The situation was roughly being sorted out. The Blasphemia agents deployed to Elysion swiftly eliminated the Hosts infected by Silver Threads and began tracking along the Mana Wavelength connected to the Silver Threads.
Soon, another mage from Argyrion would be killed.
Lampades looked around.
Orthes was talking to the Young Mage from the Emergency Rescue Team. The boss of Hydra Corporation seemed to be comforting Kine, who was said to be their Corporate Scholarship Student.
Once this incident was resolved, it seemed unlikely that Lampades would have a chance to talk one-on-one with Carisia. Observing Orthes’s movements, Lampades solidified his resolve.
“If I’m going to say something, it’s now or never…!”
He might get caught by Orthes. No, he likely would.
But he couldn’t ignore someone who was being played in Orthes’s faceless grip.
Especially if that person was becoming a second Orthes.
Taking a deep breath, Lampades stepped toward Carisia.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Carisia turned her head.
“Master Lampades, have you reached a decision about the partnership proposal?”
“No, that’s not it. What I want to say is…”
Lampades looked at Kine, the Corporate Scholarship Student for Hydra Corporation. A girl who probably volunteered to be bait under Orthes’s orders.
“If she’s that proactive, I should assume she’s a follower of Orthes. She must be deep in his brainwashing.”
Carisia sensed Lampades’s gaze. A look concerned about Kine.
“Oh. Is it a business confidentiality issue that a student shouldn’t hear?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I’m sorry, Kine. Could you step aside for a moment?”
Kine tilted her head once and walked toward an empty area. Astraphe could be seen approaching Kine. They seemed to want to talk as aspiring applicants for Museion.
Lampades felt a flicker of unease. Could he allow Kine, who might be Orthes’s lackey, to be with Astraphe?
While contemplating, Lampades shook his head. He had to focus on the conversation now.
Turning his head back to Carisia, Lampades felt the surroundings become eerily quiet.
The noise that had been echoed from everywhere in the stock review room was completely eliminated. It was a high-level soundproofing barrier. More surprisingly, he hadn’t sensed any premonitions of this level of magic.
“I can understand why Orthes wants this. A mage so powerful that it’s hard to comprehend where he even came from.”
“So, what is it that you want to discuss?”
The moment Lampades opened his mouth, the tension surged. No matter how determined he was, hesitation always emerged at the moment of execution.
“Orthes is…”
He squeezed his eyes shut to look away from the fear.
*
“He is not the good person you think he is.”
What was he saying? Carisia tried to suppress an exasperated laugh.
Truthfully, it was harder to hold back a scream when stabbed by a Blasphemia agent than to hear this.
The words of the Dark Elf Tower Master, gripped with all his courage, created no ripple in Carisia’s heart.
No. A suspicion bloomed within Carisia.
“Orthes, what is your true relationship with others?”
It was a question not about Orthes’s humanity but about his social ties.
“The person you introduced proudly as a friend seems to think you’re quite untrustworthy.”
Seeing Carisia’s silence, Lampades gently opened his eyes.
“It’s true. If you have the chance, ask the troubleshooters at the extra-dimensional frontlines about the faceless Orthes. Orthes is…”
“I know.”
“What?”
A playful smile appeared on Carisia’s lips. Lampades said Orthes was not a ‘good’ person.
However, Carisia’s thoughts were fixed on the part that he wasn’t a good ‘person.’
The Guardian of the Relic in Phoibos’s Temple. What did Orthes declare to the ancient priest’s spirit?
“Priest, you have completed your task. Your destined fate ends here, so return to your peaceful slumber.”
To Orthes’s declaration, the ghostly priest responded, “Has the destiny we saw already vanished?!”
Those among humans who could see destiny farthest were the Priests of Phoibos, the prophets.
Who among mortals could discuss the end of destiny with one who had been a leader of such prophets?
A being capable of twisting the fate predicted by mortals.
Among the fallen gods’ cult, two titles that Blasphemia particularly guarded against came to mind. One was the Pope. The other…
With half sincerity and half jokingly, Carisia replied.
“Orthes may not be the kind of person I think he is. But.”
No matter what his identity was, Carisia’s choice hadn’t changed.
“He’s the person I chose.”
Orthes chose Carisia, and Carisia chose Orthes.
*
After finishing the conversation with Niobe, she turned to see Lampades walking toward Carisia with a confused expression.
Had he signed a fraudulent contract while listening to the business partnership terms?
Lampades wasn’t such a foolish friend, but I knew all too well about Carisia’s chilling skill. Still, he was a friend. If Lampades got pinned, I’d at least have loyalty to plead with the boss.
As I approached Lampades to ask what was going on, he flinched and hunched his shoulders.
“Orthes?”
“Yes. What did you discuss with Carisia?”
“No, it’s just…”
He stumbled over his words, unable to speak. Did he really mess up the contract?
“If there’s something you can’t say, please tell me. If it’s related to the boss—”
“She said you’re a shady person.”
Carisia came with her splendid white hair flowing. I laughed off her joke lightly.
“Shady? I always do my best for the boss.”
“You were rampaging at the extra-dimensional frontlines, right?”
I guess she hadn’t seen my face properly. They had been discussing my past together.
Carisia didn’t know all the stories from my time at the extra-dimensional front; she must have been curious.
Since I hadn’t told her everything back then, had Carisia used the contract conditions as bait to ask for my past?
I subtly shook my head at Lampades.
“What you heard from the boss is a bit exaggerated. Isn’t that what friends do?”
The moment I threw a light joke to dilute my past, static crackled through Elysion.
*
The explosion heard from the loudspeaker was evidence of combat. Amidst the resonating sounds of magic clashing, human cries became audible.
“Drop the Magic Imprint Drive and shut down the power to the Enchantware!”
“Ha. Foolish fools. The Ten Towers’ brainwashing blinds your eyes.”
It seemed the battle intensified, as the static that intertwined with the loudspeaker worsened. Breathing heavily was audible. It felt like the Argyrion mage was cornered.
“I’ve done enough. Khehe…”
The mage whispered, and a heavy breath was heard.
“Oh Ten Towers! Our Argyrion has already sown the seeds of blessing spread in Elysion to the entire world! Anyone wishing for new eyes and ears, seek the Silver Threads for the truth!”
“Shut down the broadcast…?! Cut it off now!”
“For truth and the Divine!”
An unprecedented loud explosion rang out. The sound wasn’t carried through the loudspeaker. It spread across Elysion, threatening to shatter eardrums.
With flames sweeping through a building in the Elysion cityscape.
*
The last words of the Argyrion mage were eerily similar to Orthes’s prophecy.
Kine examined Orthes’s expression. He still had a smiling face.
So there was no movement from his usual expression. That unchanging demeanor was proof that Orthes did not feel any special joy.
Shouldn’t one feel proud after successfully making such precise predictions, whether it was true foresight or logical deduction?
It felt as if he calmly accepted that “what is meant to happen will happen.”
In that chilly calmness, Kine recalled the conversation she had with Carisia before being sent away due to Lampades.
“Is there really an artifact that shows the future?”
“Did Orthes mention it? Since there are many ears around, let’s not speak specifically.”
Kine looked up at Carisia with a questioning expression. Carisia nodded.
“I have it.”
Then it meant Orthes hadn’t borrowed the power of the relic when making prophecies to Astraphe’s priest.
“How did you get it?”
“I proved my qualification at the place where it had been kept since long ago?”
“…Who had the qualification?”
“That would be Orthes.”
So, let’s summarize the situation.
The person who proved his qualifications and became the rightful owner of the relic in Phoibos’s Temple.
Having foretold the future that would happen as it is.
And yet…
“He says he’s not a prophet?”
“No, there’s a limit to nonsense…”
If he’s not a prophet, then what on earth is he?
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