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Most people can’t naturally visit remote or foreign areas, especially if they’re conflict zones.

At best, you’d have civil servants, wandering merchants, traveling doctors, or volunteers?

Traveling doctors are always welcomed in remote areas where medical systems have a hard time reaching, and volunteers are as precious as oases in a desert when it comes to conflict zones.

The status of a volunteer in conflict zones is such that even the notorious rebels and armed groups typically won’t touch them unless there’s a special reason (like hostage situations). Of course, going into battle means they risk their lives to save others too.

However, in the current situation, I can’t take advantage of either identity. I’m neither a doctor nor carrying any emergency supplies, so what kind of traveling doctor or volunteer would I be?

Pretending to be a wandering merchant isn’t an option either. How can I act like a merchant when I have nothing to sell?

But no matter how bad the situation, there’s always a way out.

I decided to actively utilize the Kien language skills of the Inquisition Officers to masquerade as a local civil servant.

“Civil servant?”

“Right now, that’s our best option. Since food distribution and support projects are being considered, if we say we’re here for something like a census or survey, they won’t be able to complain.”

“Is that really possible?”

The Inquisition Officers seemed a bit skeptical.

But that’s fine.

“Possible, you ask?”

I put on a face that honestly tried to convey uncertainty.

“It might not work, but it’s the best we have. We have no other alternatives, do we?”

“…The Colonel is right. Currently, we have no alternatives.”

Priest Rebecca directed the Inquisition Officers.

“Everyone, get ready. We’re going to pose as civil servants.”

**Episode 12 – The Strongest Magician**

Now that the roles have been decided, there’s no reason to delay.

I checked the Kien language skills of the Inquisition Officers and selected a few who could speak fluent standard Kien.

Thanks to my three years of working in the Kien Empire, my Kien language skills were quite good, and there were about two Inquisition Officers who could match my pronunciation and intonation. Surprisingly, Priest Rebecca’s Kien skills were quite impressive.

I gathered them together and started talking.

“Um, Priest Rebecca and you all are going to disguise yourselves as civil servants.”

Since we would be interacting directly with locals, I picked only those who had excellent Kien skills.

“Priest Rebecca.”

She pulled out a few suits from her backpack. They were in decent condition, not too worn out.

I decided to dress the Inquisition Officers in those suits.

“As civil servants, you must wear formal attire while staying in the village. What about the rest of you?”

“We’ll stay as backups.”

Personnel with average or slightly below-average Kien skills were assigned as backup. Priest Rebecca instructed them to stay on the outskirts of the village, minimizing contact with locals while checking if anyone was entering or leaving the village through main routes.

A wise choice.

If the Inquisition Officers disguised as civil servants got into trouble, we could swap them out with the backups. Those with average Kien skills could communicate with the locals without any issues. Even if their Kien skills were slightly lacking, simple conversations wouldn’t be a problem.

While the Inquisition Officers changed into their suits, I also changed into one. Wearing a suit without an overcoat in the middle of winter felt miserable, but after receiving a prayer to maintain my temperature, I felt I could manage for now.

As I observed the village with binoculars, I spoke to the prepared Inquisition Officers.

“Let’s wait and move out once the sun rises.”

No matter how vast the Kien Empire is, a civil servant visiting a village at midnight would raise the residents’ suspicions. So we decided to wait nearby until dawn to enter the village.

After catching a brief nap in a sheltered spot from the wind, as dawn broke, I descended to the village with the Inquisition Officers.

As expected, the villagers immediately recognized the outsiders in the village.

“…Who are you?”

“We’re civil servants. This is the village of Kirnema, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Is the village chief around by any chance?”

Several villagers we encountered at the village entrance guided us to the chief without any suspicion upon hearing we were civil servants.

It’s unlikely that a scammer would come all the way to a war-torn village, and since we were dressed in suits, no one found our pretense strange. Of course, plenty of people looked at us with curiosity.

The chief of Kirnema village was a typical old man with many wrinkles.

“Are you the chief?”

“That’s me.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Vadim from a nearby city.”

His hands were rough and calloused, likely from arduous labor, suggesting he was a farmer. The coarse, calloused hands and the agricultural tools around his house painted a familiar picture.

I, with the mindset of a charlatan aiming to swindle pocket money from rural elders, started dropping bait like “food distribution” and “support projects” while trying to charm the chief.

“You’re telling me there’s a food distribution for our village?”

“That’s right, Chief.”

“Hmmm… Well, I’d be grateful if that were the case, but…”

The chief seemed a bit suspicious, hesitating to take the bait. He even eyed us with a critical gaze.

At a glance, it appeared he wasn’t questioning if we were indeed civil servants, but rather wondering if food distribution would genuinely reach such a remote village. Expecting this kind of reaction, I held back my exaggerated expressions and patiently waited for the old man to gather his thoughts.

“Hmm…. Is it truly about food distribution?”

“Indeed.”

“I thought you were here for conscription. All that’s left in the village are the old, women, and children…”

“…”

“Alright, I understand.”

After some deliberation, the chief let out a sigh and decided to accept us into the village.

“If you’re here for food distribution, I suppose there won’t be any issues. But what are you planning to do all the way out here?”

“Just some simple surveys.”

Successfully entering the village under the guise of civil servants, we utilized our cover to conduct information collection.

To distribute food and provide various support, we needed accurate population data and to identify which facilities needed repairs, so the chief gladly assigned a few villagers as guides. However, they turned out to be elderly folks or middle-aged women barely capable of holding a spoon.

Nonetheless, there was no need to refuse since we had come to collect information.

Disguised as civil servants, I and Priest Rebecca, along with two Inquisition Officers, actively utilized our false identities.

Following a villager’s guidance, I grasped the village’s overall structure, while the villager and the occasional contact with civilians provided all the detailed information about the village.

The precise number of villagers,

General personal information of the villagers,

Routes leading to the outside,

The state of food supplies and the number of sick people in the village,

Surrounding villages engaged in trade, and so on.

We swept through the village, gathering comprehensive information.

The time taken for this was precisely 1 hour and 13 minutes.

“That was easy.”

It felt like taking candy from a baby.

Tricking people isn’t too hard.

As the villagers approached us first out of curiosity, our time and effort needed for information collection were slightly reduced.

Priest Rebecca regarded the approaching villagers with a curious look.

“I thought people wouldn’t be friendly to outsiders due to the conflict. This is unexpected.”

It seemed that both Priest Rebecca and the Inquisition Officers found the situation fascinating. While jotting down information about the village, I casually commented.

“From the villagers’ perspective, we must seem intriguing.”

“Still, I expected there would be skeptics.”

“Skeptics? Well, not to that extent…”

The idea that people living in remote areas would be hostile towards outsiders is half-true and half-false.

“Since we claimed to be civil servants on a survey, there was no reason for them to doubt us.”

“Do you think they didn’t suspect us impersonating civil servants?”

“Even if they did suspect, they probably just thought we were scammers trying to sell goods.”

In a farming village, especially in a conflict zone, those pretending to be civil servants are mostly scammers.

The village chief and other villagers probably either truly believed we were civil servants or thought we were just wandering merchants.

Who would ever think that a foreign spy would impersonate an empire’s civil servant in such a place? If someone truly believed that, they would be someone totally unfit for daily life.

Of course, I am a real spy, but that’s not the villagers’ concern.

“Civil servant gentlemen! How long do you plan to observe?”

“We’ll need some time. We need to take photos for the military administration’s reports and check the nearby villages too. We’ll be here for at least two days.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s our job.”

I acted like a civil servant as I wandered around the village. Eventually, using a small magic camera to take pictures of buildings and roads, the villagers watched my actions without express suspicion.

Just for the record, this magic camera was a concealed item from the depot. It was meant to take photos of military bases or important facilities in the North, but I never expected it to be used like this.

In any case, while roaming the village and taking photos, the villagers seemed to genuinely believe I was a real civil servant.

I successfully took photos of the whole village, including details of buildings and roads.

Furthermore,

“Would you like me to take a photo for you?”

“For an old man, what use is a photo? Don’t bother.”

“Come on! Just help me once, old man. Do you have any grandchildren?”

“I have a granddaughter.”

“Bring her over. I’ll take a picture with both of you. I still have some magic energy left!”

I managed to get the grandchildren of the old folks to come for a family photo.

Though initially reluctant and shy, the elders eventually brought their grandchildren and daughters-in-law for a picture. It’s true that parents are always unbeatable by their children, regardless of the era.

“Alright, look here. I’ll take it!”

*Click!*

“Oh my, your grandson looks great in the picture.”

“Hmph. Will we receive the photo immediately?”

“It needs to be developed in the city since it uses film. I promise to bring it to you as soon as I return.”

“Thank you very much.”

The elders looked pleased, their faces lighting up with joy as they anticipated when their photos would come out. I promised to return with the photos.

Though it was half a lie, I felt no significant pangs of conscience. I mean, if I feel guilty about such things, how can I work in this field?

Nevertheless, since I’d promised to deliver the photos, I intended to keep my word to return to the village.

“…”

While continuing to take photos, I became increasingly aware that there were no young men in the village. Everyone in the photos was either an elder, a woman, or a child.

Suddenly, I remembered the intelligence given by a civil servant I had rescued, talking about how the military initially conscripted ethnic minorities. Now that I thought about it, all the villagers seemed to belong to ethnic minorities. If this were Russia, they might be like Koreans or ethnic groups from the North Caucasus or Mongolia.

What happened to the conscripted folks?

I belatedly thought about asking the villagers about their sons’ fates to report to the Military Intelligence Agency, but my lips refused to part.

“…Next.”

After seeing off an old woman who had finished taking pictures with her granddaughter, I directed my camera to a newly arrived family.

* * *

The photo session for information collection with the villagers wrapped up successfully.

I packed away the filled film, while Priest Rebecca continued gathering information alongside two Inquisition Officers during their spare time.

And three hours after we arrived in the village, we finally started to receive useful intelligence from the villagers.

“Do outsiders regularly visit the village, or is there someone who comes frequently?”

“Since the demon race showed up, most visits have ceased… Ah, but there is a priest.”

“…A priest?”

“He’s a cleric of the cult. He comes to the village from time to time.”

The elders began sharing tales of the cult’s cleric visiting the village. In fact, it bordered on praise rather than just storytelling.

“Such a kind-hearted person. He comes to this remote place and takes care of the sick. He even helps the children with their studies. Many kids can’t go to school due to the chaos…”

“…What a remarkable person. I’d like to meet him.”

“Well, he’s not someone you can just summon. He’s a wanderer… Oh, he did promise to drop by the village around this time. If the young folks are lucky, they might see him. Hehe. You should have a check-up from him. A miraculous person who can cure even a common cold.”

Combining the information provided by the villagers, here’s what I found:

A middle-aged man presumed to be in his late 40s,

Visits the village alone.

The frequency of visits is irregular; even the villagers don’t know when he’ll come.

He possesses divine powers and can heal patients.

Additionally, he occasionally teaches children simple subjects like arithmetic or language.

It’s quite detailed information. Clearly, the young ones, innocent to worldly matters, knew more.

“Sounds like a good person.”

“Absolutely! He’s an excellent figure.”

“…”

The Inquisition Officers kept a straight face while collecting intel from the villagers. You’d think any mention of heresy or apostasy might make them go wild with zeal, but they smiled brightly to blend in and laughed along with the villagers.

As I organized the film, I quietly approached Priest Rebecca.

“Priest, the village chief offered us a house to stay in. He said we could rest there if we’re going to be here for a while.”

“…Understood. I’ll join you soon.”

Watching the Inquisition Officers with worry, I headed towards the house the chief indicated, while Priest Rebecca remained to guide the Inquisition Officers.

I was anxious they might exhibit overly suspicious behavior, but thankfully, my concerns proved unfounded. The Inquisition Officers calmly came to the house with Priest Rebecca without causing any commotion.

“You gathered quite a bit of information.”

“Let’s get organized now.”

Once we gathered in the house, we brought our heads together to share the intel.

I briefed them on the general information about the village along with key transportation routes, while Priest Rebecca shared insights from the Inquisition Officers’ cases they had collected.

One Inquisition Officer broke the ice while checking the radio.

“From the situation, that priest seems to be undoubtedly heretical. Many aspects of the testimonies from villagers about sorcery align with the child’s claims.”

As expected, the priest mentioned by the villagers and the priest the child had spoken about were likely one and the same. While it was still a matter of assumption, this was close to certainty.

Pulling out a chair…

Priest Rebecca leaned against the table, ready for the conversation.

“It seems we’ll be able to confirm whether the Inquisitor returns to the village soon if we wait around here.”

“But how long do we have to wait?”

“That is true…”

The villagers had mentioned that the Inquisitor would soon visit again, but no specific date was given. It was also said that no one knew when the heretic or the apostate would arrive.

If I were merely an unofficial operative, I could just loiter around the village, but unfortunately, I am an official information officer. It means I can’t be absent indefinitely.

And that goes for Priest Rebecca as well.

“We can’t stay in the village indefinitely, either for work or status. Assisting the Saint is my duty, and if a civil servant stays in the same village for several days, the residents will grow suspicious.”

“Then we have no choice but to deploy a backup team, Priest Rebecca.”

“I believe so too.”

Given the situation, utilizing the heresy inquisitors on standby seems to be the only solution.

The individuals who can speak Kien would have to thoroughly prepare and disguise themselves as traveling doctors or merchants, ensuring they won’t raise any suspicions even after staying in the village for an extended period.

Tentatively, I suggested the backup team’s usage plan to Priest Rebecca.

“Since everyone can handle the divine, posing as traveling doctors would make sense. However, if there are no patients in the village, it would be difficult to enter, so disguising as merchants would be the best option.”

Remote or secluded villages often need regular visits from merchants, as they bring in goods that the villagers cannot produce themselves.

Thus, disguising the backup’s inquisitors as merchants would be the best possible approach. They could regularly come and go in the village, making it easy to monitor for extended periods.

“I agree.”

Priest Rebecca accepted my opinion without any strong objections. We gathered around the table, sharing intelligence, while the other inquisitors communicated via radio with the backup team waiting at the outskirts.

The inquisitor monitoring the area spoke into the headset.

“There’s nothing unusual while watching the village from the perimeter.”

“Tell them to continue watching while taking turns resting. Any casualties?”

“It seems everyone is okay. There’s no problem since the supplies we brought from Debok are more than sufficient, and they set up a temporary place to shelter from the wind.”

The backup team is hiding in the beat, keeping an eye on the village while munching on their rations. Skipping meals while crossing the snowy northern regions, they must be getting hungry.

I was feeling the same way, so we decided to quickly obtain some food from the villagers. While one of the lower-ranking inquisitors went out to gather supplies, Priest Rebecca began to open her bag and pull out equipment.

“What’s all this?”

“These are tools for identifying heretics. Let me explain.”

Unique tools from the Inquisition that I had only seen in military intelligence training materials were now presented before my eyes.

Priest Rebecca began her explanation in a pause.

“These are what inquisitors use. They usually carry a scripture and a silver dagger, along with holy water for urgent situations.”

“Well, holy water is one thing, but… why silver for the dagger?”

“Nothing works better than silver for repelling the wicked. Hence, most of the swords of holy knights and bullets, as well as the tools of exorcists, are made of silver. Of course, they are also blessed by priests.”

Holy items, huh? This dull-looking silver dagger is actually a holy object.

Other information agencies don’t have such tools, forcing priests to rely on neurotoxins to deal with monsters. It’s clear that the Inquisition is something else. If they can even create holy items for information officers, they must have a vast number of priests available.

That’s probably why the Cult has endured for thousands of years.

“What’s most important are these three items. The others….”

“….”

Determined with the spirit of an invading demon from the Middle Kingdom, I resolved to capture that heretic or apostate inquisitor no matter what.

In my life, I never envied assets of other companies except for those in America, but I didn’t expect to feel this way here. After trudging through snowfields for hours in the dead of winter…

Anyway, all the world’s problems seem to rise from religion. Damn religious fanatics.

Unable to bear Priest Rebecca’s explanation, I let out a sigh.

“Oh, now I see why the Führer hunted the Jews.”

“The Führer?”

“Never mind. Just talking to myself.”

Despite my nonsense, Priest Rebecca persistently continued her explanation.

As she inspected the equipment for the mission, she took a breath and picked up one item.

“This is the key for this operation.”

“What is it?”

“An amulet.”

The item Priest Rebecca presented had a very distinctive feature.

It seemed made of thin metal, but its thickness was incredibly slim, comparable to paper. It could be bent slightly with finger pressure, indicating some malleability. Leaving that aside, it had a strikingly unusual appearance, with intricate geometric patterns that looked exceptionally bizarre.

Priest Rebecca referred to this item as an amulet.

“The amulet is a sort of talisman. It has the effect of protecting the wearer from misfortune and evil energy. It’s a common protective gear issued to all inquisitors, holy knights, combat priests, and exorcists.”

“Oh, so it’s like a bulletproof vest.”

“One could say that.”

Priest Rebecca lifted the amulet, channeling divine energy into it.

As the divine energy flowed into the geometric patterns on the iron plate, the amulet began to glow with a strange light, scattering a soft halo. Pointing at the glowing amulet, Priest Rebecca added to her explanation.

“As such, when a priest infuses the amulet with divine energy, it starts to shine. The engraved symbols allow the divine energy to flow through. The critical point is that the divine essence of the priest is contained here.”

The cleric of the Cult shared a brief story about divine energy.

“Divine energy embodies the nature and aura of the god. Depending on the religion, there are distinct differences in divine essence across different priests, and each priest has his or her own variations.”

“Kind of like magic power?”

Magic power leaves a distinct mark depending on the user.

This mark is referred to as a magical print and serves as vital evidence in the field of criminal investigation against magic users. In fact, the Magic Tower even sends out official communications to various countries to warn them about the magic marks of exiled mages upon their entry.

For reference, this is information I directly heard from a magician of the Magic Tower—the head of the Magic Tower Secretariat, Juan Pablo Martinez.

Priest Rebecca nodded in agreement.

“It’s similar. Although it has some differences from magic print, it might be good to know that a priest’s divine essence can specify their religion and identity.”

By this point, I was starting to see the picture.

“So you’re suggesting we infuse the amulet with the inquisitor’s divine essence?”

“Exactly.”

Priest Rebecca’s plan was straightforward.

Infuse the amulet with the inquisitor’s divine essence to conduct a test.

“While the matter requires precision, if we can just infuse it with divine energy, we can gather a lot of information. By cross-referencing with the divine essences of the dispatched priests in the north or those of missing priests, we could uncover the truth.”

“Sounds good.”

It’s a great plan. The Inquisition is seasoned at dealing with heretics or apostates. I can surely trust them. Even Petrus is a double agent for Military Intelligence.

Though it is a good suggestion, there is a problem with this plan.

“But how do we infuse the inquisitor’s divine essence?”

“We just need to get close.”

Continuing her explanation, Priest Rebecca added,

“The amulet has the property of absorbing the surrounding divine essence. If we get close and wait a bit, it won’t be difficult to gather the inquisitor’s divine essence.”

“Wait a second. You said we need to get close? Does that mean it can’t absorb divine energy from a distance?”

“It’s impossible if we’re too far away. It’s not entirely unfeasible, but it takes a long time and there might be impurities mixed in. So getting close is the best option.”

After shaking the amulet to extinguish the divine energy, Priest Rebecca added a few precautions.

“We need to approach closely, but the time it takes is a problem, plus there’s one more critical issue.”

“What is that?”

“Other divine essences must not interfere.”

The amulet possesses a property to absorb divine energy around it. Whether the priest wants it or not, it reflexively absorbs any divine essence nearby.

The issue is that all the inquisitors are priests. Since the inquisitors, including Priest Rebecca, can use divine energy, it would naturally flow into the amulet when they approach.

“Of course, there are methods to forcibly extract divine energy like we did earlier. However, that isn’t a perfect solution either.”

“Is there any other issue?”

“There is. If the inquisitor has a developed sensitivity to divine energy, they could sense our presence. Theoretically, they could detect even the faint divine energy contained in the amulet…”

Priest Rebecca hesitated for a moment.

“However, that remains theoretical; it’s an impossible feat for humans. Unless the opponent is an exceptional archmage, that is.”

“Is that so?”

There’s nothing to be done about that. I’ll have to take charge since I can’t wield divine energy.

I reached out my hand towards Priest Rebecca.

“Please hand me the amulet. If we see them, I’ll go collect it myself.”

“Is it you, Colonel?”

“Who else would do it? I didn’t come here to ask anyone else to do this.”

“Originally, I intended to ask the villagers to handle it instead.”

So she had thought about enlisting a civilian as an operative. There are plenty of ways for an information officer to control a person without revealing their identity.

“That’s not a good strategy. A civilian might cause some trouble. It would be better if I did it myself.”

“But still…”

“We need to capture that guy quickly to resolve something, right? Whether he’s a suspect in a murder case or merely a heretic, it’s best to settle it as soon as possible.”

Thus, I was the right person to do it.

I pressed for the amulet. Despite Priest Rebecca suggesting I reconsider with concern in her eyes, I stubbornly requested it.

In the end, perhaps judging that there were no better options, Priest Rebecca reluctantly handed over the amulet.

“I’ll trust you, Colonel. But if anything goes wrong, pull back immediately. For safety, I’ll place the inquisitors nearby.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

If need be, I’ll just put a few bullets in him.

I hope the inquisitor turns out to be someone like a suspect in a murder case. It would be best if they were also the mastermind behind the monsters coming into the north or supplying the black magic for a terrorist incident.

If they were that significant, even if I did take action, the empire likely wouldn’t have much to say about it. Even if they did decide to expel me, they wouldn’t stoop to sending operatives to keep tabs on me. The probability of any backlash would be quite low.

“But how do I use this?”

“The usage is simple. Just keep it in your pocket or sleeve, get close, and take your time.”

“So I just have to sit still?”

“Yes. The amulet will automatically gather the divine energy. You won’t need to do anything else.”

I received information about the amulet and its usage from Priest Rebecca. We also finalized a plan for how to escape in case something went wrong and where we would regroup afterward.

Once we had familiarized ourselves with the usage and devised a plan, we sat around the table, waiting for the inquisitor sent to gather supplies to return. Along with the other inquisitors communicating via radio.

“I hope they show up quickly. Let’s deal with this and go rest.”

“I would prefer to avoid an unforeseen confrontation.”

“What’s there to worry about with the Inquisition? Just grab them and smash their heads with the scripture, or throw them on a pile of firewood and set them ablaze.”

Even the super soldier Joan of Arc was executed by fire. Fire is fair for all.

“Or we could tie them to a duck and toss them into the river. Stones? Let’s say if they sink, they’re innocent, and if they float, they’re guilty.”

“What era do you think you’re living in, Colonel?”

Just as I made my jokes, causing Priest Rebecca and the inquisitors to wear skeptical expressions…

-KABOOM!

The door burst open, and someone dashed inside, panting. I looked to see who it was—it was an inquisitor who had gone out to gather supplies.

Even in the dead of winter, he was sweating so much that his suit was soaked. However, seeing his empty hands indicated that it seemed he had failed to procure supplies. What a foolish fellow. Didn’t anyone teach the Inquisition about stealing food?

The panting inquisitor rushed in, and Priest Rebecca calmed him down, offering some cold water.

“Are you alright?”

“Priest Rebecca…!”

“What happened that made you rush in like this?”

“Out there, out there…!”

The inquisitor was pointing at the door he had just come through, gasping. It seemed he wanted to say something but was too winded to speak.

Curious about what had surprised him, I tilted my head and peeked outside.

“…?”

Before me stretched the picturesque scenery of the north with the sun high in the sky.

A rustic landscape lined with palisades continued, with houses where the elderly and children lived stretching out. The road, typical of the Kien Empire, was unpaved.

At the end of the road that transformed into a muddy mess from the melted snow, where a little path led up the hill, stood a figure I had never seen before, entering the village with a staff in hand.

Dressed in a brown tunic.

…A brown tunic? That was what inquisitors wore.

In other words, that figure must be an inquisitor.

As far as I knew, there was only one inquisitor who could visit the village at this point.

Peeking out into the outside situation, I quietly came back inside and grabbed my pistol and the amulet, muttering.

“A guest has arrived.”

I need to go out.

Right now.

 

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