WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

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

Chapter 50

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Elysion (6)

Niobe felt a wave of relief at the decisive order L13 had given.

It hadn't even been a year since she'd graduated from Blasphemia's training grounds. She'd shed a little of her rookie look, but making field calls in an operation this large still weighed on her.

And then, in the middle of all that, a superior she could trust had shown up.

Whether it was the fight with Branch Chief Nardanit or, just now, taking down a crazed Elysion guard in an instant, the secret inspector's skill truly lived up to the reputation.

'If I stay by this person's side, even if the mission fails... at least I won't die!'

Her burden lifted, Niobe's mind settled into calm.

Ortes felt a serious weight settle on him under the bright, admiring look Niobe was giving him.

'What do I do.'

He'd only just finished roughing up some apocalypticist who'd been wrecking the road outside the Museion admissions office, and of all people, Niobe had to pop out of nowhere.

'Given how thick Elysion's surveillance cameras are laid out... no, wait. Argyrion and the Ten Towers are still fighting over the broadcast lines. I should assume Elysion's electronics are about half fried right now.'

The easiest way for the Ten Towers to root out Argyrion operatives who'd slipped into the city was tracking through CCTV footage.

Elysion was one of the cities with the tightest surveillance network in this entire world.

Even if someone infiltrated through some back route instead of the main gate, the moment they set foot in Elysion, they'd leave a trace on camera somewhere. And since Argyrion's core figures were former Blasphemia agents, the Ten Towers surely already had their full personal details, appearance included, on file.

Run the footage through spirit intelligence for a search, and finding a lead wouldn't be hard.

If Argyrion had any sense at all, they'd have made at least minimal preparations to disrupt the Ten Towers' tracking.

And that preparation was most likely an Ether Space strike carried out through hackers. They'd already hijacked the broadcast lines to put out their terror announcement, so they clearly had hackers on hand.

'If my reasoning's right, nothing at all is being recorded on Elysion's surveillance network at this exact moment.'

What was he supposed to do about this Blasphemia rookie he'd now run into twice, against his own wishes? Ortes turned the problem over in his head.

* * *

I weigh the risk against the reward of what to do with the kid who thinks I'm on her side.

'Elimination has to come off the table.'

The risk is too big.

The city's surveillance cameras might not be working right now.

But when Ten Towers agents head out on a group operation, they usually wear a vital-sign detector. If one agent's vital sign vanishes, it means something dangerous is there.

A location where a vital sign cuts out immediately becomes a point for reinforcements to be dispatched to.

'I can wave off not having a detector myself with some excuse about a secret inspector needing to keep his location hidden, but there's no other way around the one Niobe's wearing.'

And it's not just the detector. There could be someone in some blind spot who'd end up a witness.

No matter how forgettable my face is, if someone sees me taking a person down in broad daylight, they'll remember something about how I looked and file a report. Best to avoid anything that draws the Ten Towers' attention.

'...That'd be for the best, except of all people, the one I run into again is the kid who was standing right there when I posed as the secret inspector.'

This whole mess started because some apocalypticist punk was camped out in front of the Museion admissions office. If the street had been empty, I'd have already slipped in quietly and pulled Kyne out by now.

I think of another way.

'Use her?'

No wariness toward me at all. Which means Niobe still believes I'm the secret inspector.

'If I play this right, I might be able to get Kyne out without anyone else inside the admissions office getting suspicious.'

"Um."

Just as I was working out what excuse to feed Niobe, she spoke first.

"Should I... use formal speech with you? Since you're my senior?"

"Oh, come now. There is no need for that. Just speak to me plainly. I would rather be seen as some bumbling agent who fell behind and straggled back, than have people going around saying I am a secret inspector, that would make things difficult."

It really would make things difficult.

If any other Blasphemia agent besides you showed up, this whole situation would spiral completely out of control.

* * *

At the Museion admissions office, some thirteen or fourteen kids had gathered under the admissions officer.

'No support from the professors, huh....'

The Museion's main building and the admissions testing hall stood apart from each other. It had been designed that way out of concern that putting the testing hall too close to the main building would disrupt the students' studies.

But right now, that same design meant there weren't enough hands to protect the kids. Word had come through that the main building had been fortified, and that even the professors couldn't just step outside on their own.

'Can just me and the applicants survive a terror attack?'

The admissions officer shook off the ominous thought rising in his mind. The Ten Towers would put the crisis down soon.

Knock. Knock.

Just then, a knock sounded against the barricaded door. Tension shot through the admissions officer's whole body.

He looked around. The kids trembled with anxiety.

He wasn't a battle mage, but he stepped forward anyway, staff in hand, driven by a sense of duty to protect the students.

"Is anyone there?"

A strangely cold voice. The hand gripping the staff clenched down even harder.

"Oh, come on, you can't do it like that!"

Just then, a girl's voice rang out, easing the tension.

"This is the Emergency Relief Team dispatched by the Ten Towers. We'll give the countersign, so could you give us the challenge word?"

"Ah, turtle, it's turtle!"

"Resurrection. Please open the door!"

The admissions officer let out a sigh of relief. He was saved.

* * *

The moment I stepped into the Museion admissions office, I looked for Kyne. Her face came into view, still unable to work out what was going on as she watched me walk in, introduced as part of the Ten Towers' Emergency Relief Team.

According to Niobe, the Emergency Relief Team was the cover identity Blasphemia agents currently deployed in Elysion were using. Apparently there really had been an order to pitch in with relief work if there was time to spare, so it wasn't even entirely a lie.

There was no way to explain to Kyne, staring at me in confusion, something like, "Ha, well, the person next to me just happens to be a Blasphemia agent, and I went along with it and ended up here."

Better to keep it as brief as possible. There'd be time enough for the full story once we were back in Etna City. I sent a short message through the communicator built into my gauntlet.

'This is only a temporary identity I am using. We will be escaping shortly, so please be careful not to do anything that might arouse suspicion.'

"Astrape-!!"

Behind me, I heard an oddly familiar voice call out a name that had no business sounding so familiar. I whipped around.

The one running toward me was my old friend, Lampades.

'Wait. Astrape?'

Don't tell me it's that Astrape? I'd figured she hadn't even been caught by Toress Magic Tower, so I'd stopped giving her a second thought!

Near a corner close to Kyne, I caught a glimpse of golden hair. A name and a face I'd thought I'd never have reason to hear or see again. No mistaking it, the lightning mage fated to become the protagonist's companion down the line.

'Where in the world did this guy Lampades even run into Astrape?'

At least it was some relief that she hadn't ended up sold off as a slave in Etna City. No chance now of her going on to the protagonist about Etna City's slave-trader ring and bringing the Mage King down on Etna City.

* * *

Lampades, having fought his way through a flood of silver thread and a handful of deranged mages to reach the Museion admissions office, felt a wave of relief. The road out front bore traces of a strangely fierce fire, but the building itself looked untouched.

But that relief vanished the instant he shouted Astrape's name and stepped through the door.

There, a man stood with his back turned.

A back far too familiar to Lampades, and one he'd never wanted to grow familiar with.

At the end of that gaze stood Astrape.

The man turned in a smooth pivot. Those strangely gleaming, slit-thin eyes, and a smile that refused to fade even in a situation like this.

No. Maybe it was precisely because of a situation like this that the smile wouldn't fade. Maybe everything was unfolding exactly as that man had planned.

Ortes was standing there.

"Oh, a pleasure to meet you, Lampades. I'm glad you came."

"Why, why are you here...!"

"I came because I was worried about our scholarship student. Are you not here for a similar reason?"

Lampades didn't bother voicing the obvious question, that if that were true, why had Ortes been looking at Astrape instead of his own scholarship student?

Ortes must have recognized just how overflowing with talent Astrape was. The other transfer applicants weren't quite on her level, but they were unmistakably gifted in their own right.

Being the adult who'd saved them in a moment of crisis like this, what a perfect position for winning their goodwill.

'If I hadn't come...!'

Astrape and the other kids might have been completely taken in by that man. In fact, since he himself hadn't exposed Ortes's true nature even now, the good impression Ortes had left on them probably hadn't gone anywhere.

'I can't guess right off what he was planning to do with these kids. But I won't let things go the way you want...!'

"Ortes. Let's protect the kids together. They're setting up a defensive formation at the Magic Tower listing review hall, so we can head there."

Hearing that, Ortes gestured to someone. It was a girl with a dopey, green-mage look about her, like she hadn't quite shaken off her rookie air.

Ortes whispered a few words to her.

"...Yes! Everyone, may I have your attention, please! I'm with the Emergency Relief Team dispatched by the Ten Towers. Starting now, we'll be moving to a safe location under the guidance of Magic Tower Master Lampades!"

Using even some naive-looking mage like that as his own pawn...?!

Lampades stifled his own horror.

* * *

Whew. What a relief.

Yeah, that guy really does have a sense of responsibility. Even in a dangerous situation like this, he's exactly the kind of upstanding adult who looks out for kids.

I'd already given Niobe some rough explanation along the lines of "a mage who happens to know the original owner of this face," so there shouldn't be a problem there.

Now all that's left is to wait until the Ten Towers get the chaos under control, then slip out of Elysion!

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