ALL NOVEL Chapter 1
Tap, tap. The sound of high heels echoed against the floor.
It was the only sound occupying the silence of the meeting room. A woman in a black suit effortlessly took the most prominent seat.
Her white hair flowed as she sat, her gaze sweeping across the room.
Despite being at the same level, she exuded an imposing presence, as if looking down from a great height. Those who met her eyes trembled involuntarily.
“Nice to meet you all. I am Carisia.”
Arabella, staring at Carisia, thought to herself,
“No. This is not nice at all.”
This mysterious witch had suddenly appeared in the past few months, shaking the underworld and wiping out several crime organizations.
Although some ignorance in the slums whispered “Saint” as the brilliance of her light magic illuminated the darkness, Arabella knew the truth.
The magic she wielded was of light, but that woman’s nature was far more vicious than theirs.
Who could utter such words as “Saint” after witnessing a human evaporating into golden dust before their eyes?
“It seems that there are both familiar and unfamiliar faces here.”
Arabella lowered her eyes, half-listening to Carisia’s murmured words.
Wrapped in polite expressions and honorifics, it was a straightforward story.
“This area belongs to me. Don’t mess around; bow down, that sort of thing.”
But she couldn’t refute. Those who attempted had long met a spectacular death.
“They say that organizations with many heads are bound to split. However, we will be different.”
Eight organizations, including Carisia herself, chose to submit before her. In total, that meant there were nine heads in this place.
“Shall we borrow a name from old mythology? From now on, we shall be called Hydra.”
Arabella bit her lips. The multi-headed serpent of the legend, Hydra. Its heads were not equal.
Among them, there was a particularly special head, the immortal middle head.
A metaphor resembling a threat about the disparity between Carisia and the other eight leaders.
“Well then, I hereby officially declare that our destinies have united under the name Hydra Corporation.”
Embarrassingly bowing her head, Arabella thought of the possibility of assassination but shook her head.
It was due to the man who had stood silently behind Carisia all along.
So faint that one would struggle to sense his existence unless concentrating, he was the perfect embodiment of the adjective “dim.”
If Carisia was the immortal middle head of Hydra, then that man was undoubtedly the poison it harbored.
‘Orthes.’
Some called him Carisia’s guard.
Some called him Carisia’s advisor.
Arabella denied both, yet also agreed.
Neither guard nor advisor sufficed to describe the man. Rather, it could be said he was the…
‘Confidant.’
The only limb with which the unfathomable Carisia shared her innermost thoughts.
Arabella licked her lips as she signed the contract.
If she wished to eliminate Carisia, she would first have to deal with him.
*
I thought.
‘Oh crap.’
After living in this world as Orthes for over a decade, I realized the true identity of my employer.
On top of that, the identity of this world as well.
Carisia was the protagonist’s enemy, and this world was a world from a novel.
As I looked upon the scene best described as a coronation rather than an appointment, I began to devise my escape plan.
*
“Employer.”
After all eight leaders had retreated in submission to Carisia, I whispered to her quietly.
Nuance. Her head slightly tilted.
“I respectfully ask if you would permit my resignation?”
The white light brushed past my nape. Magic that shot forth at the speed of light, just as the words suggested.
How terrifying. I glanced at the wall where the light struck. Wasn’t intense enough for her to have used her magic earnestly; it only singed slightly.
From that first encounter, I sensed her personality was rather twisted, but it seemed it hadn’t changed.
She overeacts to my words about leaving, doesn’t she?
“What other problem can there be?”
“Let me ask in return. What is the problem that makes you want to leave?”
That smiling grin. Someone new might think it beautiful, but I had been tumbling around under Carisia for years. How many moments could I genuinely be happy about my superior’s smile?
“What use could I be to you any longer, Employer? You’ve merged all organizations in this city, and those that are yet to submit are nothing but mediocre fellows. Even without me—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence. Carisia covered her ears with both hands.
A blatant gesture of ‘I won’t listen.’ Far from her usual cool demeanor, it was a childish display.
I couldn’t suppress a sigh. Thinking I had done enough as a founding member, it appeared Carisia wanted to continue using me.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“You’re mistaken about the title.”
Title? When we first met, she hadn’t even given me her name, so I called her Employer, Employer. I hadn’t previously complained about this sort of thing.
Thinking deeply, the faces of those who just left came to mind.
Ah.
Carisia was now officially the Boss. Even if Hydra Corporation was a half-legal operation created by gathering the city’s underworld’s illegal businesses, the title wouldn’t change.
Since she was probably of noble status originally, being sensitive to such titles was somewhat understandable.
“Yes, Boss.”
I whispered with conviction.
Carisia’s expression turned slightly displeased upon hearing my words. Did I say something wrong? It shouldn’t be.
“Enough, just get out.”
Carisia waved her hand gently. Just because her gestures were gentle didn’t mean her heart was kind; I knew that better than anyone.
Bowing to greet her, I left what would now be the Boss’s office.
What was I even supposed to do? I moved my feet, rummaging through the faint memories of the original work.
*
Phew. Carisia sighed. Truly, she was an unpredictable person.
I wonder if she knows that I only loosen up in front of her. Blinking twice, Carisia fiddled with the fountain pen she had taken from her jacket pocket.
It was an item Orthes had obtained from somewhere. Her white fingers caressed the body of the fountain pen.
There was a lot to do ahead. The establishment of Hydra Corporation was merely the first step of revenge against her family.
She needed to start with renewing the qualifications for the Great Temple that she had swept away from the underworld.
As Carisia reviewed the documents to submit to the Mage’s Association, she lifted her gaze towards the door through which Orthes had exited.
Suddenly, the image of the man who had playfully requested to resign flickered in her mind.
Unknowingly, Carisia revealed her displeasure.
“…I told him to call me by my name.”
He still doesn’t call me that until the end.
*
Back in my room, I first checked my surroundings. In this world, where the bizarre study of magic engineering flourished, one could acquire items equal to or exceeding the technological level of the modern civilization I previously lived in, provided one had money.
Which means the risk of eavesdropping shouldn’t be overlooked.
I had obliterated the organization that originally occupied this building, cleaning it thoroughly, but one could never be sure.
One of the eight leaders summoned today might have spread eavesdropping magical devices in hopes of gathering information.
‘Though I’m clumsy with magic.’
For such people, there were those who sold pre-prepared spells. Inserting a USB into the gauntlet’s socket.
The exact term was ‘Magic Engraving Drive,’ but to me—a person who remembered their life on Earth, the term USB was much more familiar.
Zzztt, the sound echoed as green magic light engulfed the area. The few decorations like the pot and clock in the room also turned the same shade of green.
“Oh my. They really are fast.”
I started seeking out and destroying the hidden listening devices. A skilled mage might trace the mana back to catch the tail, but I wasn’t a mage.
“I’ll let today’s business go unpunished. Should something like this occur again, I’ll grant an opportunity for direct discourse with the Boss.”
One perk of being under a high-status person.
You can sell your name.
Having already signed a contract agreeing to submit to the merger, they wouldn’t want to face Carisia one-on-one.
So, shall we summarize the plot of the original work?
I picked up the pen.
*
In a corner of Orthes’s room, Arabella felt her composure wavering. Using state-of-the-art cloaking suits for optical camouflage and her unique magic to suppress her presence.
Extreme stealth allowed her to even hide the typical tremors of air or reactions to carbon dioxide any living creature would emit.
It was the magic Arabella desperately honed as she survived, gathering information in the city’s underworld.
Yet here stood Orthes, effortlessly piercing through that and saying, “I’ll let it go unpunished.” What overwhelming power this was.
Orthes suggested they’d grant an opportunity to meet with the Boss. This implied that Carisia had warned the leaders in advance that they would attempt contact with Orthes.
Plans to conspire with the Boss’s confidant were a waste, so Arabella carefully shrank her body further, slipping through the crack of the door.
‘But, surely, that warning was not for those who installed the eavesdropping devices, right?’
Arabella shook her head.
Only after Zzztt-ing the listening devices one by one did Orthes finally speak. It was clearly a remark aimed at her, who had been hiding in the room.
Biting her lip, Arabella accepted that she would have to obey the authority of both Carisia and Orthes for the time being.