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Beastmen are among the most recognized races, second only to humans.

They are numerous and can be found anywhere, generally possessing adorable appearances.

Among Beastmen, dog and cat types are particularly popular. In any culture, dogs have been regarded as close companions of humans, while cats have often been objects of worship. The primary reason for their popularity is, of course, their looks. However, I haven’t been close to Beastmen at all.

If you were to ask me if I dislike Beastmen, I would unequivocally say no. I wasn’t a racist.

But if you asked whether I like them, well, that’s a different story.

Setting aside the fact that I was attacked by a Fox Beastman terrorist, I also have allergies. Fur allergies. And since Beastmen are a mix of human and animal traits, when shedding season comes, fur flies everywhere like crazy.

So my avoidance of Beastmen isn’t a matter of values, but of health. No matter how much I like them, it’s torturous when my allergy reacts.

Honestly, if it weren’t for that, I would already be friendly with Beastmen.

But this…

Something just feels…

“…what’s your name again?”

“My friend’s name is Kair…”

“Kyaru?”

“I said Kair! Not Kyaru…!”

“…”

Nope, doesn’t seem like it.

—

Episode 10 – Turn Northwest

—

“That’s correct.”

In the quiet hotel room where only the sound of paper rustling could be heard, I broke the silence while examining a document.

“Construction project for the reconstruction of the Magic Tower’s public infrastructure, innovative project to resolve labor disputes in the public-private sector, common response measures for social vulnerable groups and inter-species livelihood stability, diplomatic issues between the Magic Tower-Kien Empire and Magic Tower-Lushan Federation…”

“Is this what you were looking for…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

A brown envelope, carelessly torn, and bound documents lay on the table. Each cover bore intriguing phrases like diplomatic secret, national secret, and confidential information.

With vibrant magic flowing through the anti-counterfeiting patterns, as I handled the documents from the Magic Tower, I sorted out the copies I had made.

“Oh, these freshly copied documents are nice and warm. Thank you for your hard work, Administrator.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Francesca smiled brightly. She had just sold confidential information from the Magic Tower.

To me.

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t sell it. I was merely keeping the approval documents from the government in this hotel room.”

“I just happened to pick up the document that was rolling around on the floor.”

“That’s right. Well, regardless of the truth, that’s not what’s important.”

Francesca leaned back on the sofa with a beaming smile.

While she took a moment to catch her breath, I pushed the documents to the side. This revealed the refreshments and snacks that had been hidden beneath a mountain of papers.

“Please, enjoy.”

“Should I?”

We began our tea time, gathered around the table.

***

The crux of human intelligence gathering is interpersonal relationships.

In the 21st century, where communication technology has drastically advanced, information activities can happen without constraints of time or place, but fundamentally, HUMINT involves exchanging information between people.

Of course, there are issues here as well.

The advantage of HUMINT is collecting information via people, while the downside is that it requires contact with them.

For instance, if an information officer fails to maintain a good relationship with their agent, or if the agent betrays the officer’s trust, or if the officer can’t keep the agent’s secrets, or if either fails to fulfill their contracts, the operation fails.

Thus, being proficient in gathering information through HUMINT hinges on how well the officer maintains their relationship with ‘assets.’

Forming a relationship that doesn’t offend either party, whether by giving money or making requests, is the alpha and omega of all HUMINT.

“Hm.”

So I made time to meet Francesca during this rare golden vacation. To be precise, it was to manage my agents.

If this were something I could leave to someone else like information analysis or investigations, that would be fantastic, but unfortunately, managing agents is a task the information officer must handle alone.

“Is the coffee to your taste?”

In response to my question, Francesca held up an elegant coffee cup and smiled.

“This is coffee cultivated in the Mladic family’s lands. I like it.”

“You can tell just from the taste? How impressive.”

“I’m a huge coffee lover.”

Francesca smiled contentedly. The beans from the Mladic family, who run a major corporation in Patalia, are regarded as some of the best beans in the entire continent and even the world.

I nodded as if I had just learned something.

“Oh, is that so?”

Francesca loves coffee.

Her favorites are Mladic from her home country of Patalia and the coffee from Maiscar, an island nation in the Mauritania continent. She’s grown up with Mladic coffee since childhood, so she’s familiar with it, while she fell in love with Maiscar coffee during a trip in her university days.

I know what she likes in coffee, why she likes it, and how often she drinks it.

Her favorite snack is coffee, and her hobby is brewing coffee or mixing cocktails. Otherwise, she enjoys board games like chess or cards, but aside from sword training, she doesn’t like or do any other exercise.

The reason I know all this is simple.

Francesca is my informant.

Of course, I don’t know everything about her, but that’s something I can learn as we go.

“Hmm…”

She gently stroked her coffee cup and began to speak.

“Was it an accident that the Colonel provided me with my favorite coffee, or was it intentional?”

It’s a blatantly obvious leading question. I smirked, half-closing my eyes as I replied.

“I’m not an astrologer, so how could I possibly know what you like? You never mentioned it.”

“Mm…”

Francesca let out a charming sound, subtly smiling. If my brother saw this, he would have likely started planning for children in his head.

There are several taboos when it comes to how an information officer interacts with their informants.

The first is referring to them as ‘assets’ instead of the designated title, the second is saying everything will be fine without any basis when the agent feels insecure, and the third is harboring personal feelings for the agent.

Especially the third is the most dangerous. Pretending to have personal feelings is one thing, but if one becomes overly immersed and develops genuine feelings, it leads to real trouble.

-Clatter.

As Francesca set down her coffee cup, she leaned back against the sofa, crossing her arms.

“…”

The opening of her arms and the exposure of her chest are positive signals that the other person is feeling comfortable during the conversation.

“Anyway, thank you. It’s been difficult to find this lately due to the recent natural disasters causing poor harvests. Thanks to you, Colonel, I had a wonderful experience after a long time.”

Francesca, relaxed and with her shoulders eased, supported her head with her hand. Like a cat sleeping under the warm sun, she continued speaking with a sleepy expression.

“The Oracle sent a letter. I’ll be heading to the Empire soon, so prepare in advance.”

“Oh, a letter?”

“Yes.”

A ‘letter’ refers to a specialized term for documents from diplomatic missions. Unlike regular documents that several people can view if given permission, a ‘letter’ is meant to be shown only to the one person permitted.

Usually, only ambassadors receive such documents.

That indicates just how important these documents are.

“Colonel, our secretariat…

“Do you know what task I’ve been assigned? I think my sister mentioned it…”

“Well, you see…?”

I tilted my head, wearing a baffled expression.

“Are you talking about the paper companies? You mean those ships switching documents at every port where the owner and the actual owner are different? Or is it the part about meeting foreign businessmen without notifying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or that stuff sitting in containers that’s been abandoned at the dock for years?”

“Eh, trivial things like that don’t really matter.”

Francesca, who had been making a peculiar face, broke into a smile.

“They unofficially asked me at the Magic Tower to meet with the empire’s renowned figures. It’s practically an order since it came with the Oracle’s seal.”

“And?”

“I was told to meet with the Oracle commission members.”

So, the Oracle officials are visiting the empire. Until now, it had been mere speculation, but now it’s official.

I wondered who those illustrious individuals the magicians would be meeting could be.

“But what should I do? I think I may have lost an important document. It’s one that must be destroyed after reading…”

I quietly took the letter that Francesca handed me and made a copy.

Then I brought the lighter’s flame close.

-Ting.

-Whoosh~!

The paper was reduced to ash in an instant, taking with it the elegant calligraphy, the anti-counterfeiting magic symbols, and the Oracle’s bright red seal.

“That’s quite an interesting story.”

Getting up from the sofa, Francesca waved her hand gently as if nothing had happened and left the room.

“Enjoy your coffee.”

I dropped the remaining ashes into my teacup.

Considering that both teacups hadn’t been emptied, it hadn’t been a bad tea time at all.

*

All the gathered intelligence was sent to the Military Intelligence Agency.

I dug a small hole under the bench of the famous park, where the foot traffic was high, and buried the documents. Then I contacted the Military Intelligence Agency and asked them to retrieve it.

-‘Uh, we got the items. What’s this?’

“It’s materials from the Magic Tower. I made copies of major documents that went up to the Secretariat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Land.”

-‘Hmm…’

Colonel Clevenz let out a strange sound through the receiver and went into thought.

-‘It’s all good, but I’m a bit worried. If we move information agents to collect intelligence outside of their assigned tasks, we might be easily caught by counterintelligence agencies… You understand that, right?’

The key to human intelligence is maintaining amicable relationships with information agents. And within that ‘relationship’ lies the ability to seamlessly acquire the requested information.

Typically, people tend to steer clear of trying new things, especially when they’ve climbed to a higher position. They usually handle tasks conservatively. They feel anxious stepping away from the ordinary and familiar.

And spying is definitely not something that should be ordinary or familiar.

So, to handle information agents effectively, they must be conditioned in advance.

“Spies usually start by asking for trivial things. Phone books, their colleagues’ tendencies, relations with superiors, grievances, and such.”

-‘True.’

“You’ve got to grease the wheels to ensure that when it comes time to request something substantial, they’ll deliver effectively. After all, don’t you sharpen your knife well before you cook?”

-‘That might be saying too much. This might leave you with an upset stomach!’

What else is there to say? Saying I might meet my end wouldn’t fly with Clevenz, given his high rank. Now, I can’t even joke around comfortably.

“I do have a plan. I’ll need to do some background checks before getting the ball rolling.”

-‘Oh? Do you need anything? The last request you made has already been handled.’

“Thanks, but I’m fine for now. If there’s nothing unusual, I’ll get in touch before I return.”

With that, a rough agreement was reached.

For the time being, I plan to give Francesca some minor tasks while reeling her in, and if there are any decent folks among those around her, I’ll think about bringing them into the fold. If I keep conditioning her that way, someday Francesca might become an information agent like Veronica.

Then I could move two information agents simultaneously.

I could cross-verify the intelligence obtained from dual sources and even divide work to carry out broader activities.

I stepped out of the phone booth and strolled down the street. Perhaps because it was year-end, no matter how cold it got, the streets were filled with people. Families, friends, couples, colleagues…

Once I’d extinguished all urgent fires, I found myself with nothing to do.

The family gathering is next week, so I only need to prepare to head down. It’s practically just a matter of showing up, so I have no preparations to make.

There’s no need for dispatch preparation either. The embassy staff will send the usual materials, and I can get the details sorted out when the operation report comes in. I’m not sure how much time I’ll have, but smuggling out a few people isn’t that hard. Of course, if they’re critically important figures, slipping them away won’t be easy.

As a side note, Pippin and Jake are on leave.

Given that they finally got time off, I cheered them on to make the most of it. So I treated them to a meal before sending them off.

“…….”

But surely they’re not really going around together, are they?

While the Military Intelligence Agency isn’t a strictly no-fraternization workplace, just the thought of those two dating felt oddly unsettling.

We always used to band together, pooling our money to eat and have fun together. But now, before I head back home, mingling with a couple feels a bit off…

A fierce winter wind howled.

I shivered at my side. I tightened my coat and crunched my footsteps in the snow while pondering who to meet.

Veronica? She’s involved with the cult. Francesca? Regular contact might raise suspicion. Lucia? She’s a helpful person who provides therapy, but honestly, we’re not close enough to hang out together.

“…Sigh.”

In the end, there was only one person I could meet.

*

“So you came to find me?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

Awakening from a honeyed nap, Camila squinted her eyes.

Without even a moment to fix her disheveled hair, she slapped her forehead.

“Bloody hell….”

 

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