The Eight Elders (1)
Bella returned to the Magic Tower after her meeting with Bastel. She boldly knocked on the door of the Tower Master's office at the topmost floor.
"Come in."
Hearing the familiar voice from beyond the door, Bella grinned and flung it open wide.
"Master, your favorite disciple has returned!"
Bella greeted her with a bright, cheerful voice. Adeline raised an eyebrow as she looked at her pupil.
"So you have. Sit down. We have much to discuss."
Bella plopped down before her master and casually crossed her legs. Adeline cut straight to the chase.
"You left the tower without a word. Was there some urgent matter?"
Bella had vanished without explanation. Disciple or not, slipping away from the Magic Tower without notice was hardly proper. Bella shrugged nonchalantly.
'I went to the Hartwell estate.'
The Hartwell count's family? Bella had previously taken a commission involving their illegitimate son. But that job was long finished. There was no reason for her to go back, so Adeline nodded for her to continue.
"Master, here's what happened..."
Bella recounted everything to Adeline—from encountering the Phantom during the Hartwell commission to her dealings with Bastel's merchant company.
Even as the Tower Master's disciple, selling magical artifacts from the tower required approval. It was an unavoidable necessity. Of course, she conveniently omitted any mention of Ethan. Bella intended to keep all information about the Phantom to herself.
"...To think such things were afoot."
Adeline pressed a hand to her forehead after hearing Bella's tale.
'I hoped she wouldn't get tangled up with the Phantom...'
Adeline now understood why the High Council had ordered Bella to stand by when she left for the commission.
'They said it was on the Captain's orders.'
That meant no matter how much Adeline tried to shield her, Bella was destined to cross paths with the Phantom.
"This letter contains the Phantom's demands."
Adeline read the letter Bella handed her. It indeed instructed her to approach Hartwell's second son, Bastel, and secure a stake in the Golden Wing Company.
'But did the Phantom ever operate like this before?'
Adeline had no detailed knowledge of the Phantom's methods. Still, she harbored no doubts. Word had spread throughout Black Raven that the Phantom had resumed activity. Above all, Adeline was the cautious type.
'Don't question it.'
Even if someone were impersonating the Phantom, it wouldn't matter. The impostor would suffer agony so profound they'd consider death a mercy.
To the Fire Tower Master of the Magic Tower,
Approach Bastel Hartwell, second son of the Hartwell count, and secure shares in the Golden Wing Company.
— Methods —
• Produce counterfeit magical artifacts and frame the company's management. Take shares as compensation.
• Infuse artifacts with faint curses to stir customer complaints. Blame the company and demand a modest share.
• Engineer minor troubles for the company and resolve them, claiming shares as payment.
— Phantom
"If we follow the contents, we just need to supply the company with artifacts."
The Phantom's instructions were beyond what Bella could handle alone. And as a Black Raven member herself, how could Adeline sit idle while her disciple followed the Phantom's orders? Supplying artifacts to the company wasn't particularly unusual either. The Tower of Fire already traded with various merchant groups; diverting some everyday artifacts to Golden Wing would suffice.
Moreover, the methods outlined in the letter were ruthlessly cunning.
Producing fakes to pin blame on management. Cursing items subtly to incite backlash. Manufacturing problems and "solving" them for a cut. Every tactic zeroed in on acquiring shares. Chilling to behold.
"...Definitely the Phantom's style."
Any issues with the artifacts would tarnish the Tower of Fire's reputation too. It was pure Phantom—ignoring the fallout, fixated solely on their leader's goals. Black Raven served the Captain above all else.
"You think so too, right, Master?"
Bella nodded eagerly, oblivious to Adeline's inner thoughts, fully in agreement. But Adeline had no desire to risk the tower's prestige for mere shares.
'Skip the first two methods.'
Victimizing customers through faulty artifacts would harm both the company and the tower. Wanting shares in Golden Wing implied some larger scheme involving the company. Damaging its image unnecessarily made no sense.
"That leaves one option."
Engineer problems for the company directly. Plenty of ways to do that.
'A raid on the caravan, or perhaps killing Bastel...'
But that was a distant concern for now. With her thoughts aligned, Adeline rose and began scribbling on a sheet of paper.
"Bella, I'll ensure you can travel freely to and from the Hartwell territory."
Bella would need to keep contacting the Phantom, meaning frequent trips to the estate. Showing up without reason would draw suspicion from the count's family. Adeline planned to provide cover.
She finished writing, slipped the paper into an envelope, and sealed it with magic.
"There's an orphanage in Hartwell territory. I'm acquainted with the director. I'll add your name to the list of patrons, Bella."
That was the pretext for Bella. In truth, it was anything but ordinary.
...The Eight Elder's orphanage.
But Adeline had no intention of telling her that. Bella was already entangled with the Phantom; no need to drag her into the elders' web too. She just wanted her disciple to move without scrutiny.
A month had passed since handing the letter to Bella. I was lounging peacefully, sipping juice as usual.
'Looks like Bella's handling it well.'
More precisely, Bella and Adeline. I'd only instructed Bella, but she couldn't manage it solo. Supplying artifacts required the Tower Master's approval. Still, I hadn't issued further orders. I figured Bella would convince her master on her own.
'With her personality, she definitely kept my existence hidden.'
No doubt about it. Bella was ambitious about magic above all else.
'Even more than Adeline.'
In the game, Adeline was obsessed with magic, never yielding it to others.
'For someone like that to take a disciple...'
That's why Bella had struck me as odd at first. True to her master, Bella showed the same traits. Plus, with my promise to recommend her to the Captain if all went smoothly, hiding me was in her best interest.
Either way, with Adeline now involved alongside Bella, failure was impossible. Golden Wing Company had skyrocketed. Rumors of artifact supplies from the Tower of Fire boosted its fame overnight. Not rare or expensive ones, mind you—just handy daily items. Bracelets that regulated body temperature, necklaces that purified ambient air. Simple stuff. But Tower-made quality guaranteed trust.
Golden Wing was riding high on the tower's backing.
"Still, it's time to beef up security."
The company's escorts needed strengthening. Golden Wing was biting off more than it could chew for its size. Competitors would snatch it if it faltered. A raid could derail my plans.
'Can't have that.'
I summoned my status window for the first time in ages.
Captain, just give the order.
Seeing the prompt for orders, I issued one.
"Have the Tower of Fire bolster escorts for all trading companies."
Captain's order received.
Bastel rode comfortably in his carriage, heading back to the territory with the artifacts. The distance was taxing, but he had no complaints. He'd reaped massive profits over the past month. With Tower of Fire dealings, Golden Wing's popularity soared daily. This much effort was worth it.
Reclining in the carriage, Bastel smiled. If things continued, Golden Wing would rise beyond the principality to become the empire's top company. Best of all, he'd escaped Baron Rosewood's influence.
'Can't play puppet forever.'
Baron Rosewood was his maternal grandfather, but their bond was more business than blood—no real family warmth. His mother had bridged the gap for aid, but he needed her no longer.
"Mother..."
Bastel murmured her name unbidden. Her situation was dire. The mine collapse had crippled Rosewood's caravans. Worse, a priest had been murdered at the temple in Hartwell territory. The family atmosphere was tense; the killer remained at large, and his mother had shut herself away. The household looked anything but normal.
'Suddenly so tired.'
Perhaps from overworking the past month. Bastel closed his eyes for a brief rest.
In that instant—
BOOM!
KABOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the carriage violently. Unmistakably an ambush. Dust and smoke billowed instantly. But Bastel couldn't move. The blast had flipped his carriage. Blood streamed from his head, staining his vision red.
Clinging to consciousness, he focused on sounds outside.
"......"
Dead silence. The explosion must have wiped out his escorts.
"No..."
His vision blurred. Soon, he blacked out.
Moments later, shadowy figures surrounded the wreckage.
"Grab the goods and go. Hurry!"
Their target: the artifacts. They swiftly extracted and looted them.
But then, a voice from behind.
"Adeline was right."
Turning toward the sound, they saw a bespectacled old man standing there.
"......?"
No one had sensed his approach. Had he stayed silent, they might never have noticed. But they weren't alarmed. Just an unarmed old man against their armed group—who would be?
The elder smiled instead. He was one of the Eight Elders. Adeline had asked a favor, and it coincided with the time for that task, so he'd come personally.
"I'm curious who fed you the intel on this route."
The Eight Elder removed his glasses.