Ch.4Business Trip to Partner Company (1)

Carisia, or more precisely, Baekmumeong from the original work, clashes with the protagonist.

Here’s a question. What was the first trigger for the protagonist to become aware of Hydra Corporation?

Baekmumeong had little interest in managing Hydra Corporation.

She only saw it as a means to gain qualification to manage the Magic Tower and expand her influence to reach the Ten Realms, meaning she was indifferent to what her subordinates were doing.

Because of this, the eight directors were free to pursue whatever “business” they wanted as long as they met the quotas set by Carisia.

The business method Kriton chose was violence, and his merchandise was slaves.

“What are you talking about? I am a fair merchant. Even if you work directly under the CEO, without proper reason—”

And typically, slave traders in novels are the kind of people destined to be ruined through entanglement with the protagonist.

Kriton, unfortunately, was no exception.

“I’m well aware that your dealings with them are not simply transactions between a merchant and customers.”

Kriton’s body flinched. His skin, stained with a somewhat strange color due to the green blood flowing through it, trembled.

“The Torres School was involved in modifying your body. You selected slaves with exceptional qualities from those you acquired and offered them as tribute to them.”

“…Was it Arabelle?”

A question asking if Arabelle, the largest information broker in Etna City, had uncovered his secret. I decided to elevate Arabelle’s reputation and status a bit.

He’s the most reasonable among the eight directors, and also quite capable, so giving him enough authority to be respected among the directors would be helpful in the future.

“No. This wasn’t something that required Director Arabelle’s assistance.”

Arabelle has the ability to uncover your secrets. However, the means by which I discovered your secret was not through Arabelle’s information broker network.

A statement with two meanings. Kriton seemed to have caught the implication, as he couldn’t respond and appeared lost in thought.

Kriton’s body, inhuman in many ways, was a creation of the Torres School.

Particularly, the neural system modification that provided reflexes dozens of times faster than normal humans was the Torres School’s specialty.

The Torres School was a group of magicians who primarily dealt with electrical properties, but rather than shooting electricity from their hands, they preferred to tinker with brains.

Their preference was to create puppets by inserting miniature magic engraving drives into the brain, arguing that bodily control ultimately comes from electrical signals in the brain.

Along with that, they also developed methods to modify bodies to optimize electrical signal transmission.

Like other magicians, the Torres School’s ultimate goal was to access the Ten Realms, but their methodology was somewhat innovative.

‘Even if we can’t earn qualification through skill, we just need to connect somehow, right?’

Their ultimate goal was to create the ultimate magical hacker who could illegally access the ethereal space of the Ten Realms.

The protagonist would burst in during the modification process of the vessel meant to fulfill this goal, ruining everything.

Demon Lord Simon, while pondering ways to contact the Ten Realms, clashes with the Torres School and rescues a certain slave who was to become their masterpiece.

The electricity-wielding cyborg heroine, Astrape.

Astrape’s personal narrative seemed to conclude with a battle against the Torres Magic Tower, but…

‘The question of who first sold Astrape as a slave eventually leads to the hostility between Hydra Corporation and Simon.’

Kriton was the very reason why Baekmumeong’s forces, secretly planning to destroy the Ten Realms beneath the surface, were discovered by the Demon Lord.

That butterfly effect continued in a chain reaction, eventually leading to Baekmumeong’s death along with the Ten Realms.

If Carisia were to die as in the original work, the genre of the world would shift from arcane punk to apocalypse.

From a society where civilization existed, albeit accessible only to the powerful.

It would devolve into a complete collapse where only a desperate struggle against otherworldly abominations remains in an ongoing apocalypse.

‘I couldn’t survive in such a world.’

I’ve barely managed to acquire the ability to take care of myself after rolling around here and there, but what would I do if the entire world collapsed?

Therefore, my first goal was to prevent Carisia from dying as in the original work, and the second was to retire at an appropriate time and live a leisurely life.

I’ve saved enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life, so I just need the world to remain intact.

I’ve been pondering for quite some time how to achieve Carisia’s goals without coming into contact with the protagonist.

During this time, Kriton had been unable to say anything.

Seeing that Kriton’s thoughts were taking a while, I decided to offer him an easy choice.

***

“When is the date you’re going to offer slaves as tribute to the Torres School?”

“Tribute! My relationship with them is equal! Business—”

Kriton faced the CEO’s confidant. Eyes like thin lines, impossible to tell if they were open or closed, making it impossible to know what thoughts lay behind them.

A sinister blue light shining beneath the eyelids seemed to be targeting his heart.

“I’ll handle this matter simply. I’ll accompany you on this tribute mission.”

The ominous implication of the blunt word “handle.”

This person was saying he would eliminate the Torres School’s base alone.

There was no sense of confidence or arrogance.

Just a calm declaration that it would “naturally happen” without any particular emotion. An attitude like saying “1 plus 1 equals 2,” which further constricted Kriton.

“That place is just a branch of the Torres School…”

The only words Kriton could muster were a feeble threat mentioning the school’s influence.

In fact, Kriton himself couldn’t be sure whether it was a threat to Ortes or an excuse that the Torres School was so massive that he had no choice but to comply with their demands.

Hearing those words, the corners of Ortes’s mouth turned upward. His face was usually smiling, but this was an even more definite smile.

“That’s good.”

Kriton gave up trying to understand this person.

“Fine. I understand. I’ll follow orders. But.”

There was one thing he couldn’t comprehend. It wasn’t as if he had committed any act of betrayal against the company.

He simply had a special business connection.

If someone had discovered his secret network, wouldn’t a rising power like Hydra Corporation typically consider how to utilize connections to existing powers?

The Torres School was a mid-sized school with influence across several cities. The magic tower facilities under their control were too numerous to count on both hands.

The slums of Etna City were already in Hydra Corporation’s grasp, so if they expanded the deal and received full support from the Torres School, unifying Etna City would be within reach.

Why was he being instructed so firmly to cut off the deal?

“We could gain significant benefits if the company supported dealings with the Torres School. Aren’t you even considering the option of cooperating with them?”

“Hmm.”

Ortes stroked his chin as if he didn’t understand Kriton’s words.

Then came the response.

“The one we serve does not pursue grand endeavors with such small entities.”

***

Kriton would be granted approval to interact with the main tower of the Torres School for his contribution in discovering Astrape and offering her to the school.

The fact that his counterpart is a branch indicates that Astrape has not yet been sold to the Torres School.

In other words, I can prevent the event that will catch the protagonist’s attention!

From Kriton’s perspective, cutting losses with minimal damage before the deal grows substantially is not pleasant but still the best choice.

After all, there’s a fundamental difference in the aftermath between breaking off dealings with the main tower versus a branch.

That’s what I meant by “good,” but I’m not sure why Kriton looked at me that way.

When I answered his question about why I was being so particular by invoking Carisia’s name, the indescribable emotion in Kriton’s gaze seemed to deepen.

I blink a couple of times to clear away stray thoughts.

There’s no point in dwelling on what happened a few days ago now.

“How much longer until we arrive?”

“About 30 minutes!”

The driver of the magic-engine trailer, assigned by Kriton, answered nervously. Behind the driver’s seat, in the cargo area, people collected as slaves were loaded in a comatose state.

“Ah. I’ll take care of everything, including the disposal of the slaves. You should leave early.”

If I start fighting indiscriminately after arriving at the slave collection center, things are likely to go wrong.

Me alone against all the magicians of the branch?

If I get caught by some low-ranking member and the highest authority requests support from the main tower reporting a mysterious intruder, things would become troublesome.

On the other hand, slave escape incidents due to lax management happen occasionally. They wouldn’t immediately report such a disturbance to the main tower.

While the low-ranking members move in large numbers to subdue the slaves, it would be advantageous to take out the branch’s leaders who have communication authority one by one.

“Disposal… you say?”

The driver looks at me with a somewhat disgruntled expression. It might have sounded a bit threatening.

“Ah, don’t worry. It won’t be what you’re thinking. After we arrive, please stay far away, and no matter what sounds you hear, wait until I come out.”

To the driver who was hastily nodding, I added one more word of caution.

“I’ll be in big trouble if you leave first, okay?”

I don’t know how to drive this thing.