Ch.67Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

I rose from my seat to catch the madman who had honked the horn. The sound came from near the guard post.

In the distance, several black sedans were lined up in front of the post, and officers had gathered to see what was happening. I pushed through them and slowly made my way forward.

Then I came face to face with the man in the suit I had met just days ago.

“Nice to see you again,” he said.

“…”

I couldn’t respond. Not because I was flustered, but because I was curious why these bastards had come all the way here to cause trouble. The suited man stepped forward confidently.

“Would you mind coming over here to talk?”

The soldiers guarding the post tried to stop him, but younger men in suits blocked them. They created a path by physically restraining the soldiers.

But I didn’t move forward. I just stood still, staring at the suited man.

“Why should I? You should either send an official document or make a formal contact. What kind of behavior is this?”

The Royal Intelligence Service is our competing agency. Although I lack a sense of belonging and patriotism toward Abas, that’s beside the point. It was only days ago that they tried to take over my operation. Naturally, my words weren’t going to be pleasant.

But the suited man stood rigidly, looking at me as if wondering what the problem was.

“…”

“…”

As our gazes locked in midair, creating a strange tension—

“That’s enough.”

A person emerged from a black van parked at the back. A middle-aged woman.

She waved away the approaching suited men and walked forward.

“What are you doing, fighting among family?”

“I apologize, Director.”

“Tsk…”

The middle-aged woman clicked her tongue briefly, scolding the suited man. Then she looked at me and spoke.

“We meet again.”

Former Military Intelligence Bureau Overseas Operations Department Chief of Kiyen Empire.

Former Military Intelligence Bureau Overseas Operations Department Head of Lushan Federation Kingdom Branch.

And current Director at the Royal Intelligence Service.

The person who used to be my superior.

“Let’s not stand outside. Let’s sit and talk.”

“…”

Leoni Risach.

She had come looking for me.

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

In the intelligence community, there are people known as “named” individuals.

These are people who have built up achievements and abilities over a long time, or who have gained fame by producing quick results in a short period. They become objects of admiration and respect, targets of jealousy and envy, and sometimes recruitment targets.

The most representative example is Clavins.

Clavins was an agent who worked in the field since his junior officer days, and after becoming a field-grade officer, he was an excellent investigator who sent hundreds of spies to prison as a handler.

His abilities were so outstanding that he rose to become a leading candidate for the next director, surpassing his military seniors—the security chief and intelligence chief. In fact, he was even offered transfers to the Cabinet Security Office and Special Investigation Bureau when he was just a captain, so it’s no exaggeration to say that Clavins’ abilities and status had reached the highest level.

However.

Where there is a sun, there is also a moon. If Clavins was in the domestic division of Military Intelligence, then Leoni was in the overseas division.

Leoni Risach.

The Military Intelligence Bureau’s top operative. Starting in the Kiyen Empire division, known as the “agents’ graveyard,” she rose to become the second-in-command of the Empire branch.

Since her junior officer days, she swept up all kinds of awards and medals, but ironically, no one knew what she received them for.

An agent whose detailed career and missions remained unknown.

Rumors were abundant, but there was no way to confirm them.

However, because many senior operatives who worked with her were tight-lipped, and many agents who were by her side died in the line of duty or retired, it was widely accepted that she handled extremely dirty and dangerous work that was difficult to even mention within the intelligence agency.

But what was certain was that she was an exceptional operative. And that the Military Intelligence Bureau, recognizing her abilities, continued to assign her secret missions.

If Leoni had completed her term as the Lushan Federation branch head smoothly, she would have returned to the Empire as the branch head. There was simply no operative as skilled or as knowledgeable about the Empire as she was.

If she had served as the Kiyen Empire branch head, a key position, she could have aimed not only for the Overseas Operations Department head position but also for the next Military Intelligence Bureau Director.

“…”

I thought she had quietly retired after her accident and demotion, but here she was, still in the industry, looking exactly the same as before.

“Why are you staring at me like that? It’s embarrassing.”

“…It’s been a long time, Director.”

“Chief? I’m a Director now.”

Leoni was wearing a business suit instead of a military uniform.

She belonged to the Royal Intelligence Service. Her position was Director. I didn’t know what kind of director she was.

The former elite operative of Military Intelligence, now a director at the Royal Intelligence Service, leaned back in her chair in a manner that made it hard to believe she had a military background. She looked relaxed, like a civilian, not rigid at all.

Perhaps that’s what retirement does.

“I thought you had retired. I never dreamed you’d transfer to the Royal Intelligence Service.”

In a room of a barracks slightly removed from the barren operation site.

I spoke to her with a smile on my face. We weren’t particularly close, nor were we awkward with each other, but she had once been my superior.

In response, my former superior leaned back in her chair and replied.

“Not retirement, but a secondment.”

Maybe it’s because she was my superior. Her informal speech style remains the same as before.

When we met at the Royal Intelligence Service conference room, I thought she had changed because of her speech style, but meeting her in private, she wasn’t much different from her Military Intelligence days. If her temperament is still the same, she probably still swears well too.

Anyway.

“Is that so?”

Secondment. I mulled over her answer, turning it over in my mind.

Like the National Intelligence Service, the Royal Intelligence Service Director can request the secondment of active-duty military personnel and civil servants at any time. This isn’t an overreach but a unique authority the Royal Intelligence Service Director can exercise within established laws. In South Korea, this is done through consultation between the NIS Director and the heads of related agencies, with presidential approval.

Therefore, seconded military personnel or civil servants maintain their original status while concurrently serving as Royal Intelligence Service employees.

To reiterate, it’s not a transfer but a concurrent position. During the secondment period, concurrent employees are not subject to the orders and supervision of their original agency.

In other words, Leoni is currently both a Military Intelligence agent and a Royal Intelligence Service director.

I nodded and replied.

“I see. I didn’t know.”

I don’t understand how this works. I’m not a legal expert, so I don’t know and don’t particularly want to know. Intelligence agencies breaking rules isn’t anything new. It’s easier to just accept it and move on.

“So what are you doing at the Royal Intelligence Service now?”

“Director of Operations Division 2. Think of it as similar to the Operations Department head.”

The National Operations Bureau of the Royal Intelligence Service.

The headquarters for all intelligence gathering and covert operations conducted by the Royal Intelligence Service. I didn’t know what the Director of Division 2 did, but I instinctively knew it was a very high position.

After all, they wouldn’t bring in someone with overseas branch head experience for a low position. It must be at least equivalent to a branch head or higher.

“Congratulations on your promotion.”

“After three years, I’m getting congratulations from you.”

“Ah… I was just an aide back then…”

“Tsk.”

Leoni clicked her tongue and leaned deeper into the backrest. She wasn’t being rude; this was just how she was. She.

I wonder why she came looking for me.

“…”

I racked my brain. She surely didn’t come after three years just to receive congratulations, and given her personality, she wouldn’t have come all this way for casual conversation.

Then there’s only one answer.

“…The overseas operation. Did you come to talk about that?”

“What?”

“Are you here to ask us to transfer the mission to the Royal Intelligence Service?”

There was a high possibility she came to ask us to transfer the mission of tracking the spy’s backing organization to the Royal Intelligence Service.

First of all, she’s from a military background. She spent her entire career in the Military Intelligence Bureau’s Overseas Operations Department, specifically in charge of the Kiyen Empire. And I was an intelligence officer in the Military Intelligence Bureau’s Overseas Operations Department, with my first posting in the Kiyen Empire.

In other words, it’s preferential treatment for a former colleague. A military senior coming to ask a junior for a favor. That kind of thing.

It’s common in the intelligence community. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything else. But we weren’t particularly close or distant, so why would she personally come? That reason didn’t come to mind. It probably wasn’t important anyway.

Leoni chuckled and retorted.

“If I asked for a transfer, would you consider it?”

“Well… I’d have to check the internal regulations to see if I have the authority…”

I mentioned internal regulations and let my words trail off. If I stalled by saying I needed to check the regulations, the operation would begin soon. Clavins said he would resolve the agrément issue, so I should be able to go to the magic tower soon.

Then it would all be over. Taking away an ongoing operation would be like asking for a fight without rank insignia.

By then, even if agency heads flocked to the Prime Minister’s residence and begged, “Please listen to us,” they couldn’t transfer it. If they tried to take it away, Military Intelligence would cause a commotion, saying we were pushing ahead without the Prime Minister’s permission.

That’s why I mentioned internal regulations, but her reaction was unusual.

“Do you think I came here for such trivial matters?”

“…”

Eyes filled with intensity stared at me. A fierce gaze, not just stern but savage, pierced my heart like a dagger.

Leoni raised her upper body and continued.

“I’m not here to demand a transfer.”

Her gaze was sharp, but I remained calm and laughed it off.

“…Is that so? Then please get to the point quickly. I need to have lunch.”

“…”

“Oh, have you eaten yet?”

“Your manner of speaking…”

Leoni relaxed her expression and muttered, “You’ve only learned strange things from that Clavins,” as she leaned back in her chair. No matter how senior she was to Clavins, it seemed a bit much to speak that way about a colonel.

While I was lost in idle thoughts, she adjusted her glasses and began.

“Right. We’re not close enough for me to beat around the bush. Let me get straight to the point.”

“I’m listening.”

“You…”

The deal was presented.

“Have you ever thought about changing jobs?”

*

The Royal Intelligence Service is a competitor to Military Intelligence.

To be precise, they have a symbiotic relationship where, as foreign intelligence agencies, they check and monitor each other to achieve better operational efficiency.

Intelligence collection.

Intelligence analysis.

Counter-terrorism.

Advanced technology protection.

Support for overseas businesses.

Assisting policy makers in decision-making.

Covert operations, etc.

The Royal Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence monitor and check each other in various fields.

This relationship exists in every country.

CIA and DIA, FSB and SVR, DGSE and DST, SIS and GCHQ, Mossad and Aman, CIRO and DIH, State Security Department and General Staff Intelligence Department, Cultural Exchange Bureau and Reconnaissance General Bureau, NIS and Defense Intelligence Command, etc.

National intelligence agencies and departmental intelligence agencies, domestic and foreign intelligence agencies compete fiercely in intelligence warfare. To secure more budget and initiative. That’s why they sometimes overstep their authority and make mistakes.

But they don’t always compete. They regularly exchange through commissioned education, information sharing, personnel exchanges, joint operations, secondments, and business trips. After all, they belong to the same country. No matter how much they dislike each other, they’re family.

However, things are a bit different in this neighborhood.

With outdated systems like the class system still alive and well, pride and sense of belonging are sky-high. So they wage even fiercer intelligence warfare internally than global intelligence agencies do, trying to outdo each other.

In other words, they do everything they can as long as they don’t cross the line.

Like now.

“…What did you say?”

A deal came from the Royal Intelligence Service.

A job offer. In other words, a proposal to change workplaces.

The intelligence community often recycles personnel. High-quality personnel who combine experience and knowledge are rare, so it’s an unavoidable phenomenon.

Therefore, intelligence agencies often recruit personnel from outside through special appointments. It’s similar to how the NIS occasionally posts recruitment notices for specialists in military intelligence, North Korea, overseas, investigation, IT, and so on.

Of course,

“I asked if you’d consider retiring and moving to the Royal Intelligence Service.”

There are also cases like this where they directly propose a job change.

I asked Leoni.

“Why would I go to the Royal Intelligence Service?”

“How many years of service do you have now?”

“…Six years.”

“Is that so?”

She closed her eyes and fell into deep thought. Then she recited numbers aloud.

“Three years until commissioning. Transferred right at the end of being a second lieutenant, so one year as a platoon leader in the field. Six months of training. Three years of practical work. Three years as an aide…”

“…”

“A six-year Military Intelligence agent. Short-term agents with three to five years enter as Grade 7 rookies when specially appointed, so if you transfer now, you’d be at least a team leader. A major is Grade 6, and when transferring, you typically go up two ranks…”

“…”

“Raise your grade by two levels to Grade 4. Section chief position. What do you think?”

She was saying they would give me a higher rank if I transferred to the Royal Intelligence Service.

It’s quite a radical proposal. A section chief in an intelligence agency in my late twenties. Even for a middle management position, it’s quite high.

“I’m not just giving you Grade 4 treatment. Authority, assigned staff, equipment, support scale—all would be at the section chief level. If necessary, I could even write you a blank check.”

“…”

A blank check from a national intelligence agency. It was essentially saying they would let me do whatever I wanted. It’s an overreach that transcends laws and internal regulations.

It’s too much for a 28-year-old rookie operative. So much that it could cause indigestion. But it was an offer worth taking even at the risk of stomach upset.

I remained silent, and Leoni adjusted her posture and continued her persuasion. Rather than trying hard to recruit me, she seemed to be asking if there was anything else to explain.

“You still won’t do it? Transfer.”

“That’s not a reason for me to leave Military Intelligence.”

“Reason?”

She laughed.

“If you make a living in this field, you must know that Royal Intelligence Service field agents far outnumber Military Intelligence overseas division agents.”

“The number of employees and scale are confidential.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? Look, I don’t know the exact scale either. It’s confidential. Only the agency head or Prime Minister would know. I’m just estimating.”

That was true.

Even for intelligence agency employees, confidential information remains confidential. One cannot freely access confidential information that doesn’t match their rank and duties. Especially the exact organizational scale is important confidential information.

However, with experience comes intuition, and someone with years of service can vaguely sense the scale or capabilities of their organization. And she was a veteran in the field.

Leoni confidently held up one finger.

“But one thing is certain. In terms of organizational status or scale, Military Intelligence is no match for the Royal Intelligence Service.”

That was true.

Military Intelligence is a departmental intelligence agency, while the Royal Intelligence Service is a national intelligence agency. The organizational scale differs from the start.

In terms of overall numbers, Military Intelligence might exceed the Royal Intelligence Service, but since Military Intelligence is an integrated intelligence agency combining domestic and foreign operations, its overseas division is much smaller than the Royal Intelligence Service, which focuses solely on foreign intelligence.

“And you must know that working at the Royal Intelligence Service means working in a much more comfortable environment than your current Military Intelligence.”

“…”

“If you really don’t want to transfer the operation, wouldn’t it be better to work under better conditions than now?”

She made judgments purely from an operative’s perspective, without bringing up empty talk about belonging or loyalty.

In other words, substance over form, efficiency over emotion.

“…”

“Think about it. Patriotism isn’t just about holding a gun and protecting the country, is it?”

Of course, she didn’t forget a bit of patriotic marketing.

After rattling off her points like a machine gun, Leoni gathered her clothes and stood up.

Before leaving the room, she said to me.

“I don’t believe you’re stupid enough to waste your abilities.”

“…”

“I can’t give you much time. So decide. As soon as possible.”

*

The content about concurrent positions is based on Article 12 (Concurrent Employees) of the National Intelligence Service Act. It’s not just a setting; it’s actual law.