WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

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◈ I Became the Slit-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss

Chapter 032

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Tomb Raiding and Excavation (3)

“She is the person I chose.”

For a moment, silence hung in the air. The specter of the ancient times, who had introduced himself as the high priest of Phoibos, seemed not to have expected this answer in the slightest.

「Choice? A choice, you say…? What we called for was not such a thing-」

“High priest. You have fulfilled your task. The fate entrusted to you ends here, so return to your peaceful slumber.”

Ortes spoke as though making a declaration. The shadow twisted its form in a bizarre manner, as if dancing, as if screaming in torment.

「Has the fate we witnessed already vanished! The future lies in darkness now, yet it is f■ee!」

A strange sound, whether laughter or lamentation, swept through the marble chamber. Only after a long while did the sound come to rest.

Amid the silence, the high priest's voice whispered with great effort.

「The far-seers… have completed their task.」

As the voice finished its sentence, the light that had been drawn into the crystal sphere burst forth all at once in a blaze. The marble chamber, which until moments ago had been filled with darkness, regained its white radiance once more.

In Ortes's grasp, the sacred relic of Phoibos flashed.

***

What is this.

What in the world was that?

Karisia was looking at me with a curiosity-laden gaze, but I had nothing I could tell her either.

My life so far had been one of waking up in some strange laboratory and desperately clinging to survival.

In truth, once I came to my senses a little, I had calmly searched every corner of the place where I woke up. It was possible there might be clues about whether this was a transmigration or reincarnation. But the clues I had hoped for, a research log. were nowhere to be found.

All that remained was the wreckage of a signboard that would have borne the laboratory's name. I tore off the legible part and made it the name I use now.

Was this body of mine, or that laboratory, truly connected to the old gods?

I decided to remain silent rather than say anything one way or another. Karisia had her doubts, but she showed no wariness.

If I kept my mouth shut, she would probably let it pass, thinking there must be a reason.

***

'The person I chose.'

Karisia mulled that word over silently.

Even to herself, who had been with Ortes longer than anyone, his inner heart remained an unknown.

One could discern his emotions to a degree through the expression he showed outwardly. But deeper, the line drawn around his true innermost heart was firmer than steel.

Today, it felt as though she had caught a glimpse of the emotions beyond that line.

It was somewhat unsatisfying that she could not know exactly what meaning Ortes's 'choice' had carried.

But this much was-

'Not bad.'

Karisia's smiled stretched. Ortes, walking behind her, a smile he could not perceive.

***

As soon as Karisia and Ortes returned to Etna City, the first thing they did was receive a status report on the mission entrusted to Dimedes.

To be precise, Ortes had sent Karisia on ahead and was already discussing business with the directors.

“…What did you say?”

However, the content of the conversation was very different from what Ortes had expected.

“Dimedes still hasn't returned. You heard correctly.”

The one who wore a gas mask over his face even indoors and carried an extremely lightweight collapsible bow at his waist was Neiro, the head of Etna City's Hunters' Society.

“That bastard. While out on dispatch, he dutifully sent in reports of biting and tearing at this and that. then, a few days ago, word from him just stopped.”

“Oh dear.”

Neiro studied Ortes's face through the lenses of his gas mask. The emotion he had revealed a moment ago was a most valuable opportunity to grasp the man's disposition.

The emotion contained in that 'What did you say?' did not seem to be mere bewilderment. No doubt it was mixed with something like fury toward a subordinate who had committed a truly inexcusable blunder.

'He gives the director position a certain measure of respect, but in the end, he is convinced that in ability, he himself stands above….'

If only he could scrutinize that just-passed expression once more, a more certain analysis would be possible. Neiro's eyes gleamed as he faced the most inscrutable beast he had ever encountered.

But Ortes's facial muscles, which had seemed fixed in that subtle smile, had already returned to their natural state.

“So, then. If I follow Director Neiro's opinion.”

Ortes pressed his temples.

“You're saying there's a high probability that Director Dimedes died during the operation.”

“Yes. He's a violent and selfish bastard by nature, but he has the good sense to submit to the logic of power. He even sent in his annoying status reports diligently during the first few days of the trip. If the reports suddenly stopped, there's only one reason.”

It was a bolt from the blue for Ortes, who had been certain that Dimedes would finish his work and return by now, ready to have his contributions rewarded.

'No, honestly, these eight directors…'

But still, weren't they supposed to be executives of a villainous organization, in their own way? Even if they couldn't intervene in the climactic showdown between the White Nameless and the protagonist, weren't they at least formidable enough to be mid-bosses who could clash with the protagonist's other allies and buy time?

And a man like that takes a whole gang of his subordinates along and gets them all vanished wholesale?

'How is this possible.'

Ortes wanted to sigh. Well, when he thought about it, their ends in the original were equally anticlimactic.

When the White Nameless obliterated Hydra Corp's headquarters and most of Etna City with the artificial Ten Commandments, didn't the directors evaporate right along with it?

'But still, the dignity of a villainous executive…'

Ortes shook his head once and decided to take the situation positively.

'Right. Let's just think of this as happening because we're not a villainous organization. Wasn't the goal from the start to break away from the original's future?'

If Dimedes was dead, the original's future was as good as nonexistent already. It was just that the direction the future had changed was one that disadvantaged the company Ortes belonged to.

“It can't be helped.”

“Are you planning to go alone again?”

“Ah….”

Ortes recalled the peculiar rivalry between Dimedes and Neiro. Both Neiro and Dimedes had considerable expertise in the field of hunting, but their temperaments differed.

Because of that, the two directors had kept each other in check even over the Bacchus cult hunting assignment. Ortes knew this very well.

'I see. With Dimedes's downfall all but certain, is he trying to seize this opportunity to catch Karisia's eye? A thirst for power…. No, there were no signs of scheming to climb to the position of Hunters' Society head. It's a thirst for honor, then.'

Neiro might have been expecting that with his rival gone, his turn had finally come.

While longing for the honor of achieving the first mission entrusted by a department directly tied to Hydra Corp's founding purpose.

“Very well. Then Director Neiro, let us go together.”

But his thirst for honor was his thirst for honor, and risk was risk. He could not send just one more director alone into a place where Dimedes and his entire faction might have been wiped out.

Neiro nodded. His expression inside the gas mask was somewhat sullen.

'I only asked whether he planned to go alone and wipe everything out again this time. What is he thinking, offering to take me along?'

'Hmm. Come to think of it, Dimedes received this mission right after challenging the authority of the Office Head of the Divinity Investigation Office. I see. Is he trying to clearly demonstrate the gap in ability between a director and himself? Indeed, I could tell from how devotedly he serves the President, but he is as sensitive to hierarchy as a wolf.'

While Neiro, having received the cooperation request from the Divinity Investigation Office, was gathering his equipment, Ortes finished mentally preparing himself to report to Karisia: 'Another business trip has come up.'

He had forgotten the fact that the very first thought that crossed his mind upon being appointed Office Head of the Divinity Investigation Office was 'let's push the actual work off onto the other directors.'

***

Twelve lights were flickering atop the altar. It had been a very long time since lamps that converted mana into light had been invented.

If anyone had seen this, they would have made a sneering remark, that it was truly outdated, or that they were awfully devoted to upholding such traditions.

If one had sharp eyes, they would have been startled to realize that what they had taken for candle flames were, in fact, not flames at all but radiance itself.

And if they possessed knowledge of the ancient times, they would have been horrified to wonder whether fanatics who still believed in old superstitions yet remained. The intricate murals of the old gods carved into the candlesticks and the altar bore not a single scratch, despite the ages they had weathered.

One of the lights began to flicker.

It was a place where no wind would ever come. In the first place, these were not flames burning atop candle wicks, but a radiance that would not waver even if a wind did blow.

The radiance slowly faded.

“‥‥‥.”

The one who had been praying before the altar looked up at the scattering light.

And smiled.

Was it that the god had answered only now, so belatedly? Or that even those who had kept the prophecy had decided to abandon everything and enter eternal annihilation (永滅)?

Either way, there was no hope.

Even if the god's answer had returned now, there was no one left to hear that voice; and if even the last vestige of will had chosen to sleep, then all the years past had been in vain.

However.

From now on, the cult would no longer entrust its hope to the gods alone.

The time had come to take back the hope once entrusted to the gods, to grip it in their own hands and make their stand.

Thus did the only cult that honored the names of all twelve great gods (大神) accept the extinguishing of Phoibos's radiance as an omen.

It was time to go forth into the world.

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