Ch.86Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

“So, what is it that you wanted to say?”

“Let’s go outside the hotel. Someone might be listening.”

“Isn’t it usually safer inside than outside?”

“This is a Magic Tower.”

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

A park near the hotel.

Priestess Rebecca from the Inquisition led me there.

“This should be suitable.”

“It doesn’t seem like an appropriate place for confidential conversations.”

“At least it’s safer than inside the hotel.”

We conversed while walking along the gravel path in the park.

“We’re being watched. Plainclothes officers.”

“I’m aware. ‘Protection’ would be a more accurate term than ‘surveillance.'”

Despite being under surveillance by plainclothes police, Priestess Rebecca remained remarkably composed. She seemed to regard the police blending in among civilians as merely another element of the background.

Anyway.

As I strolled through the park with Priestess Rebecca, I contemplated her character.

A priestess with mint-colored short hair exuding a haughty aura.

The secretary who stands by Inquisitor General Peter’s side.

An agent who would show up unannounced and drag me before Peter.

A double agent recruited by undercover spies.

A taciturn shadow who rarely speaks.

A doll-like figure whose inner thoughts remain inscrutable.

That was roughly the image of Priestess Rebecca from the Inquisition. In other words, I couldn’t quite get a read on what kind of character she was.

Generally, such individuals fall into the category of being uncomfortable to deal with. I wasn’t particularly fond of handling people of Rebecca’s ilk either. Forming relationships with someone whose true intentions remain unknown is an extremely dangerous endeavor.

If she hadn’t been deeply connected to Peter, I would have avoided meeting with her as much as possible.

With the sound of gravel crunching beneath our shoes as background, I asked Priestess Rebecca about Peter’s well-being.

“How is the Director doing?”

“He remains in good health. Though he’s considering retirement due to his age, even if a successor is appointed, he won’t retire immediately.”

“I heard he plans to remain as an elder statesman.”

“Yes, that’s what he mentioned. He’ll likely stay on as a senior advisor, offering guidance on operations.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Rebecca conveyed Peter’s recent situation to me in a calm tone.

For reference, “Director” is just a casual term I used. With the possibility of others listening, saying “Inquisitor General” would make it obvious to anyone that we were talking about the head of the Inquisition.

While “Director” seemed too young a title for Peter’s age, terms like “President” or “Chairman” would have been equally strange, so I just used something vague but understandable. In the intelligence world, names don’t matter much anyway.

At any rate, it seems Peter is doing well.

We wandered around the park, engaging in various conversations. The early evening park was always bustling with people, so no one gave us suspicious glances.

The park was filled with diverse people: couples taking photos against a backdrop of vibrant maple trees, photographers out to capture the park’s scenery, parents holding their children’s hands on a family outing, magicians performing tricks with minor spells to attract attention, bards singing alongside automatically playing harps, and so on.

Among the countless people were two spies concealing their identities and plainclothes intelligence officers following them.

“This seems like a rather affluent neighborhood. Is it because it’s a wealthy district?”

“Trinity has always been the center of the Magic Tower. That remains true today.”

While it might not qualify as a capital, Trinity is undeniably the heart of the Magic Tower. Honestly, I’m not particularly interested in the Magic Tower, so I don’t really know what this area is known for. Priestess Rebecca seemed to have some knowledge about it, but given her affiliation with the Inquisition, that wasn’t particularly surprising.

“So, who searched my room?”

“As I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t us.”

Priestess Rebecca adamantly denied that the Inquisition was responsible.

Since she said this without any other Inquisition agents present, her claim that the Inquisition wasn’t behind the search of my room was likely true.

“Hmm…”

So someone else searched my room…

Since no important equipment was stolen and no listening devices were planted, this issue would need to be investigated slowly over time.

I looked around at the surroundings and changed the subject.

“Fine, I understand. But what’s with all that equipment? Surely you didn’t bring it in to start something?”

“I don’t see why I should explain that to you, Major.”

Priestess Rebecca remained silent about the purpose of the guns and bulletproof vests.

I wasn’t really asking because I didn’t know what they would be used for. Logically, if an intelligence agency “smuggles” “firearms” into “hostile territory,” what would they use them for? Obviously to kill someone, or something similar to killing.

But I absolutely needed to know the reason.

“At our delegation’s request, we’re responsible for Her Holiness’s security.”

“…”

“At the very least, if something were to happen, we’d need some line of communication to respond properly, wouldn’t we?”

At the request of the Inquisition and the Church’s State Council, Lucia is under the protection of the Abas intelligence agency.

But what if the attendants (disguised Inquisition agents) that Lucia brought cause trouble and it hits the press? The fallout would land on us. Whether we like it or not, we’ve implicitly taken on the burden of protecting the Church personnel.

So what I really wanted to say wasn’t “Don’t do anything stupid,” but rather “If you’re going to put me in a difficult position, at least give me a heads-up so I can prepare.”

After a moment’s consideration, Priestess Rebecca began to speak haltingly.

“We need to produce results too, don’t we?”

*

Words that come from a person’s mouth have power.

The goal of every intelligence agency is to safeguard national security and secure national competitiveness.

Domestic and foreign intelligence collection, covert operations, counterespionage investigations, security information gathering, protection of advanced technology, support for overseas businesses, protection of citizens abroad, and so on.

While departments have various tasks, the ultimate goal is to detect external threats in advance to protect the nation.

And each intelligence agency has its own slogan.

Words have power. Politicians’ promises contain vision, and CEOs’ mottos embody management philosophy. What, then, is contained in the mottos of intelligence agencies?

Direction.

The ideal that the intelligence agency aims for, the goal it sets. The slogan embodies the sense of purpose for moving toward that goal.

That’s why the NIS during its KCIA-NSP era displayed the slogan “Work in the shadows, aim for the light” at the front gate of its headquarters. While most intelligence agencies adopt complex and cringeworthy slogans, the motto of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and the Agency for National Security Planning truly captures the essence of the intelligence community. Perhaps it was due to his experience working at the Intelligence Bureau before the Korean War broke out. Kim Jong-pil came up with a remarkably poignant motto, for better or worse.

Anyway.

The goal of intelligence agencies is to safeguard national security and secure national competitiveness, and the first task to achieve this is “intelligence gathering.”

“Firefighters put out fires when they break out, police go after criminals when crimes occur, and soldiers defend the country when war breaks out. But intelligence agencies are preventive institutions, not reactive ones.”

“I completely agree.”

While a fistfight might still be winnable after taking the first hit, in intelligence warfare, taking one blow often leaves you critically wounded. Worse, the victim often doesn’t even realize they’ve been hit, so even a successful response typically results in greater losses—that’s the nature of the intelligence world.

Priestess Rebecca addressed precisely this point.

“Suspicious movements have been detected in the Magic Tower.”

“Suspicious movements? What’s the source?”

“All-source.”

I quickly processed this information.

All-source.

Information created by collecting and cross-verifying intelligence from various fields such as human intelligence, technical intelligence, and open-source intelligence. Generally, all-source intelligence has a very high accuracy rate because its foundation is solid. The question is whether one has the capacity to collect and analyze it…

“The Consulate General in Nastasiya City detected it first.”

An intelligence agency of the Inquisition’s caliber would already possess such capabilities. No, they would have more than enough.

Priestess Rebecca approached a food stall with a very calm demeanor.

“One lokum, please.”

“Yes~ Would you like it wrapped?”

“Yes.”

She suddenly stopped talking and started ordering food.

“Would you like one?”

“No, thank you. I just brushed my teeth.”

“Then let’s get you a cup of tea. I’ll order a milk tea. Two spoonfuls of honey, one spoonful of sugar. And please add marmalade.”

What kind of attitude is it to order a super sweet tea right after saying I brushed my teeth? She didn’t even ask what I wanted to drink and just ordered on her own.

It was a rather peculiar attitude, but fortunately, the vendor prepared the milk tea according to the order in a very visible kitchen without any suspicious activity.

I accepted the milk tea with a straight face. What mattered now wasn’t the tea.

“So what did you find?”

“Suspicious movements were detected, centered around immigrants.”

“Immigrants?”

“Yes. Businesspeople, students, scientists, company employees. Their backgrounds and nationalities are diverse, making it difficult to find connections, but analysis shows that many are linked to the Magic Tower.”

“…”

This sounds very familiar.

I kept a sense of unease in the corner of my mind as I spoke.

“Information gathering?”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain?”

“Would we have come here without grounds?”

“That’s true. So what kind of information was collected?”

“Various. Science, magic, economy, society, politics, diplomacy, defense, security, and so on. Most of the collected information appears to be related to economic and industrial fields.”

Her voice was full of confidence.

“The higher-ups want us to investigate this case thoroughly and build a track record. That’s why we’re here.”

I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Good grief…”

It seems these magic-wielding bastards have been causing trouble on a global scale. And not just one incident, but several. Military Intelligence Service, Royal Intelligence Bureau, National Security Agency, Imperial Guard, Imperial Army Intelligence, Inquisition. So many intelligence agencies have already caught the scent and gathered at the Magic Tower.

They should have at least avoided detection. How did they operate in a way that caused intelligence agencies to hold a meetup here?

I massaged my aching neck and shook my head.

“So you’re here to investigate?”

“We plan to establish a network and hand it over to diplomatic missions in neighboring countries. It’s not something that can be wrapped up in a short period.”

She was talking about recruiting informants in the Magic Tower and connecting them with nearby embassies. Establishing an intelligence network—that notoriously difficult operation.

“Setting up a network is challenging work. Isn’t the Magic Tower a blind spot for the Church?”

“We’ll find a way as we go. We just don’t know the method yet because we’re still lacking. Even if we fail, I believe it’s all part of God’s plan.”

“Ah, yes…”

A truly religious perspective. Even if the operation fails, it’s God’s will.

As the saying goes, “Arabs can be rented but not bought,” people who follow their beliefs are difficult to recruit. Yet someone managed to recruit her. How did Peter do it? Did he use some kind of hypnosis app?

As these random thoughts crossed my mind, it occurred to me that even this demeanor might be an act for the sake of her cover.

…An act?

A hypothesis flashed through my mind.

“The attack on the aid supplies today—was that staged?”

“Well, as the investigation is ongoing, that’s a difficult question to answer.”

Priestess Rebecca, with her usual expressionless face, neither confirmed nor denied. With so many people around, she was just being cautious, but considering her position, she essentially admitted it was the Inquisition’s doing.

“…Impressive. How do you plan to handle the aftermath?”

“It’s just a precaution for contingencies. One should have insurance, shouldn’t they?”

Priestess Rebecca rarely smiled, but she slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

“Like now.”

“…”

She erased the smile from her face, picked up a piece of lokum, and popped it into her mouth. Then she turned toward the food stall and made the sign of the cross.

“I believe that’s all I can tell you. It’s getting late, and there are many eyes watching.”

“…Should we arrange a meeting place?”

“Like a river flowing toward the sea, if our connection doesn’t end here, there will surely be another opportunity. Now, I’ll be heading back.”

With those strange cult-like words and a reminder to “please sort your trash properly,” Priestess Rebecca walked back toward the hotel.

Standing in the crowded park, I watched her retreating figure before shifting my gaze to the milk tea I hadn’t yet sipped.

I examined the paper cup from various angles and separated the cup holder from the disposable cup.

“…”

After staring at the cup holder for a while, I turned to look at the food stall where I had ordered the milk tea. The owner, who was cleaning up the shop, met my gaze and made a small sign of the cross over his chest.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

“…Destiny, my ass.”

Written on the inside of the paper cup holder were the address and password for a storage locker.