Ch.15Pressure Interview (2)

‘How did things end up like this?’

Silently coming and going through the restricted areas of the Information Broker Association, Ortes had become such a common sight that it no longer felt out of place.

Though it was chilling to see him break through countless surveillance devices only to appear and ask, “Would you like some tea?”, Arabel had more or less gotten used to it by now.

However, seeing a Mage Tower Lord who had disappeared decades ago following behind him was a sight that even Arabel was witnessing for the first time.

“Good day, Director Arabel. This is Kaicle of the Phytos Mage Tower.”

Two questions dominated Arabel’s mind.

The first: ‘Was Kaicle really inside Mount Etna?’

The second: ‘They brought Kaicle here alive?’

The latter question weighed more heavily.

According to Ortes’s plan, Kaicle was assigned the role of fostering competition with Hydra Company alongside Gerryones.

But that was merely the “plan” on paper. Like the old adage that battle plans are the first casualty of war, nothing disappears more easily than plans written on documents.

Arabel had expected Kaicle would likely die.

Mages tended to be somewhat mentally twisted. If he truly had been meditating in isolation under a volcano for decades, the probability was especially high.

At the same time, mages were the type who hated having their magic stolen more than death itself.

Would a mage who had devoted decades of painstaking effort to completing an artificial Tenth Circle quietly surrender his masterpiece?

Arabel had rather hoped he would self-destruct along with the Tenth Circle; the possibility of him submitting to Hydra Company seemed remote.

“Is the tea to your liking?”

And now that same Kaicle was sitting before him, drinking tea that Ortes had brought.

“What’s going on here?”

Those were Arabel’s first words, barely concealing his confusion.

Ortes shrugged.

“I need to escort this gentleman to Hydra Company, but taking him directly would likely cause quite a commotion. I believe Director Arabel can guide him to the company respectfully and discreetly.”

That word “believe” gave Arabel an uneasy feeling. By now, he knew that Ortes’s true nature wasn’t his intimidating presence, but his shameless habit of dumping work on others whenever he felt like it.

“Well then, Director. I’ll see you tonight.”

Arabel’s ominous premonition was correct. Before he could stop Ortes, the man had already risen and left.

Covering his eyes with his left hand, Arabel reflected on Ortes’s instructions. Escort him discreetly.

‘Probably to hide the fact that Kaicle is allied with Hydra Company?’

In Ortes’s plan, the three Mage Towers were performing a play of preparing for war against each other. A puppet show that would never escalate into actual war.

Kaicle would break his long silence to rescue the imprisoned Gerryones. After Gerryones’s defeat, Hydra Company would naturally focus on the Phytos Mage Tower as their next target.

The two towers would form a temporary alliance to check the rising power of Hydra Company.

Hydra Company would also reorganize its structure to respond to these formidable opponents.

Military expansion amid such tensions would seem natural enough that even the Justice Tower wouldn’t question it.

But in reality, all the Mage Towers in Etna City would be under Hydra Company’s control. The competition between the three towers would ultimately lead to Hydra Company’s enhancement.

Through this restructured system, they would accelerate the completion of the artificial Tenth Circle. This was Ortes’s initial plan.

‘I thought the artificial Tenth Circle, the starting point of the plan, wouldn’t even exist…’

His expectations were wrong. Arabel imagined what would happen when the eleventh Tenth Circle was truly completed.

A new king.

Shaking his head to escape that absurd imagination, Arabel turned toward Kaicle.

This was his opportunity, with Ortes entrusting Kaicle to him rather than another director. The perfect time to judge whether Hydra Company’s plans were actually feasible by conversing with Kaicle.

Arabel carefully selected the questions he would ask.

***

It’s over. My job is really finished.

Specific implementation plans for company improvements using Gerryones or Kaicle?

I’ve sketched the big picture, so the working-level staff can handle the rest. There might be some rash and insincere characters among the directors, but none are truly incompetent.

At the very least, they all have enough ability to survive as leaders in the underworld. Just bringing their organization’s staff together for brainstorming should yield quite positive results.

I savored the freedom of being released from all duties for the first time in a long while. Should I just sleep in bed?

I was tidying up my bed, thinking about sleeping until the next afternoon.

『Ortes.』

Damn it.

A call from the communication device embedded in my gauntlet. The caller was, of course.

“Yes, President.”

It was Carisia.

***

Bertrand couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It had been decades since Kaicle had disappeared from Etna City.

A giant figure approaching 4 meters tall with a right artificial eye containing three pupils. He looked exactly as Bertrand remembered him.

Gerryones, being dragged in with his arms bound, let out a hollow laugh.

“I thought you’d died somewhere long ago…”

Ortes and Carisia, who must have arranged this meeting, hadn’t arrived yet. While it wasn’t surprising for Ortes who often absented himself, it was unusual for Carisia, who typically arrived first at meetings and left last.

Clunk. The door opened. Carisia walked in through the door Ortes had opened.

The eight directors had seen this scene somewhere before.

‘Yes. When Hydra Company was founded…’

The day Carisia gathered the directors and bound them in her grasp. Arabel’s body stiffened as he recalled that moment.

“Good to see you all.”

Even the opening of the conversation was identical. Arabel realized that the current setup was an intentional repetition.

“With this, all executives recruited for our company’s first objective have gathered in one place.”

Their president smiled. Her expression suggested she couldn’t be more pleased.

“Today, we are here to listen to Mr. Kaicle’s presentation on the artificial Tenth Circle. Please stand up.”

Kaicle rose from his seat with an entranced expression. In his right eye, Carisia was reflected with a strangeness different from Ortes.

“You… you all…!”

Behind Carisia, Ortes raised his index finger. A smile with his finger pressed to his lips. Kaicle looked around in terror and awe.

Among those present were faces he had met directly in his past, as well as those he had only seen through data collected during his seclusion under Mount Etna.

The power players of Etna City. Those who moved the city were gathered in one place. Under the name of Hydra Company.

Kaicle slowly began to unfold the true nature of the “artificial Tenth Circle” he had created.

The questions that arose while studying at both the Red Flame and Silver Iron Mage Towers. A history of trial and error that began with ‘What, ultimately, is ascension?’

“If ascension is the process of becoming a god and the Tenth Circle is its milestone, I thought another milestone could be created by gathering traces left by ancient gods…”

Among the directors listening attentively, Bertrand’s expression grew increasingly grave. The decline of the fossil mining industry ultimately stemmed from Kaicle’s desires.

And since Carisia, who had captured Kaicle, also placed the artificial Tenth Circle at the core of her plan, the future of the Miners’ Guild looked bleak.

“There is no longer any reason to accumulate magical power from Mount Etna.”

It was Ortes’s assertion that cut through that concern.

“The artificial Tenth Circle created by Mr. Kaicle will not enhance its performance by increasing magical power. We need to focus on more fundamental aspects.”

“Fundamental?”

A woman with flowing green hair adorned with flowers spoke up. Meconion. One of the eight directors and a half-human, half-spirit Alraune hybrid.

She was Etna City’s largest drug dealer.

“Yes. Didn’t Mr. Kaicle mention it first? That he wanted to create an artificial Tenth Circle by gathering traces of gods. There are no more traces of gods left in this city.”

Meconion felt Ortes’s gaze directed at her. It was different from the lustful, obscene looks her clients often gave her. It was an utterly businesslike, almost mechanical stare.

“Divine things would be with the gods. We can find clues to divinity from those who believe in the vanished gods.”

Hearing Ortes’s words, Meconion sensed what was coming next.

‘So, this is why he looked at me…’

“Among the buyers of the drugs that Director Meconion sells, aren’t there followers of the old gods?”

“Yes, there are. Pitiful people trying to find traces of gods in their ecstasy.”

“Let’s start with them.”

Having finished speaking, Ortes stepped back behind Carisia.

“You have all learned that our company’s plan carries sufficient realism.”

Carisia, who had somehow lost her smile, calmly declared.

“If there are any objections, please speak up. I will listen.”

No one raised their hand. Carisia nodded at the answer made of silence.

“Then, before the full-scale reorganization, I will establish a new department. The Divine Investigation Office. A department directly under the president, and the head will be—”

Ortes.

***

Good grief.

Until now, I’ve been working all over the place without a single official position, and now they’re going to properly put me under their thumb?

Was I the one being pressured, not Kaicle?