I’m an Immigration Officer!

A moment later.
“Well then... I’ll turn it on.”
An attendant in front of the Bureau lit up the crystal ball.

— Vrrrrr.
The Royal Magic Society.
It was a national institution established for the wizards settled in the Cross-Line Kingdom.

Since wizards were quite rare talents, the state chose a strategy to keep them as long as possible, letting them take apprentices to increase their numbers.
In truth, the border and the Magic Society had very few points of contact.
At most, they exchanged simple consultations or formally requested approval for unauthorized item passage.

After all, those absorbed in their own research and magic rarely met those facing the entire world at the border.
So far, communication had only been through written correspondence.
‘What kind of person would the society director be?’

A position so great he was called a sage.
In other words, the kingdom’s top wizard.
With some anticipation, I looked into the crystal ball.

Slowly, a light glowed, revealing a woman’s figure.
She was stretching out in the sunlight, legs propped on the desk, witch’s hat pulled down over her face.
“...”

I fell silent at the completely unexpected sight.
“Uh... Director of the Royal Magic Society. Greetings.”
— Gyaaaah... Who is this...?
Already sleepy despite it being late afternoon.

Her long gray hair was tousled wildly in every direction, and her cluttered desk was filled with all kinds of strange tools.
I checked the nameplate at the front of the desk.
[Royal Magic Society Director, Daika Ren. 1447th Generation.]

‘Well, she is the director at least...’
I was flustered.
No matter how eccentric wizards were, this seemed excessively informal.

After a dry cough, I spoke first.
“I am Nathan Kell, Central Officer, Chief of the Southern Border.”
— Uh, yeah. Hello.

She waved her hand listlessly.
An utterly uninterested voice.
“I contacted you to request cooperation.”

— I’m kinda busy now... Come back later. Or send it in writing.
Who’d have thought someone would call sleeping “busy.”
Wizards hardly care about anything outside their interests.

So much so that people joked they only knew how to breathe, eat, and research magic.
‘No wonder they’re called eccentric.’
But there was one way to handle people like this.

“We confiscated unauthorized artifacts and need advice on them.”
A bait drop.
A classic merchant trick.

Offer exactly what the other party wants.
Wizards went crazy for magical tools.
The effect was immediate.

— What!? Unauthorized artifacts!?!?
She threw off her hat and jumped up, burying her face in the crystal ball.
Her delicate face was mercilessly pressed against the transparent sphere.

“Ugh.”
— Where, where are they!? Where are our babies!?
Her sharp orange eyes scanned everywhere.

When did confiscated goods become her babies?
I subtly turned the crystal ball aside.
Inside lay the boxes confiscated from the smugglers, neatly arranged.

“There’s one box here.”
— Oh my!!!
A frivolous cheer.

The Olfactory Officer and I looked at the Auditory Officer in disbelief.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“...Are all wizards like this?”
More disbelief than disappointment.

The Auditory Officer, a former Magic Society member, shrugged.
“That’s normal~.”
Well, considering he’d been caught drinking on duty, that was believable.

Sadly, it made sense.
Daika put her hat back on and stood up.
— Wait right there. I’m coming right now.

Huh.
She was coming here?
That meant waiting at least a whole day.

I hurriedly said,
“Ah, no, that’s not it. I just have a few requests—”
But it was already too late.

She muttered while touching the wall, broom sprawled on the floor.
[Halley Iba Pasaway. (= Folding space to open a path.)]
— Vwoooosh.

A glowing portal appeared on the wall through the crystal ball.
— Vwoooosh.
Simultaneously, a portal formed on one side of the castle wall where I stood, shimmering with blue mana light.

“!!!”
“Damn it!”
The Olfactory Officer and I wore shocked expressions.
Spatial teleportation—commonly called teleportation magic.

The most difficult spell to cast was unfolding right before our eyes.
— Swoosh.
A hand suddenly shot out of the portal.

And then,
“Where’s my artifact, young one!?”
The highly excited witch Daika Ren appeared from within.

“My god...”
Transferring items alone required months of preparation and condensed mana.
Transferring a person took exponentially more effort.

Yet the director just cast it on the spot.
The reason the Magic Society consumed the largest budget in our country.
Because among all institutions, it produced the most tangible results.

“Where are our babies!?”
And because she was also the most scatterbrained.
“That’s it!”

Her orange eyes, wilder than the werewolf’s, locked onto the prey.
Without pause, she dashed toward the boxes.
“W-Wait, please!”

The Olfactory Officer and I spread our arms wide and barely blocked the space between her and the boxes.
“Young one, step aside! Let me see our babies’ faces!”
Her way of speaking was unusual from the start.

I struggled not to be swept up by her energy as I answered,
“I can’t just hand them over. There are procedures!”
Confiscated items during inspections were handled differently depending on their danger level.

If the danger was none or low, they’d be returned if the violator paid or gave up passing.
Bombs, weapons, or artifacts were confiscated and destroyed.
If smuggled goods became state property, that itself would cause problems, so officially, destruction was proper.

But unofficially handled items left no records.
That was the angle to negotiate from.
“Wait... young one, you said your name was Central Officer, right?”
“Y-Yes, that’s correct.”

But the director ignored my intention and abruptly changed the subject.
She looked me in the eye for a moment, then clapped her hands.
“Aha! You’re the one who tried to refuse departure for the carriage I entrusted to my precious apprentice!”

I recalled a little girl a few days ago, wearing a witch’s hat and pulling a carriage alone.
“It was against regulations to put such strong magic that could knock a person away on contact.”
“It was for safety! And it’s safety magic, so it’s fine. Anyway, step aside. We just want to see our babies for a moment.”
“Ah, no, wait...!”
Chaos.

The topic jumped around wildly without pause as she pressed her points.
‘There’s no stopping her energy!’
Completely headstrong, willful, and commanding—I was dragged along.

Then, our savior appeared.
“Hello, junior~?”
“Huh?”
The director turned sharply at the word “junior.”

The Auditory Officer smiled her typical smile and waved.
“An elf at the border too? This is far from the Great Forest area.”
The Auditory Officer’s movement suddenly froze.

“...Informal speech?”
Her smile slowly faded.
“I heard you, junior, but...”
“Why am I your junior? Oh, are you from the Magic Society?”

She tilted her head.
“That’s strange. We have no elves among our apprentices. What generation are you?”
“Kids these days have no manners.”

The Auditory Officer’s expression grew serious.
“Usually, when you ask generation, it’s polite to say yours first~.”
“Oh, asking the director her generation. That’s new.”
Daika’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

Holding a broom in one hand, she touched her hat’s brim and said,
“I am Daika Ren of the proud 1447th generation. The highest-ranking member and director of the Royal Magic Society. Will you show some manners at last?”
Confident, and with the tone that she must be respected as director.

“Hah.”
The Auditory Officer laughed dismissively.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Integratsil Diorephusa Sen, 801st generation.”

Silence.
For the first time, Daika quieted down.
“L-Lie.”
“If you don’t believe me, take a look at this~.”

The Auditory Officer subtly pulled something from her sleeve.
“Wow, a wand?”
A short, stubby, old staff, unlike Daika’s broom.

Seeing it, Daika was severely flustered and muttered,
“The wand was discontinued 42 years ago due to the World Tree’s weakening...”
The Auditory Officer said nothing, just gave a slight smile.

That meant only one thing.
The truth.
“I greet my senior!”

It was quite a sight to see the formidable Magic Society director snap to attention and salute.
“What generation did you say?”
“1447th!”
“What generation?”
“A worthless 1447th!”
“Well, that’s better to hear.”
She cut down the proud director’s ego in one go.

The Auditory Officer Sen twirled the wand and said,
“Do you know Tobias Lehmann? I hear he developed the broom? I wonder if he’s doing well.”
At that sudden name, Daika’s face went pale.

“He’s passed away... How do you know, or even meet, my master’s master’s master...?”
“I’m a junior~.”
The hierarchy rose dizzyingly high.
“Well, Tobias was old. So Hilla Turing must have passed away too?”
“…The ninth director has already died. D-Do you know him too?”
“I’m a junior~.”

The director’s posture grew increasingly respectful.
The wizarding world rested on two values.
Skill and connections.

For the elf Auditory Officer, the second was overwhelmingly more important than anyone else.
“The society is a mess lately, director junior~. The youngest generation doesn’t even know honorifics, spitting informal speech at seniors. Right?”
“Y-Yes!”
“I heard you’re the senior-most now, director junior~? Then I’m the senior-most, huh?”
“Correct!”
Beside the shouting director, someone whispered softly.

“You know what I mean now, right~?”
“I’ll start with manners training for my apprentices again!”
Wizards were free-spirited.
Unbound by hierarchy or rank, they only cared about their interests.

But that was a story for the outside world.
Among themselves, their structure and hierarchy were stricter than even the harshest army.
Because of their unique priest-disciple relationship.

Meanwhile, the Olfactory Officer listening to their conversation tilted his head.
“Auditory Officer, the director and you are separated by 600 generations...?”
Even if they recruited one generation per month, that’s 600 months.

At least fifty years.
Adding her experience as an immigration officer and her time living in the Great Forest region...
After roughly calculating, the Olfactory Officer exclaimed in awe,

“Wow, she’s even older than our Grand Matron. Sen, you’re basically a grandma—uhp.”
— Crack!
The Auditory Officer darted forward like lightning and clamped the werewolf’s muzzle shut.

“Watch your tongue~. Or you might end up as dog meat today.”
Her voice dropped dangerously low.
The werewolf froze, fur bristling.

She turned her head to me and said,
“Elves and humans count age differently. Don’t forget that, Central Officer.”
Her eyes were fierce.

I said nothing and just nodded quietly.
“Junior~?”
“Daika Ren, 1447th generation!”
The Grand Witch, the society director, answered crisply while standing at attention.

“You’ll cooperate... won’t you?”
“The Royal Magic Society is a cooperating agency of the Immigration Bureau! We will cooperate!”
The wild, chaotic witch was gone.
Only a junior wizard thoroughly tamed by generations and connections remained.

“Good. Rest.”
Only then did Daika relax her posture and sigh.
The Auditory Officer smiled at me.

Meaning I was free to proceed.
“Then... I’ll ask you to start the investigation.”
“Yes! Ah, no, right. Okay, young one.”
Thus, cooperation was successfully secured.

 
****
— Clatter.

“Let’s see, let’s see~.”
With a grin stretching ear to ear, the director opened the box and inspected the artifacts.
“Haaa... the scent of mana and metal... I can’t resist...”

Breathing deeply as if enchanted, she wiggled her hips.
The Olfactory Officer and I exchanged uncomfortable looks.
“I think my expectations of wizards just got shattered.”
“I agree.”

But before long, Daika’s expression grew serious.
“Aha, the defense magic is layered six times. Must be a protective artifact.”
She immediately began analyzing.

“But they reversed the technique. Instead of blocking external forces, it blocks internal mana.”
“Could you tell me ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) what this artifact’s purpose is?”
“To put it simply, it condenses mana and squeezes it tightly into a protective shield.”
At my question, she picked up a fist-sized capsule and said,
“This is a bomb.”
“...Excuse me?”

The atmosphere changed instantly.
The Olfactory Officer instinctively sharpened his claws.
“What did you just say?”
“Look.”

She formed a small sphere with both hands.
“If you focus mana in such an abnormally narrow space and fix it for a long time, it becomes unstable.”
“What do you think happens if suddenly the suppressed mana is released here?”

Then she suddenly spread her arms wide.
“Boom.”
The short shout echoed across the open space.

Though faint, it was enough to send chills down our spines.
“What’s the range?”
“Well, at least from here to...”
The director pointed to the open area’s entrance with her broom.

“To all the way there, I’d say.”
Then she pointed at the entrance office.
About fifty meters.

“That’s assuming one detonates. If they all go off...”
The rest was left unspoken, but clear.
“Those crazy bastards packed such a massive slaughter weapon into a falling-apart carriage?”

The Olfactory Officer muttered in disbelief.
“Good thing we handled it.”
Guilt visibly lifted from his face.

Meanwhile, I recalled why they tried to sneak this in.
“With this, they might be able to hunt a dragon.”
“Dragon? Why bring that up here?”
At another word that piqued her interest, Daika’s eyes sparkled.

“Well...”
The director, having heard a brief rundown, narrowed her eyes and thought deeply.
“Hmm. This alone isn’t enough.”
“Dragon scales are the second hardest after mithril. Mere explosions won’t work.”

“To catch one, you need an enhancer. Something to amplify the energy. For example... certain gems used in blood magic.”
Blood magic. And gems.
‘Blood Diamond.’

What a coincidence.
No, not a coincidence.
“Come to think of it, we recently acquired a banned item: a Blood Diamond.”
“Oh my!? That precious thing!?”

Another frivolous shout burst out.
Ah, please.
With a slightly reddened face, Daika whispered to me.

“Young one, do you always find things like this?”
“Maybe once or twice every three months.”
“Maybe we need to establish a Magic Society branch at the border...”
I disliked that idea.
Before she ran wild again, I spoke first.

“There are two things I request. If you do these, we’ll consider the unauthorized artifacts ‘disposed’ and transfer ownership to the Magic Society.”
“Will do.”
“Please, just listen.”
By now, I was accustomed and continued casually.
“First, complete deactivation of unauthorized artifacts.”
“Sure. That’s easy. We can do it right now.”
“Second, mana suppression and tracking magic installation on the Blood Diamond.”

She almost nodded unconsciously but paused suddenly.
“Tracking? Not just nullifying?”
“Yes. We need to know where this gem goes.”
Since the smuggling was ordered by someone, we must find out who and monitor them. The intelligence bureau will be thrilled.

The answer came crisply.
“Good. We’ll start right away.”
Without hesitation, she agreed.

Her curious orange eyes flashed again as she rushed to the boxes.
“One last question, may I ask?”
“Ah, right.”
Just as she tried to bury her face into the box again, she stopped herself.

“What is it? Hurry up. I’m busy.”
“Talent...”
She paused briefly.
‘No need to reveal the princess is here.’

Quickly, I changed the subject.
“Can power like mana or divine energy be controlled by suppressing emotions?”
As director of the Magic Society, she would know how the forces of this world worked.

‘Then maybe she knows about Talent Emergence too.’
The reply came immediately.
“Who says that? Absolutely not.”
“Excuse me?”
“My young one, the source of all power in humans is emotion.”

She raised her head and said,
“Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure—all fuel for life. If you block them unnaturally, trouble arises.”
“But excessive emotions are also a problem.”
“True. Too much is worse than none. Just think of mana. That’s why there’s mana overflow.”
— Flinch.

Our three expressions stiffened at that.
“But if you exclude them completely, you won’t be able to use any power. Worse...”
She lightly shook the box in front of her.

“It’ll become a bomb that will eventually explode. That’s more dangerous.”
Her words matched exactly what had happened at the castle.
“I see...”
“Everything flows naturally. What matters isn’t stopping it, but choosing the direction.”

Words of a sage.
Something clicked.
I had chosen the wrong direction.

‘Now I understand.’
My method to help Elaine had been misguided.
“Thank you, Director.”

For the first time, I bowed my head in gratitude.
“Curiosity and inquiry are the highest values we pursue at the Magic Society.”
Daika tipped her hat slightly in acknowledgement, then said,

“Hehe... How should I handle our babies...”
With her usual frivolity, she began her work.
Oh, please, not again.

 
****
At the same time, inside the Recovery Room,

Elaine and Erzena stood glaring at each other in a standoff.
“What did you just say, Elaine?”
“Uuuuugh, eaeaah.”
— Crackle.

Golden light and invisible forces pushed against each other with ominous sounds.
“Uaaaaaah...”
Only the Gustatory Officer caught in between held her head, trembling and whimpering.

“Central Officer, please come quickly!!!”
The girl was no match for the two women.