Ch.47Elysion (3)

Carisia examined the dark elf whom Ortes had introduced as his “friend.”

The horizontal scar across the bridge of his nose and the blade antenna attached where his distinctively long elf ears had been cut off were unusual, but what was truly strange was Ortes introducing him as a friend.

‘Compared to the introduction…’

Somehow, he seemed afraid.

Tilting her head in confusion, Carisia decided to engage in some conversation. After all, wasn’t this the person who needed to be recruited because he would be helpful to “Hydra Company’s objectives,” regardless of his status as Ortes’s friend?

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lampades. I’m Carisia, CEO of Hydra Company.”

Lampades suddenly turned pale and looked up at Ortes.

It was a reaction Carisia couldn’t understand.

“Ah. Her manner of speaking is somewhat similar to mine from my active days. I suppose we’ve grown alike after spending so much time together.”

Ortes spoke with exaggerated casualness. Hearing this, Lampades swallowed hard. Though he tried to hide it, it was a clear sign of tension.

“I’m… pleased to meet you too, CEO Carisia. I am Lampades of Lampades Tower.”

“Naming yourself after your own tower. You must be quite confident.”

It was meant as a light joke, but Lampades’s reaction was anything but. He quickly glanced toward Ortes. The technique of surveying one’s surroundings using only the eyes without turning the head was a method warriors used to gauge the distance of hidden enemies.

The explanation Carisia sought came from Ortes.

“Haha. He just did me a favor. I once asked him that if he succeeded, he should create a name that would be easy to find when I came to collect on that dinner he promised me.”

Lampades nodded.

“That’s right. Though I never thought this friend would actually come looking for me.”

Carisia thought to herself, ‘This doesn’t seem like the tension between friends…?’

***

Lampades felt Ortes’s dark shadow in Carisia’s very first words. It was a realization bordering on shock.

Growing alike after spending time together? What a joke.

Ortes hadn’t changed one bit. If that was the case, then the only one who had undergone a change was this person called Carisia.

By the Ten Commandments and the Great Archmage, Lampades had never seen anyone to whom Ortes spoke so gently.

Ortes’s calm formality usually contained a blade-like coldness that drew boundaries between people. Yet surprisingly, there was a sense of intimacy in his attitude when speaking to Carisia.

Lampades knew the factors that could cause such a dramatic change. People who have families, who have children, sometimes become completely different from who they were before.

But he couldn’t imagine Ortes as someone capable of creating a family.

‘Then the answer is…’

An ideological successor.

Carisia might be Ortes’s successor, a second Ortes.

‘The most convincing hypothesis about Ortes’s identity during his active days was…’

An apocalyptist.

There were many branches of apocalyptic theory, but if one had to choose the most widely known, it would be the theory of apocalypse by extra-dimensional forces.

“Apocalyptist” was an extension of this term.

People who believed in the theory that someday the Magic Towers would reach a critical point in their ability to block the overflow of extra-dimensional forces, leading to an inevitable apocalypse.

And those who went beyond believing in the theory to worshipping it were the apocalyptists.

Beings who used the apocalypse as a guiding principle for their actions, who desired the destruction of this world despite not being Corrosives themselves.

Even on the front lines, Ortes had always chosen missions that took him close to the depths of extra-dimensional spaces. It was only natural that people began to view him as an apocalyptist fascinated by extra-dimensional realms.

But one couldn’t speak of this openly. If someone went around spreading such talk and then one day found themselves on the same mission as Ortes?

That would be the end. Lampades could name at least three problem solvers who had died after participating in missions with Ortes.

‘Has the faceless Ortes finally found his successor?’

And with a collective group at the company level called Hydra Company?

Lampades’s brain rotated at unprecedented speed. Hydra Company. The disappearance of five problem solvers including Ortes.

‘I see. The Magic Tower, considering Ortes dangerous, fabricated a false mission to purge him. The real mission, delivered to the four participants excluding Ortes, was to eliminate Ortes…!’

But the mission failed. Not only did they fail to eliminate Ortes, but the four problem solvers were taken down instead.

‘However, Ortes was also wounded and went into hiding for a long time. Realizing the limitations of an individual, Ortes decided to create an organization of apocalyptists…’

That must be how Hydra Company was formed. The mythological name, whose poison even the gods feared, was likely chosen to target the Ten Towers and this world.

Lampades took a deep breath.

Right now, he was standing before the leader and mastermind of a secret society whose purpose was the destruction of the world!

Fear and a sense of duty filled Lampades’s heart in equal measure. Just as he was about to speak—

“Madam CEO, allow me to explain this friend’s field of research.”

“W-wait.”

Ortes’s words came before Lampades could speak.

“As you can see, Lampades has a deep affection for ‘machines.’ He believed that mechanical measurements could analyze atmospheric mana much more accurately and in greater detail than the senses of traditional mages.”

***

On Earth, there were scientists who discovered evidence of the Big Bang while trying to solve antenna noise issues. This was thanks to the traces of the Big Bang being detected by antennas as they wandered through space in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

Lampades’s methodology was similar. His theory was that there would be traces of different extra-dimensional realms in the micro-dimensional noise that mages couldn’t measure.

Extra-dimensional realms posed a risk of corrosion but were also lands of gold containing boundless mana.

Classifying micro-dimensional noise to find safe extra-dimensional realms, and then creating connection passages to those dimensions to usher in a golden age surpassing the reign of the Archmage—that was Lampades’s dream.

I focused on methods to analyze this micro-dimensional noise.

To analyze this noise, one must filter out other interfering factors, including the existing ten-attribute magical powers of the Ten Commandments, leaving only the pure noise caused by extra-dimensional realms.

At this point, “divine power” is naturally included among the existing interfering factors. This means that technology-based filters for detecting and filtering out divine power must exist.

An invaluable ability for divine investigations.

It wouldn’t be strange for Elysion to have the eyes and ears of the Ten Towers anywhere. Therefore, parts directly related to divine investigation were excluded from the explanation given to Carisia, but she understood my intentions even with that.

“Oh. The technology of Lampades Tower would be of great help to our company’s business.”

“Thank you for saying so. But our tower’s technology is not yet complete…”

That guy. He’s always had strangely low self-esteem. He could be more confident at times like this.

I added a word for my friend’s sake.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Lampades. I vouch for your skills.”

***

Don’t.

Don’t vouch for me.

Lampades felt cold sweat running down his back.

He desperately tried to change the subject.

“So. Did you come here for the certification exam? Have you completed the registration?”

Carisia shook her head.

“We’ve applied for the certification review, but we’re not aiming for this opportunity. I came with the mindset of taking a tour while applying for one of our corporate scholarship students to enter Mouseion.”

‘They’ve even sent spies to Mouseion…!’

This was beyond simply sending spies. It might be a means to secretly recruit magical prodigies.

Though trembling with fear, there was nothing Lampades could do. He had no evidence to support his suspicions.

‘At least I should warn our scholarship student…’

“They must be quite talented! Our tower’s scholarship student is also planning to enter Mouseion. It would be nice if they became friends. What is their name?”

“Kine. Her name is Kine.”

***

Kine was demonstrating a simple spell in front of the Mouseion admission officer. Since Hydra Company was a newly registered business just this year, they couldn’t fully trust Kine’s records.

What the admission officer found particularly suspicious was the state of her prosthetic arm. A left prosthetic attached to her right arm.

A proper company would have immediately provided a new prosthetic upon seeing an incorrectly implanted one. If this was evidence of child abuse, it needed to be reported to superiors immediately.

Kine looked at her prosthetic arm.

It was evidence of memories.

Though their life had been poor, the love of the people from the Bacchus Order was contained in this hand.

At the same time, it was evidence of loss.

It was the only fragment of a happy time that would never return.

As soon as she became aware of these conflicting emotions, dark magical power poured out. A mage’s strong emotions were also the most efficient catalyst for magic. Her prosthetic arm was a medium that activated those emotions.

The output was beyond what one would expect from a child. The admission officer was about to shout “Stop!” out of concern for magical runaway, but Kine completed her spell faster.

Faint stars twinkled in a dark night sky. It was a large-scale illusion magic implemented with dark attribute magical power.

“Oh…!” The completion was surprisingly impressive for someone so young. The admissions officer carefully asked,

“If it’s not too intrusive, may I ask why you keep that prosthetic?”

“…It’s a keepsake.”

A response filled with deep emotion. The admission officer apologized and accepted her documents.

A pair of eyes watched Kine as she answered articulately. A golden-haired child, the Lampades Tower scholarship student.

Astrape.

***

Having somehow obtained a postponement from Ortes, who wanted to form a technical alliance immediately, Lampades sighed.

‘I must tell Astrape to absolutely avoid associating with this Kine person.’

No. I should just warn all our tower members to be wary of Hydra Company.

As Lampades hurried to leave, Ortes approached him.

“In this certification exam, either drag out the time as much as possible or finish the test as quickly as you can.”

“What?”

“I’m telling you this as a friend. Either extend the time to conserve your magical power, or end the test early to secure time for recovery.”

“Are you telling me to deliberately fail the test?”

“I’m saying you should leave enough strength to protect yourself.”

Ortes smiled enigmatically.

“No. Strength to protect your tower family. If it becomes too much to handle, seek out Hydra Company.”

Ortes left with those words.

Though Lampades had heard an ominous prophecy, he shook his head and headed toward the certification examination hall.

He needed to focus on his task now.

Although he felt somewhat pushed by Ortes, founding the tower was clearly his own dream.

***

‘How could this…?!’

An anti-Ten Towers terrorist organization attacked Elysion an hour later.

‘Did he know about the terrorist attack? No.’

Surely not.

Could the mastermind behind the terrorism be…!