I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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Before the formal meeting with the other directors, Carisia had a private conversation with Orthes.

"The bodies in a vegetative state have been placed in preservation capsules, and Sikton and Dimedes' corpses were sent to Divius' surgery room for detailed analysis…."

Tap, tap, tap. Carisia's right index finger drummed on the armrest of her chair.

"What's bothering you?" Orthes asked.

"I understand the other parts, but what's the reason for preserving the vegetative bodies of the Bacchus cult members?"

"As I mentioned, it's to recruit the child we found on site. She has significant talent."

"You said she has a talent for dark magic."

Orthes nodded, aware that Carisia had watched his conversation with Kine from behind the screen.

"She'll probably excel immediately if we send her to Elysion."

"What about her divine power? Growing up in the Bacchus cult, she should have a considerable amount of it."

"It will be difficult. The child witnessed her friends die from betrayal firsthand. Divine power requires faith, and it's unlikely she will regain her belief in Bacchus."

Orthes' answer was unhesitant.

Carisia pouted. Was collecting people with magical talent his hobby?

"Is this really recruiting?"

"Excuse me?"

"From what I heard, it sounded more like a devil's temptation. The kid seemed almost ready to pass out."

"No way."

Orthes shrugged and continued. It was a remarkably smooth excuse.

"I merely informed the child about her inner self before she decided on revenge. You know better than anyone how hard it is to avenge such a grand target."

That was true. Even Carisia, who could confidently claim to be ahead of anyone in this era in terms of magical talent, was at a disadvantage against the Ten Towers.

To overturn that disparity, she created and managed this company, undertaking such troublesome tasks.

"I understand the situation. I've entrusted you with full authority over divine investigations and our goals. Do as you wish."

Orthes bowed. Carisia waved her hand, signaling it wasn't necessary, and murmured softly.

"Let's schedule the damage and performance report for an hour later. Please take care of it."

"Yes, understood."

When she went down to the meeting room, it would be thoroughly prepared as usual. From gathering the directors to summoning external figures like Kaicle and Geryon, everything necessary would be perfectly in place.

"Sigh…"

Carisia stretched and thought.

If you prepared the vegetative bodies of the Bacchus cult to tie Kine down, what did you prepare to tie me down?

What would be needed to tie you down?

***

I looked around at the faces in the meeting. Neuro subtly indicated he was too tired to attend.

Since I had accompanied the Dimedes hunt and the exploration of the Bacchus cult's base, I could handle the field report alone. I gave him a few compliments for his hard work and told him to rest.

Geryon looked puzzled about why he was summoned. It was to manipulate the situation, making it seem like Dimedes died in the battle with the Etna City magic towers.

Kaicle's expression was filled with anticipation. He had rushed over as soon as he heard we secured the cult's relics.

Everyone took their seats according to their protocol order and waited. From a distance, the sound of footsteps echoed. The timing was perfect as the door opened. Carisia stood before us.

I followed her into the meeting room.

Seated at the head, Carisia began to speak.

"Let's start the report on the Bacchus cult investigation."

***

"First, there's an issue we need to address. The death of former director Dimedes has been confirmed."

Orthes delivered shocking news right from the start.

"Former director Dimedes, along with thirty beast tamers and one hundred twenty beasts, were all annihilated. The circumstances, the state of the corpses, and the handling of beast byproducts are detailed in the next section of the report."

Half-spirit Meconion showed little interest in such dull meetings. Her pursuit was intense pleasure rather than beating, smashing, and killing.

Meconion's participation was solely due to her interest in the items from the Bacchus cult, known for their god of pleasure and entertainment.

As the briefing on Dimedes' cause of death concluded, and Geryon suggested staging it as if he had killed Dimedes, Meconion raised her hand.

"Yes, Director Meconion?"

"So, what did you bring? Is there anything that might help me?"

"Not exactly…"

Orthes manipulated the holographic image, showing some grape clusters and seeds.

"These are grape varieties cultivated by their cult. Interestingly, they grow well even with minimal sunlight underground."

"No other… sacred relics?"

Kaicle cautiously asked from his specially large chair.

"There are a few. The robes the cult leader wore and the golden chalice used in rituals don't hold much power."

"Better than nothing." Divius muttered, having been summoned in the middle of dissecting Dimedes.

His skepticism stemmed from seeing too many trinkets claimed to be imbued with divine power while working for Blasphemia.

"Please begin research on extracting the divine power from the Bacchus relics."

Kaicle nodded at Orthes' command.

What we lost in the Bacchus cult expedition were Dimedes and his team. What we gained was a handful of relics with divine power.

"The loss is significant…"

Arabella, who finished calculating the cost-benefit ratio the quickest, voiced what the other directors implicitly agreed with. No one expected a thorough investigation of a crumbling cult would result in one of Hydra Corporation's heads vanishing entirely.

Though it was a result of several coincidences, the perceived risk of 'divine investigation' work skyrocketed.

"First."

Carisia's golden eyes gleamed.

"The board seat left vacant will remain unfilled. For future divine investigation work, personnel assignments must be reviewed and approved by the head of the Divine Investigation Office."

With this, the meeting was roughly concluded. Dimedes was dead, and it would be disguised as a clash with Geryon's forces. The relics with divine power would be entrusted to Kaicle for research.

The byproducts from Dimedes' beasts and chimeras were currently being processed by the Hunter Association. Meconion's garden would receive the Bacchus grapevines.

Just as Carisia was expected to declare the end of the meeting, an unexpected statement was made.

"And we intend to send the survivor of the Bacchus cult as a corporate scholar of Hydra Corporation to Elysion."

***

Elysion. The paradise of magicians.

It was located precisely in the center if you drew a decagon connecting the locations of the Ten Towers.

Elysion, where the Mage King was said to have ascended, was a holy site for magicians. The place with the purest mana in the world, constantly welling up, and connected to the Ether Network of the Ten Towers, making it the fastest place to gather magical news.

Being at the exact center of the Ten Commandments, the ambient mana in Elysion was not biased toward any attribute, making it the hub of various magical research.

In precise or large-scale experiments, the bias of external mana attributes was a tricky variable to account for.

However, Elysion was a place theoretically filled with mana of 'uniform attributes.'

Thanks to this property, any major or prestigious event or exam, such as the Tower Certification Review or the regular Magic Tower registration exam, was invariably held in Elysion. Only competitions or conferences with distinct magical attributes, like the Flame Magic Contest or the Perennial Snow Exploration Conference, were exceptions.

As magicians gathered, central facilities impacting many towers, such as the Central Exchange of Certified Magic Towers or the Magic Patent Office, were naturally built in Elysion.

And among those facilities, the most notable place for many towers was…

"We intend to write a recommendation letter for Musaeion Academy."

Musaeion Academy. A cradle of geniuses where admission was strictly by recommendation. It was the pinnacle of all magical educational institutions, only accessible through the recommendation of a magic tower.

"Growl…"

The representative of the Etna City mutants, Taros, let out a low growl. The sigh of the half-dragon colossus covered in bronze scales had a chilling effect on the atmosphere.

"Director Taros. Please, speak."

Carisia gave permission. The posthumous half-dragon Taros grunted several times, adjusting his voice, before slowly speaking.

"Musaeion… admission period…"

"You mean it has already passed, correct?"

Orthes continued Taros' words. Taros slowly nodded in agreement.

Orthes was quite surprised that Taros knew about the admission period of the school.

'It's surprising he didn't ask about practical matters like how to hide divine power.'

I thought he had no interest other than looking after the mutants.

'Does he have a child?'

In the original work, Taros was mainly depicted as a formidable foe, so his unexpected remark was intriguing.

"Indeed, the regular admission period for Musaeion has passed. However, students with recommendations from reputable magic towers can take the mid-term transfer exam. It's held about once every three months. This month is the Month of Flames, so… next month, during the Month of Ice."

Feeling a sudden sense of foreboding, Arabella asked.

"Reputable… you say?"

"Yes. So…"

Orthes smiled.

"As long as the applicant has enough achievements to pass the Tower Certification Review paperwork. For now, directors not assigned to divine investigation duties should focus on capturing wanted individuals from the towers. It's easier than building up magical research achievements."

***

Dimedes couldn't catch criminals and died, making it difficult to pass the Tower Certification Review paperwork?

Just make excuses and delegate it to other directors

.

I was thrilled to finally be able to delegate work and rest for a while.

***

The gathered directors interpreted Orthes' smile differently.

Orthes was deeply disappointed by the directors' 'abilities' due to Dimedes' sudden death, implicitly declaring, 'You are useless, so I will handle divine investigations alone.'

Arabella shook her head at Orthes' perfectionism.

'Look at him trying to handle everything related to the president himself…'

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