Ch.16Holiday (1)

Thanks to Carisia suddenly putting a hat on me, a severe headache came rushing in.

Damn it. I could happily steal my salary even if I received an empty lunchbox.

So the boss wants me to actually work!

I understand why she’d ask me to prepare a future plan within 5 minutes after I brought Kaikel here.

Using Geriones for a fake war was Carisia’s plan, but using Kaikel and the Artificial Ten Commandments was my idea.

Setting aside the fact that this method was borrowed from your actions in the original work.

Didn’t I already tell you how to utilize the Artificial Ten Commandments? How to dangle the bait of ascension in front of the directors and where to direct their impulses?

After all I’ve done for you, I get additional work in return. How could you do this to me!

I poured out all my complaints to Carisia.

But only in my imagination.

Complaining to the real Carisia would only result in more work. She’d flash that fierce smile she reserves just for me and demand “just do it” in her elegant way.

I should write up a few proposals before bed.

Tomorrow’s a holiday. Better finish everything today to avoid being called in on my day off.

***

Around midnight, Carisia was reading a report sent directly from Ortes.

It was about how to utilize the space Kaikel had created beneath Mount Etna.

According to Ortes’s analysis, the place where the Artificial Ten Commandments was enshrined was a type of ether space.

Ether space is a semi-real space. An intermediary between the material and immaterial worlds.

Usually, mages trying to access ether space approach it from the immaterial world.

Connecting to the astral body through meditation is the prime example. There are two main reasons why access from the material world is not preferred:

First, the danger.

Most astral body connections, even if they fail, require at most a few days of rest, but physical connections always carry the risk of brain death.

Even neural terminal connections, the most representative method of accessing from the material world, are dangerous. If you get caught in a firewall incorrectly, your brain gets fried directly.

Second, accessibility.

Astral body connection can be achieved through meditation alone, without any equipment, just your bare body.

In contrast, physical connection required various facilities in addition to a modified body with neural terminals.

Methods for connecting the entire physical body to ether space without devices like neural terminals were extremely rare.

Generally, a full dive into ether space refers to a connection where all five senses can be experienced. Neural terminal connections typically fall into this category.

Going a step beyond such full dives, the form of connecting with the entire physical body is called Eleusis.

To successfully achieve Eleusis, the ether space being accessed must be very robust.

This is because it needs to be complete enough to overcome the instability of straddling between reality and unreality.

The structure of the ether space created by Kaikel wasn’t perfect, but it had an enormous amount of magical power that more than compensated for its structural deficiencies.

An ether space that used Mount Etna itself as a kind of backup power source. The reason Ortes and Kaikel could enter with their physical bodies was thanks to this overflowing magical power.

Ortes’s proposal contained the opinion to remodel that space created by Kaikel into a kind of shelter.

A refuge in case the White Light Magic Tower used city-wide grand magic during an all-out war.

It was an opinion typical of Ortes, who always worried about Carisia first. Feeling a faint satisfaction, Carisia sent a brief reply.

『Rejected. Concerns about reduced explosion efficiency of the Artificial Ten Commandments if converted to shelter.』

She hadn’t given up on her dream of creating the largest magical bomb in history.

***

The short message transmitted from Carisia was enough to make the back of my head throb. I don’t know why she likes explosions so much.

I’ve given all the advice I could as her subordinate. I’m done with this.

Tomorrow is a holiday. I’ve been running around busy lately, so I should get some good sleep.

“Let me see you.”

Oh dear, boss.

Why are you in my room?

***

I woke up at dawn. And on a holiday, no less.

Sensing a suspicious presence in my room, I cautiously lifted my eyelids slightly while remaining on high alert.

The trouble with this body is that if I open my eyes fully, I see too much. I have to be careful even with opening and closing my eyes.

In my carefully secured field of vision, I saw a pair of golden eyes gleaming brilliantly even in the darkness.

It was Carisia.

“Wasn’t today supposed to be a holiday?”

I looked at Carisia while clutching my throbbing head.

Though I’ve been around this magical power gap society for quite some time, a boss barging into an employee’s room at dawn on a holiday wasn’t something you’d commonly find even in this world.

“So what? Do you have plans?”

What does she mean by “so what”? Is she here to nag me because she doesn’t like me resting on a holiday? I don’t think I’ve done anything to upset her lately.

“No, I don’t. But boss, you should rest too, in accordance with the great Mage King’s will.”

What I mentioned was one of this world’s myths. The origin of the calendar created by the Mage King.

He meditated for ten days to understand the principles of magic, and when he opened his eyes, he had mastered the ten main attributes of magic represented by the Ten Commandments.

The first day when he began meditation and the tenth day when he finished are especially revered as holidays.

Yes, in this world, a week consists of ten days. A month is made up of three weeks, which makes date calculations convenient.

But there was a terrible aspect that couldn’t be justified by mere calculation convenience.

Only two days of rest in a ten-day week. Three weeks in a month.

Only six days off in a month!

I didn’t want to spend my precious holiday with my superior.

“I came here to rest.”

Carisia sat down on the edge of the bed as if wondering what I was talking about. Right next to me.

Suppressing a sigh that was about to escape, I lay back down and wriggled around. Making space for one more person to lie down.

“What do you think of the directors?”

Carisia asked, lying down beside me.

“…Didn’t we establish Hydra Company last month? That was the first week of the Month of Light, wasn’t it? It’s only been a month, how could I fully understand people in such a short time?”

“It’s already been 30 days if you count. Come on, tell me.”

Do you think I’m some kind of internal affairs officer? I started rambling randomly with my eyes closed.

Surely she wouldn’t scold me for being unprepared with a report at this late hour.

“I’ve already dealt with Kriton’s slave trade business as it might attract attention from other magic towers. His personal power source has been removed, weakening him. Use him in the construction sector during the city reorganization work where both physical and magical power will be needed, and use that to keep him on a leash.”

***

Carisia was listening to Ortes’s whispers in a half-asleep state.

In truth, from her perspective, her will was Ortes’s will, and Ortes’s will was her will.

There was no need to reconfirm the blueprint of the future that Ortes had conceived. He would prepare it if she wanted.

“Arabelle is clever, and Bertrand is steadfast. Neither is likely to cause major problems. There are concerns about the weakening of the Miners’ Guild, but the risk factors have been temporarily addressed by recruiting Kaikel.”

Yet she had deliberately come to Ortes’s room because…

“The monster tamer Dimedes is somewhat dangerous. The magical beasts he raises crave blood. Give him the role of hunting down the tower’s wanted criminals as a cover for the Holy Investigation Office’s activities to satisfy his desires.”

It was literally to take a “rest.”

“Taros from the magical waste disposal site is not particularly threatening. Though he commands mutants and has considerable organizational force, his desire is merely for the survival of his kind, which isn’t difficult to accommodate. Simply treating them equally will gradually make him favorable.”

The one person who could assure her that she hadn’t lost her way in the long journey of revenge.

“The hunter Noiro and Divius, the expert in illegal body modifications, both have their own agendas. However, they are currently captivated by the boss’s authority, and since I haven’t fully understood their intentions yet, I plan to investigate further before making a judgment.”

Listening to Ortes’s vision of the future gave Carisia confidence that she was on the right path.

‘…No.’

It might not be the right path. The White Light Magic Tower is close to a massive nation, and when it falls, not all who get caught in the aftermath will be guilty.

Nevertheless, this path of revenge was what she “wanted.”

“The semi-spirit Mekonion…”

Only Ortes could give her such assurance. The one who had stood by her side without asking for anything in return since the moment she escaped from the White Light Magic Tower’s laboratory.

“Boss?”

“Employer?”

“Carisia?”

“…She’s really asleep.”

Listening to the voice of the one person with whom she could completely relax, Carisia fell into a peaceful sleep.