56. Solver (1)
When Oliver returned, the Beggars Union was in the midst of a party.
Dozens of beggars fought over small clothes and large watches and valuables.
However, for a while. As soon as Oliver appeared, the commotion subsided like a lie, and everyone bowed their heads with their mouths shut.
“ah····. Black Mage.”
Some beggars took off their hats to pay their respects and opened the way.
Oliver bowed his head slightly to greet him, and then proceeded forward.
When we reached the end of the passage, we could see the heads of beggars, including Cant.
They seemed to have found the mole’s secret safe, and they shared a decent amount of money.
“great. Everyone is okay with this, right?”
“uh.”
“me too.”
“Did the mole trembled at this taste?”
“however·····. huh? Warlock!”
A sloppy-looking beggar, a small, cunning-looking beggar, and a good-looking man. Everyone got up and said hello to Oliver.
They were in awe of Oliver.
Well, both head count and equipment were beaten by moles, but it was thanks to Oliver’s existence that he was able to win so overwhelmingly.
If it wasn’t for Oliver, he would have escaped with great damage from the old dog and gun-armed beggars at the entrance to the aisle.
Then, the next day, I was counterattacked by the mole and everything would be over.
Thanks to Oliver, they made it through without much damage, but they were as good as dead once.
Cant stood up and said.
“Did you deal with the warlock who looked after the mole?”
“Yes.”
Oliver nodded and held up the bag of gluttons captured by the Warlock as evidence.
A black magic item made with bast, teeth, and feelings of greed.
Everyone nodded to see if there was enough evidence.
Then Cant looked behind Oliver and asked a question.
“You did a good job. But what about those who followed…?”
Oliver looked back.
“ah····. Those who were held captive by the Warlock.”
“Caught?”
“Yeah, they said they were going to sell it somewhere.”
“Right. by the way-“
“-You are really amazing. Black Mage! Did you defeat the warlock who was watching over the moles…? ah! Get this here.”
someone intervened It was the bib on the 2nd street in the W area.
He gestured cheerfully to the stack of money to one side.
“It’s up to the Warlock.”
It’s for Oliver… For a moment, Oliver did not understand the meaning of the words.
There was only one reason for helping in the first place, so it was natural in a way.
But he did not refuse to give it. Because I needed some money.
“thank you.”
“No, no. Thanks no… But, are you doing anything else?”
Bib immediately brought out his true intentions.
“We have a pimp who is fighting with us over a troop issue, can you show me your face if that’s okay? Just by the appearance of the Warlock…”
Uninterested, Oliver answered in silence. Then, the quick-witted Bib quickly shut her mouth.
Everyone was very nervous at Oliver’s strangely changed attitude.
“there····. Can I talk to Cant-sama if it’s okay with you?”
“Yes? oh···. yes! yes! hey hey Let’s all go away.”
The nervous heads all nodded and happily left their seats.
Thanks to this, only Oliver, Cant and those rescued from Glip remain in the former mole’s lair.
“Cant.”
“Yeah, but why?”
“First of all, I have a question for you guys… Would you like to take it?”
“yes?”
“They were being held captive by the Warlock, and they said they had nowhere to go. Are you thinking of taking over?”
Cant’s expression darkened slightly.
There were close to 20 women and children in total, so that was enough.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Never, in small numbers.Even if there was money captured by knocking down moles, it was a burden.
“ha····. May I ask why you brought me here?”
“I was imprisoned in an iron cage, and I thought that if I left it alone, I would starve to death. He said he was trying to pass it on to being called a black hand… The only person who seems to be able to help is Cant-sama. Or should I just let it go?”
At Oliver’s remark, Cant closed his eyes tightly in agony.
“under····. whatever it will be I’ll take it.”
Upon hearing the answer, the beggars who followed Oliver sighed in relief.
If I was rejected by Cant, I would be driven to the streets and starved to death.
Oliver asked them to go out and wait for a while, then called Cant again.
“Cant.”
“Again, do you have anything else to say?”
“Yes, a little. I have something to ask you… Can you spare a moment for me?”
“of course····. Let me tell you.”
“thank you.”
Oliver took off his hood and said hello.
Cant ask nervously if he knew it was unusual.
“Yeah, what do you have to say?”
“Perhaps···. Can you tell me what you know about the Black Hand organization?”
“Black hands?”
“Yes, I am suddenly interested. I would like to know a little more.”
“…As I said earlier, it’s an organization from the other world where warlocks are the main ones. forming an axis of power.”
“Yes, I remember. It deals with a lot of forbidden knowledge, and I’ve heard that it’s a place every warlock dreams of… Do you have any more detailed stories?”
Oliver’s question that he did not understand. However, unlike usual, there was a sense of pressure.
“I don’t know the details. I only have stories that I picked up. Are you okay though?”
“Yes, of course.”
“…as far as I know, it is an organization that was created by a group of powerful warlocks. You’re half-legendary on this floor.”
“is that so?”
“uh. He is active in a wide range of fields, from pilgarets, elixir of life, mercenaries, illicit operations, sponsoring criminal organizations, and worshiping the devil, but the truth has never been revealed. Yet everyone is afraid.”
“Why?”
“It’s a rumor, but Black Hand has a lot of high-risk criminals.”
“A high-risk criminal?”
“The worst criminals in the world that we define as evil. I call him a criminal because there are no more words for it. You can kill without trial, and you can get huge bounties. You can think of it as the enemy of the world.”
“Five····. Who is there?”
“A puppet of immortality, a kidnapper fluteman, an eternal child fan, a human flesh cook . . . By the way, these are also half-legends in the afterlife. Like a foolish grandfather or a devil grandmother.”
“Well····. okay.”
“I’m sorry, but may I ask why you care about that? It’s a little scary.”
“Oh, I’m sorry…. It’s no different, because the warlock who watched the moles suggested it to me.”
“What suggestion?”
“Let’s join hands with him and join the Black Hand. They said that if you do that, I will give you what I want.”
Cant’s expression was calm, but not deceived. He was confused and scared at the same time.
“What is the answer?”
“I declined.”
“ha···. I’m sorry for asking a rude question.”
“no. it’s okay. In fact, I was about to accept it.”
“·················ogue.”
“I have a lot of questions, and I thought it would be easy to learn if I signed up there. They have a lot of knowledge to deal with, and they can take advantage of the black market.”
“But why did you refuse?”
“Well····. kinda like that? I don’t even like being part of an organization… Can you tell us about the black market?”
Cant answered meekly this time as well.
“Black Market . . . . It’s a semi-legendary place like Black Hand.”
“is that so?”
“At least for me… It’s a place where you can get everything except books, drugs, animals, plants, magic stones, information, people, manpower, etc. that you can’t find.”
“How can I use it?”
“I’m sorry, but it is not available to the general public. If you try hard to find it, you can’t even see the shadows, and in the worst case, you could die.”
“ah····. really? That shouldn’t be the case. Do you know how to use it?”
“…I’m not sure, but I know one.”
“Oh, can you tell me?”
“Before that, tell me why you want to use the black market.”
“Well···. Is there anything you want to know?”
“What do you want to know?”
“About black magic and demons. About beautiful emotions.”
“A beautiful feeling?”
It shook again with the light of Cant’s confusion.
Fear was creeping up with him, but he was still trying hard to find his composure. To see Oliver as objectively as possible.
“ha······. I’m a warlock, so I’m not interested in black magic, but why the devil? Do you know what a demon is?”
“I do not know? A being who trades with a warlock?”
“right···. But in return they ask for more. To threaten the human world, they demand sacrifices, instigate crimes, and, even worse, order them to summon themselves.”
“Oh, I see. But why does the devil threaten the human world?”
“…? that’s the devil A being who is against God and hates humans.”
“…is that the end? Are you a devil?”
“Should there be more?”
“I’m····. I don’t understand? Because he is a demon, he threatens the human world. How could that be the reason?”
“It’s like rain falling from the sky and fire burning everything. What else do you need?”
“I want to know that, so I want to use the black market.”
“…why do you want to know that?”
“Are you curious? So I want to know.”
Cant looked at Oliver with a blank expression.
He had a similar expression to the others.
He doesn’t understand Oliver and sees him as something foreign.
However, curiosity was greater than disgust or fear.
“Can I ask one more question?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’ve recently retired, but I’ve never seen so many warlocks as good as you.”
“is that so?”
“Yeah, I’m not just saying it, it’s the truth…. But why did you follow me? No, why did you leave the guys who quarreled with you before that? With your power, you could have finished it in an instant…”
“…because I don’t really like killing people.”
“·····.”
“But if it is necessary, I will. It’s not good to just kill them…”
“Then why did you follow me?”
“I’m curious. For helping me for no reason… I followed him to find out why. It’s not perfect, but it’s resolved to some extent.”
“…you’re really weird.”
“is that so? After all, he said I was broken.”
“He?”
“I met Joanna a long time ago. He offered to help me, but somehow it didn’t work and he refused. But he said I was broken. I told them to meet and hang out with people, so I came here.”
Then, to his surprise, a sense of guilt rose from Cant’s feelings. Oliver didn’t know why.
“I apologize. I got help. I made a mistake.”
“Yes? what····?”
“You are not strange. It’s also broken… It’s just different.”
“…I don’t really care.”
“I care…. I’m sorry, I’m talking nonsense.”
“·····it’s okay.”
“Hmmm…. I didn’t answer the question before. You will be the solution.”
“Yes?”
“How to use the black market. to be the solution. A great solver.”
“What if it was a great solver?”
“It’s not just a back alley gang, it’s the kind of solution that capitalists, factory owners, politicians, and the heads of crime firms seek. The more such people, the better the solution. Then, you can use the black market by using your network and reputation through this. But it’s not certain. I never got to that level.”
“Well····. That’s enough. But what can a solver do?”
“Let me introduce you to the broker. It’s a place I’ve worked for before, and it wouldn’t be a bad place to start. He’s a good person.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“But there are conditions.”
“Conditions?”
“Yeah, get some training from me for a few weeks.”
“Education?”
“If you are going to that world, you should know at least common sense and attitude. Otherwise, you are likely to die of being used or betrayed. I know your skills, but… It’s also a floor where you can’t feel safe just with your skills. I’ll teach you everything I can… even the quarter staff. The more talents, the better. How are you?”
Oliver thought for a moment. It didn’t sound like a bad story. Considering that I struggled with Glip’s corpse dolls for a while, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn Quarter Staff.
“·······Yes, it is good. thank you.”
“No, I have to thank you. You took care of the mole and the warlock.”
“Well, that’s not…. So, can you teach me right away?”
“Can you wait a minute? I want to help you right away, but I have a lot of work to do. You should also consider the treatment of the people you brought.”
“Oh right. Cant.”
Oliver called Cant and handed him a bag of gluttons.
“yes? What is this?”
“Money from the Warlock Vault.”
“money?”
“Yes. It’s been a while, but Cant, have it.”
Cant said with a surprised expression.
“Hey, what is that…?”
“Because I have money. I don’t think I will need this money.”
Oliver pointed to the bundle of money he had received from the beggar.
Amount that can last several months. However, compared to the money stolen from the puppeteer, it was a penny.
“Suddenly, what is this…”
“You don’t need it?”
“It’s not, but this money is yours, isn’t it? Money earned alone.”
“I don’t need it right now… Cant write.”
Cant looked at Oliver as if he couldn’t understand.
“Why are you doing this? I knew I wasn’t interested in money, but… But this is your money.”
“I want to see you.”
“What?”
“I want to see what Cant do with that money. So just accept it.”