Chapter 68

The “Divine Investigation” operations had essentially been suspended since Demedes’ untimely death.

Ortes had been moving independently without obtaining approval from anyone, delving deeply into relic exploration on his own.

His requests for cooperation from the board members were limited to tasks that didn’t involve relics but required the use of force—such as capturing wanted magical criminals to meet the criteria for official reviews.

Except for the duties assigned to Mecoonion, who was of Dryad mixed-blood.

Mecoonion took a long drag from her pipe. The exhaled breath shimmered green. Behind her, Ortes watched silently.

“No. Is he blind?”

“That one.”

At the center of Mecoonion’s underground cavern, a cleverly designed skylight focused sunlight onto a single spot. While Mecoonion’s den was usually damp and dim, this place was an exception.

In that illuminated spot stood a tree.

A tree that had sprouted from the grape seed taken from the Bacchus Cult’s gathering hall.

Mecoonion herself had an interest in the intoxicating beverages produced by the cult of pleasure, while Ortes was intrigued by the symbolism of Bacchus’ grapevine.

Thus, Mecoonion’s collaboration with Ortes in divine investigation work was uniquely non-violent among the chairman’s organizations—cultivating the grapevine.

“It’s just too easy for them to die when grown individually, so I combined them into one.”

“Hmm, is that even possible? It reminds me of Green Wood magic.”

“It’s less about magic and more about racial traits. I extracted the life force from each seed and merged it into one place.”

Mecoonion, with her Dryad heritage, possessed exceptional talent in handling plants. Though her abilities were typically used to rapidly grow narcotic plants, her skills were not restricted to any particular type of plant.

Ortes gently caressed a cluster of grapes that had just begun to ripen. His touch was very careful.

“Even if I accelerate its growth, it won’t be ready for immediate harvest. Do you need it for something?”

“It would be good if we could make some wine…”

Ortes’ reply sounded almost like a mutter to himself.

“Need wine, huh? Are you planning to invite someone?” Mecoonion wondered who Ortes might invite.

The only person that came to mind was the master of Lampades Magic Tower from Elysion. However, it was questionable whether Ortes would prepare gifts and adopt such a humble attitude.

After calmly observing the grapevine, Ortes finally stated his request.

“To improve the quality of the grapes, we’ll need to prune the vine, removing excess clusters or shoots. Could you prepare the byproducts from this pruning process?”

“Huh? You want the unripe grapes?”

“I have a use for them.”

***

When I asked Mecoonion to prune the grapevine by tomorrow, she responded as if I’d spoken nonsense, but I wasn’t fooled.

Though Mecoonion’s drug den gave the impression of being more of a gathering of addicts rather than a well-organized group, someone capable of controlling and managing such individuals must possess charisma and leadership.

As a board member of Hydra Corp, I also held authority, so vacuum-sealing the byproducts of pruning a single grapevine should be simple.

I faintly heard whispers that the other subordinates only knew how to inject drugs and snort them through their noses, incapable of growing anything, but I was too busy to pay attention.

My destination was naturally Carisia’s room. I needed to inform my superior before heading out on a business trip.

“The air smells of grapes?”

Carisia’s question as she stared at me blankly. I nodded.

“I’ve just checked on the status of the grapevine entrusted to Director Mecoonion.”

“You didn’t even see me first and went straight to check on your assignment?”

Carisia’s jokes were as always hard to understand. Smiling back at her laughter, I continued.

“There was a reason.”

“Reason? If you need Bacchus’ grapevine, then perhaps… the Theistic Order?”

“Yes. They’ve expressed a desire to see me in person.”

Carisia’s expression hardened as she listened.

“They’re moving more aggressively than expected. To convincingly pose as Phobos’ prophet, they’ll need a sacred artifact.”

“I have confidence in managing myself without relying on any artifact. In fact, showing it might not be beneficial.”

The sacred artifact I discovered was unearthed from a temple sealed by the Wizard King. Though Blasphemia failed to detect the artifact due to the perfect seal and forgot about it, if someone realizes its origin, they will surely question how I broke the Wizard King’s seal to obtain it.

Since I cannot manipulate magic, they would deduce the presence of another collaborator.

If Carisia’s existence were revealed, all my plans would unravel. As the pinnacle creation of White Light Tower, her mere existence is enough to provoke the Theistic Order’s wrath, regardless of her hatred for White Light.

It would be far simpler to hide the artifact and claim, “This too is an act according to divine revelation.”

Carisia’s expression softened slightly, hinting at some disappointment. I quickly added,

“Please trust me, Chairman. I must remain a mystery to the Theistic Order. The more information they uncover about which sacred artifact I receive revelations from, the less mysterious I become.”

“Can you really deceive the order alone without anything? Perhaps taking Kine along would be better.”

“Miss Kine lacks sufficient acting skills. She needs to treat me as the genuine prophet of Phobos, but it would be difficult for her to convincingly perform in front of the Theistic Order’s priests.”

“Maybe not.”

Carisia was picking unnecessary fights. I ignored her tantrum.

“I’ve made minimal preparations. Cultivating the grapevine under Mecoonion is part of it.”

Bacchus’ grapevine.

Evidence that I foresaw the fall of the Bacchus Cult and salvaged their legacy.

***

Carisia approved Ortes’ travel plan. The Theistic Order’s invitation had a time limit.

Their meetings are conducted discreetly to avoid Blasphemia’s notice and are quickly disbanded.

Despite the chaos caused by Argeyirion, making Blasphemia’s surveillance somewhat lax, the Theistic Order still needed to be cautious. Inviting and waiting for Ortes was unusual.

Ortes would soon rendezvous with Enyalius’ bishop and head toward the Theistic Order’s meeting place.

Carisia absentmindedly tapped the table. She felt uneasy sending him off alone.

I understand, but…

Isn’t he doing too much on his own? Feeling a pang of regret, Carisia headed to the tower’s training room.

Kine awaited there to learn the basics of magic and control of extraordinary abilities from Carisia.

It was common knowledge among the board members, thanks to Neuro traveling with Ortes, that Kine was a survivor of the Bacchus Cult. However, only Ortes and Carisia knew that Kine possessed divine power.

Using holy relics in the order maintained by the Ten Towers was close to illegal. Openly wielding divine power was beyond conventional acceptance.

Initially, it was thought that Kine’s divine power would gradually fade, but instead, it grew stronger, necessitating efficient concealment.

Both divine power and magical power belong under the broader category of extraordinary abilities. With Carisia’s exceptional ability to control vast amounts of magical power, she had insights into methods of hiding Kine’s divine power.

For a long time, she explored techniques such as masking divine power with dark magic or applying suppression methods used by combat mages to Kine’s divine power. Suddenly, Kine spoke.

“Hey, where did that guy go?”

Strangely, Ortes always immediately noticed whenever Kine’s disguise for divine power faltered, so he often waited nearby during these training sessions.

But today, he wasn’t visible.

“Hmm, didn’t he return from his trip yesterday? Maybe he’s resting today. Even he has human aspects.”

“To the Theistic Order.”

“…That guy finally got called by the Theistic Order, huh? To pretend to be Phobos’ prophet? Can he pull it off?”

Carisia replied confidently.

“No one can doubt Ortes’ identity. But…”

“But?”

“He’s bound to cause some trouble before he returns.”

Kine looked up at Carisia. There was a hint of resignation in her golden eyes.

***

Damn it.

“Speak! Self-proclaimed prophet! What is the greatest calamity that shall befall this world!”

“Go screw the Ten Towers.”

“Can you do me a love reading?”

What the hell is going on here?