I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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Orthes' work distribution was rational. His skill in selecting suitable targets according to the abilities of the subordinates managed by the directors was exceptional.

Of course, the workload was also exceptional.

The difficulty of each wanted criminal capture wasn't very high. The number of personnel required for each wanted criminal, based on their grade, was accurately calculated, and deploying the specified number usually led to success.

Normally, the directors would leisurely command their subordinates to capture the criminals. Skilled magicians among the criminals were rare.

Economic crimes? Magicians supported by the magic towers rarely faced financial difficulties unless they got involved in gambling.

Violent crimes like murder? Talented magicians could often have most crimes committed within their tower's influence covered up by the tower's power.

Most wanted criminals were middling magicians without support from any magic tower. The truly dangerous criminals that required the involvement of directors were personally dealt with by Orthes, making criminal capture essentially simple labor.

But the time limit was the issue.

Orthes demanded results within the tight deadline for submitting the certification review documents. The daily capture quota he set meticulously pushed the organization's capabilities to the maximum without breaking them.

"Ha, haha…"

Arabella cheered inwardly, celebrating the end of long hours of labor and patience.

She didn't have the energy to cheer out loud but felt a bit of relief inside.

'The document submission is done, and now the president and Orthes are heading to Elysion for the practical exam…'

The two people who love work the most in this company are gone.

For a while, there would be freedom.

***

The day after fulfilling all the document requirements for the magic tower certification review, Carisia made a chilling prediction in a meeting.

"In the Divine Investigation task where Dimedes died, the head of the Divine Investigation Office discovered something."

Divius let out a low exclamation. It must be about the silver threads embedded in Sikton's brain.

He remembered Orthes saying he would inform them after consulting the president. This was the moment when a secret shared only by the president and Orthes was revealed to the directors.

"The secret organization under the Ten Towers is having an internal conflict for some reason."

Even for Arabella, who held Naradanit's dying words about Orthes being a secret inspector for Blasphemia, this was unexpected news.

'It wasn't just about the branch manager's embezzlement?'

Something was happening. A disturbance shaking the solid hierarchy of the Ten Towers.

While it was rare, there had been instances where a different faction took over a Decalogue seat by defeating the existing faction.

But an internal conflict within the organization under the Ten Towers, rather than a succession war for the title of the Ten Towers?

Even in Arabella's database, there was no precedent for this.

"The rebel faction will actively engage in sabotage to conceal their base. It's certain that a significant incident will occur during the certification exam, and sporadic terrorist acts are expected in various places."

Creton's complexion darkened. More than half of the new constructions in Etna City had his involvement.

If a terrorist attack damaged buildings in Etna City, he would be the one to rebuild them.

The thought of having to rebuild all the structures from scratch made Creton's vision go white.

"Although Etna City is relatively on the periphery, the likelihood of their terror reaching it is low, but please prepare as much as possible."

***

Carisia chartered the entire first-class car of the magi-train heading to Elysion.

Partly to avoid the hustle and bustle, but also because they needed to have some secret conversations.

"Kine."

"Yes?"

Orthes felt a bit of regret seeing Kine sticking closely to Carisia instead of him.

'Come to think of it, I was the one who saved her, but for some reason, she's wary of me…'

It would have been an absurd statement if Kine had heard it.

"As I mentioned earlier, I will act separately from the president at the certification reception. After completing your transfer exam registration, return to the president."

He didn't explain why Kine should stay close to Carisia. He had already explained enough before boarding the train, and there was always the risk that their conversation might be overheard by the Ten Towers, even if they had chartered an entire car.

"And are you controlling your 'power' well?"

Kine nodded. She showed her two left hands, both palms open. The mechanical left hand attached to her right arm exuded a clear grape scent.

From the other hand, a dark and dim magical power emanated. Despite the mutually exclusive nature of magical power and divine power, she had successfully managed to wield both simultaneously. It was proof of Kine's exceptional mana control.

Orthes found the current situation difficult to understand.

'Strange. She should have resented Bacchus and lost her divine power.'

Unless the past events in the original story had been significantly altered, such as Carisia not becoming White No Name.

The point at which Orthes defeated Sikton was too late.

All the people of the Bacchus cult were already in a vegetative state by then. The resentment toward Bacchus should have been the same in both the original story and now.

After a moment of thought, Orthes reached a simple conclusion. It was a positive change, so there was no need to worry. Not resenting Bacchus meant that Kine's despair was less than in the original story.

'It's probably because she has adults around her. She may not be able to fully rely on them, but it's better than being alone.'

Orthes was unaware that Kine prayed daily for the peace of her family held captive by Bacchus.

More specifically, she prayed for the repose of the family Orthes held hostage.

***

Elysion. The paradise of magicians.

The view outside the magi-train window showed the scenery. The central towering spire was the very one used by the Mage King when he attempted ascension.

The dome-shaped barrier covering the city, emanating from the spire, was a magical scattering phenomenon created by residual magical power from the Ten Commandments gathering in Elysion.

Different attributes of magic collided, canceling each other out, and reverted to pure mana.

It was a symbolic existence that divided the inside and outside of Elysion with a barrier containing all attributes of magic.

As the magi-train approached Elysion, Kine felt a suffocating sense of asphyxiation.

It was due to the dense mana in the space. An area with a higher mana concentration than most extra-dimensional erosion zones. The mana was so dense it felt like being underwater.

Carisia controlled the mana around Kine to lower the mana concentration locally. She pointed out the window to help Kine calm down.

"Look over there. Take deep breaths slowly."

Carisia's fingertip was not pointing towards the interior of Elysion, blocked by a thick barrier. She was pointing to the distant fields of Elysion.

There was greenery.

Not the grotesque plains distorted by extra-dimension.

Not the cursed fields soaked with the bubbling of the extra-dimension.

Just a land where green vegetation grew abundantly.

The sunlight made the plants shine in various shades of green. The shadow cast by the leaves glistening in the sun intertwined and overlapped, changing the green hues every moment.

Kine realized for the first time how diverse the colors generalized as 'green' could be.

Further away, golden wheat fields swayed in the wind, performing a mass dance. It was a sight Kine had never seen in her life, having been chased to remote places by the Ten Towers.

The landscape extended to the horizon. It seemed like an emerald inlaid with gold, Kine thought.

It was the lush nature she had only heard of in old stories.

"It's a scenery you can only see in Elysion. While growing crops itself is possible within any magic tower's influence, only Elysion's fields can grow them on such a large scale."

All that scenery belonged to the Ten Towers.

Kine recalled the wandering life of the Bacchus cult. Though they didn't die because of their holy power, their lives were fundamentally harsh, unable to settle in cities.

Clunk! The magi-train stopped.

Orthes stood up and opened the door. Carisia walked towards the open door. Kine, who had been reminiscing, shook her head once and hurriedly followed.

***

There were no incidents on the way to the magic tower certification exam site. The place was so full of magical energy that it was overwhelming even with her eyes closed, but it was manageable.

"Well then, I'll go find my friend."

"Come to think of it, I haven't heard about your friend. What kind of person is he? Is he a man or a woman?"

"He's a man. A rather peculiar dark elf. He cut off his ears and replaced them with pointy antenna-like devices─"

"…That person?"

Carisia pointed to a dark elf with a horizontal scar across his nose. His bronze skin and silver hair were typical of a dark elf, but his ears were replaced with blade-like antennas.

He was sighing with relief as if he had resolved something urgent.

"Oh."

I let out a low exclamation.

I found him right away.

***

Lampades thought.

'He's not here. Not here. Good. He's not here…'

Apparently, that day's words were just a whim. There was no way he would come all the way to Elysion to meet him.

He wouldn't be checking the registered magic towers for the certification every month.

He thought he'd never meet that guy again in his life.

______________

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