Ch.76Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

“Why did you call me?”

In the dimly lit press office, Dmitrie, who had summoned me here, was dragged away somewhere by men in suits. Sofia confidently claimed the chair where Dmitrie had been sitting and smiled softly.

She leaned back in the chair and replied.

“Your face looks better? I almost didn’t recognize you. Is it because you’re a defense attaché now? Seems like you’ve been taking good care of yourself.”

“Cut the crap and talk. What do you want?”

I picked up the gun on the desk and the glass beside it as I spoke.

“Are you here to hassle me about not paying my dues and getting kicked out?”

“What dues? We’re not even hometown association members…”

Sofia smiled like a snake slithering over a wall. She laughed with the same self-assured, confident attitude as before.

“You’re still as unpleasant as ever.”

“Keep that up and I’ll cry.”

“…”

“I’m joking.”

Sofia spouted nonsense with a languid demeanor.

I glared at her while bringing the glass to my lips.

Her loose attitude.

Confident smile.

Attractive appearance.

“…”

On the surface, Sofia appeared to be a truly charming woman, but knowing the true nature hidden beneath that facade made her nothing more than an extremely unsettling woman.

If I had to categorize her, she belonged to a department similar to Veronica’s.

I put down the glass without taking a single sip and said to her.

“Why are you here?”

Sofia showed me her press credentials.

“I’m here to work. You know I’m a civil servant.”

“You mean a spy.”

“Isn’t an intelligence agency a government institution too?”

A spy sitting across from another spy smiled.

Sofia.

Republic of Fatalia public corporation overseas branch representative to the Empire.

Republic of Fatalia major press international department Magic Tower correspondent.

And,

Intelligence agency spy.

“Shall we step outside for a bit?”

“…”

She was an old acquaintance of mine.

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

Public corporations and press agencies are beloved by intelligence agencies.

This isn’t because public corporations and press agencies provide important information to intelligence agencies, but because the identities they provide are incredibly attractive.

Simply put, they make it easy to obtain cover identities.

Respectable and large organizations are optimal places for spies to hide. Just look at South Korea.

How long did KT&G (during its Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation days) and prominent press agencies cooperate with the National Intelligence Service and Defense Intelligence Command? The same goes for overseas. Russia’s public corporation (privately owned but with 51% government shares, so essentially state-owned) Aeroflot cooperates with the FSB, SVR, and GRU, while numerous American airlines help employees of the U.S. intelligence community safely “travel” abroad.

In fact, this is so obvious that counterintelligence agencies around the world intensively monitor foreign public corporations and press agencies to prevent foreign intelligence activities.

However, this only applies to persons of interest. Complete surveillance of all personnel is never achieved.

It’s not like spies walk around with ID cards stuck to their foreheads—how could anyone monitor all those foreigners?

Unless they’re at a diplomatic mission.

“How’s life as a defense attaché?”

“Why ask when you already know?”

“Because I’m a journalist.”

“If you want to interview me, please make an official request.”

The spy disguised as a journalist smirked at my curt response.

With her press credentials pinned to her chest, Sofia took a deep breath and asked:

“The night air is nice, isn’t it?”

“Don’t breathe. You’re wasting good air.”

The defense attaché and journalist exchanged light banter as they strolled through the night streets.

In front of them was a suit-wearing man clearing the path, another behind them, and on the adjacent road, a van slowly following them.

I scanned the suits surrounding us and asked Sofia:

“Who are all these people?”

“My team members. Correspondents.”

She meant spies. More precisely, intelligence agents working under Sofia, disguised as journalists.

Of course, I had already figured this out, so it wasn’t particularly enlightening information. Her answer didn’t address the intent of my question, and Sofia knew that.

We weren’t that kind of people.

“Are you still working there? The Integrated Intelligence Department?”

Sofia is an intelligence officer from a military intelligence agency. Specifically, she belongs to the Integrated Intelligence Department under the Republic of Fatalia Armed Forces Supreme Command. The last rank I saw her with was Lieutenant. Her position, if I remember correctly, was Deputy Team Leader. We first met during contact between allied intelligence agencies while operating in the Empire.

It’s been three years since I left the overseas division. By now, Sofia might have been promoted to Captain.

“No, I retired.”

She says she left the military.

My mind began racing at Sofia’s answer. Military intelligence agencies are sectoral intelligence agencies. Due to the nature of the intelligence field, it’s difficult to find new employment using one’s skills and experience, so retirees looking for new jobs are quick to apply when special recruitment notices from other intelligence agencies appear.

In other words, Sofia is now working at a different intelligence agency, not a military one.

When my thoughts reached that point, one company name slipped out of my mouth.

“National Security Bureau?”

“Yes.”

Sofia’s response was immediate. However, no detailed explanation followed.

In the intelligence field, inquiring about someone’s identity is considered a major breach of etiquette. It’s best not to tell or ask. Both parties should do so if they want to live. So I didn’t probe deeper and changed the subject.

“What are you doing here?”

“Investigation. What about you? Why did you come?”

“Defense attachés all do the same things.”

The job of a defense attaché (or a military intelligence officer disguised as one) is to collect military intelligence.

My mission is to track down the backers of spies, but since I am indeed collecting information, I wasn’t exactly lying.

We already knew what we needed to know about each other anyway. It would have been strange to elaborate further, so we didn’t continue the conversation.

So Sofia and I exchanged idle chatter as we walked.

By intelligence field standards, of course.

“I hear the Magic Tower has been bustling lately? Both diplomacy and business. Everyone seems busy.”

“Of course it’s noisy when the Empire and the Order are at each other’s throats. At least there haven’t been any terrorist attacks like in the old days.”

“Oh, right. The Foreign Ministry mentioned that extremist groups are active in this area.”

“Extremist groups? We haven’t heard anything about that.”

“An urgent notice came out earlier. They’re planning some kind of protest soon? Something about the Saint’s entry issue and other matters.”

“Then we’ll probably get a notice soon too.”

I continued chatting with Sofia about various topics as we walked.

As time passed, the mysterious object that might have been the sun set, and only the streetlights remained to illuminate the darkening streets.

As the world grew darker, the conversation became increasingly dangerous.

“How did you know about Dmitrie?”

“We met several times in the Empire. You introduced us, so why are you asking?”

“That’s not what I’m asking. He’s our asset, so why are you managing him?”

Former journalist turned Magic Tower press social department head Dmitrie was clearly an asset managed by the Military Intelligence Bureau. Simply put, an informant.

It wasn’t a problem that foreign intelligence agencies like Sofia’s were aware of Dmitrie’s existence. Foreign intelligence agencies operating in the Empire customarily cooperated with each other when necessary.

The issue was why the National Security Bureau, not the Military Intelligence Bureau, was managing this intelligence asset.

Sofia answered with a confident expression.

“We bailed him out when he was about to go to prison because you failed to manage him properly.”

She was saying that the National Security Bureau had picked up and was using an asset that the Military Intelligence Bureau had failed to manage and abandoned.

I was at a loss for words. Not because I was offended, but because I genuinely had nothing to say.

Whether the Military Intelligence Bureau was aware that their informant had been arrested was beside the point. The fact that the National Security Bureau had extracted Dmitrie essentially meant that the Military Intelligence Bureau had been neglecting their informant.

Poaching another agency’s assets isn’t proper etiquette in the intelligence field. The National Security Bureau would have known this, so they must have confirmed that the Military Intelligence Bureau wasn’t taking any action before making their move.

“Oh my god…”

Unable to hide my dismay, I rubbed my face.

I had heard that the intelligence network planted in the Empire had collapsed after all the senior operatives were captured, but I never imagined it was this bad.

“No wonder he was cursing so much.”

“What can you do? If they don’t have the capacity to take care of their employees, how could they manage assets? We were in the same boat.”

“Those Imperial Guard bastards did a great job. Really.”

At least they managed to exchange and repatriate the captured operatives, which was fortunate amid the misfortune.

Due to the blunders of the Imperial Guard’s 2nd Bureau, the 1st Bureau had to release all the spies they had captured, causing both bureaus to lose face. The 2nd Bureau suffered the greatest damage by losing a large portion of their overseas intelligence network, but as the Empire’s vulnerabilities were exposed across the continent, causing various social figures to rise up, the 1st Bureau also bore significant responsibility. They’ll probably conduct preventive arrests and eliminate them all soon anyway.

In any case.

The streets were now completely enveloped in darkness. The whole world was pitch black, with only the warm magic flowing from the scattered streetlights pushing back the darkness bit by bit.

The number of pedestrians had dwindled to a countable few, and we slowly walked through the dark night streets.

I followed Sofia around a corner into an alley and asked her:

“So what did you want to talk about that you called me all the way out here?”

“It’s something rather confidential. Ah, we’ve arrived.”

She unfolded a clean folding chair that seemed out of place in the back alley and said:

“Sit here.”

Her boldness left me speechless.

I looked around, scanning the signs on the buildings and noting the suited men standing guard at the alley entrance.

We were in an unfamiliar alley, and the entrance we had come through was now blocked.

“Are you playing games with me?”

“Maybe?”

“…”

“Just sit down. I have something to tell you.”

*

If you were to name three famous intelligence agencies in this region, there are some that always make the list.

The Imperial Guard of the Kiyen Empire.

The Inquisition of the Order.

The Royal Intelligence Department of the Abas Kingdom.

While there are several other outstanding intelligence agencies, it’s hard to find any that match the status of these three.

For starters, their history spans well over a hundred years. The Inquisition is too ancient to discuss, and both the Imperial Guard and the Royal Intelligence Department were pioneers of modern national intelligence agencies. Naturally, they have numerous achievements and abundant experience and know-how.

These three agencies are giants dominating the continental intelligence community. And there are other intelligence agencies closely pursuing them:

The Reconnaissance Command and Counterintelligence Command of the Kiyen Imperial Army.

The Intelligence Bureau of the Kiyen Imperial Police.

The Military Intelligence Bureau of the Abas Royal Army.

The General Intelligence Bureau of the Lushan Federal Kingdom.

The National Security Bureau of the Republic of Fatalia, among others.

Though latecomers, these agencies have built their own achievements by plunging into fierce intelligence warfare no less intensely than the three major agencies.

Some have histories nearly as deep as the Imperial Guard or Royal Intelligence Department. During the war between the Magic Tower and the Order, the Military Intelligence Bureau and Reconnaissance Command supported the Magic Tower under the banner of the Army Intelligence Division. I learned this at intelligence school.

But there was bloodshed.

Many died and many killed. According to official Military Intelligence Bureau records, hundreds of intelligence officers have died in the line of duty since its establishment. If you include informants, operatives, and collaborators who weren’t official employees, the number would easily reach thousands. Perhaps even tens of thousands.

Just looking at South Korean media reports, 7,726 North Korean infiltration operatives died in the line of duty. I think the intelligence agencies in this region would be no less, if not more.

Anyway.

Among the agencies mentioned earlier, the National Security Bureau of the Republic of Fatalia has the shortest history. I believe it was established about 70 years ago.

“It’s a decent workplace. They provide official residences, high salaries, and good treatment.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sure they do.”

“Want to transfer? Since we’re allies, it shouldn’t be a big problem if you join us.”

“Fuck off.”

“You need to have something to fuck off with…”

The National Security Bureau spy retorted slickly.

She’s truly one of the craziest women I’ve ever met. Even if I brought Veronica here, she probably wouldn’t be a match for Sofia.

I adjusted my posture and sighed.

“Lord, what have I done wrong to deserve such a trial?”

“What? Did you get religious recently? Since you’re not praying to the Celestial God, it must be some heretical cult…”

“There are people like that. The ones fighting and killing each other in Jerusalem over scriptural interpretations.”

Sofia nodded quite calmly.

She either pretends to know or is ignoring me because it’s too absurd.

“So what did you want to tell me?”

“Are you in a hurry? You don’t have any schedule today.”

“How did you know that?”

Sofia showed her press credentials and smiled brightly.

“I’m a journalist.”

Someone from the diplomatic mission must have leaked information to a journalist. I understand. The defense attaché is a diplomat after all. These things happen. I’ll just need to make a call to the inspection office.

I don’t know which bastard was running their mouth, but I nodded and spoke:

“If you’re not in a hurry and want to take your time, let me make a quick call.”

As I took out my communication device from my inner pocket, one of the suited men reached out to stop me.

“Put the phone away, please.”

“What? Hey. You came in a car, but I need someone to pick me up too, right? I’m an attaché. Even though I’m a diplomat, I’m still a military officer. Isn’t it normal to at least contact someone if I’ve been wandering around without reporting?”

I was already exhausted from hard labor, and their interference made my words come out harshly.

After my rapid-fire response, Sofia gestured to dismiss the suited man. Meanwhile, I used the communication device to contact my staff.

“Hey, it’s me. I stepped out nearby for a bit, but could you pick me up later? Yeah. No, no, it’s not far. Should take about 20 minutes to get here. Bring the van, not the sedan. Ah, just bring something big. So I can lie down on the way back. Yes. I’ll tell you the name of the store right in front, so come quickly.”

I ended the brief call by giving the name of the store just in front of the alley.

Sofia scratched her cheek indifferently and remarked:

“Are you very tired?”

“Yeah.”

“Then there’s accommodation nearby if you want to stay the night.”

“Are you crazy? Why would I stay at your place when I have a hotel?”

There was no reason to seek other accommodation when I could spend the night at the excellent hotel provided by the Magic Tower. I didn’t want to either. For the sake of the people coming to pick me up, I couldn’t do that.

As I was putting away my communication device, Sofia smiled gently.

“Alright. Come visit sometime if you’re interested. Or at least buy me a meal. You got promoted to Major, so you should treat me.”

“How could I afford dining out on a military salary… Anyway, if you have something to say, say it quickly. Don’t beat around the bush.”

“Alright, alright.”

Sofia detached herself from the backrest and leaned her upper body forward.

“…You’re still with the Military Intelligence Bureau, right?”

“Yes. All defense attachés belong to the Military Intelligence Bureau. Nominally assigned to diplomatic missions, but still.”

“Right. Then do me one favor.”

“Let me hear the explanation first.”

“Of course.”

Sofia nodded and took out a magic cigarette from her pocket, putting it between her lips with a smile.

Finally, we were getting to the point.

“The Military Intelligence Bureau and the Royal Intelligence Department. Back off from what you’re doing now.”

“What are you tal-“

“Magic Tower representative office staff member, Fabio Verati.”

The National Security Bureau spy said.

Sofia warned:

“Since we’re retired, stop meddling and back off.”