I Became the Narrow-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss

My head was spinning. The little kid shyly waving at me from behind the Auditor General was indeed the Niobe I knew.

But why is Salmosia popping up here? I only saw him in the employee roster I found when sneaking into the Blasphemia library.

Salmosia first checked my skin layer. That rough procedure when entering the Charlotte Branch… Thankfully, I had informed Divius in advance and wore my artificial skin, so I wouldn’t be caught.

“Do you remember the address you reported about Nardanit’s betrayal?”

“It’s a random number address hidden in the database internal BS 52:5. It’s a dedicated address connected to the Auditor General’s office, and it gets updated daily, so there isn’t an exact format.”

Salmosia nodded vigorously and extended his hand. I accepted the handshake, and thankfully, there was no sudden activation of an assassination curse from the ring on Salmosia’s finger.

“I’ve been eagerly waiting to meet you. Finding you again after the inspector vanished… it’s a rare occasion indeed. Truly a top agent of our Auditor Office.”

“You’re too kind. I’m just lucky to have survived and am desperately chasing the traces of the traitors.”

From his reaction, some facts became clear. Either Salmosia knew about my excuse of ‘this face is a disguise for infiltration,’ or it was normal for secret inspectors to disguise themselves for undercover work, so he didn’t suspect the changed appearance of L13.

I sensed no other presence aside from Niobe and Salmosia within my field of view. That meant this meeting wasn’t a trap from Blasphemia trying to catch me.

Salmosia sat in a chair in the safehouse and gestured for me to take a seat across from him. I shook my head.

“Thank you for the offer, but I won’t be sitting down. This area is Argyrian’s operational zone, and the Auditor General is a crucial factor. I must prepare for their ambush.”

That was a strong show of vigilance. Salmosia appreciated L13’s attitude, seeing it as another test. It was a measure to see if I had not forgotten my duties as an agent while acting solo.

So far, most of the information Blasphemia gathered on Argyrian was obtained through that L13. Such vigilance was probably the key to L13 surviving dangerous spy missions.

“Very well. Then listen while standing. As you told Niobe, the doomsday cultists inside the Ten Towers are a major risk factor. But so far, it’s manageable.”

Since L13 was practically responsible for gathering information on Argyrian, the other inspectors had somewhat more time to handle new tasks.

There had been plenty of times where they dispatched people to investigate Argyrian’s presence and came back empty-handed, but it was much better than having to gather info from scratch.

Salmosia took advantage of this leeway to start an internal audit. It was to filter out spies hiding within Blasphemia. Since he publicly announced the audit, the spies’ movements were intimidated.

“The Auditor’s Office is working diligently to weed out the unruly elements. Though your burden in investigating Argyrian is heavy, hang in there. The time for a counterattack will come soon.”

“When you say soon… does that mean we can’t engage in a counterattack immediately due to a risk factor that’s ‘not manageable’?”

L13’s prompt question showed impressive skill in grasping the double meaning implied in that sentence.

He must have dedicated years to tracking Argyrian. The work required survival and combat skills more than smooth talking or eloquence. Therefore, I had worried that his social abilities might have rusted, but it seems that concern was unfounded.

Salmosia, feeling satisfied, lowered his voice slightly.

“Yes, there are those we can’t directly deal with.”

Orthes had singled out candidates that were problematic to deal with in response to Blasphemia. Though Blasphemia operated in the shadows, its influence was undeniably significant. As a group dedicated to tracking superstition, it was difficult for them to exert power over mages, but if there’s even a hint of superstition involved, even a Mage Tower would have to bow down.

“Since Blasphemia is a secret organization, they couldn’t just reveal their identities in any situation. When it comes to needing a public presence, they would operate under Panoptes.”

Panoptes meant ‘the all-seeing’, a term denoting watchers. They played roles similar to public safety departments or police within the magical society.

In reality, Blasphemia was a subordinate organization under Panoptes on a higher level. Thus, Blasphemia’s fake identity wasn’t entirely false.

There was one more secret organization affiliated with Panoptes dedicated to maintaining the structure of the Ten Towers.

Eidolons. Those who prevent the flood of extra-dimensional beings and correct doomsday cultists.

“Are you talking about Eidolons? I thought the traitors among Argyrian wouldn’t interfere with us.”

“No. They are actively cooperating. Even in the Panoptes meeting attended by the senior members of the Ten Towers, they supported us. The problem lies with Argos.”

Argos led the division responsible for public safety policing. Unlike Eidolons or Blasphemia, they were a recognized police force.

They could officially punish massive acts of rebellion that exceeded the CID’s range, such as issuing bounties for magical criminals or smoothly handling things ‘discreetly’ in Blasphemia or Eidolon.

Normally, the tasks related to surveillance and arresting criminals were part of Argos’s responsibilities.

“Argos? Isn’t that a task approved by the Ten Towers? How could they dare!”

“Of course, they can’t publicly interfere. But…”

Salmosia tossed a black cube onto the table. It looked like a die, and a hologram unfolded above it. It was a map marking the areas where reports of Argyrian’s appearance had recently come in.

“We discovered some embarrassing facts while searching for sites where Argyrian appeared again. Some seals of ruins we monitored in Blasphemia have been compromised.”

Orthes’s face turned grim. Is it from Hydra Corporation? Or the Divine Cult? They were blatantly attempting to plunder, and it was known that they would eventually be caught, but I didn’t expect them to be discovered this quickly.

“This ongoing sabotage happened while we dispatched resources to track Argyrian, and clearly, Argos is behind it.”

Salmosia did not notice Orthes’s change in expression. He was focused on his own story, but more fundamentally, Orthes’s faintly smiling mouth didn’t waver.

People who could detect emotional changes only from the slight fluctuations in the gaze of half-closed eyes were few and far between.

“Do you have a reason to suspect Argos, rather than the followers of superstition?”

“Isn’t it simple? How could the followers of superstition know each of our operational details and compromise sealing sites near the operation zone?”

That was a confident reply. Orthes felt a kind of certainty about Blasphemia’s view on the vanished divine cult. The cults that had been hunted for the past century would surely not dare to oppose them.

Argos, Eidolon, and Blasphemia were all affiliated with Panoptes. To prevent mutual collision and facilitate cooperation, some operational intelligence was shared among the higher-ups, albeit restrictively.

“Our internal spies can’t move recklessly since the audit has started, so they can be excluded. Eidolon is focused on other matters, so they don’t have the capacity for such extensive sabotage. The only ones left are Argos.”

Orthes focused on the high-level information provided by the Auditor General. If Eidolon was moving, it indicated something special was happening in the extra-dimensional realm. Perhaps a magical omen hinting at the Mage King’s return.

“I hesitate to ask, but does Argos have a reason to harm us?”

“Hah. They’ve always been greedy, haven’t they? It’s due to their desire to have all of Panoptes in their grasp. During the Elysion Terror, some doomsday cult guards even contributed to the chaos. They would want to shift all the blame onto us since Argyrian’s Eroders were affiliated with us.”

“Indeed…”

“The ruins’ investigations have been conducted either by the Divine Cult or our company.”

That was a pretty reckless assumption. Even if there was fierce factional strife within Panoptes, they were ultimately organizations under the Ten Towers. They wouldn’t openly disrupt each other this way.

But if Blasphemia’s suspicions were directed elsewhere, that would be a good thing, so Orthes didn’t feel the need to rebut.

“Or…”

At that moment, Salmosia’s voice lowered even further, nearly inaudible.

“There might be quite a few internal traitors within our ranks too, even higher up than the lowly Elysion guards.”

Aha.

Salmosia fell into suspicion.

A traitor at the executive level, like Branch Chief Nardanit, had appeared within Blasphemia. This revealed that Argyrian’s persuasion could reach not only the low-level members but also the executives.

At the same time, there were traitors among the guards who were responsible for Elysion’s security, meaning there were betrayals in Argos’ lower ranks as well.

The fact that Argyrian could plant traitors not only in Blasphemia but also in other Panoptes organizations came to light.

So how should we interpret the current situation where such precise sabotage happened that was utterly impossible without Blasphemia’s operational intelligence?

Salmosia concluded that ‘a doomsday cultist working undercover as an Argos executive was moving to hinder Blasphemia.’

“I understand now why you wanted to meet me. I will do my utmost to uncover the traitor.”

A new ruckus came knocking on its own.

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