Chapter 881: The Eye That Sees Fate (17)
“I’m joking, joking.”
A single, bone-chilling remark. Jenny waved her hands dismissively as Lapis, her expression sharp, created some distance.
“Well, to be honest, I’m not exactly thrilled with this situation either. I personally respect the path the Eyes of Blue have taken.”
Jenny smiled at the still-unconvinced Lapis.
“Perhaps because of my line of work, I tend to greatly prefer realistic compromises. In that sense, I do sympathize with the Lighthouse Keeper’s mission.”
“……”
“I’d like to say it’s a shame things turned out this way, but….”
In that instant, Jenny’s gaze, which had seemed somewhat unmotivated, sharpened.
“Still, I’m on Van’s side. So I’m afraid I can’t grant your request.”
“……”
Was this her nature? To understand and sympathize with the reason the Eyes of Blue built lighthouses across the world, yet refuse to be moved by personal feelings.
Not only was she in charge of the tower’s management, but for that mad wizard to entrust things to her and leave, she was likely an incredibly capable operator.
Appearing before Lapis as soon as Adamant Thunder left was also, surely, a premeditated act.
Was she trying to curry favor, or issue a warning?
What made the woman who introduced herself as Jenny all the more untrustworthy was that her words and attitude leaned neither way.
She was probably very experienced and skilled at this kind of persuasion and distance control.
Just as Lapis thought this and took a step back, Jenny pointed to her own eyes.
“Your eyes, you said they’re not doing well? Don’t you need an artifact for vision assistance or an eyepatch or something?”
“No. There’s no problem.”
Her vision had dimmed slightly and the use of her abilities was restricted, but it wasn’t a problem for looking around.
After all, her own standing was already complete; she was long past being bound by the mere act of seeing.
“Well, if you say so….”
Jenny gave a light nod and finally set down the bundle she was holding next to Lapis.
“As I said before, you’re free to move about the tower. Van gave his permission, so I can’t stop you. But I’d appreciate it if you refrained from trying to contact or meet with outsiders.”
Jenny took a small blanket, a water bottle, and some simple snacks from her bundle, placed them by the chair, and turned to leave.
“I haven’t killed many people, so unlike Van, I don’t think I could give you a painless death.”
“……”
What the woman who called herself Jenny said wasn’t some threat meant to frighten Lapis.
It was a tone that seemed to be reasoning with herself, as if saying she didn’t want to do it but would if it were necessary.
Because of that, Lapis was actually more certain that Jenny’s words were not a lie.
“The stairs leading out of the cavern are over there. I secretly had them built without Van knowing, but he demolishes them on sight, so they never last long.”
Jenny spoke as if the thought had just occurred to her while walking up the stairs.
“Oh, and the feed needs to be given once every 30 minutes, so let me know when you run out.”
“…What did you say?”
Jenny’s explanation sounded less like she was addressing a kidnapped hostage and more like she was assigning chores around the tower.
Feed, of all things. Whose feed was Lapis supposed to be taking care of in this underground cavern?
Unable to hide her bewilderment, Lapis hesitated for a moment before picking up the water and food left beside the chair.
At that moment, from behind Lapis, a pair of bluish eyes glinted in the darkness of the cavern.
[Gyaoo~]
[Kyaaak…!!]
Hearing Lapis’s scream from the far side of the underground cavern, Jenny wiped her face.
Leaving her with the tower’s Guardian Spirit Beast should at least divert the Lighthouse Keeper’s attention for a little while.
Before Lapis’s eyes could scour every corner of the Magic Tower, there were still plenty of others she needed to deal with.
“…I think I’m going to lose my mind.”
The face that had maintained its composure in front of Lapis was now limp, as if it were about to melt from exhaustion.
From the moment Van kidnapped Lapis and detained her in the Magic Tower, well over 500 official documents had arrived.
That was just counting the city government’s direct public agencies, the area district offices, the police, and the military. Who knew how many more calls had come from the underworld.
From the moment Van appeared in District 21 and turned the city upside down, the phones hadn’t left the hands of the people working in the tower.
“Cooperation requests from the district offices of Districts 18 through 26. Arrest warrants, certificates for search and seizure. What else was there?”
Walking down the circular corridor of the impossibly tall Magic Tower, Jenny ceaselessly tapped at her phone.
She rejected every incoming call, all while editing and distributing the response manual for the tower’s members in real time.
“In our dealings with the Central Council, we have to feign ignorance about this incident. They should understand that much….”
Right now, there wasn’t much that Jenny or the other tower officials could do about this situation.
No, considering the current relationship between the Magic Tower and the City Council, it would be better to do nothing at all.
Regardless of how Van moved to handle this incident, the item business overseen by the Magic Tower had already grown irreversibly massive.
This was only possible because Jenny and Van had successfully launched cooperative ventures within the tower, actively drawing in businesses from both inside and outside the city.
At this point, it would be difficult for even the City Council to revoke the privileges it had granted the Magic Tower.
Even if they forced a revocation of authority, the Central Council couldn’t possibly be unaware that an established demand would not simply disappear, but would instead dig its way into the underworld.
Jenny took out a wireless earphone, stuck it in her ear, and began speaking rapidly.
“Belber, it’s me. Did you confirm where Van is heading?”
-I only saw him heading toward the 30s districts. That’s where a large number of entertainment facilities recently confirmed for redevelopment are located.
“Then….”
-He knows the ones targeting the Lighthouse Keeper will come looking for him. It seems he’s planning to really smash them to pieces.
A faint mixture of fear and excitement laced Belber’s voice as he spoke.
-Hoo… If this speeds up the redevelopment of the 30s districts, the real estate I invested in beforehand will also enter a bull market—
“You crazy bastard. Is this really the time to be thinking about that?!”
-Huhu… I’ve had an epiphany, Jenny. In the end, the highest-floor investment method in this city isn’t formless stocks, but real estate, which never disappears—
“Die!!”
After spewing the insult, Jenny ended the call and quickly connected to other mercenaries.
“Felix, I’ve met with Lapis. Talk to Stella about raising the alert level in the 40s districts in exchange for an incentive….”
“Soo-ryun. Negotiations with the Three Shadow Houses are done, right? Contact me as soon as the Fortress Lords decide on the reinforcement scale. If worst comes to worst, a plan to evacuate tower personnel to the fortress—”
“Mila, it’s me. Have you gotten in touch with Dylan…? He fought Lapis’s bodyguard wizard alone and lost?!!”
Jenny shouted, then hastily lowered her voice, afraid Lapis might hear.
-Yeah. I tracked the wizard you mentioned and found him passed out on the outskirts of District 26, beaten like a dog. He’s a real mess.
“…Dylan is one of the strongest regenerators in Vulcan. And his opponent just knocked him out and fled?”
-How would I know how they fought?
Mila replied over the earpiece amidst some bustling sounds.
-But man, this guy reeks of alcohol. It’s disgusting. Don’t tell me he fought after having a drink? Suddenly I’m craving one too.
Listening to the explanation over the earpiece, Jenny’s expression twisted strangely.
“He fought drunk? No, even for Dylan, that’s… too trashy to believe. I’ll have to hear the full story first.”
-Yeah, I called an automated taxi, so I’ll be in District 40 soon. I’ll hurry.
“……”
After disconnecting from Mila, Jenny hesitated, unable to immediately call the next person.
He usually acts like a rude punk and an alcoholic, but when it comes to work, Dylan is an incredibly faithful mercenary.
Even for jobs not brokered by Jenny, he’s quite diligent with his designated requests, so much so that his rating and credibility are extremely high on the deep web.
What’s more, Dylan had often said, even when drunk, that he’d been helped immensely by Van.
What were the chances that such a man would get drunk and try to ruin a job that Van himself was handling?
“…I’ll check when he gets here. When he gets here.”
“Manager!”
At that moment, from the other end of the tower corridor, someone called out urgently to Jenny.
The wizards who had recently begun to be hired by the Magic Tower, one by one, through a secret oath crafted by Van himself.
Hearing the call from a wizard recruited for the external affairs and communication channel department, Jenny hurried over.
“Miguel, did they contact us?”
“Yes, it’s them.”
The man called Miguel answered, his expression stiff.
“Method of contact?”
“They said they don’t need anything. They’ll connect directly, and just asked us to release the barrier over a space large enough for a single blade of grass to grow….”
Jenny nodded.
“…Release it.”
“Will it be alright?”
“This place was made specifically to gauge reactions in a situation like this.”
Jenny said as she followed Miguel toward a spacious altar at the end of the corridor.
“If they’ve already caught on, we have to respond directly. Begin.”
“…Understood.”
Krrrrr!!
As the attendants standing next to Miguel turned a lever attached to the side of the altar, the barrier formation split apart, revealing an empty clearing.
It was a kind of gray area that Lennok had created for Jenny some time ago, a place the Magic Tower’s barrier couldn’t affect.
The moment the Magic Tower’s barrier range shifted away from the center of the clearing on the altar, exposing it, however briefly, to outside contact.
Shhhhrk!!
Countless bushes began to grow at high speed upon the altar.
It was a bizarre sight, as if recreating the process of sowing seeds in fertile soil, germinating them, and supplying water and nutrients to grow them—all compressed hundreds of times over.
Simultaneously, an unknown, tingling power seemed to fill the area around the altar.
Jenny, who wasn’t spiritually gifted, merely furrowed her brow, but Miguel, being a wizard, was different. He muttered in alarm,
“Immense magical power. This is definitely from the Great Forest…!!”
Drrrk!!
The bushes and trees that had sprouted on the altar instantly grew lush, threatening to cover the entire clearing.
The tower’s altar was swamped, overcome by a growth force maximized through the harmony of nature and magical power.
From among the tree trunks that grew in the clearing, something shot up, splitting and cracking as it rose.
“……”
The moment Jenny noticed that the splintered tree trunk had transformed into the shape of a living mouth.
The mouth made of the tree trunk twitched and spat out a low, female voice.
[There is one thing you should know.]
“……”
[The reason we are waiting for an answer like this is not because our patience is as deep as the sea of understanding.]
Contrary to the calm tone, the fierce timbre seemed to be boiling over with untamable passion.
Knowing that she was barely suppressing a murderous intent that felt ready to explode at any moment, Jenny gave a cold smile.
“It seems the Eyes of Blue enjoys using a one-sided method of conversation with other organizations.”
[…….]
“I went out of my way to provide a space for you to communicate, and you don’t even offer a simple introduction?”
[Grisha. Just a mere, insignificant sorcerer. But what does that matter?]
Grisha spoke, borrowing the mouth of the tree trunk.
[This entire situation is, for us, truly outrageous.]
“……”
[Listen well, Manager of the Magic Tower. I will ask three questions. If you fail to answer even one of them properly—]
Crrrack.
The tree trunk twisted, making a bizarre cracking sound.
The moment Jenny sensed that Grisha’s will-thought was boiling over, on the verge of rampage, the voice declared:
[The main force of the Eyes of Blue will, from this moment, withdraw from the Central Front and turn back towards Vulcan.]