Ch.91Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

The traffic control was complete.

Through Veronica, I secured concessions from the Church, and through Sophia, I confirmed Fatalia’s position.

The Church’s State Council, the Kiyen Empire’s Imperial Court, Fatalia’s Presidential Palace, the Abas Kingdom’s Prime Minister’s Residence, the Magic Tower’s Oracle, and so on.

I worked hard to smooth out the intricately entangled interests so the Abas government could resolve them slowly. Using information, that is.

Honestly, it seemed impossible. The timeframe was too tight.

Still, I think I did what I could. The government and foreign ministry would handle the rest. I thought it would take about a week to reach a conclusion.

But somehow, the results came out in just one day.

“Sir, I’ve brought the official document regarding the visitation schedule.”

In an instant, the traffic control was over.

I succeeded.

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

The outcome was successful.

The Church, the Empire, Fatalia, Abas.

As all governments took a step back, a warm breeze began to blow through the diplomatic arena where cold winds had been raging.

The Church showed flexibility on protocol issues while securing reliable protection from the Magic Tower, and Fatalia promised political and diplomatic support for future issues on the condition that Abas would distance itself from alchemists.

Incidentally, at the Church’s request, the Empire loosened the reins on preventive detention, refreshing domestic and international public opinion, and the Magic Tower was able to temporarily calm the anti-government protests they had been struggling to suppress. More precisely, they packaged it as a diplomatic achievement of the Magic Tower. Thanks to that, I heard the police would soon enter negotiations with the protest leadership.

War and diplomacy are extensions of politics, and in politics, favors are exchanged, as the saying goes.

Politics, diplomacy, economy, society, culture, national defense, security, and so on. It was obvious that countless blank checks, impossible to quantify, were exchanged between governments to resolve the intricately entangled interests.

Even with this explanation, it’s not particularly a bad thing. Isn’t this what diplomats do anyway?

And the reason a warm breeze could blow through the previously creaking diplomatic arena was because someone stepped up and greased the wheels.

-‘Ah, Frederick. Good work.’

“Thank you.”

I responded to Clevins’ praise with an indifferent voice.

-‘Really, well done.’

“Not at all. The diplomats worked much harder.”

That’s not just flattery.

The diplomats really did work harder. They cleaned up all the messes I created by stirring up Veronica and Sophia.

I tried my best to grease the wheels, but things moved so quickly that everyone couldn’t even go home.

Still, since all of this would count as their achievements, the diplomats weren’t completely worn out for nothing.

In other words, I won’t receive credit for this work.

At least not officially.

Sure enough, Clevins brought up the topic of a commendation.

-‘There will be a commendation when you return.’

“A commendation, sir?”

-‘The director has recommended a commendation to the Prime Minister’s Office. According to our liaison, it’s expected to pass without issue.’

A commendation, huh.

It’s common for intelligence officers to receive commendations. They’re usually given to employees who produce significant results. Typically in South Korea, whether it’s the National Intelligence Service or military intelligence, they send it to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for review, but here it seems they send it to the Prime Minister’s Office.

I’m not sure what it is, but given that it went up to the Prime Minister’s Office, it doesn’t seem to be an internal commendation from the intelligence agency, but rather one awarded at the government level.

Anyway, I decided to accept it gratefully with a “better safe than sorry” mindset.

“Ah… I see. Thank you.”

-‘Yes. Somehow we’ve put out the urgent fire. The operation seems to be going well too…. Good. What’s your next plan?’

“First, I plan to prepare for receiving our guest.”

*

There are various definitions of fire.

From science defining it as a phenomenon resulting from oxidation reactions, to practical approaches that find applications in daily life and industry. The definition of fire varies by field.

The same applies to conceptual approaches. Fire is treated as one of the most important symbols in culture and religion.

A grateful entity that spreads warmth. A powerful impression derived from its color and form. A fatal beauty.

Like the Greek and Roman myth of stealing fire from the gods and gifting it to humanity, fire has been an object of worship since ancient times, regardless of era or religion.

Even setting aside such complex stories, isn’t it honestly beautiful? There’s a reason why we always have campfires at retreats.

Camilla’s thoughts were similar.

“…Wow.”

The flame clearly felt warm but wasn’t hot. If she put paper to the flame enveloping her finger, the fire would certainly spread, but strangely, her other fingers were fine.

This was a normal phenomenon in this neighborhood, but she found it incredibly fascinating.

So she was experimenting with everything she could get her hands on, putting them into the fire to see what would burn.

She tried burning paper, cloth, and since she was familiar with cookies and chocolate, she even tried grilling meat. She gently touched loose threads she found on the floor after picking up fallen hair. She even went so far as to put her tongue into the flame when she ran out of things to burn.

In the midst of this,

“What are you doing?”

“Heep…!”

Camilla jumped, startled by the sudden voice behind her.

She bit her tongue.

“Playing with fire again? I told you not to do that indoors.”

“Owww….”

“Don’t tell me you bit your tongue?”

“…Yeth.”

“Oh dear….”

I sighed deeply and handed her a potion.

“Apply this well with your finger.”

“Wha… whath ith thith?”

“Medicine.”

I had visited to deliver some information, only to catch her playing with fire in her room.

I couldn’t understand why she was using magic indoors. She’s not a child.

I unbuttoned my jacket and looked at Camilla with disapproving eyes.

“If you want to use magic, there’s a swimming pool on the roof. It’s safe because there’s water.”

“Mmm.”

“If you’re really bored, the area around the hotel is safe, so you could go for a short walk.”

Despite my words, I understood. This is how most people react when they first use magic.

Magic is like a lottery that could manifest at any time. There are babies who use magic while still attached to umbilical cords, and there are people who change their career paths after belatedly learning to use magic at the academy.

Usually, people awaken their abilities before entering school, and perhaps because they’re still mentally immature at that age, children who learn to scribble with magic really use it all the time.

They freeze dishes while eating, create flames while bathing, use telekinesis while playing with toys, and even play pranks by moving the shadows of family members walking around at dawn.

Camilla was also at that stage of first awakening to magic, so maybe she was doing these things because it was just too fascinating. Or maybe it’s human nature to be unable to resist curiosity.

So all I could say was:

“Please be more careful next time.”

“Y-yes.”

“Looks like your tongue is better now.”

I neatly folded my jacket at the edge and sat on the sofa.

True to its reputation as a resort area, the hotel interior was quite dreamy. The quality of the furniture was excellent too.

As I sat silently on the sofa, Camilla, who had regained her vitality, looked at me.

“What brings you here?”

“I have some information to deliver. I’ve called Lucia too, so I’ll tell you both when everyone’s here.”

It wouldn’t have been bad to inform Camilla first about the meeting with Francesca Ranieri, but explaining twice was too cumbersome, so resolving it all at once was the best option.

Delivering precautions separately could also cause confusion.

“So what have you been doing today?”

“Same as usual. Practicing magic, reading books, watching news and reading newspapers.”

That was Camilla’s daily routine.

It was also how someone who had just awakened to magic spent their day.

There’s no problem with that. It’s the standard for beginners, and perhaps because she was someone whose mana capacity and firepower rivaled elite magicians, Camilla showed an incredible growth rate despite having practiced magic for only a few weeks.

Her growth rate peaked during the operation in the barren wasteland. I don’t know what principle was at work, but as she spent all day roaming around and defeating monsters, she grew noticeably day by day.

“Hmm.”

I’m not sure if this should be viewed as gaining experience by defeating mobs like in a game, or if it’s like building muscle through consistent practice. I’d need to have majored in magic to comment.

I watched Camilla cleaning up the burnt trash and asked a question.

“Don’t you feel confined? Staying in the hotel all this time.”

“Not really? It’s not particularly difficult.”

That’s what she said.

With a “whatever works” mindset, I picked up a newspaper sprawled on one side of the sofa.

My eyes first went to the politics section, then the international section.

“What are you looking at?”

“Just stories about what’s happening in the world. Anything interesting happen today?”

“Hmm….”

Camilla dusted off her hands and fell into thought.

After resting her chin on her hand and thinking for a while, she opened her mouth, slightly stumbling over her words.

“R-rat? What was it? I can’t remember the word suddenly.”

“Ratman?”

“Ah, yes! That’s it. An animal that looks like Jerry who ate drugs instead of milk!”

What kind of comparison is that? I just understood it to mean it was ugly.

Camilla, who had moved beside me, turned the newspaper and pointed to a small article on the second tier of the society section.

“What’s this?”

“It seems these ratmen are causing damage by roaming the sewers. Are they harmful pests? I’ve never seen such animals before.”

“Ah….”

I momentarily took my eyes off the newspaper and recalled the basic information briefing Pippin had given.

It was something about chemicals discharged without permission by magicians experimenting at the Magic Tower meeting released experimental animals. I heard it was quite a serious social problem at the Magic Tower.

“This is just an environmental issue. It’s a bit complicated to explain in detail.”

“…It says they bite people’s ankles and kidnap children, and you call it an ‘environmental’ issue?”

Camilla looked at me with an incredulous expression.

I silently shrugged. What does she expect in a world without romance?

“It’s an environmental issue because pollution is the cause.”

“…Can’t we go catch them? It seems easier than catching monsters.”

“You shouldn’t enter sewers carelessly. Aside from permits, you need guidance from a public sewage management agency. Sometimes strange things other than ratmen appear, so you need to be well-prepared.”

“What kind of strange things are you talking about?”

“Many things. Man-eating plants, slimes, ratmen, alligators… Sometimes even moving corpses appear. The sewers are vast, so quite a few people go missing.”

This is the reality of the Magic Tower. If it were an underground dungeon, that would be one thing. It’s problematic to think of it as a Magic Tower from a romance fantasy novel.

Of course, I added a bit of MSG. It would be a big problem if Camilla got hurt going into the maze-like sewers. It would be an even bigger problem if she went missing.

But somehow, Camilla’s eyes began to sparkle.

“Where do I get a permit?”

“…You’re not actually planning to go, are you?”

“Yes.”

“But why…?”

“People are being harmed.”

I was speechless at this absurd answer. There was much I wanted to ask, but what came out was just a stupid question.

“Aren’t you grossed out?”

Camilla spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Come on. Hunting was my hobby.”

Hunting? Isn’t that an aristocratic sport?

I briefly pondered British culture. I knew a bit about British culture because one of my father’s junior military colleagues had served as a defense attaché in the UK.

As the birthplace of modern sports, British sports culture has developed very prosperously. From football that appears on TV every day to horseback riding, polo, cricket, hunting—there’s nothing they don’t have.

And as far as I know, football and cricket are national sports loved by all British people, while horseback riding, polo, and hunting are high-end sports enjoyed only by the upper class.

I know about football and cricket because a colleague who was close to me frequently went on business trips to England. I heard he made some money by betting on Premier League games at the recommendation of a local Korean resident, as gambling is legal there. He ended up losing all his salary though.

But I hadn’t heard about horseback riding, polo, or hunting. I heard they were very “posh” cultures because they cost too much money even by British standards.

In other words, they’re hobbies enjoyed only by the upper class.

“……”

Camilla must have been the daughter of a quite wealthy family.

But why would such a person be poking around Africa?

I looked at her with questioning eyes, but Camilla met my gaze with a very innocent face.

“……”

“……?”

As an awkward silence continued, someone opened the door with a knock.

“Ah, everyone’s gathered.”

It was Lucia.

She appeared with soot on her clothes.

“…Did you go into a chimney or something?”

“I got dirty while moving supplies. There’s a lot of dust in the warehouse.”

“You could have taken your time.”

“We need to keep things well-organized so we can leave anytime, right?”

Blink, blink. I had nothing to say, so I just blinked.

“…Don’t tell me you’re going out for medical volunteer work again? In this situation?”

“There’s no reason not to go.”

“……”

I don’t know why I’m surrounded by people like this.

While I was pressing my brow, Lucia exchanged greetings with Camilla.

“Always nice to see you. So, why did you call us?”

At Lucia’s voice, I gathered my thoughts and slowly rose from the sofa.

“The visitation schedule with Francesca Ranieri that I mentioned before has been set. I have information regarding security to share, so please pay attention.”

“Yes.”

“I’m listening.”

I spoke to Camilla and Lucia in the most calm voice possible.

“According to local police and intelligence authorities, there’s a possibility of unexpected threats appearing on the day of the visit.”

“Unexpected threats?”

“What does that mean?”

I smiled at Camilla and Lucia, who were looking at me with puzzled expressions.

“Terrorism.”

*

Among connoisseurs of the continent, there’s much disagreement about which intelligence agency is the best. However, if asked which counterintelligence agency is the best, the answer is clear.

The Imperial Guard Office.

The governing body and intelligence agency most favored by the Emperor. A notorious security agency whose name alone keeps anti-establishment figures up at night.

The Imperial Guard Office was a counterintelligence agency with a status second to none, and its notoriety was truly remarkable, as not only intelligence agencies but even foreign civilians were well aware of its status.

But here, there is one person who sees the Imperial Guard Office as a pushover more than anyone else.

“I don’t see why I should do you a favor. I think I’ve made enough effort for what I received.”

“Veronica.”

The 58th Saint of the Church, Veronica.

In her youth, she was an informant discovered by the Imperial Guard Office, and after becoming a saint, she was a lobbyist representing the Empire to governments around the world.

She was undoubtedly a masterpiece created by the Imperial Guard Office and the Emperor’s favorite. If Cardinal Raoul hadn’t been so eager to become Pope, she would probably have continued as the Empire’s lobbyist until she died of old age.

That’s how exceptional Veronica’s intelligence capabilities were. No intelligence or operations officer in the Imperial Guard Office’s overseas department could demonstrate intelligence capabilities as outstanding as hers.

For this reason, Veronica ‘was’ an informant cherished by the Imperial Guard Office more than anyone else.

Of course, that’s now a thing of the past.

“What? Am I wrong?”

Veronica sat askew with a pipe in her mouth, looking at the man in a suit.

The suited man was nominally a minister from the Imperial Embassy, but in reality, he was a Grade 3 Deputy Director of the Imperial Guard Office.

His position was branch chief. He was a 50-year-old intelligence officer looking forward to retirement, and after finishing this term, he planned to return to headquarters to quietly handle planning and policy work before retiring.

Such a man was begging a young person.

“Why are you being like this? Please help just once.”

“No.”

“Just close your eyes and help this once. Think of it as saving someone’s life.”

“I said no. I told you I’d stay out of Magic Tower issues.”

“It’s not the Magic Tower-“

“It’s the soldiers who went to the Magic Tower. Why are you telling me about military-related issues in the first place? The domestic intelligence officers of the Guard Office aren’t just sitting around. I remember you had a big fight with the Counterintelligence Command over monitoring the military.”

“……”

“Anyway, I don’t want to be involved in this anymore.”

Rather than a business discussion posture, it looked like he was bowing to a young woman. It also looked like he was pestering her. In fact, Veronica was refusing the conversation itself.

The minister didn’t want to do this, considering his age and dignity, but he was a man with responsibilities and a family to feed.

So he begged.

He begged earnestly.

Retirement might be around the corner, but there’s still time left before mandatory retirement age, and where would he go if he got fired?

He couldn’t freely talk about the brilliant career that got him to the position of minister because it was a state secret, the executive positions in public corporations that could be entered through parachuting were already occupied by people from the domestic department, and the executive positions in trading companies that used to accept retirees from the overseas department had long been filled with other people after the purge of nobles. Moreover, the overseas department couldn’t even enter peripheral organizations or policy research institutes because they had lost in the internal power struggle of the Imperial Guard Office.

“If you help us well with this matter, we’ll support whatever you need. Just tell us.”

“Then would you please leave now? I’m busy with official duties.”

“Come on, someone smoking a water pipe in broad daylight claiming to have official duties…”

“Don’t you know about spiritual cultivation?”

Veronica wasn’t unaware of this. After all, she was the one who instigated the power struggle within the Imperial Guard Office. Of course, the minister knew this too.

The Imperial Guard Office was desperate enough to catch an informant who had fled, and the minister, who was under pressure to take responsibility and resign if he couldn’t resolve the issue, was even more desperate.

The mess was created by 16 reactionaries, but it was the overseas department that had to deal with the aftermath. As a result, they lost a large portion of their overseas intelligence network, and numerous intelligence and operations officers had to resign. In the end, innocent people were suffering a lot of damage.

Veronica was already aware of this fact. After all, she was the one who sank the Imperial Guard Office’s overseas department.

Therefore, Veronica’s response was impeccably clean.

“Security!”

Veronica raised her hand and called security to throw out the minister. This was her regular spot, and Veronica was more important than any other customer, so security expelled the minister from the store without asking any questions.

Thus, peace returned to the previously bustling store.

Having regained peace, Veronica sat askew on the sofa, smoking her water pipe.

“Ah… I’m exhausted…”

She lamented her situation while chewing on her pipe.

“No contact from Lucia, and the military attaché only talks about work…”

Her stress was considerable. Especially the nagging from old people telling her to maintain her dignity took the largest share.

From a bishop’s request to pray over farmland in a country that had made large donations, to a cardinal asking when she would go on a peace mission to conflict zones when her successor was going on peace missions.

Veronica thought that responsibility and duty really made her life difficult. Even though she herself was playing harder than anyone else.

Anyway, Veronica thought life was really hard.

Sure enough, a waiter approached her with a hurried step, holding a receiver.

“Ma’am, you have a phone call.”

“If it’s the State Council, tell them I’m not here.”

“It’s not the State Council, it’s the Magic Tower, ma’am.”

Veronica extended her hand to take the entire phone and gestured for the waiter to leave.

Only after confirming that no one was listening did she bring the receiver close to her ear.

“Hello?”

-‘Sister.’

“Oh, my little sister. What brings you to call this time?”

Veronica spoke in her native Kiyen language, and the other person used fluent Fatalian.

Surprisingly, there was no problem in communication.

-‘I called because I have something to ask.’

“Yes. What is my little sister curious about this time?”

-‘I need to meet someone soon. I need information about that person.’

“Hmm… Is the person my sister is going to meet the one I’m thinking of?”

No answer came. The silence was affirmation.

At this, Veronica smiled.

“Let me give you some advice: trying to know too much isn’t a good habit. You understand?”

She smiled.

“Francesca.”