A Dark Fantasy Spy

---

The escape plan has failed.

As soon as I received the contact from the situation room, I hurriedly drove to the embassy. Camila had decided to return to the hotel in the morning, and I had come up with the excuse of arriving early for work to leave the accommodation.

Thus, I arrived at the embassy. After entering the heavily fortified eavesdropping security room, I contacted the advisor.

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t been caught by the police. He answered the phone immediately.

“It’s me, Mr. Vasily. I heard there was a problem. What happened?”

– ‘I was kicked out of the departure area.’

“What?”

– ‘They said I can’t leave the country.’

—

Episode 10 – Head Northwest

The panicked advisor stammered, his voice clearly trembling even over the phone, and I could faintly hear the anxious voices of his wife and daughter in the background.

I tried to calm him down in my composed voice.

Eventually, he regained his composure and shared what had happened at the departure area.

“… It seems he can’t leave because of his daughter.”

The advisor’s daughter is attending the Royal Academy’s Department of Magic. As she is in her third year and over 18 years old, she was legally of conscription age.

However, the problem arose not from military service but from elsewhere.

“It appears that his daughter is currently taking vacation classes at the Academy’s Department of Magic. Although it’s vacation, students attending supplementary classes must have the dean’s permission to leave the country.”

According to the Empire’s education laws, even during vacation, students attending classes at the Academy cannot go abroad without permission, as it is treated as being in session.

This escape operation had been planned under the pretense of a family trip abroad before the daughter’s graduation, but since neither the advisor, his wife, nor even the embassy knew such regulations existed, they hadn’t obtained any permission.

“They said the immigration officer blocked them from leaving unless they provided supporting documents.”

Leonii, who had been silently listening on the secure line, finally spoke up.

– ‘Where is the dean now?’

“It seems he’s on an official trip to a local area. Given regulations, the dean’s signature is absolutely necessary, so it will take at least three days or more to obtain official permission.”

– ‘Then is there a way to forge the documents?’

“I’ve tried, but I couldn’t find any technicians capable of falsifying the anti-counterfeiting marks. There are none within the embassy, and none of the technicians I used to deal with during my active service are reachable.”

The magic symbols for anti-counterfeiting are critical for document security in this area. They are always included in identification cards and official documents, and information agencies constantly try to secure a method to forge the anti-counterfeiting magic symbols used by foreign governments.

The issue is that even slight mishaps in replicating the magic could get you caught.

Of course, for advanced national information agencies like the Imperial Guard HQ, the Royal Intelligence Department, or the National Security Agency, penetrating these wouldn’t be difficult, but there’s no way to obtain the Royal Academy’s magic symbols.

Getting caught with a mistaken form or counterfeit document could lead to the information agent being arrested by the Imperial police.

“I’ll check if it’s possible to obtain the Royal Academy’s anti-counterfeiting mark for now. Also, I’ll secure alternative exit routes just in case.”

– ‘Report back every thirty minutes.’

“Yes.”

After finishing the urgent report to Leonii, I gathered the location and condition of the advisor and his family.

The advisor, who had been caught at the immigration checkpoint, was confirmed to be at home. I maintained the emergency contact network connected to him and worked to assess the movements of the Empire’s information agencies.

Next, I inquired about smuggling routes.

If the Imperial Guard HQ or theCounterintelligence Department have not discovered the escape operation, I could send them to Abas through illegal entry.

I extracted a list of land and sea smugglers registered in the Military Intelligence Agency’s database to find out if there were any who could move three people immediately.

However,

The plans for illegal entry were thwarted by an external information officer’s contact.

– ‘Colonel? It’s me. I monitored the advisor to the departure area early this morning, and something peculiar caught my attention, so I’m reaching out.’

“Oh, yes? What is it?”

– ‘I’ll send a picture now, so please check it. I’ll shoot this and then head back.’

A photo file arrived at the terminal connected to the Military Intelligence Agency’s internal network.

I was left speechless as I looked at the photo sent by the information officer.

“Why is this guy here…?”

In the photo, a woman with black hair and red eyes was watching the advisor and his family exit the departure area.

—

During my time in the cult, I experienced two assassination attempts.

Now, with Cardinal Raul, who is currently collaborating with microorganisms and crabs deep underwater, and the 16 members of the Imperial Guard HQ who were killed as dark magicians, along with the nobles of the Empire who backed them, it was a twisted event they orchestrated.

I had encountered someone at the first terrorist scene involving a bomb.

A woman with black hair and red eyes.

Ekaterina, the Domestic Information Officer of the Imperial Guard HQ.

She was someone scouted from the Counterintelligence Department and was a soldier who had accepted dishonorable discharge to deceive double agents.

However, after being repatriated following a prisoner exchange, she became MIA, and analysts judged that she was “decommissioned.”

Whether she could find a quiet job after leaving or, at best, work in a clerical position was the common expectation.

Her identity leak made it appear she would have difficulty carrying out field activities.

But that was not the case.

“Ekaterina Andreevna Ivanova. Former Domestic Information Officer of the Imperial Guard HQ.”

In a dim conference room, the information officer on the field began to speak.

There was a screen on the wall, and when the projected magical energy touched it, several photos floated up.

Photos of the advisor and his family hurriedly escaping from the entrance of the departure area and looking around as they entered the departure area.

“This information officer was first mentioned in reports from low-level informants planted inside the Imperial Ministry of Defense.”

The officer pressed a button, changing the photo.

A photo of the internal personnel records from the Imperial Ministry of Defense appeared, showing Ekaterina’s records during her time as a military officer.

“From her time as a military academy student, she received excellent marks, was assigned a specialty in intelligence, and had exceptional language skills. A senior informant who worked with her reported that he found it strange that her workplace records were missing from the database while searching for the names of military academy graduates.”

The workplace listed on her personnel records certainly indicated the name of some unit. But when searching for that unit in the database, there were no results.

“She was involved in various incidents and accidents, including disputes with superiors, and it was reported that she was dishonorably discharged due to unsuitability for service.”

“…”

“A few months ago, it was detected by branch staff from the cult that she was operating abroad. There haven’t been any further records since then.”

It seemed the information officer had only grasped that Ekaterina was detected working for the cult. It looked like she had been unable to access specific information about her, likely because she was not receiving any clearance.

For reference, all records of the incidents I have been involved in have been sealed by Clevenz to prevent anyone from accessing them. No one outside of high-ranking officials can open them.

While I was pondering this with a heavy heart, the information officer displayed the photo taken at the departure area on the screen.

“This captures the interior of the departure area. Here, you can see the Domestic Information Officer of the Imperial Guard HQ in contact with the immigration officer and the security officer of the immigration office.”

“…”

“The immigration officer was the one who processed the advisor and his family’s departure. Moreover, we have learned from monitoring local communications that the immigration office transmitted news about their attempted departure somewhere. It appears they may have contacted the Empire’s security or intelligence agencies.”

“…”

“The fortunate part is that the targets of the escape have not been captured, but…”

The information officer paused slightly and took a deep breath.

“It seems the operation has been exposed to the counterintelligence agencies, Director.”

The information officers attending the meeting looked to the Colonel’s office.

The Colonel stepped out, saying he would contact Leonii, and the other officers returned to their respective seats one by one.

Thus,

In the darkened office, I sat alone in a vacant chair, taking a drag from my cigarette.

—

The operation has been compromised.

It seems the Imperial Guard HQ had somehow known about the escape plan in advance.

After the meeting ended, Leonii summoned me to deliver a new order.

First, find a way for the advisor and his family to migrate abroad by the end of today.

Second, if that doesn’t work out, erase every connection related to this operation.

“Erase” is a euphemism; if we can’t extract them today, it’s an order to kill and silence them.

– ‘Though the information is precious, nothing is more important than the operation.’

Leonii’s voice resonated coldly in the eavesdropping security room.

“Must I do it myself?”

– ‘No. I’ve sent technicians, so you just need to stay out of it.’

The information officers who would carry out the assassination operation had long been dispatched to the Empire. They were new recruits assigned to operations related to the northern region and had extensive experience with this type of mission.

“I oppose this.”

I refuted Leonii’s order.

“Killing the advisor right now would likely draw too much attention if we get caught. If it’s revealed that our side was behind any of this…”

– ‘Do you think we’ve only killed once or twice?’

Leonii replied.

She was the youngest to be selected as an information officer, having risen from being the chief of the Empire’s branch to holding the directorship of the Royal Intelligence Department, and one of the highest positions within the Military Intelligence Agency.

– ‘There are many ways to kill without identifying who did it. You know that.’

“…”

That’s true.

There are various means to kill discreetly without pinpointing an assassin.

In cases of poisoning, just a slight scenario leveraging a prior grudge can disguise it as an ordinary murder. Simply ensure someone with animosity towards the advisor has means to do so.

Alternatively, one might infiltrate an apartment and forcefully administer poison. Of course, if physical strength is used, the forensic evidence would be clear, but rearranging the scene to look like a suicide would suffice.

What’s crucial is discerning the situation.

What decisions should be made in this instant, who should be involved, and how to fabricate the scenario to make it appear natural.

That is the duty of an information officer.

Simultaneously, it is also our responsibility—Leonii’s and mine.

– ‘If you’re not confident in extracting them today, just eliminate them. That’s good for both you and the informants. If we leave things as they are and get caught by the Imperial Guard HQ, it won’t end well.’

“…”

– ‘Make your own judgment and decide.’

—

I returned to my office.

There are roughly 13 hours left until midnight. If I can’t extract the advisor and his family within this timeframe, the assassination operation will be executed.

I sat in my office, trying to come up with a way to facilitate their escape. But since the Imperial Guard HQ had recognized the escape fact, all plans for illegal entry would be futile.

From this very moment onward, I had to assume the advisor’s apartment was under surveillance.

If the advisor or his wife or daughter ventured outside, Imperial Guard HQ agents would surely follow them.

The same goes for the embassy.

The moment anyone, including myself, stepped one foot out of the embassy, Imperial Guard HQ would intervene and create a scene.

Fortunately, the emergency contact network was still operational.

– ‘The family is safe.’

“Good. Is there no issue, Mr. Advisor?”

– ‘Yes. For now, we are staying home.’

The advisor and his family were safe. They were trying to contact the Academy to obtain permission for their daughter to go abroad.

That line was likely already being monitored by the Imperial Guard HQ. Perhaps agents or investigators had even been sent to the Academy. It was absolutely impossible for them to receive permission.

But the moment they acted even slightly suspiciously, the Imperial Guard would likely catch on and arrest them. Thus, I recited the meaningless laws and regulations of the Royal Academy to them.

“…”

After hanging up, I sat back in my chair and lit a cigarette.

Routes for illegal entry would have been blocked by the Imperial Guard HQ. The Border Guard likely disseminuted the family’s personal information, making border checks stricter, and smugglers might have been threatened with police involvement if they didn’t cooperate.

The costs were also a concern.

The expense for a single smuggling operation is substantial.

Even if we were to pay the fee, if the navy special forces conducted a boarding search based on the reports from the captain or crewmen, the family would be caught red-handed.

The closest Latwan Principality could be crossed by a single bridge, so perhaps heading there might offer a chance of survival, but…

The relations between Latwan Principality and the Kien Empire are not good.

Even if they broke through the checkpoint barricade and crossed the bridge, the Latwan side would likely fire machine guns at them and slaughter them all.

Moreover, it would be difficult to request cooperation from the Latwan intelligence agency. If the information leaked, the Imperial Guard HQ would storm the apartment immediately.

It would also be problematic if the advisor and his family managed to enter the Abas embassy. There is no way to send them abroad from the heart of Petrogard, capital of the Kien Empire.

If they enter the embassy, the Kien Empire must issue a deportation order to be sent abroad. But if an order for arrest is issued instead, no one would know how long they would have to stay in the embassy.

It’s possible that the information has already leaked.

They may not have inadequately caught onto their travel plans, but rather have clearly acknowledged it was an escape attempt and set traps.

“…”

There is no solution.

While I contemplated with my phone in hand, I sighed deeply and leaned back in my chair.

“How wonderful it would be if I could just fly into the sky…”

As I closed my eyes and took a moment to relieve a headache, a soft knock resonated in the office.

“Come in.”

“Colonel, I apologize for the interruption during work. May I step in for a moment?”

“Ah, yes, secretary.”

I welcomed the second secretary who had come to my office warmly.

He was the very diplomat who had given me a lift to the diplomatic residence with my luggage on my first day in the Empire, late at night.

The second secretary chuckled sheepishly as he greeted me.

The sleeves of his dress shirt were seriously crumpled, and the bottoms of his suit pants were soaked.

“What happened to your clothes? They’re all wet.”

“Oh, I was washing the car. Just washing the car.”

“Washing the car?”

“Yes.”

The second secretary continued as he grinned.

“There are so many vehicles in the residence, but I hadn’t maintained them for a while, so they piled up with dust. That’s why I cleaned them up nicely today. I thought to ask if your vehicle could use a wash, too.”

“Oh… that would be appreciated, but I think it’s already clean enough, so it’s not necessary.”

“Is that so? My apologies for the intrusion. You seem busy, so I’ll take my leave. Please call me if you need anything.”

The second secretary bowed slightly and attempted to leave the office.

Then, as I listened to the secretary’s words and momentarily pondered, I quickly stopped him.

“Wait a moment, Secretary.”

“Yes?”

I posed a question to the second secretary who asked if I had any tasks for him.

“What did you say about the vehicles in the residence earlier?”

“Oh, that? It’s nothing big…”

The secretary scratched the back of his head.

“Actually, there are many vehicles just sitting around in the residence at the moment. With many diplomats and administrative personnel expelled, the number of people using the vehicles has greatly decreased…”

“Secretary, are the vehicles registered in the residence all equipped with diplomatic license plates? Not just some of them?”

“Yes, they all have them. Of course, they need to have diplomatic plates being embassy vehicles. If they don’t have them, that would be illegal.”

The following words fell silent.

“…”

The first characteristic of diplomatic vehicles.

They do not get stopped at checkpoints.

“Thank you, Secretary.”

“Yes? I thank you too?”

I immediately pulled out my phone and started reaching out to my acquaintances.

I finally found a way to get the advisor and his family out of the country today.