111. Invite (2)
thump thump.
Oliver followed the beggar into the sewer without speaking to Jane.
It was basically very dark and damp, some smelly and some didn’t.
But the thing that bothered me the most was that it was very complicated to go around the road, and it felt like I had only walked for hours.
Jane tugged at Oliver’s robe, wondering if she was concerned about it, and whispered lowly.
“Is this okay?”
“Yes?”
“Is this okay? You’ve gone very deep, haven’t you? I went through the secret passage twice.”
“I do not know? First of all, there is no malice or conspiracy.”
“still-“
“-Don’t worry.”
Said the silk-hat beggar who was leading the way.
He spoke calmly, abandoning the somewhat frivolous attitude he had seen on the streets of District T.
“I never intend to do any harm. miss. Even beggars are not ignorant to the point of harming those who ship them.”
Jane apologized, emitting a light of embarrassment.
“ah····. I’m sorry. I’m just anxious.”
“it’s okay. Beggars are like that.”
Oliver was interesting.
It hasn’t been that long, but Oliver has stayed at Cant’s beggars and watched the beggars, most of them cowardly, like the underdogs of the streets.
However, the beggar in front of him had almost no such corner.
There are only two beggars of this kind.
He was either confident in his own strength, like Cant, or being protected by someone like Cant.
“…that’s the teacher over there.”
“teacher? hahaha····. Just call it a silk hat. Being a teacher is an exaggerated title.”
“All right. Well then, Mr. Silk Hat. Who wants to see me? You said before that he was waiting for you, didn’t you?”
The silk hat beggar kept his mouth shut as if thinking.
“·····I think it would be better to meet you in person than to tell you. Please wait as it will arrive soon.”
That was true.
As I fell through the byway of the last passage, a beggar’s den appeared.
A small crack in the ceiling allowed sunlight to illuminate the interior, with a number of beggars beneath it.
It was no exaggeration to say that it was an underground village, but they were all living in tents or huts.
“this····. Incredible.”
said Jane.
Oliver agreed.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Not only was it large, but it had a diverse group of women, children, and the elderly, and the atmosphere seemed to be good.At least, there was no atmosphere in which the powerful exploited others.
Surprisingly, it was rare to see the beggars, but Oliver had stayed in a place similar to this in the past.
“I have come. Today we have guests.”
Silkhat said in front of the largest tent built in the innermost part of the beggar’s den.
A rustling sound was heard inside the tent, and someone came out.
He was wearing a beanie and a shabby long coat, limping one leg and holding a relatively new quarterstaff.
“cant······?”
Oliver said without realizing it.
Jane asked, surprised.
“Do you know anyone?”
awkward situation. Oliver hesitated, and Cant intervened skillfully.
“That’s right. miss. In the past, I received great favor from the Warlock. It’s called Cant, the head of ‘poor brothers’. It is an honor to meet you.”
“ah····.”
Jane was taken aback by Cant’s skillful greeting, but soon regained her composure and bowed her knees and head slightly.
“Thank you for the hospitality. Cant. My name is Jane.”
“Nice to meet you. Jane. It is only an honor to have a noble person in a shabby place. We don’t have much to offer, but I hope you enjoy. And if that’s okay with you, would you mind allowing me to talk to you for a moment with the Warlock?”
“ah····. It’s fine with me, of course, but ask Dave-“
“-here····. Where did you make it?”
Looking around the giant beggar’s den, Oliver asked.
The beggars were gathering in order of five and boiling miscellaneous soup in a large pot, and the children were running around or learning to read with the adults around them.
“…is this Cant’s new beggar?”
“It is our beggar. Me and the people who live here.”
Jane looked at Oliver and Cant alternately, frowned at the unknown conversation, and in that moment she saw something startling.
“under·····. hahaha.”
It was Oliver who made something similar to laughter, even for a moment.
“Oh?”
“her····!”
Jane, you can’t all be surprised. And it was the same with others.
It’s a strange and difficult phenomenon to explain, but something like Oliver’s laughter caught everyone’s attention.
Like those who have witnessed even a miracle.
However, the parties were not aware of this.
“Nice to meet you again. Cant.”
“So am I. Black Mage.”
***
Oliver pleaded with Jane and entered Cant’s tent.
Compared to other tents, I was curious about what was inside, but there was nothing special when I went in.
A sleeping bag to just sleep in, a desk for the crippled, and a few hanging clothes.
The only thing that looked expensive was an old magic stone lamp.
“Isn’t it Feng?”
Cant asked, clearing the seat.
“I do not know? It looks neat.”
“It’s your answer.”
“It seems a bit wide.”
“Understand. They say that you have to pitch a big tent to be dignified. As you can see, there are a lot of people, right?”
“okay. But, what happened?”
Oliver asked as he sat down. If I had to call it a seat, it was the bare floor covered with newspaper.
“What is going on?”
“All of this?”
Cant laughed quietly.
“It’s thanks to you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you gave me a lot of money, didn’t you?”
Oliver remembered. The safe you found after killing Puppeteer Glyph.
I grabbed it using a glutton bag and gave it to Cant, but it seemed like it was said to be hundreds of millions of dollars. Now that I think about it, it was quite a large amount.
However, there were no regrets. I saw something funny.
“The money you gave me…. I was thinking about what to do, and based on that, I decided to combine the beggars of the W area.”
“Well·····. Why did you join them?”
“After going through the mole thing, I felt we needed to be strong in order to be truly safe. There’s no law that says that a mole-like guy doesn’t come out again… Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t force myself to grow taller by force like a mole.”
“I don’t. And even if you did, you don’t have to tell me that. I just gave the money to see what Cant do.”
Oliver said sincerely. Whatever he could do with the money, Oliver had no intention of offending him. whatever you do it will be fun
“······Right. You were such a friend. How have you been all this time?”
Oliver answered after thinking.
“Me? Well·····. You seem to have had a good time.”
“Forrest, how is your friend?”
“Yes, it seems. oh····. But how did you recognize me? As you can see, I am writing this.”
Oliver asked, pulling on the leather mask.
“it is not diffcult. No one accepts Forrest, so there are only a handful of solvers that open new deals. Comparing the time with when you left, it’s not that hard to guess. I didn’t know you could use the name Dave, though.”
“ah····. I’m sorry if I was offended by the use of your son’s name. Suddenly that name came to mind.”
“I am not offended. really.”
Cant smiled as he said that. Something seemed happy, but it was difficult for Oliver to understand why.
“····By the way, the beggar is really big.”
“I was lucky. After the mole, the other beggars also wanted a new group to protect them. Such a huge group that exceeds the size of the beggars.”
“Is it these poor brothers?”
“okay. With the money you gave me, it was easy to convince the other beggars.”
“Even if you have a lot of money, it won’t be easy because the amount is limited, right?”
“So we increased the size of our business.”
“Business?”
“Yeah, delivering stuff and letters from gangs and business people, or scouring alleyways trash cans to collect more information than ever before and sell them back at a higher price. In addition to that, we also do rumors.”
“What is a rumor?”
“You hear rumors at restaurants, bars, or social gatherings. There are a lot of interesting stories out there. It’s lame.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand, do you? How can poor brothers do that?”
“Find friends who are good-looking and good-looking, who are willing to work, wash them, buy clothes, get them a room, and then get them to work at the restaurant or bar we were targeting. Instead, they bring us the stories they hear while working there.”
“ah·····.”
“Thanks to this, the information we handle has become more diverse and valuable. Now, there are places that trade regularly, and the income is quite good. As proof of that, the money you gave me has increased, rather than decreased.”
Cant said proudly.
“But don’t worry. Profits are put in a communal safe and only taken out in front of everyone when needed. Thanks to you, everyone is trusting each other.”
“Incredible. Is it ok to settle down here in the sewer though? I think you said it was dangerous in the past?”
“Don’t worry. it’s safe here I’ve already researched it several times. Besides, the number of our heads is not around 20, but hundreds, so it won’t be easy to touch. However, just in case, I have a firearm and maintain a connection with my surroundings in my own way, so it won’t be a big deal all of a sudden… Rather, let me tell you a story. I heard he was being chased, but what happened? In particular, that girl seems like a daughter of a noble family.”
Oliver thought for a moment. talk or not
In principle, it would be right not to say it, but the situation itself was in a state that deviated too much from the original plan.
I didn’t even know if I would have to get help from Cant if I had a car there.
In the end, after much deliberation, Oliver outlined the situation.
“swimming······. I got caught up in dirty and variable things.”
“Forrest said the same thing. But I really didn’t know it would be like this.”
“It’s a big deal.”
“I think the same.”
“No, it’s not like that. I’m not sure, but they could turn you into a traitor.”
“Me? Why?”
“Are you a warlock?”
“You’re framed for being a warlock?”
“okay. I’m sorry to say this, but blaming the warlock is kind of like a game. So even if a warlock roams in the city, he doesn’t really touch it first. I plan to use it as a sandbag later.”
“It doesn’t sound like a very good story to me.”
“right. But they don’t want to make a big deal out of it, so I won’t even tell the police. There are variables that we cannot control.”
“then?”
“Perhaps after killing the young lady, including you, she pretends to be what you killed. Forrest and everyone who introduced you will be poisoned.”
“Oh, then, we should get her to a safe place as soon as possible.”
“A safe place? Is there?”
“Yes, he said he could get help from a place called the Sisterhood. I am not very fond of it.”
Then Kant made a thoughtful expression on his face, and then opened his mouth.
“I think I know, why didn’t you like it?”
“Yes, really?”
“Not exactly. I also heard from those who came here… How much do you know about Sisterhood?”
“I only know that it is a group of women. to help each other.”
“It is not very wrong. It’s true that we support each other. But I don’t think that’s all there is to it.”
“is that so?”
“Yeah, the city is complicated and the people who live here are also complicated. Even if we are the same woman, we sometimes take advantage of each other’s weaknesses. That’s why we’re investing in illegitimate children.”
“Isn’t it an investment?”
“Literally. The more influential people, such as politicians and capitalists, the more illegitimate children. Some of them don’t have a proper heir, and some can be used by intimidation later. It is said that they bring and raise the illegitimate children of such people. to use it later.”
Five····. Oliver was a little surprised. It was an unconventional story.
“But even if it’s an illegitimate child, doesn’t the mother raise it?”
“Surprisingly, illegitimate children are cheap. Millions of dollars.”
“ah·····.”
“The Sisterhood gives a fair amount of education to the children they bring. You have to be smart to use it later. Even if you can’t use it, you can use it as a worker who can work for the organization.”
Oliver immediately thought of Miss Coco or the clerks of the Angel’s House, Elizabeth.
It was no coincidence that they had a similar vibe.
“…what if it can be used for its original purpose?”
“He told me that he should help him get his inheritance and put some of it to be used as an investment for the Sisterhood. As a concept to pay off debt. However, if you ask for help now and accumulate more debt, you will get more and more choked up later. That girl doesn’t like that.”
Oliver was then able to understand Jane’s uncomfortable feelings.
I had no choice but to seek help unless it was the worst situation, but it was also understood that he was reluctant to do so.
Oliver pondered what to do.
Should I just play a minimal role, or work a little harder?
“················ogue.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes? Oh yes… There you cant. It’s better to work hard, right?”
“maybe? You have to work more than your money’s worth, so next time you’ll pay a higher price. But why are you anxious?”
Oliver didn’t answer and fell into his thoughts again.
“What·····. She also taught me this and that.”
“I’m sorry, but what do you mean? I really don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t matter. Could you please grant me one more request? You can even pay for it.”
“Something?”
Cant asked, looking anxious, and Oliver answered.
After a while, Cant opened his mouth.
“I’m crazy.”