Chapter 1062 – #252_Hunters(3) – DeepL
#1056
1.
It was the time of the Great Witch.
In the aftermath of the Flood, the status of witches, especially public figures, had never been the same.
Even as Duke Ketter’s last words were spoken, those who were still shivering with the ghosts of the past finally realized, “Hey, this is our world now!
This meant that they no longer had to worry about the mysteries of the past and could do as they pleased, which was a huge boon to the top of Solidus.
The smuggling ships that supplied Hexenacht would normally sneak around the corner in the middle of a long sea voyage, but now they would boldly sail through the Panama Canal and disappear with a “poof” offshore.
It had been six months since the shocking performance had been seen on YouTube and elsewhere.
The Bora, a smuggling vessel at the top of the Solidus that was destroyed and left in the depths of the ocean, was one of the props in that magic show.
80,000 tons displacement.
The largest Panamax-class logistics ship to pass through the Panama Canal.
Inside, it was loaded with all the toys the Hexenacht brass would love.
From fine wines and spirits and handmade furniture, to priceless antiques and artwork, foodstuffs, magical experiments, and other luxuries from all corners of the globe.
The containers loaded with these precious goods sank with a thud beneath the water.
-Tal Tal Tal Tal
Lydia popped a headache pill into her stomach.
The value of the Bora’s ship alone, right now, is $200 million.
The total value of the goods on board is several times that.
The good news is that the antiques and artwork, which had been placed in a special locker for more careful transportation, were recovered.
But it doesn’t take a fool to realize that wood and salt water don’t get along, and the furniture was in a state of disrepair.
Expensive liquor and foodstuffs, stacked like Legos in containers, were almost all hacked to pieces in the crashing barrels.
At best, about 60 percent of the cargo was lost forever, even after it was salvaged from the water.
“…….”
With her vast wealth, Lydia’s financial acumen is out of place even among the wealthiest of witches.
Even with no insurance, the cost of a single merchant ship capsizing could be shaken off over a glass of scotch.
If it had been an act of God, Lydia would have said, “What a pain in the ass.
But she saw it.
A beautifully holed ship, magically salvaged and brought into a drydock.
No explosion, no natural disaster, just a neatly shattered ship that looked like a giant chunk of iron had taken out the bottom of its midsection.
“Come on, let’s clean this up.”
Herya called out to Lydia as she stormed out of the workshop.
Her attitude as she blamed Lydia for the blackness that attacked the Lehar group.
And the sinking of the Solidus merchant ship two days later.
It was only the slightest hint of discomfort that tugged at Lydia’s chair as she sat down with Boa.
“It’s a coincidence.”
It’s a coincidence.
Indeed.
Lydia made enemies everywhere, but all the circumstantial evidence pointed to Herya.
And in the midst of all that meticulously connected cause and effect, all that plausible flow, Lydia felt a vague chill instead of clear-cut anger.
“It’s weird, it’s weird. It’s weird, no matter how you look at it….”
Lydia opened her eyes sheepishly and continued to ponder.
The biggest suspect at this point is Herja.
Someone in the Lehar group has been causing infighting, and she’s mistaken the culprit for Lydia.
Hence the attack on the merchant ship.
That’s the conclusion that would normally be drawn.
Anyone would think so.
Anyone.
Throwing a problem between two groups, with the right amount of manipulated causation, is one of Lydia’s old favorite tricks.
“He’s got the look of an epileptic.”
The problem is, the “who?” part leaves a lot to be desired.
Lydia’s connections over the years have been so extensive that it would take a book to summarize them all.
When we move away from Herya, the line of suspects expands to include too many people at once.
Is it Clifford?
Him or Witchpoint?
Is it him or Gehenna?
Was it him or the grain-of-sand witches harboring personal grudges?
Is it him or is it Lydia’s accusation of epilepsy, and is it simply Herja’s rampage?
Lydia dialed the phone.
“Are you eating well?”
[Oh Mrs. Magnus, I’ve heard the news. What a heartbreaking tragedy!]
“Did you do that?”
[I don’t know, wasn’t I punished for doing too many bad things?]
“This whole thing, don’t you think it’s so weird?”
[Fuck you.]
-Tom
The call ended.
“Hmm.”
Lydia tossed the unceremoniously disconnected phone away and returned to her contemplation.
Herya was one of those crazy bitches with no backbone, but she was also a witch with an amazing animal survival instinct.
If I got a whiff of something fishy about her, I’d kill her without causing more trouble.
Does a hunter have to catch all the rabbits before he boils the dog?
A dog that might bite its owner is boiled at the mere whim of the hunter.
But without any excuse, explanation, or explanation, the call was abruptly cut off as if he was taking pleasure in his enemy’s misfortune.
Could it have been staged?
“Let’s see….”
Reset your thinking.
Remove preconceived notions and sequentially connect a simple list of events.
A 21st-ranked Archdemoness is responsible for the disappearance of five teams of Rehar without a trace.
Diving beneath the surface and snapping the bottom of the Solidus merchant ship in two.
The one who stood to gain the most from these events in the event of a confrontation between the Lehar Group and the Solidus Corporation.
“Who are you?”
Lydia questioned her unseen opponent across the table.
2.
She handled it neatly.
After killing Talia, the 21st-ranked witch who would have been the biggest stumbling block in the initial planning stages, Xiu took a break.
He stepped away from the hunt.
It wasn’t that he’d suddenly lost his vengeance, or that his sense of purpose had faded, or that he was suddenly overcome with guilt.
It was a physical condition.
Depending on where he was based, Xiu’s battles were all short-term, lasting around ten minutes.
In order to kill his prey in such a short period of time, he had to go a bit overboard.
The fight against the 21st ranked Tragic Witch had left a terrible after-effect.
Magic circuits tattered like frayed rubber bands, joints creaking like rusted machinery, and muscles torn like long-chewed bubblegum.
Dragging a portable bathtub to the hangar and soaking in the medicinal bath he’d prepared in advance, Xiu closed his eyes and let the fatigue settle in.
While he was still immobilized, Xiu decided to use this time to his advantage.
“I wonder how it will turn out.”
There’s no way the arrow would have left the demonstration and pierced the target on its own.
A bow is a tool.
It pierced Dorothy’s heart because it had a puller.
I didn’t have to look too hard to see who the shooter was.
Word had reached Gehenna that Lydia Magnus, High Lord of Solidus, Witch of Gold, had called for the mace against the traitor in the Great Assembly.
So while Xiu was researching the Rehar group, he was also gathering information on Solidus Top.
What he realized was that the Order of Solidus was a very large organization.
Especially after the founding of Hexenacht, it grew at a terrifying rate.
These are two dinosaurs that are hardly worthy of a quick kite fight, let alone a head-to-head battle.
Cooler heads say you can’t take on both of them at the same time.
We trawled through databases, answered letters, and traveled to sites to gather information.
It was the story of a feud between Herya, the head of the Lehar Group, and Lydia, the head of Solidus.
I also realized that the conflict was old and tired, and that a small spark could turn into a big misunderstanding.
There’s no reason not to draw when you have good material.
When the time was right, I sank a smuggling ship on top of Solidus that I’d already known about.
The right time was right after I had just raided Team Thalia, the fifth team.
Just in time for the Rehar group to realize the possibility of a raid.
It’s right around the time Xiu needs to rest.
While it would be best if the two of them fought it out head on, I don’t expect the two groups to engage in a dogfight to the death.
And even if they did, Lydia would win.
I have no optimism.
I’ve given up on that.
So the goal is to hide Xiu’s presence while the two groups feud.
All we need is a smokescreen.
That’s it.
The moment the two groups share a sense of crisis, there will be no place for Xiu in the middle of this enemy camp.
“Let’s see what happens.”
The world is urgent.
Nothing is given to those who do not strive.
But sometimes, doing nothing is the best thing you can do.
This is one of those times.
Until the ‘next plan’, Xiu’s job is to watch the fight, stretch his legs, and recover.
3.
Another three days later.
“Mrs. Magnus, why don’t you take the easy way out? You should have done this long ago.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“No wonder you have no friends.”
“My oldest friend is an intellectual migraine that you would never guess.”
The chi battle between Herja and Lydia was ostensibly won by Herja.
Lydia had given the Lehar group a place inside Hexenacht by offering to escort the smuggling fleet.
Lydia’s decision drew a tearful protest from Solidus’ secretary.
‘It is not the loss of the lead that is to be pitied! What has happened to the mettle and strength of the Great Solidus? To embrace a dog that has bitten its master’s ankle, shouldn’t he be made to pay for it in blood?’
The secretary, who had never spoken out loud in her life, ran out crying after uttering the words.
Lydia, who was a pure-blooded public servant, didn’t blame her, as she thought that Ancalzin’s words were indeed true.
Public society is all about money, strength, and power.
With the obvious conflict between the two groups, it was only natural that the tail would be wagging the dog.
Lydia is no slouch either.
You should sink a smuggling ship and negotiate.
If you do as much as I do, it’s performance art, etc.
Lydia didn’t really care.
Of course, if the raids were a result of infighting or Herja’s own handiwork, and the sinking of the smuggling ship was the work of the Lehar Group, then there was nothing more stupid than that.
Or, to put it another way, it’s just a matter of being an asshole.
The loss of that one merchant ship doesn’t change the fact that the top of Solidus is still standing.
And if anyone tries to question its power and repeat the mythical negotiating tactics of the Lehar Group, Lydia will be there to twist their neck.
A little humiliation is better than walking through a minefield of unpredictability with an unknown opponent.
In any case, the Rehar Group has fallen under the full surveillance of Solidus.
In other words, it’s hard for them to have a mind of their own.
Herya is no longer very suspicious of Lydia either.
Lydia hasn’t tried to sneak up on her, but she’s done a pretty good job of escorting the mana smugglers.
If your opponent tries to interrupt and thinks big.
Wouldn’t it be nice to move in an unexpected direction?
There were times when I thought to myself.
I was taking my opponent’s strategy in the dark a little too lightly.
