25. Joseph (2)
the next morning.
After having breakfast with Joseph, Oliver changed into plain clothes and went out of the hotel.
Oh, and of course I brought a bag of money.
Landa was full of people even in the morning, and there were as many cars as there were people.
“There are a lot of people here.”
“right. That’s an advantage and a disadvantage. Come on, follow me.”
Joseph took Oliver to the road.
I raised my hand, and within a few seconds the yellow car that looked like a beetle stopped.
There was a triangular sign on the top of the car, with the words Dobbs Taxi Guild written on it.
“Tara.”
Joseph opened the door and said.
Oliver got into the car as directed, and Joseph followed and closed the car door.
“Where can I take you. Guest?”
The driver in a neat uniform asked, holding his hat slightly.
“Zone X . . . Just go to the entrance.”
“Are you talking about Zone X…? Yes, I understand.”
For a moment, darkness passed over the taxi driver’s face, but soon he started driving the car without asking.
As the car hummed, the landscape changed rapidly outside, and Oliver looked at it for a moment before asking Joseph a question.
“master. Excuse me, but where are you going?”
“Where are you going to meet Andrew? It will be a pretty interesting place.”
***
What Joseph said was not a lie.
I rode a car for a while, and the tall, elongated building suddenly turned into a stocky one, and even Oliver saw it as an outdated street.
It was a lot farther than the first time I got in the car, but what is interesting is that the number of people has increased rather than decreased.
Like, like cockroaches.
The car stopped. With him, the uniformed driver turned and spoke politely.
“Guests, this is the entrance to Area X. I’m sorry, but I can’t go any further than this.”
“I know. I had a hard time getting here. This is a taxi fare, and this is a personal expense.”
In addition to the taxi fare, Joseph gave him a decent bundle of money.
The taxi driver raised his hat, said one thanks, and fled as soon as Oliver and Joseph got off.
Oliver seemed vaguely aware of the reason.
Although this street looked quiet, there were a lot of people everywhere, and it was because they were cunning and malicious, as if they were all looking for their prey.
If there is even a slight gap, it has a momentum to overtake it.
“master?”
“Why?”
“Will this place be included in Randa too?”
“Well, yes. It is a place that the high ranking people of Landa do not even care about, but this place is also Landa… Why?”
“Oh, it’s no different, I asked because I was curious.”
Joseph laughed mischievously.
“What is strange?”
“It’s the same city, but the emotions are very different.”
“There is nothing strange about it. This is Zone X.”
“X… Area?”
“Don’t talk as you go. First, let’s move.”
As Joseph said those words, he began to walk, and Oliver followed him.
This street, a mixture of clumsy cement buildings and shacks, was as complicated as a maze, with profanity and graffiti everywhere.
However, this was enough for a yangban.
Going deeper, I saw more than simple graffiti, blasphemous graffiti drawn with blood, and a totem made of animal bones and skins.
“That’s…. What?”
Oliver said, looking at the totem that was standing on a side street.
It was made by weaving the skulls of a bird and a mouse, and it seemed to mark a certain area.
“Well···. I haven’t seen it either, but it’s probably made by a shaman or warlock who doesn’t see much. Or it was made by beggars as a threat.”
“·····. Do you know the way here?”
“Of course. I’ve been here a few times for business trips. After all, this is also the place where I was born.”
“ah····.”
Oliver groaned and nodded at the first story he had heard.
“There are 26 major areas in Landa. And for the sake of convenience, we divide the zones into A, B, and C. Now, a question here. Which area is more important?”
“·····. I do not know?”
“Ah, sorry. It’s a problem you can figure out right away, even if you’re just a little savvy. Of course, the A-zone in the preceding order is more important, and the security is good. Of course, not all are like that, but overall yes.”
Oliver nodded silently.
“But on the other hand, that means back-seat zones like Z, Y, X, W aren’t good. What do you think?”
Oliver looked around.
The deeper we went, the more out-of-date and dangerous the streets seemed. But what was even more worrisome was the feeling of growing dangerous.
“A little····. It seems like that.”
“hahaha! Do you think so? After all, everything is subjective. Things like that happen, too.”
“······ So, did you meet your master here?”
“yes?”
Joseph’s emotions fluttered. It seems to be an unexpected question.
“Um, well, yes. He also lived here as a warlock.”
“Are there any warlocks in Randa?”
“Are there any warlocks in Randa? That’s a stupid question. Rather, there are more of these than Wineham. In Weinham, even the small warlock organizations are single digits, but here, only the large organizations are two digits, and if you add the small ones, it is three digits. In fact, no one knows how many warlock organizations there are. They are scattered all over the place.”
Hoo…. Oliver was intrigued by the new facts.
Well, if you think about it, it wasn’t that strange.
Landa here has surpassed Wineham in every aspect, including the size and development of the city and the number of people.
Rather, it would be strange if there were few warlocks.
Oliver realized the obvious fact and realized that the world was wide.
He’s just a frog in a well… This obvious fact gave Oliver great joy.
There was so much to learn and so much to explore. How could it not be fun?
Oliver asked for more information.
“But why did the owner come down to Wineham?”
“Well····? It’s honestly embarrassing to say this, but the competition here is so fierce that it went down.”
“Yes?”
“As I said before, there are many warlocks in Landa, and because of that, they fight among themselves every day. Thousands of warlock organizations come and go every day. I too became a warlock after desperate efforts, but this place was too fierce nonetheless. So I was worried. Will you continue to stay here, or will you leave for now to build up your strength?”
“okay.”
“You think I’m a coward?”
“No, I think you are smart.”
“I see····. Thank you. Stop it now.”
Joseph stopped abruptly and said.
The place where Joseph stopped was in front of a fenced building, which looked like a building that used to be a hospital.
“Here is Andrew.”
“ah····. It looks like a closed hospital, is it running?”
“Half right, half wrong. It’s a closed building, but someone else is running it. Come on, follow me.”
***
Oliver followed Joseph through the side door behind the fence.
“It’s not that one, it’s this one.”
Joseph called Oliver on his way to the hospital and said:
“But the hospital is over there…?”
“The hospital is closed. The actual operation is in the basement of the warehouse over there.”
Joseph pointed to the large warehouse at the back of the hospital.
Oliver followed Joseph there, and next to the warehouse was a large door leading to the basement.
“Is Andrew being treated here?”
“Yeah, is it fun? That a warlock treats people in an abandoned hospital.”
“Yeah, it’s a little fun.”
profit—-
As Joseph opened the heavy basement door, a sound echoed in all directions.
Oliver went in first, then Joseph followed, but it was dark all around because there was no light.
However, for a while. Joseph flicked his hand, revealing a torch hanging from the wall.
“·····. But it’s interesting.”
“···. what?”
“Healing Andrew-sama with black magic. I thought it would be impossible to heal with black magic because my master said it was difficult.”
“under····. Was it strange?”
“Yes. I thought that all Warlock organizations were similar to us.”
“Well, it is true that we are universal. However, the realm of black magic is wide and deep, and depending on the inclination and talent of the magician, it may show different forms.”
“Is that so?”
“okay.”
Oliver and Joseph continued to talk as they walked down the aisle.
“Actually, in terms of economic efficiency, it is best to make pilgarets or nutritional supplements using vitality. The return is high and the risk is unexpectedly low.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Yes, dangerous. It uses people who have become anything, but from the point of view of the government, there is no reason to leave it alone, right? First of all, it’s all illegal. We are subject to crackdown… But if we die, let’s live, they’re not chasing us.”
“Why?”
“There are many reasons, but if we pick the core, they are also consumers. You can enjoy pilgaret without any burden because its aftereffects and addiction are similar to cigarettes, and you can’t eat it because there are no nutritional supplements using vitality. It is only a formal surveillance, there is no intention of eradicating it.”
Hoo…. Oliver was intrigued by the unexpected remark.
I didn’t think pilgarets or nutritional supplements would be illegal in the first place, but that’s why there’s only formal surveillance.
The history of the world was as interesting as black magic.
Then I saw a skeleton lying on one side of the hallway. It must have been rotten and had dark red flesh on the outside.
“But wherever you go, there are people with unique personalities. There are those who are far from efficiency, safety, rationality. They don’t just make medicines or nutritional supplements, they also work in other industries.”
“okay. Could you please tell me what it is?”
said Oliver, looking at the growing skeleton.
“Well, first of all, there are people who heal people like the warlocks here. Using life force, warped manipulation, and disease-based black magic. Surprisingly, there are many high-ranking customers. That makes us more profitable, and in some cases safer than us.”
“okay. Anything else?”
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Now beyond the skull came a pile of half-corrupted corpses. It seemed that time had passed, and maggots were infested.“Some people like to fight and live as mercenaries or solvers. If you have the skills, your income and safety are good, and you can develop your skills quickly. Whatever it is, practical training is the best class.”
“okay.”
“Now, turn right here.”
At Joseph’s words, Oliver fell into the hallway on the right. As I went further, I found a large room.
There were quite a few corpses piled up around the room, and brown, dry blood was strewn all over the walls, floors, and ceilings as proof that they were all murdered here.
However, the most striking thing is the altar on the opposite side of the door.
Three rectangles and nine circles were engraved on the altar stained with red blood.
“Are there any more?”
“What do you mean?”
“A warlock who works differently than medicine and mercenaries.”
“·····. There are those who make religion.”
“Religion?”
“okay.”
Oliver asked as he approached the altar.
“I’m sorry, but can you explain in more detail?”
“Creating a religion for the devil, worshiping that demon and offering tribute . . . Unlike the previous example, it is very difficult, but also very dangerous.”
“It doesn’t look particularly good, so why are you doing that?”
Oliver asked, checking the corpse lying on the altar.
The body was horribly dismembered.
“The fruit is as sweet as it is dangerous. Demons are evil beings, but they also bring great blessings.”
The corpse of Oliver lying on the altar… “No,” he asked, looking up at Andrew.
“Is that why you killed him?”