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“Leaning against the bathroom wall, I tie a towel around my shoulders.”

“*Kugh…!*”

The pain made my head spin. It was as dizzying as the time I was struck by a vehicle from the Chinese Public Security.

Dizzy? No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I was disoriented.

Still, it seemed my body was functioning properly. In a rush, the pistol I had clutched in my left hand had smoothly transferred to my right. Luckily, I’d managed to staunch the bleeding from where I’d been shot.

Sitting there against the wall, I pondered deeply.

“…….”

Where did everything go wrong?

—

### Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

I had lured Fabio Verati into the hotel room, trying to initiate a conversation about my youngest daughter to entice him.

Rather than enticing, it was more like half-threat.

With the help of a bought hotel staff member, I installed listening devices in the room and put additional equipment in the adjacent room that was booked under an alias.

The aim was to gauge Fabio Verati’s psychological state through conversation and subtly collect any information he might spill.

If the situation didn’t allow for a proper entrapment, I planned to leave the hotel after arranging the next meeting, listen to the recorded conversation, and decide how to proceed with the operation.

It was a mission that couldn’t possibly fail.

There was no risk of being detected, and with the hotel staff’s help, any loose ends were taken care of. Moreover, the good standing of my diplomatic status would serve as a solid shield, so there was essentially no reason to fail, one way or another.

At least not until the uninvited guest barged into the hotel room.

“…Who the hell are you?”

I asked, hearing the sound of movement outside. Though a wall separated us, the door was open, and I guessed the intruder was still in the hallway.

Apparently, they knew it too, responding to my question—even speaking in Abas.

“I’m not interested in you.”

It wasn’t quite as polite as a service center employee, but we engaged in a brief exchange over the wall.

Their pronunciation wasn’t exactly fluent, but it was comprehensible.

The intruder replied, “We’re only interested in that Patalia guy. If we take him away, it’ll be quiet, so let’s not make things worse here.”

It was an unilaterally delivered message.

“…Oh, really? You’re pretty friendly for people who just barge in guns blazing.”

“The first shot came from your side. We got hit first too.”

“So did your parents teach you to show up armed for a first meeting?”

When a trio of idiots barges in with guns, who wouldn’t shoot back?

“…You bastards.”

I held my pistol aimed toward the hallway and paused to think.

Let’s sort out the situation first.

After bringing Fabio Verati and my colleagues from the Magic Tower to the hotel, I had entered the room I booked in my name to talk to Fabio Verati. Just as I pondered when to bring up my youngest daughter, three thugs suddenly stormed in, leading to a shootout.

It wasn’t an extremely heated confrontation. The moment I saw the gun in the intruder’s hand, I drew my pistol and fired a shot, making sure the intruders couldn’t even enter the room as I pulled the fallen thug into the hotel hallway, firing back.

Unfortunately, I got hit in the shoulder and rolled into the bathroom.

And that’s where I am now.

“…….”

I never imagined things would spiral like this. I thought I could handle the Magic Tower’s representatives, but I never expected other guys to barge in.

Peering outside the bathroom door, I caught sight of Fabio Verati.

It seemed his years of experience in the Information Agency hadn’t gone to waste; he was skillfully hiding behind some stout furniture.

“…Are you alright?”

He nudged his glasses and nodded. Sadly, he wasn’t armed with a pistol or anything.

Looking down at the pistol I’d been carrying for self-defense, it was the weapon Lucia had insisted I be allowed to carry during her medical missions. It seemed wise to have pushed for that permit after all.

As I swapped out the half-used magazine, my thoughts continued.

The employees waiting outside the room were most likely dead. Considering the chaos, it was evident they hadn’t shown their faces.

Had they managed to contact the outside? I didn’t carry a phone. I had only brought the communication device issued by the agency and a secure terminal, but stepped out for a moment without grabbing it properly.

However, given the shootout, it was probably smashed since it wouldn’t even turn on. Besides, I couldn’t use it due to the gunshot wound on my left shoulder.

Had the police been called yet?

Probably not.

“I guess you’re waiting for the police, but it’s pointless. How do you think we found this hotel room?”

“…….”

Right. They had likely bribed a hotel staff member. Or threatened them.

Typically, hotel guests don’t report incidents. They mention it to the front desk first.

If they had coaxed the front desk employee, it was almost guaranteed that no call to the police was made. I knew that from experience.

“Think carefully. You can’t be that dumb.”

It was as if they thought they knew me well.

I aimed my pistol at the hallway and fell deep into thought. Blood, dripping from the sights, fell to the floor due to gravity.

“…….”

This is the Magic Tower. The well-dressed men waiting outside were Magic Tower civil servants.

In other words, the intruders had killed Magic Tower civil servants. They were out of their minds. There’s nothing as dangerous as killing local officials. It would be one thing in a country with a wrecked administrative system or a remote location where central power can’t reach. But killing a national official in the middle of a foreign land is bound to create issues. They couldn’t handle the fallout.

In other words, they had the means to deal with the aftermath, which means they could do it.

“…….”

How did those guys find their way to the hotel room?

Today’s meeting was a secret known only to the Patalia and Magic Tower representatives. Coaxing a civil servant is a whole different level of difficulty compared to bribing a hotel staff member.

If it was a local official or a district office employee, that would’ve been one thing, but making connections with the headquarters of government agencies is nearly impossible for an ordinary person.

But those guys managed it.

As that thought crossed my mind, a hypothesis sprang into my head.

“…….”

Of the groups I know, only one has this level of intel and could cause trouble overseas.

The Empire Information Agency.

It’s all just circumstances. Even if I wanted to know, there are things I can’t know right now.

However, my instincts warned me that they belong to the Information Agency of the Imperial Army. It’s a kind of intuition.

If this counts as a skill, then so be it.

There were at least three mysterious thugs and me. Fabio Verati was maintaining a standoff by the door. It felt like it had been a little over five minutes.

One of the thugs broke the silence first and offered to negotiate. He was the one who had been exchanging words with me.

“We know who you are.”

“……”

“Colonel Frederick, let’s face each other and talk like men.”

It was just meaningless noise.

I merely extended my arms and head, aiming the gun toward the hallway while opening my mouth.

“From now on, think of me as a woman.”

“This isn’t a time for jokes.”

“I’m saying this sincerely, so don’t take it as a joke.”

I locked eyes with Fabio Verati, who was hiding behind a large piece of furniture.

He exchanged glances with me and began to slowly open the window that led to the terrace.

In the midst of that—

“Our rear guard will be joining us soon. Don’t think you can last until the police arrive.”

The thug in the hallway started threatening me.

“There are more of us, and there’s nowhere for you to run. Think carefully and judge wisely.”

“……”

His low, heavy voice penetrated my ears and lodged in my brain. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure me or threaten me; it was probably both.

The thug calmly pressed me, and I briefly recalled the structure of the Information Agency of the Imperial Army.

Normally, the reconnaissance unit deployed for special missions is the Reconnaissance Command. If those thugs are affiliated with the Reconnaissance Command, there must be at least five of them inside this hotel.

The special operations team of the Reconnaissance Command operates in groups of five at a minimum. If I generously assume that two teams are in action, that makes at least ten.

The thug said, “There’s no reason for you and us to spill blood here. We just want to take that Fabio Verati guy with us.”

“He’s my guest.”

“I know.”

The thug insisted that if I handed over Fabio Verati, there wouldn’t be any bloodshed.

In my judgment, that was a blatant lie. Why would they let a witness live? Almost no one affiliated with the Information Agency or terrorist organizations shows such gentlemanly conduct.

I continued to confront the thug calmly while surveying the room around me.

“……”

The hotel room was a single room. It was a typical space combining a bedroom and a living area. Since it was just a room rented for a brief quiet chat, there was no room to hide aside from the bathroom and closet.

As is typical for hotels, the door opens inward, allowing a clear view of the room’s interior from the hallway. The places that wouldn’t be visible due to the room’s layout were the bathroom where I was hiding, the door leading to the terrace, and the place where Fabio Verati was hiding.

It seemed that the manager’s position at just over forty wasn’t won through luck.

As Fabio Verati half-pushed the terrace door with his boot, he locked eyes with me.

So what shall we do now?

“Time’s running out, Frederick.”

The thug warned me.

“You don’t have any means to contact the outside. No one’s coming to help you. We can talk like this only for a little while longer.”

“……”

“Our kid is hurt, and you’re hurt too. Letting lives go overseas would be foolish. So you cannot let blood be spilled here any longer.”

“……”

Let’s see if we can resolve this through conversation.

*

The hotel room we’re in is on the fifteenth floor.

There aren’t any other rooms occupied nearby, so we took the fifteenth floor.

If we fall, we’re definitely dead. I have no confidence in whether I can leap across the gap between the rooms, nor can I be sure I’d survive jumping down to the terrace below. Fabio Verati seems to be thinking about jumping off the terrace or barricading himself, but from my viewpoint, it looks impossible.

We unnecessarily picked an upscale hotel, and the distance to the terrace is ridiculous. Damn those construction companies. They can’t design properly.

The only way out to the outside is through the door to the hallway. That place is already occupied by thugs.

There are no other routes. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have hidden in the bathroom.

“……”

In the end, there are two choices.

I could charge to the terrace with a gunshot wound and leap into the void, or I could risk my life and burst out into the hallway and fight to the death.

Both options are a gamble. The stakes are my life. What I can rely on is either luck or skill.

What should I do?

“I’ll give you ten seconds! Drop your weapon and surrender!”

The thug raised his voice for the first time.

He started counting.

“10!”

I quickly looked around the room. Was there anything that could help?

“9!”

I was just absent-mindedly searching for a fire extinguisher when I realized that there aren’t any in this area.

Damn, this fantasy world is useless. Did they leave fire safety regulations back in the womb?

“8!”

Swish!

Fabio Verati tore down a curtain and started tying it to the bed leg.

I’m certain that even if he tied that and jumped, he wouldn’t make it down to the terrace. He’d either dangle precariously or fall to the ground like a corpse.

“7!”

I tightened the towel I’d tied around myself.

“6!”

If there are three of them, it’s doable. One of them is already taken out, count him as a goner. There are only two moving ones left.

“5!”

While it’s not certain, if the thugs are indeed from the Reconnaissance Command, and three came out front, that leaves two as a rear guard.

The ones I have to deal with are four.

“4!”

I stood up, leaning against the wall, right over a small pool of congealed blood.

Fabio Verati tore down another curtain to make a knot.

The shadows cast by the light flickered in the hallway.

It was bizarre.

“3!”

Suddenly, something shiny flashed like lightning through my mind.

I put my hand into my pocket.

I felt a hard texture at my fingertips.

“2!”

I rolled it between my fingers and—

“1!”

I threw it.

Whoa!

A bright flame burst forth, soaring into the air like a bird.

That was the signal.

 

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