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'How did things end up like this?'
Coming and going without a sound in the restricted area of the Information Guild had become a routine task for Orthes, so much so that Arabella hardly found it unusual anymore.
Though the sight of him slipping through countless surveillance devices with a casual "Would you like some tea?" still gave her chills, she had somewhat gotten used to it.
However, seeing a Mage Tower Master who had disappeared decades ago following him inside was a first for Arabella.
"Good day, Director Arabella. This is Kaicle of the Pythos Tower."
Arabella had two pressing questions dominating her mind.
The first: 'Was Kaicle really inside Mount Etna?'
The second: 'Did Orthes bring him here without killing him?'
The latter question weighed more heavily.
In Orthes' plans, Kaicle was assigned a role similar to Geryon's, to foster competition with Hydra Corporation.
But that was only on paper. There's an old saying that the first thing to die in war is the battle plan, and nothing disappears faster than written plans.
Arabella had anticipated that Kaicle would most likely die.
Mages, by nature, tend to be somewhat mentally twisted. A mage who had meditated under a volcano for decades would likely be even more so.
Moreover, mages detest having their magic taken from them more than death itself.
Would a mage who had devoted decades to perfecting artificial commandments quietly surrender his masterpiece?
He'd sooner blow himself up with his commandments than bow down to Hydra Corporation.
"Does the tea suit your taste?"
And now, that very Kaicle was sipping tea brewed by Orthes, sitting right in front of her.
"What is going on?"
Arabella barely managed to conceal her confusion as she spoke.
Orthes shrugged.
"I need to escort him to Hydra Corporation, but doing it openly would cause quite a ruckus. I believe Director Arabella could guide him to the company discreetly and respectfully."
The word 'believe' carried a sense of unease. Arabella had come to realize that Orthes' true nature lay not in his intimidating presence but in his shameless habit of dumping work on others at whim.
"Then, Director, I'll see you tonight."
Arabella's ominous premonition proved correct. Without giving her a chance to protest, Orthes rose from his seat and left.
Covering her eyes with her left hand, Arabella reflected on the task Orthes had assigned her. Escort him discreetly.
'It's probably to conceal the fact that Kaicle is allied with Hydra Corporation, right?'
In Orthes' scheme, the three towers staged a mock war. A puppet show that would never escalate into a real war.
Kaicle would break Geryon out of captivity, ending his long silence. With Geryon's defeat, Pythos Tower would naturally become Hydra Corporation's next target.
The two towers would form a temporary alliance to check the rising power of Hydra Corporation.
Hydra Corporation, too, would reorganize to respond to the formidable adversaries.
In such a tense atmosphere, increasing armament would seem natural, even to the regular Mage Tower.
However, in reality, all Mage Towers in Etna City were under Hydra Corporation's control. The competition among the three towers would ultimately bolster Hydra Corporation's capabilities.
Through this restructured system, they would accelerate the completion of the artificial commandments. This was the first phase of Orthes' plan.
'I didn't think the artificial commandments, the starting point of the plan, even existed….'
Her prediction was wrong. Arabella actually envisioned the moment the 11th commandment was completed.
A new king.
Shaking her head to snap out of that absurd thought, Arabella turned to Kaicle.
Orthes assigning Kaicle to her rather than another director was an opportunity. A chance to talk to Kaicle and assess whether Hydra Corporation's plan was truly feasible.
Arabella carefully selected the questions to ask Kaicle.
***
It's over. I've really done all I needed to do.
Specific implementation plans for company improvements using Geryon and Kaicle?
I've sketched out the big picture; the rest can be handled by the operational team. While there might be some rash and irresponsible directors, none of them are truly incompetent.
At the very least, they possess the necessary skills to survive as leaders in the underworld. Just bringing their strategists together for brainstorming should yield positive results.
I savored the freedom of being liberated from all duties for the first time in a while. Should I just sleep in bed?
It was as I was contemplating this while tidying my bed that it happened.
『Orthes.』
Damn it.
It was a call from the communication device embedded in my gauntlet. The caller, of course, was.
"Yes, Boss."
Carisia.
***
Bertrand couldn't believe his eyes. Kaicle had been missing from Etna City for decades.
His gigantic figure, almost 4 meters tall, and the three-eyed right mechanical eye. It was exactly as Bertrand remembered Kaicle.
Geryon, dragged in with his arms bound, also chuckled dryly.
"Thought you'd kicked the bucket somewhere…"
Orthes and Carisia, who must have arranged this meeting, hadn't arrived yet. It was unusual, especially considering Carisia, who was always the first to arrive and the last to leave meetings.
Clunk. The door opened. Carisia walked in through the door Orthes had opened.
The eight directors had seen this scene somewhere before.
'Yes. At the founding of Hydra Corporation…'
Arabella's body froze as she recalled the day Carisia gathered the directors and bound them under her control.
"Greetings, everyone."
Even the opening words were the same. Arabella realized the current setup was a deliberate repetition.
"With this, all the directors gathered to achieve our company's first objective are present."
Their president smiled. A thoroughly delighted expression.
"Today, we are here to hear Kaicle's presentation on the artificial commandments. Please, rise."
Kaicle stood as if in a trance. His right eye, with a different peculiarity from Orthes', reflected Carisia.
"You… You all…!"
Orthes raised his index finger from behind Carisia. A smile with a finger to the lips. Kaicle looked around in fear and awe.
Among those present were faces he had encountered in the past and others he had only seen in data collected while secluding under Mount Etna.
The power players of Etna City. The people who moved the city were all gathered in one place under the name Hydra Corporation.
Kaicle slowly began to reveal the essence of the 'artificial commandments' he had created.
The doubts formed while studying at both the Crimson and Silver Towers. The history of trial and error starting from the question, 'What is ascension?'
"If ascension is the process of becoming a god and the commandments are milestones, then I thought I could create another milestone by gathering the traces left by the ancient gods…"
Among the board members listening attentively, Bertrand's expression grew more solemn as Kaicle continued. The decline of the fossil mining industry was ultimately due to Kaicle's ambitions.
And since Carisia, who captured Kaicle, had also placed the artificial commandments at the core of her plans, the future of the Miners' Guild seemed increasingly bleak.
"There's no longer any reason to accumulate the magic of Mount Etna."
It was Orthes' declaration that cut through Bertrand's concerns.
"The artificial commandments created by Kaicle won't improve in performance by simply increasing their magical power. We need to focus on more fundamental aspects."
"Fundamental?"
A woman with green hair adorned with flowers spoke up. Meconion. One of the eight directors and a half-human, half-spirit Alraune hybrid.
The largest drug dealer in Etna City.
"Yes. Didn't Kaicle say at the outset that he intended to create artificial commandments by gathering traces of the gods? There are no more traces of the gods left in this city."
Meconion sensed Orthes' gaze directed at her. It was different from the lustful, filthy stares her customers often gave. It was an utterly businesslike, almost mechanical stare.
"The gods' remnants would be with the gods themselves. We can find clues to divinity from those who believe in the disappeared gods."
Hearing Orthes' words, Meconion anticipated what he would say next.
'So, that's why you sought me out….'
"Director Meconion, among the buyers of the drugs you sell, aren't there followers of the old gods?"
"Yes, there are. Pathetic people who seek the gods' footprints in ecstasy."
"Let's start with them."
Orthes stepped back behind Carisia after finishing his statement.
"You now understand that our company's plan is sufficiently realistic."
Carisia, who had erased her smile at some point, calmly declared.
"If anyone has any objections, please speak up. I will listen."
No one raised their hand. Receiving the silent response, Carisia nodded.
"In that case, we will establish a new department before proceeding with the organizational restructuring. The Divine Investigation Office. It will be directly under the president, and the head will be─"
Orthes.
***
My God.
Until now, I'd been bouncing around in unofficial roles, and now they're setting me up with a proper position to keep me under control?
Was I the one being pressured, not Kaicle?
To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02