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The core of all information agency activities lies in security.

While it’s important whether the intelligence is rated A or B, the analysis accuracy percentage, or whether the captured spy is a big shot or a mere pawn, what’s even more crucial is security.

If things go south, employees could end up jailed or worse, so every staff member, regardless of their affiliation, is trained to regard security as paramount.

Thus, information agencies do not disclose their work to other institutions, nor do employees of the same institution share work-related discussions among themselves.

This sometimes leads to overlapping tasks between different agencies, and delays in ascertaining the situation from the command center when accidents occur in the field.

Of course, various safeguards are established based on laws and regulations to prevent such mishaps. However, since information agencies are ultimately run by people, unexpected incidents and blunders can happen occasionally.

No matter how smart an analyst is, there are times when analyses can go wrong, and despite an investigator’s meticulousness, suspects can be overlooked.

And.

No matter how thorough a spy might be, a mistake will eventually happen.

Eventually.

It is inevitable.

Episode 3 – A Fantastic Vacation

“I’m hungry.”

“What?”

Camila Lowell grumbled. Slumped over her desk, she spoke weakly, unlike her usual self.

“Hasn’t it been just a couple of hours since you ate?”

“Feels like it’s been at least two…”

“And you’re already hungry?”

“Exactly…”

She murmured dully, her expression far from cheerful.

“It’s strange, every time I use magic, I feel my stomach growling. I wonder if I’ll end up rolling around because I get so fat.”

Listening to her almost whiny complaints, I suddenly thought that Camila Lowell’s appetite seemed to be increasing.

To be precise, it was her snacking that had increased. But since she didn’t seem to be having any health issues, it didn’t seem like a big deal.

I opened a sweet snack that I had brought from the supplies room that morning and handed it to her. She automatically opened her mouth, and I casually placed the snack inside while pushing her chin to close it.

“Is it tasty?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s a relief.”

Camila Lowell smiled faintly, and I turned to the researcher standing nearby.

“When does the next test start?”

“It starts in 15 minutes.”

So they say.

As time passed, Camila Lowell’s schedule became increasingly complex. She needed to extract as much research data as possible before leaving the institute the day after tomorrow.

If it weren’t for the spy issue, it would’ve been a three-day job, but given that all the high-ranking personnel were detained, there was no helping it.

Not just her, but researchers and agents alike were having a busy week.

“Well, that’s what they said. Now, please get up.”

“… Huh.”

“This time, don’t melt the building; just take it easy.”

“I’ll try my best…”

I beamed a smile and stood up from my seat.

Then, I leisurely weaved through the crowd to find a researcher.

“Senior Researcher Bianchi?”

“Yes? Did you call for me?”

There was no significant reason for me to stick around Camila Lowell despite being busy.

My job was to keep an eye on people.

“How’s the work going?”

A government-sponsored student who majored in magic at a domestic university and went to study abroad at the Magic Tower.

An elite who joined the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute with support from the Magic Tower.

A senior researcher in the Biological Analysis Division of the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute.

Giada Bianchi.

*

The incident began last dawn.

I went to the investigation team holding the list obtained from Veronica, and the team leader sent the list to the information agency for verification and necessary information.

After a brief wait, soon enough, the printer roared and spat out documents.

Thus, the meeting was convened.

“Name: Giada Bianchi. Age 36, female. She majored in magic at a domestic university, graduated with a bachelor’s degree, and afterward left for government-sponsored studies at the Magic Tower. Her major is biology and magic, with a minor in summoning. Currently, she is the senior researcher in charge of the ‘Next-Generation Field Medical System’ project in the Biological Analysis Division.”

The investigator holding the microphone continued explaining in a calm voice.

Mechanical devices projected a dim light on the screen, and several large resumes unfolded before us.

And the resumes soon shifted to photos.

“These photos were taken during her time studying at the Magic Tower. Giada Bianchi spent 2 years and 6 months studying at the Magic Tower and has been identified as having attended several academic conferences and seminars during that time.”

“Academic conferences and seminars?”

“Yes.”

The team leader tilted his head with a puzzled expression, looking at me.

I grabbed the microphone and added an explanation.

“Academic conferences and seminars are great places to scout for information agents.”

Events like academic conferences, seminars, and international business meetings are perfect spots for scouting information agents.

You can contact a multitude of people in a short time, and even if you roughly disguise your identity, the odds of getting caught are low, as everyone you encounter is likely to be high-ranking personnel.

From an information officer’s perspective, there’s no reason to avoid a place that’s flowing with milk and honey.

“They allow maximum contact in a short period, and due to their nature focusing on exchanges, it’s easy to lead to second contacts and personal meetings.”

The team leader turned to gaze at the investigator.

“Then is it possible that she was recruited through the academic conferences and seminars?”

“I can’t be sure, but I believe there’s a possibility.”

“Is there anyone from the Magic Tower she often associated with?”

“There is one person. A man named Fabio Verati, who handles diplomatic affairs for various country representatives. They reportedly had frequent personal meetings and were seen together at farewell parties.”

As the screen changed, several images appeared on the wall. There were chaotic photos of couples kissing and holding hands, but the one with them entwined like snakes caught the most attention.

It seems they had quite the relationship.

“This data was conveyed to us from a related institution. As you can see from the photos, it is presumed that they were in a romantic relationship. This is supported by witness testimonies and posts on the Magic Tower community, as well as records of international mail and phone call exchanges.”

I turned my gaze away from the photos and back to the stack of documents.

It’s not that big a deal for men and women to fall in love abroad, but it looked like nothing more than a blatant recruitment attempt in my eyes.

Typically, the process of recruiting an information source goes through four stages: scouting, evaluation, environment building, and recruitment.

If there are 100 people, an information officer narrows down the best 10.

After that, they make contact with the selected individuals, evaluate them, build the environment, and then attempt to recruit them. In urgent situations, some steps may be skipped, but if they follow the formal process, most focus on building intimate relationships during the environment-building stage.

If Giada Bianchi ended up falling in love with someone from the Magic Tower while continuing personal meetings, it’s as if the environment was already established.

“There seems to be plenty of circumstantial evidence, but is there any material evidence?”

“International travel records are a little suspicious, but we couldn’t find any incriminating evidence in financial transaction records or currency exchanges.”

“What about international calls and mail?”

“All outgoing calls and mail to foreign countries are monitored by related institutions. We requested the relevant data, but they couldn’t find any significant incriminating evidence either.”

It was a frustrating situation.

Without physical evidence, one cannot apprehend a spy based on mere suspicion.

Of course, if we immediately searched her residence and found a cipher or communication device, we could arrest her on suspicion of espionage right away, but conducting a search without a warrant would lead to problems in court.

“Hmm…”

Ultimately, someone needs to keep an eye on Giada Bianchi, our prime suspect for espionage, until we get a warrant.

Whether it’s to find evidence or prevent her from doing anything shady, someone must be assigned to monitor her.

However, many of our investigators were tied up with the Fernand interrogation, and approaching the suspect without an established identity was too risky.

At that moment, a sub-team leader investigator asked the team leader a question.

“Who would be best suited to monitor Giada Bianchi?”

“Well…”

With external communication and entry being restricted, it would raise suspicions if an unidentified person approached her…

“Exactly.”

It seems the investigators were pondering a similar dilemma.

“It’s best if someone with a solid identity approaches her, right?”

“Do we have someone like that?”

“Not really.”

“Isn’t that so?”

But somehow,

“If possible, someone familiar to the researchers would be ideal…”

“It would be good if they have a well-known face…”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward me.

“…”

The team leader, sub-team leader exchanging words, the investigator explaining into the microphone, and even the rookie in the corner coloring the edge of the paper with a pen were all sneaking glances at me.

While they weren’t saying it outright, I felt like I could understand what they were driving at.

“…”

Someone with a confirmed identity who has a well-known face and won’t attract suspicion.

Someone who is well aware of the investigation’s progress and can maintain security as a trusted individual.

An employee from the same agency who isn’t affiliated with the research institute.

Preferably, someone with a bit of field experience.

“…”

No matter how I mulled it over, there was only one person who fit that description in this room.

“… Colonel? Are you good at fighting?”

“I’ve had training…”

“…”

“Maybe?”

That person was me.

 

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