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Frederick was gazing lazily at the clouds drifting by.

When it comes to tailing and surveillance, one shouldn’t fixate their gaze on a single point when the time comes to strike.

Even an inconspicuous unease that one might normally overlook can become a clue for someone on high alert.

Thus, Frederick’s eyes were never stuck in one place.

He scanned the entire park, glanced at the ice cream vendor, and observed the pedestrians as well as the citizens enjoying their day on the grass.

“…Yawn.”

Leaning back on a bench, Frederick let out a long yawn and, smacking his lips, straightened up.

He tucked the neatly folded newspaper under his arm and rubbed his sleepy eyelids, trudging along like an exhausted office worker.

If this were a habit, it was definitely a product of his spy life, getting by on a salary earned from all the double-crossing.

Why? Isn’t it normal? Always tired and drowsy in everything.

When someone asked him to do something, he’d mumble complaints about how annoying it was, why it was only him who was being asked.

For no good reason, his eyes would wander around, and he couldn’t help but notice foreigners clearly standing out among the locals.

“Ah, I feel a bit more alive now…”

In the park of Shizuya under the scorching sun.

With the dazzling sun shielded by sunglasses, Frederick tucked the newspaper inside his jacket and hurried deeper into the park.

—

Episode 20 – Who threatened with a knife?

The man watched as ethereal streams of water danced from the Persian-style fountain.

While he wasn’t a philosopher, nor a romantic who enjoyed pondering life—

The exotic aura emanating from the fountain in Timarshak Park momentarily eased his anxious nerves.

“…….”

A short guy with round glasses. His protruding belly reminded one more of a friendly uncle who casually visits a gym for socializing than someone who seriously works out.

But looking at his short yet stout fingers and thick neck, anyone who had done some exercise would guess he was a strongman. Ziegmund was indeed a man that matched that image.

Ziegmund brushed the whiskers of his mustache aside and cupped his chin with his hand.

Though it appeared as if he was resting his chin, if you looked closely, you could see the busy movement of his eyes darting around between his small eyelids.

–Tick. Tick. Tick.

The sound of a second hand echoed down his wrist. His gaze flitted back and forth with a speed distinctly faster than that of the ticking second hand.

“…….”

Just as the noise of the crowd mixed chaotically with the ticking sound, a woman approached, causing Ziegmund’s restless eyes to lower.

Though it might be slightly inappropriate for a man with a spouse, the woman radiated a strange aura. He sensed it instinctively.

As the woman sat down, placing her shoulder bag on the bench, Ziegmund maintained silence while the woman diagonally behind him softly muttered to herself.

“The sky is really clear.”

Although it seemed like a solitary musing, Ziegmund didn’t ignore the words.

“But then again, one should carry an umbrella. It might rain.”

The brief murmur that barely qualified as a conversation ended. Dressed in traditional attire covering her from head to toe, the woman turned to look at Ziegmund, as if they had made a promise.

Her outfit, bundled tightly to conceal her face, held dual meanings in Ashtistan. To put it simply, two interpretations.

Unlike a Lussari, her niqab was typically worn by someone from a conservative, traditional family, indicating a symbol of religious belief and suggesting she was a daughter from a conservative household.

Or perhaps,

“Gray briefcase. Brown and beige wingtip shoes. Central fountain of Timarshak Park at 1 PM.”

“…….”

“Are you Domoboy?”

Someone who absolutely had to conceal their identity, Ziegmund leaned back against the bench, taking a soft sigh to calm himself.

Then he began to speak in fluent Kien, with an accent that flowed naturally.

“You’ve come quite a long way from Petrogard.”

—

Had it only been two days since he contacted to announce his arrival in Shizuya? Ziegmund exhaled the air trapped in his lungs.

“I was just checking in to see how you were, but I didn’t expect you to want to meet so soon.”

Have you unpacked since your arrival?

Ziegmund asked casually, as if he were addressing an old friend with no formality.

“I waited at the hotel.”

“It seems I made you wait too long.”

The woman and Ziegmund exchanged words.

Of course, this was the first time they met, and they were not in a position to exchange pleasantries. But neither Ziegmund nor the woman were ones to be caught up in such niceties.

The woman in the niqab kept her gaze fixed straight ahead while her lips moved.

“I came from the insurance company. A week ago, you requested our assistance, right?”

Ziegmund’s head slightly bobbed.

Once up, then down. Just one relaxed movement.

“Are you with the asset management team?”

“I’m with claims adjustment.”

As Ziegmund subtly closed his eyes, his mind began to translate the woman’s words.

“Insurance company” was a metaphor representing the top intelligence agency of the Kien Empire, the Imperial Guard HQ. The headquarters located in the center of Petrogard was originally owned by an insurance company.

Naturally, the nickname for the Imperial Guard HQ became “insurance company,” and the various departments inside adopted similar nicknames.

The 2nd Bureau was responsible for overseas intelligence and covert projects, dubbed “asset management.”

The 1st Bureau, dealing with domestic intelligence, counterintelligence, and industrial security, was referred to as “claims adjustment.”

These nicknames weren’t invented by the Imperial Guard HQ itself. As with all intelligence agencies, familiarity among their members and the names of the regions where the headquarters were located were widely used.

Meaning,

“So you’re the scary person who captures spies? Should I be getting a little scared?”

“That depends on you.”

The woman was, after all, an employee from a foreign intelligence agency.

Just as Ziegmund chuckled at the Imperial Guard investigator’s witty banter and thought, ‘She’s quite audacious,’ a thick envelope dropped near his side.

“Here’s your warp gate ticket for departing Petrogard at 2:30 PM, and a forged identification.”

After handing over the envelope, the woman continued speaking in a firm, precise tone.

“You need to discard the passport you have as it’s subject to tracking and use the identification I just provided. If you go straight east, you’ll see a subway station. Board the van with the license plate 83L729-11. It will take you there. Since your journey is long, you should head out immediately. I’ll take care of the luggage at your lodgings.”

“…….”

“It would be wise to hurry. Your uncle is waiting.”

With those parting words, the woman began to gather her things.

Timarshak Park was an open space. They couldn’t linger here for long. Neither the Domoboy nor himself could afford to.

However, as the woman hastily tried to leave, she found her feet glued to the ground. To be precise, she couldn’t leave her spot.

An unexpected variable had come up.

“It’s impossible.”

“What do you mean?”

As she attempted to turn her head to Ziegmund while trying to exit the fountain area.

“I asked what you meant by impossible.”

“My family is accompanying me.”

“…Family?”

Her eyes sparkled behind the niqab. Ziegmund tossed the passport and ticket he had pulled from the envelope onto the bench, as if they were worthless.

The Imperial Guard HQ employee yelled with a heightened voice, “What in the world do you mean? When we spoke yesterday, you clearly said you were alone.”

Ziegmund nodded, saying nothing. Even though his demeanor appeared relaxed at first glance, she realized it was a gesture to evade the question.

Though he was aware Domoboy was married, he had never received information about him bringing family along. Especially when the meeting place with Domoboy only yesterday…

When the time was decided.

An employee from the Imperial Guard HQ muttered irritably.

“You tricked us.”

The woman wearing a niqab glared suspiciously at Zigmund. Zigmund raised both hands as if to say, “I admit it willingly.”

“Think whatever you like. Oh, I mean no ill will, so please don’t misunderstand.”

“There’s a flaw in your words.”

The employee from the Imperial Guard HQ shot back, “Do you not trust us now?” but Zigmund shook his head calmly.

“If I couldn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

“Then we’ll ensure your family is safe, so let’s proceed. Right now.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll politely decline.”

Zigmund said.

Take care of the family first.

“Let’s get the family ready first. I will leave as soon as I finish my work here.”

“What work?”

“I have one last thing to gather. It’s a gift that your superiors would be delighted to receive, but the problem is that I haven’t been able to obtain the evidence yet.”

The employee from the Imperial Guard HQ took a deep breath and exhaled.

“If you keep being uncooperative, we will have no choice but to withdraw.”

“Do whatever you deem fit. Just remember that I’ve been more than helpful to your officials within the company.”

“….”

Zigmund maintained his confident demeanor throughout.

He suspected the possibility that he was intentionally inflating his worth while planning to defect with his family, or that he might be wary of the Imperial Guard HQ. However, the directive from the Director was clear: ‘Safely bring him to the Kien Empire.’

For one reason only. Because of the ‘certain information’ that Domoboy possesses.

Of course, no one knew what that information specifically was or how crucial it was. Only the Director knew the details.

But with the order being ‘assist him as much as possible during the escape and not to worry about any costs incurred,’ there was no other choice for her.

“….”

Once that thought settled, she spoke in a considerably softened tone.

“Where is your family now?”

*

The two girls who were craving ice cream were pestering their mom earnestly.

“Mom, mom! Please buy us ice cream!”

“Again? Lucy, you just had some.”

“But it’s a flavor I’ve never seen before… Hena really wants it.”

To clarify, ‘two girls who wanted a new ice cream.’

As soon as they stepped out of the hotel, they couldn’t resist the urge to buy ice cream, and along the way to the park, they devoured it all and were now begging for more.

That was why their mother momentarily wore a troubled expression.

But how could one stop children from enjoying snacks? There are no parents who could win against their children. Seeing her daughters clinging to her skirt and shining their eyes, the mother couldn’t help but smile and gently pinch the bridge of her nose.

“Ouch.”

“Choose a flavor you want to eat. But don’t have too much. If you get cavities, it’ll hurt, okay?”

“Thank you, mom!”

The two girls beamed and ran towards the ice cream stand.

Seeing them, their mother was startled and hurried to catch up with the girls.

“Wait a second, girls. Let’s go together.”

The reason the mother held onto her two daughters was quite simple. Neither of her daughters knew the common language of the Mauritania Continent.

It was already challenging to learn the common language of the Mauritania Continent. It was notorious for its unique script, difficult pronunciations, and convoluted grammar system, much like Arabic. Let alone the Ashtistan language, which was entirely different from its language family.

Fortunately, she could speak a bit of Kien. Though not as proficient as her native language, she could manage to sound similar to the locals when she listened closely.

Her children weren’t as skilled as she was, but they could at least understand when spoken to. At least simple sentences and words were comprehensible to them.

“…….”

The woman moved towards the stand and started to scan the surroundings slowly.

Having only traveled along less populated streets, she hadn’t encountered many of the People of Ashtistan until now, but from here on, she needed to be a bit more cautious.

Her two daughters, who had been clamoring before, had fallen silent, holding tightly to their mother’s hand as they walked towards the ice cream stand.

“What flavor do you want?”

The children silently pointed at the ice creams in the picture.

Just then, while the woman was about to speak to an Ashtistan person in fairly fluent Kien,

“…?”

The girl holding her mother’s hand, Hena, suddenly tilted her head in confusion and leaned in to whisper softly to Lucy.

“Sister, sister.”

“What is it?”

“Look at what that man is holding.”

Lucy followed her sister’s gesture and focused her gaze on the object in the man’s hand.

“It looks just like what Dad has.”

“Wow….”

The two girls giggled as if they were seeing something amazing.

The man waved his hand towards Hena and Lucy in response to their smiles. He waved with great enthusiasm.

It seemed he found it very entertaining. The children also began to wave back at him vigorously.

The woman chatting with the stand owner noticed the commotion too late and quickly bowed her head to the man, apologizing.

“I’m sorry, sir. The kids can be quite mischievous….”

“It’s alright. They’re at that age, after all.”

The man smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

“Kids will be kids.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

The man, dressed in a suit, spoke Kien very fluently, even to her ears. He seemed to be from the Kien Empire. There was no doubt about it; it was perfectly standard Kien.

“Are you traveling? With your family?”

“Yes.”

“How nice. Shizuya has so much to see. There are many festivals and events that kids will enjoy. If you had come a bit earlier, you could have tasted various things right after sunset. But it’s the fasting period now.”

She smiled with her lips, but her heart was racing. She worried about being compared to him.

If she talked with the People of Ashtistan, it wouldn’t matter, but if a local was right beside her, it would be starkly noticeable how different their pronunciation and intonation were.

She needed to get that ice cream and return quickly.

“The change is fine.”

The woman calmly handed over the bills and declined the change. A smile bloomed on the stand owner’s face at that moment.

The two girls politely greeted the stand owner, as well as the man.

“Thank you, girls. If it’s not too much trouble, is there anything I can help you with?”

The man asked the woman if she needed help.

“I saw you looking around earlier, so I thought maybe you needed assistance.”

The woman feigned nonchalance and shook her head.

She firmly added.

“No, thank you, but I’ll pass. Please be careful, sir.”

He was clearly not from the People of Ashtistan. He shook off his wrist, which had been waving vigorously just a moment ago.

Then he nodded as he answered.

“Well, it’s generally better to accept help when it’s offered.”

He spun his wrist a few times and put his PDA into his pocket, adding.

“Don’t get caught for espionage and make everyone around you suffer unnecessarily.”

 

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