Genius Warlock-Episode 111
Step by step.
Oliver followed the beggar into the sewer in silence with Jane..
Basically, it was very dark and damp, and there were some smelly sections and some non-smelly sections..
But the thing that bothered me the most was that it was a very complicated route, and it felt like I had been walking for several hours just walking..
Jane seemed to be concerned about that as well, pulling Oliver's clothes slightly and whispering lowly..
“Is this okay??”
“yes?”
"Is this okay? You went in really deep, right? I passed through a secret passage twice..”
"well? First of all, there is no malice or scheming..”
"still-”
“-No need to worry.”
The top hat beggar who was leading the way said:.
He spoke calmly, abandoning the somewhat frivolous attitude he displayed on the streets of District T..
"I have no intention of causing any harm. miss. No matter how much I am a beggar, I am not so ignorant as to harm those who have been my enemy..”
Jane apologized with a look of embarrassment..
“ah… .. sorry. I'm just anxious.”
"it's okay. Because that's what a beggar is..”
Oliver was interesting..
It wasn't that long, but Oliver had been staying with Cant's beggar gang and seeing the beggars, most of whom were timid as they were street bullies..
However, the beggar in front of me had almost no such corner..
There are only two beggars of this kind.
Either he was confident in his own power like Cant, or he was a beggar protected by someone like Cant..
“..…Hey teacher.”
"teacher? haha… ..just call it a top hat. “Teacher” is an undeserved title..”
"All right. Okay then, Mr. Top Hat. Who is it that wants to see me? You said earlier that he was waiting for you.?”
The beggar named Top Hat closed his mouth as if thinking..
“..…I think it would be better for you to meet me in person rather than for me to tell you. Please wait as it will arrive soon..”
it was true.
As I fell through a gap in the side road of the last passage, a den of beggars appeared..
Thanks to a small crack in the ceiling, sunlight came in and illuminated the inside, and there were many beggars underneath..
It was no exaggeration to say that it was an underground village, but everyone was living in tents or huts..
“This... is amazing..”
Jane said.
Oliver agreed..
Not only was it large in size, but it also had a variety of members including women, children, and the elderly, and the atmosphere seemed nice..
At least it wasn't an atmosphere where powerful people exploited others..
Surprisingly, it was rare to see it among the beggars, and Oliver had stayed in a similar place in the past..
"I'm here. A guest came today too.”
The top hat spoke in front of the largest tent erected at the very back of the beggar's den..
I heard a rustling sound inside the tent, and someone came out..
He was wearing a beanie and a shabby long coat, had a limp on one leg, and was carrying a relatively new quarter staff..
“cant?”
Oliver said without realizing it.
Jane asked in surprise..
"Do you know someone??”
An awkward situation. When Oliver hesitated, Cant skillfully intervened..
"That's right. miss. I received great grace from a warlock in the past. It is said to be the head cant of 'Poor Brothers'. It's an honor to meet you..”
“ah…..”
Jane was taken aback by Cant's skillful greeting, but soon regained her composure and slightly bowed her head and knees..
"Thank you for your hospitality. Mr. Cant. My name is Jane..”
"Nice to meet you. Jane. It is an honor to host such a precious person in such a shabby place. I don't have much to offer, but I hope you can make yourself comfortable. And if you don't mind, would you allow me to speak with the warlock for a moment??”
"ah.… . Of course it's fine with me, but I'll ask Dave about it.-”
" -here… . Is this the place you made it??”
Oliver asked, looking around the huge den of beggars..
Beggars were gathered in groups, boiling stew in large pots, and children were running around playing or gathering with the adults around them to learn how to read..
“..…Is this Cant’s new gang of beggars??”
"Our gang of beggars. Me and the people who live here.”
Jane frowned at the unknown conversation and looked back and forth between Oliver and Cant, and at that moment she saw something surprising..
"under… ... haha."
It was Oliver who, for just a moment, made something resembling a laugh..
"oh?”
"her.…!”
Jane, you can't be surprised. And so did others.
It was a truly strange and difficult phenomenon to explain, but everyone's attention was focused on something similar to Oliver's laughter..
Like people who have witnessed a miracle.
Although the person concerned was unaware of this,.
"Nice to meet you again. Cant.”
"Same goes for me. Warlock.”
***
Oliver asked Jane's understanding and entered Cant's tent..
I was curious about what was inside because it was bigger than other tents, but when I went in, there was nothing much..
Just a sleeping bag to sleep on, a crooked desk, and a few sets of clothes hanging up..
The only thing that looked expensive was an old magic stone lamp..
“It's empty?”
Cant asked as he prepared his seat..
"well? It looks neat..”
"That's your answer..”
“It seems a bit wide.”
"Understand. They say that you have to pitch a big tent to be dignified. As you can see, there are a lot of people.?”
"okay. But what happened??”
Oliver asked as he sat down. The seat was a bare floor covered with newspaper..
"what's going on?”
“All of this?”
Cant laughed quietly..
"Thanks to you.”
"Me?”
"Yeah, you gave me a lot of money.?"
Oliver remembered. The safe found after killing the puppet master Glyph.
I used my glutton's pocket to get it and then handed it over to Cant, and it seemed like it was worth a few hundred million rand. Now that I think about it, it was quite a large amount..
However, there were no regrets. I saw something interesting.
"The money you gave me... . After thinking about what to do, I decided to combine the beggar gang in Area W based on that..”
"hmm..… . Why did you combine them??”
“After what happened with the mole, I felt like we needed to be strong to be truly safe. There is no law preventing another mole from appearing... .. Don’t misunderstand. Like a mole, I didn't force myself to grow bigger by using violence..”
"I don't. And even if you did, you don't have to tell me that. I just gave you the money because I wanted to see what Cant do..”
Oliver said sincerely. No matter what Cant did with that money, Oliver had no intention of getting angry. Whatever you do, it'll be fun.
“……Right. You were that kind of friend. How have you been??”
Oliver answered after much thought..
“Me? hmm… ...I think you're doing well..”
"Forrest, he's doing well.?”
"Yes, I think so. Ah... but how did you recognize me? As you can see, I'm writing this.”
Oliver asked, pulling on his leather mask..
"it is not diffcult. Since not everyone accepts forest, there are only a small number of solvers who open new deals. It's not that hard to guess if you compare the time to when you left. I didn't know you used the name Dave though..”
“ah.… . I'm sorry if using your son's name offended you. Suddenly that name came to mind..”
"It's not unpleasant. really.”
Cant said that and laughed. She seemed happy about something, but it was hard for Oliver to know why..
“....By the way, the gang of beggars is really big..”
"I got lucky. After going through the mole incident, other beggars also wanted a new group to protect them. A huge group that exceeds the size of a gang of beggars..”
"Is it these poor brothers??”
"okay. With the money you gave me, it was easy to convince the other beggars..”
"Even if you have a lot of money, it won't be easy because the amount is limited.?”
"So we increased the size of the business..”
"Business?”
“Yes, they deliver things and letters for gangsters and businessmen, or they go through all the trash cans in back alleys to collect more information than before and resell it at a high price. In addition to that, I also do things like hydrogen gates..”
"What is hydrogen gate??”
"You hear rumors in places like restaurants, bars, and social gatherings. There are a lot of interesting stories happening there. So sloppy.”
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. How can poor brothers do that??”
"We find friends who have good limbs and appearance and are willing to work, wash them, buy them clothes, find them a room, and then get them jobs at the restaurant or bar we are targeting. Instead, they bring us stories they heard while working there..”
“ah......"
"Thanks to this, the information we handle has become more diverse and its value has increased. Now, I have a business that I do business with on a regular basis and I am earning quite a bit of income. As proof, the money you gave me has increased rather than decreased..”
Cant said proudly.
"But don't worry. Profits are kept in a common treasury and taken out in front of everyone only when needed. Thanks to you, we all trust each other.”
"Incredible. Still, is it okay to settle down here in the sewers? I think you said it was dangerous in the past.?"
"Don't worry. It's safe here. I've already researched it several times. Plus, the number of our heads is not around 20, but hundreds, so they won't be able to mess with you easily. Still, I have firearms just in case, and I maintain connections with the people around me, so I don't think anything major will suddenly happen... . Rather, tell me your story. From what I heard, it sounds like you were being chased. What happened? In particular, that young lady seemed like the daughter of a noble family..”
Oliver thought for a moment. To talk or not to talk.
In principle, it would be right not to say anything, but the situation itself had gone too far from the original plan..
Also, I didn't know that I might have to get help from Cant if things went wrong..
In the end, after much thought, Oliver roughly explained the situation..
"swimming… … . I got caught up in something dirty and variable..”
"Forest said the same thing. But I really didn't know it would be like this..”
"It's a big deal.”
“I think the same way.”
“No, that's not the story. I'm not sure, but they might accuse you of being a traitor..”
"Me? Why??”
"Because he's a warlock?”
"They said he was framed because he was a warlock.?”
“okay. I hate to say this, but putting all the blame on the warlock is kind of a game. That's why even if a warlock walks in the city, they don't attack him first. I plan on using it as a punching bag later..”
"That doesn't sound like a very good story to me..”
"yes. But they probably don't want to make a big deal out of it, so they won't tell the police. This means there are variables that cannot be controlled..”
“then?”
"He'll probably kill the girls, including you, and then pretend it was you who killed them. Forrest and the person who introduced you are both going to be poisoned..”
“Oh, well, we'll have to get her to a safe place as quickly as possible..”
“A safe place? Is there?”
"Yes, he said he could get help from a place called Sisterhood. Somehow I don't feel like it..”
Then Cant looked thoughtful and then opened his mouth..
"I think I know, but why are you reluctant?.”
“Yes, really.?”
"Not exactly. This is what I heard from people who came here... . How much do you know about Sisterhood??”
"All I know is that it is a group of women. to help each other.”
"That's not entirely wrong. It is true that we help each other. But that doesn't mean it's everything.”
"is that so?”
"Yes, this city is complicated and the people who live here are complicated. Even if they are the same woman, they pick on each other's weaknesses and take advantage of them. That's why I'm investing in illegitimate children..”
“It's an investment?"
"Literally. The more influential people, such as politicians and capitalists, have more illegitimate children. Some of them do not have proper heirs, and there are others who can be used by blackmail later. They say they take in the illegitimate children of such people and raise them. I want to use it later.”
oh.… Oliver was a little surprised. It was a story outside of common sense..
"But even if you are an illegitimate child, doesn’t your mother raise you??”
“Surprisingly, illegitimate children are cheap. If it's millions, that's fine..”
"ah......."
"Sisterhood provides considerable education to the children it brings in. You have to be smart to use it later. Even if you can't use it, you can use it as a worker who can work for the organization..”
Oliver immediately thought of Miss Coco, the clerks at Angel's House, and Elizabeth..
It seemed like it wasn't just a coincidence that they had a similar vibe..
“...If it can be used for its original purpose.?”
"He said I should help him receive his inheritance and use some of it for Sisterhood as an investment. With the concept of paying off debt. However, if you ask for help now and accumulate more debt, you will be held back even more in the future. That girl doesn't like that..”
Only then did Oliver understand the uncomfortable feelings Jane showed..
Since it was the worst situation, you had no choice but to get help, but I also understood that you were reluctant..
Oliver wondered what to do..
Should I just do the bare minimum, or should I try working harder?.
"........"
"Are you okay??”
"yes? Ah, yes... Hey Cant. It's better to work hard?”
"maybe? You have to work more than your money's worth, because next time you'll have to pay more. Why am I anxious?.”
Oliver didn't answer and went back to thinking..
"what..… . The young lady also taught me many things..”
"I'm sorry, what do you mean? It's because I really don't understand.”
"It's no big deal. Could you please do me a favor instead? You can pay the price too."
"Something?”
Cant asked, looking anxious, and Oliver answered..
After a while, Cant opened his mouth..
"You're crazy.”
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