Ch.82Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

Rain fell.

The raindrops pounded fiercely on the car hood, and the smell of water filled my nostrils.

The charming hillside that once gleamed with verdant colors now absorbed the moisture. The soft green hillside had darkened, and the damp greenery, its color more vivid in the gloomy air, created a solemn atmosphere that inspired awe.

“It rains a lot here.”

The great ancestors spoken of by the Magic Tower. The mysterious legacy left by the founding fathers had bestowed blessings upon those living in the Magic Tower today.

People called this phenomenon a mystery.

Magic, science, and divinity. A phenomenon that could not be explained by any of these—a mystery.

Sandstorms that lasted for months, the southern jungle that boasted tenacious vitality despite being soaked in toxic gas and defoliants, the massive Magic Tower that had been floating in the sky for a hundred years, the source of magic and divinity, the origin of species.

Countless scholars had tried to understand and prove these things, but they remained unsolved enigmas of the ages.

The people of this world called such puzzles mysteries.

“Is it fascinating to you?”

“Yes, a little.”

“You’ll get used to this too if you see it often enough. You just adapt and live with it.”

The operations officer in the passenger seat muttered this while looking at the road through a monocular.

A quiet road with few people around. We waited, listening to the rain beating fiercely against the windows.

Just then, we received some good news.

The radio crackled.

-‘3km. 47 km/h. One black SUV.’

I put down the radio and opened the car door. Through the gap, the fierce wind and rain rushed in all at once.

“Let’s get out.”

“Let’s do that.”

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

The fierce wind and rain reminded one of a storm.

The man in the driver’s seat rested his arm on the steering wheel and spoke to his friend in the passenger seat.

“How’s the real estate market these days?”

“It’s bad. Can’t you tell by the fact that I’m stuck here?”

Though they weren’t from the same military branch, both men were veterans who had been discharged long ago.

That fact was the thread connecting the two, despite their different affiliations and nationalities.

Of course, the main reason was money. Currently, both were working under the same employer.

The driver asked, “Is it hard to buy a home in the Empire too?”

“What about Lushan?”

Surprised by the sudden question, the driver turned the wheel and answered.

“Don’t even mention it. It’s a complete mess because of the refugees. Property values in the south have crashed, and while the north and central regions are somewhat better off, the east has serious problems. There’s also the drug issue…”

“Sigh. In today’s world, how many people can actually buy a house with their own money? Kiyen’s situation is pretty similar.”

The two continued their discussion about real estate and housing prices. The SUV sped down the two-lane road against the backdrop of hills battered by the storm-like rain and wind.

It was supposed to be a world for people to live in, but it was a tough world indeed.

The approaching monsters and the flames of civil war were shaking the continental economy to its roots. The reasons for economic instability were varied, but as the economy faltered, the world became more chaotic, and security and national defense grew unstable—the current continental situation was a vicious cycle.

However, such complicated and headache-inducing topics didn’t come up in the two men’s conversation.

It wasn’t their business anyway.

Rather, making a living was more important to them. Naturally, one could only talk about comfort after putting food on the table.

So the two began to share trivial personal stories.

“I’m thinking of going home next week to see my wife’s face. Want to come?”

“Why would I go to Lushan?”

“Well, you know that dancer who lives next door to us? She said she misses you.”

“I’ve lived in Kiyen my whole life—how could I live there? Besides, I already have a religion. Even for dating, not just marriage, if our religions are different, one of us has to convert.”

“Who’s threatening you to get married right now? Making such a fuss over someone you’ve only met a few times…”

“I’m handsome enough to be quite popular, unlike you. You should live your whole life thanking your wife. You know that?”

“Good grief… what nonsense. Just don’t get married. Your mouth is the real problem.”

The black SUV pushed forward through the rain and wind. The man in the passenger seat briefly glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror.

A schoolgirl in an academy uniform was nodding off in the back seat.

“The young lady seems very tired. Must have had a rough time.”

At this clearly audible mutter, the driver lowered his voice.

“She just came back from a trip. Leave her be. Don’t wake her up unnecessarily.”

“She sleeps so deeply that she wouldn’t notice if someone carried her away. Shouldn’t we act normal?”

“She might wake up.”

“At her age, academy students don’t wake up even with noise around them during break time.”

“You talk like you graduated from an academy.”

“In Kiyen, education is mandatory through middle school, you idiot.”

“I only went to elementary school, so I wouldn’t know.”

“That’s something to brag about.”

In a world where countless people entered the workforce before even finishing high school, it wasn’t really an issue.

Who could blame the state of the world?

The elementary school graduate veteran drove the vehicle while snickering, and the high school graduate veteran who had enlisted believing the recruiter’s iron-clad promise of educational support spat out curses.

“Damn it. They said they’d send me to college after discharge, but in the end, they didn’t because I didn’t complete my service period.”

“You believed that? You should have listened to the adults.”

“How could a teacher pay attention to me when there are hundreds of students? Besides, with academies needing to meet quotas, how could they not send students?”

Though his life had taken some twists and turns, he couldn’t blame anyone.

If you don’t like the temple, the monk should leave—but if the world is shit, there’s no answer except death, so you just have to endure and live on.

The high school graduate veteran didn’t blame the tangled world or the military that had kicked him out after passing him over for promotion.

If he was really upset, he could go out and protest with a picket sign, but that would just get him killed by a police officer’s steel pipe.

So he just sighed deeply and cursed.

“At least I’m making good money now, so that’s fortunate. In my next life, I want to be born into a rich family, damn it.”

“Hey. What’s that light up ahead?”

“What?”

At his fellow security guard’s words, the high school graduate looked through the windshield.

On the road where the fierce rain and wind made it difficult to see even a foot ahead.

In the distance, a bright yellow will-o’-the-wisp was flickering.

“…Is that a ghost?”

*

Fortunately, it wasn’t a ghost.

The light flickering in the middle of the road wasn’t a will-o’-the-wisp but came from a magical device.

“Excuse me…! Please help…!”

Looking closely, it wasn’t a magical device but a flashlight. A very thick and heavy flashlight at that.

Though it was a world where magic had developed, magicians had operated in the shadows until just a hundred years ago, so it wasn’t particularly strange. Science had dominated the world for thousands of years, so what was the big deal about carrying a flashlight? Expensive magical devices weren’t something just anyone could carry around anyway.

However, the current situation was somewhat strange.

“……”

A remote road with fierce rain and wind. Not a single vehicle passing by, and they encountered a suspicious person.

Though his soaked appearance, like a drenched mouse, was truly pitiful, a stranger was always someone to be wary of, anytime and anywhere.

The man with the flashlight knocked on the car window.

“Excuse me…!”

“…What should we do?”

“Isn’t it an accident? Just call the police.”

“Would the police even come in this weather? With this kind of wind, even a broomstick couldn’t fly.”

“So we let him in the car?”

“Let’s see what’s going on first. He’ll catch pneumonia and die if he stays out in the rain like that.”

They could have just ignored him and driven past, but the man knocking on the window looked too miserable.

The security guard at the wheel kept the engine running and turned on the headlights. There was an old red pickup truck with its hood wide open, a small toolbox on the ground, and a man wrapped in a blanket sitting in the back seat.

“There are two men over there too. You handle it. I’ll check out that flashlight.”

“Getting soaked in this weather is serious trouble, damn it.”

“Are you made of sugar? You won’t melt from a little rain. Get out quickly. And be careful with the tools.”

“Shit…”

The security guard in the driver’s seat opened the door and stepped outside, followed by the one from the passenger seat.

As expected, cold raindrops hit their faces as soon as they got out. The rain had subsided from the fierce downpour that had made it difficult to see ahead, but the mist still made visibility poor, and the rain pouring down like a cloudburst was no easy opponent.

Their shoes hit the asphalt road, but the footsteps were barely audible. The sound of the wind was louder than human footsteps.

In the hazy view, the headlights illuminated two figures walking ahead. The person in front was clearly visible in the flashlight’s beam, while the security guard’s back was dimly lit by the SUV’s headlights.

Voices could be heard.

“The…! Car…! Problem…!”

The man with the flashlight shouted that there was a problem with the vehicle, pointing the light at the hood. Though partially drowned out by the rain, his raised voice made the conversation faintly audible.

The security guard who had been driving had a family and was interested in cars, so he could easily handle simple vehicle problems. While the guard took the flashlight and examined the inside of the hood, the man who had handed over the flashlight hurriedly grabbed the toolbox and ran toward the hood.

The security guard who had gotten out of the passenger seat walked around the vehicle, examining its exterior.

Visually, the tires seemed fine. Pressing them firmly with his thumb confirmed sufficient air pressure, and no foreign objects like nails or metal fragments could be felt. If there was any minor damage, it couldn’t be detected by the naked eye, but the tires appeared to be problem-free.

The vehicle’s exterior was generally intact. It was somewhat old, but perhaps due to the heavy rain, there was no dust or foreign matter on it. The paint was peeling in places, but that wasn’t a major issue either. After all, peeling paint didn’t affect a vehicle’s performance.

Of course, if the maintenance was terrible, that would be a different story, but that wasn’t something he could confirm just by looking at the exterior of the vehicle.

“……”

Driver and passenger. What might their occupations be?

The person with the flashlight he had just encountered was very large in build and visibly muscular. In contrast, the man sitting in the back seat was smaller. He was a bit shorter, but with the blanket covering him, it was impossible to tell what his physique was like.

From their overall appearance, they didn’t seem to be high earners. After all, wealthy people wouldn’t have a reason to drive such an old car, nor would they be shivering while completely soaked in the rain.

“Are you alright?”

“……”

The security guard approached the man covered with the blanket.

With his head covered as well, his face wasn’t visible, but his slightly blue lips suggested he had been severely drenched in the rain.

As he approached, the man lifted his head and looked up at him.

Black hair. Brown eyes.

His appearance wasn’t particularly unusual, but his expression seemed somewhat fierce, and his eyes were remarkably calm. It was hard to believe these were the eyes of someone soaked by rain.

“Are you alright, sir?”

“……”

There was no answer to his question.

The man wasn’t visibly shivering, but the weather was very cold, and the rain and wind were still fierce. He appeared weakened from the rain.

Just as the security guard was considering whether to fetch a heating stone from the car…

“Aaargh!”

A scream came from the direction of the hood.

Turning his head, he saw a man wielding a pipe wrench striking the security guard’s head.

His judgment was quick.

“You son of a—”

The security guard reached for his waist with his right hand to draw his defensive weapon to subdue the man.

At that moment…

“…!”

The man who had been covered with the blanket suddenly stood up, grabbed his left wrist, and tripped him.

The security guard and the man rolled across the asphalt road, and the man who had handed over the flashlight brought down the pipe wrench he had raised high.

Crack! The sound of something being crushed was heard.

“You, you bastard…!”

The security guard tried to pull out the defensive weapon attached to his back, but with his arm pinned under his back, he couldn’t free his hand.

The man who had knocked down the security guard straddled his body, pressing his knee into the guard’s solar plexus to subdue him.

Rain fell.

At the foot of the hill where fierce rain and wind raged. Two vehicles stood on the road. The ground was soaked with rain, and blood from a broken skull mixed into the rainwater.

The fierce sound of rain beat against the asphalt road. Then, thunder flashed, momentarily illuminating the dark scene.

The flash lit up two people.

The security guard lay sprawled on the road.

And the spy who had subdued him with his knee raised his arm.

Then, the spy stabbed a knife into the security guard’s abdomen.

It wasn’t an exaggerated action scene like in movies.

Thunk-!

Just.

Appropriately and quietly,

One person had died.