Ch.153Hydra Corporation General Meeting (3)

Kaicle expressed doubts about Ortes’s true identity, but Carisia herself had no further answers to give. Just a few months ago, she had considered candidates for Ortes’s identity such as the Pope or a demigod.

But.

‘You said that beings dispatched from Argyrion and the mental parasites called Ortes a demigod.’

If that was the case, then he probably wasn’t one.

It was a judgment based purely on intuition without any evidence, but Carisia trusted her instincts. At the very least, Argyrion’s assessment of Ortes couldn’t possibly be accurate.

‘If not a demigod, or perhaps something beyond that, there’s only one candidate…’

God.

Even in this era where the cult of the old gods had declined, the name “god” carried weight. No.

It would be more accurate to say that the Ten Towers had ruthlessly suppressed the cult precisely because the names of gods carried such weight.

The hunt for mental parasites by the Divine Name Order, dispatched at Ortes’s request, was shocking. The unreasonable performance of the holy swords they used almost seemed to produce results without revealing the detailed process of how they tracked their targets.

Carisia recalled Kaicle’s theory that the Mage King corresponded to the god of magic. Could the Ten Towers not have reached this conclusion?

If they had arrived at the same conclusion, their obsession with establishing a dedicated cult-hunting department in Panoptes made sense. If the Mage King who walked the earth could sweep away all other cults, then similarly, if another god descended to earth, the magical society might also be swept away.

‘Oh?’

Ortes’s actions were similar in their results. Though he wasn’t directly confronting and destroying cults like the war between the Mage King and the cults, Ortes was gradually dismantling the order maintained by the Ten Towers and the structure of magical society itself.

Carisia pondered this fact before shaking her head.

Whatever Ortes’s true identity was, it was enough that he was by her side now. She had long accepted this simple fact.

She called for Ortes with a refreshed feeling. They needed to coordinate what they would say at the general meeting.

“Ah, Boss. I have good news. I’ve recruited someone who will be of great help to the World Division Plan.”

Carisia wasn’t taken aback.

“Ah. Is it that Niobe agent from Blasphemia? It’s good if you’ve recruited someone from inside the Ten Towers.”

“Hmm? No.”

“Then from Argos or Eidolon, not Blasphemia?”

“Haha, Boss. Even I have my limitations. It’s difficult to recruit someone from a completely unrelated department.”

“If not someone from inside the Ten Towers, then who exactly have you brought in?”

“Ah. I mentioned I had three friends from my problem solver days. This is the last one.”

Carisia still wasn’t perturbed. Instead, she was concerned about Ortes’s friendship.

While Ortes’s “friends” each had their own abilities, it was unclear whether they truly considered him a friend as he thought, or if they saw him as a higher-dimensional being called “friend.”

Carisia carefully chose her words. It was unfortunate if Ortes’s friendship was one-sided, but there was no need to point that out.

“You said they were friends from your problem solver days. Is this person still a problem solver now?”

“Ah. To be precise, I first met this friend even before I started being a problem solver… But even then, problem solving was more like a side job for the old man.”

“Old man?”

“He’s quite elderly. Our acquaintance goes back the furthest. Anyway, as for his main occupation, what should I call it…”

“Tax evasion, no, professional tax evasion consultant?”

Carisia was dumbfounded.

***

Sensing an impending headache, Carisia postponed hearing about this “friend” until after the general meeting concluded.

“I’ve already informed those who would inevitably learn the truth due to their position. Now we just need to decide what to tell the other directors.”

“I’ll carefully package and deliver the false objective of attempting to seize the White Light through the succession battle.”

Ortes nodded. Carisia calling him like this meant she was entrusting him with the announcement at the general meeting. The directors needed to play their respective roles in the fight against the Ten Towers.

Not just the directors. Even Geryon, whom Carisia had captured. Everyone was essential for the first succession battle to secure the White Light.

“If we say we’re going to destroy the Ten Realms, those living within the magical society’s system will inevitably feel resistance. But if we say we’re going to take possession of the Ten Realms, they’ll think ‘can we do it?’ rather than feeling resistance. And with your abilities, Boss, we can answer them with ‘yes, we can.'”

Ortes promised to make all necessary preparations, and Carisia nodded.

And the scheduled day of the general meeting approached.

***

“First.”

Ortes looked around. It was similar yet different from when he first announced the establishment of Hydra Company. One of the eight directors was gone, but Geryon and Kaicle had joined instead.

At the first meeting, the Hydra Company conference room had been nearly empty. It was shortly after Ortes and Carisia had dealt with the previous occupants.

Compared to then, the current conference room was quite luxurious. Thanks to Bertrand’s cooperation, all the furniture in the conference room had been newly refurbished.

Feeling a certain emotion, Ortes began his opening remarks.

“I extend my deepest gratitude to all of you for gathering here. It is an honor to share with everyone that our Hydra Company’s artificial Ten Realms plan has borne fruit.”

The directors remained silent. It was a remarkable achievement, but they were certain that the entire staff hadn’t been summoned merely for such pleasantries.

“The vision proposed by CEO Carisia was for our company to become the eleventh tower. With the virtual completion of the artificial Ten Realms, this is about to be realized…”

Ortes’s smile deepened. The directors sensed this as a signal that the real main point was about to follow.

“—However.”

“The CEO has determined that it is too early to be satisfied with just this much.”

Noiro raised his hand. Ortes looked at Carisia, and she nodded once to permit the director to speak.

“Is that regarding the completeness of the artificial Ten Realms? Or the purpose of Hydra Company itself?”

“The latter. The CEO has felt great disappointment in the recent behavior of the Ten Towers.”

The word “disappointment” caused a stir among the directors. What they were about to say seemed like…

“In the Argyrion disturbance, the Ten Towers were in a position where they constantly needed to prove themselves. But what was the reality? From the Elysion terror to the disappearance of the True Magic Tower in Algoth City. The Ten Towers failed to prove their value of existence.”

Value of existence. A truly radical choice of words. However, the Ten Towers were a law enforcement mechanism, a judicial institution, and also the army of magical society.

In the Argyrion incident, the Ten Towers had consistently failed. Although people refrained from speaking freely because of their “power,” the complete disappearance of the True Magic Tower’s magic core could be considered a failure of the entire Ten Towers.

“Therefore, the CEO has decided. The position at the top does not suit the current Ten Towers.”

Naturally, Ortes stood behind Carisia, and she took over speaking.

“The Ten Towers have been stagnant for too long. According to the Mage King’s will, which designed the most excellent mages to occupy the pinnacle.”

Carisia’s golden eyes shone. Kaicle, the only one in this place besides Carisia and Ortes who knew their true purpose, chuckled at Ortes’s prepared choice of words.

“Now, our Hydra Company will stand at the pinnacle.”

Ortes and Carisia weren’t simply planning to take over the Ten Towers’ position, but to collapse the system itself. However, if their plan succeeded, Hydra Company would certainly rise to the top as the one who overthrew the Ten Towers. In that sense, they weren’t lying.

After Carisia finished speaking, Ortes stepped forward again. He slowly looked around at the directors.

“We have now obtained very detailed information about the situation between the Ten Towers and Argyrion. And based on this, we will use the power of the entire magical society to bring down the Ten Towers. However.”

Ortes paused briefly, and a blue light seemed to shine from beneath his eyelids.

“If you hear what comes next, it will be like crossing a river of no return. I’ll give you one last chance. A chance to leave this room, or—”

Thud. A noise too loud to be just one person’s body sitting down filled the conference room.

It was Taros.

Mekonion, who was next to him, slapped his back asking what he was doing, but Taros remained kneeling without moving.

Slowly, the half-dragon’s mouth opened.

“…I received a reconciliation offer from Argyrion.”

‘Huh?’

It was a confession no one had expected. Ortes maintained his composure.