212. Fix even the barn (2)
The paladin Seland branch was more complicated than expected, and it was far from the efficient building structure unique to Landa.
A structure that focuses on defense and security rather than convenience.
I went down the stairs and went round and round, and at the end of the money I arrived in front of a door.
“It’s here.”
Said the Servant who gave directions. A completely closed place with no windows.
“Go in.”
The Servant who guided the way urged me.
“Yes, I understand. Thanks for guiding the way.”
At Oliver’s polite greeting, the Servant snorted. Somehow, the people here seemed really angry.
Awkward….
When he opened the thick iron door and went inside, Oliver could see a space full of only crude tables and chairs.
A man was sitting in the room.
It was a familiar face.
“hello. Elton Knight. Long time no see.”
Oliver greeted the paladin with a beard and hair as thick as a lion.
A middle-aged man with a strong physique and sharp eyes, he really looked like a two-legged lion.
After miraculously surviving a puppet in a contaminated area and being interrogated by city official Paul Carver, he came along with Joanna to interrogate Oliver again.
It’s been less than a year at most, but it felt like a long time ago.
‘Well, a lot of things happened.’
The paladin slowly opened his mouth.
“Do you remember me?”
“Yes····. But I can’t see the colleague who came with me.”
The companion was none other than Joanna, and she was nowhere to be seen.
As if he didn’t like the question, Elton lit up a bit of displeasure. Magic items and other powers helped him hide his emotions, but it was dimly seen in Oliver’s eyes.
“Why are you interested?”
“It’s not that I’m interested, it’s different from before… I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Oliver immediately turned off his attention. Elton still looked displeased, but he didn’t ask questions. Because I wasn’t really curious.
“sit down.”
“Yes.”
Oliver sat at the table directly opposite Elton.
I remembered the time when I was interrogated in the past.
“May I ask why you are calling the warlock to investigate?”
The paladin said while indifferently organizing the documents.
“I’ll tell you the rules here. I ask the question, you only answer. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Okay, what’s your name?”
Same pattern as when we first met.
Oliver answered Dave. After that, I asked the broker in charge, and then I asked how he got into the contract.
A question that has already been answered in the past. Of course, I wasn’t asking out of curiosity.
As with the first interrogation, I was asking if there was anything to complain about.
Oliver replied. The same obvious and boring answer I gave in the past.
As the question and answer went on, Oliver’s boredom grew worse, and at the same time, the desire to ask why he was doing this arose again.
Then I suddenly realized what a blessing it is to be able to ask questions.
If there was a world where questions could not be asked, it would be too painful for Oliver.
How long can you survive there?
“Didn’t you say that you and Puppet had absolutely nothing to do with the last time we met?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“By the way, how do you use the Invoice Doll?”
Elton asked with a sharp shimmer of emotion.
“There have been reports of a warlock using a human-sized gluttonous pouch using a cemetery doll. As far as we know, you are the only one in this city who uses such a gluttonous bag… Do you deny it?”
oh·····. Oliver was acutely aware that none of Forrest’s advice had to be discarded.
I was told to refrain from using the big mouse and the use of the cemetery doll in front of people, but as soon as you break that word, this kind of problem occurs.
“I think I am right. As far as I know, I’m the only one using a glutton bag of that size.”
“Then tell me where. How did you become able to use the Invoice Doll? Are you saying it was usable from the beginning?”
“No, I didn’t write the Invoice Doll from the beginning. However, I was able to learn by picking up books related to the corpse doll in the contaminated area. The material was just picked up the remains of an abandoned invoice doll and used to fix it.”
“Are you going to believe that now?”
“But it is true.”
Oliver blatantly lied. Well, it wasn’t a 100% lie again.
Oliver was able to use the Invoice Doll thanks to a book he had picked up in the Contaminated Area. Even the invoice doll was recycled at first.
“Whatever the reason, I can arrest you just by using the corpse doll.”
The words were sincere. However, it just can’t be.
The exact reason was unknown, but they didn’t seem to be able to arrest Oliver easily.
With that in mind, Oliver defended himself. There was no reason to cause trouble with the Paladin.
“I’m sorry I wrote the invoice doll. However, we would appreciate it if you consider that we reused what was already an invoice doll.”
As expected, the paladin did not come in any further than this. Instead, I looked for another book.
“I have one more question.”
“Yes, you tell me.”
“Did you say that you met the puppet and lost?”
“Yes.”
“But later I went to the place where the puppet appeared. There were signs of a great battle, did you know? There were no traces of that kind of battle that resulted from a one-sided defeat.”
Elton throws a fishing rod.
Judging from his emotional state, whether he knew it or not, it was certain that he would be scolded.
So Oliver brought up other words that were off-topic. Personally, I was curious.
“Have you ever been there? Traces of wizards conducting human experiments.”
thud!
There was nothing, but the sound of something heavy fell in Elton’s ear.
Obviously, it was just an auditory hallucination, but the space became quiet as if cold water had been sprayed on it.
deep silence. Paladin Elton opened his mouth.
“I thought I would have asked the question…?”
“sorry. I’m really, really curious. Did you see it? Or are you pretending not to see it?”
Goo…
Paladin Elton bit his teeth. His face, stained with anger, shame, regret, and anguish, was as daunting as a real lion.
Silence descended like lead again. The warlock and the paladin faced each other with a table in between.
for a very, very long time.
“If you ask a difficult question by any chance, you don’t have to tell me. To be honest, it’s not a question I was expecting.”
A blasphemous remark. But Oliver was not malicious. So it was more malicious than any mockery.
Elton opened his mouth.
“Don’t talk rudely if you don’t know it well. Warlock.”
“Paladin. A shield that protects the human world on behalf of the gods, and the protector of mankind. A being who follows the teachings of his father and keeps order. I know that.”
“Dare you, warlocks talk about gods?”
“No, I don’t know him enough to argue. I have read the scriptures, but it is difficult to understand them all. However, longing does. It’s hard to understand, but you seem like a great person.”
It was a truly bizarre look.
There was a bit of admiration and respect in Oliver’s voice, but it was very far from what ordinary people would say of God.
For humans, God is an inaccessible being. Therefore, there was an absolute distance that could never be narrowed, even though we admired and worshiped it.
But for Oliver, that distance didn’t exist. He was so friendly, as if he were dealing with someone he had promised to meet someday.
A look that might be disrespectful. But, ironically, it looked so natural that even a paladin did not think of stopping it for a moment.
The paladin came to his senses belatedly and said.
“Be careful with your mouth. Don’t put God in your mouth.”
“sorry. I’m just answering a question, I’m sorry if I offended you.”
The paladin made an impression looking at the warlock in front of him. He completely lost control of the conversation.
I remember him because he was an impressive guy, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed from a year ago, but he’s changed a lot.
So, did he secretly meet him?
Silence fell again, and Oliver waited for a question.
Tick-tick-
A meaningless time passed continuously as the clock chimed in an unlikely way. As time was about to pass, Oliver cautiously opened his mouth.
“Knight. If you have any questions-”
“-It may sound like an excuse, but…”
The paladin suddenly opened his mouth. Oliver frowned slightly.
The paladin did not speak and continued speaking again.
He made fun of his tongue with his amazing patience and willpower.
“…it may sound like an excuse, but the world is complicated. black magician. And the Pathers Church is a very old and huge organization.”
“········.”
“So sometimes we too have to compromise with the world.”
“Oh, I see. What····. I understand.”
For the first time in his life, Oliver said ‘I understand’ without any sincerity. He didn’t even know why. I didn’t want to think deeply, and it was annoying.
I just want this moment to pass quickly. Then the paladin spoke again.
“He who does not compromise is often broken.”
“Well····. knight over there? You don’t have to say that to me as a warlock-“
“-Like Joanna.”
“················ogue.”
“We don’t have eyes and ears. Without knowing the ugly side of this city. However, we belong to a denomination. I can’t move with my own flimsy justice. If you do that, you will move away from the case and even lose the opportunity to resolve it.”
“················ogue.”
“Joanna. The child claimed that the wizard was conducting terrible human experiments, and after several months of insisting that an investigation into it was necessary, he was sent elsewhere. Ever since I met you.”
“How did you know?”
Oliver did not deny it. Seeing the paladin’s emotional state, he knew that he was an opponent that could not be passed on as a flat lie.
Above all, I was curious about Joanna’s story.
“Did you tell me? that they don’t have eyes and ears. I don’t know the details, but I knew I met you at the temple.”
“Can I ask you a question? Please.”
“Tell me.”
“Why did you leave me alone? I am a warlock.”
“Because I trusted him. I believe there must be a reason for that.”
Elton said with sincerity. He truly trusted Joanna.
“But since the last day I met you, I have been suffering and anguished, and as I said before, I continued to claim my gratitude for the Landa Wizards and was pushed away… I ask too. What did you talk about?”
“Why are you curious?”
“Good kid. Because he was my partner.”
Oliver thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.
***
“Thanks for the directions.”
After the interrogation, Oliver came out from the basement to the ground and said,
The Servant who gave directions looked at Oliver with a strange expression.
Either way, Oliver bowed his head politely and greeted him politely.
“It’s nice to be out. Came out sooner than I thought. Were there any problems?”
Forrest, who was waiting in the hallway, greeted Oliver and said. He was truly relieved and delighted with Oliver’s safe return.
Judging by his emotional state, he seemed to be worried about an emergency.
“Yeah, nothing happened. Were you waiting in the hallway?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you wait in the car?”
“You have to wait in the hallway like this to show that I’m worried about you, right? ······What’s going on? You have a strange face.”
Oliver rubbed his face.
“Is my face weird?”
“No, that’s not it, a little bit…. I think it’s my misunderstanding. But, what happened?”
“no····. There wasn’t. Let’s go first.”
“Ah, my consideration wasn’t enough.”
Forrest immediately took Oliver out of the building.
On the way to the car, Forrest asked.
“It takes quite a while to get from Area A to Area T. Do you have a schedule?”
Oliver checked his watch. When I arrived at Area T, it seemed to be around 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon.
At around 6pm, I had to go to Area X and teach him black magic.
“Time is elusive. Do you want to talk about work?”
“I’m sorry. what do you see me as It’s not that I don’t have a conscience enough to hand over the work to someone who has suffered today. Above all else, you are in charge of the fighter crew. At least until I’m done with this, I’m going to keep it like my grandmother’s ashes. I’m thinking of rolling again when I’m done… yes look at me with those eyes That’s nice to see.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“If it’s okay, let’s have a meal or a meal. Don’t get me wrong, I like young friends, but men have no hobbies. I just have something I want to say.”
“What do you want to say? What?”
“What are you talking about here? Let’s read the atmosphere.”
Oliver thought for a moment, then nodded. It might not be bad to eat with anyone right now. My mind was a bit like that.
“What, do you want something to eat?”
“…Ice cream.”
“ice cream?”
“Yeah, it’s a little tight.”
“Right···. Okay, there’s a hotel that makes good ice cream, so let’s go there… What are you doing?”
Forrest asked, looking at Oliver who stopped abruptly and looked into the distance.
Unless Forrest’s eyes were wrong, Oliver’s almost motionless poker face shook slightly. as if you were surprised.
said Oliver.
“Mr Forrest.”
“Why but?”
“I’m going to the restaurant by the appointed time, so can we break up here for a while? I’m really, really sorry.”