Orthes’s work distribution was quite reasonable. His skill in selecting suitable opponents according to the abilities of the subordinates under the Directors was anything but ordinary.
Of course, the workload was anything but ordinary.
The difficulty of capturing each wanted criminal was not particularly high. The required number of employees was calculated precisely according to the criminals’ rankings, and as long as the stated number of personnel was dispatched, success was usually guaranteed.
On a normal day, the Directors would have leisurely commanded their subordinates to apprehend criminals. Talented mages were a rarity among criminals.
Economic crime? A mage supported by the Mage Tower rarely faced struggles for a living unless they dabbled in gambling.
Violent crimes like murder? A talented mage could usually use the power of their Mage Tower to cover up most crimes committed within its influence.
Most wanted criminals were mediocre mages who lacked support from the Mage Tower. Criminals who fell into the category of special risk group would be taken down directly by Orthes, making the capture of criminals essentially just simple labor.
However, the time limit was a problem.
Orthes required results by the deadline for submitting the listing application. The daily capture quota he established pushed the organization’s capabilities to the maximum labor intensity while maintaining its overall strength.
“Ha, haha…”
Arabella finally cheered as the long hours of labor and endurance came to an end.
In reality, she didn’t have the energy to cheer, and she felt a little happy internally.
‘The paperwork is done, and now the Boss and Orthes are heading to Elysion for the practical exam in person…’
The two people in this company who loved to work the most were gone.
For a while, there was freedom.
*
The day after meeting all the document requirements for the Mage Tower’s listing examination, Carisia laid out a chilling prophecy.
“The Divine Investigation Office has discovered one fact regarding the death of Dimedes.”
Divius gasped lowly. It must have been about that silver lodged in Sikton’s brain.
She clearly remembered saying she’d inform the Directors after consulting with the Boss. This was the moment a secret shared only between the Boss and Orthes was revealed to the Directors.
“The Ten Towers is waging a civil war for reasons unknown.”
It was unexpected news for Arabella, who held onto the last words of Nardanit, a Secret Inspector for Blasphemia.
‘It’s not just some branch manager’s embezzlement?’
Something was happening. A commotion shaking the established hierarchy of the Ten Towers.
It was exceedingly rare for another faction to rise up and take the names of the Ten Commandments and Ten Towers from the established schools of thought.
But a civil war within an organization belonging to the Ten Towers? Not between those trying to ascend the Ten Towers and those trying to hold their position, but among the organizations under the Ten Towers itself?
This was an unprecedented occurrence in Arabella’s database.
“Their rebellious faction will actively sabotage to hide their base. It’s a certainty that a major incident will occur during the listing examination, and sporadic terror attacks are expected from various places.”
Cretone’s complexion turned ashen. More than half of the new constructions in Etna City had his touch.
If terror broke out in Etna City and buildings were destroyed, he would be the one deploying personnel to rebuild.
The thought that he might have to reconstruct all his past buildings from scratch made Cretone’s vision go white.
“Etna City is relatively a remote area, so the likelihood of their terror reaching there is low, but please prepare as much as possible.”
*
Carisia rented out the entire first-class compartment of the Magic Engine Train heading to Elysion.
This was partly to avoid the hustle and bustle and partly because there was a need for somewhat secretive conversation.
“Kine.”
“Yeah.”
Orthes felt a degree of disappointment as he looked at Kine, who was closely sticking by Carisia instead of him.
‘Come to think of it, I was the one who saved her, yet she seems strangely cautious…’
Kine would have found this thought absurd if she had heard it.
“As I mentioned before, I will be acting separately from the Boss at the listing examination reception. After you finish your entrance exam registration, please return to the Boss.”
There was no need to explain why she had to stick with Carisia. They had explained plenty before boarding the train, and even though an entire compartment was rented out, there was still a clear risk that the conversation could leak to the Ten Towers.
“And, is the control of ‘power’ going well?”
Kine nodded. She spread both of her left hands wide. The left mechanical hand had a distinct scent of grapes.
On the opposite side, a dark and faint magic power swirled up. Despite the mutually exclusive nature of magic power and divine power, Kine had successfully operated both simultaneously. This was proof of her excellent mana control.
Orthes found it hard to understand the current situation.
‘This is strange. She should have completely lost her divine power after resenting Bacchus.’
Unless Carisia’s past was especially twisted in a way that didn’t make her lose her former side, Orthes had already defeated Sikton too late.
Everyone from the Bacchus Cult had already fallen into a state of brain death. The resentment towards Bacchus should have been no different from that in the original story.
After pondering for a moment, Orthes’s conclusion was simple. It was a positive change, so there was no need to worry too much. Not resenting Bacchus meant Kine’s despair was less compared to the original situation.
‘It must be because there’s an adult around. I can’t rely entirely on her, but it must be better than being alone.’
Orthes did not realize that Kine prayed for the peace of the family captured by Bacchus every day.
More specifically, she was praying for the eternal rest of the family that Orthes had taken hostage.
*
Elysion. A paradise for mages.
Through the window of the Magic Engine Train, the breathtaking scenery came into view. The gigantic spire located in the center was the very tower used by the Mage King during his ascension challenge.
The dome-shaped veil covering the city was a result of the residual magic power gathering in Elysion from the Ten Commandments.
The ten strands of magic power with different attributes clashed and canceled each other out, returning to pure mana.
It was a symbolic entity that separated the insides and outsides of Elysion, wrapped in a veil of magic power containing every attribute evenly.
Kine felt a choking sensation as the Magic Engine Train approached Elysion.
It was due to the mana that filled the space. This area had a mana density far thicker than ordinary extra-dimensional contaminated zones. The excess mana made it feel as if she were underwater.
Carisia controlled the mana around Kine, reducing its density to a manageable level. She pointed to the distant horizon to help the gasping Kine calm down.
“Look there. Breathe slowly.”
The tips of Carisia’s fingers were not pointing towards the interior of Elysion, blocked by a thick barrier. She was pointing towards the vast open fields of Elysion in the distance.
There was lush greenery.
Not a bizarre plain distorted by an extra-dimensional influence.
Not a cursed field where bubbling extra-dimensional reflections seeped in.
Just as it was, there was a rich land with dense green vegetation growing.
The vegetation illuminated by sunlight sparkled in different shades of green. The overlapping and intertwining shadows cast by leaves gleaming in the sun changed the colors every moment.
For the first time, Kine realized how varied the ‘green’ hues could be.
Further away, golden wheat fields swayed in the wind, performing a performance. Kine, who had spent her whole life being chased by the Ten Towers and roaming the outside world, had never seen a landscape like this.
The scenery continued to stretch to the horizon. It looked as if it were an emerald inlaid with gold, Kine thought.
It was the fresh visage of nature she’d only heard about in old tales.
“This is a view you can only see in Elysion. While cultivating crops is possible anywhere within the influence of the Mage Tower, there’s nowhere else that can cultivate on such a large scale except for the fields in Elysion.”
All of that landscape belonged to the Ten Towers.
Kine recalled the wandering life of the Bacchus Cult. Though she wouldn’t die as she could use divine power, her life as one unable to settle in a city was fundamentally harsh.
Clunk! The Magic Engine Train came to a halt.
Orthes stood up and opened the door. Carisia walked towards the open door. Kine, who had been reminiscing for a moment, shook her head once and hurried after them.
*
There were no incidents on the way to the Mage Tower’s listing examination. Since the venue was what it was, there was too much to see even with eyes closed, leading to a slight headache, but nothing too serious.
“Well then, I’ll look for my friend.”
“By the way, I haven’t heard about your friend. What kind of person are they? Male or female?”
“He’s a guy. Quite an oddly-shaped dark elf. He cut off his ears and had antenna-like devices implanted instead—”
“…Is that him?”
The place Carisia pointed out had a dark elf with a horizontal scar across his nose. His bronze skin and silver hair were typical of dark elves, but instead of the long ears characteristic of elves, he had blade-like antennas.
He seemed relieved as if he had just solved some urgent matter.
“Wow.”
I let out a low gasp.
We met right away.
*
Lampades thought.
‘Not here. Not here. Not here. Thank goodness…’
What he said that day was just a whim. There was no way that guy would come all the way to Elysion to meet him.
He probably wouldn’t be checking every Mage Tower listed for that examination either.
There was no way he would ever meet that person again in his lifetime.
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