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A week-long deployment has come to an end.

Although plans went somewhat awry, the Military Intelligence Agency managed to capture a spy who was wreaking havoc at the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute.

Presumably, by dawn, a protest letter condemning the espionage activities related to military and state secrets will be delivered to the Foreign Affairs Department of the Magic Tower. They might also choose to hide the capture incident and launch counteroperations.

I have no idea what will happen next, and to be honest, I don’t want to know.

For now, we captured the spy without any damage on our side, and as Camila Lowell’s safety is assured, I can be content with that. Any additional issues like investigations or court battles will be handled by the Counterintelligence Department.

Thus, after saying my goodbyes to the Counterintelligence Investigators I had gotten to know over the week, I left the institute.

And then,

“You can take a break for about two weeks before returning to work. Thank you for your service.”

I finally received my leave.

**Episode 4 – Why Me?**

In reality, it’s quite hard for a soldier to take leave whenever they want. This applies not just to active duty soldiers but also to officers and NCOs.

While officers living off-site might find less meaning in their leave, those stationed in remote mountain valleys or combat zones desperately need it.

I found myself quite eager for a break.

There’s no special reason.

Although my frequent overseas deployments play a part, the most significant reason is the workload of the information agency.

Regardless of the world, information agencies are used to overtime and have nighttime work as a hobby. With a small number of people but a massive amount of work, and relatively few promotions available, all my colleagues and juniors have impressive resumes, and the job difficulty level is as high as a radar site perched on a mountain peak.

If you want to work long in such a place, you have no choice but to work like a dog. Or you could marry a pile of paperwork. In both cases, the lack of personal time means reduced rest time.

Still, it’s a bit better since I’m currently working in a decent foreign city with the Military Intelligence Agency Headquarters in the capital. If I were stationed on a deserted island or in a mountain valley, I would have gone completely bonkers.

Of course, working in a city doesn’t guarantee a high quality of life.

I had returned to the overseas division.

And for staff sent overseas, they couldn’t even take leave.

Whether they are information agents or operational agents, once deployed overseas, they couldn’t go on leave. Those working at diplomatic missions, like White, have it a bit better, but people like Black have to be discreet and pick their moments to rest. On top of that, the workload and difficulty are insane. They might even get captured at any time, which could lead to serious consequences. Naturally, the quality of life plummets.

So, during overseas deployments, all I could do was squeeze in a day or two to take a short break. Even that couldn’t happen if personnel were short or workloads piled up. Haven’t I shuttled between Pippin and Jake for two whole months? I was the one who worked the most.

Anyway, despite all the fuss and chaos, I definitely deserved some rest.

Two months of overseas deployment.

A week of domestic business trips.

And now, returning subordinates from their leave.

“Woohoo!”

Nothing could stop me.

The first thing I did as soon as I got my two-week leave was to sleep. Maybe it was because I had been overworked for over two months, but even though I went to bed early, I finally woke up only after the sun was already high in the sky.

What a strong and hearty morning.

I immediately burst into the bathroom, wiped away the sleep crust from my eyes, and dashed off to the hospital. I had been told by Clevenz to undergo additional examinations, although I had received health check-ups a few times while at the cult.

Honestly, I wanted to refuse because, apart from being tired thanks to Veronica and Lucia giving me a heal, there was nothing wrong. However, I couldn’t escape after being threatened with “Just take a quick rest and come back to work if everything’s fine.”

Luckily, the tests were wrapped up in no time. I got my blood drawn, submitted a urine sample, and chatted with the military doctor and the nursing officer, and before I knew it, it was all over. They said the examination went quickly because they left out items like magic fluctuation tests and mental contamination assessments, which I had no need for since I couldn’t use magic.

In any case, the examination itself was swift, and the process wasn’t bad at all.

Thanks to being established for the welfare of employees, no one pried into where I got hurt, and above all, the processing was smooth. I left the hospital in good spirits and sent a message to Clevenz (or rather, to Clevenz’s deputy who came in for me) that the exam was finished.

There’s nothing else left to do.

I am free!

“Ahh.”

The air feels exceptionally clear today. The sun is warm and the breeze is cool; it’s the perfect weather to go outside and have lunch. Sure enough, it seemed to be lunchtime, as a flock of Military Intelligence Agency staff members wearing their work uniforms were rushing out of the building, tossing aside their uniforms.

Are they going out for a company dinner or something? As the team leader headed out first, the tired employees filed out in an orderly manner behind him. I spotted some familiar seniors and juniors laughing and chatting among themselves as they headed off somewhere for lunch, while another employee, who had dropped some files while trying to avoid them, hurriedly tucked them under his arm to retreat into the building before anyone could step on them.

Just another ordinary day. Everyone seems to be living their lives with determination.

While I was blending in with the crowd, I noticed something.

“Huh?”

A familiar yellow head and a black head caught my eye.

“…Don’t you still know where I am?”

“How should I know? I asked my colleague and senior, but no one saw you.”

“Shouldn’t you be asking the overseas side instead of analyzing things? Don’t you have anyone you know there?”

“I don’t. They pick so few people for that side, and they even have a separate building. We rarely go there.”

It was clearly Jake, looking like a delinquent, and Pippin, who was much shorter and pudgier than Golden Sun.

I glided over to them, just as Pippin and Jake had their heads together, spouting nonsense.

“Seeing that you suddenly vanished makes me feel really uneasy…”

“Maybe something went wrong—”

“You think he’s dead or something?”

“Huh?”

The two subordinates whipped their heads around. Their eyes widened, and their mouths gaped open like fish gasping for breath.

“Why is the Colonel here…?”

“Exactly. Why are you two wandering around without guardians?”

“We’re grown-ups, so why do we need a guardian…?”

I figured if I mentioned I had just returned from a short-term deployment, it would hurt my pride, so I casually deflected it.

“Because you two are rank novices.”

“Pardon? I didn’t catch that?”

“I said you two are low-ranking vegetables.”

“Really? I didn’t hear that right?”

“Well, you heard it clearly.”

As Jake stood there, slack-jawed, Pippin spoke up.

“Where on earth have you been?”

“I was on a short business trip. Approximately about a week?”

“Wow. So, you’ve been on a deployment from the moment you came back until now?”

“I did return yesterday, but yeah, that’s about it.”

Suddenly talking about work gave me a headache.

I waved my hands and interrupted the conversation, throwing an arm around their shoulders.

“Enough boring talk; let’s go grab some food.”

“We were planning to eat at the cafeteria…”

“I’ll treat you.”

“Where are we going?”

“Ugh.”

“Are we back here again?”

“If you don’t like it, you can go to the cafeteria.”

“……”

It had been two months and a week since I last visited the restaurant.

This was the regular place that took care of our lunches, a beloved burger joint for the overworked Military Intelligence Agency personnel.

“Can we just not eat hamburgers again? I’ve eaten here so many times over the past few years that just smelling it makes me feel full.”

“Since the export restrictions sent raw material prices skyrocketing and wrecked the economy, do you want to pick up the tab?”

“It’s a bit… Odd to hear that from someone who earns more than me…”

The burgers are delicious, so why the complaints?

As I sprinkled salt inside the burger, I said, “You must be busy working, so we need to eat quickly. Isn’t this the only thing we can finish fast?”

“No one has us working even when we clock in.”

“What? Why not?”

“The boss isn’t around, and there’s no assigned office, so there shouldn’t be work for us.”

“Oh.”

That’s right. I’m now the team leader, not the sub-team leader.

No wonder I was feeling swamped with work.

“So where have you been since you clocked in?”

“Well, a division chief or some such person came and told us just to wait in our quarters.”

Incredible, they clocked in and then returned to the dormitory. Isn’t that even better than working overtime and leaving?

“Jealous much.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“If not, you can just go on a trip instead of me.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll just hang in the dormitory.”

“Shut up.”

Ding!

The mid-ranking officer who got yelled at like that picked up the sauce with a glum expression.

But why is it that they went on leave and I got sent on a business trip? I’m two ranks higher than them. I still don’t get it.

Well, I guess there are reasons for everything.

“Let’s just eat.”

I dunked a French fry in the ketchup and popped it into my mouth. The salty crunch paired with the rich sauce made for a fantastic flavor combo. Meanwhile, Pippin watched, sniffing her fries and wrinkling her nose, while Jake meticulously slathered mustard on his chicken pieces.

“Honestly, it’s tough to switch from beef and pork to chicken after eating it every day.”

“Why? Chicken is delicious.”

“It only feels good when you eat tasty things once in a while. How many months have I been eating this? I think my mouth is going to smell like chicken.”

“That’s because the military is buying it to deal with the bird flu outbreak; what can we do about it?”

“Oh, right. I heard there’s going to be another protest soon.”

As I subdued the insufferable Jake, Pippin suddenly brought up the protest topic.

“What kind of protest? Did the elves smash a factory to stop environmental destruction?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then is it the orcs and beastmen demanding their accumulated wages?”

“There’s a protest from the livestock farmers, claiming they shouldn’t import cattle, pigs, and chicken.”

Aha. So it’s just a normal protest. In that case, the intelligence agency likely won’t be called into emergency status.

“Where is that information coming from?”

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.”

Hmm.

I thought deeply while dipping another chunk of French fries into the sauce.

It was surprising that Pippin, an analyst from the Military Intelligence Agency, knew about the livestock farmers’ protest, but it wasn’t particularly unusual.

The protest news was likely obtained by a domestic intelligence officer who used the Ministry of Agriculture as their source and filtered through informants, with the analyzed and verified intel reaching Pippin’s ears.

Of course, it had nothing to do with us.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a domestic issue anyway, and if you know about it, the police probably do too. They’ll handle the undercover agents soon.”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

Clearing that issue off the table, I looked for a new conversation topic.

“By the way, have you had any notable incidents lately?”

“What kind of incidents are you referring to?”

“I mean, during the time off, have there been any unusual happenings?”

“I haven’t experienced anything.”

“Me neither.”

“…Is that so? Well, that’s good. Everything back at HQ went fine?”

“Nothing worth mentioning… Oh, come to think of it, I heard a few people from the district visited the headquarters.”

Jake pitched in, lowering his voice.

“The Inquisition branch chief and two high-ranking intelligence officers.”

“Do you know what they came for?”

“I haven’t received any specifics. It might be for security reasons, but we’re not too clear on it either…”

“When did they come and go?”

“I heard they came last night. It was probably late at night since one of our juniors was on duty at the front gate.”

The “junior” referred to the employees who joined the intelligence agency along with Pippin and Jake.

According to the regulations of the Military Intelligence Agency, all external personnel entering the facility must deposit their identification at the front gate and retrieve it upon departure, making verification of their identity possible.

As I dipped my fries in the sauce and contemplated this for a moment.

The branch chief of the Inquisition. And two high-ranking intelligence officers accompanying the chief. They arrived last night, and at a rather late hour.

Something felt off, but I didn’t want to voice it.

It wasn’t something I needed to be involved in anymore.

“Forget it. Let’s eat.”

Just as I was about to clear my mind and finish lunch.

-Ding-a-ling!

A call came in.

After hastily wiping my greasy hands on a napkin, I picked up the phone.

“Yes, Colonel Frederick Nostrim here.”

-“Oh, Frederick. I heard you’re on leave?”

It’s Clevenz.

“Yes, Colonel.”

-“Where are you right now?”

“I’m having lunch at a nearby restaurant.”

-“Is it close to the intelligence agency?”

“Yes.”

-“That works out well. Can you come over for a moment?”

“Excuse me?”

-“Just for a moment.”

“Uh, okay?”

-“Hurry up.”

“…”

What a life, damn it…

 

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