92. Promise (1)
Street 27 in District T.
Until just yesterday, a puppet appeared in the polluted area and killed many solvers, but the streets here were as peaceful as ever.
Well, I wasn’t particularly upset or angry.
In the first place, the job itself as a solver was like that.
However, it was curious.
Even though the City Guard and the Paladin had a lot of uproar, most people didn’t even know that the puppet existed, let alone the incident.
It was like living in another world.
Even in the same time zone, in the same space.
little girl.
Oliver opened the door to Restaurant Forest and went inside.
Even though not much time had passed, it felt like a visit after a long time.
“welcome. Dave Mr. Thank you for coming here.”
As usual, Al came and greeted me.
He was usually kind and courteous, but today it seemed to be especially so. Would you say that you see Oliver even more wonderfully?
“Yes, hello. Mr. Al. Wasn’t it great?”
“I am always calm. Did you come to see the boss?”
“Yeah, I’m here to report that I’ve finished work in the contaminated area.”
Actually, you can do it with communication equipment, but I have to ask you something, so I came directly to you.
This kind of story wanted to come face to face.
“okay. Excuse me, could you please wait? The owner has been working for a while. It will take a while.”
Al asked so carefully that he was not polite.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Not knowing why, Oliver just nodded without asking.“Yes, I understand. You are busy.”
“Yes, thank you for your understanding. Then I will guide you to a place to wait.”
Oliver nodded and followed Al.
Al led him to a table in the restaurant, and when he looked around, two-thirds of the floor was already filled with people.
Among them, there was a white-collar class wearing glasses and a suit, and there were others who appeared to be solvers.
Something didn’t suit them, but Oliver sat in the middle.
“Are you okay with coffee?”
“Yes.”
Before answering, Al brought a cup of coffee.
Oliver tried to give me a coffee price and tip in advance, but Al politely declined.
“it’s okay.”
“Yes? However····.”
“It’s presumptuous to say, but I’ve heard of what happened in the contaminated area. I beg you, please, just drink it.”
Al’s words were sincere.
Oliver nodded and drank his coffee, and about halfway through, Al came back and said:
“The boss says you can come in now.”
***
Oliver descended deep underground where Forrest’s real office was.
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Now he’s used to it, but when he arrives at the office, he is busy talking with someone through a large communication device the size of a human head.However, for a while.
When Oliver showed up, he quickly ended the call and greeted Oliver.
“I came. Come on.”
“Yeah, it looks like it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“Actually, it hasn’t been that long, but it seems like it’s been a while since I’ve been there… Are you okay?”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“I heard a story. Didn’t you say you fought a puppet? Is there any problem in the body? Oh, excuse me, I called a guest and set it up. First, take a seat.”
Oliver sat down, pounding on the floor with a quat-clench-quarterstaff.
Forrest offered him a glass of wine as usual, but Oliver covered one eye with a hand and looked around.
There was definitely a change.
I didn’t pay much attention to my eyes, but I could see the emotions beyond the building as well as on the ground, and in the case of the forest in front of me, the emotions were much more detailed than before.
He was full of admiration and pride for the present Oliver.
It must have been because he had survived the puppet, but at the same time he harbored a slight sense of guilt.
He denied that feeling, but he couldn’t shake it off as easily as it is an emotion.
So Oliver spoke first.
“····There is no problem with my body, so you don’t have to worry. It was because I was tired that I didn’t come right away yesterday.”
Indeed it was After a riot with the puppet, I couldn’t even rest and was interrogated for hours.
I was so tired, I went straight to my dorm and fell asleep.
“I understand. I must have been very tired.”
“Well, I’m glad. When the Paladins appeared, I thought something big was going to happen, but they released me more than I expected.”
“Of course. No matter how great a Paladin is, they are ultimately tied to the Order. You can’t unilaterally ignore Landa’s contract with the church. As long as there is a broker’s union, you can’t be dragged away without evidence.”
“okay. That’s great.”
“But don’t be too vigilant. Conversely, if you have the number of cases, you can lead them as you please.”
Oliver nodded.
A paladin named Elton actually wanted Oliver to make a mistake.
Then, Oliver suddenly had a question.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Something?”
“As far as I know, paladins are people who protect the human world and they say that they have very strong power. So until the number comes out?”
“As I said before, it is because of the city agreement between Landa and the Church. Landa, even if she is of little faith, makes a huge donation to the denomination every year.”
Oliver asked, surprised.
“Is it because of the money?”
“Yeah, it’s for the money. This is the case when the divine and the worldly meet. It’s not that bad. Thanks to that, the denomination receives a generous operating cost, and Landa can enjoy safety and freedom at the same time. It’s like an adult world.”
It was only half-understood, but Oliver just nodded, not wanting to say anything.
Then Forrest opened his mouth.
“Is that all you want to talk about? What about the fact that you’ve done all the work in the contaminated area and about the Paladin?”
“No, there is one more.”
“Say it. I have something to tell you too. You speak first.”
Oliver nodded.
“Can you tell me about the appearance of a puppet in the contaminated area? Even if I ask, no one answers.”
Forrest hesitated as he took a sip of his drink, but soon answered.
“I’ll do it. Because you deserve to ask… The story is complex and uncertain, but our sources suggest that a high-ranking city official working for the Landa Department of the Interior was bought by the puppet.”
“Buy?”
“okay. I don’t know if he thought he was a puppet or not, but it turns out that a government official who was supposedly bought out recently took a gamble and owed a lot of debt. At that time, I presume it was bought. I’m sure it’s under investigation. Is it fun?”
Oliver agreed. It was pretty fun. It even made me laugh in a way.
It was not certain, but Oliver heard that the number of people involved in the cleaning was between two hundred and three hundred, including the solvers and mercenaries.
However, only a few hundred of them survived, and it was really interesting that the starting point of all this was the gambling debt of a government official.
It’s so absurd, would it even make you laugh?
It was so out of the ordinary and irrational that I even wanted to study it.
“I also think it’s silly. But, this is Randa’s daily life.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Landa……. No, because most of the world is run like a chorus of fools. This cleanup will put the Brokers’ Guild in a fight with the city for a while. Of course, it would be a form of negotiation, not a fist fight.”
“What specifically are you talking about?”
“Condolences for the families of the dead solvers and the cost of damages for brokers who have lost a lot of manpower. We’re going to tweak a few other rules we’ve made with each other. The city and the broker’s association are clearly in a relationship, but they still need each other… Every time something like this happens, we grab each other’s pods and take an advantage. The city is also at fault, so as long as it is not excessive, it will accommodate our demands to some extent.”
“Aha, that’s right.”
“Aside from that, there will be a strife within the broker’s union as well. Most of the brokers of B, H, N, and T who participated in this cleaning suffered great damage. We will fight each other for territory.”
“Is it a big deal?”
“For some. You may lose your competitive edge and have to retire.”
“Isn’t Forrest like that too?”
Oliver said sadly. We worked together.
But Forrest’s expression shone. It was as if he had been asked a waiting question.
“No, I am the opposite.”
“Are you against it?”
“I haven’t lost that much while others have lost manpower. There are a lot of people who have collaborated with Arthur.”
Oh, and come to think of it, I remembered that there were some solvers working with Forrest in Arthur’s party.
“First of all, didn’t you come back alive?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, hey. Of all the solvers I manage, you are the best. I’ve avoided a lot of damage just because you survived safely. In addition, rumors of surviving fighting the puppet are also spreading, so it is a good thing.”
“Profit?”
“Yeah, just because you saw the puppet and survived, a lot of big guys started to take an interest in you… Even if this floor is skill-oriented, there must be a noticeable incident, but ironically, your name has become quite popular due to the cleaning of the contaminated area that everyone avoids.”
“ah·····. It sounds like a good story, but I don’t understand? I didn’t win, I lost, and I barely survived?”
“Surprisingly, people are not interested in such detailed storylines. I survived the puppet. Only this fact matters… I mean it in that sense, but a nomination request came in.”
“A nomination request?”
“Yeah, what you’ve done so far is a general quest. A general quest that randomly distributes work and remuneration to intermediaries. However, the nomination request is a little different from that.”
“What’s different?”
“The customer has named you and ordered it. He decides that his job is important and difficult, so he chooses a competent solver himself. The work is difficult, risky, and demanding, but the pay is basically high. On average, ten million to sometimes even billions.”
“I think I’ve only done ten million units of work so far?”
“That’s because you’ve done a lot of difficult things… You are so special. Sometimes it’s sharp and I can’t understand what’s inside, but usually I’m just too easygoing.”
“is that so?”
“Yeah, I don’t like that, but be careful. There will be people who want to use you like that. I can too.”
“You are kind.”
Forrest laughed.
“It strengthens your trust in me. All shrewd people are like this, so be careful.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind. Thanks again for your kind advice.”
“····· Anyway, nomination requests are highly rewarding. In some cases, you may be able to negotiate the pay. You can simply increase the amount, or you can ask for something else.”
“What specifically can I ask for?”
“Useful items, information, medicines. Of course, we don’t do everything we ask for, but sometimes we do. For example, you might find out about the black market and get some black magic books.”
“A black magic book?”
“okay. Surprisingly, there are quite a few people who collect black magic books from among the wealthy. You are asking for it.”
Money was money, but the second condition was more interesting.
Would you say it’s more certain than meeting random clients?
“I like it quite a bit.”
“But it also increases the risk.”
“If work is difficult, did I tell you before?”
“No, I’m not just talking about that. Direct request is highly likely to be important to the client, and it is also likely to be political. You can unintentionally get a peek into the wealth or sins of the client, and in the process, the solvers sometimes use it as an excuse. We have intermediaries like us to prepare for this, but to be honest, we can’t protect them all.”
At first glance, it may seem irresponsible, but in reality it is not.
If Oliver learned from this contaminated area incident, it was that the world was more based on lies than he thought.
When a lie is exposed or the case becomes bigger, he hastily organizes it, but he doesn’t seem to have any intention of getting rid of the lie itself.
It’s relatively easier to cause an incident and get things sorted out.
And it was no different as a broker or a solver.
Whatever it is, you do it to make a living.
The reality is that even if an incident that ridicules professional ethics occurs, it can be subdued if it is perceived with power and profit beyond that.
On the contrary, Forrest’s attitude to accurately point out the advantages was remarkable.
At least Oliver thought so.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, Cant-sama warned about this to some extent. It’s my job to be careful and hope that it doesn’t happen.”
“If you request it directly, the person you meet will be more dangerous. They may not be high-risk criminals like Puppets, but there are still a lot of strong people on the floor. To put it simply, it is moving from a river with piranhas to a river with piranhas.”
“okay. it’s okay.”
Hearing Oliver’s answer, Forrest put on a steamy expression on his face.
“It’s the attitude I expected, but I feel a bit drained after hearing the answer. Then, would you like to hear the story of your coming?”
Oliver refused.
“no. I will decline today.”
“okay? Surprised. I have no intention of rushing it, but I thought you would ask me to show it to you right away.”
“Yes, I would have asked you to show me if I didn’t have an appointment, but I have an appointment soon.”
“promise? That’s amazing. May I ask who you are if you don’t mind?”
Oliver stood up and said.
“He gave me good advice.”