In Carisia’s plan, Knemon was a sort of bait.
What he had to do was diligently participate in the Mage Tower Master’s selection to earn his eligibility. In other words, he was staying true to his ambitions. The assassination of Argyrion that Carisia was preparing would take place without anyone knowing, outside the ring.
“I don’t know what missions the Ten Towers will assign to verify the candidates’ abilities. But it’s certain that everyone will actively use out-of-bounds tactics.”
“Are you referring to assassination?”
At Orthes’s inquiry, Carisia nodded. The essence of the Tower Master decision was the pruning until only one remained.
Reducing the number of participants in advance inevitably increases the odds for the candidate one supports to rise.
“Well, while assassination is the easiest, they will use various other methods as well. Maybe agreements among sponsors to unify candidates. Knowledge can be shared as a commodity.”
With hair spun in spirals, Carisia coldly spoke.
“We will first investigate those who ‘move the least’.”
Argyrion is a group that should not be noticeable to outsiders. The fewer people who know the secret, the more deadly it becomes. Out-of-bounds tactics inevitably expose the presence of the sponsors behind the candidates.
“There’s no reason not to use such effective strategies as out-of-bounds tactics. Unless there’s no sponsor, or if the sponsor must remain hidden. It’s truly rare, but maybe a candidate has such confidence that they need no sponsor.”
“I’ll sort out the candidates without sponsors and report back.”
“Ah, that’s fine. Arabella will handle that.”
A cyborg mage clad in spider-like enchanted wear was groaning through yet another late night.
“What we need to do is twofold. Protect Knemon, who will become the Tower Master. Track Argyrion.”
Orthes nodded. Even if Argyrion didn’t try to assassinate Knemon, the sponsors behind the other candidates were another story. But a question arose.
“Although Knemon has been out of active duty, he’s a troubleshooter who survived the extra-dimensional adjacent areas. Does guarding him have any significance?”
Here, the meaning of guarding wasn’t about ‘necessity’, but about effectiveness.
The frontline with the extra-dimensional realm was a place dangerous enough to warrant the term Mage Field. Surviving with all limbs intact in such a place and living calmly is not something a mere escort could manage, especially since Knemon, once entangled with Orthes, would disagree with this assessment.
In the first few attempts to assassinate Knemon, it might be acceptable to send ordinary assassins, but the assassins specifically selected by those seeking the Apex Towers shouldn’t be taken lightly.
‘To be a meaningful variable in the attempt on Knemon’s life, at least the directors must be involved.’
The problem lay here. The directors of Hydra Corporation were overworked in their respective positions according to Carisia’s plan. If Carisia were to leave her post to track Argyrion, it was clear the workload for each of the directors would only increase.
“Let’s attach Kine.”
Carisia answered indifferently.
“Excuse me?”
Orthes, who had expected to guard Knemon while Carisia secretly chased Argyrion, questioned in surprise at the unexpected response.
“I’ve checked her abilities several times. She’s perfect in both concealing divine power and projecting magic power.”
The manipulation of divine power was essential to Kine’s combat capabilities. Unlike magic that distorts the world’s principles, divine power reflects the principles of the world, promoting natural healing regardless of the cult.
Carisia had focused on this point while training Kine.
“Kine can utilize divine power internally while using magic externally. I suppose you could say it’s an exceptional multi-tasking ability.”
With the skill to constantly heal her physical body while shrouding herself with external magic, Kine gained the endurance to continue fighting as long as she wasn’t killed outright.
“In case of emergencies, she can restore Mr. Knemon and, if everything goes awry and he dies, she can bind his soul through necromancy. There’s no better protection than Kine.”
Orthes couldn’t help but acknowledge that there was no more suitable selection than Kine. While he wasn’t paying attention, Carisia had transformed remnants of the fallen cult into projections.
“If Knemon manages to dominate the Tower Master selection with our support, the factions inspired by him will surely increase, right? While Kine blocks such approaches, we’ll track Argyrion among those who don’t approach?”
Carisia nodded reluctantly.
‘If I were Halto…’
While moving to claim the remnants of Amimone Tower, Halto would have been assured that Orthes would interfere. Instead of preparing for the eventuality of Orthes appearing, he would strategize based on the assumption that Orthes would unconditionally obstruct their movements.
Thus, Carisia hoped to maintain a distance between herself and Orthes, but her rational mind pointed out that it was an utter waste.
No one was as powerful as Orthes among Carisia’s cards. If Argyrion attempted to oppose Orthes, he’d need preparations at least to the extent of planning the assassination of the Ten Towers’ elders.
Exploring in only one direction at a time was overly inefficient, and means to threaten Orthes were limited.
Between concern and rationality, Carisia derived a compromise.
“Let’s explore separately, but if anything suspicious arises, call for me.”
*
Knemon was adjusting his outfit with an uncomfortable expression. He was in the grand banquet hall of Algoth City.
Of course, the discomfort stemmed from the fact that Knemon had been invited in his capacity as a candidate for the Amimone Tower Master.
Carisia, Kine, and Orthes.
While the last person was primarily the source of his discomfort, the first person also had a way of making him uneasy.
Just like now.
“Kine is a safety net.”
Before the Ten Towers announced the specifics of the Amimone Tower Master selection, they had gathered the candidates in a social gathering. Carisia, attending as Knemon’s guardian, murmured softly.
“A safety net? What kind of safety net?”
“Your death.”
Knemon was a sharp man who understood the implications of the situation in an instant. As Carisia gestured, Kine could summon ominously flickering shadow flames at the tip of her index finger.
It was an astonishingly pure dark attribute magic. This indicated that Kine, despite her youthful appearance, had deep knowledge in dark magic; specifically, the necromancy hinted at in their previous conversation.
“I ought to thank you.”
The opportunity to reign above the heads of the enemies of the Amimone Tower family lay just above him. The perfect revenge wouldn’t be messed up by an unexpected assassination.
Better to continue living as a puppet controlled by necromancy. In fact, he was already being manipulated by Orthes’s grasp, so he held little resistance to it.
With that thought, Knemon decided to focus on observing potential competitors rather than worrying about his escort and watcher.
Meanwhile, Kine was perplexed.
‘What am I doing here…?’
Having been summoned by the boss almost daily to roll around, she was suddenly thrust into the field. Clearly, her original utilization plan was to infiltrate Musaeon as a dark recruit, without exposing any information leaks from within.
Orthes had explained that he could attract the attention of the Ten Towers with ‘another method.’ But that other method was…
‘Preventing assassination attempts against the Tower Master candidates?’
She recalled how, before standing here, Orthes had been mumbling, “If you successfully accomplish this mission, you’ll suddenly be recognized as a genius mage.”
‘Right. If a sudden kid blocks assassins, it would be quite the topic!’
While Kine gnawed on her thoughts about Orthes internally, Orthes surveyed the surroundings.
Given that the gathering was held to offer a hint to betrayers, “We promise to forgive you if you turn back now,” this social gathering was exceedingly luxurious for an event hosted just days after the city was swept by magical disasters.
‘Those over there look familiar from the Apex Towers roster.’
Orthes’s primary observation target wasn’t the candidates for the Mage Tower Master but the sponsors behind them. If any of them accepted Argyrion’s Silver Threads, it would significantly shorten the tracking process for Argyrion.
However, there were no notable traitors amongst those casually glancing over.
‘My luck certainly wouldn’t resolve that easily… Huh?’
Someone was approaching the Hydra Corporation group. Orthes narrowed his eyes.
