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Patalia’s national intelligence agency, the National Security Agency, successfully intercepted their wireless communications.

Technical agents from the Military Intelligence Agency’s Technical Information Department began decoding the encrypted messages. They planned to match it against the encryption systems registered on the server, and if that failed, they would gather some cryptographers to crack the codes.

According to the tech geeks, the interception wasn’t perfectly executed due to the abundance of surrounding buildings, but I’m from the humanities field, so I couldn’t grasp much of that scientific stuff.

Anyway, the results are expected to come in today at the earliest, and tomorrow at the latest.

And then, early the next morning,

I received a phone call on a secure line.

“… Yes, this is the Manager.”

– ‘Decryption successful.’

“Send it to headquarters.”

The science geeks did it.

—

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

Thanks to the efforts of the techies from the Technical Information Department, we successfully gathered information on Fabio Verati.

I summarized the results into one document.

“… Report 51. Manager, is this what we’re looking for?”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s the intel on Fabio Verati.”

Report 51.

It’s a comprehensive document that covers everything from past activities, known associates related to Fabio Verati, movement patterns, daily routines, the duties handled at the Magic Tower representative office, medical records, and even little habits.

The reason it’s named Report 51 instead of the Fabio Verati investigation report is for security reasons.

“Jake, Pippin. I’ve already explained it to the officers, but you guys need to use code language from now on, even when we’re around.”

“Is it for security?”

“Yeah. You’ve memorized all the terms, right?”

The operation is designated as ‘Operation Opera.’

The unit overseeing the operation is called ‘Project 73,’ and our first target, Fabio Verati, has been assigned the codename ’51.’

“What’s with the name…?”

“Sounds cheap, doesn’t it?”

“It feels like it was named by some senior folks….”

“It was assigned from above.”

“Now I see the seniority behind it…”

All names were directly assigned from the Military Intelligence Agency.

However, the terms we use in the field differ from those formally assigned by the desk at headquarters. This, too, is for security reasons.

Thus, many personnel involved in the operation do not know the exact names. Only the officers in charge of leading and a few key members are aware.

And by chance, two of those key members were right in front of me.

Pippin and Jake.

“Pippin. What are the analysts currently working on?”

“For now, we’re gathering open-source intelligence. We’re collecting information related to the intelligence development agency and Report 51, focusing on press releases and academic journals.”

“Good. I trust you’ll handle it well since you’re the team leader.”

“Yes.”

The information analysis team consists of four analysts and one chief analyst.

They will respond to all analytical demands that arise in the field, compile open-source information they can collect from the office, and simultaneously receive and disseminate information from the headquarters analysis team.

By the way, the team leader is Pippin. The rest, including officers, sergeants, and civilian workers, are all team members, and since everyone is already familiar with each other, there shouldn’t be any confusion in the command structure.

They’re all trustworthy since they’ve passed the Military Intelligence Agency’s standard training with good scores.

“Have there been any new updates?”

“Um… today a formal notice arrived from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They warned everyone to be cautious as there’s a protest planned by an extremist group.”

That was information I had heard from Sophia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notice didn’t simply announce the protest but also included an analysis of trends concerning major powers within the Magic Tower (executive branch, legislative branch, judiciary, police, counterintelligence agencies, media, civic organizations, etc.).

I skimmed through the notice and returned it to Pippin.

“Read it and destroy it. Contact the officers and dispose of it.”

“Understood.”

“Next… Jake.”

“Yes, Manager.”

“Are you in contact with the employees?”

The next focus was the human intelligence team.

Jake was the team leader. Normally, I would have taken that position myself, but as the handler controlling the entire operation, I had too many tasks to handle that made it impossible.

Luckily, Jake, being a special forces operative specializing in intelligence, civil affairs, and psychological warfare, was the most suitable person for the job.

“Yes, I’ve made contact. They’re currently on standby at a certain location.”

Agents from the overseas intelligence bureau are ready.

“Confirming three personnel, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Report 51’s assessment will be handled by the special task force, while technical interception will be managed by the Technical Information Department. So you take your team and investigate the surrounding figures.”

“Yes, understood. But the special task force…?”

“Oh, oh, my bad. Not the special task force, it’s the Special Activities Department.”

The Special Activities Department is responsible for directly monitoring Fabio Verati. In contrast, the technical interception is done by the Technical Information Department.

The Counterintelligence Department monitors information sent from headquarters investigators, keeping tabs on the activities of other intelligence agencies to prepare for any potential operations from the counterintelligence organizations. If our activities are detected by the Magic Tower, the counterintelligence will be the first to notice.

Pippin and Jake nodded, seeming to understand my explanation.

“Oh, right. Jake.”

“Yes.”

“Keep an eye on the youngest among the surrounding figures. Track their movements, residence, friends, teachers—miss nothing. And how old did you say the youngest is? 15? 16?”

“17. But why the youngest…?”

Jake looked puzzled as he asked, but I didn’t clarify his doubts.

“You don’t need to know the details. Just follow the orders.”

“Teehee.”

“For now, you’ll need permission for the rest, so just observe. Understood?”

“Understood.”

—

The operation to trace the spy’s backers is proceeding smoothly without any bumps.

By digging into the surrounding individuals and concentrating on the superior and subordinates, the upper echelons will inevitably surface. The youngest is just insurance in this case.

Anyway.

Today, the tasks I have to fulfill as an operative are nearly done. What remains are duties as a defense attaché and as a colleague.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Slowly now. Slowly. Focus on the bottom part.”

In truth, there wasn’t anything particularly memorable about this. What’s special about medical volunteering, anyway?

Put simply, it meant there were no hazardous components, nothing dangerous at all, but that didn’t mean I could just be happy about it— it was a tedious and repetitive task.

I was feeling fatigued on top of everything.

Expected to feel light as a feather thanks to the holy water’s divine power, it turned out to be heavier than a pack of 1.5L bottles.

“How many boxes are left…?”

“Still plenty.”

“So, how many…?”

“Sometimes, it’s better not to know.”

I set the heavy box down and struggled to catch my breath.

My mouth was parched, and sweat poured down like rain, when suddenly, a sweet taste filled my mouth.

In an instant, my mind began to swirl. Was I at a medical aid site or a disaster rescue training ground?

“When on earth will this end…?”

In response to my desperate question, Priest Rebecca, who was distributing supplies containing holy water, medical provisions, and some food, replied:

“We’ll have lunch in three hours.”

“… Is that how long is left?”

“We’ve only been going for an hour.”

That sounded dreadful.

I squeezed out whatever little strength I had left and moved yet another heavy box. There was no break, and no one offering help. The personnel was so scarce that even Inquisition agents had all rushed out, but the influx of patients was far more than we could handle.

Just then, a disguised investigator from the Inquisition, who was also moving boxes nearby, asked me,

“Colonel.”

“Uh, yes.”

“Uh, can I request some support…?”

Lacking even the strength to shake my head in refusal, I merely replied curtly.

“Just give up.”

I had asked the representative office for assistance, but despite making calls yesterday, I hadn’t received a reply yet. I even tried requesting support from the Defense Attaché Office, but…

– ‘Ah… I’m sorry. There aren’t enough individuals with good physical stamina to work at the medical aid site…’

“Excuse me? So…

“Why am I going?”

“I’m sorry. They told me to do it from above…”

I got rejected. It was probably because they saw me loading and unloading in yesterday’s news.

To top it off, the Ministry of Defense had the bright idea of shoving me into a medical volunteer position. I tried to back out, thinking it was just a minor event and a one-day service activity, but when I got a call from the minister’s secretary, I couldn’t refuse.

So, I seriously contemplated resigning.

“Are you thinking of getting discharged?”

“No, well, I don’t have any intentions of that… just curious, so I asked—”

“Even if you get discharged, they can just hire you back as a civilian worker.”

“……”

“Isn’t it nice to have a lifelong job?”

“…Not really.”

I used to have zero thoughts about getting discharged, but considering my current lifestyle, it felt like I should take a break after discharge. Hearing that they would hire me back as a civilian worker gave me a shock that made me rip up my discharge papers.

While others faced uncertainty after leaving, I was fortunate to have the option of being hired as a civilian worker or at a competitive company… or was it misfortune?

I couldn’t tell. I should have had prior experience with quitting.

As I got lost in thoughts for a moment, an accident occurred.

“Uh, uh, watch out!”

“Damn! It’s falling!”

As I regained awareness from the noisy surroundings, a pile of boxes had approached right before my eyes.

“Uuuuh…!”

Crash bang boom.

“……”

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

“Open your eyes!”

I was trapped under the fallen boxes, staring up at the magic-forged sky while deep in thought.

“…Can someone clean this up for me?”

I wished someone would just smack my head really hard.

*

A minor accident happened, but the medical service wrapped up on schedule.

The boxes that had squashed me were all empty, but in that fleeting moment, I planned to play it up with the Inquisition agents as if I were severely injured to get a little break.

And then I failed.

“You’re quite the drama king, aren’t you?”

“……”

Lucia, with her fingers swirling light to heal my abdomen and chest, spoke.

“Well, I get it. A pile of large boxes crashing down would tighten one’s muscles in shock.”

“…Yes.”

“Would you like a muscle relaxant? You can’t really do much with divine magic for pain relief.”

“…One please.”

The person doing medical assistance was a saint, so surely she could treat a little injury. I could understand that, but seeing even the priests from the Inquisition getting involved showed that everyone involved had more than a few screws loose from the stress.

In the end, I was the only one feeling embarrassed. The zealots who had joined in the drama saw Lucia treating me and quickly scampered off. What a bunch of disloyal folks.

Of course, it was a matter I couldn’t touch in front of an ordinary religious person like Lucia, so I just swallowed the medicine along with my embarrassment.

“You should have that after your meal.”

“What does it matter? I’m in the middle of eating anyway.”

I sat with Lucia at the private room of the nearby restaurant, slicing the meat that was served to me.

As soon as I put it in my mouth, the meat melted away, which was quite exceptional.

I focused on my meal, savoring the flavor of the meat and the aroma of butter that filled my mouth.

“Why are your hands shaking so much?”

“I’m just tired. No health issues, so don’t worry about it.”

Carrying heavy loads non-stop had made my arms tremble.

It wasn’t a shaky mess as if I was suffering from alcoholism, but it was the kind of symptom that would raise questions in anyone else’s eyes. The Inquisition guys seemed to think so too.

“Has Camila had her meal yet?”

“She probably had lunch at the hotel. She practiced magic and just visited the library in the morning, so by now, she might be done eating and resting.”

Camila was still staying at the hotel. There were discussions about providing her with an instructor, but it was hard to find one due to security issues. Competing national interests were also at stake regarding the position.

For now, they plan to evaluate and assign someone as soon as they finish verifying the identities of the selected candidates. Politics were the foreign ministry’s business, so as an information agency staff member, it wasn’t something I needed to worry about. Besides, Camila was diligently studying magic books on her own, so we weren’t slacking off either.

“What about the inspection?”

“We plan to gather people and conduct the inspection as soon as possible.”

“That’s a relief. I hope there won’t be any major issues.”

“I’m not a doctor or a magician, but I’m sure it will be fine. The results will come soon.”

As we finished our conversation and focused on our meal, Lucia suddenly spoke up while slicing her meat.

“I find it strange that they’ve reserved a room for us. There are many tables out there.”

She muttered with a puzzled expression.

“It’s probably due to our identities.”

“Is that so?”

“Uh, I mean, aren’t the aides all here in the room as well?”

No matter how much they entered the country as individuals, it didn’t change the fact that Lucia and her aides were members of a cult.

Moreover, the Magic Tower still remembered the atrocities that cult had committed. Inquisition, demon worship, executions, religious trials, assassinations, kidnappings, torture, and so on.

Magicians have a tendency to record the knowledge they’ve built over time, and living a life where they could be captured and killed at any moment made secretly passing on their ancestors’ legacy a mission and obligation all magicians shared.

And this knowledge included firsthand experiences and emotions. That’s why magicians were still prone to shudder at the mere mention of the cult, and even some were still living through it, with new victims still being created.

But imagine cult members dining right in the middle of a tower full of magicians. What kind of disaster would unfold?

Even though the civil servant of the Magic Tower had asked for understanding, some restaurants flat-out refused to serve priests, saying absolutely no way to Lucia and her aides. Thankfully, this restaurant provided a spot under the condition we eat quietly in the room and leave unnoticed.

Of course, Lucia and her aides were unaware of this. The civil servant and I had handled it quietly.

So the only thing I could say to Lucia was one thing.

“Don’t worry too much, it’s nothing big.”

In the end, all I could say was to relax and focus on eating.

Neither I nor Lucia understood what it meant, but what could we do?

The world is a strange place.

*

While I was having my meal, my phone rang.

– Ring ring!

“Oh, I’m sorry. I got a call from the representative office.”

“Yes, it’s okay. Take your time.”

“Then excuse me for a moment.”

I picked up the communication device connected to the secured line and stepped out into the hallway.

The caller was the Team Leader from Counterintelligence. The investigator leading the Counterintelligence Team.

I looked around stealthily and stepped into a secluded corner to take the call.

“Hello.”

“—Manager. This is the Counterintelligence Team Leader.”

“Go ahead.”

“—We have a problem.”

A problem?

I was taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

The investigator continued.

“—It’s about the caretaker of case number 51. The child currently under investigation.”

Fabio Verati’s youngest daughter.

“…Is there a problem?”

“—It seems we’re not the only ones surveilling her.”

Another information agency is keeping an eye on her.

 

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