Vicada swallowed hard as he looked at Orthes, who had appeared before him.
Although surprised, it was not unexpected. The common belief was that high-ranking Mages had strange tempers, after all.
Wasn’t he the one who had hinted at an impromptu inspection? One could argue that it was more respectable for him to show up boldly and announce that the inspection had begun than the eccentric old folks of the Apex Towers.
They could rummage through the whole troupe for no reason at all without any prior notice, being the whimsical disasters they were.
“Now then, Leader. Could you show us each member’s room?”
“Yes….”
Orthes, setting aside the murderous aura from their first meeting, exhibited a somewhat gentlemanly demeanor. Following the leader’s guidance, he visited the members’ rooms and temporarily sent the leader outside to have one-on-one conversations with the members.
The magical means of interrogation that Vicada had worried about did not seem to surface.
‘Is he so confident that he can tell just by looking? He might have a tracking artifact that records Geryon’s magic power…’
Orthes inspected each room and each person with meticulousness, but he wasn’t intimidating.
“Could you excuse yourself for a moment?”
Once again, this was a summoning spell for a one-on-one interview with the room’s occupant.
“But this guy is just a rookie…”
Despite the timid protest, Orthes’s decision didn’t change. Unable to oppose him any longer, Vicada nodded obediently.
“Hey. Tell him everything as is. You mustn’t hide anything!”
*
Most of the members of the Vicada Traveling Troupe displayed the average magical temperament of the era.
They craved pleasure, were sadistic, and had little regard for life.
Primitive Mages not properly affiliated with a Great Temple often indulged in the powers and ecstasy magic provided, and most of the troupe members were such beings.
And the member standing before me now?
“Uh, what’s this about…?”
He was strikingly the opposite.
His face looked somewhat naive. Short brown hair and a small build gave him a youthful impression.
Along with his well-groomed hair, his flawless skin revealed no scars from classic drug injections or nerve connectors for electronic drugs.
He was a different human altogether compared to the overall atmosphere of the traveling troupe. That sense of incongruity halted my feet.
However, it was hard to confirm the identity of the other person based on just this.
Beneath the seemingly ordinary exterior, toned muscles hinted at rigorous training. It could well be the result of lifestyle muscles developed while running errands for the troupe.
I slightly opened my eyes. Some functions of these unbearably heavy eyelids peeked at the hidden truth.
The flow of magic power hidden beneath the skin was visualized. I regulated my sight to focus on the subject while filtering out the flow of all worldly magic.
I disregarded the magical circuits common among humans. I sought traces of artificial alterations rather than naturally inherited ones.
Though it was challenging to control my erratic vision, finding the remnants of magic was simple.
Underneath those smoothly trained muscles, enhanced top-grade biological modifications shone through every muscle fiber.
It was not low-cost enchanted wear that ruined magical circuits with sloppy implants; it was a premium quality infusion of magic into the fibers as is.
Such expensive modifications were far beyond what could be afforded with a mere rookies’ earnings from a traveling troupe.
‘Wow. This really exists.’
A risk factor I hadn’t divulged to Meconion. It was the unique method of enhancing physical capabilities used by the assassination unit, Blasphemia, which was directly affiliated with the Ten Towers.
‘How should I use this guy?’
Most of the Blasphemia members I had faced until now were assassins who targeted Carisia. They came knowing Carisia’s abilities or appearances, leaving no room for deception.
‘But now the situation is different.’
This guy doesn’t know who I am, nor does he know that Carisia is behind me.
He can be utilized adequately.
I opened my mouth.
*
“Didn’t expect to run into an ally in a place like this.”
“Ally? What…?”
K17, a member of Blasphemia who had been sent out to enlighten the followers of superstition spread throughout the Ten Towers, was taken aback by the sudden words.
The man before her was reportedly a high-ranking member of the newly emerged Great Temple in this small city. He shouldn’t have any ties with Blasphemia, the experts in superstitious eradication.
Could he be an old acquaintance?
That didn’t seem likely. I had heard that he had been the sole survivor in a burnt village before joining Blasphemia. No hometown remained.
“Nice to meet you, Fleshion. I’m L13.”
Fleshion was the title used among Blasphemia members, akin to “ally.” The concise designation, composed solely of numbers and letters, was also a code name assigned by Blasphemia.
K17 shifted her demeanor and pointed a dagger at the one who introduced himself as L13. The interval between pulling out the hidden dagger from her thigh and aiming it at his throat was less than a second.
“This is pretty nostalgic, isn’t it? Our ceremonial armament. A refined anti-magic device from the Silver Iron Tower.”
“Shut up.”
As K17 attempted to press the blade deeper, the man gingerly touched the tip of the blade with his finger, slowly pushing it away.
“I know. That this behavior violates the confidentiality oath. But listen, Fleshion.”
“Do you have any idea how many of our oaths we’ve already violated? You should commit suicide to preserve your honor!”
He smiled, gestured toward a chair in the room, and sat down nonchalantly. He looked so casual that no hint of tension or hostility could be found.
K17 felt a sense of defeat from his unguarded demeanor. How could he appear so relaxed? Such irreverence for the grand mission assigned by the Ten Towers!
“First, you sit down too. I’m using the name Orthes here. What about you?”
“…Niobe.”
“Nice to meet you, Niobe. It seems that comrades are struggling in the outer lands?”
“Struggling? After taking a key position in the Great Temple?”
Niobe glared at Orthes in disbelief. From her perspective, Orthes was a blasphemer, enjoying himself within an outer Great Temple while abandoning the mission of the Ten Towers.
“Listen carefully. I had my own circumstances. Even if you search for my serial number within the Blasphemia division, it won’t come up.”
Orthes mentioned an old story, beginning with an ancient command to investigate Kaicle of the Pythos Tower, who was suspected to be a follower of superstition.
The history of past events flashed through Niobe’s mind. If it was Kaicle…
“That was decades ago?!”
“I came to this city in pursuit of Kaicle, but I failed to lure him out of hiding. Still, isn’t it against our policy to leave a genius who has gone through two of the Ten Towers unmonitored?”
He recounted all the manipulations he performed to draw out Kaicle over several decades. Hacking the Pythos Tower, clandestine support for Leranian and Geryon.
“Who do you think spread the rumors about the Artificial Ten Commandments in this city long ago?”
However, despite all those machinations, Kaicle did not appear.
“I was left with no choice but to submit a return request to headquarters. About a decade ago.”
“During that period…”
Orthes nodded gravely.
“There was a transgression caused by the most fervent follower we were unable to capture.”
Once, the Flash Mage had been designated as Blasphemia’s top priority for eradication.
After years of conflict with Blasphemia, he left a massive scar upon the entire organization and ultimately evaded capture.
It was said that the elite troops of Blasphemia fell in the Desert of Screams, but in the end, no bodies were found.
“The division where I put in the return request was one of those annihilated during that commotion. Of course, there was no reply.”
“So. You continued to carry out your existing mission in Etna City, then?”
“Exactly. Since headquarters gave no response, I thought they simply wanted me to continue with my job. I found out just recently that such a horrific event had transpired.”
The attempts to lure out Kaicle escalated and ended up leading to the establishment of a Great Temple. Although Orthes’s explanation was absurd…
‘It’s persuasive!’
Niobe herself had been among those new recruits since the personnel of Blasphemia had greatly reduced following the incident with the Flash Mage.
Blasphemia had yet to fully recover, and it was common for members performing missions in remote areas to be puzzled when the divisions they reported to vanished.
Though it had been a while, it was not impossible.
“I’ve lost every means to contact headquarters at this point. So I ask you, please contact them on my behalf?”
“Uh, um…”
Niobe hesitated. She too had her own mission to fulfill.
While contemplating, Niobe suddenly realized an odd point.
“Wait a minute. How did you know I’m part of Blasphemia?”
*
He’s asking the most annoying question. What should I say to dodge it for Niobe? After briefly contemplating, I decided to mix some truth with lies.
“I know our organization well. Niobe, didn’t you infiltrate this Vicada Traveling Troupe to verify whether they were followers of Bacchus?”
“…That’s right.”
“If it were Blasphemia, I expected them to dispatch a Fleshion to supervise those who engage in such superstitious activities. And naturally, a Fleshion would maintain a clear mind even amidst such pleasure and decadence.”
It was an answer blended with knowledge of Blasphemia’s operational methods and flattery towards Niobe personally.
While I knew quite a bit about the signs among Blasphemia members, it was possible that due to various circumstances, those signs might have changed.
One couldn’t determine the age of Mages by appearance, but judging from her actions, Niobe clearly fell into the category of inexperienced rookies.
Someone without proper mental conditioning as a rookie. If she were a formal Blasphemia member, she wouldn’t have stood out as such an outsider.
If this human-like character were indeed a Blasphemia agent, surely she would appreciate this answer, satisfying her rookie’s need for recognition.
*
“Mmm, mm!”
Niobe nodded. It was pure joy that was hard to find amidst those who sought drugs every night and satisfied their sadistic desires with androids.
“Yes! I tried hard not to forget my duties as a member of Blasphemia, even while in this pit of decadence. I really worked hard!”
The joy of being recognized by a senior in the same industry dulled Niobe’s senses.
If she had been a seasoned Blasphemia agent, she might have interpreted Orthes’s words—which implied ‘you didn’t disguise yourself properly’—in his phrase, ‘I recognized you for maintaining a clear mind.’
“Impressive! This seems like your first mission…”
“Yes. This is my first one… And someday I’ll become a purifier of the Ten Towers!”
Niobe was merely a newcomer who had just finished her training.
As Orthes observed Niobe’s naive demeanor, he felt confident about his success.
‘Blasphemia is one of the organizations with the most information regarding the Divine. Therefore…’
It was ideal for utilizing her to track Sacred relics.
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