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odd-sounding Cat Beastman drove into the highway.

The roaring engine noise and the fierce wind pounding against the windows conveyed the outside chaos, yet inside, there was only suffocating silence.

I sat in the back seat, gazing at the swaying black tail beyond the seat with a baffled expression.

“……”

What on earth is a Beastman doing in the Intelligence Department?

The world may have become more favorable toward Beastmen, but the military is a conservative group. It seems more apt to call it an anachronistic society than one simply lagging behind the times.

Within the military, the Intelligence Department is the most conservative and extremely insular place.

While I haven’t spent more than ten years working in the Military Intelligence Agency, I’ve never heard or seen of a Beastman working in the Intelligence Department.

Is this really a Military Intelligence Agency employee?

Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, the vehicle veered off the highway and began to traverse a lonely rural road.

The old magical lamps illuminated the deserted country road.

In the distance, I caught sight of a building standing alone at the edge of that far-off road.

At that moment, the Beastman in the driver’s seat reported over the radio.

“We’re passing through the main gate now.”

That meant we had arrived at a safe house.

Episode 13 – A Country for Magicians

Even as the car smoothly passed through the main gate and entered a tent-covered parking lot, the Beastman provided no further explanation.

“Where are we….”

Just then, someone responded to my question.

“It’s a safe house, Manager.”

“Oh, Jake.”

“You’re finally here.”

“Pippin is here too?”

It was Pippin and Jake.

Just as Leoni said, all of my subordinates were gathered here. Pippin and Jake leaned against a wall near the parking area.

As I stepped out of the tent to survey the surroundings, Jake, pulling back the cloth, approached with a casual remark.

“You took your sweet time coming here.”

“I had some work to deal with. But why are you guys here?”

“Honestly, we don’t know either.”

Pippin replied, stepping out of the tent behind Jake while explaining in a tired voice.

“You don’t know why?”

“After returning from leave and waiting at the dormitory, we received orders to come here. Both of us did.”

“Who told you to come here?”

“Our overseas director.”

The person who ordered the team members to stand by was none other than Leoni.

When I received the expected answer to my confirming question, I nodded and looked around.

This location is quite remote. The driveway is barely wide enough for a single vehicle.

It looks like they cleared the forest to build structures on the remaining flatland, surrounded by fields and dense woods. The building consists of basic slate and brick typically found in industrial complexes.

Just then, a Beastman who had gotten out of the car entered the building.

So I should go that way. I led Pippin and Jake towards the building, conducting a roll call.

“So, you came here at Leoni’s directive and don’t know why?”

“Yes. Did you receive any explanation, Manager?”

“No.”

I hadn’t received an explanation either.

Instead, Pippin and Jake, who had arrived earlier, whispered a few facts to me.

“People are waiting inside.”

“People? Company employees?”

“We’re not sure about their affiliations. But they don’t seem to be from the Military Intelligence Agency.”

“Then they must be from the Royal Intelligence Department.”

Jake nodded, adding that he shared the same thought.

Combining Pippin and Jake’s insights, the situation inside the building was as follows.

First, there weren’t any special facilities inside the building. There were a few rooms, but the people inside hadn’t come out for several hours.

Second, various materials were piled inside the building. Foldable chairs were lined up, and there was a screen and a magical projector set up in front of them.

Describing what was inside, Pippin said it looked like a lecture hall.

“It feels like a briefing is being prepared.”

“A briefing….”

It’s a briefing gathering the staff from an undisclosed location. It’s not exactly a welcoming situation. Setting up a position outside the company indicates that the operation has already launched, minimizing the connection between headquarters and the field team.

In other words,

“It seems we arrived a bit late.”

We have joined the ongoing operation as latecomers. Alternatively, a large-scale joint operation involving multiple teams may be in progress. At least, based on my experience, there were only two possibilities.

Amidst this conversation, Jake chuckled and teased me.

“Well, you should have come earlier, shouldn’t you?”

“Shut up, you punk.”

Anyway, this isn’t a good situation.

I hurried Pippin and Jake along and swiftly entered the building.

And the moment I crossed the threshold, I was taken aback by the scene before me.

“What the….”

The interior of the building was completely empty. Foldable chairs were haphazardly scattered, and unfamiliar people milled around, unsure of what to do.

And against that backdrop, a manic Cat Beastman was fleeing wildly, chased by Charnoy who was knocking over chairs…

“This damn furball tricked Charnoy! To think it blatantly lied to my nun colleague, claiming to have entered a trading company!”

“Nyahhhhhh!”

“If you get caught, I’ll give you three heads for negotiations!”

“Mooowww!”

Caught between Nymph, wielding a chair as if it were a weapon, and the fleeing Beastman, I suddenly felt dizzy and grabbed my forehead, groaning.

“Ah….”

I already want to go home.

*

Cleaning up the chaotic scene wasn’t easy. It took just over 30 minutes to set the scattered chairs back up and check for any broken wires.

After I replaced the damaged chairs with new ones and set them up in the lecture hall, I finally had the chance to properly introduce myself to the gathered people.

“I’m Matthew, the Operations Team Leader.”

A man whose chin was a bit blue as if he had freshly shaved extended his hand while introducing himself.

“I’m Colonel Frederick Nostrim.”

The man who introduced himself as the Operations Team Leader pointed toward another man beside him wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

“This is Sub Team Leader Steven.”

“Nice to meet you.”

The Sub Team Leader also extended his hand for a handshake. I exchanged greetings with him while slowly examining both the Team Leader and the Sub Team Leader.

The Operations Team Leader and Sub Team Leader both had a peculiar demeanor about them. The relatively younger Sub Team Leader seemed to be in his early forties, while the Team Leader looked to be nearly fifty.

Considering that individuals who were active in “the field” at intelligence agencies tend to transition to back desk roles once they hit their thirties, it’s certainly unusual for two older men to lead the “Operations Team.”

Of course, there were other notable characteristics as well, particularly the striking appearance of the Operations Team Leader.

“Hm.”

Putting aside the tacky horn-rimmed glasses of the Sub Team Leader, the presence of the Operations Team Leader was extraordinary. It felt like he could submerge a person with just a glance.

Lost in thought, recalling his oddly familiar appearance, I suddenly raised my eyebrows as I was reminded of the purple alien I saw in a Marvel movie decades ago.

Ah, right. Thanos. That was his name.

Years ago, before the department store terror incident, Camila mentioned that someone resembling Thanos had been following her since she arrived at the immigration area.

It seemed familiar. So it was a face I had seen before.

After greeting the Sub Team Leader, I turned to the Operations Team Leader and asked a question.

“Haven’t we seen each other somewhere?”

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

The Operations Team Leader, who looked to be in his fifties, casually bantered. His expression was calm, but the nuances in his words and nonverbal cues told me he was lying.

I nodded.

“Let’s leave it at that then.”

The Sub Team Leader, wearing horn-rimmed glasses, pointed towards the people standing behind us and the room.

“Over there is our team. And behind them are the Analysis Team and the Support Team.”

So, it was one field team along with the Analysis and Support Teams. A compact but well-equipped setup.

All the faces were unfamiliar. They were indeed the Information Officers from the Royal Intelligence Department, just as I had suspected.

As I glanced at the people in the back and beyond the door, the Operations Team Leader sent me a look while talking to the Sub Team Leader.

“Are those folks from that team?”

He gestured towards Pippin and Jake with his question.

I nodded in response.

“So how about that nymph?”

“…….”

The Operations Team Leader naturally turned his head at the question. In the place he looked, there was Charnoy, pouting with an angry face, gnawing on a honey candy while being held tightly in Pippin’s arms.

The one who seemed ready to chase down the Cat Beastman had calmed down after getting a batch of honey candy from Jake, who had caught Charnoy just as she was about to launch a chair shot towards the Beastman.

Even so, something still seemed to bother Charnoy as she glared at me with a sour expression before turning her nose up and looking away after noticing the Beastman standing behind the Operations Team Leader and the Sub Team Leader.

“…….”

The Sub Team Leader broke the silence with a casual joke directed at me.

“I hear Kair and that team member are friends. The kid is quite active.”

So, the Beastman’s name was Kair. I remembered hearing that name. Right after being released from the Inspection Office, during a pizza party, Kair had shown up claiming to be Charnoy’s friend. I distinctly remembered them being slightly tanned back then, but now their skin was as white as snow.

So that’s where I recognized the face. I must have seen it in passing, which is why it didn’t immediately click.

Regardless, overwhelmed by a mix of shame and awkwardness, I covered my face with my hands and mumbled.

“…I’m really sorry about that.”

“The kid might just be a bit upset.”

As the Operations Team Leader continued with a playful tone, the previously shut door swung open.

After having been closed for hours, the door opened, and a relatively young employee stepped out, energetically shouting towards us.

“The briefing will begin soon! Everyone, please take your seats!”

“Finally, it’s starting.”

The Operations Team Leader snapped his fingers and issued commands to his teammates.

As a crowd of people bustled around, seeking their seats, I motioned towards Pippin, still holding tightly onto Charnoy, and Jake, who was holding a container of honey candy.

“We should go too.”

*

The lights dimmed, and the magic projector illuminated the screen. Inside the dark makeshift structure, the sound of footsteps could be heard echoing in the unsettling silence.

“Ugh….”

The source of the sound was a man emerging from the room.

He was a balding man with thinning hair on the sides and a receding hairline that reached almost to the crown of his head. Struggling to move, he leaned on a staff as he stood before the screen, laboriously shifting his bulging belly.

Cough! Cough! Before the man could say a word, he erupted into a fit of coughs. It seemed he was suffering from a nasty cold.

Wiping his nose with a handkerchief, he finally managed to begin speaking with a nasally voice.

“Phew…. I can finally breathe. Sorry about my appearance, friends.”

The man with the staff waved his hand cheerfully in what seemed to be an attempt to lighten the mood.

But nothing happened.

“…….”

“…….”

Neither I, Pippin, Jake, Charnoy, nor even the supposed Information Officers from the Royal Intelligence Department reacted to his words. In fact, the moment the man spoke, the Operations Team Leader and the Sub Team Leader openly sighed heavily.

“So he got assigned here, of all places.”

“Right?”

“…….”

In the exchange between the Operations Team Leader and Sub Team Leader, I sensed something had gone wrong.

While the sound was quiet and the conversation likely inaudible, the man with the staff blinked in confusion, awkwardly smiling as he tried to change the subject.

“Uh, well. Anyway, thanks for gathering here without being late. Director—no, it’s Director Leoni now. If she makes a complete mess of the briefing, I’ll be dead meat, so let’s keep this short, clear, and concise. But since there are some new faces here, allow me to share a story from the past…. We used to be simple folks, just thinking about our work, isolated in the office.”

The man’s voice, tangled with nasal tones and insecurity, prompted the Operations Team Leader to shake his head and mutter.

“What a nightmare….”

My ominous premonition turned out to be true.

The overweight man leaning on his staff began waving his short arms as he enthusiastically continued his monologue. It was so abrupt that I couldn’t even gauge what he wanted to say, but I managed to glean that he was the analyst responsible for analysis tasks.

To be precise, I figured out only that much.

“…That’s an analyst?”

It was absurd.

As if he hadn’t heard my voice, the analyst continued to ramble on. Watching him, one of his subordinates called out to him urgently.

“Hey, Sir…! Sir…!”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I got sidetracked again.”

The man scratched his head, awkwardly tapping the ground with his staff.

“Thanks for the heads up. Now, let’s discuss why we are gathered here—that is, the ‘operation’ we will be working on together….”

With that, he twisted his body while leaning on his staff and aimed a remote at the projector. The moment he pressed the button, the screen flickered, and the words appeared.

The first page of what seemed to be a document displayed two bold phrases.

Operation Name: Magic.

Military Grade 1 Secret.

“…Friends.”

The man manipulating the remote grinned widely at us.

“Have you ever killed a wanted magician?”

 

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