For Torres School and Argeyirion to regularly conduct transactions, the first ruin site seems more suitable than the second one.
This is an analysis based on the size and excavation status of both ruin sites. The scale of the first ruin site and the number of personnel deployed are larger than those of the second site, and since the excavation work is still in its early stages, frequent personnel changes wouldn’t seem unusual.
Therefore, from Argeyirion’s perspective, which requires periodic exchanges of mentor hosts…
Arabel enthusiastically laid out this reasoning but soon realized she had revealed “too much.” Ortes had quietly left the room at some point.
Now, only Carisia and herself remained in the office.
Arabel made a conscious effort to maintain a neutral expression. She hadn’t yet mentioned anything about secret inspectors or such matters.
‘All I’ve done is suggest there might be something between Torres School and Argeyirion…’
But as great magicians often are, Carisia’s insight was extraordinary. She must have deduced Ortes’ hidden identity from the confidence with which Arabel spoke.
In her anxiety, Arabel noticed a peculiar smile forming on Carisia’s lips.
“I’ve heard you well, Director Arabel. You may leave now.”
‘Wh-what is this?’
Arabel realized she had been spared execution. Was it because her information-gathering skills were valued?
This unexpected mercy might also signify an intention to share some secrets.
With mixed emotions, Arabel…
“Will just finish my nap.”
Deciding to return to the dreamland she had been expelled from due to the sudden summons.
Arabel’s theory initially appears quite reasonable.
However, there’s another issue:
Time.
For Argeyirion to collaborate so extensively with Torres Tower, sufficient time would need to have passed to establish a business-level trust between them.
It doesn’t make sense that such a cooperative system was set up immediately after the Elysion terror attack.
Because of this, I treated Arabel’s theory half-jokingly, but it seemed Carisia thought differently.
If I had to choose one location, she advised heading to the first excavation site where Arabel theorized the transaction between Argeyirion and Torres Tower took place.
In reality, the president’s advice is closer to a direct order. Without adding any further words, I followed the command.
For convenience, though referred to as the first excavation site of Torres School in Arabel’s report, it naturally has its official name.
“Crete…”
A large island floating alone on a vast lake, currently a ruin not used as a city. For the excavation, even a mobile magic core, usually employed in magical engine cars, has been brought in for extensive digging.
During a break, I connected to the Ethereal Network. The place I searched was Fixernet, where solvers post reviews about their commissions and evaluations of clients.
I skimmed through the reviews regarding commissions from Torres Tower.
The top comment recommended against assigning staff to slave escort duties, as it only ruins one’s mood. I excluded posts mentioning slaves using the search filter.
Aside from the usual complaints about the arduous labor involved in excavation work, there wasn’t much else.
The ordinary reviews filled with boredom and fatigue oddly reassured me.
“If a talisman like the Talisman of Thunder had been discovered, Fixernet would be quite noisy by now.”
If the talisman has already fallen into Torres Tower’s hands, retrieving it would be quite troublesome.
“If it’s being transported to the main tower or studied at a branch, it could be manageable, but if it’s in the main tower’s vault, it’ll cause quite a commotion.”
After scanning Fixernet a few more times, I decided what to do next.
“The inside of the ruin seems to have quite dangerous environments. I’ll enter as a casual solver, observe the situation…”
And if things go awry, I’ll just find and take the artifact while keeping my eyes open.
The mages of Torres School conducting excavations on Crete Island were always eager for new manpower.
Originally, excavating ruins comes with many casualties.
Ancient ruins were spaces consecrated to the gods, equipped with facilities designed to execute unauthorized intruders instantly. Ruins from the late mythological era became covered with anti-magic traps during the war with mages.
Ruins from the Mage Era weren’t exactly friendly to mages either.
The modern trend of clandestine operations among mage towers—stealing each other’s visions and assassinating spies—originated in the Mage Era.
The mages of that time mercilessly executed anyone who sought to steal their magic or others’ spells, showing no leniency to their students.
Thus, it was common to find traps or monsters within the ruins. The environment, saturated with magic, preserved these traps even over time.
Mage towers didn’t want to waste valuable mages on such trivial and bothersome tasks.
Hence, outsourcing to solvers and mercenaries was an inevitable conclusion.
The mage Smichia, assigned as an interviewer on Crete Island, looked perplexed at the solver who claimed to have come in response to a job posting.
The figure, wearing a visor and reinforced armor, resembled the famous Spartoi of Darkness, evoking images of golems or undead.
“To be honest, I don’t know where you saw the job posting…”
Despite her skeptical expression, Smichia pulled out three contract forms.
One was for mercenaries affiliated with companies of a certain scale: corporate subcontracting contracts. Another was for solvers from small offices. The last one was for independent solvers.
Among these, freelancers without affiliations were preferred, as they typically lacked legal guardians who would demand compensation in case of d*ath.
Without hesitation, the visor-clad stranger picked the last option.
“Do you know how to activate the contract? Infuse it with your magic.”
The stranger shook their head. A distorted voice emerged.
“Due to issues with the power output mechanism of my prosthetic body, I can’t use that type of contract. Let’s do a written signature instead.”
“Guess you’re here to keep your head attached… Though it’s none of my business.”
They might be users of Qi rather than magic. Suppressing her curiosity, Smichia tossed a pen. The visor-clad figure signed without hesitation.
“Utes (Ουτις)? That’s obviously a pseudonym.”
“In a place like this, isn’t everyone hiding something?”
“Hmph. Even if someone comes looking for you, Torres Tower won’t protect you.”
“I’m aware.”
The curt reply lost Smichia’s interest, and she responded bureaucratically.
“For detailed explanations, go to the personnel management office.”
That’s why I like being a solver.
I thought while reading the contract in my hand. Fraudulent contracts designed to swindle freelance solvers without offices or experience, filled with tricks in the settlement ratios.
Solvers sign such contracts because their situations are predictable, and precisely because of that, even somewhat suspicious appearances rarely attract suspicion.
There are plenty of bottom-tier solvers harboring semi-illegal or illegal secrets. Still, if they only select verified individuals, the costs don’t add up.
The personnel management supervisor glanced at my contract and sent me an address and password for the Ethereal Network.
“Excavation teams depart every morning. They’re divided into surface and subsurface groups, and you need to pre-register on that webpage. Detailed information including difficulty levels is available there. Study it carefully.”
The password was also for accessing the dormitory for external personnel.
I nodded briefly and turned around.
‘Today’s excavation seems finished, so I’ll just get a feel for the general atmosphere on-site…’
The site manager felt his heart pounding. ‘No one’—Utes—is a common pseudonym among solvers entering the industry.
However, among these ‘no ones,’ some have distinctive characteristics and receive special treatment despite using such generic aliases.
Someone with four eyes, someone whose hair burns like flames.
Or someone who never uses magical contracts and insists on paper contracts.
‘…’
Stories about such unique Utes circulate as urban legends in the solver community. Tales like when the four-eyed Utes joins, big discoveries happen, or unconfirmed rumors that the fiery-haired Utes is actually a scout from the Crimson Flame Tower.
Of course, there are also tales—more like horror stories—about the Utes who refuses magical contracts.
‘Wherever he goes, accidents inevitably occur.’
A rumor known only to seasoned veterans in the solving industry.
High-ranking members of the mage towers dismiss these urban legends as irrational superstitions from those who failed to join the towers. Reporting them would only earn scornful remarks like, “Think more rationally as a mage.”
The manager swallowed hard.
“It’s been years since rumors about the Utes who doesn’t use magical contracts disappeared. It’s probably just a coincidence…”
*
Cramming myself into a six-person dormitory brought back old memories.
‘I used to use this alias frequently to launder my tracks while wandering around.’
Back then, it was tough, but now it feels like a period worth calling nostalgia.
