Ch.116Storm in the Tempest (3)

Gorgov cast a soundproofing spell. It was quite familiar to Ortes, as it was a spell created by the magic tower that had developed high-frequency blades.

‘Is it based on the principle of covering voices with noise?’

After confirming the spell was fully operational, Gorgov asked with evident wariness.

“What are you thinking?”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“I’m asking why you would utter such terrible words.”

‘Ho. Trying to dodge the question.’ This was within Ortes’s expectations.

“There’s no need to speak that way. I already understand the situation.”

“…”

Silence. A sign of distrust. Still within expectations. Ortes slowly raised his hand and reached into his garment.

The suspicion in Gorgov’s eyes deepened. He didn’t immediately fire back only because such deliberately slow movements couldn’t possibly be an ambush.

What Ortes pulled out was a lantern.

“…?”

“Here. Look not with the eyes of flesh, but with the eyes of truth. You’ll sense a power that doesn’t belong to the Ten Towers.”

Gorgov activated his magical power. The lantern emanated an alien force different from mana or magical energy.

“This is a superstition follower’s…!”

“If I were truly loyal to Blasphemia, would I have preserved this sacred artifact so perfectly? If I were faithful to their orders, I would have destroyed it immediately.”

It was a clever misdirection. Not all Blasphemia agents destroy sacred artifacts immediately upon discovery. If they mindlessly destroyed them, they couldn’t collect information about the order’s capabilities.

Only after sufficient analysis and research, when it was finally determined that an artifact couldn’t be used for the Ten Towers’ benefit, would destruction take place.

But such internal procedures weren’t known to outsiders. Moreover, the Ten Towers had currently issued an edict to control sacred artifacts.

It was a deception that exploited stereotypes about Blasphemia and current trends. Gorgov hesitated and added a rebuttal.

“If you were on our side, you shouldn’t have done that to Danao. He’ll hunt down our comrades one by one and imprison them.”

‘Ah, yes. I knew you’d respond like that.’

“Consider it differently.”

“Differently?”

“Yes. There must be comrades within the Amimone Tower. But you only know that other comrades ‘exist,’ not exactly who they are.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

Gorgov put on a show of bravado. He was somewhat displeased by the attitude of this man who had just arrived in the city yet acted as if he knew more than himself, an envoy from Amimone Tower. It was also a light power struggle to gain the upper hand.

“Don’t harbor doubts in the face of our cause… but you would doubt that, wouldn’t you? The reason is simple.”

Ortes answered with a smile.

“You weren’t the one who sent the distress signal, were you?”

***

Gorgov’s expression hardened at my words. He must be wondering how I knew all this.

Of course, because I was the one who sent the distress signal. Gorgov probably hasn’t even found a clue about who sent it.

“If we consider who sent the distress signal, it means there’s at least one person besides you in Arguirion who could send such a signal. Your devotion to the cause is deep enough to be evident at first glance, but it seems you lacked the charisma to bring in another person.”

“…I admit it.”

“Now then. We don’t have time until Blasphemia sends a purge team. We must quickly find our comrades and unite them.”

“And what would you do after gathering them? As you said, if the purge team breaks through the extradimensional contamination zone, we’re finished. Unless Arguirion sends reinforcements besides you, there’s no solution.”

Gorgov, who had been rubbing his forehead as if suffering from a headache, suddenly looked up.

“Is that it? Gather our comrades to break through the extradimensional contamination zone? There would inevitably be losses, but it’s not a bad plan—” “You lack imagination.”

“What?”

Gorgov was taken aback by my sudden remark. I slowly looked him over as if appraising him.

The magical power originating from extradimensional sources, characteristic of Infiltrators, wasn’t visible. I couldn’t understand how Arguirion recruited people.

‘Do they really have some kind of hypnosis app?’

“I mean exactly what I said. Your task remains unchanged.”

“Unchanged? You told Danao that if we identify the traitors and offer their heads, we won’t be purged! Are you telling us to cut our own throats!”

“On the contrary.”

Gorgov’s expression now hovered between anger and bewilderment. Quite an entertaining face to observe.

“Why should you become traitors?”

“That story…”

“Cut off Danao’s head and present it to Blasphemia. Then you can serve our cause with all the resources of the magic tower, can’t you?”

“…!”

As Gorgov exclaimed in admiration and tried to say something, I shook my head. I raised my index finger to my lips—a gesture to keep quiet.

“Don’t speak so loudly. I’ll try to buy as much time as possible, gain Danao’s favor, and make him lower his guard. You need to help me find our comrades. Do you understand?”

“I understand. So this is why Arguirion didn’t send anyone else besides you…!”

I shrugged. I’m grateful he’s making his own assumptions.

“Now then. I’ll go outside and tell him your purity has been verified, and I’ll ask to be appointed as your assistant. Use that position to identify our comrades. And when I give the signal, you know what to do.”

Gorgov’s eyes sparkled as if he’d seen a lifeline descending from heaven. I added one more caution.

“If, by chance, other forces approach from outside, remember my words and act accordingly…”

After confirming that Gorgov was nodding fervently, I threw open the door and called out loudly.

“Tower Master Danao! Please come here!”

***

Danao was facing Ortes one-on-one. He guessed why this Blasphemia agent dared to meet with him and felt deeply displeased.

“First, please cast a soundproofing spell.”

“Where did you leave your vaunted Blasphemia skills?”

“It’s to check whether extradimensional magical energy can be detected in the magical wave patterns during spell casting.”

Danao’s expression twisted fiercely. He snapped his fingers to cast a soundproofing spell and immediately shouted in anger.

“Do you think I’m a madman colluding with those fools from Arguirion?!”

“No, Tower Master. Please hear me out for a moment.”

A completely different, submissive attitude from outside. Danao’s eyebrows twitched at the sight of Ortes using the honorific “nim” toward him.

“First, I should explain this. Most of what I said outside was greatly exaggerated.”

“What?”

Ortes began explaining calmly.

It was true that someone had diverted personnel outside the tower to request assistance, but it would be impossible to gather enough forces to deal with an enemy the size of a magic tower right away.

“As you may have guessed, Tower Master, the inspection of Amimone Tower is an extension of the checks and balances between Argos and Blasphemia. Wouldn’t Argos desperately oppose the purging of Amimone Tower?”

“Even in this situation?”

“Especially because of this situation. Would Argos prefer a narrative where ‘the entire Amimone Tower was colluding, and Argos knew nothing about it’? Or would they prefer ‘there were indeed some collaborators within Amimone Tower, but Blasphemia’s misconduct provoked them, and the core leadership including the Tower Master is innocent’?”

Danao fell into thought. Indeed, even after things had come to this point, he had been consistently maintaining his connections with Argos. Argos would certainly be convinced that he wasn’t a collaborator.

“So. What’s the reason for telling me this, Blasphemia agent?”

Deliberately mentioning his position was a questioning of his motives for doing something that might benefit Argos. Ortes skillfully deflected this.

“Right now, I’ve seized control of the atmosphere and pressured everyone so that no one doubts the arrival of the purge team. But what if someone calmly considers the possibility that the purge team might not exist?”

“I see. Your life hangs on the threat of retaliation.”

The reason a Blasphemia agent could be so forceful was the certainty that if he were killed, everyone present would die without exception—a kind of retaliatory mechanism.

But if the retaliation itself were revealed to be an illusion?

His life would be hanging by a thread.

“Therefore, Tower Master Danao, please form a temporary alliance to preserve both our necks.”

“You can’t catch traitors with just rough rhetoric and pressure. But do you have a plan to draw them out?”

Ortes pulled out Estia’s lantern from his garment. Danao could sense an ominous power from the artifact, an impiety as deep as its history.

‘To possess such a high-risk sacred artifact! He must certainly be an elite even among Blasphemia!’

“This is an antique I confiscated from a superstition follower nearby. I was on my way to submit it for analysis at headquarters when I received an urgent dispatch request from Algot City, so I ended up carrying it with me without being able to submit the evidence. I’ll use this to introduce myself as an Arguirion spy.”

“You’ll use yourself as bait to gather the collaborators, and then I and the loyalists will step in to subdue them and offer them to the Ten Towers?”

“Yes. I’ll give the signal for when to strike. If things go well, we can preserve both my life and your position, can’t we?”

Enjoy two flavors with one prop. Ortes inwardly smiled.