Ch.3Episode 1 – The Gray Man

Rain poured from the gray sky.

Spring had passed, and it seemed the summer monsoon season had arrived.

I had been confined to my quarters for the past week. I removed the damp blanket and shook off the thoughts that filled my head. My mind felt hazy from lack of sleep.

While changing clothes for work, I gathered the papers scattered on the floor and neatly organized them into the cabinet. I had completely scrapped and rebuilt the plan I had prepared for 28 years. It felt like 28 years had been invalidated in just 7 days. But as an agent with years of experience in the intelligence bureau, I was accustomed to such things.

The world, dyed in gray, was filled with moisture. Sticky air clung to my skin, and the smell of water enveloped my nose. Even a city protected by ancient magic couldn’t seem to keep out the rain.

Thanks to the cool breeze, my mind cleared and began working efficiently. As always, my thinking was swift and my judgment careful. I combined information to predict future events. Then I calculated potential gains and losses while establishing future plans.

Having been thrown into an unwanted gambling table, I would need to work desperately to make it out alive.

Just then, beyond the misty fog, the gray city revealed itself.

“Sigh… I don’t want to go to work.”

As always, lamenting changed nothing.

A man with an umbrella pushed through the cold rain and wind,

And one gray human blended into the ash-colored city.

Episode 1 – Gray Human

“Well, are you feeling better now?”

“I’m fine thanks to your concern, Colonel. Thank you.”

“Good, good. Health is important. Looking at your face, it seems you’ve had quite a mental struggle this past week.”

“Not at all.”

Colonel Clebins smiled and handed me a paper cup. The fragrant aroma of instant coffee made by alchemists wafted up. With a relaxed expression, he took a sip of coffee and got to the point.

“We’ve put out the urgent fires during the past week. Your military status shouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

“Thank you, Colonel.”

“No need for thanks. What’s so special about looking after a subordinate? Don’t worry about other matters and just focus on your job.”

The colonel spoke in a nonchalant tone.

For now, the only one who can give me orders is my superior, Colonel Clebins. Even though my status has become ambiguous after becoming a companion to the hero—the nominal savior of the world—he’s still my superior by affiliation. Even that might change soon.

As is typical in politics, there were too many politicians in this world who couldn’t stand seeing others succeed.

Why? Because if I, a member of the Kingdom’s military, build fame alongside the hero, the Kingdom would gain political stability. That’s not to say I’m doing something that remarkable. It’s because Colonel Clebins would make it seem that way through his informants.

Anyway, in the current chaotic situation across the continent, no politician would look favorably upon any nation gaining dominance.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Don’t be so stiff, and try to lighten up a bit. You’ll be dealing with more people now, and it would be troublesome if you keep frowning.”

A companion to the hero by sheer luck. A person with less presence compared to other companions.

I’m not sure if I’ll really be dealing with many people, but if the colonel says so, he must have something in mind.

“That was a long introduction. You probably have a lot to talk about with acquaintances after being away, so I won’t keep you too long.”

The colonel crossed his legs.

“First, you’ve been promoted to Major. Congratulations, Frederick. If it had been a few years earlier, it would have been a record.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. Anyway, you’ll soon be announced as the hero’s companion along with your promotion to Major.”

It seems the hero has completed a quest. Judging by the fact that they’re announcing the first companion with a promotion to Major, the hero must have shown good results.

For main quests that take place in the royal palace, not only success but also completion quality is important. If you don’t achieve additional objectives like clearing within the time limit or killing a certain number of monsters, and just complete the quest, your favorability slightly decreases. If this quest had been messed up? Both the hero and I would be screwed.

The thought sent a chill down my spine.

“…Are you uncomfortable? Your complexion suddenly worsened.”

“Ah, no, Colonel.”

“Well, alright. Just know that you’ll be promoted to Major and announced as the hero’s companion. You’ll hear the details later.”

The colonel calmly tilted his paper cup and pushed a document toward me.

“Your affiliation is an issue… Officially, you’re no longer part of the intelligence bureau.”

“I see…”

I put on a deliberately dejected expression.

The reason I’m feigning sadness is because I’ve been “officially” cut from the intelligence bureau.

Colonel Clebins, like the veteran intelligence officer he was, always had a habit of speaking indirectly, and I wasn’t the type to take people’s words at face value. There must have been countless behind-the-scenes operations to hide the identity of a single soldier, but that wasn’t my concern. The colonel was a person with the authority and ability to handle such matters easily.

Colonel Clebins Hendrik, the next director of Military Intelligence.

A soldier from a prestigious family. A person with connections to politicians. A specialist in identifying infiltrators and a recognized elite in intelligence agencies.

Despite his intimidating appearance, he’s surprisingly affectionate and has a good personality.

At first glance, he might seem like just a successful soldier with a good personality, but the important thing is that he belongs to an intelligence agency. And intelligence agencies are groups that practice a slightly different form of “patriotism.”

Anyway, if I were to elaborate on what he’s saying, it would only result in overly complex and profound statements. I don’t have the talent for summarizing arguments and stringing together fancy words to create plausible sentences.

So, to summarize the colonel’s orders in my own way:

“Don’t be too disheartened, Major. Serving in the intelligence bureau isn’t the only way to be patriotic, is it?”

It meant go out and serve your country.

*

Just because it’s an intelligence agency doesn’t mean special events happen every day.

Mass media and the cultural industry portray intelligence agencies as secretive and sinister organizations, but contrary to these stimulating fantasies, the reality of intelligence agencies is mundane. Like others, they write reports, get approvals, hold meetings, eat meals, slack off in the break room, and come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid dinner gatherings with superiors—that’s the daily life of intelligence officers.

Except for the fact that the content of their work is national or military secrets, agents are just ordinary civil servants receiving salaries from the country.

“Did you get your allowance this month?”

“I got quite a bit because of all the overtime. I’ll check at the bank tomorrow.”

At a restaurant near the intelligence bureau, office regulars gathered around the table. Being lunchtime, the restaurant was bustling with groups of office workers. Today’s topic of conversation was this month’s allowance. Regardless of the world, civil servant salaries are notoriously meager, making it difficult to manage living expenses without allowances and performance bonuses.

“Hey, why are you talking about money while eating?”

“Come on, Captain, you know how small a lieutenant’s salary is.”

The blonde with a tanned, delinquent-like appearance started complaining. Jake, of mixed foreign descent, was charitably described as having an exotic appearance, or less charitably, as looking like a thug. Next to him, a short woman with a bob haircut was nibbling on a paper cup.

“Pippin, you’re not a herbivore, so why are you tearing and eating paper?”

“It’s a habit, just a habit.”

“That’s bullshit.”

The two intelligence agents, Pippin and Jake, started bickering. Both were lieutenants, relatively recent additions and the youngest members, unfortunate enough to handle all sorts of miscellaneous tasks while waiting for new recruits who might never come. Like all intelligence agency personnel, they were smart and quick-witted.

“Hey, I’ll pay for lunch today, so both of you be quiet.”

“Yes, Captain! Loyalty, loyalty!”

“Jake, stop messing around and go get some water.”

The blonde tanned delinquent scurried off and brought back three glasses of water. If only his hair were black, I would have called him Hassan. What a shame. While I was lost in these idle thoughts, Pippin, who was sipping the water brought by the blonde Hassan, spoke up.

“Captain, you took leave and didn’t come in for a week. Were you sick?”

“I wasn’t sick, just had some thinking to do.”

“Did something bad happen?”

Yeah, something really bad.

Being chosen as the hero’s companion meant going to the battlefield, and that was by no means a good thing. It’s only good news for the undertaker who’ll collect the body fee. And since the matter of the hero hadn’t been publicly disclosed yet, I couldn’t tell them about it.

Come to think of it, there were many inconveniences about becoming the hero’s companion.

First, basic necessities. The saying that leaving home means hardship is a truth that applies across all times and places. Once chosen as a companion, it’s natural that housing would become unstable since I couldn’t stay in one place. Similarly, there would be many times when I’d have to make do with hasty meals.

It feels like just yesterday I was being bitten by mosquitoes while spending the night outdoors in Africa. And now I’m about to do it again.

Moreover, I’m not simply going on an adventure. I’m joining a fucking grand journey to save the world. It was clear that even hundreds of lives wouldn’t be enough, especially since I was someone who had never even completed a game.

In such a situation, if I also had to properly “serve my country,” I didn’t think my body would survive.

It would be tough both mentally and physically. Adventure itself is a life-risking endeavor, but intelligence operations, with a bit of exaggeration, involve not just my life but the fate of the nation. It’s also something that might take years. If this mission succeeds, I could live off just writing an autobiography for the rest of my life. It would definitely make for several spy novels.

The colonel probably knows this too. If I go to him with a plan and explain well, he might assign a few people to help.

In other words, while I could leave the fighting to the hero and other companions, I would need a few personnel to assist me…

“Captain?”

“Huh? Oh, why did you call?”

“I’ve been calling you for a while, but you didn’t respond. Are you still not feeling well?”

“Captain, if you need anything, just say so. I can get you medicine.”

“…No. I don’t think I’ll need medicine.”

Coincidentally, the Hassans were right in front of me.

“Would you two like to go on an overseas trip?”