Ch.155Hydra Company General Meeting (5)

I meticulously explained the Plan of World Division. The simultaneous succession war plots triggered by the Ten Towers’ expedition to Arguilion.

The surprise declaration of war when the Elders and the main forces of the Tower were all absent. And Hydra Company’s intervention when other magic towers had depleted all of the Ten Towers’ reserve combat capabilities. All the way to the final stage of taking over the Ten Systems using the artificial Ten Systems.

I had finished explaining all parts of the plan that could be disclosed.

The directors didn’t exactly welcome the plan with applause upon hearing it. Given that we were dealing with the Ten Towers, it was natural for them to deliberate carefully.

“…There’s a problem.”

It was Noiro who opened with this remark.

“When wolves go hunting, there’s always a leader who commands the hunt. Is there anyone in the magic tower society who can be the wolf leader to challenge the tiger?”

“Don’t worry. Hasn’t the new tower master of Amimone Magic Tower received our sponsorship?”

Knemon and Amimone Magic Tower were expected to serve as the catalysts for the succession war. To be precise, they had no intention of engaging in a proper fight.

Knemon’s job was to request a succession war against the Ten Towers and then maintain a stalemate for days after the declaration.

“A regular magic tower that has lost its mana core. The Ten Towers struggling to conclude a succession war even against such an opponent. The magical society will soon come to think…”

“‘Are the Ten Towers weaker than we thought?'”

In fact, Knemon’s “hold out at all costs” strategy was planned with the help of the Divine Name Order. The Ten Towers, with their main forces absent, would struggle to deploy troops. And the Amimone Magic Tower could gain advantages in most defensive battles by using holy grounds.

These were sufficient conditions to maintain a stalemate.

“The Ten Towers will no longer appear as tigers. Even if they are tigers, they’ll look like toothless ones. Of course, everyone will know those dangerous teeth will soon grow back.”

“…But because of that, there will be those who wish to kill the tiger before its teeth grow back, to seize wealth and honor.”

I nodded. I appreciate how Noiro makes sensible remarks at a reasonable level. It saves me from having to persuade each director individually.

“And with Director Mekonion’s help, we can empower one of those dreamers.”

“Huh? Me?”

Mekonion probably has little interest in magical honors like the Ten Systems. That makes her easier to persuade, but she would immediately agree if told that there are plants or magic beneficial to her plants, or seeds of plants she hasn’t seen yet, around the Verdant Wood Magic Tower.

I needed the connections Mekonion had made through her side business while growing plants—specifically, her illegal pharmaceutical trade. More precisely…

“Weren’t there magicians who traded with Director Mekonion for research purposes, focusing on her half-human, half-elemental physique?”

“That’s right. Though most of those dealings were cut off when the Chief told me to wrap up business and lay low from the Ten Towers’ eyes for a while.”

“Contact them. Ask if they want the pinnacle of all plant magic—the Ten System Verdant Wood. With Knemon’s Amimone Magic Tower as the first trigger. And if a second succession war is launched against the Verdant Wood Magic Tower, declarations of succession wars against other Ten Towers will follow naturally.”

In fact, I did have a third bullet prepared in case two provocations weren’t enough. It was Lampades’ tower, which wouldn’t want to get involved in such dangerous affairs and would prefer to keep it as an evacuation site just in case.

“We gauge when the Ten Towers’ combat capabilities are depleted. Having infiltrated personnel within the Ten Towers will help with information gathering. And when we reach the critical phase…”

“Declare a succession war in the name of Hydra Company…”

It was Geryones who muttered this. There must have been a time when he too dreamed of obtaining the great legacy of the Ten Systems as a magician.

How ironic that after living as a warlord in Etna City and being captured by his rival, he’s now closer to the Ten Systems than ever before. It was a situation where he might feel somewhat sentimental.

Divius, who had been silent until now, raised his hand.

“Hey, CEO and Chief. You two might know this, but I’ve eaten the salt of the Ten Towers. From that position, I have just one question.”

“What is it?”

“The Plan of World Division is so good that even the old gods’ order would applaud it. But the biggest problem with this plan is that it relies on Arguilion.”

Kriton, sitting next to Divius, had a peculiar expression. The phrase “relying on Arguilion” was difficult to grasp at first glance.

Conversely, Arabel, who could be said to have survived in Etna City on wits alone, looked at me with a small exclamation of “Ah…!” This was indeed a problem.

“If Arguilion isn’t strong enough to establish a ‘fight’ against the Ten Towers’ expedition force, we might not even be able to buy time for the succession wars to occur. Do you have any understanding of their capabilities?”

“Hmm, what about the incident where Talo of the Silver Iron died?”

“That was just one Elder, but this time they’ll send at least two from each tower, making twenty. Can Arguilion withstand twenty Elders?”

“The fact that Arguilion’s base is in another dimension doesn’t help much either.”

“It’s a punitive expedition by the entire Ten Towers. They can overcome dimensional disasters to some extent.”

This was certainly a perspective I hadn’t anticipated. Whether Arguilion could stall for enough time.

“It’s difficult to call it a solution, but there is a way to buy minimal time.”

Surprisingly, the speaker was Geryones.

“While staying with old man Bertrand, I was dragged into various odd jobs. Being a prisoner, I didn’t particularly mind. But the more I worked, the more I developed a sort of engineering insight.”

Overcoming this situation with engineering knowledge? Even Bertrand himself seemed to be hearing this for the first time, his eyebrows twitching.

“I learned a few things while modifying Lampades’ radar for divine investigation duties. Originally, it was a radar for finding safe extra-dimensional spaces. I’m not entirely sure, but the Ten Towers would use similar observation devices, or perhaps arcane magic, to secure spatial magic coordinates.”

Bertrand was the first to understand Geryones’ words. He muttered to himself:

“You’re suggesting we convert Lampades’ radar into a kind of jamming transmitter to confuse the Ten Towers’ spatial coordinate interpretation. To delay the collision between Arguilion and the Ten Towers as much as possible, and make the Ten Towers spend more time on the return journey after the expedition.”

“As you know, spatial magic is the most dangerous magic. Even the Ten Towers would only use it after ensuring safety to the best of their ability. This should be enough to buy time, don’t you think?”

I looked at Divius. After hearing Geryones’ proposal, he seemed to be in deep thought, but soon nodded.

“Interference with spatial movement… Since this extra-dimensional radar is unprecedented, the Ten Towers wouldn’t predict it either. We can buy as much time as needed.”

It was a moment when Divius, the most knowledgeable among the directors about the Ten Towers’ current strength, acknowledged “there’s a possibility.”

The first stage of the Plan of World Division, persuasion, was successful.

***

After the meeting, only Ortes and Karisia remained on the top floor of Hydra Company.

“Divius’s point was sharp. If it weren’t for him, we might have failed due to an aspect we hadn’t considered.”

Ortes spoke casually. Once the plan was on track, Hydra Company, with its ability to deploy artificial Ten Systems, could gain an advantage in a full-scale war against a single Ten Tower.

“Is the next step checking our collaborators?”

“Yes. Consultation with the Divine Name Order. And waiting for contact from Niobe’s side. But neither is urgent. You should rest for today.”

Karisia nodded. Since there was free time, she decided to ask something she had been curious about.

“Ortes, you don’t have anything to do right now either, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. I was thinking of reviewing the plan further, but since it’s essentially complete, there’s nothing I need to do right away.”

“Then would you explain about that friend of yours, the ‘Tax Evasion Guide’?”

Ortes nodded as if it was no trouble. Karisia pointed to the chair in front of her.

“Where should I begin? He’s the first friend I met.”

“The first?”

“When I woke up, I saw that old man’s face. It’s quite an old friendship.”

Ortes confessed that he had learned a lot from the “old man.”

“The formula overwriting I use now requires an understanding of the formula. Now I can understand immediately just by looking, but it was the old man who taught me the basic knowledge needed for that understanding.”

“A person with detailed knowledge of the structure and dismantling methods of magical formulas… Is this related to why he’s called the Tax Evasion Guide?”

“You know there are usage fees for patents and axioms.”

Magic patents. The modern magic system is built upon axioms proven by previous magical research. One of the pretexts for the Ten Towers to collect mana from each magic tower is the usage royalty for axioms derived from the Ten Systems.

Besides such axioms, unique magics like exceptionally outstanding mana operation methods are recognized as patents, acknowledging the creator’s rights.

Those with numerous patents, like the regular magic towers, file lawsuits against various magic towers for patent infringement to receive tribute fees, or sometimes even the magic towers themselves.

“That old man persistently dismantles the structure of magic to find another corner. Using that as a pretext, he stubbornly argues that this magic and that magic are different. Perhaps because of his age, he’s also well-versed in precedents, so none of the judges of Panoptes can match him.”

After achieving tax evasion—no, tax reduction—he vanishes without a trace.

“I hadn’t heard from him in quite a while, but he contacted me after seeing my face and the CEO’s in the article about the Amimone Tower Master’s inauguration, listed as Knemon’s sponsors. With his wide network, he’s the perfect personnel for our plan.”

Karisia felt hopeful.

Unlike the other two people, he had contacted Ortes “first.”

Perhaps he might truly be a proper friend.