A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The sky had finally laid down the clouds when it was deep into the night.

Was the heavy gray cloud simply burdensome? The city, wrapped in anguish, sweated coldly.

The outside world remained dark and gloomy.

But when the drooping streetlight lit up the world covered in twilight, the shyly sparkling dewdrops responded in kind.

Camila had momentarily distanced herself from the brightened cityscape.

“Are you okay?”

As she stepped away from the window and began to mutter to herself, a response came from behind the partition.

“…No, not at all. I feel awful.”

“Is it serious?”

“Not even a bit. Seriously. She throws a fit over her expensive clothes, while I get the cheap hand-me-downs.”

“Did it bleed? You said it hurt earlier.”

“It’s really red. Just sitting here feels like I’m going to die from the pain. I mean, come on, it’s not like I’m some kid stealing my dad’s clothes…”

An awkward smile formed on my face.

Honestly, I felt that way too. Who would have expected that the disguise would start sneaking away like this?

It seemed the complaints weren’t exaggerations. Camila, who had come with a change of clothes, once again wore an awkward smile at the glimpses she caught through the cracks.

Baggy trousers. Sleeves that didn’t even fit, let alone button up.

The pants that should have looked good were now hanging limply on her hips due to her shrunken figure, and the shirt that slipped down her narrowed shoulders was sagging like a curtain due to the unbuttoned buttons.

Worried she might show an embarrassing sight, she tried to cover up, but the lighting that she failed to notice cast a bulging shadow on her shirt’s backside.

Even her once short black hair had suddenly grown down to her waist in its original form.

Each detail made her look all the more shabby.

“…Did you arrive safely?”

Ayla.

Because some complete stranger threw together a bunch of ill-fitting clothes, she was having to wander about getting scratched here and there for quite a while.

Finally clutching the longed-for clothes that seemed like something from a dream, she asked the girl.

“Thanks to that absurd potion, my head’s a mess… What’s the deal with that ridiculous script about Louvre or whatever? Our second brother made me memorize it.”

If sibling help turned out this way and things ended in failure…

“To be honest, shouldn’t we hit him once or twice?”

“……”

“Still, I think he’ll get off scot-free…”

At that ridiculous question, Camila briefly laughed in silence.

Then, with a playful smile, she shrugged her shoulders.

“Unfortunately, he succeeded.”

—

*

Episode 20 – Who brandished a knife to threaten?

If you looked closely, it appeared as though the whole world was shrouded in fog.

In the stillness, the wind blew gently, and the shadows of fallen leaves that hadn’t yet settled deepened precariously.

The two men sitting diagonally across from each other looked at one another.

The ruckus that skated by outside felt only lonely, when suddenly the man who had been silent for a while spoke up.

“Let’s greet in the Livingston way.”

The information officer smiled lightly.

“Aren’t you Colonel Zigmund?”

“Then you must be Colonel Frederick.”

The information officer murmured in response.

His voice looked both despondent and bitter, creating a very peculiar impression.

“Do you know me?”

The reply tilted the head of the information officer. Just how far do you know? It seemed to ask in a roundabout way.

“Well, somewhat.”

“I know you somewhat as well.”

This time, it was the information officer who reacted.

“Where did you hear about me?”

With his legs crossed, Zigmund leaned back slightly and retorted.

He didn’t believe too much in the expected answer, but still curiosity curled up in his heart.

“……”

Relaxing in his seat and calmly waiting for a response, the information officer didn’t take much time to ponder.

In that fleeting moment to take a breath, light words flowed from Frederick’s mouth.

“From the main house.”

With that short and concise line, Zigmund felt as though one of his many entangled curiosities had been resolved.

“Indeed, you are with the military.”

A smile crossed his lips.

It seemed somewhat self-mocking.

“There’s no place but there. No one calls the military’s uniform the Royal Intelligence Department like that.”

“Isn’t calling it the main house not entirely wrong? Our headquarters might have been built fifty years ago but it moved into a new building, after all. It’s no ordinary impressive place.”

“Much larger than the old, cramped offices, for sure. I mean, there’s no need to move to a smaller place when you’re moving to a new house, right?”

“Anything bigger is better.”

There was not even a hint of concealment.

Frederick unabashedly disclosed that he was a military information officer. Although he had mentioned only the word “main house,” Zigmund was no fool not to understand it referred to the Royal Intelligence Department.

After all, it used to be his workplace.

Not anymore, though.

“…So, the Royal Intelligence Department must have gathered some intel on me, huh? What did they say?”

“They said you gave the department a thorough backstab.”

Frederick replied without a trace of hesitation.

“Director of the Royal Intelligence Department. Previously, I managed overseas operations for the State Operations Bureau’s First Department. I traveled around extensively for the Great Empire projects, my longest service being in the Republic of Ashtistan.”

“……”

“As I built up experience here, eventually I got promoted and oversaw operations for five nations, ultimately landing the position of Director at the great intelligence agency…”

“But what does it matter now?”

Frederick didn’t bother to mention his family lineage or Zigmund’s contributions when he was with the Royal Intelligence Department.

Because even these matters were no longer important at this point.

“So, you were looking for me?”

Frederick stated.

“Indeed.”

“Isn’t it a bit burdensome to have the interest of a man who could be your father? I’d understand if it were a woman but…”

“Do you like women? I heard you don’t go near them.”

“I’m not the type to hit on just any woman.”

“You seem to be more bashful than you’d like to appear.”

He raised an eyebrow and nodded, as if he were suggesting to think as he liked.

“I’m not a whore, you know.”

His right hand holding the pistol sat neatly on his knee.

A handgun without even a suppressor.

Zigmund could easily imagine what would happen when that trigger was pulled right in the middle of Shizuya.

And he could also easily gauge that the other party had no intention of pulling that trigger right now.

“If you knew I was looking for you, why didn’t you come meet me?”

“……”

“It’s somewhat disappointing that you didn’t even acknowledge me.”

Zigmund returned with a nonchalant smile as if he couldn’t help but ask how he had not known at the Mandara spa.

In response, Frederick opened his mouth with a deep chuckle.

“I’ve only seen you for the first time today.”

“Indeed… The Frederick Nostrim I knew at the spa was a different person. Was that friend also sent by the military?”

“No, he’s from the main house.”

“What a convincingly effortless deception. I thought you’d come to meet, given how perfectly you matched in stature and build.”

“It was like a magical experience, wasn’t it?”

“Right. It was magical.”

—

The conversation flowed in unison, and time melted away as the dialogue ensued.