost expression, I continued to pull out and organize papers as I explained:

“I’m not asking you to analyze anything extraordinary. Just pick a topic you’re interested in and analyze it as best you can. Or I can give you a simple topic to work on.”

“…Can’t I just do something like the Islamic terrorist group analysis from before?”

“No, you cannot.”

“……”

“Here.”

I handed Camilla a terminal along with a paper listing analysis methods that I had organized from memory.

“Prepare a plan and bring it to me before dinner.”

“……”

“By the way, if you write a sloppy plan, dinner will be boiled potatoes.”

The expression on Camilla’s face,

As she sat among countless documents and equipment,

Clutching the encyclopedia-like materials to her chest,

Was quite a sight to behold.

*

For your information.

That evening, Camilla received three potatoes.