LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 35
As soon as I heard the voice, I realized it was Veronica.
She may be an information agent and assuredly connected through a secure line, but what on earth was she calling for?
“Why are you calling at this hour all of a sudden?”
—’Hmm, because I wanted to see you?’
“Don’t say things that can be misunderstood! Have you been drinking again?”
I could hear her distinct laughter, bubbling through the phone.
This must be her way of teasing me with her playful banter.
—’Sorry, I couldn’t help but imagine your reaction.’
“Why do you live like this?”
—’Well…’
Veronica trailed off with a mischievous tone.
—’Because it’s fun?’
Really now.
—
Episode 3 – A Fantastic Vacation
Late at night.
I was on a train heading to the capital, chatting with the Saint of the Cult.
“Can’t you get any sleep?”
—’No.’
“With all the drinking you do, I suppose sleep is hard to come by.”
—’Just had a little bit, you know.’
Classic brag.
I signaled down the corridor, and a wizard dispatched from the intelligence agency cast a spell to block any eavesdropping.
A shimmering blue wave enveloped me like a curtain.
Confirming the wizard’s ‘okay’ sign, I took a breath to begin.
“Saint Veronica, what have you been doing all this time?”
—’Drinking with Lucia.’
“Wait, why is Lucia with you…?”
—’Since the election is in two days, we were discussing things over some drinks.’
Is it already that time? How quickly time flies.
Lucia plans to join us once the results come in. Having the team separated could lead to rumors and misunderstandings.
Didn’t rumors about her once circulate after we met?
“Looks like you’ve been doing well. Got anything important to say?”
—’I heard the Magic Tower is a strong candidate for the next destination?’
“That’s being considered by higher-ups.”
It’s practically a done deal. If Camila Lowell’s abilities relate to magic, the only place that can pinpoint the fainting symptoms accurately is the Magic Tower.
The research institute is decent enough, but compared to the tower, it’s nothing.
“I heard there’s a new colleague there too? What was the name again….”
—’Francesca Ranieri. She’s the third heir to the Magic Tower Master.’
“Oh, right. Now it rings a bell.”
The Alchemist Francesca.
A woman sidelined in the succession of the Magic Tower.
The game storyline claims she was expelled from the tower in early August. Since it’s almost September now… she should be somewhere in the central part of the empire. The storyline indicates a meeting at the imperial capital.
—’The Magic Tower will likely be a bit chaotic for a while.’
“What do you mean by that…?”
—’You know, with the heir issue and all. It’s a bit complicated.’
Seems like the wizards are up to their antics again.
“So there are so many intertwined problems that it’ll be complex to explain?”
—’Yep.’
“And nothing’s certain yet, right?”
—’Well, yes…’
Once the Magic Tower quests are completed in the game, it transitions to the northern empire.
The story involves strange monsters breaking through defenses during winter. The game was tough, so I quit.
Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. I should’ve read up on it a bit more.
I pressed my hand to my forehead, feeling a hot wave radiate.
“Okay, yeah. If you get any good info, let me know.”
—’Can I call you at dawn?’
Please don’t.
—
The fact that the Hero has arrived in the kingdom was a secret. Everyone in the know was aware, but the general public was still oblivious.
It was planned that Lucia would announce it after the election.
So when I first met people at the train station, they weren’t journalists or welcoming crowds; they were military police. I mean, gendarmerie.
“Hero, we will escort you to the hotel.”
“Huh? R-Right now?”
“Yes, you can leave right now.”
“Colonel?”
“Go on ahead. We have work to attend to.”
Camila Lowell scrambled away like a frightened child getting a flu shot.
And she wasn’t just moving quickly in a metaphorical sense. She genuinely flew off on her broomstick.
We stood there dazed as we watched her scream in surprise. Her scarlet hair danced with the wind.
“Aren’t you not supposed to fly in the capital?”
“Mailmen and police fly on brooms just fine.”
“Oh….”
I’d heard the control tower manages things well to prevent accidents. But as someone who’s served two consecutive terms in the army, I didn’t really know much about it.
Now that Camila was gone, it was time to send a subordinate.
“Do you all remember the meetup place and time?”
“In a week. 10 AM. Back entrance of the designated hotel.”
“Go.”
Te-eeeng mama—
Jake was babbling nonsense as he boarded the train back home, and Pippin vanished to meet her friends downtown.
Both were free for a week, bursting out like slaves breaking their chains to pursue freedom. It could’ve been mistaken for a scene from Shawshank Redemption.
And I.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll escort you to headquarters.”
It was my first time ever flying on a broomstick, and I was terrified.
—
“…We conducted reconnaissance based on the information from the Inquisition. We succeeded in tracking down Cardinal Raul and the 16 defectors of the Imperial Guard HQ from the northern luxury residential area of the Cult.
A strike team of 2 from Special Activities Department and 9 others ambushed the scene and successfully eliminated all defectors, capturing Cardinal Raul in the process. After three days of interrogation at Safe House 5, he was executed.
…That concludes the report.”
“Good job.”
The report was over. I settled comfortably in my chair, stretching my legs.
“What happened to Raul?”
“We dumped him in a drum and tossed it into the sea.”
Colonel Clevenz clicked his tongue, almost in regret.
“It would have been nice to have tried him….”
“But saving the economy for the nation and everyone profiting from it isn’t so bad, right?”
“That’s true.”
With this incident, the empire and the cult secured political stability, while the kingdom retained economic stability. That was a result of the intel agencies and the foreign affairs ministry working their butts off.
We would manage to obtain food and necessities at relatively low prices. Though self-sufficient, the more the better, right?
It seemed fewer people would starve this winter.
The Colonel must’ve had the same thoughts, as he smiled, expressing his delight.
“Statistics suggest that the number of starvation cases will decrease. Thanks to the surplus in finances, we’ve decided to buy cattle from the empire.”
“Cattle, you say?”
“Didn’t a disease wipe out all the cattle a few years back?”
“Ah.”
“All the dairy farming and whatnot crashed down, so all year long, people were finding bodies floating in the river….”
The Colonel sighed, cutting off his words. Not exactly the right topic to bring up in this good mood.
For a moment, an odd atmosphere lingered, but within that silence, numerous conversations were had. How much grimy rice we shared, how many successful operations we executed; we could understand one another just by exchanging glances.
Thus, the Colonel cut to the chase, stowing away the trivialities.
“You’ve worked hard. Let’s eat.”
“…Yeah.”
That was enough.
—
“Isn’t the world going to hell these days? Am I wrong?”
“When has it been normal?”
Colonel Clevenz placed his utensils down. With a few grey hairs scattered and deep lines in his forehead, it looked like he was under some significant stress.
It’s common knowledge that those in high positions suffer from heavy workloads, but unfortunately, we’re in a situation of cold war, and he’s the civil servant managing military intelligence. He’s even the next in line to be director.
“The demon tribes are pushing down from above, the civil war is noisy below, monsters are crossing the borders, and there’s a plague on the continent….”
“You’ve been doing a lot of hard work.”
“And amidst all this, bombs keep going off because people are fighting for the Pope’s position. The state of the world is absurd.”
It certainly is a chaotic world. It’s expected to worsen in the future as well.
“I hear there might be some internal issues in the Magic Tower soon.”
“Where’s that intel coming from?”
“My informant.”
We were at a high-end restaurant having dinner. Due to the pirates wreaking havoc, the sea trade routes have been blocked, making beef nearly as expensive as gold.
Of course, the empire recently sent us food, so prices have stabilized.
But while it’s still undoubtedly burdensome to spend comfortably here, ironically, there were no empty seats.
“Seems like everyone’s living it up.”
“With promotions coming up, they’ve got no choice.”
That implies they’re splurging money to curry favor for promotions.
In reality, most of the patrons occupying the restaurant were civil servants or company executives.
Now and then, I recognized familiar faces among them.
“I think I’ve seen that person in the staff office.”
“That’s the military supply chief. The one sitting across is the personnel officer from headquarters. They’re both from the same unit.”
“Looks like the operations chief is meeting the corps commander. Are they from the same school?”
“They’re upperclassmen and underclassmen from the academy.”
Everyone is busy rubbing shoulders with their seniors to get the scoop on promotions.
When promotion season rolls around, the area behind the Yongsan Defense Ministry basically fills up with soldiers. Contrary to expectations, most meet not to discuss promotions but to gather information.
“How did promotions turn out this time?”
“Thanks to the refugees, southern units were completely wiped out. They’ll probably all be kicked out.”
Which class, how many got promoted, which region was completely wrecked, and so on.
Gathering this intel helps understand whether I can expect a promotion or if I’ll be out of uniform this time. Typically, once signs of discharge appear, one thinks about what to do and how to survive post-service.
According to the Colonel, units stationed in the southern regions are dropping like flies due to failures in vigilance. Upon closer inspection, I noticed some wore expressions that looked ready to burst into tears.
Of course, their promotion or discharge was none of my business. Maintaining a bright smile, I turned to the Colonel.
“Congratulations on your promotion! Should I start calling you General now?”
“Hey, I haven’t changed my insignia yet.”
“Come on… Who doesn’t know that you’re getting promoted to General in the intelligence agency?”
Colonel Clevenz. No, soon-to-be Brigadier General Clevenz is about to become the head of military intelligence.
After winning the internal power struggle within the information agency, he is expected to be appointed as the next director.
Had I not become the Hero’s associate, I would’ve advanced to Major during this promotion season. I’m classified within the Clevenz faction.
“You’ve just recently been promoted to Major, so it’s unrealistic to aim for Lieutenant Colonel.”
The Colonel said, with a slightly apologetic expression.
I had anticipated this outcome fully. I wasn’t particularly greedy for promotions, so I wasn’t exactly disheartened.
“That’s fine. Being a Major at 28 is good enough. The Lieutenant Colonel position would be too much for me right now.”
“True. I appreciate your understanding.”
Neither of us has families to support, and since intelligence agents aren’t into networking, the dialogue felt rather bland.
Yet, having established an acquaintance, we shared light updates about ourselves.
“How’s your senior doing?”
“He’s doing well. I hear he’s retiring this time and intends to stay active as an elder.”
“Seems like it’s about time for him to return home. Well then.”
I scolded the next director of military intelligence for not being able to manage senior colleagues.
Petrus decided to remain with the cult, continuing his spy activities. I had suggested he return home, but he refused to go back.
“He merely asked me to relay the necklace to his hometown.”
“That necklace, it belonged to his wife, right? He plans to send it home tomorrow.”
“Did he have a family?”
“Even had children.”
A bittersweet reality. Isn’t that how agents’ lives go?
“Are the subordinates resting well?”
“Ay… They’re having too much fun, so they don’t even pick up the phone.”
“Contacting someone on leave only earns you complaints. Just let them be.”
“Yes.”
Pippin and Jake seem to be having a blast. Camila Lowell, on the other hand, is undergoing tests at the hotel. I heard results should come out within three days at the latest.
Speaking of which,
“Don’t I get any sort of vacation?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, the kids are on leave and the Hero is resting. Why am I the only one…?”
I was implying why was I dragged into this dining affair without a vacation.
Having just finished my meal, expressing dissatisfaction about not receiving time off caught the Colonel by surprise.
“Are you sulking because you didn’t get a vacation?”
“….”
“Haha! This guy….”
“No, but you should at least say something about it.”
“So you’re upset about that? Just say it, let’s hear it.”
“….”
I sealed my lips. Then the Colonel burst into laughter.
Honestly, it was a bit infuriating. I’ve been grinding for two months straight with not a whisper of time off.
After laughing for a while, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, he gave the order.
“Alright. Once this task wraps up, I’ll send you on vacation.”
“Is there something you want me to do?”
“Just a quick trip somewhere.”
“Is it a business trip?”
“Nothing that grand. Just think of it as a site inspection.”
Site inspection. I got a hunch that it won’t be just an ordinary task.
“The research institute has a hole in it.”
“…Is it a possible leak?”
“We’re suspecting so.”
“….”
“We sent a few people, but I need you to go check it out in my stead.”