Boldly announcing the start of the ‘World Division Strategy,’ I realized I couldn’t immediately push forward with the plan.
The problem was, I could only start the World Division Strategy after the Ten Towers expeditionary force had departed. If I provoked the furious Steel Ten Towers and an early full-scale war broke out, my future plans would crash into the ground immediately.
For a moment, I turned my gaze away from the World Division Strategy to review my immediate tasks, only to find nothing that absolutely required my hands-on involvement at this point. I felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
After a long time, I decided to inspect Hydra Corporation internally. Following Carisia’s suggestion, I would tell the directors to prepare to fight the White Light because we were going to possess it, rather than saying we were going to destroy the White Light. However, there were several facts I needed to explain to the directors regardless.
Specifically, there was the bad blood between Carisia and Argyrion. Thinking back, it all started when I got caught up in their fight, and here I was, having come this far.
‘For now, the directors probably don’t know that Argyrion considers us an enemy.’
In fact, Argyrion didn’t know that Hydra Corporation antagonized them either—until Nastion returned to them with my name.
It was fortunate that Argyrion didn’t have the capacity for external activities at the moment. They would need to prepare to handle the anger of the Ten Towers.
‘For now, I’ll send out the schedule for a full assembly meeting to the directors, and maybe I should meet with them one by one.’
*
“Bertrand’s snoring away.”
Geryon replied nonchalantly as he yawned.
“Hm? Is Director Bertrand personally involved in something?”
“…You don’t know? From what I hear, that old man is pouring his heart into the ‘work assigned directly by the boss.’ Arabella has also been mobilized on a terrifying scale.”
I could guess what specific task Carisia had personally instructed him about. It must be related to a magic bomb blueprint or something. I felt bad waking someone who was sleeping, so I just conveyed the meeting schedule and left.
When I went to meet Cretone, the scene was similar. It was break time at the demolition site. The sight of him using a rolled-up towel as a pillow was something that one could only pull off if they had adapted to the worksite environment.
‘But does Cretone actually sweat…?’
Generally, someone with an exceedingly modified body shouldn’t need a towel unless something extreme was going on. However, it was perfectly normal to be covered in dust at a demolition site.
After Cretone served coffee and bread to the body modification mages under him, I simply asked him to participate in the next meeting that was scheduled.
“By the way, how shall I tell the director who sent the message?”
“Ah. Just say it was some grinning guy from headquarters going back and forth. I’m the one handling the paperwork for communication among the directors.”
Neuro, Divius, and Meconion were still engaged in the Divine Investigation and hadn’t returned yet. It was quite unexpected for Meconion to embark on external activities outside of Etna City.
He had the kind of image that suggested he would live only in his drug den—maybe there had been some change of heart?
I had already given Kaicle the meeting schedule when I visited Headquarters, so the only person left to meet was the half-human, half-dragon mutant, Taros.
Taros, with bronze scales glimmering, gave me a peculiar look.
“You came to find me directly….”
“Haha. I haven’t been able to meet the directors much since I’ve been going out lately. I’m just meeting with everyone to inform them about the upcoming full assembly meeting.”
“The task that Director Bertrand asked me for is going well.”
Bertrand. That name of the dwarf elder popped up again. It seemed that the scale of the “task” Carisia had requested was quite significant.
…Could it be that preparations to turn the Artificial Ten Commandments into bombs were already underway? Taros was the representative of the mutated beings exposed to magical waste.
In other words, he was one of the people who knew the most about the magical pathways running beneath Etna City. Was something under construction by those magical pathways linked to the Artificial Ten Commandments set up on Mount Etna?
I decided I’d have to ask Carisia about it someday, while I turned the conversation back to more pressing matters. I hadn’t had the chance to interrogate other directors due to timing, but since I had Taros here, I should ask him what he thought about the impending conflict with the Ten Towers.
“That’s a relief then. Taros, what level of esteem do you hold for Hydra Corporation?”
“Not exactly… a clear answer, I suppose?”
Taros seemed deep in thought. Originally, I had thought him similar to Cretone, exhibiting craftiness in combat but lacking in deep wisdom.
My earlier assumption based solely on his appearance from the original work was a miscalculation.
“To be precise, it’s hard to answer. I can only say that Hydra Corporation is capable of designing and executing a bold plan to deceive the Ten Towers.”
His response was sharp, despite claiming uncertainty. Hydra Corporation was indeed already deceiving the Ten Towers.
“So then, when we have no choice but to fight the Ten Towers, do you believe our company will still have the capacity to carry out the plan?”
At my words, Taros’s eyes twitched.
“This meeting…?”
“Similar topic. I wanted to gather the honest opinions of the other directors before the meeting starts and pass them on to the boss.”
I added some various comments. If I merely stated I would relay honest opinions to the boss, how many employees would dare to speak their minds?
“Of course, all feedback is anonymous. You can say whatever you want.”
It was necessary to express that honest opinions would be conveyed ‘anonymously’ to encourage people to muster up their courage.
“If we ignore internal anxieties before a big event, it can lead to even bigger troubles down the line. The boss aims to hear everyone’s opinions first. There’s even a precedent of a large corporation suffering greatly after ignoring various concerns.”
“Is it… the Ten Towers?”
“Argyrion was left unchecked, which ultimately led us to this mess.”
Taros, who had been deep in contemplation, shook his head. He couldn’t organize his thoughts presently but promised to prepare an answer by the meeting.
Just this attitude was sufficient, so I didn’t press him further.
‘The directors don’t think Hydra Corporation has no chance of fighting the Ten Towers.’
Perhaps it was simply because I announced from the outset my intention to create the ‘Artificial Ten Commandments,’ a venture that directly undermined the Ten Towers system. Taros’s reaction to hearing about a war with the Ten Towers was closer to resignation than outright disbelief—more along the lines of ‘what’s done is done.’
And at the same time.
‘While he seems to gauge the odds as low, he doesn’t think there’s a completely zero chance of winning.’
His struggle to clarify his thoughts indicated that. Had the possibility appeared hopeless, he would have outright declared it insanity.
It seemed the directors maintained some confidence in Hydra Corporation’s capabilities, likely due to the Artificial Ten Commandments.
Or perhaps it was due to the dwindling status of the Ten Towers as of late. Maybe the explosive incident in Algoth City had quietly circulated that Carisia was behind its preparation as a magical bomb.
Whatever it might have been, it was significantly more encouraging than I had anticipated. Utilizing the succession battle and revealing parts of the World Division Strategy would likely motivate them to engage more actively in the fight. This alone made my efforts of the day worthwhile.
*
Taros’s hands trembled. He had experienced the fear of Orthes for the first time in earnest.
He had suddenly arrived and specifically pinpointed the phrase ‘internal anxieties.’
Next, he subtly brought up Argyrion, mentioning the current situation they found themselves in, being put in a dire predicament by Argyrion, who had originally been part of the Ten Towers.
Taros recalled a message he had received not long ago.
Among the myriad of magical mutations, the most troublesome was the mutation caused by extra-dimensional erosion. And Argyrion possessed the ability to freely induce and release that extra-dimensional erosion.
The message implied that if anyone could heal the mutations of himself and his family, it would undoubtedly be someone like Argyrion.
It was a hand reaching out for betrayal.
Definitely a message that he had deleted without telling anyone.
How was it even possible?
An inexplicable question continued to invade Taros’s mind.
*
While sorting through Hydra Corporation’s documents, Arabella approached me with a strangely fatigued expression.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Weren’t you supposed to inform the other directors about the meeting schedule and tell them to keep their schedules clear? Why didn’t you do that for me?”
“Ah.”
I hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the truth.
“Director Arabella, where have you been until just now?”
“In the underground strategic planning room of this building.”
“From what I can see, you’ve been living there for several days now… I didn’t think you’d leave until the day of the meeting, so I didn’t mention it separately.”
Arabella let out a silent scream.
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