WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

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

Chapter 16

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Day Off (1)

Thanks to Karisia unexpectedly handing me a title, a sudden headache came rushing in.

Damn it. I'd be perfectly happy to receive an empty lunchbox and joyfully slack off as a salary thief.

But the President is telling me to work!

I can understand telling me to prepare a future plan within five minutes after I went through the trouble of bringing Kaicel here.

After all, using Geryones for a fake war was Karisia's plan, but the idea of using Kaicel and the artificial Ten Commandments was my own.

Let's set aside the fact that it was a method derived from your original trajectory.

Didn't I tell you everything? How to utilize the artificial Ten Commandments going forward, how to dangle the prey of ascension in front of the directors and steer their impulses where to go.

After I did all that, what I get in return is more work. How can you do this to me!

I poured out all my complaints and grievances to Karisia.

Only in my imagination, though.

If I said such complaints to the real Karisia, all that would come back is more work. She'd flash that ferocious smile she only shows me and demand 'Do it because I said so' in a very refined manner.

I should at least write a few proposals before I sleep.

Tomorrow is a day off. It'd be best to finish everything today so I don't get called in on my day off.

***

Around midnight, Karisia was reading a report sent to her via direct line from Ortes.

It was about the utilization plan for the space Kaicel had created beneath Mount Etna.

According to Ortes's analysis, the place where the artificial Ten Commandments were enshrined was a type of Ether Space.

Ether Space is a semi-realistic space. An intermediary between the material world and the immaterial world.

Usually, mages trying to access Ether Space head towards it from the immaterial world.

Astral body connection through meditation is a prime example. There are two main reasons why connection from the material world is not preferred.

First, the danger.

Most astral body connections, even if they fail, at most require a few days of recuperation, but physical connection always carries the risk of brain death.

Even the most representative method of connecting from the material world, neural terminal connection, is the same. If you accidentally trigger the firewall, your brain gets cooked directly.

Second, accessibility.

With astral body connection, you can access Ether Space just by meditating with your bare body, without any equipment.

On the other hand, physical connection requires a modified body with neural terminals, plus additional facilities.

Methods for the entire physical body to access Ether Space without devices like neural terminals were extremely rare.

Generally, when referring to full dive into Ether Space, it means a method of connection where all five senses can be felt. Neural terminal connection usually falls into this category.

A step further from this full dive, a form where one connects with their entire physical body is called Eleusis.

To successfully perform Eleusis, the Ether Space one attempts to connect to must first be very solid.

This is because it needs a level of completion sufficient to overcome the instability straddling reality and unreality.

The structure of the Ether Space created by Kaicel was not perfect, but it possessed an enormous amount of mana more than enough to offset the structural shortcomings.

An Ether Space that uses Mount Etna itself as a sort of backup power source. The reason Ortes and Kaicel could enter with their physical bodies was also thanks to this overflowing mana.

Ortes's proposal contained the opinion of remodeling that space created by Kaicel into a sort of shelter.

A refuge in case the White Light Tower uses city-level sweeping great magic in an all-out war.

It was an opinion typical of Ortes, who always worried about Karisia herself first. Feeling a faint sense of satisfaction, Karisia sent a short reply.

『Rejected. Remodeling into a shelter risks reducing the explosion efficiency of the artificial Ten Commandments.』

She had not given up her dream of creating the largest mana bomb in history.

***

The short text transmitted from Karisia was enough to tense the back of my neck. I don't know why she likes explosions so much.

I've given all the advice I can as a subordinate. I don't care anymore.

Tomorrow is a day off. I've been running around busy lately, so I should just get some good sleep.

"May I have a word?"

Oh, President.

Why are you in my room?

***

The time I opened my eyes was early dawn. And on a holiday dawn, no less.

I felt a suspicious presence in the room, so I lifted my eyelids just a crack, fully alert.

The problem with this body is that if I open my eyes all the way, I see too much. Even opening and closing my eyes has to be done carefully.

What came into my carefully secured field of vision was a pair of golden pupils, brilliantly radiant even in the darkness.

It was Karisia.

"Isn't today a day off?"

I grabbed my throbbing head and looked at Karisia.

It wasn't my first day rolling in this mana-gap society, but the President breaking into an employee's room at dawn on a holiday wasn't something you saw every day even in this world.

"So? Do you have plans?"

What do you mean 'so'? Are you saying you came to personally scold me for resting on my day off? I don't think I've done anything to displease you lately.

"No, I don't. President, you should follow the will of the great Mage King and get some rest too."

What I brought up was one of this world's myths. The origin of the calendar, said to have been created by the Mage King.

It is said he immersed himself in meditation for ten days to comprehend the principles of magic, and when he opened his eyes, he had mastered the ten mainstream attributes of modern magic represented by the Ten Commandments.

Among these, the first day he began his meditation and the tenth day he ended it are especially regarded and set as holidays.

That's right. In this world, a week was ten days long. A month consisting of three weeks makes date calculations convenient, I'll admit.

But there was a horror that couldn't be justified by calculation convenience alone.

There are only two holidays in a week. A month has three weeks.

That's only six days off per month!

I didn't want to spend my precious day off with my boss.

"I came to rest, didn't I?"

As if asking what I was talking about, Karisia sat down on the edge of the bed. Right next to me.

Suppressing the sigh that was about to escape, I lay back down and squirmed, making room for one more person.

"What do you think of the directors?"

Karisia, lying on her side, asked.

"...We founded Hydra Corporation last month, which was the first week of the Light Month, wasn't it? It's only been a month, how can I possibly know people's hearts?"

"By the calendar, it's already been thirty days. Go on, tell me."

Do you take me for some kind of audit department employee? I closed my eyes and began to ramble nonsense.

Since she came at this late hour, she probably won't scold me for inadequate preparation.

"Cryton's slave trading business had the potential to attract attention from other magic towers, so I dealt with it in advance. His personal faction's source of income has been removed, leaving him weakened. When restructuring the city, you'll need physical strength and mana in the construction sector, so assign him there, but use this to put a leash on him."

***

Karisia was listening to Ortes's whispers, half-asleep.

In truth, from her standpoint, her will was Ortes's will, and Ortes's will was her will.

There was no need to re-confirm the blueprint of the future that Ortes had envisioned now. If she wanted it, he would prepare it.

"Arabel is clever, and Bertrand is steadfast. Neither of them is the type to cause major problems. I was concerned about the Miners' Guild's decline, but by recruiting Kaicel, that risk factor has been sealed for now."

Nevertheless, the reason she had come to Ortes's room was,

"Dimedes the Beast Tamer is somewhat dangerous. The monsters he raises long for blood. Give him the role of chasing down the Magic Tower's wanted fugitives as a cover for the Divinity Investigation Office's activities, to let him vent his desires."

literally to take a 'rest.'

"Talos of the Mana Waste Treatment Plant isn't very threatening. His organization's military power is outstanding as he leads mutants, but his desire is merely the survival of his own kind, so he's not hard to manage. Just treating him equally will gradually make him more favorable."

One person who could give her the confidence that she had not lost her way on her long journey of revenge.

"Neiro the Hunter and Divius the illegal body modification expert both have their own agendas. But for now, they are charmed by your authority, and since I haven't fully uncovered their schemes, I plan to investigate further before making a judgment."

Listening to Ortes talk about his vision for the future, Karisia could gain the conviction that she was walking the right path.

'...No.'

Perhaps it wasn't the right path. The White Light Tower was close to a single colossal nation, and if the White Light Tower were destroyed, among those caught in the aftermath, there would surely be innocent people.

Nevertheless, this path of revenge was the path she 'wanted.'

"The half-spirit Meconion..."

The only one who could give her such conviction was Ortes. The one who had stayed by her side without any payment from the moment she escaped the White Light Tower's laboratory until now.

"President?"

"Boss?"

"Karisia?"

"...This kid really is asleep."

Hearing the voice of the only person with whom she could completely let her guard down, Karisia fell into a peaceful sleep.

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