Chapter 112

“Therefore, Blasphemia is rather perplexed. While the external evidence is all clear, there’s nothing tying it to an insider.”

Niobe led me to a private room in a nearby restaurant. The process of using a magical artifact to detect any eavesdropping devices installed within the restaurant seemed quite familiar.

‘Has she improved both her practical skills and rank in just a few days since I last saw her?’

She’s quite talented. If only she didn’t belong to Blasphemia, I might have considered recruiting her.

I thought about one of the vacant leadership positions at Hydra Corp, empty since Demedes’ sudden death.

In truth, the vacancy of a single executive seat wasn’t a major issue. However, the fact that the executive took their entire organization with them and vanished, taking many personnel along, was somewhat problematic.

‘Hmph. Since she holds a high position within Blasphemia, she must have quite a few subordinates under her command. If we could extract her entire line, it would be more than enough to replace Demedes and his Chimera organization.’

But it was merely wishful thinking. Unless Blasphemia collapses entirely, the agents’ loyalty won’t waver.

‘Unless they get influenced by some extradimensional forces like Argeyirion…’

Even if they were invaded by extradimensional influences, the chances of them fitting my ideal criteria are low—no, nonexistent.

Their unwavering loyalty to the Ten Towers would simply transfer to loyalty toward the extradimensional forces. Whether it’s Argeyirion or Blasphemia, the fanaticism differs only in direction; the absolute value remains the same.

“Senior, are you listening?”

Was I caught daydreaming? Usually, given my perpetually half-closed eyes, even if I doze off openly, people with average observational skills wouldn’t notice.

I adjusted my evaluation of Niobe’s perceptiveness upward as I replied.

“Haha. Of course. So, the problem is that Amimone Magic Tower isn’t leaving any traces, correct?”

“Oh, so you weren’t sleeping after all.”

My multitasking abilities, honed through my work as a resolver and escape with Carisia, continue to improve daily.

If I were a mage, this ability would be incredibly useful for multi-spellcasting, but since I lack mana, it’s only good for doing something else while listening to briefings.

“To summarize: the investigation into the agents from Amimone Magic Tower who worked for Argo revealed no substantial evidence of guilt, right?”

“We detained and interrogated them based on information provided, but nothing came up. Without proper evidence and with Argo backing them, we can’t resort to physical means.”

Of course, there wouldn’t be any evidence. It was a situation where we pushed forward using the authority of Rank L13.

“If things continued this way, we’d be overwhelmed by Argo’s counteroffensive, but luckily, a trove of relics was discovered in Algus City, resetting everything.”

“Can’t we use that alone to accuse the entire tower of treason? It seems like pretty damning evidence to me.”

“Firstly, Amimone Magic Tower is a Proper Tower. Their argument—that superstitious followers are trying to isolate the Proper Tower from the magical community—is actually holding up pretty well.”

“Hmm…”

I stroked my chin. Amimone Magic Tower is defending itself more calmly than expected. Perhaps this is the response capability of a Proper Tower that has been involved in political machinations for centuries.

But now that I’m here, the story changes.

“Very well. Let’s wait patiently for now. There’s a limit to how long they can keep erasing internal traces. If Amimone Magic Tower really has a mole, they’ll eventually contact Argeyirion for instructions on what to do next.”

“You mean the communication signal mentioned in the report? They likely don’t know we’ve identified it, so they’ll probably try to make contact sooner or later.”

Nodding, Niobe sighed deeply.

“But the longer we wait without evidence, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us.”

“Is it because of Argo?”

“Yes. Right now, Algus City is like the eye of a storm. Though our side, Blasphemia, and Argo are locked in a power struggle over Amimone Magic Tower, the city is eerily quiet. But the moment one side shows weakness, a merciless gale will strike.”

Her experience shines through. I nodded warmly while smiling.

“I understand your concerns, but rushing leads to mistakes. Our opponents are likely anxious too, so this boils down to who makes the first mistake.”

Emptying my teacup, I continued, adding pauses between sentences to project the image of a seasoned senior operative.

“Let’s wait patiently.”

Tonight, I need to activate Adusiam’s core.

***

Danao felt like he was going mad. Both Blasphemia and Argo were locked in a fierce standoff, neither side willing to budge.

Blasphemia insisted on investigating the entirety of Amimone Magic Tower, while Argo staunchly blocked them, claiming it was an internal matter of the magical community.

The unexpected discovery of relics in Algus City had tipped the balance slightly in favor of Blasphemia, but it seemed they could drag out the time.

Danao had no intention of wasting this precious time. He gathered the Argo agents originating from Amimone Magic Tower who were implicated in the current allegations and began a meeting.

“What the hell have you been doing?”

More of a tantrum than a meeting.

“If you create enemies, you need to clean up afterward properly. The fact that such a sophisticated operation is possible suggests that there’s a real force backing you, not just failed dropouts. Did you leave any traces while working inside Argo?”

What baffled Danao most was the buried relics in Algus City, which he knew nothing about. Breaking through the tower’s barriers and burying them throughout the city without leaving a trace was beyond the capabilities of an ordinary mage.

This wasn’t something a normal mage could pull off. Searching all CCTV records yielded no footage of the burial, proving the extraordinary skill of whoever buried the relics.

…Or perhaps, the CCTV manager. This could also suggest collusion between Amimone Magic Tower and the relic buriers.

Blasphemia used this suspicion to pressure Danao.

Though crude in its execution of high-level magic, it was a sophisticated political maneuver that pointed all circumstantial evidence toward an informant within Amimone Magic Tower.

Gritting his teeth, Danao scanned the room again.

“Speak up! Maybe someone pocketed too much money or executed someone secretly tied to a Proper Tower master. Anything that comes to mind!”

But silence reigned. After sighing deeply, Danao gestured dismissively.

An unspoken signal to leave. The mages from Amimone slowly exited the master’s chamber.

“Which one of you? What reason could justify this behavior?”

While Danao growled, suspecting the opportunity cost of destroying Amimone Magic Tower was too high,

One of the expelled Argo agents, Gorgoph, thought differently.

‘Maybe it’s time to open the eyes of my brothers in this tower to the greater cause?’

He glanced around with hollow eyes. Undoubtedly, others among the Argo dispatches—though technically regular employees of Argo, most considered themselves dispatched from their original towers—had been contacted by Argeyirion.

The truth about the Source revealed by Argeyirion was shocking enough to make one ashamed of their current life of obedience to the Ten Towers.

‘If I could connect with other dispatchers who’ve embraced Argeyirion’s truth and cause, things might go smoother…’

Gorgoph briefly considered revealing the truth to Danao and trying to recruit him but quickly shook his head.

‘That guy is too corrupted.’

A pig fattened on the honey of the order created by the Ten Towers. Such a person would likely dismiss the truth as irrelevant.

He stroked his mana proxy. He could input the secret code and send a request for support to Argeyirion at any moment, but now wasn’t the time.

He needed to connect with hidden allies, deal with Danao, take control of Amimone’s vision, and then send the request for it to truly matter.

Gorgoph pondered ways to achieve a swift transfer of power.

While Danao groaned under stress and Gorgoph plotted conspiracies fueled by ambition,

Ortes groggily opened his eyes and broke through Amimone Magic Tower’s surveillance system.

In an empty room of Amimone Magic Tower, unseen by anyone, Ortes retrieved the box containing the Adusiam Core.

The box that had been isolating Adusiam from the outside world opened.

**Click.**

The sound that shattered all the desperate efforts of Danao and Gorgoph.