A Dark Fantasy Spy

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A soldier said.

“Top secret? That’s something only the generals with the green light get to open. How would a civilian know that?”

A lobbyist replied.

“I, I’m an official….”

“Are you some kind of Imperial Guard operative? You’re nothing but a local supporter at best.”

An agent said.

“It was fishy from the start. With the Deputy Director dead and the operatives purged, it’s suspicious you have no one left by your side.”

“They must have withdrawn….”

“Typically, the most trusted person is the one who raises the most suspicion.”

The Colonel told me to doubt everything and stick to my guns.

That’s the nature of the intelligence agency people.

And crucially,

“Do you think an untrained civilian could spot a tail?”

This woman doesn’t have the skills to shake off a tail.

“Saint.”

“….”

“You have no idea what will happen if you go back now, do you?”

Veronica nodded with a pale face.

I picked up her shoes and threw them far away.

“Let’s have a little date, shall we?”

—

Episode 2 – Heroes of the Continent

Eavesdropping isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Embassies or state secret facilities—even the meeting rooms are fortified against eavesdropping.

So, intelligence warfare can be viewed as an endless battle of spear and shield.

A silent battlefield between those seeking information and those guarding it.

We call that battlefield the world of espionage, and the people fighting in it are called agents.

And here are the agents.

“Hey, could you make some noise?”

“I’m working on it.”

These are the folks aiming to gather information.

More specifically, this is the Imperial Guard HQ’s team managing Saint Veronica. It’s essentially a task force.

For the past few years, this task force has focused on supporting lobbying activities. Now that Saint Veronica has become a proper lobbyist, they’re the watchers preventing information leaks and disrupting foreign intelligence operations.

So, the moment they heard the saint was going out, they started eavesdropping.

The operative shouted.

“Get some noise going!”

The eavesdropping expert replied.

“I can’t hear anything over the rain.”

Eavesdropping is still done by people, and the devices are made by humans too.

Of course, it can’t be perfect.

When the noise generated by the surrounding environment mixes with conversation sounds, there’s no way to know exactly what’s being said.

In other words, the eavesdropping is rendered ineffective.

“Audio analysis team. Have you got anything?”

“Analysis shows the target seems to be attempting to defect.”

“Oh, great.”

Veronica is attempting to defect.

The operative started pacing the cramped room the moment he heard that report.

I know espionage can be a wild battlefield that straddles legality and illegality. But intervening without proof now would lead to a diplomatic dispute.

The target is nominally a saint of the cult, and the person she’s interacting with is a hero’s colleague.

First, I need to separate the two and either convince or threaten Veronica not to have any funny ideas.

“Send some kids under the bridge. Make them look like they’re exercising.”

“What? It’s pouring rain out there.”

“Just do it, no questions.”

If eavesdropping fails, I have to put a watcher on her.

Luck has it that the agents have to run around in this pouring rain, sighing as they tighten their shoelaces.

And shortly later,

“There’s no one under the bridge!”

“What?”

We received a report that the target has vanished.

—

On a midsummer dawn,

Under the pouring rain, an unexpected chase broke out.

The first to move were the people who realized the eavesdropping and tailing efforts.

“Let’s hurry up! The chase will be on us soon.”

“Now? With all this rain….”

Veronica hesitated while looking around. The shoes with the eavesdropping devices were already thrown into the river, and it was pouring outside.

And she was barefoot. Running on the road without shoes would certainly tear her soles and injure her.

The Major grabbed her shoulder.

“If you don’t leave now, the Imperial Guard will catch you.”

“….”

“I can head back to the embassy, but you don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”

Veronica is the saint of the cult.

She has a fortified room at the cult headquarters.

Yet the Imperial Guard agents have breached that security.

They even placed an operative close to her.

And they didn’t get caught.

“You probably started planning this the moment you caught the emperor’s eye, didn’t you?”

“…Let’s go quickly.”

Thus, the agent began to flee with the lobbyist.

Naturally, a chase ensued.

The moment they realized eavesdropping was blown, the Imperial Guard HQ moved.

“Release all the kids.”

“Yes.”

The agents lying in ambush nearby started the pursuit.

“We’ll find them in the alley except they can’t go far without shoes.”

The pursuit team was close behind, and the operative guarding the operations room grabbed the microphone.

“Hey, send Team 1 to the embassy.”

“To the embassy? You mean the royal embassy?”

“Yeah. That’s the only safe place right now.”

The person she interacted with is a soldier from the kingdom.

While it’s uncertain, they’re presumed to belong to the Military Intelligence Agency.

Naturally, they would have anticipated a chase and headed to the safest place.

And embassies are legally recognized as territories of foreign nations.

Therefore.

“If Veronica gets into the embassy, we can’t catch her. Send the kids to wait in front of the embassy right now.”

“I’ll guide them on the shortest route.”

The royal embassy is treated as the territory of the kingdom.

Neither the Imperial Guard nor the Inquisition can casually barge in there.

If they do, it could lead to war.

It’s an area with guards and protections under the law.

So, it’s reasonable to expect they would flee there.

That’s precisely why they didn’t go.

“What’s this place for, anyway?”

“It’s military top secret.”

“Am I asking too many questions again?”

“You’re quite perceptive.”

Veronica sealed her lips tight.

Since outsiders have caught wind of this, this office must be shut down. Otherwise, we’ll have to silence the witnesses.

That’s something the Colonel will take care of, and I will do my job.

I am an intelligence agent.

I’m someone who collects information.

“Saint.”

“Yes.”

“Please tell me everything you know for now.”

“….”

“You seem to know something interesting.”