I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

To read over 260 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02

Orthes' expression was much more relaxed than before as he opened the door and entered the conference room.

At least, that's what Carisia thought. Others didn't have the experience to distinguish such subtle changes in his expression.

Once Orthes took his usual place standing behind Carisia, he leaned in and whispered.

"I've found a way. The Argos side is planning to actively hinder Blasphemia's movements."

Carisia kept her face expressionless. It wasn't that she wasn't surprised.

It was just that Orthes coming back with absurd news after stepping out for a moment was not a one-time thing.

"Explain."

Orthes nodded and stepped forward. He manipulated the terminal and uploaded data to the hologram projector in the center of the conference room.

A map appeared in the air. Arabella recalled the topography of the area depicted on the map. It was a plain with no notable features. A few relics from the ancient era had been excavated there.

However, none of them held any magical value or divine power. They were just artifacts that gave a glimpse into ancient daily life, such as pottery and sculptures, and none of them had ever shaken the academic world or auction houses.

"There are collaborators within Argos."

What is he talking about?

The directors were dumbfounded by Orthes' words. The meeting they were having had been focused on the increased difficulty of the Divine Investigation due to Argos.

If they had an informant inside Argos, the premise of the entire meeting would be overturned.

"Until now, it was unclear to what extent our collaborators could help. Therefore, I didn't consider it a viable option. But I just received word."

Orthes continued with a calm explanation. He said that his collaborators had succeeded in gaining control of public opinion within Argos and that there would be serious conflict between Argos and Blasphemia.

"The area you see on the screen is part of that 'conflict.' As you can see, there's nothing special about this area, but Argos plans to insist that Blasphemia must inspect this location."

It was a vast plain, though empty. Even if Blasphemia used all their available personnel, it would take them at least ten days to complete the inspection.

Arabella understood the situation. Even though it wasn't of much interest, artifacts from ancient times were occasionally found there, so Argos could ask for an inspection by Blasphemia, who are experts in that era.

"They'll probably use some excuse like 'an excavation plan for that plain was found in documents related to Argyrion's allied magic towers.' It won't be easy for Blasphemia to refuse."

Both Argos and Blasphemia knew that there were no valuable relics in that plain. This was simply a measure to mess with Blasphemia.

"We will conduct as many Divine Investigations as possible during this time. I'll update the Argos deployment information as it comes in, but this time, I won't be accompanying you in the field."

Since the sudden death of Dimedes, Orthes had always accompanied the directors on their Divine Investigations. Now that policy had been lifted?

"Could it be that he trusts the directors' capabilities to a certain extent now?"

Arabella shook her head. The directors had conducted their Divine Investigations under strictly controlled environments. Their ability to respond to unexpected situations had yet to be tested.

If the change in policy hadn't come from the directors themselves, then there must be a compelling reason why Orthes had to step away.

"I need to attend a meeting with the 'collaborators.'"

The directors, who had carried out numerous tasks, including Divine Investigations, over the past few months, felt they had finally grasped the true capabilities of the two who had unified Etna City: Orthes and Carisia.

Regardless of individual combat prowess, there were limits on the social side of things. That's why they didn't stop at defeating the directors but brought them under their command, organizing them into a corporation.

There's a difference between what an individual can do and what a group can achieve. The efficiency of division of labor, you could say.

But now, Orthes had shown a feat that far exceeded the scope of what an individual could accomplish.

When?

While overseeing all the Divine Investigations and attending every expedition, when did he find the time to recruit personnel within Argos?

Is that even physically possible?

It didn't seem realistic at all. It's not like he was living each day with 48 hours.

Handling such informants wasn't something that could be done solely through computer systems. It inevitably required meeting them in person to assess their character and capabilities.

As the head of the information guild in Etna City, Arabella knew this better than anyone.

The subtle clues about Orthes' true identity resurfaced in Arabella's mind.

*If a secret inspector is interfering with Blasphemia's operations, there can only be one reason: Blasphemia is severely compromised…*

So are Orthes' collaborators other Blasphemia inspectors? Arabella glanced at Divius, who was once said to be responsible for Blasphemia's physical modifications.

She needed to have a conversation with him someday. She couldn't bear the fear of not knowing exactly who they were serving.

*I can use the board meeting as an excuse to pass on some of my work…*

Besides, she couldn't handle any more tasks.

Arabella was ready to escape from the impending workload.

***

I then called Arabella before my departure to give her a few last instructions.

If I, who had been overseeing the Divine Investigations, left, who would coordinate the infiltration routes and manage the troops for the directors?

Arabella was the right person for the job, with her flexible thinking, adaptability, and ability to monitor multiple locations at once through drones.

After a brief handover, I immediately moved to meet Demus.

It wasn't hard to guess what kind of place the Divine Cult referred to as the 'Great Temple.' But if the Cult was deploying their ace up their sleeve—an Argos informant—to attempt its capture, it must be a critical location.

It was a place where something valuable could be found if you dug deep enough.

"You're here."

Demus nodded at me as I arrived. There were some new faces around him that I hadn't seen before.

***

"Ho. New faces, I see."

The squinty-eyed man who called himself Utis, the one who claimed to be 'no one,' scanned the priests with a peculiar gaze.

The priests felt as if Utis was not merely 'looking at' them but 'seeing through' them. It was as if he was disassembling all the secrets they harbored in their hearts.

It reminded them of the time they met the bishop of Phoibos Proopsios. The gaze of seers who could glimpse the future always had something that stirred a person's soul.

"You don't seem to be part of the meeting. Are you Demus's brothers?"

He wasn't asking if they were related by blood. It was a question of whether they shared the same faith, the same god.

The priest of Enyalius flinched. In hindsight, it was a simple deduction. Since they were accompanying Demus, it was easy to guess they served the same god, Enyalius.

But the truth spoken by a seer always felt heavier.

Especially when it came from Utis, whom Demus had introduced as 'the greatest seer I know.'

"That's right. But watch your words."

Demus pointed to the sky with his finger. They were currently in a bustling city center controlled by a mid-tier magic tower. While the noise from the busy streets masked their conversation, the magic drones scattered by the towers to monitor the citizens were always a concern.

"Haha. Don't worry. I'm watching everything."

Utis' smile, which effortlessly dispelled such concerns, was not so much reassuring as it was eerie and unsettling.

Even if prophecy differed significantly from other holy incantations, was he really saying he was constantly peering into the future in the heart of a magic tower?

"So, Demus. Where are we going?"

Demus scanned the surroundings. Even with his senses enhanced by his fighting spirit, he detected no drones or magical spirits.

Trusting in his own senses and the seer's calm reassurance, he began to speak.

"The end of the Mythical Era. The last temple where all the gods gathered to resist the Mage King."

"A god with enough authority to be the focal point for the gathering of cults. Is it Aegio's temple?"

If a mage overheard this, they would immediately label them as heretics and arrest them—a conversation fraught with danger. The priests of Enyalius turned pale.

"…The strongest of the Twelve Cults, including Aegio, also guarded against the Mage King. Therefore, he was the first to attack and crush them. The place where the cults gathered to resist to the end is Pluto's Great Temple."

Huh. Orthes quietly marveled. So, I'll finally get to see Pluto's temple.

"Indeed. Pluto wasn't among the Twelve Gods, but he had equal status. His temple could very well be a focal point for resistance. What about the other priests I saw at the meeting?"

"They've all departed with their own groups in different directions. We'll enter at midnight."

Orthes nodded. To deploy so many priests… The Divine Cult clearly had high hopes for this Great Temple liberation.

"No matter how much Argos holds Blasphemia at bay, it will be impossible to conceal the divine power that will be released when the temple is liberated. We have to break all the seals and retrieve the relics within an hour."

"I'll take the spoils for Bacchus's cult."

Orthes casually indicated that he had no interest in the relics of Phoibos, as the Phoibos cult would naturally recover their own relics. He only wanted to claim what belonged to Bacchus's cult, since he was protecting the last priestess of that cult.

Demus shook his head.

"Not just the Twelve Cults, but many minor cults' relics are also gathered there. We'll think about distribution later. For now, we need to recover everything we see."

Orthes nodded in satisfaction.

It was as if he could already see the future, where he would hoard as many relics as possible.

To read over 260 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02