Ch.90Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

Every cause has an effect.

There are established laws in this world.

Problems have formulas, and destinations have paths leading to them.

People are the same.

What moves people. The principles that form the foundation of actions.

Usually, we call this psychology.

“I’m sorry, Merlo. You know our internal rules.”

“I know. I understand.”

That psychology.

“Sophia.”

“Yes?”

If you understand that,

“Then may I ask you something else?”

“Sure.”

“…Thank you.”

Manipulating people is a very simple task.

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

“Hmm…”

Sophia hummed, swinging her legs back and forth.

“So what are you curious about? As long as it’s not about the Ranieri family, I’ll answer sincerely.”

“For example?”

“For example…”

Sophia hummed as she unfolded her fingers one by one while holding her wine glass.

“Analysis results on the Magic Tower Oracle Committee election… information about the Emperor of the Kien Empire’s health rumors… drug smuggling routes we’re tracking from Mauritania…”

I stared at her fingers as they slowly unfolded.

Then suddenly, I asked this question:

“Isn’t Gucci too expensive as payment for granting a favor?”

I was asking if this was really information she could hand over to me. At the same time, I was asking if there was a reason she was hiding information about the alchemist to the extent that she would share such valuable intelligence.

Of course, I didn’t say this out loud.

In response, Sophia smiled brightly, resting her chin on her hand.

“We’re not just going to meet once and be done, are we? We have some kind of relationship, after all.”

“Friends?”

For friends, there were too many secrets between her and me; for allies, our interests didn’t align; for enemies, we were too close.

We had a relationship that couldn’t be easily defined. But I suppose that’s how most things in life are.

“I thought we were friends.”

“If you say so, then I guess we are, Sophia.”

Anyway.

What mattered now wasn’t this pointless banter.

“So, tell me what you want to ask.”

“Tell me about the Fatalian government’s policy stance on Francesca Ranieri.”

“Foreign policy stance? Sorry, but that’s the Foreign Ministry’s domain. The Foreign Minister determines the president’s foreign policy stance. Not my boss.”

Sophia spoke with a sly attitude, just slightly raising the corner of her mouth.

“You know that’s not what I meant. Why are you acting like an amateur?”

“Sorry, I was just teasing.”

She lightly tapped the table with her hand and let out a soft sigh.

“Sigh… Alright. You want to hear the Security Bureau’s position, right?”

“Yes.”

“Was this your aim from the beginning?”

She’s quick to catch on, as always.

“Who knows.”

I gave an ambiguous answer and looked at her with an expressionless face. Sophia stared into my eyes for a moment, then turned her body slightly and rested her arm on the backrest.

“Fine, where should I begin…”

Everything was going according to plan.

*

In truth, I don’t need information about Francesca Ranieri. With the intelligence network the Foreign Ministry has planted in the Magic Tower and Fatalia, how could I, dispatched to a diplomatic mission, not be able to investigate a single civilian? I’m already well-versed in information about the alchemist.

So the information I needed wasn’t about Francesca Ranieri herself, but about the Fatalian government’s attitude toward her.

To be precise, their unofficial attitude. The raw, unfiltered thoughts without diplomatic rhetoric.

That’s why I deliberately called Sophia out and asked for information about the alchemist. I already knew—or rather, I predicted—that the National Security Bureau wouldn’t share information about Francesca Ranieri.

There were several rational reasons for this:

First, Francesca Ranieri’s background.

Second, Fatalia’s modern history.

Third, the relationship between the Magic Tower and Fatalia, and the National Security Bureau’s mission, among other things.

It’s quite complicated to explain in detail.

But to summarize briefly,

“Francesca Ranieri is a person of interest. More precisely, her entire family is under surveillance.”

Family issues would be an appropriate way to put it.

“You know the reason, don’t you?”

“Monarchical restoration?”

“Yes, conspiracy to overthrow the state.”

Sophia added in a calm tone:

“Strictly speaking, it’s more like sedition than conspiracy to overthrow the state…”

Francesca Ranieri is the family member of a political criminal. In our terms, she would be considered a “person with connections.”

To summarize why she became the family member of a political criminal, I need to explain Fatalia’s modern history, the diplomatic relationship between the Magic Tower and Fatalia, and the special nature of the Ranieri family.

First, the history.

Fatalia was originally an absolute monarchy. The royal family ruled the entire country, and when the military could no longer endure the royal family’s misrule and tyranny, they staged a coup and transformed the absolute monarchy into a republic. The military filled the power vacuum created by the fall of the monarchy, and after about 20 years of military rule, a democratic government was established through a civil revolution.

Therefore, monarchy and dictatorship became taboo subjects that most Fatalian citizens shared.

In the process of washing away the stains of dictatorship, measures such as abolishing guilt by association, guaranteeing social rights, constitutional amendments, and strengthening parliamentary powers were implemented.

All laws and systems that distinguished “noble bloodlines” were abolished, and the parliament went a step further by embedding a clause in the constitution prohibiting the “creation of special social classes” to prevent any talk of nobility or royalty.

Thus, the word “nobility” disappeared into history in Fatalia. With one exception.

“Even if the Ranieris were founded by an archmage, isn’t maintaining their noble title unconstitutional? Especially in a democratic republic.”

“The Constitutional Court ruled it constitutional. That settles it.”

“Wasn’t that just the government using the judiciary to make a declaration?”

The Ranieri family is the only noble family still existing in Fatalia.

Considering that the Fatalian constitution doesn’t recognize special social classes, this was clearly unconstitutional, but what made it possible was the diplomatic relationship with the Magic Tower.

The Ranieri family was founded by an archmage whom the Magic Tower calls one of the founding fathers. And Fatalia and the Magic Tower were comrades in the same revolution.

The military government didn’t succeed the monarchy, but it wanted to maintain friendly relations with the Magic Tower. The democratic government felt the same way. New governments always need legitimacy, and drawing that legitimacy from abroad is politically very advantageous.

So, as a condition for building a friendly relationship with the Magic Tower, they recognized the status of the Ranieri family, which had enormous political and historical influence in the Magic Tower. It was against this backdrop that the Fatalian government moved the Constitutional Court to change an unconstitutional act into a constitutional one, despite parliamentary opposition.

At this point, Sophia’s face became ambiguous as she trailed off:

“Well… That’s domestic politics, so I don’t know much about it…”

“Let’s just say that’s the case.”

Anyway.

The Ranieri family was the only family granted the privilege of continued existence by the Fatalian government.

The military regime, which valued its relationship with the Magic Tower, showered the Ranieri family with all kinds of privileges (tax exemptions, preferential selection, parachute appointments, etc.), and the Ranieri family enjoyed these benefits for about 20 years. Of course, after the democratic government took power, all benefits were confiscated, leaving only the symbolic noble title.

The problem was that the Ranieri family harbored resentment toward the Fatalian government’s decision.

It’s only natural. Human psychology dictates that people get angry when something they possess is taken away. Especially when the government takes back benefits it had given, it’s a very natural progression to become even angrier.

For this reason, over the past 70 years since the establishment of the democratic government, the Ranieri family has lived with a slight grudge against the Fatalian government. Not outright hostility. From what I understand, they occasionally published commentaries and cartoons in the press criticizing government policies.

In fact, the prevailing assessment is that these were more like opposition for opposition’s sake rather than constructive criticism. They criticized the government whenever policies failed, regardless of which party was in power. Like bats.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, so there were quite a few people who viewed the Ranieri family’s commentaries and cartoons positively.

However.

The Ranieri family, which had maintained an anti-government stance for generations, eventually crossed the line.

They published a cartoon saying “Even the monarchy era was better than now” against a government that was facing nationwide criticism for its failed economic policies.

While the Ranieri family criticizing the government through newspapers was a familiar repertoire, monarchical restoration was nearly as taboo as a coup in Fatalia, so this cartoon caused a huge ripple rather than just being dismissed as a minor gaffe.

In short, they pushed the trigger button. And they did it thoroughly.

“But it’s true that the Ranieri family mentioned monarchical restoration, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“What would you call that?”

The Fatalian government took this as a challenge to the system.

“Incitement to rebellion.”

Thus, the Ranieri family, once a symbol of friendship between Fatalia and the Magic Tower, was instantly branded as a den of political criminals and placed under intensive surveillance by the National Security Bureau.

Monitoring anti-establishment figures is one of the duties of intelligence agencies, so this wasn’t particularly unusual.

There were certainly some voices, albeit small, concerned about deteriorating relations with the Magic Tower, given the Ranieri family’s connections to political circles there, but the Magic Tower chose to express regret rather than help the Ranieri family.

The Ranieri family’s cartoon could be interpreted as endorsing dictatorship, and for magicians, dictatorship was a word that evoked the painful history of heresy inquisitions. Additionally, maintaining relations with revolutionary comrades who had resisted dictatorship was more important at that time for the Magic Tower, which was isolated in the international community.

When the interests of both governments aligned, one prestigious family fell.

The family founded by a founding father, once a standard-bearer of revolution, was disgraced with the accusation of inciting rebellion, and a joint investigation team led by the National Security Bureau began investigating and monitoring the Ranieri family.

And that surveillance continues to this day, 20 years later.

“You asked about our company’s position on Francesca Ranieri?”

“Yes.”

So I needed to know not the official position of the Fatalian government, but its unofficial stance.

No matter how much the oracle had designated her as a colleague, forming a relationship with a political criminal from an allied country could easily escalate into a diplomatic issue.

And this was information that could only be shared in the shadows, not in the light.

It has to be that way.

That’s why intelligence agencies exist, and that’s why the state pays me a salary to do this kind of work.

In response, Sophia, an investigator from the National Security Bureau and my longtime acquaintance, conveyed the Fatalian government’s position.

“If you’re meeting in an official capacity, I would understand, but if it’s in a private setting, I can’t help you. It would be better to keep your distance if possible. For your sake. And for hers.”

Stay away from Francesca Ranieri.

Even between allies, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

“It doesn’t look good for the child of someone arrested for inciting rebellion to be friendly with a foreign soldier, does it? Especially a soldier from an allied country.”

“So keep it strictly professional?”

“Officially intervening in your government’s policies would be interference in internal affairs. I’m sorry, but I hope you understand.”

They’re asking me to be considerate of their position because if this escalates into a diplomatic issue, it would be a headache for both sides.

Judging by the fact that they conveyed this message directly to me rather than through the embassy, it seems Fatalia is in as awkward a position as the Magic Tower.

“Sigh…”

What can I do? This is what intelligence agencies were created to resolve.

I should inform my superiors about the Fatalian government’s position.

“Satisfied?”

“Yes, thanks for telling me.”

I emptied my glass and nodded.

I got the information I wanted.

I now have a sense of how to deal with Francesca Ranieri.

*

“Let’s meet again soon.”

“Sure.”

At the end of our long conversation, as we were parting ways and my subordinates were waiting with the car, I stopped Sophia as she was about to leave the wine bar first.

“Sophia.”

“Yes?”

Sophia stopped and turned to look at me.

She had an expression that suggested she found something amusing.

I asked her:

“Last time you said you came to handle a retiree’s affairs, but from what I hear, you seem to know quite a lot?”

Due to the nature of intelligence agencies, employees who aren’t in high positions only handle their assigned tasks.

What does this mean? It means information is restricted.

To prevent security breaches like information leaks, intelligence agencies generally control what information their employees can access. It’s similar to a need-to-know basis.

In other words, even intelligence officers cannot know information unrelated to their work. This is especially true for critical information like agency policies or positions.

Therefore,

“…You noticed?”

It was a reasonable assumption that Sophia, an investigator, hadn’t come to the Magic Tower simply to monitor Fabio Verati.

My guess was correct.

“You caught me.”

Sophia, the investigator from the National Security Bureau, gave a more transparent smile.

“Don’t try to know too much, Merlo. Sometimes, pretending not to know is good manners.”

“You’ll maintain security?”

“Isn’t that proper etiquette?”

Anyway, thanks for the favor, Merlo.

Sophia left the wine bar with a smile, waving her hand.

I chuckled and left the wine bar after a brief interval.

It’s quite ironic.

People using aliases share confidential information, and agencies with clearly different interests consider each other’s positions.

Not knowing who’s an ally or an enemy. Yesterday’s comrade becomes tomorrow’s traitor. And after tearing at each other’s throats, suddenly we’re laughing and chatting together.

It’s a world where people with hearts as black as bean paste pastries put on a brave face and pretend to be nice. A world where even the most successful person can fall with one mistake.

This is reality.

“…If anything, I should be more grateful.”

There’s no one to trust in this world.

There are no gentlemen with refined manners,

Only monsters who exploit people and discard them like worn-out shoes.

Even pure people become like that once they step in.

Those who can’t adapt fall out early, and those who forcibly fit themselves into the mold last a little longer.

In the end, only those who perfectly transform themselves survive and climb higher.

It’s such an unromantic world.

Still.

“…Things are working out well.”

I do like it when things fall into place exactly as planned.

This must be my true calling.

*

The news that Francesca Ranieri’s visit had been scheduled came around dinnertime that day.