WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

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

Chapter 15

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Pressure Interview (2)

'How did things end up like this?'

Ortes, who slipped in and out of the information guild's restricted areas without a sound, was now such an ordinary occurrence that it no longer felt strange.

It was creepy to see him come through without triggering the countless surveillance devices I had installed and ask, "Would you like a cup of tea?" but by now I had more or less adapted.

But having a Magic Tower Master who had vanished decades ago follow him in was a sight Arabel had never seen before.

"Good to see you, Director Arabel. This is Kaicel of the Pithos Magic Tower."

Two questions dominated Arabel's mind.

First: 'Was Kaicel really inside the Etna Volcano?'

Second: 'He brought Kaicel back alive?'

The latter weighed heavier.

In Ortes's plan, Kaicel was assigned the role of fostering a competitive relationship with Hydra Corporation, alongside Geryones.

But that was only on 'paper.' Like the old proverb that battle plans are the first to die in war, nothing disappears as easily as a plan written on paper.

Arabel had expected Kaicel to die with high probability.

Mages were inevitably twisted to some degree. Especially a mage who had spent decades in seclusion beneath a volcano, practicing wall-gazing meditation, that probability was even higher.

At the same time, mages were a breed that would rather die than have their magic taken from them.

Would a mage who had poured decades of effort into perfecting the artificial Ten Commandments quietly hand over his masterpiece?

He would rather self-destruct along with the Ten Commandments than bow down to Hydra Corporation.

"Is the tea to your liking?"

And now that very Kaicel was sitting before her, drinking the tea Ortes had brought.

"What's going on?"

That was Arabel's first words, struggling to hide her confusion.

Ortes shrugged.

"We need to bring this gentleman into Hydra Corporation, but I'm afraid simply escorting him would cause quite a stir. I trust that Director Arabel can guide him to the company politely and discreetly."

A sense of unease radiated from the word 'trust.' By now, Arabel realized that Ortes's true nature was not an oppressive intimidation of others, but a blatant audacity to dump work on them whenever he pleased.

"Then, Director. I'll see you tonight."

Arabel's ominous suspicions was correct. Before she could stop Ortes, he stood up and left.

Covering her eyes with her left hand, Arabel replayed the work order Ortes had left behind. Escort him discreetly.

'To hide the fact that Kaicel is allied with Hydra Corporation as much as possible, I suppose?'

In Ortes's plan, the three magic towers were to put on a play, preparing for war against each other. A puppet show that would never escalate into real war.

Kaicel, breaking his long silence, rescues the imprisoned Geryones. After Geryones's defeat, the only target Hydra Corporation would focus on is the Pithos Magic Tower.

The two magic towers form a temporary alliance to check the rising powerhouse Hydra Corporation.

Hydra Corporation also reorganizes its structure to deal with the formidable opponent.

Weapon buildup under such tension would be so natural that even the Apex Magic Towers wouldn't suspect a thing.

But in reality, all the magic towers of Etna City were under Hydra Corporation's control. The competition among the three towers ultimately leads to the enhancement of Hydra Corporation's capabilities.

Through this reorganized system, they accelerate the completion of the artificial Ten Commandments. That was Ortes's first-phase plan.

'I thought the artificial Ten Commandments, the starting point of the plan, wouldn't even exist...'

Her prediction was wrong. Arabel imagined what it would be like when the eleventh Ten Commandments was actually completed.

A new king.

Shaking her head to escape that absurd fantasy, Arabel turned to Kaicel.

This was her chance now that Ortes had entrusted Kaicel to her, not to another director. It was the perfect time to converse with Kaicel and judge whether Hydra Corporation's plan truly had any feasibility.

Arabel carefully selected the questions she would ask Kaicel.

***

It's over. My part is truly over.

A concrete implementation plan for improving the company using Geryones or Kaicel?

I've sketched out the big picture; the working-level staff will handle the rest. There might be some reckless or insincere types among the directors, but none of them are truly incompetent.

At least they all have enough ability to survive as top-ranking figures in the underworld. As long as they each bring in their organization's advisors for a brainstorming session, pretty positive results should come out.

I savored the freedom of being released from all work for the first time in a long while. Should I just sleep in bed?

Just as I was tidying the bed, thinking about sleeping until the next afternoon.

『Ortes.』

Damn it.

It was a call from the communication device embedded in the gauntlet. The sender, of course-

"Yes, President."

Was Karisia.

***

Bertrand couldn't believe the sight before his eyes. It had already been decades since Kaicel vanished from Etna City.

A giant build nearing 4 meters, and a right artificial eye with three pupils. It was exactly the Kaicel he remembered.

Geryones, dragged in with his arms bound, also let out a hollow laugh.

"I thought you'd died somewhere a long time ago..."

The ones who must have orchestrated this, Ortes and Karisia, had yet to arrive. Even if Ortes occasionally left his seat, considering Karisia, who always arrived first and left last at meetings, this was somewhat unusual.

Clunk. The door opened. Through the door Ortes held, Karisia walked in.

The eight directors had seen this scene somewhere before.

'Yes. The day the founding of Hydra Corporation was announced...'

The day Karisia gathered the directors and bound them within her grasp. Recalling that moment, Arabel's body stiffened.

"Good to see you, everyone."

Even the opening words were the same. Arabel realized this current composition was a deliberate repetition.

"Thus, all the executives recruited to carry out our company's first objective are now gathered in one place."

Their president smiled. An expression of utmost delight.

"Today, we are here to hear Kaicel's presentation on the results of his artificial Ten Commandments. Now, would you please stand?"

Kaicel rose from his seat with an expression as if bewitched. In his right eye, Karisia was reflected with a strangeness different from Ortes.

"You... You people...!"

Behind Karisia, Ortes raised his index finger. A smile with his finger pressed to his lips. Kaicel looked around in fear and awe.

Among those present were those he had faced directly in his past, and those he had only seen through data collected while secluded beneath Mount Etna.

The powers of Etna City. Those who moved the city were all gathered in one place. Under the name of Hydra Corporation.

Kaicel slowly began to unravel the true nature of the 'artificial Ten Commandments' he had created.

The questions that arose from studying at both the Red Flame and Silver Iron towers. A history of trial and error that began with the question, 'What is ascension, after all?'

"If ascension is the process of becoming a god, and the Ten Commandments are its milestones, then I thought it might be possible to gather the traces left by the ancient gods and create another milestone..."

Among the directors listening carefully to the explanation, Bertrand's expression grew increasingly somber. The decline of the fossil mining industry had ultimately stemmed from Kaicel's ambition.

And since Karisia, who had captured Kaicel, also placed the artificial Ten Commandments at the center of her plan, the future of the Miners' Guild looked bleak.

"There is no longer any reason to accumulate the mana of the Etna Volcano."

It was Ortes's declaration that cut off that concern.

"The artificial Ten Commandments created by Kaicel will no longer have their performance enhanced by increasing mana volume. We must focus on a more fundamental aspect."

"Fundamental?"

A woman with blooming green hair spoke. Meconion. One of the eight directors, a half-human, half-spirit alraune hybrid.

She was Etna City's largest drug dealer.

"Yes. Didn't. Kaicel say it first? That he intended to gather the traces of the gods to create the artificial Ten Commandments. This city no longer has any traces of the gods left."

Meconion felt Ortes's gaze upon her. It was different from the lecherous, desired stares her customers often gave her. An utterly businesslike, almost mechanical stare.

"The things of the gods will be with the gods. We can find clues to divinity among those who believe in the vanished gods."

Upon hearing Ortes's words, Meconion instinctively sensed what would follow.

'As I thought. This is why he came to me...'

"Among the buyers of the drugs Director Meconion sells, there are followers of the old gods, are there not?"

"Yes. There are. Pitiful people trying to find the footsteps of the gods in a state of ecstasy."

"Let's start with them."

Having finished speaking, Ortes stepped back behind Karisia.

"You have all come to understand that our company's plan guarantees sufficient feasibility."

Karisia, who had by then dropped her smile, declared calmly.

"If you have any objections, please speak. I will listen."

No one raised a hand. Hearing the answer formed by silence, Karisia nodded.

"Then, before the full-scale organizational restructuring, we will establish a new department. The Divinity Investigation Office. A department directly under the president, and its director is-"

Ortes.

***

Dear god.

Until now, without a single official position, I've been bouncing around with odd jobs as routine, and now he's going to put subordinates under me and really crack the whip?

Was it Kaicel who was being pressured, or me?

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