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After punishing the criminal who used the outlandish method of third-party confrontation double payment to cheat Camila, we confiscated the ill-gotten gains he had on him, wallet and all, and threw a small party.

“Wow! Steak!”

“Eat slowly.”

The moment the perfectly cooked piece of meat appeared, a smile spread across Camila’s face. The image of her stomping her feet in frustration when she realized she was being a brat was nowhere to be found.

After tasting a large chunk of meat, Camila couldn’t help but beam like nothing had happened.

“…This is delicious!”

Did she even know what bad food was?

While I shook my head at her beaming smile, she suddenly began to ask me questions with a worried expression while slicing meat.

“So, are you really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“That scammer from earlier. Not only did he make a mess, but he also took our money. Won’t the police come after us later?”

It was a very reasonable and sensible question.

However, there was a common misconception people often held.

The belief that a high level of police force would be maintained in an area with a demolished crime rate.

“I can tell you that there wasn’t a single police station within a 10 km radius of the alley where I knocked that guy out.”

“Oh.”

“So don’t worry. Robbery is a common crime in this country. It won’t get caught no matter what.”

—

Episode 20 – Who threatened with a knife?

Though we were just a bunch of drifters wandering around, my group and I still checked in on each other amidst the chaos. Given the situation, we couldn’t meet in one place, but we still kept contact quite frequently.

The company didn’t bother us on this matter either; they said it would look even stranger if we suddenly went radio silent without a clear reason.

Still, it was fortunate that things had been peaceful for a while. After the Jamria Federation’s criminal organizations and coup forces crumbled under our hands, all sorts of groups on the Mauritania Continent had laid low.

With this, I could wander around freely without a care in the world.

…Well, or so I thought.

“Camila, what brings you here?”

“Of course, I came to see Frederick!”

Right after the modest celebration party, while I was clearing away the scattered dishes and food, I shot a dazed glance at Camila. At that moment, she, leaning against the sofa, looked shocked and flustered as she spoke up.

“I really did come for that…!”

Looking thoroughly satisfied, she had even placed a hand on her belly, grinning from ear to ear. Her quick addition of excuses as if nothing had happened was the real icing on the cake.

I squinted my eyes and clicked my tongue.

“Anyone can tell you came to eat.”

“N-no, that’s not it! What kind of person do you think I am…?”

“Then who pushed me to touch my pizza box?”

“Don’t talk about that, please!”

Whether it was post-meal exercise or something else, Camila waved her arms and legs around, playfully hitting me. Of course, I felt no pain at all.

“Okay, okay. Just, let’s stop the dust and chat or something.”

Due to adult circumstances, it was hard to get time to face my friends. Even so, every now and then, when she had a moment, Camila would come to visit me.

Some sort of courier, or should I say, express messenger?

Of course, as you might guess from the “free time” part, she mostly came to hang out. Thanks to the short, or long, peace we had, our conversations were limited to trivial updates, and those moments were cut short whenever I was on the scene or when Camila’s activities increased.

For some unknown reason, the Royal Intelligence Department staff, who had maintained a strict “minimize unnecessary contact with colleagues” policy, suddenly said nothing about Camila’s unannounced visits.

Did they all eat something weird?

What a strange situation it was…

Anyway, due to the indifferent oversight of the branch chief of the Royal Intelligence Department, our meetings happened quite regularly, and today, she had come over as usual.

“The Duke said to get out of the house and make some friends?”

“What a boring joke… If it was the professor, he would have told you to broaden your horizons.”

“I guess he really did mean it.”

With refreshing winds and the sweet aroma of desserts surrounding us, watching Camila’s chubby cheeks, endlessly sucking in food like a black hole, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes for over 20 minutes.

While I was lying on the sofa, lazily enjoying the moment, she suddenly shared an interesting story.

“Well, I partially came to hang out, but actually, I’m here because of a request from the professor.”

“What kind of request?”

“He said we need to prepare ourselves for a trip soon. I didn’t hear the details, but it seemed quite important.”

“Prepare formally?”

“Yep.”

“What kind of mischief is he planning…?“

I briefly grumbled while making a pillow with my arms.

Then, an unexpected thought struck me.

This could potentially be an opportunity to escape from being dispatched!

“…When exactly are we going?”

—

“What do you mean by that?”

The branch chief of the Royal Intelligence Department looked puzzled as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Having new and thrilling experiences every day, it was common for the ashtray not to survive for long. But suddenly saying out of the blue that I would be going on ‘vacation’? What on earth had I been doing all this time for a vacation?

It felt like he was either out of his mind or had always had something a bit off in his head.

However, when the additional explanation followed, the branch chief let out a sigh as if he finally understood.

“There was a word from Duke Alexandra Petrovna to prepare for somewhere important.”

“Duke? Hmm. That’s troublesome….”

Alexandra Petrovna’s reputation is well-known, particularly in a rather negative light.

For instance, she’s notorious for abducting civil servants from embassies of other countries or forcefully storming the Presidential Palaces in the Jamria Federation. When someone from the dispatch team…

Contrary to earlier evaluations, it seemed that while gallivanting every day, the Duke of the Empire was a man who indulged in antics surpassing imagination, powered by great magic.

“Well, I get it. If it’s the Duke, what can we do? Will other companions be joining as well?”

“I don’t have specific details yet, but it seems likely. I’ll report as soon as I’m sure.”

“Alright, I’ll handle the report to headquarters, so you go ahead and enjoy your vacation.”

“Yes. I’ll be on my way….”

“What’s wrong?”

“Could you possibly process it as official leave instead of vacation?”

“…….”

There was a brief communication issue, but nonetheless, I successfully managed to secure my vacation. That’s why the civil servant, who received the official leave (which was more than half stolen), was hopping around with joy.

“What’s going on? Where’s the envoy?”

“Uh, he came out of the branch manager’s office earlier and took off for vacation.”

“Oh really? Was that person jumping down the hallway just now him?”

“Probably.”

“Wait, did he at least hand over his duties before leaving?”

“…uh?”

Finally finding their peace of mind, the Royal Intelligence Department employees sighed in relief, and the branch manager hurriedly began looking into whether there were any vacancies in other branches. With a heavy sense of mission, knowing they had to send the envoy elsewhere before the vacation ended at all costs.

Anyway, some were enjoying the long-awaited freedom of vacation, while others were just relieved that the dude finally stepped away.

It was a joyous day for everyone.

Except for the youngest staff members, who were buried in a mountain of paperwork trying to locate transition documents for quantum mechanics that couldn’t even be observed.

*

“Nothing major happened while Frederick was away. The professor was around the whole time as well. Plus, the peacekeeping forces’ requests for cooperation have been met without any complaints from the government.”

“What? The royal family won’t even provide a caregiver for the elderly? Why does he always go around alone? He’s over a hundred years old!”

“The professor prefers not to have anyone fussing over him. He says he’s not at that age yet. Anyway, back to the point.”

Camila, biting into a chocolate bar filled with caramel, steered the wandering conversation back on track.

“Governments that were originally uncooperative have been quite proactive lately. This is probably due to the backlash from the Al Kair Nakbatu terrorist attack, which sparked emerging religious security issues affecting society as a whole, regardless of the nation.”

“I heard about it. Apparently, the cults have been causing quite a ruckus lately?”

“There are ordinary humans who treat believers like slaves on farms. And there was this deranged cult leader who made people host strange fungi, claiming it was the key to eternal life.”

“Oh—was that the guy who grew mushrooms on himself? I heard he turned several towns into ruins. Some small towns and villages have completely vanished.”

“It’s because they’re in areas with scarce medical facilities. It was also one of the first regions to come into contact with the infected who fled from that religious group.”

“It’s totally like 28 Days Later.”

I tilted my head in confusion.

“Or was it 28 Weeks Later…?”

“Both are similar movies… Anyway, thanks to Lucia and Saint Veronica gathering essential personnel and moving to that country, it ended up being resolved without major damage. They reportedly purified the 18th infection area the other day, so it’s safe to say it’s nearly over.”

“Everyone is safe, right?”

“They’re saints. With one prayer, even a mere epidemic can be blown away.”

“That’s a relief to hear. And then?”

“The angels say the Northern Regions of the Mauritania Continent are now clear. No demons around. Of course, they didn’t find any traces of other angels either. Other than that, not much to report… Oh! Speaking of which, was it last week? Charnoy wanted to eat a hamburger set, and the angels said they would take care of it.”

“…And?”

“In the early morning, a mysterious thug armed with a greatsword stormed into the shop, according to police reports…”

“Dammit!”

“—It happened, but don’t worry! It was almost a big deal, but I nicely talked things over with the store owner and the police. I made sure to delete the CCTV and report records right in front of me!”

On the way to join the group.

Amidst the long journey, stories always blossom.

With stories that hadn’t been attended to for a while packed away in her arms, Camila began to unpack them one by one beside me.

Some tales were familiar to me, while others were completely unknown. But what mattered wasn’t whether I knew them or not.

“Thank you. It would’ve been a huge problem if I hadn’t been here…”

“What do you mean! It was such a sudden incident that even if Frederick had been there, it would have been tough to stop it. How could you possibly prevent that with someone teleporting just to buy a hamburger?”

As I flopped down with a tired expression, laughter began to ring in my ears. It was the soft sound of Camila’s giggles.

Her gaze seemed to blend shades of boredom and a touch of excitement, lingering in the clouds. Leaning her chin on the window sill, she drew a line across the white cloud. As her slender fingers grazed the glass with a soft squeak, the gray clouds retreated, revealing the hidden tracks.

And when a moment of miracle echoed across the fields.

Camila, still perched by the window, smiled gently and asked me.

“Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m already excited.”

As the train began to set off, heralding the start of a six-night, seven-day journey.

 

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