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A soldier says.

“Top secret? That’s something only generals with special clearance can even open. How would a civilian know about it?”

A lobbyist replies.

“I-I’m an official….”

“Are you part of the Imperial Guard HQ? You’re barely a local supporter.”

An agent chimes in.

“I had my suspicions from the start. With the second director dead and your people purged, it’s too suspicious that you have no one left by your side.”

“They must have withdrawn….”

“Usually, the most trustworthy person ends up being the most suspect.”

The Colonel told me to doubt everything and persistently dig for answers.

That’s just the nature of the Information Agency folks.

And crucially,

“Do you think an untrained civilian would detect a tail?”

This woman lacks the ability to shake off a tail.

“Saint.”

“….”

“Do you have any idea what will happen if you go back now?”

Veronica nodded with a pale face.

I picked up her shoes and threw them away.

“Let’s go on a little date.”

—

Episode 2 – Heroes of the Continent

Eavesdropping is not as easy as it sounds.

Embassies or national security facilities. Even meeting places are fortified against eavesdropping.

Therefore, espionage can be seen as an endless battle between spear and shield.

A silent battlefield between those who want information and those who want to protect it.

We call that battlefield the world of espionage, and the people fighting there are called agents.

And here are the agents.

“Hey, make some noise already.”

“I’m trying.”

These are the people looking to obtain information.

To be precise, they are the operational team of the Imperial Guard HQ supervising Saint Veronica. Essentially, a task force.

For the past several years, the operational team has been active under the mission of supporting lobbying. Now that Saint Veronica has become a full-fledged lobbyist, they are watchers hindering foreign intelligence operations and preventing information leaks.

So, as soon as we heard the Saint was going out, the eavesdropping began.

An operative shouted.

“Get something to make some noise!”

The eavesdropping expert replied.

“I can’t hear anything because of the rain.”

Eavesdropping is still a human act, and eavesdropping devices are human-made.

Naturally, it can’t be perfect.

When noise from the surroundings mixes with conversation, there’s no way to know what they’re talking about.

In other words, eavesdropping becomes ineffective.

“Sound analysis team. Have you gathered anything?”

“Analysis suggests the target may be attempting to defect.”

“Oh, great.”

Veronica is trying to defect.

The moment the operative got that report, he started pacing the cramped room.

I know espionage is a crazy battlefield that straddles legality and illegality. However, if we intervene without evidence now, we can’t avoid an international dispute.

The target was officially the Saint of the Cult, and the person she interacted with was a Hero’s colleague.

For now, we need to separate the two. We must either persuade or threaten Veronica so that she doesn’t think about anything foolish.

“Hey, send some kids under the bridge. Make them look like they’re exercising.”

“What? It’s pouring rain outside.”

“Enough with the excuses. Just send them.”

If eavesdropping fails, we need to attach watchers.

Unfortunately for the agent, who’ll have to run outside in the pouring rain, he sighed as he tied his shoelaces.

Then, moments later,

“There’s no one under the bridge!”

“What?”

We received a report that the target had vanished.

—

*

A midsummer dawn.

Under the stormy night sky, an unexpected chase unfolded.

The first to move were those who realized their eavesdropping and tailing had been detected.

“Move quickly! A chase is coming soon.”

“Right now? In this rain….”

Veronica hesitated, looking around. She had already tossed her rain-detected eavesdropping shoes into the river, and it was pouring outside.

Moreover, she was barefoot. Running on the road with bare feet would surely tear her soles and injure her.

The Major grabbed her shoulder.

“If we don’t leave now, the Guard HQ will catch us.”

“….”

“I could return to the Embassy, but you have no place to go.”

Veronica is the Saint of the Cult.

She has a fortified room at the cult headquarters.

Yet, the Guard HQ agents breached that security.

They even embedded an operative in her inner circle.

And it didn’t get caught.

“You probably started laying out this plan the moment you caught the Emperor’s eye, right?”

“… Let’s hurry.”

With that, the agent started fleeing with the lobbyist.

Of course, a chase followed.

As soon as it was detected that the eavesdropping had been compromised, the Imperial Guard HQ actioned.

“Release all the kids.”

“Yes.”

Agents hidden nearby started the pursuit.

“Without shoes, she won’t be able to go far. Check all the alleys.”

The chasing squad fell in behind them, and an operative at the situation room grabbed a microphone.

“Hey, Team One, send them to the Embassy.”

“The Embassy? You’re talking about the Kingdom’s Embassy?”

“Yeah. That’s the only safe place left.”

The person she interacted with is a soldier of the kingdom.

While it’s not certain, they are presumed to be affiliated with the Military Intelligence Agency.

They would have expected a chase and would head for the safest place.

And embassies are places legally recognized as foreign territory.

So.

“If Veronica enters the Embassy, we won’t be able to catch her. Send the agents to wait in front of the Embassy immediately.”

“I’ll direct them through the shortest route.”

The kingdom’s embassy is treated as the kingdom’s territory.

The Imperial Guard HQ and the Inquisition cannot simply invade.

“Catch her before she gets in.”

—

*

-‘Team Two. Search completed in the vicinity of the bridge alley. No unusual findings so far.

-‘Squad 3. Search of inns and hotels within a 5km radius is complete. No guests of both genders are reported.’

Inside the Imperial Guard HQ’s disguised situation room.

The operative, having checked all reports from the teams, let out a faint sigh.

The target of surveillance was still at large.

In a fit of anxiety, the operative gripped the chair and asked an agent,

“Did you check Veronica’s financial transactions?”

“All transactions, including cash withdrawals, have not occurred.”

“Is Veronica carrying a wallet?”

“Yes. She usually doesn’t carry cash.”

“Damn.”

They couldn’t track the funds.

The agent lingering around seemed to know that checking financial transactions was the first move.

This was someone with at least a minimum understanding of tracking.

-‘Squad 1. Observing the front gate of the embassy—no one has arrived yet.’

The operative glanced at their wristwatch. Twenty minutes had already passed.

“How can someone run away barefoot and still get to the embassy in 20 minutes?”

“Impossible. Given the distance and the current weather conditions, it’s not feasible to reach the embassy with Veronica in twenty minutes.”

“Squad 1, stay concealed near the embassy’s front gate and keep observing.”

-‘Understood.’

More than thirty minutes of tracking had gone by, and not a single strand of hair was visible.

Even with a civilian on board.

The operative spoke to the agent sitting across the table.

“Have we intercepted any communications from the Inquisition?”

The astute interception agent replied.

“There’s still no news from the checkpoint.”

“What about the outer entry checkpoint?”

“Nothing from there either.”

That meant they hadn’t moved out from the cult’s center.

It indicated that the two were still holed up at the cult’s hub.

As the operative pondered whether to deploy agents for further searching,

“Veronica’s phone is ringing!”

“What? Determine her location immediately!”

A glimmer of hope emerged. The professionals succeeded in tracking the signal.

“It’s a building 6km southeast from the point of reference!”

Grabbing the microphone, the operative issued commands.

“Squads 2 and 3, I’m sending you the building’s details—search it thoroughly. Right now!”

They had successfully narrowed the encirclement.

*

Guard agents enter the building.

“…13. 14.…17.”

There were a total of 17.

Watching the ticking second hand on the wristwatch intently.

At precisely 1 minute and 51 seconds,

-‘Hands up!’

The sound of the door being smashed and shouts echoed through the communication device, and through the window, the agents with pistols could be seen searching the room.

They continued their rough search, flipping beds, swinging open closets, and banging on bathroom doors.

For a full 2 minutes.

While the guard agents persisted in a meaningless search.

I snapped photos of the guard agents’ faces from the rooftop of the opposite building.

-‘Yes, Colonel.’

“Pippin, I took the photos—send them to the Information Agency later.”

-‘…Whose photos are they?’

As the guard agents realized they were chasing their tails around the three-minute mark, they kicked a chair out of frustration and left the room.

“Idiot.”

*

“…Is this a date?”

“What else would it be?”

“I was expecting a restaurant.”

Veronica babbled lightly with a hint of nonsense. It seemed she was finally starting to perk up a bit.

She was currently bundled in a blanket, drying her wet hair with a towel.

“Where did you take my phone?”

“I left it in the inn room, but I’m guessing the Imperial Guard people took it. You’ll probably get it back later.”

“Hah.”

“Not that it matters, since it’s under communication surveillance anyway, so you can’t use it.”

I brought Veronica to a ‘safe’ location.

In a way, it was a place the Imperial Guard wouldn’t anticipate.

“Is this place safer than the embassy?”

“Who would expect a saint to hide in an old warehouse?”

A location where I had previously met Pippin, disguised as a rundown storage of a restaurant, serving as the Military Intelligence Agency’s communications interception office.

Naturally, the Imperial Guard and even the Inquisition were unaware of this place. It was the perfect spot to hide for a while.

“I figured you’d aim for the embassy. Am I crazy enough to head there?”

Unless the Imperial Guard could read my mind, they would surely have guessed I was headed to the embassy.

It’s practically foreign territory recognized by international law and diplomatic agreements. Neither the Inquisition nor the Imperial Guard could just waltz into the embassy. If they barged in, it would lead to a declaration of war.

With guards in place and the legal protections guaranteed, it was a location one would naturally suspect they’d run to.

So I didn’t go.

“What exactly is this place?”

“It’s military confidential.”

“Am I trying to pry too much?”

“You seem to be quite knowledgeable.”

Veronica sealed her lips tightly.

Now that an outsider had discovered them, this office needed to be closed off. Or they’d have to silence the witness.

That was a job for the Colonel, and I had my own tasks to tend to.

I am a spy.

I am someone who collects information.

“Saint.”

“Yes?”

“Please share everything you know right now.”

“….”

“You seem to know something entertaining.”

 

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