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The investigators began to move as the operation commenced.

There were at least five agents hiding at the scene. Each of them had a clear view of the spy, without any blind spots, and they were positioned precariously, ready to spring into action and block any escape routes.

It felt like looking at a meticulously arranged chessboard. The way they were quietly observing showed that they all had some level of field experience.

“Coffee?”

“No, I prefer black tea.”

“Black tea is nice. How about you, Colonel?”

“Coffee is enough for me.”

I said indifferently.

“How much sugar would you like?”

“I’m fine. I don’t like it too sweet.”

Giada Bianchi presented the cup as if she was serving freshly brewed coffee herself. I took a sip and slowly turned my thoughts over in my mind.

So far, there hadn’t been any major issues. Giada Bianchi hadn’t noticed the surveillance and was only offering coffee to Camila Lowell and me, without showing any unusual behavior.

Everything would be perfect if the investigators who had gone up didn’t remain absent. That was the most crucial point, but there was no way to communicate with them, so I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the team leader was.

That said, it was impossible to just apprehend Giada Bianchi as a spy right here. It might work against a regular spy, but trying to capture a magician in the midst of a research institute, packed with civilians, with just five people would be suicidal. It’s likely that fighting an armed spy in downtown Seoul would result in less damage.

In any case, I couldn’t apprehend her right now.

“….”

I needed to buy some time.

—

Episode 3 – A Fantastic Vacation

Dealing with people is truly a challenging endeavor. It’s all the more so when you’re not just treating them normally but attempting to deceive them.

However, when you make it your profession and repeat it for several years, you start to get accustomed to it.

Moreover, being an information agency agent, whether you like it or not, involves a lot of lying, and for someone like me, earning a salary from the agency makes it incredibly easy to play tricks on people.

So I bared my teeth.

“…So, what you’re working on right now is developing pharmaceuticals, correct?”

“Yes. I am researching medications used to treat casualties that arise during combat.”

“Impressive.”

I had already memorized all the information related to the spy, so this was not particularly difficult.

“Where do such technologies come from?”

“Six years ago, the foundational technology was developed at the Magic Tower. I had participated in the research while studying abroad, where I worked with alchemists to develop substances for nerve control, immune modulation, and nerve glial cells as alternative medications for existing potions and healing arts. We are building on that…”

Of course, I couldn’t take several hours, but at least the knowledge I had stored would buy me about ten minutes.

I continued to ask questions about the project Giada Bianchi was in charge of.

Thanks to a senior military acquaintance who claimed to be involved in the Ministry of Defense’s medical system improvement project, this was feasible.

“Then, is the goal to enhance physical function, or is it focused on wound regeneration?”

Of course, it was half right and half wrong. It was true that someone I knew was involved in the medical system improvement project, but that person was the Chief of Counterintelligence at the Military Intelligence Agency, directing counterintelligence activities to catch industrial spies, which I conveniently left out.

Regardless, Giada Bianchi held no particular suspicions. In fact, even if I just hinted a little, she would get excited and start chatting away.

This was to be expected. No matter how much of a spy she was, her essence was that of a scholar and researcher.

And individuals of this sort tend to itch to talk when the subject of their field comes up, regardless of nationality or race.

“Enhancing physical function is a secondary goal. For now, we are focusing on wound regeneration. If we make progress, we plan to advance to researching function enhancement in the next stage, ultimately progressing through complex physiological regulation to help with fatigue recovery and alleviate battlefield stress.”

“Is it possible to administer it to subjects other than casualties?”

“It’s a security issue, so it’s a bit difficult to answer… But for now, we are not researching that area.”

It was ridiculous for a spy to mention security, but since he was bound for jail anyway, I didn’t care much.

In any case, Giada Bianchi began to disclose information about the drugs being developed at the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute little by little.

And as time passed, the conversation reached a level difficult to keep up with for someone like me who only had a mediocre understanding of the subject.

However, until ten minutes passed and people started to flock to the restaurant, the investigators’ figures were still nowhere to be seen, and compared to her doctorate-level knowledge, my inferior knowledge quickly hit its limits. Eventually, we reached a precarious point where the flow of conversation was about to falter.

But,

As always, I found a way.

“By the way, you mentioned you studied abroad at the Magic Tower?”

*

The next destination being the Magic Tower was an open secret.

This was due to a request from the Imperial Guard HQ, who stepped in to negotiate after the rebels had caused havoc, bypassing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Though an embargo was in place for the press covering both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I could not rule out the possibility that figures ravenous for subscriptions and sales might disregard the embargo, so I had given a heads-up to a few large reputable media journalists I could trust.

Of course, there were numerous publications that hadn’t received any leaks despite having reporters in every government sector, circulating all sorts of rumors.

However, the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute had all external communications cut off for ‘security reasons,’ so most employees were cut off from even those rumors.

In any case, the fact that the next destination was the Magic Tower remained confidential. An official report would come out soon, but…

What mattered was that this confidentiality was also a part of the classified information.

“Magic Tower?”

“Yes.”

Classified information doesn’t only include the kind of top-secret stuff you see in movies. Factors like family relations, movements of acquaintances, personal interests, hobbies, and tastes can all be crucial pieces of information.

And when such information goes through the hands of a skilled analyst, it becomes excellent material that can be applied everywhere.

“Oh, yes. I did study abroad there… but why do you ask?”

The Magic Tower is considered the leading collective in civilized society.

While the roots and foundations of civilization stem from science (with magic becoming a systematic discipline only about a century ago) and faced long-standing repression from the Inquisition, the arrival of the Magic Tower ushered in the era of magic after the war.

Magicians organized around the Magic Tower seemed to be attempting to satisfy their long-suppressed desires by advancing into various fields across society, demonstrating an insatiable craving for knowledge beyond any other group in the continent.

Whether this thirst for knowledge was a longing for knowledge, a desire for revenge against the religious sects, or merely intellectual vanity, no one knows. Perhaps they don’t even know themselves.

But such trivialities are of no real importance. What truly matters is that the desire for knowledge held by the group known as the Magic Tower is beyond common imagination.

Would these folks really sit still and let the likes of Camila Lowell, a magician recognized as a hero from ‘another world,’ go unexamined? Furthermore, the Magic Tower had already sent an unofficial letter to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting at least a chance to see Camila Lowell’s face. I know this because I personally received that official document while I was with the cult.

Although it’s unlikely that these magic folks would simply back down after a mere glance. In any case, the Magic Tower is eagerly waiting for Camila Lowell to visit, and the Imperial Royal Family, who has been claiming to sponsor the Magic Tower, has also proposed making the next destination the Magic Tower through unofficial meetings between information agency high-ups.

Of course, since this was an unofficial meeting involving the upper echelons of the information agency, there was no way that this news had reached the Magic Tower.

So,

The Magic Tower is eagerly waiting for Camila Lowell, who’s coming for some unspecified benefit. Meanwhile, through diplomatic discussions and inter-agency political meetings, the Magic Tower has been designated as the next destination, but the Tower itself is blissfully unaware that their demand has been accepted and is just twiddling its thumbs.

“I guess I’ll have to visit the Magic Tower soon. Given the situation, it’s bound to happen.”

“Ah…”

I was confident that the spy stationed at the Magic Tower would catch this bait.

And the spy proved me right.

“I see. What exactly are you curious about?”

Giada Bianchi appeared to think she had scored a hit and smiled brightly, and I let out a sigh of relief, convinced I had bought some time.

Just then, while our time-dragging conversation was entwining itself in loops, the entrance suddenly became chaotic in the distance.

The researchers who were moving toward the restaurant startled and parted like the Red Sea.

Wondering what was going on, I turned my head that way, and I spotted an out-of-place suit man and military uniform among the white coats.

“Uh oh?”

They were holding guns.

What the hell, damn it.

 

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