Orthes looked at Dimedes.
With his eyelids nearly shut, figuring out where Orthes was gazing was quite the challenge.
But this time, he kindly revealed that he was turning his head to look at Dimedes. It was a deliberate gesture.
“Dimedes, Director.”
Orthes spoke in his usual gentle tone. However, the directors could feel an inexplicable chill in his voice.
“I’m moved by your enthusiasm, Director. Since you’re so determined, I must do my best to return the favor.”
A new image appeared on the hologram projector in the center of the conference room. The board members quickly recognized what the image was showing.
It was a video of one of the cults that Blasphemia was tracking. Followers of Bacchus, the God of Revelry, believed to be worshiped by the Bacardi Traveling Troupe.
“Our first target will be the Bacchus cult at this location.”
“Bacchus? Junkies?”
Dimedes clicked his tongue. Though the blood of druggies maintained some intelligence, even chimeras had their preferences.
He hesitated to touch the murky and tasteless blood tainted by drugs.
“Why are we targeting such insignificant people first?”
There were quite a few who secretly nodded in agreement with Dimedes’ assessment. Considering Orthes’ usual temperament, it wouldn’t be odd for him to storm into the largest cult straight away.
For the sake of Carisia’s goals, he wouldn’t hesitate to act without calculating the risks.
Just look at these recent business trips.
Dimedes heard that the information Orthes brought came from a branch of the information organization operated by the Ten Towers. This was guaranteed by the operatives Arabella and Divius.
However, it wasn’t known that Orthes’ trip was not merely a spy operation to gather information, but a full-scale war to eliminate the head of the Blasphemia branch. Arabella and Divius had kept this quiet.
Still, it was enough to add more weight to the fear the directors felt towards Orthes.
In the common perception, infiltrating the shadow of the Ten Towers was far more dangerous than eradicating a cult that believed in primitive faith.
“Insignificant, hmm. That’s certainly correct.”
“According to the information, there aren’t any who use the power of the old gods… I mean, divine power, right?”
Blasphemia generally categorized the followers of superstition into three tiers.
The simple believers.
The priests who used the powers of the vanished gods.
And the cult leaders who hear the voices of the gods.
It was a form that only captured the broad structure because the rank systems varied wildly among cults as they delved into details like bishops and cardinals.
The Bacchus cult was so fragmented that it was uncertain whether a cult leader even existed. The place Orthes pointed out was estimated to have just one or two priests at most.
Even Blasphemia’s internal evaluation noted, “Not yet worthy of attention.”
“That’s also a valid point.”
Dimedes had a question mark appear on his face. Wasn’t this just busywork that hardly helped Hydra Corporation’s purpose?
“We must be cautious.”
Orthes began to rush things.
“If you go into a big hunt with a rusty arrow, you’ll be in trouble. It’s only natural to check your tools before jumping into something big.”
This was a provocation to prove their ability since he didn’t trust their skills. Dimedes was about to protest but soon dropped it.
Everyone gathered in this place had suffered defeat to Carisia and Orthes.
From the standpoint of the strong duo, it was only natural that they found the abilities of the weak unreliable.
“But it’s probably not as small a hunt as you think. Look at the location again.”
Dimedes looked once more at the hologram. The gathering place where Bacchus’ followers congregated wasn’t inside the city.
It was a hazardous area not protected by the Great Temple. A lawless zone where wanted criminals tended to hide.
“You mean we’ll catch the wanted criminals too?”
“Yes. Specifically, you, Director, should catch them.”
Without letting a single one escape, all of them.
A thicker smile rose on Orthes’ lips as he spoke.
Dimedes felt a greater sense of unease the broader that smile got but quickly brushed it aside. That guy wasn’t his enemy at the moment.
“What about their life or death?”
“The wanted criminals are to be disregarded when it comes to life or death. Just leave a head as proof. As for the followers of Bacchus, please try to bring them alive if possible.”
“…Are you not going with them?”
“The followers of the vanished gods are quick on their feet. I must gather as many as possible before the time runs out for the information.”
This meant he had matters he couldn’t assign to Dimedes just yet. Despite feeling humiliated, he nodded.
“Anyway, I’ve now obtained the permission I need for human hunts. I must act immediately after the meeting ends.”
*
“Why did you do that?”
A nonchalant question.
After the directors left, Carisia threw this at me while I tidied up the place.
“What do you mean?”
“Dimedes. He shouldn’t be that incompetent. Couldn’t you have given him a more difficult task?”
Oh dear. Boss.
If I easily assigned him a tough task and he succeeded, it would be ‘I have good insight’, while if he failed, it would be ‘he was worthless’, thus never enough for ‘good management.’
Of course, I didn’t have the guts to say that directly to Carisia.
“Dimedes is lacking blood and in a state of weakness. If he fails in judgement due to a more challenging assignment at this time, there’s a possibility that his entire organization could be annihilated.”
“Personnel loss?”
Carisia, seemingly understanding, tilted her head and asked.
“Isn’t that irrelevant? Hydra Corporation already has enough combatants, right?”
We can’t handle everything by ourselves. I instinctively erased that impulse from my mind.
“There are two reasons. First, about why we need to wipe out the wanted criminals—”
“To avoid the interest of the Ten Towers, right? If we only capture the followers, the Ten Towers would surely feel something is off.”
Smart as always. I nodded.
“But you mentioned there were two reasons. Is it to accumulate results for the requirements to promote to the Apex Towers or to pass the documentation for the Mage Tower listing?”
“Yes. Specifically for the Mage Tower listing.”
Carisia pondered as she played with her hair near her forehead, tilting her head again.
“Listing, huh? You’re not planning to list our company, are you?”
“Don’t be silly. That would be detrimental to us.”
The Mage Tower listing is a procedure to sell shares of the Mage Tower’s Mage Tower Core. Usually, this is done by connecting the Mage Tower’s Ether Space to that of the Ten Towers.
Mage Towers that undergo this process register their shares of the Mage Tower Core as sale candidates, enabling stock trading of sorts.
If fortune smiles, a sudden investment from the Ten Towers could elevate the status of the entire Mage Tower at once.
But at the same time,
“That would mean getting shackled to the Ten Towers.”
While the Mage Tower’s Core and the Ten Commandments connect, synchronizing the Ether Space bears a different meaning. It would enable direct examination of the research outcomes documented within the Ether Space.
Of course, the Ten Towers won’t demand complete disclosure of secrets to list the Mage Tower.
The size of the Ether Space correlates with the core’s capacity. The obligatory public amount of shares to be registered initially is 30% of the entire core capacity.
Once listed, 30% of the vision contained within the Ether Space will be made public to the Ten Towers and other Mage Towers.
However, one can also avoid sharing data by simply erasing the contents set to be disclosed in advance. In this case, only the pure output and computational power produced by the Mage Tower Core would be sold.
But then, it would stray from the listing’s original purpose of “attracting investors.” This is a trick often used by Mage Towers overflowing with excess mana on occasion.
However, Hydra Corporation’s founding purpose is not wealth and glory.
Our open reasons “for the 11th King” and our true intent “the Fall of the White Light” are matters that can’t be disclosed recklessly.
The reason I broached the topic of listing is—
“By the way, didn’t you once work as a Troubleshooter? Didn’t you have a comrade who hoped to become a Tower Master?”
“…You remember that, huh?”
I didn’t think she’d recall such trivial personal tidbits. Seems Carisia kept a close eye on me.
“That’s right. I do need to meet that friend, but it wouldn’t exactly be proper for me to visit officially.”
In the Troubleshooter industry, I’d likely be considered missing in action or presumed dead. The official survivors of the mission I met with Carisia were zero, with only me left.
“I want to use the listing assessment to make contact.”
“Oh? Are you telling the boss to work for the employee?”
I quickly checked her expression, but a smile crept onto her face. It must have been a joke.
After all, the higher-ups tend to not realize just how devastating their jokes can be.
“He can be a significant asset to help you achieve your goals.”
“Alright then. Do as you wish. Will you still leave the tracking of the wanted criminals to Dimedes?”
“Yes. Given Dimedes’ tendency for unpredictable actions, it’s more appropriate to assign him the task of wiping out those who’s consequences are permissible for death rather than capturing or persuading the followers alive.”
“This means the Divine Investigation Office’s field tasks will still rest solely on your shoulders.”
So, it turned out that way again. I prefer just to receive reports and stamp documents from a safe location rather than being hands-on.
Strangely, the circumstances keep pushing me that way. After establishing automatic hunting for wanted criminals instead of the assigned tasks for Dimedes, there’s no one left to handle on-site for me.
“Well. It will get better little by little. This is familiar work, so it’s fine.”
“Then.”
“How about you come along with me for the next business trip?”
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