47. Cant (2)
There was a small quarrel with the mole gang, but his daily life did not change much.
I woke up early in the morning to make a living every day and walked around the streets, but even when the days got chilly, Oliver and his fellow beggars went to different areas every day to collect garbage.
“Are you all here?”
“””Yes.”””
The sweaty and stinking beggars answered.
“Then, pour it out!”
A lot of garbage pouring out of the sack.
There were old pots, broken furniture, old clothes, bent tableware, etc., all of which were to be reused here.
But the most important among them is paper waste.
It was, to be precise, a piece of torn or torn paper waste.
The beggars who collected the garbage began to squat down and sort the paper waste, carefully sorting it out so as not to mix it with the garbage collected elsewhere.
After sorting it all out, I brought it to the old man crouching in the corner and the middle-aged beggar with glasses.
“It was collected from the restaurant in front of you.”
“Ahh···.”
“This was collected from the gang hideout behind you.”
“Leave it there….”
“This is from a factory trash can.”
“·····.”
White and yellow paper waste piled up like a mountain in an instant, and the old man and the middle-aged beggar just nodded with a shrill sound each time.
He looked very tired, but nevertheless, the work of putting the paper together did not stop.
Oliver had asked him why he was doing such a thing in the past, and he replied that it was making garbage to make money.
To find out what they’re doing and where they’ve got a better deal with the documents from a competitor’s shop or factory.
The price usually ranges from several hundred thousand randa to several million randa, and although it was close to a side job, he said it was a fairly important source of income.
Oliver asked with belated curiosity.
“Why are they the only ones doing that? Shouldn’t we help too?”
“yes? How do you help? Can’t you read?”
“·····. Ahh. Yes.”
Oliver said so.
Thinking about it, it was normal. It’s been a while since I’ve learned to write.
It was rather remarkable that Marie and the people around her knew how to write.
Then a new question arose.
“By the way, how do they know how to write?”
“There are a lot of unnecessary questions. I’m not lazy though, so I’ll answer you… My head priest taught me.”
“Priest?”
“Oh, yes. Thanks to you, we’re the only ones doing this. These days, there is a competitor, so the price has come down a bit, but that’s why we’re not starving anyway.”
“·····. If I had learned from the priest, who was the head, I’d say I’ve been here for quite some time, right?”
“Well, yes. I’ve been here longer than Mr. Cant, so they’re all nimble on the floor.”
“Well····.”
At that moment, a scream was heard.
“What are you all talking about! Don’t you collect useless garbage quickly?!”
At those words, the beggars who had been lazily started moving again.
Usable garbage was left in the corner of the living quarters, and the rest of the garbage was put in road bags and taken outside.
After that, I threw it back in the trash can I brought with me.
It was a simple job, but it was hard and a lot of stomachache. After work, a certain amount of rest was guaranteed, and Oliver usually took a breath and recovered his stamina.
However, today was not that ordinary.
“there····.”
“yes?”
Oliver approached the group of beggars putting the papers together and spoke to them.
They looked at Oliver with a mixture of tired and irritated eyes.
“·····. what? I am busy.”
“Can I help you?”
At those words, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Oliver in unison.
Everyone had an absurd expression on their faces, but Oliver noticed first and opened his mouth.
“I know how to read. learn.”
Everyone was silent.
Their emotions shone with wonder, displeasure, doubt, and vigilance, said the beggar with glasses.
“Do you know how to read?”
“Yes, I learned a long time ago.”
“But why didn’t you tell me until now?”
“Did no one ask?”
“·····. That’s a pretty plausible reason. Then, why did you suddenly talk?”
“There is something I want to ask you, but what is the point of just asking? I learned that in order to ask for something, you have to give something.”
“I learned well. But you don’t think it will help? It’s not possible to do this just by reading the text… look.”
The glasses beggar held up a small torn piece of paper.
It was about the size of a finger, and there were two small letters embedded in it.
“Reading is basic, you have to analyze the shape of torn paper and put it together like a puzzle, and you also have to infer sentences and words by looking at the blank letters. Reading alone is not going to help.”
“Form, context, form, context . . . understand.”
“·········?”
The glasses beggar is ridiculous…. No, he looked at Oliver with slightly annoyed eyes.
“great···. I just don’t go away. Then match the paper over there. But, if you don’t do it right, you’ll get beaten up. I was already busy, but I was being crazy for nothing.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Oliver replied coolly and went to the pile of papers on one side.
It looked like hundreds or thousands of pieces, and it was torn apart very carefully.
Everyone looked at Oliver, who had taken a sudden action. It was definitely a remarkable move.
Either way, Oliver was focused on what was right in front of him.
“Form, context, form, context . . .”
Oliver mumbled that and suddenly began to lay the torn papers one by one on the floor.
Then, as I had heard before, I focused all my attention on the form and the context.
“········.”
After a long silence, Oliver finally began to move.
I picked a few pieces of paper and pulled them out to the side and started putting them together remarkably quickly.
More than half of them were guessed right away, but Oliver looked at the context of the paper, pulled out a stack of papers, and put them back together.
“Five·····.”
“What is this…”
“·····.”
“Nonsense····.”
One by one, those who were looking around spit out admiration.
Even so, a newcomer is doing a job that takes days and days just to make one.
Oliver finished a piece of paper in no time. Looking at Oliver like that, the glasses beggar said.
“·······. Fast.”
“Did you teach me the tricks?”
Talking like it’s normal.
It was so heterogeneous that everyone didn’t know how to react.
As the awkward silence fell, the beggar with glasses opened his mouth.
“What···. Good. Because I had a lot of work. Can you help me more?”
“Of course…. Instead, can I ask you something?”
“what?”
The glasses beggar’s eyes shone sharply. As if trying to pierce the inside.
“I almost got beaten up by some beggars a while ago.”
“I heard. Cant help…?”
“Yes. By the way, who the hell is the mole?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Is it just because you keep hearing your name in this neighborhood and almost getting beaten? Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Everyone looked at Oliver quietly. Their eyes were full of vigilance.
Why? Was it a very natural question?
Perhaps it was because Oliver felt more curiosity than fear at work.
Curiosity, like an ant, rather than a fear of a predator.
Oliver was unaware of this, but silence, which Oliver could not understand, continued to descend.
After a while, the glasses beggar slowly opened his mouth.
“·······. He’s the guy who settled in this neighborhood last year. mole.”
“ah····.”
“Rumor has it that he is a troubleshooter, a former soldier, and a gangster.”
“So is everyone saying it’s dangerous?”
“No, not until a year ago. He was a bit violent, but not that bad. But it has changed suddenly in the last few months.”
“How do you say that specifically?”
“I wondered where the money came from, he suddenly recruited beggars who were using their fists, and then he put the beggars nearby one by one into his gang… They even crossed over to other beggars’ areas.”
“A damn bastard…”
Someone mumbled low.
“In places that have been suppressed by such force, money is stolen every month in the name of tax. Also, using that money to hire a fist… It’s pure rumors, but these days there are also dangerous rumors.”
“Dangerous rumors?”
“Yeah, rumors like kidnapping and selling the same beggars. Somewhere like a slave or a mormot.”
“Oh, I heard too. There was even talk of making a deal with a warlock?”
someone interrupted and said However, the glasses beggar dismissed it as a rumor.
“No, that’s not it. I went too far… Why would a warlock come here?”
“is it?”
“right···.”
“········.”
The warlock could make contact with the beggar if necessary, but Oliver remained silent and observed it.
said the glasses beggar.
“And you can’t be a warlock. It can’t be.”
“Why?”
“Why? They are very dangerous creatures.”
“is that so?”
“No way. It is said that warlocks use humans as their material and, if necessary, mate with demons, so why not? They are very dangerous.”
Oliver immediately thought of Joanna. She also said something similar.
Are her words true?
perhaps? Thinking of Joseph, Andrew, and Dominique didn’t seem so wrong.
“Then why are you interested in such a thing?”
“ah··. I’m curious.”
There was an awkward silence again. Then, someone opened their mouth.
“By the way, what will happen next?”
Oliver and the glasses beggar turned their heads.
“what?”
“You know? These days, moles are expanding their power a lot. Not only the small beggars, but also the big beggars… To be honest, it is said that these days, it is difficult for a mole to be called just a beggar.”
With those words, a feeling of insecurity rose everywhere. It’s like remembering something you forgot.
“It is.”
“Bottie said the old dog eventually went there too?”
“okay? Who is that inspiration?”
“Did you say you were blocking the road and asking you to pay a toll? If you don’t like it, they tell you to come in as beggars.”
“uh. uh. I heard it too.”
“Wouldn’t it be a bad idea to go that way?”
“What do you mean?”
“No, isn’t it? Right now, I’m eating more than all of the W area, do I need to fight for nothing? Cant-san has a name for it, so if you let me in, I think he’ll treat you well, right?”
“That’s right…. Maybe our sales will get better.”
Along with the murmur, countless opinions and countless emotions shone everywhere.
Some people wanted to be comfortable riding the bandwagon rather than others, while others said it was uncomfortable, and there was also a sense of obedience to just follow Cant’s decisions.
In the midst of such a commotion, said an old man who was quietly doing his job.
“Alas. Arthur…. Cant he hold hands with the mole to make it a little easier? If I could have been more comfortable in the first place, I would have left here right away.”
Then everyone shut their mouths. That silence was consent, a kind of belief in Cant’s character.
“·····. Do you have anything to do with your predecessor, Priest?”
Everyone looked at Oliver at the sudden question.
“Why are you asking that?”
“Are you curious?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
A voice intervened from behind.
I turned around and saw Cant standing with a quarterstaff in one hand.
Oliver looked at him and said.
“Ah, hello?”