Ch.60Episode 4 – Why Are You Only Picking On Me

# The Magic Tower Declares Independence

They say the Magic Tower is declaring independence.

And they mean right now.

I haven’t obtained specific plans yet, but it’s certain they’ll declare independence in the near future.

“This isn’t the Berlin Wall falling or anything. Why make a declaration first and then cause chaos…?”

“What’s Berlin?”

“…It’s something that exists.”

Of course, there’s no objective evidence. Only Veronica’s testimony.

But to dismiss it as one person’s speculation would be unwise, considering Veronica’s political and social status was comparable to the Pope’s, and her intelligence network was superior to that of most intelligence officers.

She was a lobbyist, after all.

Not just any lobbyist, but a high-level informant for intelligence agencies and a hotline connecting the Imperial Palace with the Church’s State Council. She was someone who could obtain classified information with ease if she wanted.

It was surprising that the Imperial Guard would pass information to Veronica, a traitor, but in a way, this could be the most reliable evidence supporting the intelligence.

What should I do?

This information, the events about to unfold, the changing world.

How will it affect me, and by extension, Camilla Lowell?

The only certainty is that right now, I know nothing.

I don’t know where I am or where I’m headed.

But I had to do what needed to be done.

“…Saint. Do you have any evidence? Anything I could report?”

“Just a moment. I received amnesty from the Imperial Guard…”

“Amnesty?”

“At first they just brought money, but when I kept refusing, they gave me this. With the Prime Minister’s seal stamped right on it.”

“You took that instead of money?”

“I took both, of course.”

I compiled the information and evidence obtained from Veronica and assessed how this might impact our government and our upcoming operations.

After crunching the numbers, I had a rough estimate.

At this rate, a complete revision of our plans would be inevitable.

“…”

Overtime work confirmed.

## Episode 4 – Why Are They Only Picking On Me

Fortunately, I didn’t end up working overtime.

Military Intelligence needed to verify the credibility of the intelligence I reported, which required cross-checking additional information from their agents and operatives scattered across the continent.

So instead of me, countless senior Military Intelligence officers worked overtime.

And the next morning, the results came in.

“It’s confirmed they’re declaring independence.”

The Magic Tower was indeed preparing for independence.

Unable to hide my dismay, I covered my face with my hands and let out a deep sigh.

“…So what do we do now?”

“What can we do? If they declare independence, that’s that.”

Clebins responded with a remarkably calm expression. But having been by his side for years, I could tell he wasn’t truly calm—he was just pretending to be.

“How did the meeting go? Did they come up with any good countermeasures?”

“What do you think?”

The Counter-Intelligence Director clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Be grateful you weren’t in Room 503. It was absolute chaos. The Director was grilling the commanders about what they’ve been doing in the field. If you had been there, the atmosphere would have only become more hostile.”

It seems the Director had torn into the overseas division commanders. I asked him:

“Which departments…?”

“Foreign Intelligence, Foreign Operations, Technical Intelligence, Open Source Intelligence, Special Activities.”

The entire overseas division had been decimated.

Of course, Military Intelligence’s overseas division wasn’t limited to just those departments. But considering the five departments Clebins mentioned were the most substantial operational units, it was fair to say that virtually the entire overseas division had been reprimanded. While the overseas division didn’t monitor ‘only’ the Magic Tower, that wasn’t important.

What mattered was that the overseas division had failed to collect intelligence.

“For now, continue with what you were doing.”

“Is that really okay…?”

“What choice do we have? We want to make decisions, but we lack information. Praying won’t make intelligence fall from the sky.”

Though in America, intelligence does come from the sky and space if you ask nicely.

Anyway.

Military Intelligence ordered us to proceed with the plan without modifications. To change the plan, they would need to collect intelligence, analyze it, and then make a decision based on that analysis—but since no intelligence had come in, we were told to proceed while monitoring the situation.

If the analysis proved correct and the Magic Tower declared independence with the Empire taking a hardline stance, our operation would likely be scrapped. We couldn’t stay in a place where war might break out.

“Colonel, do you think war will break out?”

“I wouldn’t know. But I hope war doesn’t happen.”

After sharing this personal sentiment, Clebins took a breath and told me:

“Whether they declare independence or go to war, proceed with the plan for now. Find who sent the spies. Everyone’s busy, so there’s no one else but you to do it.”

Everyone’s busy collecting intelligence, so he’s telling me to handle it myself.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Requisition all the personnel you need as outlined in your plan, and tell me if you need any equipment. It’s the Director’s order, so nothing will be rejected. And report immediately if there’s any new information.”

*

While all mid-level and senior officials at Military Intelligence were on emergency duty, I ironically had nothing to do.

This was because I had received special instructions to focus on creating favorable conditions for the operation.

It was ironic considering I was the first to raise the alarm. Normally, the person who brings intelligence would continue gathering more—that was standard procedure.

But since I didn’t know anything else, there wasn’t much I could help with. Plus, I already had my assigned mission.

So unless new intelligence or separate instructions came in, I needed to focus on the upcoming operation.

“Have you reviewed the plan?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

The objective of this operation was to “track down those behind the spies.” To ensure successful mission completion, I assembled a team.

I alternated giving instructions to Pippin and Jake. Jake was up first.

“Hey, what’s the status with Special Activities?”

Since the mission involved tracking down those behind the spies, physical confrontation was anticipated. While tracking in a third country might be different, entering the home turf of magicians required us to prepare for emergencies with sufficient physical force. And in such situations, special forces personnel were the best assets.

For a simple strike mission, we could request support from the Special Operations Command, but since we might need to conduct intelligence operations simultaneously depending on the situation, I borrowed personnel from the Special Activities Division. The Special Activities Division itself consisted of elite personnel selected from special forces units, so their capabilities were beyond question.

However, moving the Special Activities Division required the Director’s approval…

Since the Director was the one who gave me the special instructions in the first place, getting approval was extremely easy.

And since Jake was from a special forces background and had worked with the operation team during the Raoul assassination, making contact was very simple.

Jake answered my question:

“They’ve assembled the team, packed their equipment, and boarded the train. They should arrive by tomorrow. However, moving the equipment is an issue…”

“I’ve already solved that.”

I had already prepared to transport all the equipment that the Military Intelligence Special Activities Division personnel would use.

“We have a shell company created by Intelligence. It exports electronic components, and we’ll load the equipment onto a foreign-flagged vessel to drop it in international waters.”

This is a method commonly used by North Korea for earning foreign currency.

They establish shell companies abroad and use third-country vessels to drop goods at predetermined coordinates, then another vessel retrieves the goods and delivers payment. I decided to use the communists’ methods.

“Then our resident agent will receive the goods and hide them in Dvorak, and we’ll find and deliver them. Next.”

Pippin approached with quick steps and spoke:

“About the analysis team you mentioned. I contacted some colleagues I know in the Magic Tower division.”

“How did it go?”

“I’ve assembled everyone.”

I had requisitioned analysts.

Sending intelligence gathered on-site back to headquarters for analysis would take too long, so we needed to analyze it immediately in the field for rapid response. While the three of us could handle basic analysis, considering our mission and the need for accuracy, it was better to rely on experts.

Of course, I didn’t just pull personnel from two departments.

“What about Counter-Intelligence?”

“They said they’ll come to the capital as soon as they finish handing over the laboratory.”

“And the technicians?”

“They’re on standby at headquarters.”

Besides the operation team and analysis team, I received support from various departments.

They complained about their own personnel shortages, but when I mentioned the Director’s special order, they quietly complied. In any case, I received personnel support from various departments including Special Activities, Intelligence Analysis, Counter-Intelligence, and others.

Just like that, a small operation team transformed into a large one.

“This is practically a task force now…”

Somehow, I found myself responsible for work far beyond my capabilities.

I’ve done similar work before, but I don’t remember it being this large in scale. It wasn’t a solo mission but an inter-agency operation.

Anyway, for a while, I ran around doing everything possible to ensure the operation’s success.

However,

“Um… Major.”

“Yes, what is it?”

There was one issue.

“About the intelligence team you mentioned. I contacted both intelligence and operations, but they said they have no one available…”

“And?”

“They refused support. Well, not exactly refused…”

“Then what?”

“They said they don’t have experienced personnel available, so they’re sending rookies who are already in the field.”

*

“Director, are you certain you have no personnel available?”

-“I’m afraid that’s the situation.”

“But sir, how can you assign rookies to us? If things go wrong in the most critical area because we’re using rookies, what then?”

-“*Sigh*. Given the Director’s special instructions, I looked everywhere, but the only field-deployable personnel we have right now are rookies. Do you think I would have suggested assigning this to you during the meeting for no reason?”

“Director.”

-“I’ve done what I could. Still, we’ve assigned experienced staff, so it shouldn’t significantly hinder your mission. I need to go into a meeting now, so let’s talk later.”

“No, Director. Director! Dir— Damn it. He hung up.”

I was about to raise my voice while holding the disconnected phone but put it down instead. Then I slumped onto the sofa and tilted my head back.

“Phew…”

I had succeeded in assembling the team needed for the operation, but failed to create the human intelligence team that would collect intelligence on the ground.

To be precise, I couldn’t form the “elite team with excellent field sense” that I had planned. This was because the Intelligence Agency itself lacked personnel. Instead, I managed to bring in a few agents that Foreign Intelligence had deployed to the Magic Tower.

The problem was that they were “rookie” agents.

“…Sigh.”

“Even if they’re rookies, wouldn’t they be skilled enough if they’re deployed overseas?”

“It’s hard to consider rookies as skilled.”

“How about thinking positively?”

At best, they would have only handled short-term missions for 3-5 years, so calling them skilled was absurd.

But what could I do when there was no one available? And it’s not like I could immediately bring in external personnel. At least they weren’t complete novices but rookies who had been on a few missions. If I had only received true beginners, I might have scrapped the whole operation.

Sitting on the lounge sofa, I quietly gestured for Pippin and Jake to come over.

“Guys, when are these people supposed to arrive? They should be here by now.”

“Just a moment… According to the text, they’ll arrive at the train station soon. Do you want to go meet them? We could get a car from the transport battalion or send a magician.”

“It wouldn’t be polite to summon them here without meeting them first. Let’s take a taxi.”

After preparing for the operation all day, I set out to welcome my future colleagues.

As we left the intelligence building, I had a normal conversation with my subordinates for the first time in a while.

“Is everyone doing alright physically?”

“At my age, what could possibly go wrong with my body?”

“My knee cartilage is shot.”

“You’re always training with full gear and climbing mountains—it’s surprising you have any cartilage left. Want to get treatment from the Saint?”

“I’d be grateful if you could arrange that.”

“By the way, I heard there are nice resorts in the Magic Tower area. Would you like to visit when you have time? You’ve been working too hard, Major.”

“I’ve had a few days off already. There’s an even better resort near the Magic Tower. We could go… but we’d be under surveillance. Alright, let’s visit the place you mentioned when we have time.”

“I heard you have to take a drug test after visiting the Magic Tower. Will we need to take one when we return?”

“I wouldn’t know. Check the regulations.”

Making idle chatter, we went up the stairs to the second floor. There, we entered the changing room, removed our duty uniforms and stored them in cabinets, changed into suits, retrieved our IDs from the guard post, and left Military Intelligence.

“…Ugh, it’s cold.”

Summer must have passed already, as a chilly autumn breeze was blowing. Whether it was fatigue making my body weak or my clothes being too thin, I felt slightly cold. So I buttoned up my jacket and shivered.

“Come on, how old are you to be cold in this weather?”

“Try working overtime in my place and then say that.”

“I asked a colleague to get us a taxi, so let’s hurry. Everyone will be waiting.”

We were about to take a taxi to the train station to meet them.

But we never got into the taxi.

Because Royal Intelligence Service employees had arrived with vehicles and surrounded the Military Intelligence building.