From the Taiga to the British Sea, Part 3
Since returning from Paris, Pavel Nikolayevich Tsoy had been swept up in a whirlwind of endless work. Though his official title was Head of Security, his role was closer to that of a Minister of Defense, as he was responsible for the Syndicate's overall external military force. If one had to find a real-world equivalent, North Korea's Ministry of People's Armed Forces came to mind—a name that hardly conjured the image of a defense ministry to the uninitiated. Of course, Kim Jong-il, with his obsessive personality cult and self-deification, could never hold a candle to Lady Yerina.
Transporting military supplies to the IRA and the Syndicate's Paris branch also consumed a significant amount of time. The primary obstacle was that the proud British Empire was not a member of the Schengen Agreement. Tariff barriers were firmly established with France. And while Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, transporting munitions into the Republic of Ireland—an independent nation where the IRA was stealthily expanding its influence—presented a major challenge. Fortunately, the Syndicate had been a master of smuggling and trafficking since its days in Kaliningrad. Although many experienced hands had been swept away in the purge of traitors when Lady Yerina first took power, the tacit knowledge and resourcefulness of the remaining members had been preserved.
The proposal for Lady Yerina to personally utilize her signature shadow magic, Schattenmaiden, for transport had been rejected. Her surreal, unique magic, which could bypass any existing border surveillance system undetected, was undoubtedly an effective tool, but it was far from a panacea. Setting aside the issue of requiring the young lady to move in person, the volume she could transport at any one time was a mere drop in the bucket. Under the circumstances, it was hard not to feel a lingering pang of regret over the purged traitors. Perhaps Lady Yerina felt the same, as she had once sighed and remarked, "I pointed my blade at Moscow, yet here I am, doing the exact same things Stalin did."
Yet, Pavel firmly believed that this temporary step backward would eventually pave the way for a massive leap forward. Coincidentally, today he had to visit Belfast, just as he had done right before his business trip to Paris. There were two main objectives for this visit. First, much like the Syndicate itself, the IRA—having completely excised its festering flesh—was preparing to expand its influence outward once more, and Pavel needed to oversee the groundwork. Second, he needed to pass on the Magic Bullet technique acquired in Paris to the combat mages of the Equinox unit.
Among the Syndicate's active combat mages, Pavel Tsoy's capabilities were second only to Lady Yerina herself. The magical talent required to roughly replicate the mechanics and activation patterns of a Magic Bullet after observing it for a mere ten-odd minutes was a rare gift indeed. While optimizing the Magic Bullet to eliminate the need for complex mechanisms was the young lady's task, training the Syndicate's other elite soldiers to use it fell squarely on his shoulders.
His schedule would remain relentless even after his return from Belfast. In fact, a meeting with the Head of Information was already scheduled for the very evening of his return. This had become a regular routine since their return from Paris. Lady Yerina was scheduled to join them shortly afterward, allowing the heads of Security and Information to align their thoughts before presenting their respective reports.
If anyone was busier, it was Delis Bloomfeld. Her workload easily eclipsed that of anyone else in the Syndicate. To begin with, her day job at the Ministry of Magic was a standard nine-to-six affair. Yet, even in the midst of this, she could not neglect the infiltration ordered by the Syndicate's leader. Consequently, Delis took on a workload at the Ministry that far exceeded the average. By day, she was a rising star among the technocrats of the British Ministry of Magic; by night, she became the Head of Information for the Northern Covenant Syndicate. Her duties for the Syndicate were no less demanding. Her work for the Information Department, which began only after dinner, typically wrapped up well past midnight, often stretching until two or three in the morning.
Delis's double life was a delicate balancing act; she was not so naive as to think she could afford to let her day job discover her side gig. The moment an uncontrollable variable arose, her precarious tightrope walk would plunge straight into catastrophe. Not only would Delis Bloomfeld herself face utter ruin, but the Syndicate's existence would also be exposed. No matter how hard Lady Yerina tried to sever the connection, the Ministry of Magic would eventually uncover the truth behind the Northern Covenant Syndicate.
What kept Delis going, when she could have collapsed from sheer exhaustion at any moment, was her boundless sense of responsibility toward the Syndicate and her absolute loyalty to the master of her soul. Since she was the vital cog keeping the newly stabilized Syndicate running, how could she dare to falter? To do so would be a betrayal of Lady Yerina, who had granted her a new life and enabled her to avenge her father. Lady Yerina had paid her in advance; thus, the remainder of her life belonged entirely to her.
And lately, it seemed there was one more thing keeping Delis anchored.
"Really? So it's been decided that we're going to both countries?"
"The documents you attached played a decisive role. I suppose I have you to thank."
"I'm glad I could help. We can't afford to pass up an opportunity to expand the Syndicate's reach."
This was from one of her meetings with the Head of Security, which had grown noticeably more frequent of late. Though she held the title of Head of Information, her department's work was not limited to mere intelligence gathering. Rather, the emphasis lay on analyzing the collected data and deploying it where it was needed most. Naturally, the nature of her work made collaboration with other departments essential, whether she was receiving intelligence from them or passing it along. And collaboration, of course, took time. Especially when it concerned matters of such gravity that the Head of Information had to meet with other department heads face-to-face. Under these circumstances, she could expect some leniency even if her other duties fell slightly behind. Expanding the Syndicate's reach, deepening their infiltration of British society through both overt and covert means, and taking strides toward Lady Yerina's ultimate goal—a burning Moscow. For these objectives, other tasks could easily be put on the back burner.
Of all her duties, Delis found her meetings with the Head of Security the most pleasant. Especially after that daydream when she had mistaken Pavel for her father and embraced him. Of course, she couldn't deny feeling a sense of embarrassment. There was also the fear of what might happen if her taboo affection for her father were ever discovered... Yet, far outweighing any shame or fear was the simple fact that the man standing before her now shared a small secret with her. To share a secret known only to the two of them—in a way, wasn't that something only family members did?
Oof. Delis pushed herself up from the sofa and walked over to the bookshelf.
"Actually, I figured it would be approved, so I went ahead and organized the details while you were in Belfast."
She stood on her tiptoes, reaching toward the top shelf to retrieve the compiled documents. But the binder had been shoved too high, and her hand fell short. Delis looked back at Pavel with an embarrassed expression. She could almost hear her own awkward chuckle echoing in her head.
A large, rough hand briefly brushed over her small, delicate one.
"Keep them within reach next time."
"...Thank you."
Ahem. Delis cleared her throat as she took the binder. After verifying the categorized documents, she handed only the easily readable summary back to Pavel.
"So, did you call me here just to hand this over? You could have sent a subordinate instead of summoning someone who just got back from Northern Ireland."
"It's far too important for that. If you were in my position, Pavel, would you really trust a subordinate with this?"
The documents contained a dense compilation of the current situations in South Korea and Japan, which Delis had managed to dig up with great difficulty. Considering how notoriously insular those two East Asian nations were, it was truly a marvel that she had uncovered so much.
"Fair point. I suppose this is everything I need to familiarize myself with, then."
"For now. Why? Are you leaving already?"
"I should. Is there anything else?"
He was undoubtedly going to escort Lady Yerina. After all, they had a meeting scheduled in the Head of Information's office in about an hour. To be completely, brutally honest, Delis found it difficult to suppress a sudden pang of resentment. No matter how much guarding the Syndicate's leader was Pavel's top priority, this... felt like he was just abandoning her. She knew it was a childish, stubborn thought. But she couldn't help how she felt. So, Delis decided to be just a tiny bit honest with her desires.
"Why don't you just stay here instead?"
She felt terribly guilty toward Lady Yerina, but she had resolved to monopolize the Head of Security for just a little while.
"Hmm."
"I mean, there's no need to make a round trip for such a short distance, right? We could review the documents together here until Lady Yerina arrives."
Of course, her possessiveness was only a fraction of what she felt. If Pavel left now, she would have no choice but to spend the remaining time grinding through her other duties, rendering her brief respite utterly meaningless. Really. That other desire she had felt for a fleeting moment was merely a trivial, insignificant passing thought.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Pavel was not a cold-blooded man who would ruthlessly reject Delis's request. Had he been that heartless, he would have reported the incident from when she had just woken from her daydream to Lady Yerina long ago.
"...You make a fair point. I shall do that."
"Whew! What a relief. Well, it would be awkward to sit at an empty table, so let me go grab some refreshments."
His response was far more agreeable than before. With a much lighter heart, Delis headed toward the cupboard where she kept the tea and snacks. Besides, even if her conversation with Pavel—her precious escape from her other duties—stretched a bit longer than planned, it wasn't as if she was slacking off entirely. For instance, listening to the Head of Security's past to ensure the success of their upcoming trip could, in a broader sense, be considered part of her job. After all, the quarter-Korean heritage flowing through his veins would undoubtedly prove to be an invaluable asset in South Korea.
When Delis set the scones and black tea on the table and voiced these thoughts, Pavel tilted his head.
"My story?"
"Yes. If we leverage your heritage, we might achieve some unexpected results on this trip. It's only natural to understand it beforehand and factor it into our plans."
Since her reasoning was perfectly sound, the Head of Security nodded in agreement.
"I see your point. Where should I begin?"
Delis let out a soft hum, then offered him a bright smile.
"Hmm... how about the very beginning?"
As we prepared for our trip to the two East Asian nations, the most notable progress was the seamless, fluid cooperation between the Security and Information departments. It wasn't that they hadn't cooperated before, but rather that they now moved together like a single organism. Anyone would think so upon seeing how the intelligence gathered and verified by the Information Department was immediately integrated into my security plans for South Korea and Japan, as if guided by a single mind.
Because the Soviet Union's global-scale meddling had drastically altered the course of history, I couldn't blindly trust that the common knowledge I possessed from my past life would still hold true. The mere fact that the people entrenched in Yeouido are using the name 'Supreme Council for National Reconstruction' is proof enough. While it seemed that major historical events still occurred in some form, the minor details had diverged significantly. Consequently, I couldn't afford to stress over every single detail. It was best to leave the affairs of this era to the people of this era.
Thus, I had entrusted Delis with the heavy responsibility of intelligence gathering, and she was proving to be of immense help in our decision-making by maintaining a high level of cooperation with Pavel. Coincidentally, today was the day I had decided to head to the Head of Information's office to speak with them both in person. However, despite sending a message that I would be arriving shortly, I hadn't received a reply, which left me somewhat puzzled.
"Delis and Pavel are both in the office, right? I'm asking because they aren't responding to my messages."
"Yes, they are. Shall I send someone to check on them, Lady Bronska?"
"No, there's no need for that. I'll go there myself, so get ready."
As long as the Head of Security was with her, there was no way their safety was compromised, so I simply needed to arrive at the scheduled time. But while I had expected a perfectly ordinary meeting, I was greeted by a rather baffling sight upon entering the office.
"...?"
I wasn't sure whether to be flustered or completely dumbfounded.
"My Lady...?"
"Lady Yerina...?"
Pavel was standing behind Delis, personally fastening a necklace I had bought in Paris around her neck.