Ch.22Episode 2 – Heroes of the Continent

-Click.

The recording device stopped as the playback ended. After confirming the recorded conversation, Peter slowly opened his mouth.

“…Interesting content.”

“What do you think?”

I gently shook the recorder while grinning.

“If this leaks out, many people would be in trouble. I’d say it has trading value, don’t you think?”

A conversation between Cardinal Raul and Cardinal Raphael. The secret between two papal candidates.

The recorder in my hand was something the Inquisition absolutely needed to secure.

“I think it’s sufficient.”

Peter smiled. It was the same smile characteristic of an old man.

“Tell me what you want, Major.”

“Give me a free pass.”

He looked puzzled for a moment, but with his 50 years of experience, Peter hit the nail on the head.

“In exchange for burying secrets, you want guaranteed freedom for intelligence activities…”

He slowly nodded.

Peter is someone who has a lot of interest in me. To borrow Bernard’s expression, he thinks of me quite specially.

A favorable attitude and an offer that couldn’t be refused.

As I expected, he accepted my proposal.

“I permit it.”

Words don’t come with price tags. Peter handed me a blank check.

When I placed the recorder in front of Peter, Priestess Rebecca picked it up and threw it into the fireplace.

The Head of the Inquisition smiled brightly and said.

“Now our contract is established.”

Peter pulled out a bottle of liquor from under his desk.

Priestess Rebecca brought two glasses, and Peter handed one to me.

The Head of the Inquisition smiled broadly.

“The moment you leave the Order, I’ll classify all documents recording your activities as top-secret.”

“I didn’t hear anything today.”

“It was a good deal, Major.”

The two glasses clinked together.

The contract was sealed.

Episode 2 – Heroes of the Continent

I knocked on the door and opened it.

Having been given permission to enter, I found Camilla Rowell lying on the bed.

“…What are you doing?”

“I was trying to sleep.”

“Ah.”

That’s right, it’s the middle of the night.

I’ve been working so many late nights that I can’t tell day from night anymore.

Camilla Rowell pushed aside the blanket slightly and sat up. She was wearing sky-blue pajamas.

“Where did you get those pajamas?”

“Ms. Lucia gave them to me as a gift.”

“Oh, I see.”

Why doesn’t she give me gifts?

It was a slightly petty thought, but since we barely knew each other beyond a few conversations, I just accepted it. Camilla Rowell and Lucia often met at events, so it wasn’t strange for them to exchange gifts.

The same applies to me. I held up an envelope.

“I brought you a gift.”

“Oh my, what is it?”

Camilla Rowell took the envelope and opened it. It was filled with medicine bottles.

“Supplements and basic medicines. You seemed tired lately, so I bought them.”

“Thank you, Major!”

Vitamins—I’m not sure if that’s the right term, but that’s basically what they are. Not the low-quality ones made by healing priests or local doctors, but ones created by the Magic Tower, squeezing work out of alchemists and physicians.

“I’m not sure if they’ll suit you, but they’re quite commonly used here.”

“Wow-. How much did all this cost…?”

Camilla Rowell read the labels on the bottles with her mouth wide open.

Whether she had received education or developed some ability, she was freely using the language of this world.

She took out a cold drink from the refrigerator for me. Feeling the cool touch of the bottle, I slowly looked around the room.

It was an ordinary embassy staff quarters, but the interior was slightly luxurious.

“Are you comfortable staying here?”

“It’s not uncomfortable at all! Some high-ranking official—consul? ambassador?—used to stay here, so it’s like a five-star hotel!”

That’s right. This room was used by a high-ranking diplomat.

Camilla Rowell busily organized the medicine bottles as she spoke.

“All the staff in the next room are very kind, and the food suits my taste!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! And the foreign visitors who occasionally come by leave gifts too.”

I took out a detector from my pocket and thoroughly checked the pile of gifts she mentioned.

While checking for any listening devices, I kept talking to divert Camilla Rowell’s attention.

“Is there anything uncomfortable for you?”

“No! Everything’s fine except the carriages are a bit uncomfortable.”

“Riding carriages for a long time hurts your back and bottom, right?”

Fortunately, there were no listening devices.

Of course, the agents would have already checked. They’re probably recording from the next room right now, and they would have examined all the gifts.

“I’m glad you’re doing well.”

Camilla Rowell smiled brightly.

According to the psychological analysis report, she’s in a mentally unstable state. She seemed to be stabilizing a bit as time passed after the bombing, but she’s been getting worse since the official schedule began.

Yet seeing her force a smile like that gives me a strange feeling.

I stuffed the detector back into my pocket and was about to say goodbye to leave the room.

“Major, take these!”

She handed me a few medicine bottles.

What’s this?

“You look tired these days, please take care of your health!”

“…”

“Take them, please.”

“…I’ll use them gratefully.”

She smiled brightly.

It was just an ordinary smile.

*

“Take your medicine.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Take it.”

I shoved a pill into Pippin’s mouth as he refused, and closed his jaw. Pippin reluctantly drank a glass of water.

“How old are you guys that I have to make sure you take your medicine? Just take it yourselves.”

“Instead of supplements, could you reduce our workload?”

Jake muttered nonsense with a tired expression. I showed him my middle finger and stuffed the medicine bottles into their pockets.

What kind of superior does this in the world? Taking care of subordinates’ health like this.

“I don’t need medicine, I need less work.”

“Stop talking nonsense, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir.”

I easily shut down Jake’s complaints. Rank really is powerful. I plopped down into a chair.

“Why am I so tired these days…?”

I sighed weakly and slumped my body.

Lately, my body has felt increasingly heavy. Not that I’ve gained weight, but I’m so exhausted that it’s hard to move.

Pippin looked at me with sympathetic eyes as I sprawled out like a squid.

“You should rest a bit.”

“I’ll rest when we catch the terrorist…”

We still haven’t found the terrorist.

It wasn’t a matter of capability but rather scope.

We’re investigating both the Order and the Imperial Guard simultaneously, and it’s impossible to get results in just a month.

“The Inquisition suspects the Imperial Guard.”

“And the Imperial Guard suspects the Order.”

The situation is truly frustrating.

There are two suspects, and they’re accusing each other of being the criminal.

Of course, there’s no evidence, but both sides are feeding us plausible information to confuse the investigation.

It’s a complete mess.

“It’s a mess.”

“Right? You think so too?”

“Well, we need to catch the suspect before we can extract any information…”

Jake muttered with a sigh. In fact, we already have a suspect.

Imperial Guard First Bureau Counterintelligence Agent Yekaterina.

The assailant who attacked me right before the bomb went off. She intervened at the perfect moment and successfully escaped.

The problem is that she’s still in a coma.

“How will you interrogate her when she wakes up?”

“The Colonel told me to have her write a statement first…”

“A statement? Will that work?”

“He said to make her write down all her activities for the past month.”

“That’s insane.”

Pippin shook his head, muttering a small curse.

In fact, writing statements is a common interrogation method used everywhere. Give them a pen and paper and make them write hundreds of pages a day, and most will confess their crimes before long.

If that doesn’t work, then well.

“Should we torture her?”

“Are you crazy? She’s been unconscious for almost a week. Torture would kill her.”

Torture isn’t a cure-all.

People without knowledge shouldn’t casually suggest torture. Especially in a situation like this where there’s only one suspect, immediate torture would be insane—

—according to Colonel Clevins, the spy elimination specialist.

“If the Colonel says so, we should believe him.”

“You guys don’t listen to me but only to the Colonel?”

“Come on~ How could we not listen to you, Major? It’s just that the Colonel is, how should I put it… an authority in that field!”

“Can’t you just say he’s a torture expert?”

“That sounds a bit off.”

“It’s the truth though.”

The Colonel didn’t use torture often. But when he did, he did.

In this crazy world, pretending to be noble alone doesn’t help anyone.

I have no intention of postponing what needs to be done.

“Anyway, we can’t torture her now since we don’t have a doctor or technician. I won’t allow it.”

“Yes, sir.”

*

“…That’s how we’ve set the guidelines.”

-‘Ah, good work, Major.’

At 1 AM when everyone was asleep.

Standing on the embassy terrace, I looked out at the dim world.

-‘So, the Imperial bastards delivered the explosives…’

The Colonel’s ominously cold muttering came through.

He seemed a bit angry.

“There are some unclear aspects, but we’ll investigate once the captured spy wakes up.”

-‘I’ll try to catch the Imperial Guard agents within the kingdom.’

“No, is that really necessary?”

I wonder if he’s being too hasty when nothing has been confirmed yet.

However, the Colonel seemed to have his own convictions.

-‘If they delivered explosives, aren’t they the terrorist’s suppliers?’

He had a point.

In any case, he’s someone who has been in the intelligence world longer than I have. I trust his judgment.

“Understood. What should we do then?”

-‘Check who’s connected to the publishing house.’

I remember saying something similar to Pippin.

If we know the explosives’ import route, we can trace it all the way to the terrorist.

I made a mental note of several tasks to do. Just as I was about to wrap up the call after receiving detailed orders from the Colonel:

-‘…Your voice sounds terrible.’

“Pardon?”

-‘Are you getting proper sleep? Your voice is completely shot.’

“Ah… I’m still getting at least six hours of sleep.”

That’s a lie.

In reality, I’m not even getting five hours.

But there were too many things I was responsible for to complain about being tired.

-‘If you say so, I’ll believe you. Just make sure to rest properly when you can.’

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

-‘Now that we have a lead, don’t be too hasty.’

The call ended.

It’s good advice to take things easy, but realistically, I can’t afford to relax in this situation.

Still, well.

He told me to rest, so I should go rest.

As I turned to head to my bedroom:

-Ring!

A call came in. Looking at the saved number, it seems to be from one of the agents. There are so many that I’m not sure who it is.

“Hmm-. Ah-. Ah-. Kahaack-!”

After clearing my throat, I answered the call.

“…Hello?”

-‘Major, reporting from Safe House 5.’

“What is it?”

-‘The detained Imperial Guard agent just woke up.’