THE COUNTER-SECRET POLICE COVER OPERATION
Now, who can answer this question?
Miss Anya Forger.
Three-thirds!
Ah. That is quite wrong.
So, how are things going, Twilight?
How is your daughter doing with her academics?
HQ was estimating that she'd be able to receive eight Stella in about four months.
Four...
Not a problem.
I see... that your ability to lie has diminished.
I'm confident she'll be able to get eight Tonitrus Bolts in two months, though.
No matter.
By the way...
Our informant within city hall was compromised this morning.
The enemy is stepping up their game.
Be on your guard, Twilight.
I shouldn't have to say this about being in the city,
but be it at Eden College or elsewhere,
you never know where eyes will be watching you.
This country's counter-intelligence agency is quite tough.
H-How can I help you gentlemen?
We're with the State Security Service.
You're Jim Hayward, are you not?
We're taking you in on suspicion of being a spy.
A s-spy?! What are you talking about?
Hey... wait!
Stop that! Unhand me at onc—
We'll hear what you have to say back at the office.
That's totally what happened this morning! I was so scared!
The guy they took from finance
was apparently leaking documents from this office.
Oh, he must be a bad person.
Mornin'.
Oh, mornin'!
Good morning, Camilla.
Oh, by the way, Yor, my boyfriend told me about your marriage.
You haven't even told your younger brother yet?
Oh, you're right! I'd completely forgotten!
Uh, you forgot? For a whole year?
Wh-What shall I do?
He said he'll be calling you here later.
That's right.
I haven't given him the number for my new place yet.
I was so relieved our marriage went through that I blanked on everything else!
Say... is your younger brother a hottie?
Aw, he's a total cutie!
Yes. Yuri is quite adorable.
He would always call me "Sis" and refused to leave my side.
The State Security Service
Yikes, so he's obsessed with his sister. Pass.
If your brother looks up to you so much, isn't it kinda mean to forget to tell him that?
Let's start one more time from the beginning.
How many and what kind of files did you take from city hall?
Who did you sell them to?
What do they look like? What is their contact information?
When, where, and how many times did you meet with them?
Please let me go home.
The State Security Service.
An organization whose goal is to maintain the peace within their nation.
Since we're both so good at talking, let's continue, Mr. Hayward.
Its main duties include spy hunting and keeping an eye on the citizens.
What do you say?
To complete their missions, they frequently use violence,
wiretapping, intimidation, and torture.
The citizens called them the "secret police," and they are feared.
Great work, First Lieutenant. The boss asked me to take over the questioning.
All right. I'll leave the rest to you,
Second Lieutenant Briar.
Yes, sir! I'll do my best!
Yuri Briar, age twenty.
He is a member of the secret police.
Why did the boss bring such a softie into our team?
I admit that he's good, but frankly, he's just a kid.
Some elite from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who quickly rose up the ranks.
When I talked to the boss...
Huh? Well, isn't Yuri adorable?
He's like some cute little puppy.
And that was all.
I-I see...
Well, our organization needs a kid like him sometimes.
Not to mention, he knows how to do the job,
and he can be quite indiscriminate.
Hello, Mr. Hayward!
You won't get anything out of m—
My older sister actually works at city hall just like you do!
Huh?
Maybe you know her. She's pretty and kind, and I'm super proud of her!
I'm actually going to celebrate her marriage today.
I haven't seen her in forever, so I'm really excited!
So, yeah. I'd like to get this over with quickly so I can go home.
Why don't you just spit it all out already?
I-I don't know anything!
Here are photos of your deals.
This is you, isn't it, Mr. Hayward?
Second Lieutenant, you—
How long were you holding on to important evidence like this?!
Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to submit them.
You'd be much better off if you were honest.
So, I was just giving them the papers in exchange for cash.
All I know about him is that he's from the West. I don't even know his name.
Was there anything awkward about this man's looks or speech?
Perhaps he didn't act his age?
No, nothing like that.
I see. In that case...
Does the name "Twilight" sound familiar to you?
Who?
He's a spy from the West. Apparently, a master of disguise.
He is the villain who is trying to make this world fall into chaos.
You could call him my natural enemy.
I-If I helped you catch him, could we just forget about all this?
Do you know something?
Er, no, but let me remember...
If you feed me false information, you'll be committing another crime, so do be careful.
I just wanted extra money so I could fool around with girls! I didn't mean any harm.
You have a wife, don't you?
You're a man, too! You must understand!
I was just selling some documents. I'm no political criminal.
Let me off the hook! Please!
Mr. Hayward, you see...
I haven't told my sister that I work for the State Security Service.
It's a particularly dangerous job, so it'd just worry her.
And above all, I don't want her to know how much dirty work I do.
Mr. Hayward, what you've done is treason.
Perhaps they were nothing more than pieces of paper to you,
but they may very well put many of our citizens in danger.
Do you understand?!
Unlike you, I love my family... my sister.
I will do anything to protect this country where my sister lives.
And I do mean anything.
I don't care how much you torture me!
I will never... sell out my friends!
Curse you and your resilience, Bondman!
If only she could concentrate on her studies like this.
I only have two bullets left.
How many bullets can Bondman's pistol hold?
Hm? I'm pretty sure it was eight.
So that's two-eighths!
Yes! You're right!
He has two-eighths of his bullets left!
How do you even know those words?
So the cartoon makes things easier for her to understand?
Th-Th-Th-Th-There's trouble, Loid!
Welcome home, Yor.
He has two-eighths of his bullets left!
Yuri... I mean, my younger brother is coming here today!
Today?!
So, yes...
He insists on coming over and congratulating us.
What shall we do? He won't find out that this marriage is fake, will he?
Don't worry.
I've prepared lovey-dovey couple accessories for just this sort of occasion.
Papa and Mama are flirting.
We are not!
Mama's little brother still isn't here?
You mean your uncle.
Unkie...
It's late. You should go to bed.
Anya will greet Unkie, too...
It appears as though he's still stuck at work.
I got a little worked up, and now I'm late.
Ah, but...
I'll finally be able to see Sis! It's been so long! La, la!
Hurgh!
I can feel the ribs that my sister broke before tingling.
I'm remembering her loving embrace, and now my whole body is tingling!
But why in the world did my sister wait a whole year to tell me she was married?
Could he be some foul villain that she's afraid of introducing to me?!
I will eliminate every threat within this country where my sister lives.
That includes her husband, too.
Loid Forger...
If he's some shithead who's threatening my sister, I'll throw him in a cell immediately.
No, calm down. She mustn't find out about my job.
In order to protect my job and my happiness,
I must make sure she never finds out about this!
Yuri Briar...
The Forgers' only blood relative.
It's easy to slip up around someone you're emotionally close to. We must be careful.
I cannot lose this family that I've worked so hard to create.
Everyone has a side they don't show anyone else.
To their friends, their significant others, or even their families.
Hello! It's nice to meet you! I'm Yor's younger brother, Yuri!
They hide what they're truly feeling through fake smiles or bravado,
and keep their true identities secret.
Welcome.
That is how the world keeps up the appearance of its temporary peace.
Foreign Minister Windsor met with Westalis's Foreign Minister Brantz for six days of talks,
with the goal of normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries.
I'm going to find out...
if this man is going to harm our family or not!
if this man is worthy of my sister or not!
No, of course he's not worthy.
Oh, let me take your coat and the things you're carrying.
Oh, no, there's no need. Thank you for offering.
I can prepare something simple for us to eat pretty quickly.
The two of you can go ahead and relax.
Oh, don't mind me.
I would never eat something you've made.
Oh, you look so scary, Yuri. You must be nervous.
I-I'm not...
Crap. My animosity must've been showing.
Please, make yourself at home.
I could still be worked up from that interrogation earlier.
I need to play the part of the studious civil servant in front of my sister!
I need to play the part of the lovely wife in front of Yuri!
I could never tell him that I got married so I could continue killing!
Thank you for the flowers, Yuri.
Sure... But, Sis...
I haven't accepted your marriage yet.
Why did you keep this a secret for a year?
How am I supposed to accept it if you don't explain?
A reasonable question.
Now, then...
About your brother... Why don't we just go ahead and tell him everything?
The fact that single women are seen as highly suspicious
is a very serious issue in our times.
I'm sure your brother will understand.
W-We can't!
My brother can be very, er, sensitive.
If he found out that I... I got married to someone I wasn't in love with,
he would probably lose his composure.
Then we could end up troubling you, Loid...
And I don't want my brother to have to worry about me over something like this.
Oh, b-but don't worry! I have the perfect excuse to give him!
I know more about Yuri than anyone else, so leave this to me!
I'm counting on you, Yor.
Well, Sis? Why didn't you tell me?
W-Well...
B-Because I completely forgot!
Huh? Okay, uh, I...
It completely slipped my mind!
Actually, when I called you the other day, you told me that you had a partner.
You could've at least told me then!
W-Well...
I forgot that I had forgotten to tell you about my marriage!
Well, if you say so, it must be true! Sorry, Sis.
He accepted that?!
When it concerns his sister, this man's sense of logic goes out the window.
Jeez, Sis! You're such a scatterbrain!
Is this normal for the Briars?
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Tch. How dare you interrupt the fun Sis and I were having?
No... If I keep up this nasty attitude, Sis might end up hating me.
I need to at least fake—
Isn't Loid's cooking just so delicious?
Hmph! Don't think your cooking is enough to win me over, you villain!
Oh, right. I actually brought over some wine.
Please, help yourselves.
How considerate of you.
I'll get you drunk and expose you for the filthy villain you are!
None for you tonight, Yor.
I know.
Unfortunately.
So where did you two meet?
At the boutique on 3rd Street.
It was so surprising for a man I didn't know to stare at me like that.
Er, well... She was just so beautiful, you know...
The way you said that...
This subject will probably lead to a slip-up. I need to change it.
After a few dinners, we realized we had a lot in common.
When were these dinners? Where? How many times did you go?
Which restaurants?
How many encounters led to your courtship?
What made you decide to marry her?
Um...
Why do I feel like I'm being questioned by an officer?
How do the two of you address each other?
Huh? Er, I call her "Yor."
"Yor"?!
Even I hesitate to use her given name!
S-S-S-Sis, you don't happen to call him "Loi Loi" or "Loidy," do you?
Huh? Um...
Loidy!
God damn it!
I-I just... call him Loid!
When it concerns his sister, this man's sense of logic... Well, you know the rest.
Are you all right?
Here, have some water.
What could my sister possibly like about this guy?!
Just because he can cook a little, and he's handsome, and tall,
and considerate, and a doctor, that's just...
That's just...
God damn it!
Yuri, calm down.
I guess neither Briar holds their liquor well.
By the way, Yuri, I hear you're a diplomat.
Divert, divert...
That's quite the line of work. Yor loves to brag about you all the time.
Dominic told me the other day that you went all the way to Hugaria recently.
Huh? Yeah. I mean, it's just work.
But yes. It was a beautiful city.
I wish I could've shown you, Sis.
There were a lot of cafés, too.
There was even an old one that an empress used to frequent...
You mean in the capital city Obda, right?
There are several delicious restaurants there.
I went there when I was a medical student.
Oh, really?
I went to Kalpatia often.
The old man who owns it makes a superb stew.
I had that, too! Ah...
So this wine is also from Hugaria. It's excellent.
This is...
Oh, that...
"I bought it from a shop on Hedger Street."
I found it at a little shop on Hedger Street.
It must've been pricey.
It's 200 dalc.
Oh, no. It was just around 200 dalc.
I knew it.
That's plenty fancy. Thank you very much.
This conversation...
It's right out of the Ostanian Intelligence Agency's manual for the art of deception.
It's a conversation template used to fabricate a story about going to another country.
Meaning this whole story's been a lie.
Besides, the owner of Kalpatia now has his son running the shop.
And this wine actually costs 300 dalc now due to a poor harvest.
You may be able to fool an amateur, but it won't work on me,
Yuri Briar!
I had my reservations as soon as I heard you worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
That line of work has commonly been an entryway to espionage.
I had Franky do some digging,
and there are records showing he worked in that department up until a year ago.
He must've been scouted by the intelligence agency right before or after that.
Putting all the pieces together,
this man works for the domestic counter-intelligence agency
that is WISE's mortal enemy... the secret police!
That said, though it may be dangerous,
as long as he doesn't find out who I really am,
maintaining this relationship isn't a bad idea.
If I play my cards right, he could be a powerful source of information
regarding my enemies.
I'll get you something in return next time.
Isn't it wonderful that you have such a lovely older brother now, Yuri?
He appears to be concealing his identity from Yor, too.
He may be easier to manipulate than I thought.
Yuri?
I told you I wouldn't accept him, Sis!
I'm never going to call him my brother!
You're being rude, Yuri.
Yeah, you're right.
I went out into the world, made a name for myself,
and I can even buy expensive booze now!
But that's all because of my sister!
Our parents were gone, and we were poor,
so we couldn't even get everything I'd need for studying.
But...
Sis sure is late. She's still at her part-time job?
I'm home, Yuri!
Uh, Sis?!
What happened?! You're covered in blood!
What kind of work were you doing?!
Huh? Oh, I'm totally fine.
This isn't my blood, so...
More importantly, look, Yuri!
Ta-da! It's the encyclopedia set you wanted!
I got paid a lot this time, so I went ahead and bought it!
Sis...
Ta-da! Here are those snacks you wanted, Yuri!
Sis would always work herself to death for me!
You don't have to work anymore, Sis!
So I made up my mind... that I was going to become a proper adult,
and be a man who could protect my sister.
I'm going to be the one who protects my one and only family member.
Can you even imagine
how it feels for me to have the most important person in my life
just suddenly taken from me by some guy who appeared out of thin air?
Yuri...
Sure, I wanted you to get married someday and find true happiness.
But that guy has to be someone who could protect you even better than me!
Are you saying you're up to that task,
Loidy?!
Lo—
I just want to put my brother's mind at ease.
I...
I love Yor as much as you do, if not more!
My daughter loves Yor very much, too.
Come on... This is just an act to deceive my brother.
She is already a part of my family.
Even if spears or meteors rained down from the sky,
I would risk my life to protect her.
This man was a bold liar.
Did he say... meteors?!
I'm confident that I could protect her from spears, but meteors?!
Is he surprisingly powerful? But how would he do that?
I-It's easy to claim such things, you liar!
Yeah! You have the face of a liar!
Oh, goodness.
You're so careless sometimes, Yuri!
I have the face of a liar? Has he seen through me?
Oh, don't worry about it, Yor. I'll clean it up.
No, that couldn't be.
What? You've been married for a year,
and that's your reaction when your hands touch?
What? Are you actually married?
Wha—
Wh-What are you talking about? We're so in love.
Y-Yes, exactly.
A likely story... If you're really married, then prove it to me.
I mean, we have our marriage license...
That's not what I meant!
Kiss right here and now.
Huh?!
Should be easy if you're actually in love.
Er... But if it's in front of someone...
Just once is fine. Then I'll believe you.
If you can't, I'm going to city hall to have them revoke your marriage license!
This is bad. What should I do?
No, calm down.
I'm Westalis's greatest spy, Twilight.
I've had relations with countless women on my missions.
If a kiss or two will keep my mission safe...
If that's all it takes...
What?!
Loid, wait...
I'm just going to do what I always do, Yor.
Come on.
I mean, we need to so we can keep our fake marriage going, but...
Wha...
What?!
SHOW OFF HOW IN LOVE YOU ARE