234. cooperation (2)
Unintentionally, Oliver decided to form a partnership with Wallace.
To be honest, it didn’t seem like a bad offer.
Although there were some differences in the details, it might be beneficial to help each other, since the goal was to solve the disappearance cases that ultimately occurred at Mountain Face or Oliver or Wallace.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
No, maybe Oliver would be more profitable…It’s nothing to brag about, but digging through the problem and guessing what’s behind it was far from Oliver’s specialty.
The next morning, Oliver and Wallace and the truck driver had breakfast with the village’s potato soup and bread, then moved on.
It’s good to have the problem resolved as quickly as possible.
‘Also, personally, I think it would be better to hurry. It bothers me that Holland’s Hall family is uncooperative.’
Oliver couldn’t explain it in detail, but he got on the truck with an uneasy feeling that was hard to ignore.
Perhaps it was thanks to refueling and applying oil between the parts, the truck climbed the mountain more vigorously than when it first climbed.
On the way up, Oliver suddenly realized something and opened his mouth.
“Well····. But it’s interesting.”
“what?”
“This place is quite deep in the mountains, but there is a road that a car can drive, even if it’s rough.”
That was correct.
Although a small truck barely made it to and from the road, it was quite strange that there was a road deep in the mountains with few people.
The cost of such construction is also considerable… At least it wasn’t at a level that the village around here could afford.
Of course, there is a possibility that this administration could have built it, but it was very unlikely.
Kevin and the people of the Matop branch said that the Northland-Kingdom Administration doesn’t spend money on anything other than mine-related infrastructure.
Then there was only one answer.
“Is it possible that it was built in a horse tower?”
Oliver instinctively asked for the driver’s seat, and the driver in the driver’s seat, who had his eye sockets open, answered silently for a moment.
“…Yes, I heard that it was built to transport food and supplies necessary for the laboratory.”
Oliver nodded.
“This is so much fun.”
“What is fun?”
Wallace, who was listening to Oliver, asked, and Oliver answered happily. Conversation has always been fun. In particular, the pleasure of sharing opinions was doubled.
“He said it was fun to see the story he had heard at the tower.”
“Shall I guess what I heard from the tower? Do you mean that the wizard’s research, experiments, etc., bring happiness to people in the process, take pride in them, and not give in to any criticism or trials?”
Five···. exactly matched.
On an off-duty day, Oliver followed Merlin and Kevin’s advice and took another class, where he could hear the same story as before, in addition to a myriad of magical theories.
Wizards are the pivotal beings that have led the present golden age of mankind, and they believe in their own path without giving in to any difficulties, difficulties, criticisms and ridicule, and continue to challenge themselves.
Those words remained in my memory, as they were quite impressive to Oliver as well. Sure, there were some twists, but whatever.
“Yes, that’s right. How did you know?”
“There are a lot of wizards coming out on the street these days, so I heard from them. They’re all guys who are eager to brag about themselves.”
“Oh, is it?”
“As an employee, you don’t seem to know much about the circumstances of the tower? These days, the competition is fierce, so it continues to flow down the street.”
“sorry. I was hired by the horse tower this year.”
“Aha····. this year?”
Wallace asked, her eyes bright.
“Yes.”
“Well, how did you get a job? There must be some interesting story.”
“I can’t tell you the details…. sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. Each person has their own secret… Rather than that, back to the point, did I say before that the people here have improved their lives thanks to the horse tower?”
“Well····. I don’t know if my life has improved, but transportation seems to have helped.”
A feeling of denial rose from Wallace’s feelings. A sign that you don’t agree with Oliver’s will.
However, contrary to expectations, Wallace did not immediately deny Oliver’s words. No, more and more, some agreed.
“Yeah, that’s not entirely wrong. It is true that the road came here thanks to the arrival of the Matop Lab, and the transportation has become easier.”
“Do you agree?”
“If you look at only one part of the traffic.”
“What about the other parts?”
Wallace thought for a moment.
“Well····. To be honest, I think it did more harm than good to the people who live here.”
Sincerity.
“Can I ask why?”
“Originally, in Mountain Face, there were two or three times as many villages as there are now. However, because of the environment such as herbs and animals here, I tried to build a research center in the Magic Tower. For reference, most of the places where research institutes are good were villages… What do you think you would have done in the tower?”
“Would you not have offered to relocate with a reward?”
Oliver answered based on what he looked like in Landa. Redevelopment usually goes like this.
“right. I offered compensation and asked him to leave. They offer ridiculous amounts of money and ask them to unilaterally leave the land where they have lived for generations. People refused… After that, what do you think?”
“Well····. Would you have offered me more money?”
“You misunderstood the point. Money is not the problem. It is true that the compensation was small, but there are more important issues than money.”
“what is that?”
“It’s like pride, pride, identity.”
“Well····. I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand, do you?”
“Well, I understand. It’s hard to understand if you’re from the city. However, it’s pretty important to people who live in a place like this. It is their own land where they have lived from generation to generation. It’s more than just a place to live. It can be said to be a kind of root. like who I am.”
Oliver tilted his head at the unfamiliar words. It was a strange feeling. It seemed to be understandable, but it was difficult to understand.
Wallace spoke again.
“…but Matop asked me to leave without understanding or trying to understand it. They are talking about how much the research they are going to do here will help the history of mankind.”
“If it’s okay with you, can I tell you my personal opinion? You may feel a little offended.”
“Tell me.”
“As far as I know, thanks to the potions and drugs developed here, more and more people are getting drugs at a lower price. The poor or the workers at the construction site. I’ve seen it through people’s words or through newspapers. So, to some extent, isn’t that right?”
“The reason Matop established the research center here is not for the sake of the world, but for their own benefit. He helped people by selling drugs, but in the process he gained technological and economic benefits. Never, it’s not free… Even if it is for the benefit of everyone by making one hundred concessions, is it okay to ignore the rights of a few people who lived here? . . . I’m not blaming, I’m asking.”
It wasn’t without anger, but Wallace controlled it with reason and calmly asked Oliver, who fell into thought instead of answering.
Although it was far from Landa’s mindset, which puts the creation of personal profit first, it was also an interesting story for Oliver.
“Of course, this is not to say that there are no such things. It’s a place where they fight each other with an ax and a knife several times a month over money. But that doesn’t justify Mato’s actions.”
“Ummm…. So, how did the village persuade him? Now that we have a research institute, isn’t it that we finally reached an agreement?”
“It is not an agreement. They sued the tower and took it away.”
“A lawsuit?”
“okay. I filed a complaint with the Kingdom Court, saying it was not right for the village to live on its own by highlighting the public interest of Mountain Face in the Mt. It is illegal for people to live here. The Kingdom Court accepted it.”
“Five····. Is that possible?”
“It was possible. And, of course, the trial ended in a victory for the horseman. It was a battle that could not be won in the first place.”
“Why?”
“Because the kingdom and the tower are on the same side no matter what, the indigenous Kel people here are just annoying. Well, the fact that the villagers did not have the money to hire a lawyer also contributed… Thanks to that, I couldn’t resist properly, and all the villages that overlapped the research site were forcibly demolished, so I had to leave the land where I lived for generations and enter another village or go to Holland down there. I work 12 to 16 hours a day.”
Wallace finished speaking and drank the water from the bucket. He was calm on the outside, but angry on the inside.
What was impressive was that his anger was not emotional, but rational anger from irrationality.
After drinking the water, he asked.
“Do you have any questions? You seem curious.”
“Yeah, then why didn’t the village I stopped in and the other villages were demolished?”
“It did not overlap with the lab paper. Because the lab needs workers to do the little things for you. For example, a hunter who will kill laboratory animals, or a herbalist who will gather herbs… The villagers gave in because they thought they would be able to avoid anger.”
“Well, that’s fun.”
“okay?”
“Ah, sorry. I just meant that the phenomenon itself is interesting. The horse lab came in, and this is what happened in the process… It’s kind of interesting to me. May I ask you one more question?”
“what?”
“Then, the villagers around here don’t seem to have a very good feeling for the Matop Lab, but there are people who are friendly with that. Why is that?”
“Time has passed, and I am now living on the work provided by the lab.”
“······?”
“It’s surprisingly common. Even if it seems that people don’t forget their grudges, they often forget. Especially if you don’t have power. So, even if everything is stolen, if you get only a part back, you’ll get lost… That’s scary. Then forget about it later. Who is the original owner of this land, where are his roots?”
Wallace said with emotion in the last part. It illuminates feelings of sincere fear and concern.
“····I don’t know for sure, but it seems that I vaguely know what you mean. Thank you for your kind reply.”
At Oliver’s thanks, Wallace was surprised to realize that he had said too much.
It sounds like you said more than you thought.
“…this is a bit unfair.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s only me talking. We help each other because we need something, isn’t it unfair for me to only talk about it? What do I have to say?”
“Well, you are not wrong. Then, shall we joke about it?”
“Are you joking all of a sudden?”
“It’s a very funny joke.”
“Okay, let’s hear it. Tell me.”
“Hmm, hmmm… Three men played poker in a bar. One is a Kel, one is a kingdom, and the last one is a Landain. These three-”
“- Arrived at the next town!”
The driver shouted through the eye sockets in the front driver’s seat.
Oliver looked silently in the direction of the driver.
***
Oliver and Wallace got off the truck when they reached the second village.
The second village was more exclusive than the first, but as soon as Wallace pulled out the marker, that attitude was stripped away.
Wallace immediately went to the village chief, the old woman, who, despite her haggard face, urgently explained the condition of the village.
This village was no different from the previous village.
Rather, the number of missing persons was higher, and most of them were children, which could be said to be more serious.
“Is there anything strange about it?”
“It’s a lot…. Strange beasts are occasionally seen. It’s like watching a village. To be honest, I feel more like a monster than a beast. And there are stories of ghosts roaming around in the middle of the night.”
“Ghost···?”
“Yes. They say it looks like some kind of female ghost… Anyway, when the sun goes down, everyone can’t even get out of town.”
It was only a day away from the village in front, but the seriousness of the situation was even worse.
The villagers who had lost their children looked at Wallace as if they were their last hope and begged for help, and Wallace calmed them down and promised to solve them without fail. Seriously.
“I’ll have to look around the village more.”
After talking with the village chief, Wallace came up to Oliver and said,
“I’m going to check out the surrounding villages, but you move too.”
“Yes, but can I go?”
“There are several villages nearby. It won’t take that long if you strengthen your body with magic and run.”
Strengthen your body with magical power and run… At that, Oliver thought for a moment, then pulled out a map from his arms.
It’s not a big deal, but it’s a rough representation of the lab on Mountain Face, so Oliver identified the town’s location and looked around for a lab nearby.
“If it’s okay, why don’t we visit the research center instead of the village?”
“laboratory?”
“Yeah, I don’t think I can get any specific information if I go to another town, but I think it would be better to go to the research center.”
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Not a bad idea, Wallace didn’t object.“Where are you going?”
“Here is the Herbal Research Institute nearby. How about starting from here?”
said Oliver, showing the directions.