I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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Orthes stared at Dimedes.

Normally, because his eyelids were almost closed, it was difficult to tell where Orthes was looking. But this time, he intentionally turned his head to make it clear that he was looking at Dimedes. It was a deliberate gesture.

"Director Dimedes."

Orthes spoke in his usual gentle voice. However, the directors could sense an inexplicable chill in his tone.

"I am moved by your enthusiasm. Since your resolve is so firm, I must do my best to reciprocate."

A new image appeared on the holographic projector in the center of the conference room. The directors quickly realized what the image depicted.

It was footage of one of the cults Blasphemia had been tracking. Specifically, the cult of Bacchus, the god of revelry, which the Bacchus Traveling Troupe was believed to worship.

"Our first target will be the cult of Bacchus at this location."

"Bacchus? Junkies?"

Dimedes clicked his tongue. While the blood of addicts was sufficient to maintain intelligence, chimeras also had their preferences.

They were reluctant to consume the tainted, bitter blood of drug addicts.

"Why are we targeting such insignificant people first?"

Many directors internally nodded at Dimedes's assessment. Based on Orthes's usual disposition, it wouldn't have been surprising if he went straight for the largest cult.

He was known to act without considering the risks if it was for Carisia's goals.

Even his recent business trip was like that.

Dimedes had heard that the source of the information Orthes brought was a branch of the information organization operated by the Ten Towers. This was vouched for by his collaborators, Arabella and Divius.

What was not disclosed was that Orthes's trip was not just a simple espionage operation to extract information but a full-blown assault that ended with the murder of a Blasphemia branch leader. Arabella and Divius kept this secret.

Even so, the directors' fear of Orthes was already substantial.

Common sense dictated that infiltrating the Ten Towers' shadows was far more dangerous than eradicating cults of primitive faiths.

"Insignificant, indeed. That is certainly a valid point."

"According to the information, there are no individuals using the old gods' powers… divine power, right?"

Blasphemia typically classified the followers of superstition into three tiers.

Ordinary believers who simply worshiped the gods.

Priests who used the power of the vanished gods.

And the leaders of the cults, the cultists, who claimed to hear the voices of the gods.

The Bacchus cult was so fragmented that it was uncertain whether they even had a cultist. The identified location might have one or two priests at most.

Even Blasphemia's internal evaluation noted, "No need to pay attention yet."

"That too is a valid point."

Suspicion grew on Dimedes's face. Wasn't this busywork almost useless to Hydra Corporation's goals?

"We need to be cautious."

Orthes began with that preamble.

"If we went hunting big game with rusty arrows, we'd be in trouble. It's only natural to check our tools before diving into a major task."

It was a provocation, implying he didn't trust their skills and wanted them to prove themselves. Dimedes was about to protest but then stopped.

Everyone here had been defeated by Carisia and Orthes at some point.

From the perspective of those two powerhouses, it was natural to be skeptical of the abilities of the weaker ones.

"But this won't be as small a hunt as you think. Take another look at the location."

Dimedes looked at the hologram again. The gathering place for Bacchus followers wasn't within a city.

It was a crime-ridden area outside the protection of the magic towers, a lawless zone where fugitives typically hid.

"Catching fugitives too?"

"Yes. Specifically, you must catch them, Director."

Every single one without letting any escape.

A deeper smile than usual spread across Orthes's face as he spoke.

Dimedes felt greater unease with the deeper smile but soon brushed it off. Orthes was not his enemy.

"Dead or alive?"

"Fugitives, dead or alive. But leave at least the heads as evidence. As for Bacchus's followers, try to bring them back alive."

"…You're not coming with us?"

"The followers of the vanished gods move swiftly. We need to locate as many as possible before the information becomes outdated."

This meant he had tasks he couldn't entrust to Dimedes. Feeling humiliated, Dimedes nodded.

"Anyway, I got the permission for human hunting that I needed. I must move as soon as the meeting ends."

***

"Why did you do that?"

An indifferent question.

Carisia posed it to me as I cleaned up the room after the directors left.

"What do you mean?"

"Dimedes. He's not that incompetent. Couldn't you have given him a more difficult task?"

Oh, dear. President.

Simply assigning a difficult task and celebrating a success with, "I have a good eye," or dismissing a failure with, "He was a worthless fellow," doesn't count as good personnel management.

Of course, I didn't have the guts to say that outright to Carisia.

"Dimedes is in a state of bloodlust due to a lack of blood. If I give him a more challenging task in his current condition, he might make a judgment error and destroy his entire organization."

"Manpower loss."

Carisia, appearing to accept my explanation, tilted her head slightly.

"But shouldn't that be okay? Hydra Corporation already has plenty of combatants."

You and I can't handle everything alone. I suppressed the reflexive thought.

"There are two reasons. First, about why we need to eliminate the fugitives─"

"To avoid attracting the attention of the Ten Towers, right? If we only capture the followers, the Ten Towers will find it suspicious."

She's smart. I nodded.

"But you said there were two reasons. Is the other to build achievements to pass the requirements for promotion in the magic towers or to pass the review for tower listing?"

"Yes. Specifically, the tower listing."

Carisia tilted her head again, brushing her hair near her forehead as she pondered.

"Listing, huh. You're not planning to list our company, are you?"

"Of course not. That would be disadvantageous for us."

Listing a tower involves procedures to sell shares of its magic core. Typically, it connects the tower's Ether Space to the Ether Space of the Ten Towers.

A listed tower can register its magic core shares for sale, enabling a sort of stock trade.

With some luck, the tower could receive an investment from the Ten Towers and elevate its status significantly.

However, at the same time,

'It's like putting a leash on yourself from the Ten Towers.'

Although the magic core and the Ten Commandments of the magic tower are linked, directly synchronizing the Ether Space has another meaning. It allows the Ten Towers to inspect the tower's research achievements recorded in the Ether Space.

Of course, the Ten Towers don't demand the disclosure of all secrets for listing.

The size of the Ether Space is proportional to the capacity of the magic core. The mandatory public portion for initial listing is 30% of the total magic core capacity.

Listing would thus reveal 30% of the secrets in the tower's Ether Space to the Ten Towers and other towers.

There's a loophole, though. By erasing the contents beforehand, one could sell purely the magical power and computational capacity of the magic core.

But this deviates from the listing's original purpose of attracting investors. This loophole is sometimes used by rich, already well-off magic towers.

Hydra Corporation, however, wasn't founded for wealth and glory.

Our apparent goal of the "11th King" and the real goal of "White Light's downfall" are not things that can be disclosed.

The reason I mentioned listing was─

"Come to think of it, you used to work as a fixer, right? Did you have a colleague who aspired to be a tower lord?"

"…You remember?"

I didn't think she'd recall such trivial personal details. Somehow, Carisia was staring at me.

"Yes. I need to meet that friend, but it's a bit awkward for me to visit officially."

In the fixer industry, I'm probably considered missing or dead in action. There were officially zero inspectors from the mission where I met Carisia, and I was the only actual inspector.

"I'd like to use the listing review as a cover for contact."

"Oh my. Are you asking the president to work for an employee?"

I quickly studied her expression but saw a hint of amusement. It seemed to be a joke.

Anyway, higher-ups don't realize how devastating their jokes can be.

"This individual can greatly assist your objectives."

"Alright. Do as you please. Will you continue assigning fugitive tracking to Dimedes?"

"Yes. Given Dimedes's tendency for impulsive actions, it would be wise to assign him tasks involving hunting fugitives rather than dealing with followers who require negotiation or capture."

"This means you'll still be handling fieldwork for the Divine Investigation Office alone."

So it turns out that way again. I'd prefer to oversee operations safely from a distance, merely stamping approvals.

For some reason, the situation keeps pushing me into action. By assigning Dimedes the task of hunting fugitives, I realize there's no one else to handle the fieldwork in my place.

"Well. It will improve gradually. I'm used to it, so it's fine."

"Then."

"How about you join me on the next business trip?"

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To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02