---

As I reviewed the basic information downloaded from headquarters, it was already dawn. I realized this right after hearing Camila’s groggy words as she woke up.

“Not sleepy?”

Camila, sprawled on the bed, half-raised her upper body and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

“Did I wake you up?”

“Not really… Hahm… It’s already been several hours.”

“About nine hours, I suppose.”

“Don’t work too late… You might ruin yourself.”

Mumbling as if it were just her thoughts, I paused my face-washing and closed my eyes for a moment.

It had already been three days since we entered wireless silence to prevent eavesdropping.

I still hadn’t received any contact from Leoni.

In the meantime, I had reviewed various materials to understand the priest’s intentions, but the priest’s true motives remained a mystery.

Why was she asking me for this? What did she truly desire? Questions spiraled endlessly like a fractal but never produced a clear answer.

I could have sought help from the analysts at headquarters, but under Leoni’s order, I was in wireless silence, meaning I couldn’t communicate with them. It was also impossible to consult Veronica.

At the very least, it would take her about five days to arrive in Ashtistan.

So, here I was, left with nothing to do but stagnate in the hotel room.

“…”

After carefully putting away my device in my backpack, I was about to close my eyes on the sofa when—

*Ding-dong.*

The sound of the doorbell shook the hotel room.

Episode 20 – Who Threatened Me with a Knife?

No one is unaware of the importance of real estate. Even someone like me, who makes a living as a spy, is no exception.

Remote offices, workspaces, safe houses. The significance of a safe house cannot be overstated, even if I repeated it until the East Sea and Baekdu Mountain dried up.

Of course, even a safe house doesn’t guarantee 100% safety.

Accidents always tend to occur in unexpected ways.

And that was why I didn’t look through the peephole when the doorbell rang.

“…”

Naturally, there would be no guests at such an ungodly hour. Even the hotel staff didn’t work at this time.

It’s possible a confused guest accidentally pressed the doorbell, but I dismissed that idea without a second thought. I had known since entering Ashtistan that the Kien Imperial Foreign Affairs Department had booked all three floors of this hotel.

That meant every room, including the one I was staying in, was empty.

*Clatter…*

Hiding my body against the concrete wall, I used a hand mirror to reflect the peephole.

Standing outside was a single man.

As expected, he was definitely not a guest or hotel staff.

The man, wearing half-rimmed glasses and a neat suit, looked more like an accountant than hotel staff, and the luxurious watch on his wrist was far beyond what a mere tourist or hotel employee could afford.

“…”

“…Phew.”

I gestured to a tense Camila, who stood frozen, and her hidden hand lowered in relief with a sigh.

She flicked the smoke forming at her fingertips away, and I naturally opened the door to face our uninvited guest.

The combination of half-rimmed glasses and a stoic expression was striking; the man glanced back at me after checking his wristwatch.

“Are you the one who sent the letter?”

He didn’t even bother to politely ask who I was before jumping straight into questions, brandishing a familiar envelope and showing me his identification.

Under the dim light, the gleaming emblem of the Security Committee was sufficient to represent his affiliation. I nodded to confirm, ‘Yes, I sent the letter.’

Then, he spoke.

“You are to accompany us.”

*

I was approached by a Security Committee official who came at dawn requesting my presence.

Thus, I decided to comply willingly.

The only person waiting outside my room was the accountant-like man. There was no trace of investigators or anyone else in the corridor or near the elevator.

Typically, operations conducted by information investigation agencies are assigned at least five individuals for safety and ordinance, often involving over forty personnel for larger tasks.

If an arrest was the goal, I should have been greeted by a bustling crowd of information investigation officers and mobile response teams filling the hallway.

And above all.

“Can I come along too?”

“Sure.”

The Security Committee employee didn’t stop Camila from joining; rather, he granted her request without hesitation.

Of course, it was an absurd situation from my perspective.

“Why are you coming?”

I was baffled as she insisted on joining despite it being evidently unnecessary.

As she slipped her coat over her arm, Camila replied.

“I thought they might take you somewhere chilly.”

Apparently, she believed we would be taken to an interrogation room in a refreshingly cool place.

“Seobinggo is a bit cold, I guess.”

Unfortunately, her expectations were completely missed. There was only one car waiting in front of the hotel.

The driver opened the door for us and directed us to the backseat while the Security Committee official climbed into the passenger seat and adjusted his half-rimmed glasses while murmuring our destination.

*

The sedan traversed the darkness of Shizuya. During our drive along the desolate road, no one spoke. Neither us nor them.

Camila stared endlessly out the window. She looked strangely excited despite her apparent anxiety, a peculiar expression that caught my eye.

Following the directions given by the Security Committee official, the driver finally reached their destination…

While driving, I leaned my head against the seat and drifted off. After a while, I was jolted awake as the vehicle reached its destination.

– Vroom…

I could distinctly feel the cool air brushing against my ankles. As I stepped out of the door opened by the driver and looked around, an empty landscape surrounded me.

It was an open area.

Considering the position of the moon and stars, the direction near the hotel intersection, and the travel time, this seemed to be somewhere in the south. The half-constructed buildings left to decay hinted that we were on the outskirts of Shizuya.

“Yawn…”

As I yawned dramatically in the fresh morning air, Camila, who had quietly approached, poked me in the side and scolded me.

“Are you seriously yawning right now?”

“Why are you like this? You’re making me embarrassed.”

“Look around.”

At her words, I slowly began to survey my surroundings.

The abandoned construction site’s open space was unexpectedly brightly lit by strange lights.

Cars with their headlights on were scattered around, and I could see locals in suits, who looked like company employees, standing stiffly in the area.

The Security Committee Official who got out of the passenger seat gestured toward the suited locals.

Just as the two suit men standing guard at the van opened the door, a hand shot out from inside, shoving someone roughly and pushing them out of the car.

I felt a strange familiarity toward the being dragged out. It was that odd sensation of déjà vu.

Soon, the identity of that unknowable familiarity was revealed.

“Ugh…”

As the person caught by the suited men was pulled into the light, Camila’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“Oh. Is that the person from earlier…?”

“……”

The man emerging from the van was the “guy” from the Security Committee. The one who shamelessly demanded a bribe from me and eventually caused a scene.

I had been wondering when he would get caught. Turns out, it hadn’t even been a few hours since the tip-off, and he was already arrested by the Security Committee.

I took my eyes off this pathetic figure and looked over at the bespectacled man.

“I have a few questions.”

The Security Committee Official, likely in charge of the inspection, adjusted his glasses and began.

He held up a neatly folded letter—it was that tip-off he had shown me earlier.

“On the day you entered Ashtistan and yesterday, you were reportedly asked for bribes for two consecutive days. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Is this man the one?”

The accountant-like Security Committee Official pointed to the thug with the tip-off.

The guy, looking annoyed as he was dragged out, shot me a fierce glare, as if I was the cause of his trouble.

It was a truly remarkable reaction, wondering just what kind of drugs he was on to be this brazen.

I scrutinized him from top to bottom.

“Yeah. That’s him.”

“Please describe the circumstances at that time briefly.”

The Security Official asked, and I summarized the facts as best as I could.

From the way he spoke, it seemed he already had a rough idea of the situation.

It indicated they had summoned me to ensure they weren’t missing any crucial facts before punishing him. I could clearly see that intent through his tone and gestures.

So, I summarized it succinctly. Whether they found what they were looking for or not, at least the man didn’t seem to want any further explanations.

When my brief explanation concluded, the expressionless accountant-like man waved his hand toward the suited individuals. It was a gesture to take him away since that was enough.

“Hey. How long are you gonna investigate…?”

“Come with us.”

The guy, who was in genuine distress for having his bribe attempt blow up in his face, found no further chance to argue as the two suited men pulled him along.

The man being detained was forcibly placed into a vehicle.

However, the car he was put into wasn’t a van, but a very old and shabby 1960s sedan.

“……”

I watched the disgruntled face of the man and the suited figures with a frown, then whispered to Camila, who was observing the scene.

“Camila, can you look at something else for a second?”

“Why?”

“I’ll tell you why later. Hurry.”

“…?”

What on earth was I saying? Camila looked at me as though I were insane.

While her gaze lingered on me, the Security Committee employee clambered into the sedan with the two suited men.

Even from a distance, I could tell he was still complaining. He swung the passenger door open and plopped himself down inside, while the two suited men took their seats, one in the driver’s seat and the other in the back.

A shadow in the back seat aimed something that had been pulled out from a pocket towards the direction of the passenger seat.

– Bang!

In the pitch-black darkness, a bright flash flickered.

Camila, who had taken her eyes off me, witnessed that sight firsthand. Her shoulders flinched at the sudden flash, confirming it.

What an unlucky turn of events.

I let out a soft sigh and mumbled.

“See, I told you not to look.”

 

---