213. Tick Tick Tick Tick (1)
Fortunately, Forrest nodded to Oliver’s sudden request.
He was a quick-witted person, so he didn’t bother to ask, even though he thought he had something.
He was a really kind person.
Unfortunately, he went to the car first to talk about it next time, and Oliver went to see Forest like that.
Tak- Tak- Tak- Tak-
With every step Oliver took, the quarterstaff in his hand slammed into the floor, making a regular sound.
Passing through palace-like buildings and magnificent clock towers that were only seen in advertisements, we entered a luxurious park reserved for politicians and city officials working in District A.
“hello?”
Oliver sat on a bench not far from the park entrance and greeted the man feeding the pigeons.
It was the first time we had seen each other, but it wasn’t the first time we had met. It’s not friendly though.
Oh, by the way, as soon as Oliver appeared, the pigeon started a match and flew away.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Nevertheless, the man continued to spread pigeon feed around him. It seems that the act of giving feed itself is more important than pigeons.“I was waiting just in case, but you came again.”
“Are you waiting for me?”
“Didn’t you know?”
“No, it is not. I just happened to see you here, and I’m here to say thank you.”
“Thank you? what?”
“Because Puppet-sama’s leftover books and corpse remains can be used to handle the corpse doll……. Thanks for the help, thanks. thank you.”
man, no. Puppet stopped feeding the pigeons and turned to look at Oliver.
“It’s also fun. It’s not worth the time I came to see you.”
“What business have you been waiting for?”
“Yeah, I have a story to tell… It’s going to be a little long, do you have time?”
Puppet kindly checked from Oliver’s time.
“Yes. 1 hour or so… Would you like to talk here?”
“I don’t care, but why don’t you?”
“No, good. But before that, can I ask you a favor?”
“what?”
Oliver pointed to the ice cream booth at the end of the road over there.
On the sign of the ice cream booth, the words luxurious vanilla and dark chocolate flavor were engraved.
“Can I buy you an ice cream and eat it? I want to eat.”
“Well·····. If you buy me one too.”
***
It could be said that it was a bizarre sight that would leave anyone who knew the details of the story.
Puppet, the great master of the warlock world, who has lived for hundreds of years, has never seen his true form, and has raised countless organizations and disciples even with his own hands, sits on a park bench and eats vanilla ice cream.
That too with a 20-year-old kid…
But, ironically, if you didn’t know the inside story, it seemed quite natural.
Just like friends with an age difference.
“Unexpected. I didn’t know you would like ice cream.”
“Basically, there is nothing I dislike. I also like sweets… Can Puppet taste it?”
It was a natural question. The body that Puppet is using now was also a corpse doll.
However, Puppet frowned slightly.
“A little·····. That sounds like a discriminatory statement. Be a racist.”
“Oh, sorry.”
As soon as he heard the apology, Puppet burst out laughing.
“However, it is also a reasonable question. Even though it’s a corpse doll, you can taste it. I can feel the touch of the wind and I can hear the chirping of the birds… Although I had to invest a lot of time, I want to enjoy this blessing.”
A man who had lived for hundreds of years and conducted countless human experiments was very shameless to say the least, but on the other hand, his appearance went beyond sincerity and even reverence.
raindrop. raindrop. raindrop.
They both ate all the ice cream and chewed up the cone below.
very complained
“Then, if it’s okay with you, may I ask why you came to see me? To be honest, I was surprised to see you here.”
“There are many reasons, my personal curiosity, the situation, and the fact that you have been involved in something interesting recently.”
Puppet said as he twirled his fingers. It seemed sincere.
“Thank you for your interest in me. By the way, I don’t quite understand what you mean when you say a situation is a situation and it’s tied to something interesting.”
“The flesh cook.”
Puppet spoke the word softly.
“Recently, I heard that you took down the flesh-cooking students.”
“Cook, manipulative warlock, pig face, benium. This is four minutes.”
“Don’t tell me, because I don’t know. They are not my pupils, and how many people have you met for hundreds of years that you think you will remember them all?”
The puppet made a plainly stern sound. Well, he forgot his disciple Glyph.
A warlock who tried to hand over the beggars alive and enter the Black Hand.
Well, it wasn’t incomprehensible. If you live for hundreds of years, your way of thinking may be very different from that of ordinary people.
Still, it was sadly disappointing.
“Answer me. Did you really knock them down?”
“Yes.”
Oliver explained in detail how he was knocked down with an answer.
The manipulative warlock he met for the first time destroyed it in a flash with a mortuary doll and a corpse cannon, defeated the chef and the pig face in a head-to-head match, and Benium worked with Pink Man to capture it.
After talking, I thought I was talking about Benium Gun for nothing, but luckily, Puppet didn’t seem to care. because it’s so insignificant.
Rather, he turned his attention elsewhere.
“It’s amazing that you treat the Invoice Doll that much.”
“The book was helpful. Thank you again.”
Oliver was sincere. There was Glip’s journal, but it was Puppet’s book that made the first step.
“It’s really absurd that something like this happens because of a book I forgot and didn’t bring.”
“Isn’t that the joy of the world?”
At Oliver’s words, Puppet laughed.
“It’s not wrong. Speaking of words, do you have any plans to join the Black Hand?”
Oliver looked at the puppet without saying a word, unable to respond to a completely unexpected proposal that came out of nowhere.
Judging by his faint emotional state, he seemed sincere.
“…a black hand?”
“Yeah, you can come as my disciple if you want, or just stay in my shadow if you don’t like it. Or you can create an organization and become your fingers. We will support you with the manpower and funds.”
He was sincere. Truly extraordinary conditions. I wondered why. Well, the answer has been decided.
“I am very grateful, but I am sorry.”
“like·····.”
Puppet’s expression showed a little emotion. I guess I didn’t expect such an answer.
“Can I ask why? There are many warlocks who want to enter the Black Hand.”
“I’m just reluctant to belong to an organization. If I belong to an organization, I have to work, so it will take time and I think I will have to do things I don’t want to do.”
Oliver responded as usual. At the same time, I anticipated the next line and prepared an answer accordingly.
Perhaps, they will convince you of what a great organization the Black Hands are, and how privileged it is to receive such an offer.
However, the words that came out of Puppet’s mouth were completely unexpected.
“If that’s the case, no problem. If you’re at your level of skill, as long as you don’t cause direct friction with other fingers, you’ll be free from all your duties. Freedom.”
This was the first case. There were people who wanted to have Oliver in the organization, and they said they would give him benefits as well, but that’s because there is something he wants from Oliver.
But with Puppet, there was no such thing. There are only benefits. It wasn’t even quite a lie.
“That’s a generous offer.”
“Because it caught my interest . . . It will never be a loss for you either.”
“Yeah, of course you gave me such a benefit—”
“-No, I don’t mean that.”
“Yes?”
“It may sound intimidating, but if you don’t get into the Black Hands, your life could be a little rough.”
“Can I ask what the reason is?”
“There will be more and more people looking for you. You have defeated the disciples of the flesh cook.”
“Is it like revenge?”
“Not at all. It’s just greed for yourself.”
“······?”
“A warlock who suddenly appeared and killed the human flesh cook’s apprentice. That alone is worth a lot. Just by killing you, anyone can increase their reputation, or they may extract good experimental data. Warlocks or wizards.”
I roughly understood what you meant.
“I just did it because I was hired by Pink Man, right?”
“But it was the best. There is also a warlock.”
“ah·····.”
“And from my side and from the human meat cooker side, you are also an attractive thing. Because human flesh cooks accumulate power by eating people. You know that too, right?”
“Yes.”
“I am no different. The stronger the mortuary doll, the stronger my power will be.”
“By the way, you have no intention of killing me.”
“Not yet. The living are more curious than the dead.”
“Why?”
“If you answer me right away, it’s no fun.”
Puppet said with a smirk. There seemed to be some real reason, not just bluff.
But that’s it and this is this.
Oliver politely declined again.
“sorry. I’m worried, but I think I’ll have to say no.”
“I’m not worried… But, can I know why? You should know that my words and suggestions are not lies. Why would you leave the easy way alone and go the hard way?”
Oliver took the question quite seriously.
It’s our first meeting. Anyway, Puppet is the person who taught Oliver how to use the cemetery doll and artificial soul.
Moreover, he was the one who appeared here and spoke politely, giving Oliver kind suggestions and warnings.
If that’s the case, it’s polite for Oliver to think about it as well and respond accordingly.
Oliver organized his thoughts. Several scenes flashed through my mind.
Glip’s cellar where women and children are confined, Puppet’s human experiment site, Mattel’s underground secret laboratory where he met Rothburn, and more.
Dare, Oliver can’t blame them, but…
“…a little bit like that.”
Oliver answered.
It was short, but the words that had many meanings made Puppet laugh out loud rather than offended him.
“It’s kind of like that…. Well, that’s good enough for that reason.”
Puppet stood up without any regrets. There was no sign of displeasure or anger.
“Are you going?”
“Now that the business is over, there is no reason to be here anymore.”
“ah·····. Sorry for not giving you a good answer.”
“Careful. I had a good ice cream. In return, I will tell you something interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock has started to move.”
***
pallang. pallang. pallang.
Oliver was reading the book Kevin had given him in the tower staff room.
It was a kind of preparatory work for Kevin’s class by not simply reading, but by summarizing important key points and writing them down in a notebook.
It was originally supposed to be Kevin’s job, but due to incidental tasks such as allocating classrooms, securing additional budget for classes, and coordinating the use of educational facilities, Oliver was tasked with organizing books of relatively low importance.
Even so, work is work.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Normally he should be happy and do his best, but Oliver couldn’t fully concentrate as usual.The reason was none other than Puppet’s words.
‘Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock has started to move.’
It’s impossible to tell if the clock is moving.
I tried to ask more, but Puppet left without answering, and Oliver couldn’t follow along.
It was just a feeling, but it didn’t seem like he said it out of boredom.
What the hell does that mean? the clock is moving
Suddenly, I thought that it might have something to do with the subordinates of the human meat cooker attacking the auction house.
straight-! straight-!
As I was summarizing the contents of the book, I heard a knock on the door.
The sound was somewhat harsh, and the emotions that were actually seen behind the door were also quite annoying.
I was also familiar with it.
Oliver got up and opened the door to find a familiar face.
He was the librarian in the Elemental School Tower.
The one who looked at Oliver with displeasure when he saw the automatic door and was amazed.
“hello?”
Oliver greeted the unexpected guest politely.
The librarian still looked dissatisfied.
“Why are you here?”
“yes?”
“I called the professors’ individual staff to clean up the library, but only Mr. Xenon did not come. What are we going to do?”
Oliver was perplexed by the sharp question.
“Call?”
“Yes, there was no pager signal?”
“I didn’t get a pager at all.”
It was true. Oliver had never heard of a pager, neither from a book nor from Kevin.
“·····It was introduced this year, but there seems to have been some kind of misunderstanding. Please inquire at the equipment management office.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“Originally, you have to be able to do it yourself…. Come to the library sooner than that. Because you’re not out and other people are working.”