Ch.85Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

There’s a technique that spies use.

Techniques to bypass surveillance by intelligence and counterintelligence agencies, ensuring smooth and safe operations.

The techniques of spies are so sophisticated they can deceive even trained individuals.

Setting up bases next to slaughterhouses, hiding directives in trash cans, concealing cameras in cigarette packs, digging into random rocks to plant listening devices.

Spies would do anything as long as it could deceive others. Success was secondary; failure meant your life was at stake in this business.

That’s why I always store my luggage at predetermined positions and angles, and place strands of hair on my clothes.

So I can tell if someone has searched my room.

That has changed.

In other words,

Someone has searched my room.

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

The fact that someone of unknown identity had searched my room was shocking, but I, the one who had been searched, wasn’t flustered.

Because I had somewhat anticipated it and prepared myself mentally.

I wasn’t just a simple soldier but a defense attaché, someone who hung around with the hottest potatoes on the continent. Naturally, I would be under surveillance by all kinds of intelligence agencies.

Above all, I am an “active” soldier.

That means I’m someone who can access military secrets at any time.

A fellow warrior with active military status who manages military and diplomatic secrets.

Anyone who doesn’t try to exploit this is an idiot. Even if you can’t succeed, it’s common courtesy to at least try. If recruitment is successful, you can obtain all sorts of classified information.

The problem is who searched my room.

“…Who could it be?”

It was just a month ago that I tore apart those reactionary bastards from the Imperial Guard who were sent by Military Intelligence to take my head. The Inquisition officially intervened (it was officially announced as a solo operation by the Inquisition), and the Imperial Guard unofficially turned a blind eye to Military Intelligence’s assassination plot.

The two intelligence agencies that dominated the continent stepped back and made concessions, and all the intelligence agencies on the continent witnessed those moments.

Of course, no intelligence department would conclude that I was an agent of Military Intelligence based on that incident. Since all defense attachés are managed by military intelligence agencies regardless of their original affiliation, the majority opinion was that they intervened strongly out of consideration for national face.

So most intelligence agencies concluded that they would watch me without interfering for the time being.

This isn’t just speculation but official information. Specifically, it’s the result of analysis from intelligence gathered by Military Intelligence’s overseas division.

There’s no room for doubt.

The capabilities of Military Intelligence shouldn’t be taken lightly, and the judgments of their top analysts were generally accurate.

So the information that most intelligence agencies wouldn’t interfere with me could essentially be considered fact.

But what kind of madmen would search my quarters now?

No matter how lawlessly intelligence agencies operate, this wasn’t a rational decision. Even if they wanted to observe more and work slowly, the blood on the knife hadn’t even dried yet, and they were already making moves. How could this make any sense?

“……”

Sitting on the hotel bed, I pondered carefully.

Who searched my room, who could search my room?

After much deliberation, I couldn’t reach a conclusion.

This was the Magic Tower, like Hong Kong, Berlin, Istanbul, or Vienna, where espionage was most actively conducted.

There were too many suspects to consider.

“…Maybe it was the cleaning staff?”

In the midst of my contemplation, it suddenly occurred to me that hotel cleaners might have entered my room to clean.

So I went to the front desk.

“Yes, how may I help you?”

“Can I find out who entered my room today?”

“Oh, did you lose something?”

The hotel staff asked me with a fresh smile, and I lied.

“Yes.”

“Then according to our policy, we can compensate-“

“No. It’s not that important, so there’s no need for compensation. Just tell me who entered.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

I waited quietly in the hotel lobby where not even a mouse was stirring.

And shortly after, the results came in.

“Um, sir? We’ve confirmed that no one has entered your hotel room since you checked in.”

“Are you sure there were no cleaners or anyone who took a room key?”

“As per government request, we’re not allowing cleaners in for security reasons. And for guests’ safety, we don’t provide hotel keys to just anyone.”

“……”

It was certain that someone had infiltrated my room.

*

In the end, I couldn’t find the culprit.

The one fortunate thing was that only my room had been searched.

“Your rooms weren’t disturbed?”

“No.”

Pippin and Jake, who had gathered in my room, nodded. Both were dressed in comfortable civilian clothes, apparently preparing for bed.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, we checked multiple times.”

There were no signs that Pippin and Jake’s rooms had been searched. I sat on the hotel bed and let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you alright, sir?”

“Yeah.”

“What on earth is going on…”

“I don’t know either.”

There were too many suspicious individuals to identify the culprit.

To be blunt, it could have been the Magic Tower’s counterintelligence agency that conducted the search, or a third-country intelligence agency might have infiltrated the room. After all, searching a hotel room wasn’t that difficult.

But there was something strange.

“Why my room specifically…? Yours are untouched.”

“We wouldn’t know that either.”

First, why did the intruder only search my room?

“Did you check for bugs?”

“Yeah.”

“Find anything?”

“No, there were no listening devices.”

Second, if they had enough time to search through belongings, why didn’t they install surveillance equipment?

“…I don’t understand how they got in. The magical response should be different for each key card.”

Third, how did they open a room that operates with magical key cards without a key?

“……”

For now, the most likely suspect was the Magic Tower’s Public Order Protection Bureau. The Magic Tower’s counterintelligence agency that survived the cuts of the Nastasiya Treaty.

This was the Magic Tower, and whether they liked it or not, the hotel operating in the Magic Tower would have to cooperate if the Public Order Protection Bureau made a strong request. Naturally, it would also be easy to silence them.

However, the likelihood that the Public Order Protection Bureau searched my room was low.

“Pippin, when is our meeting with the Public Order Protection Bureau scheduled?”

“In two days.”

The Magic Tower’s counterintelligence agency had an upcoming meeting with me. It was called a meeting, but it was essentially an unofficial conference with Military Intelligence.

If the Public Order Protection Bureau had searched the room, their purpose would have been information theft.

Stealing information to gain an advantage in negotiations was a method commonly used by any intelligence agency. Even the National Intelligence Service had been caught breaking into hotel rooms to steal confidential information.

The problem was that nothing was missing from my room.

“If nothing’s missing, why search?”

“Maybe they stole your underwear, sir.”

“You’re crazy.”

There was also the possibility that they hacked my device like when the FBI caught a double agent, but most of the important work devices had been moved to the representative office, and items that couldn’t be moved were hidden in secret compartments inside my bag.

There was no evidence that those areas had been touched. My bag was a disguised one developed with a budget from Military Intelligence. It was a new item, so there was no reason it would be compromised.

“Jake. Can you find out who’s staying on the floor above us? They might have booked a room under a false name…”

“The Magic Tower has rented the entire hotel, so there’s no one staying here except us.”

“What? Then it’s not another company either.”

It’s not the Magic Tower. It’s not another intelligence agency.

Then what kind of swollen-livered bastards would dare search my room?

As I was racking my brain over this unsolvable question, Pippin, who had been silent, spoke up.

“Sir.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Aren’t there other people here besides us?”

*

“So you suspect us.”

“Yes.”

“That’s quite an accusation to hear.”

Rebecca, the priest who was the leader of Lucia’s entourage and the secretary to the Inquisitor General, dismissed my claim as nonsense.

The Inquisition agent with mint-colored hair and a haughty expression sat on the hotel sofa, looking at me.

“Do we have any reason to search your room, Major?”

“You must be surprised to be suddenly accused of breaking and entering? I was also shocked to find my room searched when I came back from work.”

“My, you must have been upset. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Water, please, not tea.”

As soon as I heard Pippin’s hypothesis, I led my subordinates to raid the hotel room.

Except for Military Intelligence, the only intelligence agency that could freely enter and exit the hotel was the Inquisition disguised as attendants, so naturally, they were the most likely culprits.

“Everyone’s gathered here. Is something good happening?”

“We were in a meeting about the aid schedule.”

“My goodness. You must be tired at this late hour.”

“If you understand, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”

When I raided the hotel room, about a dozen Inquisition agents were gathered there.

My room was searched, and Inquisition agents were huddled together for a meeting? It couldn’t be more suspicious.

I lay down comfortably on the footrest sofa, putting my feet up.

“The person in charge of medical service should be Lucia, so why are you all gathered here whispering? It’s suspicious.”

“Mind your words.”

Rebecca the priest and I sat facing each other, engaged in a battle of wills. Behind us were agents from Military Intelligence and the Inquisition.

With more than a dozen spies gathered in this cramped hotel room, counterintelligence agencies would surely be red-eyed with anger if they knew.

Rebecca placed her teacup on the armrest and began spreading cream on a biscuit.

“As you know, Major. We’re staying on the lower floor of the hotel. Your room is on the upper floor. Is there any reason for us to go there?”

“It takes 10 seconds to climb the stairs. Is there any reason you couldn’t come up?”

“Why do you suspect us? We are pure and clean people.”

“……”

I pondered just how clean the Inquisition was as an organization.

First, after the bomb attack, it was the Inquisition that called me in to test me while I was looking for the perpetrators.

Second, it was also the Inquisition that called me alone to a secluded place under the pretext of providing information about the perpetrators, only to search my body and pressure me. The Imperial Guard tried to deceive me, but at least they invited me to an embassy party and attempted conversation in a smooth atmosphere.

Third, the Inquisition was also the group that branded everyone associated with Raoul as black magicians. Military Intelligence had requested that only Raoul be killed and the rest of the associates be imprisoned for various crimes, but the Inquisition took the lead in branding their own citizens as black magicians and executing them.

On top of that, they provided cement to beat up Cardinal Raoul, incited the Saint to squeeze juice in front of cameras making the Magic Tower look foolish, played the role of informants allowing the Imperial police to conduct preventive arrests and crush magicians, and sent spies while the Saint was doing medical service…

“……”

Looking at it this way, the Inquisition was the craziest religious group I had ever encountered. I never dreamed there would be people worse than Islamic terrorist organizations.

I’m thankful that the Inquisitor General is a spy for Military Intelligence.

“Anyway. So you didn’t enter the hotel room?”

“We neither entered nor searched it. Why would we benefit from searching your room in the first place, Major?”

“…Hmm.”

I believe in Peter.

He was an elite who had infiltrated foreign intelligence agencies and operated covertly for decades, and there was no reason to doubt his loyalty to the country.

However, Peter’s identity was the Inquisitor General, and he might have ordered my quarters to be searched for more effective identity concealment.

That way, he wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

Of course, he wouldn’t have given orders that would endanger me, but knowing what religiously fanatical people are capable of, it was hard to let my guard down completely.

It was Peter who was loyal to Military Intelligence, not the other Inquisition agents.

So I stared at her with suspicious eyes, but Rebecca the priest didn’t flinch.

In the midst of this, there was a commotion in the back.

“Look at this!”

Jake, who had been searching the wardrobe, shouted while holding something up high.

Everyone’s attention was focused, and I too turned my gaze to the object Jake was holding up.

It was a gun.

Jake was holding a very small and cute submachine gun, and between his legs, identical submachine guns and bulletproof vests were scattered on the wardrobe floor.

As if they had been hastily hidden away.

“……”

“……”

“…Why on earth are such things in a hotel room?”

Rebecca the priest, who had been conversing with an expressionless face until now, turned her head as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

“How on earth did you bring those in…?”

“…Why would someone like you, who should know, ask that?”

“…Aid supplies?”

“……”

There was no answer.

The silence was affirmation.

“…Let’s talk outside.”

“Ah, yes. Well. Let’s do that…”