I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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It was an unexpected walking trip.

Thanks to Arabella having some free time and keeping me company, I wasn't bored for a while. But as we got closer to Etna City, she cut off communication to get some sleep, so from then on, I had to talk to myself.

By the time I arrived, it was already midnight. Going through the front gate to my room would be too complicated, so I headed for the back gate.

The back gate, firmly closed, had a sign that read "No Entry Except for Authorized Personnel." But who else could be considered authorized personnel of Hydra Corporation if not me?

When I held up my pristine white access card, I heard the lock disengage. This white access card was issued by Carisia as soon as we seized control of the magic core at the Lernian Tower.

"You're here."

As I made my way to the room prepared for me at the top floor of Hydra Corporation, I encountered the president in the hallway.

***

"…President?"

'He looks utterly perplexed as to why I'm here.'

Carisia shrugged slightly with a faint smile.

"I thought you might be coming soon, so I waited."

"I haven't prepared my report yet."

Orthes's businesslike response.

Carisia didn't seem particularly disappointed by this attitude. That was just the kind of person he was.

"I understand. I wouldn't be so inconsiderate as to request a report from someone who has just returned from a business trip."

Orthes felt a peculiar sensation. Carisia's words had a similar nuance to something he'd heard before.

"Then why?"

"Just wanted to see your face. It's late. Have a good night."

Carisia passed by Orthes and headed to her room, which was adjacent to his.

Click. The door closed. The metallic sound of the locking mechanism did not follow.

'What on earth is she thinking?'

Orthes, gazing at Carisia's retreating figure, fell into contemplation.

If she'd said something like, "You've worked hard on your business trip," he could have understood. The years Orthes and Carisia had spent together weren't short.

In that case, he might have marveled at the president's unexpected display of humanity and gone to bed.

But simply glancing at his face and then going in made it difficult to gauge Carisia's true intentions.

'Ah, forget it. Her expression didn't seem off. I'll think about it after some sleep.'

***

The data Arabella extracted from the Blasphemia branch was very useful in many ways.

Even though it wasn't classified information from the Ten Towers stored at a mere branch, there was plenty of data related to Blasphemia's core mission of tracking "superstition followers."

Superstition followers, of course, were those who believed in the vanished gods—those Hydra Corporation needed to find.

While Orthes undertook a lengthy walking journey to avoid potential Blasphemia pursuit, the directors had several meetings based on the information Arabella brought.

After discussions, they devised a reasonable division of labor to track the divine. However, Carisia had not yet approved the directors' business plans.

The reason was simple. The project was the purview of the Divine Investigation Office, and all work had to wait for the return of Orthes, the head of that office.

In reality, there was nothing that required Orthes at that moment. Naturally, the president had higher authority than the head of the Divine Investigation Office, so if Carisia approved, the work could proceed smoothly.

Yet Carisia insisted that everything must go through the head of the Divine Investigation Office. Why?

The directors' thoughts converged on one answer: authority.

It was to bolster Orthes's authority.

Until the establishment of the Divine Investigation Office, Orthes had served Carisia without a clear rank. His position could be interpreted as the president's direct secretary, but this was not an official title either.

As a result, even though Orthes was effectively Hydra Corporation's second-in-command, his official authority did not extend to the directors.

Thus, Carisia appointed Orthes as the head of the newly created Divine Investigation Office and granted the office near-unlimited discretionary power.

Orthes, however, carried out missions alone with his newfound authority, leaving the hierarchy between the directors and the head of the Divine Investigation Office ambiguous.

In this delicate situation, Carisia halted the office's activities until Orthes's return to reinforce that, at least concerning "divine" matters, the head of the Divine Investigation Office's authority superseded that of the directors.

The directors looked uncomfortably at Orthes standing behind Carisia.

Even though a seat was prepared for the head of the Divine Investigation Office, Orthes insisted on standing behind Carisia as usual, likely out of loyalty.

While Orthes had the authority to threaten Carisia, his demeanor showed he had no intention of opposing her.

***

'I already have muscle pain from all that walking.'

A meeting first thing in the morning. My legs hurt.

I eyed an empty seat. Kaicle or Geryon, maybe?

What are they doing, not showing up for the meeting? They're just prolonging my standing time.

"It seems like everyone necessary is here. Shall we start the meeting?"

Bertrand's timely words were much appreciated. Carisia glanced at me and nodded.

***

The first to speak among the directors was the beast trainer, Dimedes.

"First, the head of the Divine Investigation Office. Wasn't your return too late?"

Meconion was amazed. Was that human-hunter challenging the second-in-command so boldly?

Even if he was bloodthirsty, couldn't he discern when to pick a fight?

There might be another reason. Based on his experience, Orthes was a fervent follower of the president who overlooked most rudeness unless it involved Carisia.

"Haha, I apologize. I had to ensure I didn't leave any traces."

Talking about tails. That was definitely aimed at Dimedes's beasts. This was good but implied a warning not to overstep.

Dimedes, impulsive and rude, was not stupid. He could decipher Orthes's meaning.

He stopped provoking and got to the point.

"Ahem. So, have you read the task division documents for divine investigation?"

***

What is he talking about?

Scolding me for being late from a business trip is just the kind of idle annoyance higher-ups indulge in, so I bowed slightly.

But are they saying I should have reviewed the tasks as soon as I arrived last night?

I almost bit my lip. This was unexpected.

Did the directors adopt Carisia's work-people-to-the-bone mindset while I was away for a few days? I desperately looked for Carisia's reaction.

She seemed to acknowledge the existence of those documents, as she didn't comment on Dimedes's words.

I had to navigate this by making some plausible-sounding remarks while figuring out the situation.

"Of course. Are you dissatisfied with the task you've been assigned, Director Dimedes?"

"I'm fine with the content. But wasn't the person responsible for approving the plan absent?"

I recalled the content I whispered to Carisia in my sleep.

Did I say something like, "Dimedes's dogs are craving blood, so throw them some fugitives before they harm civilians"?

Since he said he was satisfied, it seemed he had been assigned some human-hunting tasks. Thus, Neuro would likely be excluded from fugitive tracking, and most task divisions were probably based on what I mentioned last time.

"I'm glad you're proactive in your duties. How many beasts can you mobilize right now, Director?"

"Hmph. 120. The president ordered all beasts to be recalled and to wait. They're all hungry."

"How many trainers are available to control these beasts?"

"Thirty trainers can be deployed. They can handle four beasts each."

Although it's "four beasts each," the thirty trainers referred to are also technically "beasts."

Dimedes and his trainers can all transform into beast-men by injecting beast genes.

…which is a cover. In reality, they inject human genes to maintain human appearance and intelligence, making them chimeras.

Beast training involves the chimera's ability to combine multiple beasts into more powerful ones. They can dominate beasts of the same type that make up their bodies.

Since Carisia banned hunting for a long time, they must be running out of stored humans, leading to a decline in their intellect.

So they're desperately appealing for human hunting.

Who should I order this bloodthirsty beast to hunt?

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