Ch.88Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

In the dim dawn, I woke my foggy mind with cold water and sat on the sofa.

“…Yaaawn.”

Skimming through the reports that came in overnight via secure channels, it was exactly 6:43 AM. Too early to work, too early for the hotel breakfast. What should I do until it’s time to go to work?

“……”

After pondering for a while, I realized there wasn’t much to do. That’s because I’d already finished everything.

I turn on the TV.

[“…As the Imperial Police expand their preventive detention measures, protests are breaking out, particularly in the southern regions. There are reports of inspections and searches targeting not only domestic mages but foreign ones as well, prompting calls from various sectors to stop the oppression. Foreign ministries are summoning embassy officials…”]

Click.

[“…We reported earlier about a fire that broke out at a customs warehouse on the 9th. While police and fire authorities are investigating the exact cause and extent of the damage, they aren’t ruling out the possibility of arson targeting relief supplies stored in the warehouse. However, the investigation is facing difficulties due to the lack of witnesses or clear evidence…”]

Click.

[“…The ongoing economic crisis and civil war in Mauritania have greatly increased the number of refugees crossing the sea. The first place these refugees set foot is the Lushan Federal Kingdom. On the 6th, the Lushan Federal Royal Coast Guard was reported to have fired shots at refugee vessels while refusing their entry, drawing criticism from the international community…”]

Click.

[“…This morning in Bizerte, the Police Commissioner who ordered the reinvestigation of the suspicious death of an exiled Imperial politician was shot by an unknown assailant on his way to work…”]

Click.

[“…The Deputy Minister of the Magic Tower Representative Office met with officials from the Abbas Representative Office. Sources reported an amicable atmosphere, but representatives avoided answering reporters’ questions about the subject of the meeting…”]

Click.

I turned off the TV and lay down on the sofa, closing my eyes.

“…All news I already know.”

Another day with nothing unusual.

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

Let me reiterate that intelligence agencies are government institutions.

Like any government agency, intelligence work follows a set schedule, and the first item on the daily agenda was a meeting.

Sharing intelligence gathered overnight, determining the direction of operations under the handler’s judgment, team members discussing and coordinating details, disseminating precautions, and so on. Almost all intelligence officers start their mornings this way.

And,

Project 73 Unit,

A special operations unit with project characteristics,

Or task force.

We’re no exception.

“Good morning, Section Chief.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, you’re here? Nothing unusual happened overnight?”

In the quiet hotel restaurant. While I was having breakfast, Pippin and Jake appeared with their plates and sat down.

“Yes, fortunately there were no problems.”

“Good. Start your report.”

And so began the morning meeting.

*

“We received a communiqué from headquarters this morning saying they failed to track the Imperial side’s movements. The branch made efforts, but specific details haven’t come in yet.”

The Military Intelligence Service failed to track the Imperial military intelligence agency’s movements. More precisely, they failed to identify the affiliation of the operatives monitoring Fabio Verati’s youngest daughter.

The Imperial branch is famously the most demanding department within the Military Intelligence Service, and considering that elite intelligence and operations officers are typically deployed in the field, this was clearly unusual.

Assuming the branch is functioning properly, that is.

“Well, the branch situation is pretty bad…”

“They still haven’t fixed the intelligence network breach?”

“Recovery is slow. With one employee missing and preventive detentions starting, everyone’s being cautious.”

For the past few years, the Military Intelligence Service’s overseas Imperial branch hasn’t produced any results. That’s because the entire branch was decimated by the Imperial intelligence agency’s counterintelligence and counter-operations.

This phenomenon occurs frequently around the world, commonly experienced by Western intelligence agencies infiltrating former communist countries like China, Russia, North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran, which invest heavily in counterintelligence.

It starts with surveillance, then escalates to kidnapping and death threats, anonymous calls with incomprehensible foreign swearing, delivery of animal carcasses, and other forms of pressure. As things intensify, they dig up family information to apply pressure. In extreme cases, they deliberately cause accidents, assassinate or kidnap intelligence officers or people around them.

There are many variations beyond these.

Getting someone arrested for assault by provoking a fight, framing them for adultery by photographing them with a woman (usually an informant employed by the intelligence agency), saddling them with massive debt so creditors apply pressure on their behalf, and so on.

These are common experiences for Military Intelligence Service employees infiltrating the Empire. Those who couldn’t endure have all left, and those who persevered have long since crossed the Jordan River or been dragged to prison. Or they’re in long-term hospital care.

“So there’s no way to know who’s tracking Subject 51?”

“That’s right.”

Hmm.

This is too big for me to handle. It’s something that needs to be resolved by higher-ups, not me.

There’s no point in dwelling on it as it would only add unnecessary worries, so I decided to leave this issue to headquarters.

“Let’s drop this topic. Headquarters will handle it. Anything else?”

“The Magic Tower police don’t seem to suspect us anymore. The military attaché’s office created a scenario that your schedule that day was to monitor high-risk areas, and with the foreign affairs police testimony that you visited for the Saint’s medical service, they’re viewing it as a coincidence. As planned, they’re leaning toward robbery-murder or kidnapping.”

“Good. How’s Subject 51’s relative doing?”

Jake began.

“No health issues. Nutritional status is normal. Hygiene is a problem though.”

“Isn’t there a shower facility there?”

“No. It’s an abandoned factory.”

Tsk.

We kidnapped her as a negotiation tool, but the hostage’s condition is filthy. That might work to dramatically influence Fabio Verati’s state of mind, but if the hostage’s health deteriorates, that’s another problem.

“Don’t we have any female staff? Or maybe some magical tool that can clean bodies?”

“We don’t have such expensive items. …There’s a female employee in the intelligence collection team, should we send her?”

“…No. Leave it be. We’ll start the operation soon, so let’s not complicate things.”

“Yes, sir. When should we schedule the interview with Subject 51?”

“After the alchemist’s visit.”

We continued our breakfast conversation, covering various topics.

The movements of the Magic Tower police and counterintelligence agency, the activities of the Fatalia National Security Agency, the situation inside the Empire during preventive detentions, communiqués from the Military Intelligence Service, documents from related agencies, and so on.

We also discussed Camilla and Lucia.

“The Hero and the Saint are looking for a book.”

“Couldn’t they just request it from the Magic Tower?”

“I checked, but they say it’s an old book and they couldn’t find anything suitable in the entire library. Everything’s either worn out, checked out, or lost.”

“What’s the title? Tell me so I can check used bookstores.”

As breakfast was nearly over, a somewhat different topic emerged.

“Oh, right. The visit schedule you mentioned before has been set for this morning.”

“Visit?”

“The alchemist.”

Francesca Ranieri.

The meeting with the alchemist was finally scheduled.

“Next Friday at lunch. The schedule is tentatively set, but there’s still coordination work to be done, so it might be postponed.”

“Ah, security and protocol issues?”

“Yes.”

*

Although the meeting with the alchemist was scheduled, we couldn’t meet her right away. There were mountains of problems to solve first.

The biggest issues were security and protocol.

The Magic Tower treats Camilla, Lucia, and me as state guests, and likewise, Francesca Ranieri is an important figure in the Magic Tower, so they must pay attention to security and protocol.

And right now, protests were in full swing at the Magic Tower.

Various groups, centered around extremist organizations, were staging anti-government protests against the Magic Tower (which is a state from a mage’s perspective, though not recognized by the international community). With the unstable situation and a major event involving domestic and foreign guests scheduled, they naturally had to pay attention to the venue and security. Especially since Lucia was from the Church, they had to be extra careful.

But the real problem arose from political aspects.

Relations between the Church and the Magic Tower were at their worst, and even though Lucia had entered the country as an individual rather than as a Saint, the emotional divide built over hundreds of years was too deep. Moreover, in the harsh international community, the Magic Tower had been taking concentrated fire from the Church and the Empire without any significant support from allies.

What would happen if Lucia received state guest treatment at an official Magic Tower event?

The outcome was predictable. If they treated her as a state guest, they would face backlash from domestic voters. If they didn’t, there would be gossip in diplomatic circles.

Then the Church and the Empire would go berserk in the international arena, and no government would want to bear the political burden of being labeled as ungrateful despite the Saint’s concessions, risking domestic opposition. The Magic Tower would be beaten again in the international community, which would further provoke protesters to demand the heads of the Oracle Committee members. No voter likes a government that gets beaten by hostile countries without putting up a fight.

In short, it was a no-win situation.

They would look bad either way. No matter what they did, they would end up in a politically disadvantageous position.

This was the result of playing into the Church’s scheme, and now someone had to step up and resolve the situation.

Unfortunately, that someone turned out to be me.

“The Magic Tower is in a difficult position. You understand that, right?”

I called a Church official in my capacity as a defense attaché.

-‘Hmm… I suppose we might have played a bit too rough…’

“Are you saying this was all a joke?”

-‘Not exactly a joke… more like a gentle nudge?’

To Veronica.

“Good grief… Two nudges and you’d overthrow a government.”

-‘What’s the problem? They don’t even have an intelligence agency, so they’re perfect for messing with.’

“Is that something you should be saying?”

I responded to Veronica in a curt tone.

Veronica was my informant, a Saint who could influence Church politics, and a lobbyist active in international society. She was the only one who could help resolve this issue—or more accurately, the only one I could ask.

Veronica seemed to understand this, as she responded to the call with a voice full of amusement.

-‘Why are you calling me so early in the morning just to complain? And since you called, are we only going to talk about work?’

“What else should we talk about?”

-‘How about our Lucia…?’

Why specifically “our” Lucia?

“…No, uh, ha.”

-‘Can’t I joke around?’

I rubbed my face with my other hand.

Thanks to the Church’s antics, the schedule had become completely tangled. The protests erupted because of the Magic Tower’s disgraceful behavior in the international arena, making their already difficult position even more precarious.

The root cause lay with the Imperial Guardian Office, which failed to properly manage its staff and led the Magic Tower to talk about independence, but politics and business are about results, not process.

-‘In other words, the one who gets played is the fool. Results are what matter, right?’

And since international society is ultimately part of the political arena, there was no need to pity the Magic Tower for being thoroughly beaten in the international arena.

It’s their own fault for failing to respond properly. As Veronica said.

I brought the communication device closer and said to Veronica:

“Haven’t you had enough fun by now? Honestly, you’ve played all you want. What is this? I haven’t even been able to see my future colleague for over a week.”

-‘Hmm… Actually, there’s been talk within the Church too. Some say we’re being too aggressive. And there’s definitely concern in the Empire that the Magic Tower might cut off support to the border regions because of this incident.’

“……”

-‘Honestly, we’re also conscious of other countries’ reactions. Both the Church and the Empire have political positions to consider…’

She was saying that both the Church and the Empire were starting to get nervous. More precisely, such opinions were beginning to emerge among the higher-ups.

After calculating in my head and considering each party’s position, I relayed what our Foreign Ministry had left for me to tell Veronica.

“Let’s just say you bend a little this time as a concession. You’ve already squeezed them dry.”

-‘When you put it that way, it sounds like I’m the one who’s been milking the Magic Tower.’

“You are a Saint.”

Veronica’s laughter came through the phone.

Perhaps because she knew she had the upper hand, Veronica maintained an arrogant attitude toward me throughout.

But the one in a hurry wasn’t her, but me.

“Please, I’m begging you.”

-‘What will you do for me?’

“What do you want?”

-‘Hmm… I wonder?’

Veronica vaguely trailed off, playing with me like a clown who offers candy to a child only to take it away.

She still owed me a life debt, so she didn’t cross the line, but she kept putting her foot just outside it, doing her best to tease me.

Gone was any trace of the panic she’d shown during the conflict between the Church and the Magic Tower. Now she maintained a relaxed attitude, making me anxious by seeming like she might or might not help.

It was a display of eccentricity that surpassed all the human specimens I’d encountered in my slightly over ten years working for the intelligence agency.

-‘Alright. Since my sister asked, and I owe you a debt, I’ll help.’

“Sister…?”

-‘I have a close sister at the Magic Tower. Anyway, I’ll try to convince the Council of Ministers to handle the protocol issue as smoothly as possible. In return, you must take full responsibility for security. Understood?’

“Well, of course I should.”

-‘I’ll give you more details this evening. Are you available?’

“…Just don’t call in the middle of the night like last time.”

Unless they were on the level of the Imperial Guardian Office, no one would be able to storm the meeting venue and cause trouble, but since my informant asked, I agreed to help.

With that, we promised to talk more in detail over the phone in the evening and finally ended the call.

I wiped my face, which had become sticky with what might have been cold sweat. I felt like I’d aged ten years.

“…Phew.”

Now that I’d dealt with one eccentric, it was time to deal with another.

“……”

-‘…Yes, this is Sofia, international section reporter.’

“Where are you?”

-‘Merlo? Why are you calling me?’

“Let’s meet briefly.”

=

I’m in a good mood because the illustrations came out well

I’m very pleased even though the coloring still needs to be done