233. Cooperation (1)
“Oh, come on. I’m glad you came.”
The first village that trucks carrying supplies to the research area must pass.
The mayor there greeted me and Wallace even though it was late.
Of course, the village chief did not welcome it from the beginning.
It was a village with relatively frequent exchanges with the outside world, so it had little exclusivity for a rural area, but it was not entirely absent.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Nevertheless, it was because of the sign that Wallace had taken out to welcome him so kindly.As soon as the sign was handed over, the village mechanic, who filled the truck with fuel and repaired minor malfunctions, was startled and greeted the village chief as if he had seen a relief force.
Thanks to this, Oliver was now able to receive the most respectful treatment as Wallace’s sidekick.
“But that person…”
The village chief asked Wallace as he watched Oliver quietly eating bean soup in the corner of the town hall, wondering if he couldn’t help but wonder.
Wallace looked at Oliver and gave him a gentle hug. It was the exact opposite of the train time and position.
“A couple I met on the way. I brought it here because I thought it would be helpful for my work.”
“What kind of help are you talking about…?”
“Well, rather, tell me what happened here. I don’t have enough time.”
Wallace, in his characteristic hard and authoritative tone, opened his mouth cautiously, embarrassed by the mayor.
“Ah, sorry. You’ve come a long way…”
“It’s only natural for you to come here, so don’t worry too much about it. Not the same Kell.”
“Yes, thank you……. where to start from First of all, as you know, there have been missing people in our village and all the villages around here. Mainly children, young women, and young people. It’s pretty serious.”
The old man was sincere and desperate at the same time.
Undoubtedly, in such a small living community, the labor force of young people was truly precious.
Those who appeared to be family members of the missing person stood by the village chief and shed tears.
But instead of sympathizing and grieving together, Wallace asked questions without emotion. The will to solve the problem was stronger.
“Have you done a search?”
“Of course I did. Don’t try!”
the village chief shouted.
“Everyone in this village, including myself, slept here. I’m not proud of it, but this neighborhood is all about our backyard. However, it disappeared without a trace. Without a trace…!”
“It’s what the devil did. Ghost!”
A fat middle-aged woman shouted. It was a family member of the missing person, and she shed tears, shining with sad emotions.
The village chief yelled at the woman who broke in and became angry.
“Uh-huh! Don’t say nonsense! Why are you confusing me by telling a story that is not certain?!”
“Ha, but…”
Fighting villagers. It was none other than Wallace who mediated them.
Wallace must have been a foreigner, except that he was of the same Kel tribe, but he calmed the villagers with a dignified voice, like a lord who ruled over a permanent resident.
“Everyone, calm down. What do you mean by ghost? I wouldn’t just say it.”
The middle-aged woman who had been scolded by the village chief hesitated, but as Wallace was fine, tell me.
“I hear strange cries every night.”
“Isn’t that the sound of a beast? Everyone knows that there are a lot of animals here, isn’t it?”
“But, this is different. It’s really bizarre. It’s not a normal sound. And I know a little bit about the animals that live in this area. Wolf, bear, deer…. But it was the first time he had ever seen the beast. More like a monster than an animal.”
“No, that’s right! I happened to see it too. From that far away… It was no ordinary beast. Something horrified me.”
“It also felt like they were watching us.”
The herbivores who smelled of earth and the hunters covered in furs each added a word.
Thanks to this, the town hall became noisy like the Dotegi market again, and everyone shut their mouths only after the village chief raised their voices.
When silence came, the village chief spoke again.
“There are some nonsense stories out there, but almost all of them are true. In particular, it’s not just our village, but the three other villages we interact with often as well. It’s as if everyone in this neighborhood is under a curse.”
“This may be a stupid question, but can’t the police or the military help? It’s a bit far, but there were police and military forces in Holland at the bottom of the mountain.”
Even knowing that Oliver was not in a situation where he was going, he could not contain his curiosity and intervened and asked a question.
I heard from the cafe owner that the police and the military do not help poor villages, but I wanted to hear directly from the parties involved.
Maybe you’ll hear a new story?
Unfortunately, however, the expected situation did not happen. Rather, he received a stinging glance.
“I don’t know who it is, but don’t say anything comfortable without knowing anything. You think we’re stupid and didn’t help the police? They are a people who don’t care what we do.”
“Cancer, especially after the magic towers come into this area at will, it’s treated like a village that doesn’t exist at all…. damn, does this make sense? This is where we used to live.”
“Still, thanks to you, life is a little better, isn’t it? Buy our stuff at a decent price. Can you pick up some of our stuff on the truck and pick it up?”
“I prefer the old days. My kin went down to the city down there because of those bad guys…! You’re always talking unlucky over there, don’t you? As if I was the owner, we are the original owners of this place!”
“Ah, though-”
Surprisingly, the opinions about the matoap research facility became more and more voiced as to whether there was a difference between the people of the same village.
As the fight was about to escalate, Wallace gently stopped the fight by tapping the table.
Delicate yet dignified action. he asked again.
“Then tell me specifically who disappeared in this town, when, how, and how. I will take responsibility and find out.”
***
The townspeople, who seemed to be strong and wild, were surprisingly obedient to Wallace’s request, and explained about the missing people.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Numbers, times, places, and other notable rumors and news, etc.Wallace calmly took notes of the information he heard and tried to understand the situation, and after talking enough about it, he was able to rest.
The townspeople showed respect and guided Wallace to the town hall bed, and Oliver and the trucker were given mats and blankets to lay on the floor.
So late in the morning, just as I was about to fall asleep, Wallace, who was supposed to be on the bed, approached Oliver.
“Is the bed comfortable? If it’s uncomfortable, can you yield the bed?”
“Yes? no. it’s okay. You’re already being treated unfairly. Sleep is enough for me.”
It was sincere. The standard of living has improved, but I haven’t forgotten the days of orphanages and mines.
“For a man from the tower, he’s strong. There must be a lot of people who say they can’t sleep without feather beds.”
Oliver wanted to say he knew the tower well, but he said something else to keep the conversation going.
“Strictly speaking, I’m just an employee, so it’s a bit awkward to say that I’m from Mato.”
“Even at Martial Tower, we don’t hire staff. Even more so if it’s a professor’s personal staff. It is possible if you are not in a house that has enough money to give you back, or you have to be talented enough to get a professor interested, but I think you are the latter…. Have you ever met me?”
“Yes.”
“okay?”
“Yeah, didn’t we meet on the train?”
“·················ogue.”
“Hey, if it’s okay with you, may I ask you a question?”
“what?”
“Can I ask why you took this commission? You said you wouldn’t know if you tell me in the car, but I still want to hear the reason. Is there any special reason?”
“Why do you want to hear it?”
“You have to listen to get a chance to understand.”
At that, Wallace stared at Oliver. As if trying to pierce Oliver’s insides.
After a while, he opened his mouth.
“····· As you may have heard before, we Kel people are difficult to protect from the kingdom. If it’s a city, it’s hard to expect security in such a remote place.”
“understand.”
“And as it is difficult to expect security, there are countless incidents beyond the city. Rogues, warlocks, vicious criminals, vicious landowners, and more. They need help more than anyone else, but as I said before, they won’t help. So we Kells create a community to help each other.”
“Community?”
“Well, it’s not that great. People who interact frequently exchange greetings with each other and help each other when needed. I am only one of them.”
As a community, I thought it was similar to the community in Area X that I heard from Dinklage in the past. A group united to protect each other in the absence of security.
“then····. There was a request from the community for help, and Will has accepted it.”
“okay. I know the guy from here across the street. We can say no, but we have to help each other out in difficult times.”
Sincerity.
“Five····. As you said, I don’t quite understand it, but it seems like something great. By the way, Mr. Will is a great solver, do you really need to worry about that?”
“No matter how good or bad you are, you cannot live alone. In particular, the Kells in the United Kingdom. We need people who can help each other. Don’t look at it the same way as the Landa people.”
“Oh, I see. sorry.”
“…Anyway, I want to get this out of the way. And so will you. The suspicious disappearance that occurred at the Matop Lab must somehow have something to do with the disappearance in this town.”
“Yes.”
Oliver did not deny it. The disappearances that occurred in the village and the Matop Research Center centered on the research area, Mountain Face, were highly likely to have some kind of connection.
Wallace suggested.
“That’s what I’m saying, but why don’t we help each other out?”
“Are you going to help?”
“Yeah, I have easy access to all the villages around here, but you can’t. People around here are exclusive to outsiders.”
“Yes.”
“On the other hand, I can’t get any information, let alone get into the turret research facility. Why don’t you tell me you’re my employee, just like on the train, and then take me with you and share the information with you? So, you don’t know what traces you can find? I’m not bragging, but I have a knack for searching, and it will help. If you came as a professor’s representative, what would be the circumstances?
It wasn’t very wrong. Although Oliver came instead of Kevin to get out of the difficult situation right away, it was the best story to solve the problem if possible.
To put it bluntly, I didn’t know if Oliver would send Kevin back if he returned empty-handed without any results.
Oliver wanted to help Kevin whenever possible. First of all, he was his employee, and the exact inside story is unknown, but Kevin’s goals and will shed a pretty light.
If it fails, there is nothing we can do, but as Wallace said, I wanted to solve it as much as possible.
“If you think I’m doing something, I promise I’ll never do that.”
“Yes, then we will work together.”
“·····what?”
“I said we should work together. As Will said, the goal is the same, and there are parts to help. I think I’m fine.”
At Oliver’s willingness to accept, Wallace reacted a little surprised. I was surprised at how easy it was to accept.
Oliver had to add to Wallace’s reaction.
“Well, because Mr. Will promised he had no other intentions.”
“Thank you for believing in me.”
“Will seems like a good person. It might be troublesome, but did you even save the hostages?”
Oliver said, recalling the train raid.
Although he deliberately tried not to be noticed by mixing with the passengers, he took the risk when the hostage became dangerous.
Wallace didn’t say anything because he didn’t know what to say, and Oliver looked at him and said at once.
“May I ask you for something in the sense of working together?”
“what?”
“Can you tell me about the Kell or Northland as you go? Suddenly I am interested.”