I Became the Narrow-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss

Hydra Corporation didn’t have much of a presence in the magical society.

Naturally! A newly established Mage Tower that couldn’t last a year, let alone ten, was like a weed among the towering Mage Towers with histories spanning decades and even thousands of years.

Of course, there were exceptional Mage Towers that made a name for themselves right from the start, but those were rare. They might have discovered visions from ancient collapsed Mage Towers in old ruins, or a direct disciple from the Ten Towers might have established it independently, or perhaps a genius suddenly appearing with innovative German magic – these towers would catch the attention of the magical society.

However, Hydra Corporation didn’t fall into any of these categories. Carisia wanted that, and Orthes made it happen.

Despite having aggressive expansion and high combat prowess, they were merely a force capable of fighting for supremacy in Etna City. To the powers that could influence the entire magical society, they merely appeared as one of many Towers.

Even considering Carisia’s skills showcased in the Elysion Terror, it was still the case. Carisia didn’t flaunt her identity as a boss on purpose.

Hydra Corporation became a name mentioned only when discussing investment plans in Kaicle Tower, often bringing up negative factors due to the Tower Master’s disappearance.

Thus, the level of interest Amimone Tower had in Hydra Corporation was significantly higher than average in the magical society.

The reason they showed interest was simple: they were the ones who toppled Lernian Tower.

The founders of Lernian Tower were outcasts from Amimone Tower. If Hydra Corporation were to seriously enter the magical society, using the legacy of Lernian Tower, Amimone Tower would’ve been thrilled.

Given the founder’s history, it was inevitable that the research materials of Lernian Tower would bear the colors of Amimone Tower. If overstated, the legacy of Lernian Tower could be seen as a product of appropriation from Amimone Tower.

If they could slowly increase their influence over Hydra Corporation, they might attempt a merger like the many Towers they had swallowed whole until now.

However, contrary to Amimone Tower’s expectations, Hydra Corporation merely engaged in small territorial disputes within Etna City. Eventually, Amimone Tower withdrew its interest in Hydra Corporation.

It was perhaps one of the worst misjudgments they could make.

Even if they continued to monitor Hydra Corporation, it was uncertain whether they would realize that the storm looming over them had its roots in Hydra Corporation.

*

The start of their misfortunes began with Panoptes. For a pinnacle such as the Apex Tower, they pulled as many of their own Mage graduates into Panoptes as possible, trying to make the most of the legal gray areas.

And an irrefutable suspicion was raised regarding Argos agent from Amimone Tower.

“Collaboration with Argyrion!”

Danao, the Master of Amimone Tower, screamed. What the heck was this nonsense?

It was one thing if it were the Tower Masters before him, but Danao himself had no grand ambitions. To partner with Argyrion to take down the Ten Towers and truly rise to the top of the Mage Towers?

That was a laughable idea. Even if he wasn’t at the pinnacle right now, he was enjoying wealth and power near the summit—why would he risk such a gamble that could hardly even be called that?

Living a pastoral life collecting patents from minor Mage Towers that were sure to make some profit in the future—that was what Danao desired.

“Damn it. What the hell is going on? I’m pretty sure I showered gifts on Argos’s higher-ups!”

Danao ruffled his hair, slowly rereading the report.

“Blasphemia?”

Those bastards. Danao gritted his teeth. Argos, Eidolons, and Blasphemia were organizations nominally dividing Panoptes, but in reality, Argos held the most power.

Argos not only had the largest number of members but also the most common tasks assigned to them.

Blasphemia and Eidolons were secret organizations acting solely for special purposes, making it impossible for them to be publicly known.

However, a Tower Master of the Apex Tower needed to be well-versed in the internal power struggles of Panoptes.

“Crap, am I caught up in a faction fight between two gangs?!”

It might not just be a simple faction fight. The fact that Argyrion had become an Eroder for Blasphemia was also spreading quietly. The more non-Blasphemia collaborators Argyrion had, the less burden the organization bore.

“It’s odd that suspicion has fallen on my Tower. Is there a Mage in Blasphemia trying to keep our Tower in check?”

Danao recalled the Apex Towers that were currently expanding in similar fields. Many Apex Towers wanted to disrupt his indiscriminate expansion, but only a few would see Danao’s endeavors as serious competition.

Decades of accumulated know-how couldn’t be overturned by a few minor patents, so Danao focused more on diversifying his business than competing directly in specialized fields with other Towers and was collecting patents.

‘That means the number of individuals harboring grudges against my Tower is limited. Possibly those competition Towers whose specialized fields overlap with mine…’

Danao shook his head, thinking that a rival Tower might have instigated the current situation. Amimone Tower was merely the first, but due to policies like artifact censorship from the Ten Towers, the Apex Towers had to concentrate on regulating their own internal matters.

Now only one candidate remained.

The remnants defeated by Amimone Tower.

There was a strong possibility that survivors of minor Mage Towers that miraculously survived had joined Panoptes to find their paths. If they had sufficient talent and were selected for Blasphemia, they might have enacted such a retaliatory accusation.

“Hmph. These are all they can muster for revenge?”

Using the rivalry between Blasphemia and Argos to accuse agents from Amimone Tower was something anyone could conceive of, as long as they had a sharp mind.

However, if they truly couldn’t find any evidence of collusion, the accusers would only face the backlash.

Of course, Amimone Tower did not nurture traitors. Danao loved the system more than anyone else.

With the authority and power that the Apex Tower held, any vague suspicion would fade with time. When that time came, the accusers had committed wrongful accusations and would be ostracized within Blasphemia, giving rise to natural opportunities for dealing with them.

True power struggles weren’t played out this way.

Even false accusations would only commence after meticulous evidence was prepared to turn them into a reality. The defeated ones daring to show their teeth to Amimone Tower didn’t have the capacity to create such evidence.

This was the difference between those with power and those who lost.

“To deal with this quickly, I should at least find out who spread those words. I need to locate those in Blasphemia with connections.”

And the next day.

Amimone Tower was additionally charged with the crime of concealing relics.

*

“Wow. What a smooth start!”

Knemon trembled as he listened to Orthes’s explanation. From the first button of the plan to accuse Argos agents from Amimone Tower using Blasphemia, this was beyond his understanding.

How on earth could one manipulate Blasphemia into acting on their will while sitting in Etna City?

However, this incident was even more dramatic. Numerous relic fragments had been discovered in the city where Amimone Tower was located.

“The Divine Power extracted is just a ‘remnant’ and not a proper relic. But this can still be disguised as something Amimone Tower did. They could remove the Divine Power from the relic to avoid audits, and once the audit is over, they could restore the Divine Power for resurrection purposes.”

Orthes kindly explained the planning intentions of this drama. Only by skillfully handling both Blasphemia and Argos could they procure an untraceable pile of relics.

Knemon realized that Orthes had said, “It would take a while before the position of Tower Master is offered,” and felt a chill.

If this was just the first step, how deep had Amimone Tower fallen?

“What’s the second step?”

“Oh. It’s nothing special. The Ten Towers through all this turbulence are reacting to Argyrion, right?”

“Because of Argyrion, will you call for them?”

“Oh, you’re really quick on the uptake, Knemon!”

‘What kind of crazy talk is this?’

Knemon stared at Orthes, astonished.

Orthes smiled, thinking of the core of Adoosiam he had kept in the Great Temple of Pluton.

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