“So, Blasphemia is having quite a dilemma. We’ve got solid external evidence, but nothing that ties in any insiders.”
Niobe led me to a private room in a nearby restaurant. She seemed quite familiar with the form of using magical tools to check for wiretaps inside the restaurant.
‘Have her practical skills and rank risen in just a few days?’
She’s quite the talent. If she weren’t part of Blasphemia, I might have seriously considered trying to recruit her.
I recalled the vacant position at Hydra Corporation. A seat that has been empty since Dimedes’s sudden death.
Honestly, the vacancy of a director isn’t a big deal. However, since that director vanished along with his entire organization, the loss of a significant number of personnel became a bit of an issue.
‘Hah. With her high rank in Blasphemia, there should be quite a few underlings in the chain of command. If we could snatch that entire line, it could stand in for Dimedes and his Chimera organization.’
But that was just a fantasy. Unless Blasphemia crumbles entirely, the loyalty of their agents won’t waver.
‘Unless Argyrion somehow feeds on extra-dimensional water…’
Even if they get affected by extra-dimensional forces, the probability of them becoming the kind of talent I want is low. No, it’s non-existent.
The strong sense of loyalty towards the Ten Towers would simply convert into loyalty towards extra-dimensional entities. Argyrion and Blasphemia may differ in their fanatical aspects, but the absolute value remains the same.
“Senpai, are you listening?”
Did I reveal that I was lost in thought? I always have to squint, so unless someone has excellent observation skills, they wouldn’t even notice if I doze off.
I adjusted my evaluation of Niobe’s keen eye and replied.
“Haha. Of course. So, it seems it’s a problem that the Amimone Tower isn’t showing its tail, right?”
“Oh, I thought you were dozing off.”
My multitasking abilities have been on an upward trend thanks to my troubleshooter lifestyle and my escape with Carisia.
If I were a mage, this skill would be incredibly useful in casting multiple spells, but since I lack magic power, I can only use it to listen to the briefing while doing other things.
“Let’s summarize. First, the accusations against the Argos agents from Amimone Tower yield no clear evidence of guilt after review.”
“We got a tip-off, isolated them, and questioned them, but nothing came up. With no solid evidence, and Argos backing them, we can’t resort to physical means.”
It was expected that no evidence would surface. Our actions had initially been to pin them down with the identity of L13.
“If we continue like this, we’d inevitably get swept up in Argos’s backlash, but at least the discovery of a pile of relics in Algoth City brings us back to square one.”
“Isn’t that still a bit weak to apply treason charges to the entire tower? It looks like a pretty lethal piece of evidence to me.”
“Well, since the Amimone Tower is an Apex Tower, the argument that ‘the followers of superstition plotted to isolate the Apex Tower from the magical society’ seems to work in their favor.”
“Hmmm…”
I stroked my chin. Amimone Tower was defending itself more calmly than I expected. Maybe this was just the formal political maneuvering that a prestigious Apex Tower would excel at over centuries.
But now that I was involved, the narrative would change.
“Alright. For now, let’s calmly wait. There are limits to enduring while they tirelessly try to erase internal traces. If Amimone Tower really is harboring a traitor, they’ll contact Argyrion during a crucial moment to get directions on how to act.”
“That communication signal mentioned in the report? They probably don’t know we’ve picked up on it, so I guess they’ll eventually try to reach out.”
Nodding, Niobe let out a big sigh.
“But as time goes by without any evidence, we’re at a disadvantage.”
“Is it still because of Argos?”
“Yeah. Right now, Algoth City is like the eye of the storm. Our Blasphemia and Argos are silently facing off over Amimone Tower, but the moment one side shows a weakness, an unforgiving gale will blow their way.”
You could tell she had some experience. I pretended to smile warmly while nodding along.
“I understand your feelings, but impatience tends to lead to mistakes. The other side is likely anxious too, so it’s a matter of who makes the first mistake.”
I emptied my teacup and continued speaking. Leaving spaces between my words, I presented myself as an experienced organizational senior.
“Let’s wait patiently.”
Tonight, I would activate Adoosiam’s core.
*
Danao was feeling on the brink. Both Blasphemia and Argos were locked in a tension-filled standoff without a hint of retreat.
Blasphemia was intent on investigating the entire Amimone Tower, while Argos was firmly obstructing anything related to internal matters of the magical society.
Even though the balance of power had leaned a bit in Blasphemia’s favor due to the unexpectedly discovered relics in Algoth City, it seemed they could buy some time for now.
Danao had no intention of wasting this precious time. He gathered the Argos agents from Amimone Tower and started a meeting.
“What on earth have you been doing?!”
The opening sounded more like a venting session than a meeting.
“If you’re going to make enemies, you need to clean up after yourself properly. The fact that such an elaborate scheme was possible means there’s a proper force backing behind it, not just some failed remnants. Did you make any enemies while working within Argos?”
What shocked Danao the most was the relics buried in Algoth City without him even knowing. Bursting through the tower’s defenses while leaving no trace of clothing in the surveillance networks scattered throughout the city—that wasn’t something an ordinary mage could do.
Even if he checked all the CCTV records, the scene of the burial never appeared, proving the exceptional skills of the individual who buried the relics.
…Or perhaps, the CCTV’s manager. There were indications that the Amimone Tower was colluding with the one who buried the relics.
Blasphemia pressed Danao on these suspicions. It was absurd that such a high-level magic skill could successfully execute such a far-fetched plot, but polished political maneuvering pointed all circumstantial evidence towards a traitor in Amimone Tower.
With gritted teeth, Danao scanned the room once more.
“Speak up! Did someone pack too much in their back pocket? Did the one who was executed turn out to be the illegitimate child of some Tower Master? If you have any hints, share them!”
But only silence lingered. With a deep sigh, Danao gestured.
A silent command for everyone to leave. The mages of Amimone slowly exited the Tower Master’s office.
“Which one of you… what reason could you possibly have to start this mess?”
Danao growled in confusion, failing to deduce the opportunity cost of ‘destroying Amimone Tower.’
At that moment, Golgopf, one of the expelled Argos agents, was thinking.
‘Shouldn’t I awaken the brothers of the tower to the Divine?’
He looked around with deep-set eyes. Surely, other Argos agents—actually regular staff from Argos but mostly viewing themselves as emissaries from their original tower because they were recommended to Argos—may have been contacted by Argyrion too.
The shocking truth of the origin that Argyrion revealed made him feel ashamed of living under the orders of the Ten Towers.
‘If I could contact others who were moved by Argyrion’s truth and the Divine, things would get easier…’
He contemplated whether to inform Danao of the truth of the origin to bring him into the fold, but shook his head.
‘That guy is too corrupted.’
A fat pig, enjoying the honeyed water created by the order of the Ten Towers. Even if I told such a person the truth, he would dismiss it, saying, ‘What does that mean to me?’
He petted his mana proxy. He could easily input the secret code to send a support request to Argyrion at any moment. But now wasn’t the time.
He needed to meet up with his comrades who were hiding like him, join forces, eliminate Danao, and then send a support request to seize all the vision of Amimone Tower for himself.
Golgopf pondered deeply, searching for a way to swiftly achieve a transfer of power.
As Danao groaned under stress and Golgopf plotted with ambition, Orthes was groggily waking up and breaking through Amimone Tower’s surveillance.
In a vacant room within Amimone Tower where no eyes were present, Orthes pulled out the box containing Adoosiam’s core.
The box, which had been isolating Adoosiam from the outside, opened.
Click.
The sound was that of Danao’s and Golgopf’s desperate efforts unraveling.
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