I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Sigvalt, Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.”

He extended his hand.

In reality, he was a member of the Personal Guard under the Imperial Guard.
On the surface, he was the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Loen, an investigator belonging to the Inspection Department of the Imperial Inspection Corps.”
“Inspection Department… I see.”

He shook hands with Loen.

And then the conversation stopped.

“..”
“..?”

Loen tilted her head.

‘He looked like he had quite a lot to say, but why is he suddenly silent?’

Sigvalt, who had firmly closed his mouth after the greeting, stared intently at Loen.

He had walked a long way across the Barrier upon hearing there was someone daring to call themselves a god.
But to find out that person’s identity was an inspector..

‘And on top of that, belonging to the Inspection Department of the Inspection Corps..’

The Imperial Guard and the Imperial Inspection Corps.
Both organizations are at the core of imperial power, with formidable strength and authority that are difficult to compare.

Generally, that is.
But now it’s different.

With the Emperor’s power being absolute now, the authority of the Imperial Inspection Corps directly under the Emperor is evaluated to be slightly superior to that of the Guard.

For this reason, even if his real identity was with the Guard, he couldn’t treat Loen carelessly.
Not to mention as the Central Intelligence Agency identity.

Sigvalt took a step back.

Instead of interrogating, he politely asked about the reason the Barrier had ended up like this.

“Could you explain what happened in the Barrier? I rushed here after hearing news of war, so I don’t know the details.”
“Of course.”

Loen explained everything that had happened so far.

Starting with the outbreak of war between the two factions, rumors about the dark mage, intervention in the war, purges, and so on.

“… That’s how it turned out.”

Having heard Loen’s story, Sigvalt thought.

‘This is beyond expectations.’

For someone who has operated behind the scenes for many years, unexpected events are quite rare.
That’s how sudden and unexpected Loen’s actions were.

However, it wasn’t without justification either.

Pretending to be a goddess and leading an army while calling for a holy war?
To gather troops to stop the dark mage’s forces.

Purging the entire Traditionalist faction, a massive power within the Barrier?
Because they cooperated in offering sacrifices while serving the dark mage as the head of their faction.

In other words, there was sufficient justification.

‘I was hasty. I should quietly apologize and leave.’

Sigvalt scratched his chin.

“So that’s how it happened. This is quite regrettable-“

Loen interrupted Sigvalt’s words and asked a question.

“I have something to ask.”
“..Go ahead.”
“You said you’re the Deputy Director of the Intelligence Agency, right? If I may ask, what’s your level of skill?”

The intention behind the question was nothing special.

She had roughly sensed that the old man before her was a skilled expert.

And coincidentally, there was an abundance of things to clean up and a shortage of manpower.

At a time like this, when high-quality personnel had rolled in on their own!
Of course she had to ask for help, not exploit them.

On the other hand, Sigvalt’s thoughts became complicated.

Even though he revealed his identity as Deputy Director of the Intelligence Agency, she’s openly asking about his skills?
With what intention?

Several assumptions came to mind, but he answered first.

“I suppose I’m skilled enough not to die in unfamiliar places.”
“I see.”

This time, the old man’s eyes narrowed.
Now she’ll get to the point.

As he thought, Loen got to the main point.

“Mr. Sigvalt. Then, right now, you don’t have anything particular to do, right? Could you help with the purge? We’re short-handed at the moment.”
“……”

The Personal Guard lives their entire lives under false identities.
They live false lives wearing masks, dedicating themselves to His Majesty the Emperor’s something or other.

In conclusion, for him as a member of the Central Intelligence Agency,
there was no proper justification to refuse Loen’s request.

It was also awkward to ignore when an inspector was asking for help,

“I’ll do that.”
“Thank you. Then take this.”

Loen handed over one of her letters.
It was a warning letter to be sent to the family of a purge target, stamped with the Inspection Corps seal.
Meaning not to do anything foolish.

“Go to Count Bamos’s territory and deliver this to his direct family members. If there are those who don’t accept the warning and resist-“

Loen raised her head and met Sigvalt’s gaze.

“Eliminate them all.”
“…I understand. I’ll go right away.”

Sigvalt turned around and went outside with a sour expression.

Watching his retreating figure, Loen smiled faintly.

‘Good, one less task to deal with.’

“The cleanup of the streets and inner castle is complete.”
“How’s the city’s public order?”
“Very good. Since public sentiment is soaring after the execution, everywhere I go people are busy praising the goddess… no, the inspector.”
“Hmm.”

The cleanup was finished.
The purge was also entering its final stages.

According to the news that came in, Sigvalt had discovered traces of large-scale human sacrifices in Bamos’s territory.
Thanks to that, they had secured solid evidence.

Psyche was on her way back after delivering the warning letter to Count Orte’s family.
Though there seemed to have been some minor conflicts in the process.

The rest would be finished when Count Lidyte and the inspection support personnel arrived.

“Anyway, good work. You can go out now.”
“Yes! Then I’ll take my leave.”

At Loen’s dismissal, the city guard captain disappeared out the door.

“Phew.”

Loen leaned back against the chair’s backrest.
With the endless flood of work, faint dark circles had already formed under her eyes.

‘Should I just give up on everything and return to headquarters.’

As she felt in her previous life too, this position of taking charge (?) as the overall leader really didn’t suit her. Truly.

Anyway, she had already dealt with the dark mage and swept away the Traditionalist nobles.
Honestly, she just wanted to laze around and rest.

But having started the work, she had to clean up,
the purge needed to be thoroughly finished,
and preparations had to be made to make Count Lidyte the ruler of the Barrier again.

In the midst of all this, since she was the final decision-maker, everyone came to her to ask, discuss, and request decisions.

And given her personality, she wasn’t the type to just say ‘Do as you see fit~’ and let go of things….

Somehow she ended up working through the night.
Why did memories of working overtime in her previous life suddenly come to mind..

Thump!
Loen, who had been sprawled in the office chair like wilted spinach, straightened her posture.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”
“Inspector. Count Lidyte’s army has arrived in the city.”
“Finally.”

Count Lidyte’s army, having finished cleaning up the aftermath of the battlefield, entered Brinut.
The citizens of the city gave a fervent welcome to him as he returned to the city he once ruled.

Despite being able to criticize him as a deserter, they didn’t, and instead cheered, probably because he had once properly governed the city.

Soon, the Reformist nobles, led by the count, entered the audience hall of the inner castle.

Watching them walk in en masse, Loen thought.

‘Somehow the number of nobles seems to have increased?’

She was correct.

The Reformist victory in the battle of the Great Plains, and the sudden appearance of an inspector purging the Traditionalists.
These two pieces of news spread quickly within the Barrier.

As a result, even the nobles who had maintained neutrality until then all sided with Count Lidyte.
It was possible because they were more sensitive than anyone to changes in power structures.

Although their sudden show of support was quite vexing,
there was no reason to drive them away either, so the count accepted them all.

Unlike before, there was no need to worry about internal cohesion.
Because an inspector was with them.

Thus, the number of nobles had increased much more than before.

“……”

The nobles who entered the audience hall walked along the carpet, quietly scanning the interior.

Loen was seated on the throne,
and on either side of her, the vassals in charge of city administration were lined up in a row.

Actually, the expression ‘throne’ is somewhat inappropriate,
but because the ruler of the Barrier had long been regarded as a king-like figure,
the word ‘throne’ was familiar to the people within the Barrier.

‘Well. It wouldn’t be out of place to call her the Queen of the Barrier.’

A noble who was thinking this while looking at Loen’s appearance quickly lowered his eyes.
Because her cold gaze, looking down at the nobles, pierced through chillingly.

Tap.
The count, who had walked up to the front of Loen, bowed his head.
The nobles following behind him mimicked his action.

“You’ve come.”
“It’s been a while, Inspector.”

Loen, who had risen from the throne, approached the count and patted his shoulder before seating him on the throne.

“Please sit.”
“Yes.”

Count Lidyte sat on the throne.

He, who had gone from ruler to fugitive, returned to his original position after several months.

Looking around while seated on the throne, he conveyed heartfelt thanks to Loen, newly overcome with emotion.

“Truly, thank you.”

At the same time, the nobles began to observe the situation.
Glance.

At a glance, Loen’s actions might seem insignificant, but to the nobles, it was not at all.

To their eyes, it looked like a scene of the previous king handing over the throne to his successor.
Clearly, it must have been an intentional action.

‘A strong wind of reform will blow through the Barrier.’
‘I wonder what will happen to the territories confiscated from the Traditionalists.’

Dozens of nobles began to rack their brains.
Because they sensed that great changes were coming to the Barrier.

Ruler of the Barrier.
This is merely a title referring to the most influential family within the Barrier.
Although treated like a king, that was the reality.

Therefore, the position of ruler could change at any time.
The recent war was a prime example of this.

But not anymore.
Why?

Because the Imperial Inspection Corps ‘directly’ seated Count Lidyte on the throne.

Under the protection of the Inspection Corps, the Lidyte family would firmly reign as the rulers of the Barrier.
A mere frontier noble cannot go against the will of the Inspection Corps.

“Well..”

Before Loen could continue her words, thunderous applause erupted.

Clap clap clap clap!

“Congratulations!”
“May the sun of eternity shine on the future of the Lidyte family!”
“Sniff.”

Some nobles in the front row even shed tears.
They were the count’s closest confidants, including Veronica.

Of course, when suddenly,
from what they thought was a dead end, a fierce golden beam burst forth, how could they not shed tears of joy.

The nobles standing in the back rows also hurriedly joined in the applause.
While doing so, they glanced at Loen standing beside the count.

It seemed as if a black aura flickered behind the back of the black-haired inspector.
Though it was surely just an illusion.

At this point, isn’t she practically the real power behind the throne.. a shadowy figure..
Such disloyal thoughts almost arose, but they quickly erased them from their minds.

Count Lidyte became the ruler of the Barrier once again.

Loen, who had led the count to the inner castle office, opened her mouth.

“Count.”
“Yes?”
“This.”

Loen placed her hand on the documents piled high in the office.

“These are documents you need to process, Count.”
“……”

After entrusting everything to him, just as Loen was about to enjoy a rare moment of rest, news reached her ears that support personnel sent from the Inspection branch had arrived.