My tongue is trying to spit out words that my brain hasn’t approved.
Bloop!
“Why the heck are you putting me in this situation?” I was about to reflexively respond, but my reason stopped me. Good job, my reason.
Spin!
The chair slowly turned and stopped right in front of me. Carisia’s heels were subtly swaying.
“Mind sharing your thoughts?”
I was worried I’d end up like that guy who suggested a ridiculous plan without consulting anyone, only to get executed later while tearing up chicken. We’ve spent time together after all.
Thinking about it slowly, it seems like we’re the only two left, having sent everyone else away.
If you were planning to do something to me publicly, you wouldn’t be waiting for now, right?
So the question now isn’t Carisia hinting at her discomfort. It’s just a pure question of curiosity about my thoughts.
…Probably.
“Ah. Do you want to sit down? It must be uncomfortable to stand.”
Anyone who eagerly sits down here is a rookie. If I really sat down, it would lead to remarks like, “Wow, our company is so horizontal that employees can dine with the boss.”
I’m a seasoned subordinate. My time spent under Carisia isn’t just a façade.
“No, boss. How could I dare that?”
“I’ve checked, and there are no eavesdroppers between us.”
“Because it’s between me and you, boss, we must keep it that way.”
Carisia’s eyes sharpened. Was there anything in my last statement that bothered her?
This is why it’s tough to serve a capricious boss. You need to be able to figure out where the dragon’s ire might lie.
“Why is that?”
I was extremely tense as I crafted a plausible reply.
“You might be essential to me, boss. But I should never become essential to you.”
Ding!
“Human obsession is a weakness.”
Orthes had a rare stern expression. It was like a sharp line drawn between him and himself.
Relieved by his steadfastness, yet hoping for some instability. Instead of sighing, Carisia adjusted her sitting posture.
Just like Orthes had told her, a solemn posture befitting a ruler.
“Let’s compare your battle to chess, and as extravagant as it might be, let’s liken me to the queen of the chessboard. The queen is certainly a powerful piece.”
Playing chess against the White Light Tower. It wasn’t a fair match. The White Light Tower had countless pieces, while Carisia only had eight pawns and one queen.
“But you mustn’t get attached to a strong piece. There will be times when you have to sacrifice the queen for the sake of the game.”
Carisia’s right arm, resting on the chair’s armrest, tightened. Orthes’ words were not pleasing to her.
“Protecting one piece at the cost of ruining the game is not only foolish but downright silly.”
Carisia knew well that persuading such a serious Orthes was nearly impossible.
“…Hah.”
She finally sighed. Even after years, that line remained uncrossable.
“Fine. Let’s get back to where we started. First, why did you explain a different plan to the directors?”
Ding!
“Boss, you are a heretic.”
I thought carefully, but it seemed that the casual wording of “between me and you” might have been the issue.
There are those kinds of people. I can approach my subordinates without authority, but when they come close, it’s like, “How dare you!” and then there’s a reprimand.
Unless we’re wandering the desert alone like the old days, we have to keep up appearances.
She may pretend not to like it, but she enjoys being treated well.
“A heretic? That’s a term suited for zealots who believe in vanished gods.”
“Isn’t that exactly the case? The Mage King is the god of mages, and the Ten Commandments are the relics he left behind. The obsession with Ascension among mages resembles a yearning for religious salvation.”
Carisia twisted her lips into a crooked smile. It was a sneer mixed with hatred and rage directed at mages, specifically the White Light Tower.
“In this world, the Ten Commandments are the guidelines for salvation. Most mages aim to connect with the Ten Commandments even once in their lifetime. Under such circumstances, your plan is far too shocking.”
“Are you worried that the directors might snitch on the White Light Tower?”
I nodded. Carisia shook her head as if it were baseless concern.
“Boss, secrets only weaken when shared.”
“Unless it’s under the purpose of creating a loyal faction that shares the secret?”
Carisia looked at me with a mischievous expression. But I could answer without hesitation.
“It’s premature.”
Both Carisia and I are the weird ones. As far as I know, no mage in this world, aside from Carisia, is even considering the destruction of the Ten Commandments.
“Your wish lies beyond what the directors can grasp, and what they can’t understand tends to be worshipped or feared.”
Most mages wouldn’t even comprehend the thought of destroying the Ten Commandments. Not monopolizing them or challenging the Ascension with the knowledge within, but just breaking them?
“And the directors are likely to fear your true intention.”
Any of the directors worried that the clue to Ascension might vanish forever could easily snitch to the Apex Towers.
The desire for the Ten Commandments and the obsession with Ascension are that strong. Even the most jaded mage in the Underworld can’t entirely give up that yearning.
“It’s better to subtly advance the plan while hinting at some plausible alternative goal to the directors.”
“Okay. That’s reasonable. I also think the puppet show using Geryon and Kaicle has its merits. But the Artificial Ten Commandments…”
Is she going to question their existence? An unexpected wave of tension made my neck stiffen.
If Carisia is starting to doubt their existence, I’ll have nothing to do but beg with tears to believe me.
“Do we really have to use them like the Ten Commandments?”
Fortunately, Carisia didn’t seem to doubt their existence at all. After all, in the original story I knew, the Artificial Ten Commandments ended up in her hands.
She might have felt the ripple of the Artificial Ten Commandments the moment she arrived in this city.
“Like the Ten Commandments? Do you have any other uses in mind?”
“Well, even if the magic formula inscribed on the Artificial Ten Commandments is likely just the knowledge of Kaicle and his tower, the magic power would be significant, wouldn’t it?”
A giant bomb terror that the original character Baek Mung had pulled off flashed through my mind.
No way.
“If we made it into a magic bomb and threw it at the White Light Tower─”
OMG! You really are your true self, aren’t you?
“…I will also consider that method of utilization. But, boss, the Artificial Ten Commandments could become objects of desire for the directors.”
If I’ve created such a thing, I’m worried they might use it for a suicide bombing. If by any chance, due to mismanagement, Etna City were to disappear, wouldn’t most of my future plans be ruined?
“Wouldn’t this be a brand new clue to Ascension that’s never existed before? The essence might be different, but it’s crucial to make the directors think it’s that way.”
Let’s redirect my thoughts away from the bomb for now. Please don’t, not us.
Ding!
“Feed their desires, and give a little here and there to make them crave more.”
Carisia sometimes thought Orthes’ words resembled those of a teacher.
In fact, she had spent most of her time together with Orthes since the moment she escaped the laboratory of the White Light Tower.
“If you act as if you attach great significance to the Artificial Ten Commandments, you can easily guide the directors’ actions.”
The knowledge she could acquire inside the laboratory was limited only to magic-related fields.
Of course, there were faint memories of learning something different in the hazy past before she was caught in the lab.
However, those memories were crushed under the information of the Ten Commandments implanted by the White Light Tower.
The only remnants were memories as ephemeral as ashes.
In her lost past, the one who informed Carisia of anything beyond magic was indeed Orthes.
“If we make them believe that the lie of becoming a new king is the biggest secret of Hydra Corporation.”
Her loyal subordinate, her mentor, smiled.
“Then no one will pay attention to the real secret.”
She dismantles the name of White Light, both the Ten Commandments and the tower.
She listened with satisfaction to the blueprint of future revenge whispered by her most reliable ally.
Simultaneously, she became aware of one problem.
From the very beginning of their conversation, Orthes’ advice to “be willing to sacrifice pieces” left an uncomfortable feeling in Carisia.
Ding!
“It seems you have cleared up your curious points. May I go up now?”
I need to think of how to meet Kaicle quickly.
Now that Carisia isn’t questioning anything, I must wrap up my plan quickly. I need to appear as if I could casually brush off any surprise inspections.
“Yes. Please go ahead.”
“What about you, boss?”
“I have some things to think about.”
For some reason, Carisia’s gaze on my face feels scorching. I give a natural farewell before leaving the meeting room.
And in full sprint, I head to my room. First, I need to clean up and gather my thoughts.
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