---

The first thing I suspected after hearing the investigator’s words was the National Security Agency.

Sophia had openly declared that she was in charge of the “investigation” work, and she warned the Military Intelligence Agency and Royal Intelligence Department to stay out of the Fabio Verati issue.

In the first place, all relatives connected to Fabio Verati were Patalian, and since he himself was from the National Security Agency, it naturally led to the conclusion that the group surveilling the youngest daughter was Patalia’s National Security Agency.

However,

“Excuse me?”

-“Uh, you see…”

It seemed that nothing in this world was absolute.

-“It looks like the Empire Information Agency is currently raiding Location 51.”

“…I will head there right now.”

—

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

—

After requesting permission from Lucia and the Inquisition people, I quickly exited the restaurant.

I flagged down a taxi and rode close to the address I received through the secure line. After cautiously scanning the surroundings for some time, I entered the building.

This place turned out to be an office.

It was a disguised base for the Military Intelligence Agency staff participating in this operation.

There, I could receive a situation report.

“These are the photos of the handlers caught during the investigation related to Location 51.”

The Counterintelligence Team Leader spread several photos across the table. There was a uniformed female student, suited men putting her in a car, and four handlers watching that vehicle.

The investigator began explaining, tapping on one enlarged photograph.

“Here. Can you see the handler sitting in the passenger seat holding a radio?”

“Yes.”

The man sitting in the passenger seat of an SUV that looked similar to a Jeep or UAZ was watching Fabio Verati’s youngest daughter with binoculars and a radio.

“This radio is manufactured in the Empire.”

The operative from the Special Activities Department added an explanation.

“It’s a short-range operational radio primarily used by police command and field personnel, and a small number have been introduced into the military. It’s mainly utilized by the Counterintelligence Command.”

“…….”

A civilian radio, huh.

With the technology here, it’s highly likely to be an analog radio. Recently, digital radios have come out, but as soon as those communication devices are manufactured, they go straight to front-line military units. They are too expensive regardless of manufacturing capacity.

In other words, the radio in the photo does not have any encryption features for communication. In simpler terms, if you tune the line correctly, you could eavesdrop on the communication.

“If it’s a civilian item, it wouldn’t have encryption features, would it?”

“That’s correct. After attempting to eavesdrop using the vehicle radio frequency on site, we managed to record about 9 seconds of communication. We’re preparing to play it back, so please wait a moment.”

“Sure, understood.”

I began looking over the other photos. Most were of Fabio Verati’s youngest daughter, sturdy men presumed to be her bodyguards, and photos of the handlers circling around them.

As I examined the photos for a while, the operative from the Special Activities Department pointed out one image.

“These bodyguards you see here all seem to have military experience.”

“…So they are from the military?”

“The security protocols share some similarities with those of certain Special Forces units. There aren’t any blind spots in their protection. And more importantly…”

The operative pointed out their outfits and vehicles.

“The outfits and vehicles are all uniformed. Most paramilitary organizations struggle to find uniformity in their equipment, but well-trained small units ensure uniformity from the attire to the gear, be it at squad or platoon level.”

“The evidence is lacking.”

“Look at the vehicle. Dark window tinting, extra mirrors, and the trunk has spare tires and jerry cans. Where in the world does a nanny caring for a child drive such a vehicle? Unless they’re adventurers.”

“…….”

“Also, Location 51 is a civil servant, and the child is already attending the Academy, preparing for university. It’s strange to assign two burly men to a child in such circumstances. Of course, overall security in the Magic Tower has some instability, but the target’s movement is in an area that is relatively safe for middle-class residents, far from danger zones. It’s not common in the Tower for parents to assign bodyguards to their children while living in such places.”

The information was remarkably detailed. As if they had experience in it themselves.

“You seem to be quite familiar with the circumstances in the Magic Tower?”

“My first posting was in the Magic Tower. I also know some acquaintances who work security here after their discharge.”

He must be referring to connections from the Special Forces.

Those from the Special Activities Department of the Military Intelligence Agency typically find reemployment under the Royal Intelligence Department or the Cabinet Security Office, so they were likely from military special units.

In any case, the information the operative provided was of significant value. The words of a seasoned veteran held more reliability than any reports an informant might provide. A similar example would be Veronica.

“From a similar context, the handlers also seem to be military personnel.”

“Imperial Army…?”

“An employee waiting for action discovered cigarette butts abandoned by the handlers, and they were all brands supplied to the Imperial Army.”

As I engaged in conversation with the operative, the investigator, who had been organizing the photos, handed me an envelope. Inside were a couple of cigarette butts that I recognized immediately as I had seen them too often during my time in the Empire.

“It’s Akhtonyak.”

“You know it?”

“Yes. I had a few acquaintances in the military who smoked it all the time, so I remember it well.”

There was no way I wouldn’t recognize cigarettes smoked by an informant. I had bought it for him every time he ran out of tobacco.

At this point, there was no need to investigate further.

“Connect me to headquarters.”

It was clear that the Empire was surveilling Fabio Verati’s youngest daughter.

—

“Really. So it’s the Empire, huh?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

In the disguised office of the Military Intelligence Agency.

In the most secluded and secretive room, I spoke with Clevenz through the communication device.

“I’ve listened enough to the recordings you’ve received. They speak in Imperial language, the equipment is made in the Empire, and their ethnicity clearly belongs to the Kien lineage, so it’s certain they’re affiliated with the Empire.”

Clevenz acknowledged the reality in a calm tone. Then he asked me.

“What do you think their affiliation is?”

“I’m not sure. I really don’t know.”

The Empire has two military intelligence agencies.

One is the Counterintelligence Command, responsible for military security, counterintelligence, and domestic information collection. The other is the Reconnaissance Command, which handles foreign intelligence and overseas operations.

The problem is that I don’t know which of the two is tracking Fabio Verati.

This wasn’t the Empire, after all.

“I know both the Counterintelligence Command and the Reconnaissance Command operate within the Magic Tower.”

“You’re right. Both are active in the Tower.”

This stems from the political, historical, and diplomatic uniqueness of the Magic Tower.

The Magic Tower was established a long time ago with the full support of the Imperial Family, and since the inception of the kingdom, the Empire has regarded the Magic Tower as a semi-autonomous territory.

The issue lies with the Emperor’s ambiguous choice to neither incorporate the Tower into the Empire’s territory nor to grant it independence before he passed away.

And the Empire was a typical hereditary autocratic dictatorship.

“…I suppose the Emperor back then was the current Emperor’s grandfather, and naturally, he couldn’t overturn the laws he had set himself.”

“Isn’t that how it always is in autocratic states?”

Hereditary dictatorships are fundamentally resistant to reform.

This is because the political basis doesn’t rest with the dictator but rather with their bloodline.

Hereditary dictators are often afraid of losing power and, to evade criticism after their death, hand over power to their offspring. When the child of a dictator inherits power, what happens if they start altering their parent’s achievements?

The moment the child suggests that their parent’s decisions were wrong, opposing factions are likely to unearth the dictator’s grave and carry out posthumous retaliation. It’s a foregone conclusion.

This has been a fact proven by Stalin and Mao Zedong. Both dictators faced posthumous criticism from Khrushchev and Deng Xiaoping, respectively, right after entering their graves.

The same goes for the Empire. Throughout the history of the Empire, every emperor has, more or less, refrained from disturbing the laws and systems established by their predecessors. Without a reasonable justification, it would merely be self-destructive.

Thus, all intelligence agencies within the Empire, whether for domestic or foreign purposes, routinely deploy personnel to the Magic Tower. Lacking laws allows them to act as they please.

“…Hmm.”

Even the Chinese National Security Bureau established specialized departments to manage Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao, so why are these guys acting so recklessly? I just couldn’t make sense of it.

As I was thinking along those lines, Clevenz’s voice struck my ear.

“Well, it seems their affiliation has been established. Either the Counterintelligence Command or the Reconnaissance Command, it must be one of them. Just know that it’s definitely not the Imperial Guard HQ.”

He spoke with such confidence that I was curious where that certainty came from.

So I asked him.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Do you have ears? There are many listening devices present here as well.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“About a month ago, I planted a bug in the Empire’s Embassy.”

He meant he had an informant in the Empire’s Embassy. Or perhaps he could be a double agent.

“When did you do that?”

“When the Imperial Guards were doing something foolish, one of their group members voluntarily defected. The last time the ambassador’s neck went flying, he was one of those who went flying too, having been stuck due to a promotion bottleneck and defected for money. The intelligence that confidential information from the Advanced Military Magic Research Institute was leaking also came from him.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Well, it’s nothing too serious, so let’s leave that for now.”

Clevenz, who casually mentioned that he had turned one of the Imperial Guard agents, shifted the conversation back in a calm tone.

“So, what are you planning to do now?”

Clevenz seemed to be reprimanding me.

In fact, rather than a reprimand, it felt more like he was seeking a countermeasure.

“Looking at the data, it seems the National Security Agency or the Empire is already far ahead of us. At this rate, it looks like they will be the first to get their hands on Location 51.”

“…Is that so?”

“It can’t be helped since we’re in the position of being late to the party. Still, you’re not one to just stand by and do nothing while the others run rampant, right? So, if you have a good plan, speak up now.”

“…….”

“It’s clear what you’re thinking.”

This wasn’t a request for a countermeasure but rather some leading questioning. Perhaps it’s because he’s a spy catcher. Clevenz seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.

Then, what the heck…

“…Yeah, I guess.”

I should just spill it.

“How about an abduction?”

—

My plan was straightforward.

If multiple intelligence agencies were chasing the target, the only way for us, as latecomers, to get ahead was to preemptively seize the target.

“Anyway, they aren’t someone who’s going to be caught easily. They must have an escape plan ready.”

But people from intelligence agencies are rarely easy to catch.

However, it’s not that there’s absolutely no way.

“In that case, targeting someone related to them who can be caught relatively easily is a reasonable idea. From what I can see, they seem to cherish their child greatly, so that person wouldn’t be able to escape alone after their kid is kidnapped.”

I’ve never seen a parent who would run away leaving their child behind. Furthermore, using family members to threaten someone is a very traditional method of control.

I’ve done it many times, so I know.

“A parent who would abandon their child to flee doesn’t exist. If we kidnap them, they’ll likely come crawling back on their own, looking for their child.”

I asked Clevenz.

“What do you think?”

“…….”

“Colonel?”

His thoughts were simple.

“…I expected it, but hearing you say it sounds completely insane.”

 

---