The foundation pushes its members into the brink of disaster through ‘orders.’
It’s rare for any organization to not harbor deep resentment against their superiors, but the Wahyhiemhai Foundation falls into the category of exceptions.
In fact, there were plenty of individuals who would love to find the headquarters and kill the one issuing the orders, if only they could.
“Recently, there have been suspicious movements within the lower organizations.”
“That’s a simple problem.”
The director had long since prepared countermeasures for this.
“We’ll make the path to the headquarters difficult. Let’s scatter the [Key Ritual] among the branches, and when a certain number of them gather, we’ll allow the door to open.”
The secretary office head trembled at the director’s malignity.
“Are you planning to enforce collective punishment?”
“Of course. If the troops fostered and nurtured by the foundation wield the blade against us, they must be prepared to be cut by it as well. I quite like the term fairness.”
“…Too much blood will be shed.”
“I don’t care. Even if we lose four branches, it’s less damage than what would befall humanity if the foundation collapses.”
“What if an accident occurs and the rituals are lost?”
“If the lost rituals were used to open the ‘door’ leading to the headquarters, that branch will face total extermination without exception.”
“Regardless of their contributions or their willingness to sacrifice a leader’s head, the loyalty within the organization will collapse if there are no exceptions.”
To bring about the foundation’s collapse, one must not oppose the treacherous laws that invite such a crisis.
But the secretary office head understood.
He knew just how formidable the director was.
Branch forces?
Foundation troops?
Those could always be replaced.
The key rituals are traps.
They exist for the director’s enjoyment, bait thrown to the potential traitors.
Thus, the secretary office head spared no admonitions, and the previous secretary office head was executed before his eyes.
Next, it could be him.
A hasty betrayal meant certain death.
The secretary office head crouched for a long time.
“This information is a trap. Don’t be mistaken, it’s not the decisive intel the Dark Trading Company desires. If you’re not well-prepared, you’ll likely suffer bloodshed instead.”
“That information was quite helpful. However, we have no choice but to take risks. I appreciate the advice, yet we’re left with no other option.”
“…I wish you good fortune.”
Though the secretary office head had let countless opportunities for betrayal slip by while crouching, he finally found his chance.
Jezel of the Dark Trading Company.
The second-in-command of the underworld.
A frighteningly astute young man was seeking his help.
After much deliberation, the secretary office head decided to join forces.
‘Right now, when the foundation’s power is at its weakest, and the ritual for the magical amplification weapon is tampered with, losing both its non-fair flight and new weapon. This is the only opportunity.’
If delayed any longer, no one could stop the director.
At the point where he acquires strength to genuinely target that fearsome Dragon Principal, no human on this earth could kill the director.
The secretary office head prayed.
That Jezelt would succeed.
That he would see the end before the director, who’d obtained knowledge from another world, became uncontrollably powerful.
As if responding to his prayer, good news followed.
– A plan to dominate the famous guests invited to a foundation event was turned against. The moment they signed the contract obtained from the trading company, they lost their freedom until the contribution for [Foundation Destruction] was achieved.
Plans to dominate the societal elite and infiltrate the empire’s new wave of emerging noble factions instead led to the destruction of one foundation branch.
Even attempts to capture the contract scammer failed due to the valor of numerous academy students assigned to protect them.
In the blink of an eye, one branch was completely dismantled.
– The gemstone mining guild branch lost its key rituals. They couldn’t stop the infiltrators as they carelessly crossed a monster zone, which they thought was impenetrable. The invading force… was led by a monster known as [Andersen]!
The power of the Dark Trading Company was astounding.
Had they swept away the strongest from the 981 class of the Gift Academy, or did they send their apprentice butler squad participating in the Spirit Realm expedition, they were also overwhelmed.
Considering the apprentice butlers had undergone extreme training to adapt to the harsh environment of the Spirit Realm, it seemed the foundation was outmatched.
– Numerous unidentified heroes stormed the secret branch that had been growing the lost branch forces at the empire’s border!
There’s no doubt this was the empire’s secret weapon!
The Dark Trading Company’s trump card, the heroic faction, had surely made a significant impact.
The minimum requirement to open the door to the foundation headquarters.
Four key rituals, three had been breached in a single rush.
“Only one more remains. However, the foundation won’t easily surrender. Can we overcome this high point…?”
– Sir Secretary Office Head! We’ve received urgent news that the key ritual has been reclaimed from the new branch!
“…No, so quickly?”
While he was grateful to gather the key rituals to give the director a leg up, he feared falling into the trap the director had laid since it was all happening so swiftly.
“Report the progress.”
– When Academy second year ‘Prill’ was establishing a planned city named after herself, members associated with the foundation who infiltrated to eventually capture Oknodie were all detected on the Dark Trading Company’s list. The only workers in the city, besides the Dark Trading Company’s side, were us.
“…!”
– Right when they established the branch after their identities were revealed, we had no way to withstand it.
They had been entirely played.
Before the secretary office head could leak information, the Dark Trading Company had already been digging a trap to stand up to the foundation.
“Considering the Dark Trading Company’s financial condition should have been within our predictions, where on earth did the investment money to build an entire city and the funds to disguise so many ‘company members’ as workers come from?”
– I’m sorry. We were barely managing to escape the branch, so we don’t have that information…
As he dwelled in uncertainty over the unclear source of funds, the secretary office head became engulfed in anxiety.
‘Is this the director’s trap?’
One must not hastily trust unreliable information.
The director plays with the hearts of humans.
The secretary office head decided to dig deeper into this information.
“Mobilize the entire intelligence network. I’ll push for emergency funding for material and gemstone support.”
After gathering all intelligence resources, the secretary office head finally uncovered the secret source of the funds.
“‘Titosso’ is at the top of the investor list. She alone accounts for over 90% of the total investment.”
“Titosso? The Dark Princess’s friend, the youngest daughter of the Mayor’s household in [Kanelle City], a member of the Saintess Alliance, and the saintess of the Revolutionary Army known as [Bearer of Light]?”
“No doubt about it.”
Understanding the prowess of the formidable leader, Andersen, of the Western Noble Union was logical.
There’s no doubt regarding her ability if she only took the hardest lectures at the academy.
One could understand the cunning nature of the wicked contract scammer, Camilla’s faction.
However, Titosso was different.
While she contributed in the process of overthrowing the emperor and was somewhat affiliated with the Saintess Alliance, her actions were not so proactive nor did she seem that formidable.
Titosso.
Unlike Oknodie’s right-hand, Jiang, she was just a child fleeing through the campus, making various noises.
Could it be that this child, like Jezel, was hiding her true colors and harbored a frightening mind?
‘No way, she can’t be a person connected to the director…?’
No way, that couldn’t be.
Kanelle City has deep ties with the Thief Guild.
The Thief Guild is but the subordinate of the Destroyer, a thief from the Previous Hero Party.
The headquarters of that Thief Guild is located in Kanelle City, where thieves reside.
…This flow was genuinely unfavorably.
The world behind the scenes.
The birth of the director.
The secretary office head was one of the few who knew the secrets of its starting point.
“The line associated with the ‘Previous Hero’ cannot be trusted. Send reinforcements to that branch. We must project our strongest forces to make the director see that we are devoted to the foundation.”
The thief Destroyer of the Previous Hero Party is naturally a companion of Previous Hero Ni’alatotep.
At that point, it’s game over.
Ni’alatotep.
That’s another name for the director as well as the past.
If he set his mind to it, he could use it without hesitation.
Moreover, the money needed to build an entire city is substantial.
There’s no way that someone overflowing with funds would just hand over such money, especially over 90% of the total investment to a single entity.
The secret funds of the foundation.
The director’s slush fund.
There’s no doubt that such secretive money was mobilized.
“Please pause any interference.”
The terrified secretary office head carefully withdrew.
*
“Hmm. Unexpected. The secretary office head is silent?”
“Absolutely.”
“If it’s the maid chief’s report, it shouldn’t be wrong.”
The secretary office head’s sudden retreat at a crucial moment prevented even the director from sensing his betrayal.
“I understand the others, but one is odd. How did the new city get wiped out unnoticed?”
“The maid unit is currently filling in for the branch head level forces, so our intelligence network isn’t robust.”
The director felt a subtle dissonance.
However, since a large plan had already succeeded, losing a small plan and a few branches wouldn’t change anything.
It’s not like professors from hiding would just wait for the four key rituals to be perfectly set up, and then storm in after coordinating their attacks.
Such a thing wouldn’t happen.
Reports were still coming that lectures were proceeding normally at the academy.
“Must just be my imagination. I will verify the cause of the magical amplification weapon explosion first. Maid Chief, please investigate Prill City.”
The director had missed a golden opportunity to intervene directly and resolve the situation.
*
“Oknodie, still on house arrest?”
“Yeah. The principal is really being a stickler, huh?”
There was a bit of misunderstanding, but anyway, the principal locked me in a special accommodation until the situation settled down, believing they couldn’t trust me.
Since too many students had vanished, all lectures were put on temporary break, and supplementary classes would be held during summer vacation, which was fortunate, or else I would’ve almost missed class!
“Oh? Your outfit has a strangely large amount of frills?”
“Hehe. I poured all the sponsorship money I received from the Saintess Alliance into my city!”
“No, you put all the investment into it?!”
“If Uncle Jezel invests everything into Prill, he’ll multiply the money!”
“You can’t throw all your money into one basket!”
“But the business plan was perfect! I wanted to channel the dark trading company’s underground funds into the sunlight, but to deceive the foundation’s eye, I needed a successful large-scale business to make the fund’s movement look natural.”
“Is that Prill?”
“I plastered frills all over the revolutionary army’s mascot and uniforms to forcibly set a trend! And you know? A new city named after ‘Prill’ has formed and stuff?”
“Wow, that sounds fun!”
“Right?”
Investing makes more sense when building a city.
Did I perhaps build a city too?
“But why would there be large hidden spaces and massive magical traps in the city?”
“I know that! It’s to keep the prey caught from escaping all on their own!”
“Heh, building a city really seems like a lot of tedious work. You even have to worry about that!”
“Shall I suggest additional facilities that would be good for the city while we’re at it?”
“Sure! As the biggest investor in Prill City, they’ll surely build everything I ask!”
Since I had recently faced an attack from beyond dimensions and almost had the city crushed, I must ensure the city heavily upgrades itself so Titosso’s old funds don’t come crashing down into a mess.
‘While dimensional defense facilities might have dimensional mishaps during construction, surely there won’t be any crazy accidents while building, right?’
To make up for the foundation’s depleted power and insufficient intelligence network, a large number of maid units were deployed, and the professors lurking in hiding were set loose, causing chaos before the dimension tore apart, leading to Prill City’s devastating obliteration—a casual thought just 24 hours ago.
*
“Such matters should be entrusted to the experienced!”
“Mhm, coming to find the luggage was a very good move. For a conqueror of worlds, fortifying a city is a breeze. Just a little accident could send a whole city to another dimension with a massive device installed.”
The pitiful girl, unaware of her future, who would be treated as an assassin sent by the foundation while spilling dozens of professors into another dimension, proudly replied.
