Ch.187Episode 10 – Turn Your Course to the North-Northwest

In the middle of the road stands an unidentified vehicle. A four-seater passenger car. It’s parked under a streetlight, but trees obscure the interior. It’s also quite dark.

I hide a knife I found in the pile of belongings up my left sleeve and look out the window again.

There are no traffic lights on this road. Judging by the turned-off headlights, it might simply be parked temporarily, but that’s not a place where vehicles are allowed to park.

Besides, this is the residential area where diplomats stay. Each official residence has its own garage, so who would illegally park their vehicle there?

As I carefully open the curtain with my finger to observe the vehicle…

Something moving in the passenger seat catches my eye.

“……”

It’s too dark to see clearly, but what the person in the passenger seat is holding is unmistakably binoculars.

Episode 10 – Change Course to North-Northwest

The dark diplomatic residential area in the capital of the Kiyen Empire. Suspicious individuals are observing the lodging where I’m staying. They even brought binoculars.

They might be journalists staking out for a story. Or perhaps voyeuristic perverts peeping through windows.

But instinctively, anyone would recognize them as counterintelligence agents. I’m not certain, but I have a feeling the Empire would assign surveillance from day one.

What should I do?

I decide to go outside and check for myself.

“…Ah, these immoral bastards.”

I throw on the winter coat I had casually taken off and head out the front door, fingering the knife hidden in my sleeve. Fortunately, I had gone to bed in my suit since I needed to leave for the embassy after just four hours of sleep, so I didn’t need to change clothes.

Thanks to my tightly tied shoelaces, my shoes don’t slip, and my habitually fastened belt keeps my pants from falling down.

After leaving the entrance and walking quickly around the corner, I reach a street with bright yellow streetlights. The very street I saw from the window.

Just around that corner, the vehicle with the observer should be right—

—Vroooom!

Suddenly, the sound of an engine starting.

I hesitate slightly at the harsh engine noise, and then the vehicle’s headlights illuminate the outer wall of the lodging as it rapidly pulls away.

About two seconds later.

The vehicle makes a sharp left turn, scraping the asphalt, and begins racing toward me.

“Uh, uhh…?”

As the blindingly bright headlights shine in my eyes, my vision narrows.

Like a deer frozen in headlights just before becoming roadkill, I stand completely immobilized in front of the vehicle.

One second,

Two seconds,

Three seconds.

Just as I think “I’m fucked,” an enormous impact hits my body, and everything goes dark.

The vehicle had rammed into me.

Fortunately, I survived the collision with the multi-ton metal object. At least I avoided being sucked under the vehicle and turned into a bloody pancake. Instead, I found myself lying docilely on the hood, taking the bitter winter wind head-on.

At that moment, the vehicle suddenly swerved left.

Lying on the hood, I began to slide but managed to grab onto part of the vehicle. An illegally parked car’s side mirror barely missed my face. I raised my body and pressed my torso against the hood, but my legs had been thrown off and fell onto the road.

Through the howling wind and rough engine noise, I heard something scraping against the asphalt. My legs—no, the soles of my shoes were being ground against the asphalt road. That snapped me back to reality.

“Fuck!”

I clung to the vehicle for dear life. Whoever these maniacs were, they were speeding down the road with me hanging onto their car.

Being a split second from death, my field of vision narrowed considerably. I couldn’t see my surroundings at all, only my hands desperately gripping the vehicle.

Even as I struggled to pull my legs up, the thought crossed my mind that this was a way people could die. If these bastards crashed into something or made a sharp turn, I’d be crossing the River Jordan.

With the national cemetery flashing before my eyes,

Suddenly my body felt buoyant—

“…Huh?”

An unexpected feeling of weightlessness enveloped me.

The world began to move in slow motion.

Whether from adrenaline or a near-death experience, everything seemed to slow down as if someone had flipped a switch. My field of vision widened as a bonus.

That’s when I started noticing things I hadn’t paid attention to before.

My body floating in the air.

Hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that veins popped out.

A person holding the assist grip, pressed against the seat.

Binoculars, a radio, and a bread bag bouncing against the windshield.

The bright yellow streetlights illuminating the road,

A homeless person with wide eyes covering their mouth,

Cars lined up on the shoulder.

And the steep downhill slope unfolding behind me.

Like a frozen scene, it all felt like a moment from a cheap B-grade action movie. I wished it were just a bad dream, given how surreal the scene before me was.

So I closed my eyes.

Hoping that when I opened them again, I’d be in the bed at my lodging.

But the world always betrays our expectations.

—WHAM!

The weightlessness ended, and a hot sensation struck my body.

That’s how I was thrown back into cold reality.

*

In the end, I got my wish. I woke up in a bed rather than on the asphalt road.

The only difference was that I woke up in a hospital, not my lodging.

I was told that a citizen living near the collision site witnessed the accident and called an ambulance. They added that despite losing consciousness after being hit by the vehicle, I miraculously had no major injuries.

“You’re incredibly lucky. God must have been watching over you.”

“……”

“So what are you going to do now?”

I went to work.

If I didn’t show up for work with a body that was somehow intact after being hit by a car, the operation would fall apart.

As I entered the Abaas Embassy building in the Kiyen Empire, the staff welcomed me warmly.

According to regulations, I needed to arrive at the embassy by 9 AM, but with a major diplomatic event approaching, many employees came early to work. Since the Military Intelligence Agency had arranged with the Foreign Ministry to keep my identity confidential, the staff simply thought a new military attaché had arrived and congratulated me.

I had plenty of time before attending a military meeting scheduled for three hours later. So after a brief meeting with the ambassador, I started work in my assigned office.

The terminal screen glowed with a bluish light, and after entering my assigned security code, the Military Intelligence Agency intranet opened.

Soon, I found the data I had been waiting for in the internal network.

[83-5.7, Analysis Data.]

-From: Abaas Ministry of Defense, Military Intelligence Agency, Technical Intelligence Department, Section 4.

-To: Defense Attaché’s Office, Abaas Embassy in Kiyen.

-This is an analysis of signals intercepted at 02:00 today.

“Ah, this is out already.”

I had requested analysis of communications intercepted in the early morning, and it was already available.

Glancing at the screen, I saw it was already past 8 AM. Considering that the Military Intelligence Agency’s working hours start at 9 AM, it seems the night shift workers had analyzed it.

I slowly read through the fruits of the science majors’ hard work.

-The wireless communication in question appears to be encrypted rather than plaintext.

-We believe a radio with encryption capabilities was used to prevent eavesdropping and interception. We attempted to decrypt the encrypted voice information using cipher systems in our database.

-As a result, we succeeded in decrypting part of the conversation. However, complete decryption will take some time.

-All three speakers were using the Kiyen language, so we have attached the original text, translation, and audio files. We will contact you as soon as additional decryption work is completed. End.

“……”

-A (Name and age unknown, presumed female): Um, senior. I’m waiting in front of the lodging right now. *Decryption failed* Seeing the lights off, I think he went to sleep.

-B (Name and age unknown, presumed female): Is there anyone who entered the lodging?

-A (Name and age unknown, presumed female): After escorting *Decryption failed* earlier, no one.

-B (Name and age unknown, presumed female): Can you see inside right now?

-A (Name and age unknown, presumed female): No. *Yawns* Even with the telescope, I can’t see anything— huh?

-B (Name and age unknown, presumed female): *Decryption failed* What’s wrong?

-A (Name and age unknown, presumed female): No, *Decryption failed* I think it moved slightly. Maybe I *Decryption failed*

-B (Name and age unknown, presumed female): *Decryption failed*

-C (Name and age unknown, presumed male): Team leader, I think we’ve been spotted. Later *Decryption failed*

*Communication terminated.

*

I arrived at the Kiyen Empire’s Ministry of Defense building.

The reason for the gathering of officials from the Abaas Embassy’s military attaché’s office and the Ministry of Defense was to hold a meeting on the northern conflict. It could be considered a kind of working-level negotiation.

“……”

Perhaps because I just realized that the people who tried to run me over with a car were Empire intelligence agency employees, I was in a very bad mood. However, I couldn’t show it.

Because I’m a diplomat.

“Nice to meet you, Attaché Nostrum. Is this your first visit to Kiyen?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Welcome to the Empire.”

The Ministry of Defense staff welcomed us with a surprisingly gentlemanly attitude. Most, or rather, almost all of the staff were of noble birth, which might explain it.

Unlike Abaas, where discussions about abolishing the class system are happening even within the establishment, the Kiyen Empire has a very rigid class system. This means they are even stricter about social status than Abaas.

How strict? Not only is movement between classes prohibited, but dating or marriage between incompatible ranks is forbidden. Countless people in the Empire face condemnation from relatives for being caught dating someone of lower status.

However, seeing how many nobles keep lower-class mistresses, and how many people consider this normal, one could say that Empire nobles are truly a collection of hypocritical human specimens.

Anyway.

The Kiyen Empire, which doesn’t have good relations with the Kingdom of Abaas. Particularly, the staff of the Empire’s Ministry of Defense, known for having many hardliners, were smiling pleasantly at an Abaas military officer. They seem to be quite good at wearing masks.

Of course, the reason they’re smiling and offering handshakes isn’t just because we’re diplomats, but also because there are other guests in this conference room.

Silvery armor that naturally gleams even in gloomy weather. Elegant patterns with subtle divinity.

A cape surrounded by magic that repels even passing flies. Magical power forming exquisite characters.

Officials from the armed groups of the Order and the Magic Tower were attending the meeting.

I greeted them with a diplomatic smile.

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Frederick Nostrum. You must be Sir Ferretti of the Order of St. Andrea?”

The knight with a strikingly blue chin, as if freshly shaved, is the same holy knight who exchanged greetings with Lucia yesterday.

Matteo Ferretti, the commander of the Order of St. Andrea.

The man leading the holy knights dispatched to the north.

He nodded with a hearty laugh.

“That’s right! I am Matteo Ferretti. Call me Matteo or Ferretti, whichever you prefer. But your name sounds familiar. Perhaps…?”

“Your guess is probably correct. I work alongside Saint Lucia.”

“Ah! So you’re that person!”

The holy knight placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled brightly. I was surprised by how light his touch was despite wearing armor.

“The one who survived the bombing, right?”

“……”

My face stiffened slightly at the sudden question, but I didn’t show it. Some Ministry of Defense staff glanced our way at the word “terrorism.”

Forcing a smile, I nodded slightly, and the holy knight burst into laughter.

“I heard from my juniors. Even in the midst of chaos, you tried to rush out to save the hero. What remarkable courage!”

“Haha…”

I had nothing particular to say. So I just laughed.

But why is he in full armor even here? Is he some kind of cosplayer?

Ferretti seemed to want to talk more with me, but he was pulled away by an Empire general who approached him.

I was about to move on to greet the next person, but,

“Are you Mr. Frederick Nostrum?”

The other person was quicker.

A man wearing a cape that revealed his identity as a magician approached me with a smile. His slightly pale face made him look like someone who might be ill.

After recognizing the magician’s face, I smiled lightly and greeted him.

“It’s an honor to meet a seeker of knowledge and truth. You must be Lord Evangelos of House Lysidice?”

“Oh. You recognize me?”

“I saw you in passing at the banquet yesterday.”

“My goodness. I should have greeted you at the banquet yesterday. I apologize.”

Evangelos placed his hand on his chest to express his regret.

If Matteo Ferretti commands the holy knights in the north, then Evangelos commands the battle mages. The two men lead the paramilitary organizations of the Order and the Magic Tower.

Of course, there are also inquisitors and exorcist priests in the north besides the holy knights, but they operate under different command structures, so they’re exceptions.

I met briefly with other holy knights and magicians, then had a short conversation with these two. Since there was some time before the meeting started, I wanted to make the most of it.

“I’ve heard the news. You’ve accomplished great things in the north over the past year. Clearly, the blood of House Lysidice hasn’t gone to waste.”

“Thank you. I’ve also heard about you, Attaché. I hear you’ll be heading north soon?”

“It’s not confirmed, but that’s likely.”

“Have you ever faced monsters?”

“I saw quite a few when I was a platoon leader on the front lines. I also saw some during Operation Wasteland and when entering the uninhabited zones a few times.”

“The monsters in the north are on a different level. Due to differences in the ecosystem. Only those adapted to cold and hunger have survived.”

“It’s not just the monsters, but the demon folk…”

“Demon folk!?”

Someone shouted from behind. Startled, I turned to see Ferretti, who had been talking with Empire officers, striding toward us.

“Who just mentioned demon folk?”

“Um… I did.”

“Have you ever seen demon folk?”

“Uh, no?”

“Haha! There’s nothing to fear!”

The holy knight patted my shoulder and said that demon folk were nothing special, that one swing of a sword could separate their upper and lower bodies.

Of course, to split a demon in half, one would need to surround the blade with divine power, which would be very easy for a holy knight, but not for me.

I can’t use divine power, let alone magical power.

Regardless, Ferretti, who had suddenly appeared, began asking me questions.

“Attaché! Do you have a religion?”

“…Religion? Why are you suddenly asking…”

“You don’t have a religion?”

Ferretti narrowed his eyes and gave me a sidelong glance. He looked me up and down for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

“Don’t worry! I don’t care whether you don’t believe in God or have a different religion! It’s not like we’re waging a holy war—I wouldn’t cut off your head just for being an unbeliever!”

“……”

Is he saying he would cut off my head if I didn’t believe in their religion? I could hardly believe these words were directed at a diplomat. Even the Crusaders were probably more reasonable than this guy.

As I looked at Ferretti with a sour expression, someone approached to inform us that the meeting would begin soon. It was an officer serving as an interpreter and guide—Lyudmila, was it?

Anyway, to avoid getting entangled with the crazy holy knight, I chose a seat as far away from him as possible. I hope I don’t run into him even if I go north.

“Ahem.”

An Empire Ministry of Defense official cleared his throat and addressed everyone.

“Since all participants are seated, we will begin the meeting.”

*

The meeting concluded successfully after about two hours. Today was a session for exchanging opinions, so there were no heated arguments.

The opinions presented today will be carefully reviewed by the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense.

They’ll accept what they can accept and reject what they can’t. At tomorrow’s meeting, this will be communicated, and then revised proposals will be submitted.

So for the next week, until I go north, I’ll need to attend meetings almost every day.

“Haah…”

I let out a deep sigh as I left the Ministry of Defense building. Others might have found it ungentlemanly, but I was alone, so it didn’t matter.

Someone once said that it’s better not to know how diplomacy and sausages are made. Thinking about it again, that seems right. I wish I could work comfortably at headquarters instead of in a position like military attaché.

Of course, that will never happen, so I just sigh and complain about work where no one can hear me.

“Um, er, Senior Lyudmila? Let’s go to the place you mentioned earlier.”

“Yes, Attaché.”

Lyudmila, the interpreter and guide officer, led me to the back of the building. After walking quite a distance, we arrived at a secluded smoking area behind the Empire’s Ministry of Defense building.

Even in a neighborhood tolerant of smoking, smoking itself isn’t aesthetically pleasing, so the smoking area was outside the fence. Beyond the fence, large trees surrounded the building in a peculiar way.

In the old days, those trees made it difficult to see inside the building because they blocked the view.

I smacked my lips, recalling the days when I worked as an unofficial cover.

“Do you smoke?”

“No, I don’t smoke.”

Senior Lyudmila declined a cigarette, saying she was a non-smoker.

She stood at a distance, covering her nose, then suddenly exclaimed “Ah!” and headed back into the building, saying she had forgotten something.

I wandered around looking for a quiet spot. Somewhere as inconspicuous as possible.

But then.

“What are you doing?”

“…Why are you here?”

Camilla emerged from the bushes.

She was covered in snow and holding brooms in both hands.

I was dumbfounded and stopped taking out my cigarette to look at Camilla.

Camilla smiled awkwardly and pointed upward with her finger.

“Well, I was passing by and saw a cat in the tree…”

Looking up, there really was a cat sitting in the tree. The trees lined up like a fence along the Ministry of Defense building were quite tall, making it look somewhat dangerous.

“I was afraid it might fall and get hurt, so I tried to help it down.”

“How?”

Camilla tapped the snow on the ground with her broom and said,

“…By flying?”

I couldn’t help but sigh at that.

“Who uses flight magic without permission in a city, especially in the middle of the capital? Didn’t I tell you before? You can’t use flight magic without permission.”

“Well, that’s true, but still…”

She was implying that since she was trying to save a cat, couldn’t I let it slide? I pointed in the direction I had come from.

“This is the Kiyen Empire Ministry of Defense headquarters. What do you think would happen if you used flight magic without permission near a national security facility like the Ministry of Defense building?”

“……”

“It seems you’ve already used magic, so consider yourself lucky you weren’t shot. If security had caught you, you’d be in a body bag by now.”

Of course, Camilla’s actions don’t really warrant being shot.

Flying near a military facility is illegal, but unless you’re a spy or terrorist, you’d just be taken in by the police or counterintelligence units for questioning. In fact, occasionally careless magic academy students or magicians who take a wrong turn get caught flying over the Ministry of Defense or military bases.

Still, this wasn’t a good thing to do, so I needed to scold her.

After scolding Camilla, I put away my cigarette and approached her.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, fortunately.”

“Then why were you rolling in the snow?”

“My broom got caught in a branch, and I fell.”

“Good grief, you troublemaker…”

I handed her a handkerchief to dust off the snow on her clothes and hair. While Camilla was brushing off the snow after rolling in it, the cat that had been looking down from the tree came down.

“Wow~ A cat.”

Camilla took the cat into her arms. I hadn’t noticed from a distance, but up close, the cat’s appearance was quite distinct.

Glossy white fur. Sapphire-like blue pupils. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female, but it was quite large.

Skillfully holding the cat, Camilla gently swayed her arms, her eyes shining.

“It’s so docile. It looks like a stray, but it doesn’t seem afraid of people.”

“Doesn’t it have an owner? There’s something on its neck.”

“Oh, you’re right?”

The cat was wearing a collar. It sparkled like it might be adorned with jewels.

Wondering if the owner’s contact information might be written on it, I was about to check the back of the collar when the cat escaped Camilla’s grasp and sat on a nearby rock.

“Heeng… I guess it doesn’t like me.”

“Fine, just remove the fur from your clothes. I’m allergic to fur.”

Camilla, looking dejected, nodded.

After removing the cat fur stuck to her clothes, she began to shiver, apparently feeling the cold. Come to think of it, Camilla’s clothes seemed quite thin.

“What should we do about the cold?”

“Just tough it out.”

I said, tightly fastening my coat.

Some might have taken off their coat and wrapped it around her, but I hate being cold too. I’d rather be hot.

As I buttoned up my coat and replied, Camilla looked exasperated, wearing a defeated expression.

“What? If you’re really cold, just make a fire.”

“…Really now.”

Camilla shook her head and lit a fire.

Closing her eyes and concentrating, a warm flame appeared in her hand. A magically created fire, full of warmth and not easily extinguished by the wind.

Since she was already using magic, I tried to use it too, but Camilla refused.

“Why? I just want to warm my hands.”

“You have gloves.”

“Come on, it’s not like it’s going to wear out if I use it…”

As I tried to bring my hands closer, Camilla quickly pulled her hand away. She made all sorts of excuses like a child unwilling to share a toy.

As I tried to borrow the fire and Camilla refused to lend it, bickering back and forth…

A woman’s voice suddenly interrupted.

“That’s not how you handle fire.”

“……”

“You’ll get hurt that way.”

Camilla’s eyes turned to me.

Blink.

Blink. Blink.

“…Did you just speak to me?”

“…It wasn’t me.”

We looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

Camilla began looking around to see if someone else was nearby, and I turned my head this way and that, wondering if Senior Lyudmila was calling me.

Just then,

A voice came from behind.

“Over here.”

“……”

“I said, over here.”

There was no one around.

Except for one.

The cat sitting on the rock.

“What.”

“……”

“Is this your first time seeing a talking cat, you little flesh lumps?”