It’s incomprehensible.
‘What? How can you say that when you’re the one who’s best at deceiving others?’
Kine couldn’t contain the rising anger and huffed.
“Well then, what about it? Is it also a lie that Argeyirion implanted gifts into the people of the Theistic Order?”
“Ah, that’s true. We found a gift in Sikton’s brain. Didn’t you hear?”
This was news to her.
“Why are you telling me this now!”
“I’m sorry. You were so busy learning how to control divine power that I forgot to tell you I’d inform you once everything was over.”
Ortes shrugged. Though he apologized, his attitude showed no trace of remorse. It was clear that withholding information until now had been deliberate.
‘You probably cut off the possibility of sudden trouble because you feared I might attack to take revenge. You must think you can control me since I’m right next to you.’
While fuming, Kine followed Ortes. She knew if she rushed out to destroy Argeyirion right away, she’d surely be stopped.
‘…And the capsule with my family is also in Hydra Corp.’
Suddenly, a wave of melancholy rose again.
‘Why does everyone suddenly look at Carisia as if she’s some kind of deity…?’
When I returned to the examination hall, I was perplexed by the flurry of glances directed at Carisia.
Judging from the scattered automaton and a single corpse at the entrance, I could roughly guess what happened.
Seeing me return with Kine, the admissions officer bowed repeatedly. Waving in response, I immediately approached Carisia.
Though the crowd was watching Carisia, none dared to come close. The reverence in their eyes suggested the ability Carisia had demonstrated here.
Still, it would be better to hear directly.
“Chairman, what exactly happened?”
“You’re late.”
A friendly reproach as soon as I arrived— Chairman is indeed someone with a strict sense of time.
I first glanced around at the group sent to the credential review room. Niobe and the admissions officer don’t know the relationship between Carisia and me. Therefore, they wouldn’t even consider explaining the situation to Carisia for my benefit.
Oh. If Niobe had thoroughly gathered information as a Blasphemia agent, she might know that Carisia is Ortes’ superior. But thinking I am an inspector disguised as Ortes makes all this meaningless.
But Lampades, isn’t something off about you?
I turned my head toward Lampades. ‘That friend of yours had some emergency and will be late,’ just saying that would’ve been enough.
Lampades shook his head upon receiving my gaze. What hadn’t he done?
Behind Lampades, members of his Magic Tower were comforting each other. Seeing them surround Astrape, it seemed they were worried about the youngest mage of the Magic Tower.
‘Ah, I see. He was too busy taking care of his own people to have time to speak with Carisia.’
If that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done. I nodded slightly to show I understood.
Upon arriving at the credential review room, Lampades thought about Ortes.
‘Certainly, Ortes said he attended this meeting as the secretary general of Hydra Corp.’
However, what term did the Museion admissions officer use to describe him?
‘Emergency relief team leader. Even the actual Emergency Relief Team junior mage didn’t refute that title.’
Can someone participating in the credential review also be the emergency relief team leader?
If the relief team had existed beforehand, one might勉强accept it. But this is the ’emergency’ relief team. As the name suggests, they were hastily assembled and dispatched after this terrorist attack occurred.
It’s impossible for one person to hold both roles.
The strange aura emitted by the unkempt man confused Lampades further. The word “Blasphemia,” which he had vaguely heard during a confidential commission sometime ago. Could this be a clue to uncover Ortes’ true identity?
Immersed in thought, Lampades suddenly noticed Ortes looking at him—not at the others who escaped together from the Museion admissions office, but only at him. Only Lampades knows the relationship between Carisia and Ortes.
This was undoubtedly a silent accusation: Had he told Carisia about Ortes’ multiple identities and various faces?
Lampades vigorously shook his head, signaling that he hadn’t said anything.
In a state of extreme tension, Lampades detected a subtle change in Ortes’ gaze—not in mood, but physically. The direction of the pupil flickering beneath his eyelid shifted slightly.
And that gaze pointed toward the members of his Magic Tower behind him.
Whether this implied the price one would pay for speaking recklessly or greed for talents needed by Hydra Corp remained unclear.
Eventually, Ortes smiled and nodded.
From this scrutiny, Lampades gained hope.
‘Ortes is hiding his identity even from his chairman. He must have judged that it’s not yet time to reveal his true self. Clearly, there must still be a significant difference between the human nature of the chairman of Hydra Corp and Ortes!’
Carisia was listening to Ortes’ quiet explanation—or rather, his whisper.
The voice whispering in her ear pleased her.
“I’ll provide details after we return to Etna City. For now, please understand that we’ve obtained an effective countermeasure against the terrorist organization Argeyirion.”
As soon as Ortes heard the comment about being late, he briefly reported on what had happened while he was gone.
‘Everyone else was already here except me, so that’s why I mentioned it.’
Extremely formal, Carisia shook her head.
“So, what happened on your side, Chairman?”
“A magician from Argeyirion personally attacked and incapacitated me. I didn’t expect them to reach the examination hall.”
Ortes furrowed his brows as if bewildered. A change so subtle that anyone unfamiliar with Ortes wouldn’t notice.
“Didn’t Crystal give any warning?”
“Yes. Crystal showed no premonition. I was prepared because I sensed the boundary trembling. Once they broke through, I struck preemptively.”
Carisia briefly explained the battle. She isolated herself and the Argeyirion magician inside a temporary boundary created by released magical energy and defeated them with a curse that kills upon sight.
“…A curse that kills upon sight?”
“Oh. Given its operational structure, it won’t work on higher-level eroders or powerful magicians. There’s also the issue of breaking through the magic force field, and if the brain regenerates, it becomes meaningless.”
At this point, Ortes realized why Phobos’ crystal didn’t activate.
It warns of impending danger in the future.
‘The magician from Argeyirion wasn’t even on the list of threats to Carisia!’
How could falling unconscious after seeing Carisia once and fighting well be considered a threat or crisis? Amused by the absurd magical strength, Ortes laughed faintly before asking seriously,
“The situation seems to be winding down. Should we head straight to Etna City?”
“Yes. Even though Ten Towers might not take interest in just defeating one magician, it’s better to return quickly just in case.”
“In that case, I’ll finish up things here and join you shortly.”
The first person I approached was Niobe. Surprisingly, the role of the emergency relief team suited her; she skillfully administered magic ampules and provided first aid to those who had exhausted their mana.
“Niobe.”
“Ah, senior. And that kid?”
She gestured toward where Kine stood chatting with Carisia.
“Fortunately… but what happened?”
Having finished the initial first aid for the patients, I handed Niobe a piece of paper. It contained instructions to memorize everything written, including upcoming notes, and then burn it.
Niobe looked at me with a stiff expression.
“Relax, Niobe. Always keep a bright face, no matter where or when.”
“Indeed. Senior always smiles to make emotional readings difficult…!”
It wasn’t exactly like that. Due to often being guarded against by others, I merely made a habit of approaching with a smiling face.
But if Niobe thinks I’m a model senior agent, there’s no need to correct her.
I took out another memo and jotted down my deductions on the spot.
<Ten Towers has an apocalyptic collaborator within who is in league with Argeyirion.>
This was more fact than speculation. After all, the fiery magician Niobe fought was proof. Most of the other contents were also close to the truth.
<Even Blasphemia isn’t an exception. Remember Nardanit.>
<Be especially cautious of Argeyirion eradication operations. What appears to be an eradication operation could be a trap.>
Adding speculations about more traitors based on the discovery of one betrayer.
<Do not trust existing reporting systems. If you suspect someone of colluding, report directly to the Inspector General when the opportunity arises or send via L13's email address.>
Finally, I wrote down measures to overcome the crisis.
But would it be easier for an ordinary agent to contact the Inspector General or a familiar senior agent?
Moreover, the Inspector General has multiple email addresses. Besides the public whistleblowing account available to regular agents, there’s a separate account used only in emergencies.
The emergency contact address I used when I took down Nardanit and reported via Arabel was precisely this emergency contact account. In a situation like this, managing the emergency account is likely chaotic, and oversight of the public whistleblowing account Niobe knows is bound to slacken.
Niobe read all the messages and nodded.
With this, all possible responses to Argeyirion were prepared.
Niobe is a regular agent. She may not obtain classified information, but this is sufficient to understand Blasphemia’s general behavior pattern.
If the Theistic Order pursues Argeyirion, they will contact me, thus establishing channels with both the Theistic Order and Blasphemia.
‘By passing information from both sides to each other, it might be possible to regulate actions to some extent.’
In other words, a tripartite division of power among Argeyirion, Blasphemia, and the Theistic Order.
Deep in my heart, I thanked Zhuge Liang, the super subordinate who made employers visit thrice.
