Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 29 - Gift

"-!"
The board members jumped in their seats. Some looked astounded at the demand for dismissal, but more than half of them looked as though they had known about it in advance.
Murdock nodded, assured, as he looked out at their faces, and turned to the elderly man sitting next to Westcott.

"Chairman Russell. Your decision."
At British companies, the managing director was not permitted to also act as the chair of the board of directors. In other words, on paper at least, there needed to be a representative of the board other than Westcott. This was the chair, Russell.

"Is this acceptable, sir?" With a troubled look on his face, Russell glanced over at Westcott.
But Westcott looked entirely unconcerned. "Of course. That is the formal authority given to the board of directors."

"..."
Russell lowered his eyes and sighed as though guessing at something before raising his voice. "Well then. We shall take it to vote. All those in favor of dismissing MD Westcott, raise your hands."

Murdock threw his hand into the air, and other board members followed suit, raising their hands one after another. The majority were younger members.
This was clearly an unusual situation.
Westcott's actions had indeed sent extremely large waves rippling through the company, and more than a few of the directors were increasingly dissatisfied with his arrogant behavior. But it was hard to imagine that more than half of them would be in agreement with Murdock in a supposedly sudden vote.
Westcott looked at Murdock, who sniffed triumphantly as a sneer spread across his lips. Most likely, he had talked to people in secret before Westcott returned to England.

Russell sent his gaze around the conference room to count the hands in the air and said, quietly, "Given that we have zero hands in favor, the request to dismiss MD Westcott is rejected."

"What?" Murdock furrowed his brow. "Set aside the jokes, Russell. You must think of your pride as the chair. Or is it that your eyesight has gotten so poor that you can't see the number of hands up?"

"No," Russell told him. "I am merely telling you the results as I see them."

"What?" Murdock said, doubting his ears, and looked up. And gasped.
Following his gaze, the other directors with their hands up also screwed up their faces in anguish.
It was unavoidable. Their raised arms were gone from the elbow.

"Ungh. Ah! Ah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!" Murdock screamed and crumpled to the floor, as if only feeling pain now that he noticed his sudden lack of a hand. Fresh blood began to gush from the smooth cross section below his elbow. The conference room was instantly transformed into the very portrait of an agonizing hell.

"Games? Smug superiority?" A calm voice came from behind Westcott. "Quite the statement from someone who only came aboard after Ike elevated the DEM name, hmm?"
A girl with pale blond hair stepped forward, seeming quite out of place at this meeting. In one of her hands, she held a laser edge about the size of a paring knife.

Given that she was able to maintain a blade on the laser edge without a wiring suit, something that was generally considered impossible, and that on top of that, she had been able to extend the blade into a long, thin thread to cut off the hands of the board members all at once, the extent of her abilities was quite obvious.

Ellen M. Mathers. Head of the second enforcement division, which wielded the real power behind the scenes at DEM, and the most powerful Wizard in the world.

"Now, don't say that, Ellen," Westcott chided her. "He was simply and quite naturally taking advantage of the situation in which he'd been placed, and exercising the authority given to him."

"But..." Ellen persisted, and Westcott stopped her as he stood up slowly.

"Medical Realizers are on standby in the medical office. If you reattach the limbs right away, you'll no doubt be back to your old selves in a few days. Go. You're all excellent human resources, shouldering the future of DEM. Don't you think it would be rather absurd to lose an arm over a thing like this?"