A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The document created from the entire afternoon has been accepted.

The reason I could spend the whole afternoon on a single paper was that my status had completely floated away. How could I handle the Information Agency’s duties now that I was a hero’s companion? I should be passing things over.

To put it nicely, my condition was a vacation for an efficient body. To put it poorly, it was exclusion from work. When I saw my desk, which had been empty after years of companionship, it felt as if I had been laid off. It was true that I had officially been cut from the Information Agency, so saying it was a dismissal wouldn’t be wrong.

Anyway, having become a hero’s companion, I passed papers back and forth in Colonel Clevenz’s office for a few days. Every time I saw the pile of incoming documents, the Colonel’s expression subtly soured, yet he accepted everything.

I requested everything I needed; my vacation was over, and the handover was complete.

Now what’s left for me is,

“Colonel Frederick Nostrim. I’ll accompany you to the royal palace.”

It was a meeting with the hero.

—

Episode 1 – The Gray Man

For a moment, I recalled the story of “Heroes of the Dark World.”

In this world, a summoned hero saves the world.

The problem is, this isn’t just fantasy; it’s dark fantasy.

Kings wage wars, nobles engage in politics, and priests preach holy wars while wallowing in gold coins. If the upper class in society were simply mired in corruption and indulgence, it would just be a standard fantasy world.

The worldview of “Heroes of the Dark World” is a mishmash of dark fantasy and apocalypse.

A natural disaster that occurred years ago turned the entire continent into a mess.

Taking advantage of the chaos, demon tribes began eyeing the Empire’s territory. Suddenly, the looming war crisis began to shake the continent’s economy.

As the economy wobbled, the common people started to cry out in hunger. The social chaos escalated.

And thanks to various incidents, accidents, and rogue groups surfacing, most nations received their death sentence.

To tidy up this mess, national leaders agreed to summon a hero. Why? Historically, summoning a hero has been a panacea. While a really strong person takes the stage, we’ll try to stabilize things internally.

Of course, I don’t know if that’s actually possible.

I didn’t realize it when I viewed it from behind a screen, but experiencing it directly was a whole new level of chaos.

Anyway, the world is on the brink of “Fallout.” Or maybe it’s “Biohazard.”

Since the hero is still at the royal palace, the world hasn’t officially gone to ruin yet.

If our hero does well, there shouldn’t be any unfortunate mishaps.

“You may enter.”

The palace maid who had guided me so far bowed and stepped back. Hearing her name, she was some baroness from the outskirts, but it didn’t matter since she wasn’t a character in the game. After offering a brief thank you, I opened the door.

The room’s atmosphere was quite lavish.

There was no tackiness in the decorations, the bed looked soft just by looking at it, and mahogany furniture along with a wine display filled with rare liquor caught my eyes.

However, the most striking feature was the softly glowing crimson hair.

Her bright eyes were fixed on me.

“Ah, hello! I’m Camila Lowell.”

She greeted me with an awkward appearance.

Seeing her, it was hard to believe she was an AI programmed character. Her reactions were that natural.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Lowell. I’m Colonel Frederick Nostrim. I look forward to working with you.”

It was my first meeting with Camila.

—

The impression she left when she introduced herself as Camila Lowell wasn’t exactly favorable.

Her shy demeanor, awkward speech, and hunched posture made me anxious. Although she had fallen into another world without knowing why, her stance felt so defensive that it made me uneasy. Perhaps that reaction is normal.

“Um… should we sit?”

“Yes, let’s sit.”

“Okay….”

I sat on the sofa facing her while the attendants prepared refreshments. During that time, we didn’t exchange a single word. Not even one word. I emphasize that because it’s important.

Even though it was our first meeting, I couldn’t fathom where she learned the habit of keeping her mouth shut after just exchanging names. It felt like being on a blind date with someone I wasn’t interested in. Eventually, I broke the uncomfortable silence first.

“How would you like your tea, Miss Camila?”

“Anything is fine. And… please speak casually.”

“Oh, really? Then should I go with black tea?”

“Uh…?”

“What.”

“Oh, never mind.”

Not knowing what black tea was, I just brewed whatever I could find. I had only ever tasted instant tea made in the Magic Tower, so I had no clue what I’d be getting.

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I’m 28 this year. How about you, Miss Lowell?”

“I’m 23.”

Holy moly. She’s older than she looks. Is she just youthful, or has my eyesight gone bad? I have a feeling it’s the latter.

I started gathering information about her more formally. A soldier with several years of experience in the Information Agency knew how to keep her talking while the 23-year-old newcomer was left at a loss. When you work under someone who’s adept at sifting out spies, you must learn to speak like a pro for survival.

After a brief interrogation, I found out the following about her:

Camila Lowell, 23 years old, was in university in England before ending up in this world. Only child.

She didn’t seem to realize she was in a game world, mentioning stories from movies, comics, and novels. Though her words were a bit jumbled, it was clear she was aware this wasn’t a dream. She seemed to have no memory of what happened right before she came here.

“So, Miss Lowell, you were a university student.”

“You know about universities?”

“There are universities here too.”

“I’m curious about what it’s like… my university was…”

As she started to talk about her experiences, her appearance improved. She began sharing thoughts about the palace maids, how the royal family looked, and how delicious the food she had yesterday was. Showing occasional smiles as we talked, I felt she was adapting to the atmosphere.

Anyway, she shed the impression of being an introvert.

She chatted incessantly about her hometown, the landscapes of Earth, and aspects of 21st-century modern society. Of course, her general ability to articulate wasn’t stellar, causing her to struggle towards the end of her descriptions. I became curious about what expression she would show if I said I was born here. Would she feel shy, or would she be happy?

“There’s a novel called Harry Potter in our world, and it seems similar to this one.”

I wanted to tell her it was more like 1984.

In reality, I was an Information Agency agent, and this was a dark fantasy world. Isn’t it more fitting to express it like the dystopia in 1984? Interestingly enough, 1984 is set in England. It’s quite strange that a girl from England ends up in a world similar to a novel written by an English author.

“Magicians showed their magic, and it was super cool.”

“The court magicians would appreciate that.”

“Do all people here use magic?”

“Many people know how to use magic, but the number of magicians trained at universities, magic towers, or military forces is small.”

At that, Camila Lowell tilted her head in confusion.

“Is there a difference between the two?”

“Of course, there is. Imagine giving guns to children. What do you think would happen?”

“Ah… I understand.”

When you get thrown into the battlefield, witnessing untrained soldiers or militia using magic, the outcome would definitely be a catastrophe. There’s a reason why the country restricts unauthorized individuals from using magic.

In the past, magic wasn’t academically developed, and those caught using it were often branded as witches or devil followers and subjected to religious trials. People with such backgrounds settled down and established the Magic Tower. Given that history, the relationship between the tower and cults has never been particularly good.

There are incidents arising from this issue, but that’s a story for later, so there’s no need to explain it now.

Speaking of it, how did this girl complete her quest?

From how she provided solid support while I was a hero’s companion, it seemed she didn’t show any negative traits. However, since it was so long ago, I couldn’t recall the skills I had at the beginning of the game. I think I chose a certain type and started off.

“Excuse me, but what abilities do you possess?”

“Huh?”

“Abilities. Skills, psychics, magic, that sort of thing.”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, she tilted her head for a long time before scratching her cheek. Though her slightly nerdy reaction was cute, the way she kept pausing sent a chilling sense of foreboding through me.

“…Um, it seems I don’t have any?”

Something feels off.