Ch.71Business? Meeting (4)

“Oh. Could it be me?”

Urania asked playfully once more. However, the playfulness imbued with the power bestowed upon her as a priestess of Elimon was not mere teasing but rather something that should be called seduction.

“No, it’s not.”

Yet in Utis’s response to Urania, one could not glimpse any wavering or emotion. It felt even less sincere than his argument with Hiakin.

The scales tilted again toward Utis’s hair. The moment the scales stopped moving, the Lightning Scales suddenly emitted light, then scattered into particles of light and disappeared.

Hiakin pondered about the “single lie” Utis had mentioned.

‘Of all questions, he chooses to lie about that? And as a sacred object of Philoxenon that reveals lies to everyone?’

The question about having someone he liked was also a question about whether one could love others. If Utis were a being incapable of feeling attachment to anything in the world, the priests’ vigilance would have multiplied.

But hadn’t their wariness been considerably diluted by this ridiculous exchange that anyone would find comical?

‘If there was a calculated move, it must have been this point…’

Was there really a need to prove his humanity in such a manner?

While Hiakin was trying to guess Utis’s intentions, Philoxenon, having retrieved the sacred object, spoke again.

“You have been invited to our Divine Name Order’s gathering by Demos, the representative of the Enyalios Order. Having proven your ability and truthfulness, now speak what you wish to say.”

***

As planned, none of the priests could prove my prophecy false.

Though I was somewhat puzzled that the scales tilted when asked who I liked.

‘If it’s not about romantic feelings or attraction but simply whether there’s anyone I find agreeable as one human to another, then yes, saying there’s no one would be a lie. Perhaps that’s how it was judged?’

Setting aside the question, what remained was half joy and half bitterness. The success of the plan was pleasing, but the Demon King remained a problem.

‘Perhaps it might have been better for my future plans if what I said had been revealed as a lie.’

I planned to retire and live a life of leisure as soon as I achieved Karisia’s goal of completely and safely destroying the White Light.

Assuming success in destroying the White Light by exploiting the conflict between the Ten Towers and the Demon King, the most dangerous variable was still the Demon King.

What if he found a way to ascend even after one of the Ten Commandments was destroyed?

The ending of Part 1 in the original work, where Karisia, the White Nameless, caused interdimensional rifts to spread globally as aftermath of destroying the White Light, was devastating.

But there was no guarantee that the result would be different if the Demon King attempted an incomplete ascension. Ascension was ultimately an act of advancing into another dimension, resulting in holes in the walls of the world.

As long as the Demon King desired ascension, the possibility of interdimensional flooding remained open.

‘It would have been nice if the butterfly effect of my actions had completely eliminated the possibility of the Demon King’s resurrection.’

But it can’t be helped. Now I need to figure out how to make the most of this situation.

Clearly, I initially came here to make the Divine Name Order check Argyrion. Judging from Demos’s words, if left alone, they seemed likely to support Argyrion.

However, now that I’ve played the card of the Demon King’s return, I must gain more. Let me carefully choose my words.

***

“Shall we return to the issue of Argyrion?”

Hiakin couldn’t understand Utis’s attitude of wanting to discuss such a peripheral matter after dropping a catastrophic prophecy like the Demon King’s return.

“Let’s talk based on the facts revealed so far. The ten mages who possess the Ten Commandments…”

Ortes felt conflicted. Judging by their attitude so far, it seemed that even the Divine Name Order was unaware of the betrayal inflicted by the Demon King’s disciple.

“They have risen to such heights that they could assist in the ascension ritual. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they are the second strongest mages after their master. The wisdom accumulated over several generations from the first disciples has made the Ten Commandments even more powerful. The Ten Towers are the only force that can stand against the Demon King.”

“There’s a problem with that statement. Why would the Ten Towers fight the Demon King? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for them to worship him?”

A high-pitched, youthful voice. It was the same voice that had asked about the previous Blasphemia interview. Ortes turned his head toward her. Though her face was hidden by a robe, it was easy to guess her identity.

‘The owl perched on her shoulder is the symbol of Glaukopikos.’

Another war deity, the priestess of Glaukopikos, goddess of strategy and tactics.

“In the future I’ve seen, the Demon King sought to reclaim his power, the Ten Commandments. Would the Ten Towers easily give up the Ten Commandments?”

“The Ten Commandments?”

The priestess of Glaukopikos fell into thought. The future shown by Phoibos was sometimes so bright that even deep wisdom couldn’t fully comprehend it.

She couldn’t immediately understand why the Demon King would target the Ten Commandments. But analyzing under the assumption that all prophecies were true…

A war between the Demon King targeting the Ten Commandments and the Ten Towers.

The Demon King’s power was the power of the Ten Commandments. Since the Ten Commandments were the Demon King’s wisdom, if all ten towers with the Ten Commandments fought against the Demon King, surely neither side would emerge unscathed.

“This is why I argue that the Divine Name Order should reject Argyrion. Let’s assume Argyrion grows strong enough to become the main enemy of the Ten Towers.”

Though unlikely, it wasn’t impossible. The most insidious aspect of the other dimension was its contagiousness. If given enough time for Argyrion to repeatedly defeat the Ten Towers’ forces and convert them to their side, it was a possible future.

The possibility of Argyrion’s forces expanding until they rivaled one of the Ten Towers was abundant.

“If the Demon King descends to reclaim the Ten Commandments while the Ten Towers and Argyrion are at war, could the Ten Towers withstand such a two-front war? Even if all ten towers combined their strength, it would be insufficient.”

The malignant aspect of the Demon King turning against the Ten Towers was in the same context as the other dimension.

If Argyrion increases their forces by accepting defeated mages as members of the interdimensional invaders, the Demon King could wield even greater power by securing the Ten Commandments.

“Even if Argyrion’s expansion proceeds as smoothly as possible, they would at most cause a generational change in one or two of the Ten Towers. But the Demon King could easily contend with all Ten Towers simultaneously.”

Hiakin shuddered.

This person was advising to pit the creator of the magical world against the magical world itself.

‘The truthfulness of the prophecy is still untrustworthy. However…’

The level of thinking was different. He had to admit it was an idea he would never have conceived.

“If you seek the future of the Order, you shouldn’t support something as trivial as Argyrion. You should aim for a collision of enormous powers that could shake the entire magical era.”

Ortes sensed the shifting atmosphere. He could feel the priests increasingly paying attention to his words.

“What’s advantageous for the Divine Name Order now is that Blasphemia is the department in charge of Argyrion. Actively provide information about Argyrion, but mix in false information. It doesn’t matter if eight out of ten reports are false.”

“What’s the point of that?”

“Doesn’t Blasphemia have limited manpower?”

Utis’s retort contained many implications. If all reports to Blasphemia were false, they would not easily act. But if truth was mixed in, Blasphemia couldn’t ignore them.

Excessive reports mean excessive work. The more time and manpower Blasphemia spends responding to Argyrion, the weaker their surveillance network against the Order becomes.

Utis’s gaze swept across the round table, as if evaluating whether they understood what he had implied. The priests held their breath, waiting for his next words.

Nodding with satisfaction, Utis spoke again.

“Then it’s time for liberation. Time to reclaim the numerous temples and sacred objects sealed by the Demon King, the Ten Towers, and Blasphemia.”

Steadily diminishing Argyrion’s forces to divert Blasphemia’s attention, and rebuilding the fallen past.

The Divine Name Order had only been considering how to “weaken the enemy’s forces” by using Argyrion. But Utis presented another method: “strengthening our own forces.”

“As you may have heard from Demos, I am well-versed in internal news from Blasphemia. If you tell me the locations of sacred objects or temples you wish to unseal, I could provide information about Blasphemia agent deployments in those areas.”

It was a perfect proposal.

“Don’t you want to reclaim the old era?”

***

I recall Sikton, the bishop of the Bacchus Order who first informed me of the Divine Name Order’s existence, who was injected with silver essence and fell into megalomania.

Sikton certainly cried out that “the Divine Name Order is trying to abandon the gods.” This question will determine how much truth his ravings contained.