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My first experience comes accompanied by tension and excitement.

What if I mess things up? Or worse, what if I become a burden to the team?

Such worries flit through my mind, but the moment I remember the achievements and the importance of the mission I’ve been entrusted with, my spirits lift as if I’ve just lubricated a rusted machine creaking away.

[Dear passengers … We are currently entering the airspace of …]

The brief announcement jolted my sleepy mind awake.

As I rolled my bleary eyes, colorful fabrics filled my hazy field of vision.

An Arab woman, who had been lost in a movie for the past six hours with her AirPods in, gave me a lazy glance that quickly turned into a blank stare as she wrapped her hijab around her head.

Seeing that exotic yet familiar scene finally hit me.

I’ve arrived.

In the still dark before dawn, the Emirates passenger plane touched down on the runway.

“…….”

A modest suitcase, sleeping airport staff. I rushed out without thinking to grab it, but a kind employee had handed me a one-month tourist visa without hesitation.

I carefully tucked away the passport with its clear entry stamp and switched my SIM card, then punched in the number.

-‘Hello?’

“I’ve arrived. I’m at Khomeini International Airport right now.”

Already?

My colleague at the Tehran branch seemed startled and returned my question.

“I just departed from Abu Dhabi. I had a quick matter to take care of there.”

I took a puff of a cigarette to calm my nerves.

The pale smoke curled up on the sidewalk. The stillness of this strange world, heavy with vague fears and worries stemming from nuclear development and international isolation, was Iran.

Of course, that’s just an image. It wasn’t as backward here as one might think.

After summoning an Uber with the smartphone provided by the company, I searched for the subway leading to the branch and asked my colleague.

“It’ll probably take about two hours to get to the address. How are things lately?”

-‘Don’t even get me started…’

My colleague let out a bitter chuckle, a hint of sourness in their voice.

-‘Do you have any idea how many people have left the branch? Everyone from the seniors to the juniors has been completely swapped out.’

“So that’s why I came, right? To fill the empty seats.”

-‘I appreciate the thought, but no matter how we look at it, it feels like pouring water into a bottomless pit. Just bringing in a few more teams doesn’t seem like it’ll solve our problems.’

With a *thud*, the conversation took a turn. After crushing the butt on the ground, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and muttered my question.

So, what exactly is it that we need to do?

“What’s the conclusion here?”

—

Side Episode – Normalization

Living the life of a state-certified first-class troublemaker (as a private term, information officer, information agent, spy) while receiving a salary from the government for the second time, even I thought this was too much.

No matter how public servant-like I am, I’m still a person! I have my own hobbies and preferences, so naturally, I have some likes and dislikes!

But this is too far.

“Why on earth do you look so grumpy?”

“Why do I have to go there…?”

Just as I was dawdling with a disgruntled expression, Camila’s inquisitive gaze landed on me as she passed by.

It seems she had indulged in every kind of dessert at the hotel the Duke prepared for us, as her cheeks had plumped up (to be honest, I think she’s leaning more towards chubby, but saying that out loud might cost me my life, even the Duke wouldn’t guarantee my safety at that point).

“What on earth? Are you saying that someone working in the Information Agency can’t deal with going abroad?”

Complaining? How rude to say that!

“No, it’s just that the place we’re supposed to go isn’t exactly ordinary.”

“That’s true. When you think about it, it’s Iran? It’s comparable to those strict Middle Eastern countries.”

“Exactly!”

My frustration burst forth as I cheerfully rose in my voice.

“Why would your master spout nonsense about going to a place like that at his old age? It’s infuriating!”

Right after the train journey went awry, the Duke rushed over after hearing news about Camila, helping maintain the peace around the Jamria Federation and its neighboring countries.

Even employing the expensive long-distance teleportation magic that the Kien Empire’s army only uses during large-scale training exercises.

It’s worth noting that long-distance teleportation magic is usually employed in wartime, and it’s rare to bring in armies just for training, including the Imperial Army.

This shows just how devoted Alexandra Petrovna, the Duke, is to her disciples.

Though the Duke happened to have a history of commandeering the pride of the Empire Navy, the ‘Airship,’ in a lightly humorous way under the pretense of hanging out with Francesca and the descendants of Archmages.

So, it’s not too strange that she would expend long-distance teleportation magic just to meet Camila… probably.

(??? : No! Our flagship…! / ??? : That was the magic we were supposed to use for next year’s training. Great, we messed up…)

Anyways, so much for Camila…

Alexandra Petrovna, the Duke, has quite a deep affection.

The issue is the country she plans to visit us in.

“This is a place famous for strictly enforcing the law, where even foreign tourists get monitored by religious police. Plus, it’s the homeland of Al-Yabd! Does it even make sense to take Lucia there?”

The country the Duke planned to take us to was akin to a neighborhood version of Iran.

The problem is, it’s not just a downgraded version of Iran but rather an upgraded one.

In other words:

It’s the Iran of the 2020s, where they’re showering bullets on anti-government protestors,

the Iran of the 1980s that squared off against Iraq,

the Iran of the 2000s that exchanged insults like ‘Axis of Evil’ and ‘Great Satan’ as uranium enrichment controversies emerged.

It is, quite literally, the ‘real deal.’

Because of these issues, I protested vehemently, vowing never to go, but the Duke, firmly set in his ways, insisted there was nothing to worry about.

“The professor assures that safety will be guaranteed. It’s a country with good diplomatic relations with the Kien Empire, so it’s all good.”

“Y-Yeah, but I know that the countries on good terms with the local government are very few.”

“Well… I’m aware of that.”

Camila, fiddling with her hair, hung her head low.

“It’s true I’m worried, but at least it’s not a closed-off country like North Korea or Eritrea. I don’t think it’s something to be overly concerned about. Besides, the professor will be accompanying us. You know how capable our professor is, right?”

“Can the Duke really be responsible for security?”

“Yes. I think so too, and the experts agreed on that.”

“What experts?”

“Diplomats. I have questioned several embassy officials, and they said that should be sufficient. Although there’s a bit of concern about Lucia, they mentioned that if the professor guarantees her identity, there shouldn’t be any issues. The common view among diplomats is that, as long as you’re not an enemy state citizen, short-term stays shouldn’t lead to problems.”

That was truly reassuring news. At least it meant our party was safe.

However,

“But I’m a citizen and civil servant of that enemy state.”

“…Ah.”

In that instant, Camila’s face fell with a realization.

Embarrassed, she pondered for a while, clearly troubled. What on earth could she do? After a lengthy moment of agony, her blue eyes suddenly brightened as if she had come up with a brilliant idea. Camila raised her finger with a glimmering gaze.

Then, in a bright voice, she began to propose the solution that had occurred to her.

“Let’s think positively about this! If we get caught, it’s just a spy going to prison anyway. What’s the big deal about visiting an enemy state?”

“……”

“Let’s just consider it as normalizing our duties. The important thing is that our careers are thriving, right?”

No sooner had she finished speaking than I loosened my tense shoulders and straightened my posture.

A moment later.

“…Kyaaaah! Somebody save me! Is anyone there?! Help!”

What the archmage witnessed as he rushed to the disciple’s scream was a civil servant twisting the disciple’s foot behind her, forcing her to the floor.

It was a scene of a mind thoroughly unhinged, being healthier than ever.

*

To avoid landing in a country as notorious as Iran, I twisted my body with all my might.

Of course, it wasn’t just sheer fear that motivated my opposition—there was a reasonable background for my concerns.

Setting aside the issues of law enforcement in an enemy state, wasn’t it true that I was rather unlucky?

Lately, I had found myself embroiled in incidents everywhere I went—what might happen if I ended up in a place where the odds of something going wrong shot through the ceiling right into Mars?

Thus, I dedicated myself to the single-minded goal of safely spending my vacation. More precisely, I requested help from the Military Intelligence Agency.

The response I got back was straightforward.

[Normal Approval.]

“Ah….”

I slumped over the desk in the embassy’s communication room in despair.

The crumpled message didn’t even need to be shredded; it was already torn to bits and tossed straight into the trash.

A transparent liquid, whether sweat or tears, streamed down my cheeks. After ripping up a resignation letter that said something like ‘Fire me, you bastards,’ I blew a little tune with the moonshine I had secretly saved.

“Normal is nonsense….”

 

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