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The origin of all the incidents was the Research Institute.

Unauthorized communications occurred at the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute, detected by the signal intelligence division of the Military Intelligence Agency.

And then there were the dispatched counterintelligence investigators from the Military Intelligence Agency and me.

We uncovered the nature of the communications there. It turned out that the transmissions were not from a scummy industrial spy, but reports sent by a true spy.

The problem was,

“Uh, it’s about the international student I met before. Giada Bianchi.”

“……”

“Where is she now?”

The person had vanished.

—

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

I sat at the interrogation desk and threw questions at Fabio Verati.

“I see you had a rather… close relationship with Giada Bianchi… What kind of mindset does a family man have to roll around with a girl young enough to be his daughter?”

First question: Why did you meet Giada Bianchi?

“Oh, honey trap. Using a beauty is a classic tactic, you know. If you get close, relationships naturally form…. If you can’t go all the way, it’s easy to tie it into a scandal… If they refuse, you can concoct claims of sexual assault or harassment to pressure them…”

“……”

“But I have my doubts. Why go through the trouble of involving a shaman and even altering her face? So complicated.”

Second question: Where did you get the shaman?

“Technically, information officers and operatives do similar work, just in different positions, so I wonder why complicate things? To be honest, I believe he knows a treaty violation when he sees one.”

“……”

“Okay, maybe it’s plausible to think shamans are everywhere in the Magic Tower. They’re also around in Mauritania; maybe he found one through contacts there. But I’m curious about where the training happened. Training spies is something even the reds would do back home, so where would that have occurred? Patalia?”

Third question: Where was the training conducted?

I pointed to a part of the National Security Agency personnel records.

Nine years prior, they retired.

“Well, there’s no culture of freelancing post-retirement here, so he wouldn’t be working like that. Besides, the National Security Agency wouldn’t be involved in this kind of mess. If you violate treaties, the cult will label it heresy and instigate to overthrow the government. So we keep our magicians in safe, domestic positions, right? So it can’t be Patalia…”

“……”

“In the end, there can only be one answer.”

The Magic Tower.

More specifically, the Talent Development Institute under the Magic Tower’s representative offices.

“Right?”

I asked, but there was no response.

Fabio Verati remained silent.

“Well…”

I licked my lips and stood up from my chair. Then, I took out the envelope I had prepared from my bag.

“I thought it wouldn’t be easy, but I really didn’t expect you to keep your mouth shut like this. Do I have to go this far…”

I tore open the document envelope and dumped its contents onto the desk, flinging the envelope aside.

The spilled contents were photographs.

—

“Here.”

I gathered the scattered photos, neatly organizing them before Fabio Verati. Next to the National Security Agency personnel evaluation records was a family photo of Fabio Verati.

“Our staff took these pictures for you. They went through all sorts of trouble to get them… You wouldn’t be able to hear the backstory without shedding a tear.”

These photos were taken directly by the Patalia operational unit. I heard that surveillance was so intense they had to camp out on the street just to snap a single shot, and there were stories of waiting in a van without even being able to go to the bathroom—truly a tale that would make anyone weep.

It was funny.

Honestly, 70% of it was funny, and 30% was sad, but thinking of my colleagues’ hardships reminded me too much of the past, leaving me no choice but to laugh. I no longer had those problems.

I kindly flipped through the photos, pointing with my finger.

“This one is your wife shopping. This one is the kids coming back from school. This is from your second’s college graduation when your wife took the picture. And this one… what, does your house have a swimming pool?”

I marveled at a photo, seeing there was indeed a pool at the house. In a world where land prices are skyrocketing, how on earth did he manage to find a place with a pool attached?

“Did you receive a hefty retirement payout? Although, I can’t imagine retirement funds just pouring in endlessly. Where on earth did you get the money to buy a house with a pool? Do you have a lamp that conjures blue fairies or something?”

“……”

“Well, let’s discuss that later.”

I removed my hands from the photos and folded them on the desk.

Then I spoke to Fabio Verati.

“Ugh. Let’s not do this here. It’s tough living as a ‘goose dad,’ and do you really think you should be investigated just because you aided a spy? After all, Patalia and Abas are supposed allies.”

“Seems like you do espionage even between allies these days?”

“Haha.”

I smiled.

I was more relieved than happy that Fabio Verati finally spoke up.

I never thought I would find myself making such comments.

“It’s all for the homeland and the people, isn’t it?”

Grinning widely while throwing out a standard line.

At that moment, he who had been silent asked me a question for the first time.

“Youngest.”

“……”

“Was that your doing?”

Without dropping my smile, I tilted my head.

“Why would you look for a lost child with me? Shouldn’t you be going to the police?”

“……”

“Well, anyway. Where was I… Ah, right.”

Ignoring Fabio Verati’s question, I continued the conversation I had started.

“Allies are still foreign countries, aren’t they? If you think about it, we’re just strangers. Sending spies and deploying industrial spies is pretty standard for us, right? Don’t you agree? In my 28 years of life, I’ve yet to hear of an intelligence agency messing with the civil servants of allied countries, but this much seems trivial.”

“……”

“Take it or leave it.”

I unfolded my arms and pushed the photos aside.

“In reality, incidents like this can be resolved by showing a little goodwill between allies. It should be viewed as a traffic accident resulting from mishandling retired personnel. Who would have thought a National Security Agency retiree would be trading intel after retirement? Especially against allies.”

Then I opened my bag.

“Okay, so maybe the Government of Abas could let that slide. Whether it’s the information agency or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they’re both parties capable of communication. That’s how I see it.”

I took out another set of documents from my bag.

It was a thick bundle of sheets; I dropped it loudly onto the metal desk and began slowly untying the knot.

“But, you know… since I’m not a fortuneteller, I don’t know if others think like me.”

“……”

“I thought this was the first time this happened to me…”

Thud.

A brown-covered document was placed in front of Fabio Verati.

I personally opened the first document, showing it to him.

“It turns out, it’s not just one.”

—

“Auntie who suddenly jumped off a bridge while heading home with gifts after a business trip.”

A waterlogged corpse. Legs and neck twisted in unnatural ways, with bizarre markings appearing over them. A magic toy for infants left behind in the vehicle.

[Report on the Death of a Scientist Belonging to the Ministry of Defense Due to Sorcery – Kien Empire Intelligence Headquarters, March 15, 1991]

“A businessman who was doing very well, but went crazy and set his house on fire, killing his wife and children.”

A burnt house. Something blackened at the door. Handprints left on the door. Documents scorched by flames. A photo of him smiling and shaking hands with a general. Surrounded by employees popping champagne.

[Report on the Leakage of Military Secrets Regarding the Introduction of Large-Scale Magic Defense Systems – Lushan Federal Kingdom Intelligence Agency, November 9, 1993]

“A graduate student who received a lot of love calls because of good business potential suddenly disappeared without a word, leaving all his belongings behind.”

A photo of him smiling brightly while borrowing a graduation cap. A cape with the campus emblem. Presentation materials in front of businessmen. Optical communication magic engineering technology. Luggage left behind at the lodging. Missing person posters.

[Investigation Closure Report on the Disappearance of the Graduate Student – Kashubia Police, July 23, 1996]

I nudged the documents beside me. They tumbled down in front of me. Materials from information agencies, police investigation reports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs documents, Ministry of Defense communication records, Ministry of Finance reports, parliamentary oversight records, and so on.

Though the unfortunate subjects were varied, the reasons for their misfortune were similar.

Disappearance. Death. Imprisonment.

“What on earth is all this?”

I genuinely marveled.

Having worked in the information agency for over ten years, I’m confident I’ve seen every dirty trick in the book, but this seems to cross a line.

It looks like the Magic Tower might be behind this, but there’s no concrete evidence. However, no one goes around killing people with sorcery or magic. Not even the Imperial Guard HQ. After an incident where the Inquisition Officer invaded the Imperial Guard HQ, information agencies refrain from using magic to kill.

Then who could it be?

“They’ve gone far, far away. I wonder why they did something like this.”

“……”

“Well, it seems the cover-up is successful so far, as they haven’t been caught yet.”

It’s the Magic Tower’s doing.

It’s just a hunch, but a pretty reasonable assumption.

I muttered while pushing away the documents.

“Where on earth did I find all this?”

Among all those numerous documents, I pulled out the thinnest one, which was all the way at the bottom.

The file was composed of just three pages. And on it were symbols to prevent forgery, unlike the others.

Not magic, nor science, but something wholly different engraved.

Divine.

“The Inquisition.”

What was now on my desk was a compilation of documents stolen by the Inquisition from various governments. Created based on internal documents stored by government departments and information agencies, it even had appendices that included records from Abas and Patalia.

“They’re really going all out on espionage. There’s no shortage of zealots obsessed with religion, so they must have embedded informers everywhere. Is this rice planting or what?”

Honestly, I wasn’t that surprised.

The person who provided me with this information was an informer placed inside the Inquisition by the Military Intelligence Agency. And they were at quite a high position.

Of course, the delivery was carried out by a low-ranking employee. Since Petrus couldn’t move directly, Priest Rebecca stepped in.

In my view, the person who leaked all this information was surely a member of the cult. A fervent zealot at that.

Usually, such bold acts are driven by conviction. It resembles a method frequently employed by Israel’s Mossad in building overseas intelligence networks, and it’s a tactic the Chinese Ministry of State Security uses when exerting influence among their compatriots in China.

This type is hard to find. It’s obvious that there would be discussions about religious oppression afterward.

Anyway, the person who handed me the Inquisition’s internal documents is a fixed informer.

Only known to the Military Intelligence Agency.

As I pondered that, I poked at the Inquisition documents.

“I’m not sure about the other companies, but the Inquisition has already got the outline settled.”

There’s plenty of evidence lying around here. Most of the documents are merely copied versions, and there’s no way to verify the magic used to prevent counterfeiting, but the Inquisition documents were officially produced copies.

In other words, we can confirm the divinity embedded in the anti-forgery symbols.

Fabio Verati would definitely recognize it.

“Honestly… if you listen to what they’re saying, they probably don’t know much either. But.”

I pointed a finger at him, seated across from me.

“There’s someone in front of me who ought to know, right? And he’s even a public servant at the Magic Tower.”

“……”

“He’s from an information agency and works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Well, yeah.”

He was someone the Inquisition would be interested in.

The issue is that the interest isn’t of the positive reinforcement kind that gives medals for enhancing diplomatic relations; it’s of the sort that leads to being dragged off to the interrogation room for a beating.

Fabio Verati opened his mouth.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, yes, you wouldn’t, would you? But I’m not so sure the Inquisition thinks the same.”

It’s uncertain whether the aforementioned incidents were indeed committed by the Magic Tower or if Fabio Verati knows the inside story. But honestly, that matters little to the Inquisition.

Those who tortured their own forfalling from grace to turn them into dark magicians surely wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to foreigners. If it would add up, they’d go even further.

“We’re not the only ones chasing after your higher-ups. Other companies are doing the same.”

“……”

“Oh dear… At this rate, I wonder if I can even travel abroad, let alone have a family trip. If I enter, all my records will pop up.”

Are they not computerized for immigration and customs here?

I placed a family photo in front of Fabio Verati and got up, moving behind him.

Then I said.

“Even though your children have grown, would you really raise your youngest daughter without a father? Your wife alone will struggle to feed four children.”

You should just give it up already.

“Your family is waiting for you.”

“……”

“Let’s quickly turn ourselves in and find the light together.”

I smiled brightly and patted Fabio Verati on the shoulder.

As I left the interrogation room, taking only the documents and leaving the picture behind, he didn’t say a single word.

*

That morning, upon returning to the hotel,

a communication came through the secure line.

It was a report stating that the instigator behind sending an informer to the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute and the whereabouts of Giada Bianchi had been identified.

 

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