Ch.20Episode 2 – Heroes of the Continent

In the darkened embassy, with everyone asleep at this late hour, spies gathered in a secluded conference room.

The agent placed several photos on the table and began his explanation.

“About two hours ago. This is a spy secured by agents who were out. Currently detained in a safe house located in the outskirts of the Church district. The spy has reportedly been unconscious from the moment of discovery until now.”

I checked the photo once and showed it to Pippin.

She examined the photo carefully and nodded silently.

“An agent from the Imperial Guard’s 1st Bureau Counterintelligence Division. Ekaterina, was that her name? How exactly was she discovered?”

“Our agents approached someone who had collapsed unconscious in an alley. They recognized her identity and immediately transported her to the safe house.”

Ekaterina.

An agent characterized by black hair and red eyes.

An Imperial Guard counterintelligence agent who shouldn’t be here, and the assailant who attacked me right before the bombing.

“Unconscious, you say. Is her health otherwise stable?”

“We called in a discreet doctor for examination, and he said it was fainting due to nutritional imbalance and overexertion.”

Nutritional imbalance and overexertion.

She must have been up to something interesting.

Resting my chin on my hand, I sifted through the pile of photos and found something unusual.

“A pistol, a pen, a pocket knife. What’s all this?”

“Items the spy had in her possession. The pistol is a standard weapon used by the Imperial Army, and the pen contained a nerve toxin. Presumably for suicide.”

“Hmm.”

A pistol is one thing, but there’s no reason for a counterintelligence agent to carry a poison pen. Something feels very unnatural about this.

It seems this isn’t a purge, but rather there’s some backstory we’re not aware of.

I examined a few more photos.

They showed abrasions, bruises, blood-soaked bandages, and crudely stitched wounds.

“I wonder what she’s been up to.”

How should I cook her to extract information?

I drummed my fingers on the table, deep in thought. This seems like a matter I should discuss with the Colonel.

“Let me know when she wakes up. Let’s make her presentable before we interrogate her.”

“I’m sorry, but none of the agents currently active in the Church district are capable of conducting an interrogation.”

“Really? Not even someone who can do a basic questioning?”

“We do have one psychological warfare agent.”

This is frustrating.

“For now, focus on bringing her back to consciousness and making her presentable.”

“Understood.”

Episode 2 – Heroes of the Continent

The assailant who attacked me, the Imperial Guard’s 1st Bureau Counterintelligence agent, has still not regained consciousness even after three days.

The doctor says her body is returning to normal and she should regain consciousness soon. I paid him generously to keep quiet. If she doesn’t wake up and just dies, I’ll be quite upset. Enough to put a bullet in someone’s head.

Of course, I’m not cruel enough to silence the doctor by sending him to America.

I’d just be somewhat angry if I couldn’t extract the information stored in Ekaterina’s head.

“Anything special happening today?”

“No, nothing unusual. Oh, many of the agents we had following targets have reported that their subjects have disappeared.”

“They’re all hiding like rats. What about the wiretapping results?”

“Communication volume remains minimal.”

It seems the wiretapping team has nothing to do.

A true civil servant mindset never allows oneself to be seen idle.

“Pull back from tapping the Imperials and redirect to the Church. Focus on Raoul, Raphael, and the Inquisition.”

“I’ll redistribute personnel to expand surveillance to include the bishops as well.”

Truly an SSS-tier subordinate.

As the briefing was nearly complete, Jake quietly opened the door and entered.

“Major, have you seen today’s newspaper?”

“No. Why?”

“Please take a look at this.”

Jake handed me a newspaper.

After examining its contents, I frowned deeply.

“Why is Raphael getting criticized?”

“As a former Inquisition Chief, he apparently went around boasting about making the Church safer. So when bombs exploded and gunfire broke out, he became the target of criticism.”

“Unbelievable.”

Cardinal Raphael is being criticized.

Attacks have begun claiming that the terrorist incident occurred due to Raphael’s negligent handling of the event.

His background as the former Inquisition Chief lent weight to these accusations. The man who once led the organization responsible for preventing and investigating terrorism was now overseeing a diplomatic event that suffered a terrorist attack.

As a result, Raphael is facing negative press within the Church.

Although Raoul hasn’t directly criticized him, he appears to be attacking Raphael through his associates.

“And what’s this? Why is Lucia being attacked?”

“Conspiracy theories have emerged.”

Priest Lucia is suffering from conspiracy theories.

It seems Veronica, wary of Lucia’s influence, is spreading malicious rumors.

Veronica had previously criticized Lucia’s decision to seclude herself for safety after the terrorist attack, albeit mildly. Recently, however, she has escalated her criticism to absurd slander to pressure Lucia.

This is possible because Lucia’s movements have become restricted due to various conspiracy theories and negative propaganda, while Veronica, relatively unencumbered, can attend various events.

Of course, Veronica isn’t explicitly criticizing Lucia, but those in the know understand what’s happening.

I scanned through the newspaper but found nothing else of particular interest.

“This is infuriating.”

“Since they’re operating carefully to avoid causing harm to the Hero, we don’t have grounds or means to intervene.”

“How cunning. A snake through and through.”

I leaned back in my chair to get comfortable.

Perhaps due to lack of sleep lately, whenever I sit, I want to lie down, and when I lie down, I want to sleep.

“Major. A telegram has arrived from headquarters.”

“Read it to me.”

“It says Cardinal Raoul was meeting with businessmen during his stay in the kingdom.”

Huh.

I didn’t take him for that type. Disappointing.

“So he’s playing money games while the Hero runs around?”

“That’s one way to look at it, but there’s no evidence of contracts being exchanged. And several of those businessmen have mysteriously disappeared.”

“The Colonel will handle that. Let’s focus on managing our surveillance of Raoul’s circle.”

“I anticipated you’d say that, so I’ve prepared dossiers on his inner circle and their associates.”

Pippin placed a thick stack of documents on the table.

“My, aren’t you just precious.”

I gestured for everyone to gather and began reviewing the documents.

From those who could meet Raoul privately, to minor figures, to the associates of his closest confidants—everything was meticulously organized.

I set aside files on several promising individuals and their associates.

In the process, one particular person caught my eye.

“Hey, check this person out.”

“This one? They’re a long-standing member of the inner circle, but don’t hold a particularly influential position.”

“I have some information about them. Let’s start our operation with the people around this one.”

“Understood. I’ll draft a plan and submit it to headquarters.”

The basic organization was complete.

But a major obstacle remained.

“…Won’t we run into trouble with the Inquisition if we conduct operations here?”

The Inquisition was the issue.

They’ve likely been monitoring us since we set foot in the Church district, so they probably know what we’re up to.

So far they haven’t interfered, but I’m not sure how they’ll react if we start operations against Church personnel.

“Perhaps you should negotiate with them?”

“…Negotiate?”

“From what I’ve heard, they’re desperate to find the terrorists too. With the shooting incident, things must be tense internally. We could approach them with some information to trade.”

That made sense.

I pondered what we could offer and several good ideas came to mind.

“You’re right. I should meet with Peter later and try to make a deal.”

Jake made a sour face.

He must have unpleasant memories of the Inquisition.

“What, don’t you trust me?”

“I do trust you. It’s just the Inquisition is a bit…”

Jake trailed off. As an operative, he couldn’t oppose his handler’s decisions, but he couldn’t hide his concern either.

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

To lighten the mood, I decided to make some small talk.

“Jake, you said you were from special forces, right?”

“Yes. Army special forces.”

“I know you guys receive torture resistance training. If we need to interrogate someone, you should handle it.”

“Understood.”

Jake nodded and resumed reviewing the documents.

We continued discussing work matters.

But as conversations tend to do, ours soon drifted off topic.

At some point, we began sharing military life stories.

“After our graduation ceremony, the instructors poured alcohol into their combat boots, and my classmates, like madmen, licked them clean.”

“You guys did that too? During our agent training, we drank from combat boots as well. Looking back, I don’t know how I managed to drink it.”

“Well, at the time we were so out of it and thirsty that we just happily accepted it.”

All sorts of stories came up.

Brutal training. Difficult times as rookies. Tales of unpleasant characters that could be found in any unit.

“Back then, when a senior called, I’d run like crazy. Just when I thought I was escaping rookie life, I got selected for the intelligence agency.”

“Why did you join intelligence? Did you dislike special forces?”

“No, that wasn’t it. I just joined because they offered more money. What about you, Major? How did you end up here?”

“Me? I just wanted to advance my career.”

“Wow, so materialistic!”

“Hey, I just had some knowledge about intelligence agencies, so I applied.”

“Did you know someone from the intelligence agency?”

“…Well, something like that.”

I vaguely trailed off, avoiding a direct answer.

Thankfully, Jake didn’t press further.

After the conversation awkwardly ended, we silently organized the documents.

Then, something occurred to me, and I paused to ask a question.

“Oh right. When you were in special forces, did they teach you how to conceal a bayonet?”

“Huh? A bayonet?”

“Yeah, like hiding it in your left sleeve.”

“How do you know about that, Major? We learned that directly from our instructors.”

“I learned it during intelligence agency training. There was no manual for it, so we learned it the hard way, getting beaten in the process.”

“It’s exactly the same as special forces. We also learned it by watching our instructor demonstrate since it wasn’t in any manual.”

“Is that so?”

Interesting.

Until recently, I didn’t know special forces taught such techniques. From Jake’s reaction, it seemed special forces didn’t know intelligence agents received the same training. Comparing notes, we realized both sides learned these skills purely through direct transmission from instructors, without any written manuals.

That’s fascinating.

-Knock! Knock!

Someone knocked on the conference room door.

“Yes, come in.”

“Excuse me.”

A crimson head of hair peeked through the doorway. Anyone could recognize Camilla Rowell just by her crown.

“Camilla Rowell? What brings you here?”

“Major, the Ambassador is looking for you.”

“For me?”

Why would the Ambassador want to see me?

We’ve only spoken a few times for work, with no particular friendship between us. Must be some official business.

As I got up and gathered my things, Camilla Rowell resolved my curiosity.

“Yes. I heard something about an invitation.”

“An invitation?”

“From someone named Peter…”

Peter, the Inquisition Chief.

He was summoning me.