Chapter Index





    The heavy exhaust sound of the sedan revealed it was no ordinary vehicle at first glance.

    Passersby who were used to seeing trucks loaded with soil and clay, and junker cars that had been repeating the cycle of life and death for nearly 40 years, couldn’t take their eyes off the gleaming black sedan.

    It made perfect sense. People who drove such cars were rarely seen in the Republic of Ashtistan.

    Someone connected to state power or a wealthy person who received favors from that power. The extraordinary aura of the sedan led citizens to guess that its owner belonged to one of these categories.

    “……”

    The gazes of passersby, vehicles on the roadside. The black car that had arrived with such fanfare stood in stark contrast to its surroundings.

    To put it simply, the sedan was like a two-eyed person in a land of one-eyed people, isolated from its surroundings.

    And extremely alien at that.

    -Vrrrrrrrm-!

    The car that had raced through the hazy dust stopped on the street without even entering the parking lot.

    As it happened, Camilla and I were standing near the road. The sedan, as if it had business with us, came to a precise stop right in front of us.

    I could detect the unusual features the car was emitting.

    Dark tinting. Bulletproof tires that could withstand gunfire. A handset placed between the driver’s seat and the passenger seat.

    “…Oh dear.”

    Not a good combination at all.

    A foreboding feeling that something could go terribly wrong was creeping over me.

    The back door opened and a leg popped out.

    And then.

    “?”

    I couldn’t hide my momentary bewilderment.

    The suited man who got out of the car naturally adjusted his posture, buttoned his jacket, and approached me with confident strides.

    “We meet again.”

    I had no idea since when we’d been acquainted that he would greet me like this.

    It was so absurd that I couldn’t help but ask.

    “…Don’t tell me you’ve come to collect money?”

    It was the loan shark from Ashtistan whom I’d encountered on my first day in the country, at Azadi Palace.

    That bastard from the Security Committee.

    Episode 20 – Who Threatened You with a Knife

    The official from the Republic of Ashtistan’s Security Committee was an extraordinary person who ranked in the “Top 5 Worst Humans” across both my lifetimes.

    Wasn’t he the one who showed up with a string of suited lackeys and immediately started spouting nonsense about ‘money’? It was certainly an unusual first meeting.

    Sure, an intelligence agency employee might take bribes. Even if the other party was a foreign spy, I could embrace it with great generosity.

    Why? Because I’d seen such types more than once or twice.

    Investigators who took bribes from criminals’ families, security officers who stopped passing foreigners and proposed exciting games like “pay a fine vs. give a bribe,” and even intelligence officers who extorted their own country’s officials.

    A prosperous economic life was the foundation of basic necessities, and crazy people existed everywhere. Most of the lunatics I’d met belonged to this category.

    In that sense, I could understand the Security Committee official who had demanded a bribe. Well, in life, one might want to pocket some bribes. I’m not sure if that’s normal thinking, but still.

    However.

    No matter how thick-skinned this person might be.

    This was just too…

    “Leave this country immediately.”

    …disgraceful.

    “What are you telling me to do?”

    “I said get out of Ashtistan.”

    At this sudden request to leave the country, I could only blink my eyes, unable to say anything.

    What was he talking about, suddenly showing up like this?

    “Maybe I’m having hearing problems… Camilla, did I just mishear him?”

    “I think you heard correctly.”

    Camilla looked at me with rabbit-like eyes and kindly issued a certificate of confirmation. That I had heard exactly right.

    I couldn’t help but make a sour face.

    “…We’ve only been here for 3 days?”

    “Looks like it was meant to be a two-night, three-day trip.”

    “Weren’t we planning to stay for about a week? I thought this was a package tour, but what is this?”

    “Korean, do you have more complaints? Your itinerary has been replaced with departure.”

    “Go!”

    I scooped up some Bastani (a Persian ice cream made with milk, eggs, sugar, rosewater, and salep) and shoved it into her mouth.

    “Awawawang!”

    Camilla began to savor the ice cream with a strange sound.

    The creamy Bastani boasted a dazzlingly gorgeous color and melted smoothly, making it hard to believe it had just been taken out of the freezer.

    “Is it delicious?”

    “Yes!”

    “Well, it’s not like there’s any food you wouldn’t find tasty…”

    The spoon that had been scooping up ice cream paused.

    A sharp gaze pierced me like a dagger.

    “…What did you just say?”

    “I said order another one if you need it.”

    “Can I order two more?”

    “No.”

    As you can see.

    We had left the hotel and were exploring Shizya.

    Feeling stiff from lounging around in the room, Camilla had begged to go sightseeing in the city, also to find a gift for the Grand Duke, and I had filtered out decent tourist attractions by questioning the hotel staff.

    The first place we visited was the Bazaar (بازار), known for its handicrafts. It was a market in the Arab-Persian cultural sphere. By the way, the word “bazaar” in Korean comes from here.

    I explored every corner of the bazaar with an excited Camilla, adding nice items to our shopping basket. There were also stalls selling handicrafts and snacks, including a unique shop run by an old woman and a goblin.

    Camilla, fascinated by the arabesque designs, asked how the old woman and the young goblin had come to run the shop together, and after chatting for about an hour, she bought a ton of their merchandise.

    It was so funny to see her unable to see properly with her arms full of items. She wobbled with each step, causing the old woman and the goblin to break out in a cold sweat.

    After visiting one of the few department stores in Shizya and exploring the old downtown area that had existed since the 1600s.

    We were eating Bastani at a shop recommended by the hotel staff for a short break when…

    “…Anyway, why have you appeared here again?”

    I looked at the uninvited guest with a sulky face. The Security Committee official who had arrived raising dust.

    We were having so much fun. But didn’t the mood get ruined as soon as this guy showed up?

    That’s why I was making all sorts of displeased expressions.

    “I’m not buying anything. I’m an atheist, I don’t believe in God. Please just go on your way. Please.”

    I don’t know where he heard rumors from.

    Even the Line 1 subway ghost who used to preach about Jesus’s heaven and hell to ignorant souls wasn’t this annoying.

    Even when commuting to the Seoul headquarters (the Intelligence Command had its headquarters in Seocho District until the 2010s), it only provided a gentle BGM like a bio-surround speaker, not chasing after people and harassing them like this guy.

    Anyway, what a leech. He’s really bothering me.

    “Leave while I’m still asking nicely.”

    “…Excuse me?”

    Now threats too?

    I glared at the Security Committee guy with eyes full of discontent. Where had he charged up his confidence to make threats in broad daylight?

    The Security Committee official continued in a low voice.

    “I’m giving you 12 hours. Leave Ashtistan.”

    “……”

    “And never come back. Don’t even let me see you again.”

    There was nothing particularly distinctive about his low voice.

    The man’s voice seemed calm at first glance, but there was a hint of anger hidden within it. Therefore, the warning sounded like the crackling of burning flames.

    “…Hmm.”

    Looking at him carefully, it wasn’t just his voice that carried emotion. His expression did too.

    Anger or hostility. The emotion, which could be described in various ways, was very intense, and it was clearly targeting me.

    So, I couldn’t help but think:

    Why the hell is he acting like this toward me?

    “……”

    There were many suspicious aspects.

    Someone who saw him demanding bribes might have reported it to the Security Committee, resulting in an internal investigation, or maybe he was annoyed by the sight of a foreigner who hadn’t paid him any tribute wandering around the streets.

    But none of that mattered. At least not at this moment.

    What mattered was that I had been asked to leave the country by an employee of the Security Committee.

    And the fact that I was being forced to leave without proper legal procedures.

    “12 hours.”

    “……”

    “Hmm… let’s go with that for now.”

    I naturally gathered my shopping basket and stood up.

    The Security Committee guy stared at me intently. Whether he did or not, I just finished my ice cream and returned to the hotel with Camilla.

    “…Is this okay?”

    With a worried look, Camilla, who seemed quite confused, asked me a question.

    “This is illegal, isn’t it? Telling us to leave without any reason?”

    “Then what should we do? Should we go grab him by the collar and fight?”

    “We should report it. More precisely, file a complaint… Anyway, we should do something, whether it’s to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or somewhere else-“

    “You know well.”

    “…Huh?”

    I nodded readily.

    Camilla opened her eyes wide like a rabbit.

    “As you said, we should report it.”

    “…Are you really going to do it?”

    “Of course. We should definitely report it.”

    Sigh.

    I added with a slight sigh.

    *

    No matter how corrupt a third-world intelligence agency might be, it’s still a national agency and an intelligence organization.

    Moreover, under the laws of the Republic of Ashtistan, bribery was clearly a crime, and especially bribery by public officials was a serious misconduct.

    “Camilla. Come here and translate this for me.”

    “What should I do?”

    “Write down what I dictate. ‘I support the public officials who are working tirelessly day and night for the normalization of the Republic of Ashtistan. Today, on a street in Shizya…'”

    I packed everything that happened today tightly onto the letter paper.

    It was a kind of anonymous report.

    The recipient was, of course, the Republic of Ashtistan’s Security Committee. The workplace of “that bastard” who had been giving me trouble.

    By the way, in this country, all reports could only be made verbally or by letter, as it was an industrially underdeveloped region, making it impossible to submit reports or tips online or wirelessly like South Korea’s e-People system.

    Anyway.

    The report was written with Camilla’s help. Because while I could speak Persian, I didn’t even know how to write the alphabet in Ashtistani.

    But that wasn’t a problem. The walking Google Translate, Bio-Papago, boasted such excellent performance that she could write even completely unfamiliar squiggly letters in elegant cursive.

    “But isn’t the tone too stiff? For a report to an enemy intelligence agency, saying ‘day and night’… It sounds a bit off.”

    “Well, should I write something like ‘I hope the Republic of Ashtistan collapses as soon as possible’ instead?”

    “Hmm… Looking at it again, it’s like the writing of an angel. I’ll write it as is!”

    Anyway.

    She did her best to write the report as I dictated, and I sent it to the Security Committee.

    “Reporting is good, but… will they really investigate? I’m worried they might ignore it.”

    “That’s why I added in the postscript that if they don’t handle it properly, I’ll tip off the foreign press and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These local people might tolerate corruption, but they can’t stand humiliation.”

    “Ah!”

    It was a letter of complaint packed with only the essentials.

    I made it clear that if they covered for their employee who had caused trouble, I would lodge a formal complaint through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and leak it to the press to humiliate the country.

    I guarantee that within a week at the latest, inspectors would tear apart the loan shark’s office.

    “Another problem solved today!”

    Camilla was so excited about something that she was jumping up and down. The master lamented at his disciple’s impetuous attitude, telling her to please stay still, but what did it matter?

    The Grand Duke was happy to receive gifts and entertainment from his disciple, Camilla was excited after an interesting sightseeing trip, and I had dealt with a crazy bastard without lifting a finger.

    It was nothing short of a celebration.

    “Alright, alright. Stop jumping around now. The hotel might collapse at this rate…”

    That evening, we held a small celebration party to commemorate getting rid of the loan shark.

    It was a very pleasant and happy day.

    *

    And the next morning at dawn.

    Security Committee staff came to the hotel.

    With the report we had written.


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