---

“Major, no. Manager.”

Pippin, still not used to the title of ‘Manager’, clumsily called out to me. It was merely a disguise name rather than an official title, but after calling me Major so often, it seemed she couldn’t quite adjust to ‘Manager’ yet.

“What is it, Pippin?”

“A document has arrived from above.”

I took the paper Pippin handed me and quickly read through it.

“Mm. They said to proceed without altering the plan. They want the advance team sent under an assumed identity.”

Even with the world spiraling into chaos, it turned out there weren’t as many tasks I had to handle ‘as I thought’.

I handed Pippin the cooperation document I had prepared in advance and issued my instructions.

“Send this to the Trade Promotion Corporation.”

“The Trade Promotion Corporation? Isn’t that a public enterprise?”

“That’s right.”

Nodding as I stood up from my chair in response to Pippin’s question.

“The people there have collaborated with the Information Agency a lot, so if we request cooperation, they’ll likely create some cover identities for us. I’ve already discussed this with the other officers, so just send it out.”

The personnel involved in this operation were divided into official and unofficial disguises.

The Special Activities Department, Counterintelligence Department. The Technical Intelligence Bureau and Overseas Information Office members will infiltrate the Magic Tower under the guise of private company overseas representatives.

Conversely, some people, including Pippin and Jake, will infiltrate as Defense Attachés under the guise of staff from the main representative office of the Magic Tower, Abas, supporting operations from behind the scenes.

As for me, the operative, I had my identity hang in the balance after receiving a negative reply on the Agremang, but still, there were no issues with the other personnel, so the Military Intelligence Agency decided to proceed with the operation as planned. My identity and infiltration method? Well, I suppose I’ll figure something out along the way.

“Send out the document and notify the officers via text.”

“Yes. What will you do, Manager?”

“I’m going on a mission into the No Man’s Land. With Camila.”

With a salute, Pippin took the document and left the office.

I stretched and stood before the bulletin board covered with pinned photos. My gaze fixed intently on a picture of a man.

“….”

Staff member of the Magic Tower representative office, Fabio Verati.

He was the primary target of this operation.

—

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

—

While the intense wrestling match between the cult and the Magic Tower continued, I chose to ignore that issue. To be precise, I was faithfully executing the Information Agency’s order to focus on business.

Creating conditions for operations, managing information agents, negotiating with the Inquisition, reporting on Lucia’s movements, reporting on Camila’s movements, and so on.

For the most part, those were the only issues I was handling. I was focusing on the three most critical missions, neglecting the relatively less significant reports on Lucia and Camila’s movements since the Information Agency didn’t seem to need that information anyway, and they hadn’t rushed me for a quick report.

Still, the Agremang issue was directly related to my safety, so it felt odd for me—its subject—to not pay attention to it.

Since Clevenz had personally stated, “I’ll get agreement no matter what,” I chose to remain unconcerned for now. I didn’t know if his words were meant to suggest he’d resolve things through negotiation or through coercion, but regardless, good results were good.

In any case, I was concentrating solely on operational tasks.

“…But am I not on leave right now?”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

“Oh, uh, nothing. Never mind.”

Camila’s question snapped me out of my thoughts.

No matter how I looked at it, it felt like my leave had been cut short…. Well, they’d probably compensate me for the leave anyway. They wouldn’t dare screw me over for voluntarily working during my time off, right?

A shiver ran down my spine at that unsettling thought. Just then, Camila, who had been setting fire to the forest, tilted her head curiously.

“Are you cold? Do you want me to start another fire?”

“…No, this isn’t a heating issue. We’re burning down the forest, for goodness’ sake.”

With a bright smile, Camila began lighting another tree on fire.

Watching her, I couldn’t help but be at a loss for words, shaking my head in disbelief.

“Honestly….”

It seemed she wasn’t an ordinary person either. Most likely.

—

Camila and I were, once again, participating in the No Man’s Land operation today.

The No Man’s Land operation could be regarded as a military effort to hunt down harmful creatures.

More than just hunting, it was practically a military campaign.

Typically, in autumn, the army of this world burns down the No Man’s Land sectors adjacent to the borders, and during winter, they launch military operations to cleanse the areas where monsters lie dormant without leaving a single tree or blade of grass standing.

However, instead of relying on licensed hunters to capture invasive species like wild boars, deer, and nutria, it’s the military equipped with heavy weapons and machinery that takes action against monsters residing on the ground, underground, in the sea, and in the air.

Of course, licensed adventurers do roam the No Man’s Land to battle monsters. Sometimes they enter under a formal contract with requests from the state and private companies, but that’s usually only plausible for well-established firms. Most adventurers are essentially freelancers or part of small businesses, frequently seeking valuable byproducts from monsters.

So at a glance, it might sound as though humans could wipe out the monsters at any time.

Unfortunately, due to the creatures’ tenacious vitality and reproductive capabilities, complete eradication was impossible. It’s not so easy to make a species extinct, after all.

If it had been possible, the military would’ve eliminated the monsters long ago.

And unless there were nuclear bombs around here, the military could only scatter chemical munitions or FASCAM (mine dispersing munition).

There were often suggestions to cover the No Man’s Land with biological and chemical weapons surrounding the Border Guard, but that had never been granted permission from the headquarters or congress. Not due to humanitarian or environmental concerns, but simply because the costs involved were far beyond what the defense budget could accommodate.

Especially when you consider that troops incur costs for food, shelter, and movement; would they not also incur expenses when firing munitions?

Even disregarding the cost of ammunition, when factoring in logistics, maintenance, morale upkeep, and the cost of replacing cannon barrels, it would actually be more expensive.

So what can be done?

We have to cut losses, using manpower.

In a world where labor is cheap and the economy is faltering with negative growth due to lack of jobs, pouring troops and adventurers into the No Man’s Land operation serves as a clever economic strategy for job creation and regional economic revitalization.

In short, it was a version of a New Deal policy for this world.

If Roosevelt could see this, he might just break down the walls of the White House and howl in despair.

—

In any case.

The No Man’s Land operation was significant enough to draw the attention of not just the Ministry of Defense, but also the executive and legislative branches (should it fail, we’d have to engage monsters in urban combat in the dead of winter), which made it crucial to burn as much territory as quickly as possible before the icy grip of winter set in.

As the temperature drops, non-combat losses occur.

Thus.

“Alright, look here! A bit to the right of the brigade commander! Just a tad on the chin of the division commander! Okay, now I’m taking the picture. One, two!”

Click! With the sound of the shutter, a bright flash erupted. The public affairs soldier flashed a wide grin as they showed the camera to the officers, who nodded in approval, signaling it was good.

“Good work!”

With those words, applause erupted. Countless officers and soldiers praised each other for a job well done, sharing compliments on this day’s efforts.

It was only natural, given that they burned down a sector in less than a day that would have taken a battalion days to accomplish.

Because of this, the Ministry of Defense folks huddled together reviewing the photos they had taken, praising how well they turned out, while the officers in charge of the sector raised a toast to a successful operation without any casualties, and the soldiers rejoiced that they could finally rest.

“Is everything finished?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

So they say.

“Alright, thank you for your hard work.”

I offered a soulless thank you while pushing through the crowd.

And then, I approached today’s star, who was gazing at the smoke rising from the bare mountain.

“Thank you for your hard work, Camila.”

“Oh, Frederick.”

“You seem to be in decent condition today. Ha ha….”

I stood next to Camila, attempting to engage in some frivolous banter.

It was truly trivial and pointless chatter, so she responded with a smile.

“Well, today’s been manageable, I suppose.”

“……”

The No Man’s Land operation concluded successfully without any casualties.

However, if you were to ask whether there had been no incidents, that would be a different story.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine! No aches whatsoever!”

Camila fainted again today. The cause remains unknown.

The Advanced Military Magic Research Institute had to determine the cause based on inspection results but experienced an unprecedented leak of military secrets. Armed forces were used to capture a shaman spy, and this process was witnessed by numerous civilians.

The fact that someone I thought was a colleague turned out to be a spy, and a shaman at that, left quite a shock.

The Military Intelligence Agency did not disclose these facts to the outside world. To maintain security. They even refrained from informing the Magic Tower.

To prevent any leaking of information and to root out any remaining spies, the Military Intelligence Agency has seized control of the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute and is managing the information.

From what I’ve heard, a high-intensity investigation is underway currently.

It goes without saying, but with this kind of situation, proper analysis results would hardly materialize.

As a result, Camila continues to suffer from fainting spells. Unaware of the cause.

Even the Counterintelligence Investigator who participated in apprehending the spy cannot predict when the institute will normalize; they are merely wasting time passively.

“……”

“Uh, Frederick?”

“…Yes?”

Perhaps it was career sickness or paranoia; I had been lost in thought when Camila jolted me back to reality.

And as usual, she smiled softly as she spoke to me.

“I’m okay.”

“……”

“Really, I am.”

Her expression was calm and unburdened by worry, with not a trace of shadow on her face.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“……”

In response, I returned a quip to her.

“Just wipe that chocolate off your face before you start talking.”

“…Ahh!”

Camila hurriedly rubbed her sleeve against her mouth to clean off the chocolate smudge.

“Honestly….”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her clumsiness.

“Now that you’re clean, let’s go get something to eat.”

I led her, the scatterbrained one, towards the food truck.

 

---