I Became the Narrow-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss

A Mage Tower that wants to see the end? What on earth does that mean?

I think back on Knemon’s personal history. My social circle is narrow, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the few people I can call friends.

Originally, Knemon was the heir to a Mage Tower that ruled over a certain region. That was until the Apex Towers coveted the exclusive magic developed by his Tower.

What followed was a familiar tale. The Apex Towers’ tyranny was something the local Mage Tower could not withstand, leading to its absorption by the Apex Towers, and Knemon was exiled, living as a Troubleshooter.

“So…”

Is this friend asking to have a Mage Tower erased from the map for his reward?

I stopped my hand, which instinctively wanted to go to my temple. Strangely enough, people who knew me during my Troubleshooter days tend to overestimate my abilities.

Do they believe I have the power to storm the Mage Tower and massacre everyone? I’m not some ninja appearing out of nowhere, ready to slice everyone up. I’m not that great in direct confrontations.

“Mr. Knemon.”

Since Carisia said she would pay anything, I couldn’t simply reply, “That’s impossible.”

However, at this point, I couldn’t enthusiastically support the plan to eliminate the Apex Towers either.

“The risk is too great.”

In terms of possibility, it was definitely feasible. If I leave the preparations for Etna City to the Directors and set out on a mission with Carisia…

But once the Apex Towers come crashing down, do we have any way to handle the aftermath?

“Evading the scrutinizing gaze of the sensitized Panoptes and shifting the blame to Argyrion or other organizations is the real issue.”

The timing is off. Therefore, what I must do is…

“Let’s rethink this.”

What do you mean by rethinking? It’s a negotiation to lower my fee!

*

Knemon felt skepticism about what Orthes was trying to say.

“Rethink?”

He wants to eliminate his enemies from the world. Could there be a clearer and more definitive way of getting revenge?

Orthes’s laughter grew deeper.

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Haven’t you heard that saying?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mr. Knemon. Your family’s Mage Tower is still in their grasp, isn’t it?”

Knemon nodded. He wanted to return to his hometown without worrying about anything, living in peace, but it was nearly impossible not to hear rumors about those ruling the city.

“How many years has it been?”

“Years? You mean the time since I lost my Tower?”

Orthes nodded. Knemon counted in his mind. It had been almost 20 years since he concealed his identity and fled.

“About 18 years. What does that have to do with your request?”

“Isn’t it a waste?”

“What?”

Pure confusion escaped Knemon’s lips. What a waste? What on earth is he talking about?

The image of Orthes from his Troubleshooter days replayed in his mind. Whenever he asked a riddle-like question, an answer would come long after.

“Don’t listen to the orders of the purple sparrow.”
“What nonsense. Get lost.”

In Orthes’s early days, many didn’t believe his words, and they all died.

“The purple sparrow… that was a carving on the ruins’ stone wall. I thought following the written words would give me a way out, but it was a trap.”

What’s chilling is that the color of that sparrow carving has long since faded over countless years. It looks just like a gray bird now.

Artifact evaluators, upon examining it closely, only cautiously suggested that “it might have originally been purple.”

This too must be some sort of riddle. Knemon was enveloped in a tension mixed with fear and excitement.

He feared Orthes, yet he simultaneously remembered the moments of dimension exploration that had never been a failure.

To Knemon, Orthes was a dual existence with both destruction and glory.

“If Mr. Knemon requests such a reward…”

Orthes lowered his voice, causing an involuntary tension to rise. The blue light reflecting beneath Orthes’s thinly veiled eyes shone like a lamp luring in insects to burn.

“It will be completed in just one night.”

“…….”

The brief span of one night didn’t surprise Knemon. He believed Orthes had that capability.

But the puzzling part was the word “just.” What is “just”?

“Mr. Knemon suffered for 18 years. Their downfall will be merely overnight. It doesn’t add up, does it?”

“You…”

Gradually, it started to make sense.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

“Wouldn’t it be sweeter for you to hold that power rather than merely bringing the Apex Towers down?”

Knemon was left speechless. He had suspected from the clues given earlier, but to be offered the very Apex Towers, the pinnacle of Mage Towers, this easily…?

Seeing Knemon swallow hard in confusion, Orthes’s whisper continued.

“The hardships you’ve endured for 18 years. 360 days multiplied by 18, that’s 6480 days. Yet the downfall they face is merely one day. So, my dear friend,”

Orthes’s voice became more tender as he leaned in closer to Knemon, who trembled with a strange thrill.

“At least they should endure a period of suffering equal to yours to be fair.”

“I… an equal amount?”

“What could be more humiliating for them than to be ruled by the heir of the Mage Tower they once destroyed? A complete reversal of power they thought was absolute.”

If there is a devil’s temptation, perhaps it would be like this. Knemon felt a rising impulse to forget Orthes’s true nature and join hands with him.

“No. I’m not forgetting.”

Deep inside, something urged him to turn his gaze away from Orthes’s end-time madness.

Even though he understood that it was all per Orthes’s plan, this situation pulled on Knemon’s heart more than he feared. But…

“Is it… possible?”

The forgotten anger began to awaken slowly. The resentment he’d cast away while running from Orthes stuck to him like a shadow.

“It will take longer than just one night, however.”

Orthes smiled and nodded.

*

Alright! We’re moving along now.

Watching the seriously conflicted Knemon, I felt a twinge of guilt. That guy is quite rational as a manager. I’ve seen it when he was running a Troubleshooter group.

Even if I truly handed over the Apex Towers to him, he wouldn’t behave like a tyrant. Rather, he was more likely to purge the rotten parts and genuinely become a proper Tower Master.

That’s quite far from the bloody revenge Knemon hoped for; it would come with the smell of ink instead.

“But right now, the boss’s matters take precedence over a friend’s request…”

It’s more beneficial to insert a friend as a boss rather than making an Apex Tower evaporate. I have to consider the pros and cons of my friend’s desperate request, which is a bit disappointing, but this could be a mutually beneficial relationship, right?

After a while of contemplation, Knemon finally nodded, as if he had made up his mind.

“I have a question.”

“Ask anything.”

“How many years?”

Ah, Knemon is wondering just how long he could hold the position of Tower Master at the Apex Towers?

Carisia is only interested in the downfall of the White Light. Even if she promises him a lifetime Tower Master position, she wouldn’t reprimand me. Since it’s related to Divine Investigation, it’s not overstepping my bounds.

Still, if I were to claim this right here and now, I might face some criticism later on.

“As long as the boss desires, it will continue.”

*

It was another moment of hesitation for Knemon. Surprisingly, Orthes was genuinely serving the boss.

“Were you really this cautious about what others think?”

Last night, I learned from Lampades that our friendship was not a lie, but I still find it hard to believe.

Has the faceless Orthes ever treated someone in such a lower posture?

Though provocative, Orthes only deepened his smile even more.

“Hey. Which company employee doesn’t watch for their boss’s eyes?”

“What a funny joke. To think someone would ever call you a superior…”

“All you have to do is feed me and pay me, and that makes you a great boss. Boss Carisia doesn’t skimp on either.”

It’s quite ironic that someone bent on world destruction is using daily meals as a condition for a boss.

Knemon began to ponder the time constraint of “as long as the boss desires.”

“Is that so? Perhaps until the world perishes…”

Orthes felt suspicion at those words but didn’t dwell on it deeply. As seen in Phoibos’s Elimination, Carisia would probably not take back what she had given, though she might return what she had received.

“Hah. How did Carisia understand the pay system so quickly? Did she already know the Tower Master position would be secured until the day of dying?”

Though Orthes felt a bit disgusted by Knemon, who seemed to be trying to swindle the boss, he soon shook his head. This friend had crucial tasks ahead for Hydra Corporation.

He only wanted to give his friend a positive nudge to hasten his decision.

“Yes, you’ve hit the nail on the head.”

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