61. new job (2)
Even though it was early in the morning, there were customers in Forest’s restaurant.
There weren’t many, but only two or three, but when I looked closely, they didn’t seem like ordinary guests.
“Everyone is a solver.”
Al, who was guiding me, quickly explained it to me.
“okay.”
“Yes, some industrious fixers come early every morning to see if anything good is happening. Some people just eat. So our restaurant opens early in the morning.”
“okay. Thank you for your kind explanation.”
Oliver said sincerely. Because it is rare to find someone who explains so kindly… He seemed to be a good person.
“Thousands of words. It’s my job.”
“Hey, Al. Who is that person?”
Just before Oliver and Al entered the staff hallway, a woman spoke to them.
She was sitting alone at a table lined with a white tablecloth.
There was hot tea and pancakes on the table, but I ate half of it and had leftovers.
Basically, women wore the same neat outfits as ladies, but thanks to the leather corset that emphasized the waist and chest, there was also a slightly provocative atmosphere.
Of course, Oliver didn’t feel it at all.
“hello. Miss Coco. This is Dave, the new solver who came yesterday.”
“A new solver?”
“Yes.”
“Hey….”
She showed interest with a bright smile.
He had a very bright smile, but on the contrary, his insides showed anomalous movements as if he was thinking a lot.
“Forrest, the picky old man is the new solver… Interesting.”
“You have demonstrated sufficient credibility and competence.”
“ah·····. It’s Shinyong, so you’re the one who was introduced by someone you can trust? And if you have proven your skills, well… Could it be that he was the one who caught the chimera that was making a fuss in Area V?”
Oliver raised his eyebrows slightly.
I caught Chimera yesterday. I wondered if the information was originally this fast.
“hahaha. Don’t be too surprised. Basically, this is my job. My name is Coco. What is your name?”
“My name is Dave.”
“nice to meet you. Dave. See you later.”
She got up with a gentle, feminine gesture, and left her food on the table.
“····Who are you? Are you a solver?”
“no. You are an information dealer dealing with the boss.”
“Information?”
“Yeah, he’s literally a data handler. Other than that, you do a lot of business… I will guide you back to the boss.”
***
smart-
When Al knocked on the door, Forrest was filling out the paperwork.
Seeing Oliver open the door and come in, he signed a closing autograph and organized the paperwork.
“Hey, you are an unexpected guest since early in the morning.”
“I am sorry if I have caused you any inconvenience.”
“No, it’s not like that. It’s just a surprise.”
“Is that so?”
“Usually, if you make tens of millions of randa in one day, it won’t come for at least a few weeks. Take a break.”
“I had a good rest last night.”
As if Forrest knew, he raised his hands and nodded.
“Okay, we talked enough. It’s a natural story, but you came here to get a job, right?”
“Yes.”
“Um, fine. Before arranging for you, is there anything you want or want to avoid?”
‘ asked Forrest, rummaging through the filing cabinet.
Oliver thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
“I don’t particularly want or avoid anything, but I want to avoid harming the general public.”
“Good luck. me too It’s relatively easy and the profit is decent, but it can be the subject of investigation for nothing. There is no dignity there. Not bad. I’m glad you have the right attitude.”
It was as Cant said.
Brokers were also given jobs according to their personal inclinations.
It was natural in a way that it would be difficult to work with the wrong broker for a long time.
“Well····. I have nothing to entrust to you yet.”
“is that so?”
“Yeah, well, there are small things like hunting bounties and eradicating polluting creatures, but the return on effort is low. Wouldn’t you like to do something like this that has no productivity other than a penny? Especially since that’s not the goal for you.”
It was true, so Oliver responded with silence.
It was important to make money, but what was equally important was to increase connections and reach the black market.
By the way, have you ever talked about this?
“Don’t look like that. As you can see, I’m pretty old, and I have thick bones on this floor. I know that it’s not just money that makes warlocks above a certain level work as a solver. If you really need money, you make drugs or go to crime perm.”
“…you are amazing.”
“Thanks for the compliment. I apologize if I offended you by pretending to know.”
“No, I am not offended. If it’s okay with you, can you keep talking?”
“What story?”
“Conjecture based on experience.”
Forrest looked at Oliver without a word.
“········.”
“Oh, did I do something wrong?”
“No, I made no mistake. just···. I’m curious. Are you really that curious?”
“It seems so.”
Forrest looked at Oliver for a moment before opening his mouth.
“…Warlocks who usually work as solvers fall into two main categories. other, voluntary. The former are poor people who lack skills, or they learn to look and do not belong to the family.”
“okay.”
“And the latter shows more diverse tendencies. A fighter who enjoys fighting itself, or an ambitious person who is tired of being with warlocks and wants to gain more power. If you prove you’re a good warlock, a bunch of tycoons will give you a hand. If you are confident in your own skills, it is possible enough.”
“okay.”
“But I don’t think you are both. The atmosphere is different. It’s not something you can hide by hiding it. I’m just asking, if you don’t want to answer, don’t do it. Why are you working as a solver? …again, if you don’t want to say it, don’t do it. I am warning you to keep a certain distance from my business partners.”
Oliver thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
“…I want to use the black market.”
“Black Market?”
“Yes, do you know?”
“No, I know of similar places, but I don’t know much about black markets. Why do you want to use it?”
“It’s nothing special, I want to buy a book of black magic. I want to study black magic, but I don’t want to belong to an organization. I have to do things I don’t want to do, and my time is wasted.”
“Right····.”
Forrest nodded slowly. He seemed to want to ask something more, but he persevered.
Oliver suddenly wondered if he had made a mistake.
Cant advised me to be as careful as possible, but it seems like yesterday’s efforts were overshadowed and we talked a lot this morning.
But there was also nothing I could do. Because Forrest’s words are quite funny.
“I didn’t know you could even tell me such a story two days after we met. I’m glad that you believe me.”
“I can’t focus on interesting things.”
“I think so···. It’s a black market… So what about this job? To be honest, it’s not the right thing to do, but I think it’ll be fine if you approach it with the concept of increasing your network.”
With those words, Forrest held out a folder to Oliver.
It was stiff with a brown paper file folder, and the letters C and FM were written in a stylish font on the outside.
Oliver opened the file folder.
On one side was a black-and-white photograph of a fat, middle-aged man, and on the other side was information related to him.
“Subject name Herbert. A former associate professor of alchemy at Magic Tower. Recall the request?”
“Yes. By the way, the client is a member of the Crime Firm.”
cream perm.
I heard from Cant and knew.
A huge criminal organization that encompasses all of Seland, including Landa.
In fact, they said they were the ones who ruled the world behind Seland.
Of course, due to internal struggles and conflicts with other non-affiliated gangs, it is not a perfect rule, but the number and scale are overwhelming, so it can be called the ruler of the other world.
As Cant says, avoid anything that could cause friction with them, and if you can’t avoid it, have a solid backbone to protect you.
“I don’t quite understand what recovery is, can you explain?”
“Of course, I was going to explain it anyway. The person in the photo is an associate professor at Matap, as stated in the document. To be precise, I am an associate professor at Matap.”
“Are you saying that before is not now?”
“Yeah, I quit. Exactly, it was cut. They said he didn’t like being an associate professor for a long time, so he was caught and kicked out of making illegal magic wine by stealing the items from the tower.”
“okay.”
“But don’t be afraid of life. Perhaps he had an unexpected talent, the product this friend made was pretty good, and the client approached him first and suggested that we do business together. The magician business.”
magician.
A generic term for alcoholic beverages processed by adding potions.
It was a dangerous alcohol that could cause death or aftereffects if made incorrectly.
It was an illegal product that, if made properly, could have a tremendous taste and addictiveness that cannot be felt with existing alcohol.
Production and distribution were illegal for complex reasons such as moral reasons, the dangers of manufacturing and consumption of products, and the sacredness of potions.
Rather, it’s being traded at a higher price because it’s illegal, Cant said.
He said he enjoyed eating it even when he was young.
“The associate professor was a friend with social experience, and I immediately looked at the liver without a bite, but in the end, a client who was in a hurry paid a small advance payment and signed a contract with him.”
Oliver seemed to know roughly how the story was going.
“But the problem is that we paid him and called him shortly thereafter for a problem with the production facility, but he disappeared. ran away. The client struggled to find it, and just a few weeks ago I barely figured it out.”
Oliver checked the file folder. The location is…
“It’s Zone X.”
“Yeah, no matter how much crime perm it is, it’s not their territory from Zone X onwards. It’s a lawless zone of unaffiliated gangs and mercenaries. The associate professor is a smart guy and has guts. Are you thinking of running your own business there?”
Oliver thought for a moment. Suddenly, the Lightning Wizard came to mind.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Something?”
“Are there a lot of people coming out of the tower like this?”
Forrest thought for a moment, then answered.
“Well····. It’s not like that lately. Although the status, status, and economic influence of wizards have improved tremendously, at the same time, competition has intensified. Thanks to that, wizards have been pouring into this floor, and it’s been a mess for a while. That’s why I proposed this job.”
“…?”
“Not yet, but some witty behind-the-scenes ambitious and powerful people are realizing that a change is about to take place in the near future. It’s like two sides of a coin. Quite the opposite, but close. Wizards are also coming into the shadows, so they think they should prepare accordingly. So we are looking for a competent solver.”
“Does this mean that I can stand out?”
“It’s not certain, but it’s possible. Even if it’s at the very least, it’s like having a relationship with a member of the Crime Firm. This friend is in a hurry right now, so if you help me, I’m sure he’ll be grateful.”
Forrest’s words were sincere, and it seemed logically correct.
“But it’s not forced. To be honest, the job itself doesn’t fit the bill.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, the pay is 20 million, but it’s a solo mission without any support, and just entering Area X is full of dangers. That is, it is only at the minimum level.”
“········.”
“There are strict conditions. It would be easy to simply destroy or assassinate, but I told you to bring the associate professor as safely as possible. Well, it’s going to hurt to some extent, you can’t say anything about it, but it shouldn’t be disabled or dead.”
“It’s a little bit like Chimera.”
“There is another point. Chimera was alone, but he wasn’t. They hired nearby gangs with the money they produced and sold magic wine, and according to a separate investigation, it seems that they also hired professional mercenaries. By the way, mercenaries are warlocks.”
“A warlock?”
“Yeah, the number of warlocks has been increasing a lot lately. I don’t know for sure the cause… It is quite risky.”
“Will this job make it easier for me to work in the future?”
“The rumors will spread and your name will go up even more, so maybe it will. I will help too.”
Sincerity. Oliver answered.
“Then let’s do it.”