---

“What kind of trouble have you been causing these days?”

Leoni, the head of the Royal Intelligence Department’s National Operations Division, threw a puzzling remark.

Causing trouble? What on earth did that mean?

“I’m not quite sure I follow…”

I mumbled vaguely, quickly racking my brain. Was there a problem I didn’t know about?

The only thing I had been involved with recently was covert operations (kidnapping and murder of Fabio Verati and his youngest daughter, bombings, assassinations, deception, etc.).

Of course, aside from covert operations, I did meet various people for information collection purposes. However, I was an official cover, and the activities of a diplomat disguised as an information agency agent were clearly ensured by international treaties; all my information gathering remained strictly legal and within the bounds of normal intelligence activities.

What was the point of all this?

It meant there was no way to stop a spy operating from the embassy.

Official covers cannot be casually touched, even by those doing intense counterintelligence like the Chinese or Russians. If they had actively tried to obstruct the activities of official cover information officers, the US and UK embassies would have withdrawn from China and Russia long ago.

Arrest or legal penalties are impossible due to diplomatic immunity. The only practical way to punish is to tag someone as a persona non grata and expel them. Even expulsion is conducted thoroughly unofficially due to concerns about worsening diplomatic relations.

America. Britain. France. Germany. Israel. China. Russia. North Korea. Japan. South Korea.

Countless intelligence agencies uphold this unspoken rule. And it’s the same in this neighborhood.

So if there was a ‘problem’ with my activities, it was most likely due to covert operations.

Thus, I asked Leoni, with a mix of pride in my diplomatic status and a hint of anxiety.

“…You’re not here to tell me I’m about to be expelled, are you?”

Leoni responded.

“Not at all. Your activities haven’t been detected anywhere. At least, you fooled the eyes of the Magic Tower.”

“Then what is it…?”

The head of the Royal Intelligence Department replied.

“I heard you accessed Royal Intelligence Department data. Unrelated to your duties. Without permission.”

“…….”

“Why did you do that?”

—

To explain why I was being grilled by Leoni, I needed to rewind the clock a few hours.

To the moment when we discovered a large amount of contraband and drugs.

Veronica asked me.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“What do you mean what are we going to do? We need to get to work.”

“Information collection?”

“Exactly. You figured it out. Since I need someone to drive, hop in.”

I got into the vehicle Veronica had brought, laying out a prepaid phone and a secure terminal on the passenger seat glove box. I then alternated between the prepaid phone and the secure terminal, making calls here and there.

For reference, Veronica was at the wheel.

“Seriously… In all my life, I never thought I’d have a saint as my driver. What is going on here?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a saint doing spy work. Is that normal?”

“Well, we do lead rather unconventional lives.”

Ignoring Veronica’s grumbling, I picked up the prepaid phone. The first call was to a friend I had at the National Security Agency.

-‘Hey, what’s up, Merlo?’

“Are you still in the Empire?”

-‘No. Ranieiri went back to the Magic Tower, so we need to head there too. I’m currently waiting for my pickup after finishing customs.’

“Could you inform me about something? It’s related to a private enterprise.”

-‘Merlo, you didn’t switch professions to industrial espionage, did you?’

“Not at all. Just need to check on something. It’s about a Patalian private enterprise; I don’t need too much detail, just find out who owned it before and who’s managing it now.”

-‘Give me the name.’

“La Cardenal.”

The company that owned the most contraband Veronica had mentioned was called “La Cardenal.”

It currently had Alandirus nationality, but previously it held Patalian nationality, so the National Security Agency would likely have records on it—if the preservation period was valid.

-‘I’ll check for you. If there are records available, that is.’

“Don’t ship it; just send it from your representative office to our representative office.”

-‘Can I charge for copy fees?’

“Shut it.”

Sophia said she would look into it and hung up. I took out a new prepaid phone SIM card from my pocket and made another call.

The second call was also to a connection of mine.

-‘…Hey, you little spy bastard. Why are you calling?’

“Good reporter, I’ve got a quick question for you.”

-‘Spit it out, you little brat.’

“Got any info about smuggling or drugs in this town?”

To Dmitri, a former reporter for an imperial media company and now a social journalist, I could easily ask anything. He had extensive knowledge due to his background in social reporting, making him the second-best-connected asset I managed. For reference, the first one was currently driving next to me.

-‘What? Smuggling? Drugs?’

The former social section head of the imperial media caught the whiff of a scoop. The scent of a big story.

Though he didn’t show it, I could tell his interest piqued through the phone.

-‘Why do you need that kind of info? Are you off investigating international crime now?’

“Not really. I just need to know, so help me out.”

-‘Oh, you little spy bastard. Hearing you shorten your words is something. So, what do you want to know?’

“Everything! Items being smuggled in and out of the Magic Tower, drug details, seizure records, the managing companies, the merchants involved, the pigs known for taking bribes—just the info on people.”

-‘Hey. What do you think this is, a private detective agency? You want me to dig up that kinda stuff? I’m no economics section gossip peddler…’

“So, do you know anything? Yes or no?”

Dmitri wouldn’t ask for money. He wasn’t a person motivated by cash. What drove him were his sense of duty, competitive spirit, and a dash of ambition.

Although I couldn’t directly give him those, I could point him towards opportunities to obtain it. The choice would always be his.

-‘How much time do I have?’

This time, he agreed to help me.

“What do you think, how long will it take?”

-‘Hmm, maybe a week at the fastest?’

“Finish it in three days. If you need anything, say it now.”

-‘I know a few players here, but they’re all small fry. Get me in touch with the big fish.’

Indeed, he was right.

People might not know, but official cover information officers maintain connections not just to host country officials, but also to gangsters, smugglers, drug offenders, and intelligence agents. Dmitri, the social section journalist, knew that too.

Still, a hint of greed showed through. Why would the social section head want me to connect him with informants managed by intelligence officers?

It was all part of his own plan to tap into Abas Information Agency’s intelligence assets, create his own connections, extract information, and aim for the scoop. I was well aware of this too.

“Alright. I’ll contact you when I have it.”

-‘Sure.’

“But I can’t guarantee anything, since it’s not under my purview.”

I chose to overlook that.

Providing what the informants required was the handler’s job, and that was the industry rule.

Thus, I incurred a debt with Sophia while listening to Dmitri’s demands. I’d need to repay her someday, but that was a future concern. I could make it back eventually.

After that, I kept reaching out to others. Jake. Pippin. Task Force 73. Defense Attaché. Police liaison. Magic Tower police information officer. Magic Tower official. Magic Tower counterintelligence agent. Inquisition…

Sometimes orders were exchanged. Sometimes requests were made, and sometimes heated debates occurred. I continued to communicate with someone.

And after a while, I felt a sharp gaze from the driver’s seat and turned my head.

“…Why are you looking at me that way, Saint?”

“Hmm….”

Veronica, wearing sunglasses and steering the wheel, murmured softly.

“I was just wondering if I might ask the Colonel for a favor later.”

“Ah, I feel like you’d only be asking me for unreasonable favors.”

“Who’s to say?”

She smiled gently as she spoke.

“That I wouldn’t know.”

—

Veronica dropped me off at a park far from the Abas representative office. I glanced around a few times from the passenger seat, wary of any followers, then roamed the nearby buildings and alleys.

After confirming there were no tails, I boldly entered the representative office, swinging the door wide open.

“Jake!”

“Yes! Coming right up!”

As soon as I called his name, Jake popped out to greet me.

“Where’s the data I asked for?”

The data I was referring to was information about La Cardenal and its smuggling and drug-related activities. Jake had laid out the documents he found from external police and the Military Intelligence Agency’s servers on the desk.

“Here it is.”

“Great job.”

I sat down at the desk and began quickly skimming through the reports. It was clear there weren’t enough hours before quitting time to finish this, so I had a nagging feeling another late night was ahead.

In the end, I split the documents into three sections, handing one to Jake and another to bring Pippin over.

“What’s all this? You’re not causing trouble again, are you, Manager?”

“Trouble? What are you even thinking?”

“Well… It seems like everywhere you go, trouble follows…”

Despite the complaints from Pippin and Jake, I was so used to it by now that naturally sitting and going over the documents became routine. We huddled around the office desk, reviewing the paperwork.

“Jake, you check out the info on La Cardenal. Pippin, you look at the smuggling info. I’ll tackle this one.”

“What’s that? Drugs…? Did the Inquisition make an information-sharing request?”

“No, it’s just personal. Unrelated, but I have a few concerns.”

I read through the drug-related documentation stored by the external police. The number of drug offenders caught in the Magic Tower annually, the state of drug deals taking place inside and outside the Tower, production scales, identified facilities, sales agents, contacts, manufacturers, financial backers, and so on.

‘Plans for countermeasures against drug crimes.’

‘Collaborative strategies with domestic and foreign agencies for drug offense apprehension.’

‘Methods for managing chemical substances and alchemical raw materials to block drug crimes.’

I filtered out all this useless information because I wasn’t looking for that. What I was really curious about was distinctly something else.

The steadily increasing number of drug offenders.

Types of drug offenders and their causes of occurrence.

Methods of drug production and distribution.

The way drugs manufactured in the Magic Tower pass through customs.

Organizations and groups that trade drugs in and out of the Magic Tower.

People making money from drugs, warlords, companies, etc.

What I was really curious about was this.

“…….”

In fact, I didn’t have a particular reason for digging up this information. It was just a gut feeling.

I had seen drug deals by the reds a few times. I had witnessed how such things became a financial lifeline for warlords and government forces in Southeast Asia and Africa. I had seen jihadists pretending to be terrorists get caught while cultivating poppies in the Middle East.

If the drugs I discovered today are managed by the Magic Tower Secretariat—specifically, the Economic Management Department of the Secretariat—then the situation becomes serious.

If this gets out, countries like the Empire, the Cult, and the Lushan Federation, which drive up the drug trade, might declare the Magic Tower as the “Axis of Evil” and project military force against it. Allies like Abas or Patalia could mobilize all sorts of means to pressure the Magic Tower.

In that case, Francesca Ranieri will be caught in the crossfire. It will undoubtedly happen, as the alchemist was employed in the Economic Management Department of the Secretariat.

“…….”

The best outcome would be for it to be revealed that the drugs have no connections to the Magic Tower. However, if they truly are related to the Magic Tower, then I had to prepare some kind of countermeasure.

For example, I could dress it up as a whistleblower to manage the image. Or I could secretly dispose of the drugs or forge documents to eliminate any trace of connection.

“Manager?”

Jake’s voice snapped me back to reality. Looking up, I saw the blonde brat with a pen in hand calling out to me while flipping through documents.

“Oh, why? What’s up?”

“The document seems a little… no, a lot abnormal. Isn’t it? Is it normal?”

The papers Jake was holding were regarding La Cardenal.

“What’s wrong?”

“Take a look for yourself.”

I took the document from Jake and quickly scanned through it.

And then I understood why Jake had suddenly said something was strange.

“…What is this?”

“I’m not sure. Did they print it wrong…?”

“This is definitely not a printing issue, no matter how I look at it.”

I slammed the document down and tilted my head back, rubbing the back of my neck and letting out a deep sigh.

“Ah….”

The document I had laid down had most of the sentences censored with black lines during the security review process.

I muttered as I stared at the papers.

“These bastards are at it again.”

In the middle of the document was the emblem of the Royal Intelligence Department.

*

Most of the documents sent from the Royal Intelligence Department to the Military Intelligence Agency had been heavily censored. To be precise, it was a document sent from the Abas Representative’s Information Management Office to the Defense Attaché Office, but both were overseas branches of information agencies, so it was the same.

After that, well, it was obvious.

I took the documents and confronted the information officer who was about to leave for the day and questioned why they hadn’t shared the information properly. The officer retorted, asking why I was trying to access documents unrelated to my duties.

In the end, I grabbed the receiver and called the Abas representative stationed at the Magic Tower (he was showering after work) to whine that the Royal Intelligence Department wasn’t properly sharing information.

To tell the truth, it was a huge inconsideration to act like this to people I had barely seen a few times, but I had no time to care about that.

The Royal Intelligence Department was hiding information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was being passive on the information agency matters, and the Military Intelligence Agency wasn’t replying even after being informed.

Who could I talk to about this? It was something I had to handle on my own.

Anyway, without a moment to explain my situation, I threw a tantrum and managed to get a few documents regarding La Cardenal from the Royal Intelligence Department.

And then I got caught by Leoni.

“You accessed documents from the Royal Intelligence Department, didn’t you? And they were unrelated to your duties. Without authorization.”

“…….”

“Why did you do that?”

That was the crux of the matter.

“It’s troublesome when you suddenly come out like this without a valid reason. Even though you’re just a lowly diplomat, you represent an institution.”

Leoni, the director of the Defense Attaché Office, sat down and started questioning me.

“I’ve told you repeatedly, reasons are important in this field….”

“…….”

“Why did you do it?”

I quietly closed the folder of papers I had received from the Royal Intelligence Department and said.

“I’m just doing my job, like those information officers here.”

“As of when did your mission become tracking down ghost companies? I don’t recall giving you that order.”

“I haven’t been assigned an official or unofficial operational mission. I’m just investigating—”

“If you haven’t received a mission, then it’s a personal matter.”

The director cut me off.

“…….”

“Then you accessed the information department’s materials privately, didn’t you?”

I protested.

“I won’t deny that I haven’t been tasked with gathering information about La Cardenal from the Military Intelligence Agency. But this activity is related to my work. You can’t restrict me from that, Director.”

That could be seen as self-defending in a good light or as being brazen in a bad one.

No matter how you looked at it, she was a policy maker of the national intelligence agency. I was just an officer in the military intelligence.

Moreover, she came from a military intelligence background.

To be honest, considering Leoni’s personality, I expected something like a reprimand or at the very least an earful, but surprisingly she simply stared at me without saying anything.

“…….”

“…….”

So we maintained uncomfortable silence, staring at each other. The expressionless face of the seasoned information officer said nothing, but that made it contain much more.

After a long silence, Leoni suddenly spoke up.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“I have nothing more to add.”

“You don’t seem to intend to stop, do you?”

“…….”

I didn’t say much.

“…Alright. You can leave.”

Leoni stood up, gathered her things, and exited the office.

No other words were exchanged.

“I hope you don’t regret this.”

That was all.

*

Time flew by. Leoni left the office without any further words, and I remained reviewing the documents.

Pippin and Jake had already clocked out. Considering the visit from the Royal Intelligence Department’s director, it wouldn’t look good to stay late with them.

And now, the office lights went out.

The materials kept by the Royal Intelligence Department were less than impressive. I could only find out that the company La Cardenal dealt with magical tools, materials for magical tools, and herbs or ingredients needed by magicians.

There was no information regarding who owned it, why the company went bankrupt, how much equity anyone had, or where the materials or transport vehicles managed by the company went after its collapse.

It was unclear whether the Royal Intelligence Department had only that information or if they were hiding more because they didn’t want to share.

“Thank you for your hard work, Colonel.”

“Take care.”

“Oh, right. A diplomatic dispatch arrived from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday. They warned that it’s dangerous to wander alone at night for the time being. Should I arrange transport to the hotel for you?”

“…No. I’m fine.”

The embassy’s security officer, aware of the warning, told me to enter carefully and sealed the main entrance of the representative office. I’d heard he was from the Special Forces, but I had no real interest in specifics.

Feeling uneasy, I left the representative office and headed for the hotel.

The night in the Magic Tower was very cold and dark, already notorious for its unstable security due to protests.

But the darkness didn’t approach me.

The police patrolling the streets and checking pedestrians backed off when I showed my diplomatic passport, and if I walked on the main roads, the only ones I encountered were police officers. Even the alleyway thugs didn’t appear before me.

“…….”

Walking the night streets without worries about my safety naturally led to random thoughts. The first thing that crossed my mind was concern.

What would happen to me now?

If I explained everything, I could certainly provide a plausible reason, but having caused such a ruckus and opened documents from the Royal Intelligence Department could lead to disciplinary action.

Even if the Information Agency didn’t impose a penalty, the representative could impose suspension as well. After all, I had arbitrarily accessed classified materials.

It was strange that the representative hadn’t objected to providing information as seamlessly as he did.

It didn’t seem he was trying to do me any favors. Perhaps because of the information agency’s matters, he might want to leave the problems to the Royal Intelligence Department and not worry about it.

That was where my worries about the future ended.

It was all just speculation for something that hadn’t happened yet. There was no point in clinging to worries. It would be a blessing if the representative decided to discipline me instead. I could take it as a holiday, hang out with Camila or Lucia. I could manage the information agents while gathering information in the meantime.

As those thoughts fluttered in my mind, I suddenly found myself near the hotel.

A quiet night street. The hotel was in sight at a distance.

A place for me to rest comfortably. I mustered my strength and started moving towards it.

The night in the Magic Tower was cold and dark, but the darkness didn’t approach me, and I stepped away from the dark path toward the bright street.

But what I miscalculated was that this wasn’t a place with relatively good security like the Cult or Abas; it was the Magic Tower.

-Boom!

-Creeeeeeak!

“……?”

In this filthy, dark fantasy world, living as an information agent, nothing ever goes as expected.

 

---