Ch.231Episode 12 – The Strongest Mage in History
by fnovelpia
Sunlight seeped through the dusty windows. It was morning in the central region of the Kiyen Empire, with a blizzard raging outside. Though the sun was up, the world felt utterly desolate.
I opened my bleary eyes and sat up, greeted by unfamiliar surroundings.
Though this was clearly not my usual place, the situation felt all too familiar to me, so I felt no sense of discomfort.
Mornings abroad always started this way.
-Clatter. Clatter.
The sound of dishes colliding reached my ears. The quiet lodging was filled with rare, lively noises.
Coming downstairs and looking around, I spotted Francesca’s back as she stood facing away from the living room, apparently doing something in the kitchen. She hadn’t heard me coming down the stairs.
I approached her focused form from behind and softly called her name.
“Francesca?”
Episode 12 – The World’s Strongest Mage
“Ah, you’re awake.”
Francesca turned her head to look at me.
Only then did I notice the coffee cup in her hand.
“Drinking coffee first thing in the morning. How very Patalian of you.”
“Actually, I’m not drinking it—I’m making it.”
As she spoke, Francesca was brewing coffee with a machine that had appeared from who knows where. I pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down across from her.
“There should be coffee mix in the cabinet… Would you like that instead?”
“What’s that?”
“Something made by the Magic Tower.”
“Ah… that. I never understood why people drink that tasteless ash water.”
I wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.
The high-ranking official of the Magic Tower’s Secretariat, who had just disparaged Magic Tower coffee, casually posed a question while preparing her own cup.
“Would you like a cup, Military Attaché?”
Coffee? Yes, please. I nodded eagerly in acceptance.
While she carefully stirred the dissolved sugar into the coffee, I picked up my cup and inhaled the aroma. The coffee’s fragrance was rich, and its taste was impeccable.
Nothing wakes up a foggy mind like caffeine. With gratitude in my heart, I opened my mouth to address Francesca.
“Could you bring me some water? This espresso is too bitter, I need to dilute it.”
“If that’s the case, just drink ice water. Don’t waste good coffee.”
*
The diplomat’s lodging I returned to after two weeks was cleaner than expected.
No dust, no frozen pipes, no intruders.
I hadn’t hired a housekeeper, and with me—the only resident—staying in the north, I’d assumed there would be no one to maintain it. Apparently, my judgment was wrong. The Abas Embassy had sent someone to manage and inspect the lodging despite my absence.
Thanks to the embassy’s consideration, we were able to rest well after returning from the Magic Tower.
In fact, we rested too well, which became a problem.
“We did sleep rather deeply.”
“And missed the first train as a result.”
Our plan to sleep for just three hours and take the first train back north had completely fallen apart.
But it’s not a problem. There’s no urgent need to return immediately. And we’ve achieved sufficient results.
I set down my cup and began.
“We’re going to be busy for a while. I can assure you, we won’t have leisure time like today.”
“That’s to be expected, Military Attaché. And it won’t be easy either.”
The plan to pressure Hormoz for information has just broken ground.
For this operation to succeed, I’ve decided to exploit Dark Elf culture and customs.
“Dark Elves are a race that abhors taking losses. Whether in investments or business, the moment they fail, their social standing drops significantly.”
“They value judgment of worth more than any other race.”
“So failing in the northern black market would be quite shameful.”
I honestly don’t care how many years Hormoz has been doing business in the north, or how much profit he’s made so far. Why should I?
What matters is that his business fails. The effort he put into the business? His achievements so far? Those are meaningless. People judge based on results.
Dark Elves are no exception.
“That’s exactly the point we’ll target.”
To ruin Hormoz’s business, we need to employ one of two methods.
First, reduce the Palm Tree Cartel’s black market revenue to pressure their funding.
Second, ruin business partners connected to the Palm Tree Cartel or Hormoz, causing disruptions to his operations.
“Of course, there are other options besides these naive methods…”
“What methods?”
“Bribing the military police or reporting them to prompt an arrest operation, hiring thugs or posing as competitors to wreck his business premises, blackmailing, bribing, or assassinating executives, inciting employees to sabotage operations, or directly sabotaging warehouses.”
These are methods intelligence agencies use routinely. Nothing new. I’ve done them several times in third-world countries myself.
But we can’t use these methods now.
This is the Kiyen Empire, not the Middle East or Africa with their loose surveillance and tribal control systems. If the Imperial Guard or Counterintelligence Command found out, my head would roll.
Besides, there’s someone very high up backing Hormoz, though I don’t know who. Whoever this person is, they must be extraordinary to protect Hormoz in the martial law-controlled north.
“Anyway, we need to consider our two options. If things go well, we can easily arrange negotiations with Hormoz. Even if not, we can extract information by taking over his connections. Either way, we just need the information, right?”
“I’d like to make money too.”
“For someone already wealthy, you’re quite greedy…”
“What did you say…?”
“Ah, nothing at all.”
I quickly averted my gaze as Francesca’s voice turned icy.
“Anyway, what matters is what comes next. We won’t have time to rest.”
Though we’ve reached an agreement with Viktor about the business, that’s just the beginning.
We need to bring Viktor’s imported cargo to the north, establish distribution routes in the northern black market, and secure control of the underground economy against groups like the Palm Tree Cartel and the Wolves. All this in a region under martial law.
None of it is easy. I wonder why I ever suggested doing this.
I momentarily regretted it, but it was too late. The die had been cast.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts while sipping the coffee Francesca had made. Sitting across the table filled with rich coffee aroma, we slowly reviewed our business plan.
“Food, medicine, winter supplies… Do these things really have business potential, Military Attaché?”
“In conflict zones, food and medicine have the highest demand and lowest supply. Many people are starving and injured, but supplies are severely lacking. A can of peaches that sells for 3 takrons in the capital goes for 60 takrons in the northern black market for this very reason.”
“Among the reconstruction areas the Magic Ministry official asked me about were industrial complexes and greenhouse districts for food production. Since the north doesn’t produce its own food, black market merchants likely have connections outside.”
“But they won’t be as large as the Palm Tree Cartel. If those miscreants are retailers, Hormoz is a wholesaler. We’ll only be dealing directly with the Palm Tree Cartel.”
“How should we handle sales?”
“In the black market, you can’t expect law or morality. Only people who can protect themselves should go. We need to recruit just the right number—not too few, not too many.”
“From what you’re saying… it seems like mages are our only option.”
“So how many can you gather? Or are there none available?”
“Let’s see. I know some discreet individuals among those dispatched to the north.”
“Excellent.”
Clap! Clap! I clapped my hands to change the atmosphere.
“Let’s get cleaned up and prepare to leave. Time to make some money.”
*
I gathered the disposable toiletries provided by embassy staff and headed to the shower.
Perhaps because this was a diplomatic residential area, I was pleased that hot water flowed properly despite the cold weather. It wasn’t anything fancy, but after two weeks in the north without freely available hot water, the contrast was stark.
Currently in the north, even hot water can’t be used freely. With drinking water in short supply, heating water with magic would be excessive luxury. Refugees don’t even have water to wash with.
Having visited many conflict zones, I understand this, but the problem is that even in the lodgings provided to our party, hot water is difficult to use. Specifically, hot water is only supplied during times controlled by the military government command for each area.
If you don’t get in and wash quickly during those times, you might experience the unpleasant surprise of ice-cold water pouring down mid-shower. If hotels provided to foreign dignitaries are in this state, how severe must the situation be in evacuation centers packed with refugees? Thanks to this, Lucia hasn’t been able to rest and continues working.
“…Ah, it’s warm.”
After finishing a shower with warm water for the first time in a while, I dried myself with a towel.
I should probably buy some gifts before returning. Whether for Camilla and Lucia, or for Pippin, Jake, and Charnoi.
“But I need to know what they like…”
After drying off and putting on my suit, I checked the time. It was nearly noon.
I put my legs into my pants, roughly donned my shirt, removed the bloodied bandage, and was in the process of wrapping a clean bandage around my forearm when—
“Do you need help?”
Francesca appeared at the wide-open door. She seemed to have finished preparing, leaning against the doorframe in the same splendid suit I’d seen her wearing at the Magic Tower yesterday.
While tying my tie, I nodded toward the suit Francesca was wearing.
“Nice suit. The vest suits you.”
“Thank you for the compliment. It suits you too. But it seems you don’t like the suit I gave you as a gift? I rarely see you wearing it.”
“People like me don’t usually wear tailored suits.”
“Too expensive?”
“No, frequent contact with tailors could make it easier to identify us.”
Francesca laughed as if she’d been caught off guard by my blunt answer.
“You live such a tiresome life.”
I tried to tie my tie while looking in the mirror. However, perhaps because both my arms were injured, I couldn’t seem to make a neat knot.
Judging by the tingling in my arms and hands, I must have tied the bandages too tightly.
I was about to fix the bandages when Francesca, who had been watching quietly, suddenly appeared in front of me.
“Hold still.”
Francesca quickly undid my somewhat sloppily tied tie.
Then, holding the wide and narrow ends of the tie, she asked me a question.
“What kind of knot do you prefer, Military Attaché?”
I looked at Francesca with a slightly bewildered expression before turning my gaze away and fastening my cuff buttons.
“Any knot will do.”
“That’s the most perplexing answer in the world.”
Francesca joked that she would tie it the way she usually did, so I shouldn’t complain, and proceeded to create a tie knot with skilled hands.
Judging by her skill, this clearly wasn’t her first time. It’s easy to tie your own tie, but tying someone else’s is difficult.
When I asked how she learned to do it, Francesca gave a brief answer.
“My brother.”
“……”
I paused momentarily while fastening my buttons.
Francesca’s brother had died a very long time ago. No one knows why he died. He was simply found floating in a river by a passerby who reported it to the police.
Neither Leo, the director of the Royal Intelligence Service who had recruited her as an informant, nor Clevins, who typically reviews confidential information about me, know about it.
Not even I know.
The sudden mention of such a heavy topic created a solemn atmosphere, but Francesca continued arranging my collar without further comment.
“There’s something I’d like to ask.”
Francesca, who had been maintaining silence, spoke just as she was finishing the tie knot.
“Go ahead.”
“About pretending to be your girlfriend.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Exactly how long do I need to keep this up? Just in front of your friend? I’m asking because you haven’t specified.”
Pretending to be my girlfriend.
I fell into thought as I adjusted my clothes.
“…Well. We’ll need to keep up the act in front of Viktor.”
“What about other people?”
“That depends on the circumstances, doesn’t it? Human affairs are unpredictable.”
Francesca’s hands, which had been tying my tie, stopped abruptly.
“…Are you saying I should act like yesterday in front of others too?”
“If necessary, yes. Come to think of it, we should coordinate our story.”
“…Story?”
“Yes. We need to create a plausible narrative for our act to be convincing…”
Francesca raised her gaze from the tie to meet my eyes. An icy glare shot toward me like a dagger.
“Oh.”
Though she’s an informant, Francesca is still a noble—perhaps I went too far?
Just as I realized my mistake, Francesca, who had been standing perfectly still, suddenly tightened the tie.
“…Gack!”
“……”
“What are you doing… I almost died…!”
“You should have just died then. The things that come out of your mouth, honestly.”
With a deliberately cold attitude, Francesca cursed at me before turning away and leaving the room.
I stood there dumbfounded before finally coming to my senses and following after her.
“…Administrative Officer. Are you upset?”
“……”
Francesca turned away without a word. She was clearly sulking.
“…Come on, you need to speak so I can at least apologize.”
This is ridiculous.
I looked at the sulking Francesca before gathering my belongings and leaving the room.
It’s at least a two-hour train ride from the northern gate. Should I try to get seats far apart?
With such thoughts in mind, I hurried my steps to follow Francesca as she walked briskly out of the lodging.
*
I carried my luggage downstairs. Fearing Francesca might leave on her own, I quickly descended the stairs.
Upon reaching the first floor, I was relieved to find that Francesca was still in the lodging.
She had gone ahead and was standing at the entrance. Thinking she was waiting for me, I quickened my pace to catch up.
That’s when I noticed something strange.
“…?”
Francesca was standing still at the entrance. But her posture was odd.
Her hand rested on the doorknob, and the door was wide open. She looked like someone who had just opened the door to leave but then stopped.
The winter wind blew in fiercely, dropping the temperature inside the lodging. Despite the chilly wind, Francesca neither closed the door to come back in nor stepped outside.
Sensing something amiss about her awkward stance, I discreetly moved my hand to my waist. As always, a pistol issued by the Military Intelligence Agency to its employees was tucked there.
“Administrative Officer, is something wrong?”
“……”
“Francesca…?”
What’s going on? Is there a problem?
That’s what I was about to ask.
But I didn’t ask anything. There was no need to.
People had gathered in front of the diplomatic lodging assigned by the Abas Embassy.
Several luxury sedans were parked in a row along the alley, and men in suits along with a few others were guarding the door. There was even a foreigner with exotic features among them.
They were all standing in front of the diplomatic lodging.
As if guarding the door, as if waiting for someone to come out.
And the very distinctive attire worn by some of them caught my eye.
Black fabric with many pleats, a small white square at the front of the throat, a fascia around the waist.
They were clergy from the Church.
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