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Genius Warlock-Episode 167

While talking with Jane, I received a call from Forrest..

The reason I contacted you was, of course, about work..

[It's Dave Nile. Let’s get straight to the point. The conversation with the city went well. There will be no such thing as an emergency... . The settlement has been completed and they have decided to pay the compensation, but they said they would like to meet with you and tell you in person... .. Yes, they say it's to thank them for their service to the city, but it's probably to poke fun at various things. But it's hard to refuse, so can you go to the place I told you about? ....Okay, thank you..]

Since we were talking through a communication device, I couldn't see through Forrest's emotions, but the poetry and conversation seemed to go really well..

Still, it was a bit difficult to understand.

This is a story that I happened to know for the sake of the city's mission, but I can't believe I could be in danger because of it.…..

Well, worrying doesn't mean you can do something, so Oliver put aside his idle thoughts and headed to the place Forrest had mentioned..

The meeting place was not far away. It was a cafe near the hotel..

"thank you for coming here.”

A table covered with a pure white tablecloth. City official Paul Carver greeted him in front of him..

He was having tea and pie.

"hello? City officials.”

"Just call me Carver. Would you like to sit down??”

Carver politely invites you to take a seat. Oliver sat down as he was told..

"We deliberately chose a place where there were a lot of people. I think that would be convenient..”

In fact, according to Carver, there were many people around..

Since it was a district, most of the guests were well-dressed, including old gentlemen and wives. They were filling the table with tea, coffee, cake, scones, etc..

"Thank you for your consideration… . However, there are some people around me who are not ordinary people..”

Carver slightly raised his eyebrows in admiration..

"I heard you have good eyes, but it seems to be true. Are you reading my mind??”

"No, not to that extent. I just noticed people who were nervous and wary of their surroundings. Everyone's keeping an eye on Mr. Carver..”

“….These people are subject to regulations during special official duties, so please do not feel bad. It's a rough city, isn't it? On the other hand, I am an ordinary person without any special means of protection..”

well… ..Oliver had doubts about that statement..

I wasn't saying that Carver was hiding some kind of power..

Of course, there is that possibility, but the amount of magic power and vitality were similar to those of ordinary people..

Still, what Oliver had doubts about was his emotional state..

It may be a strange thing to say, but his feelings were truly solid..

Even people who lived life in the back alleys, such as troubleshooters and gangsters, sometimes had their emotions shaken, but he was surprisingly calm and composed. It's like a castle wall.

It may be a cliché, but he seemed like a strong-hearted person..

“By any chance, can I ask you a question? Forest told me not to do it, but I'm really curious..”

"Tell me.”

"Are there really cases where the problem solver who was entrusted with the job is fired??"

A question suddenly thrown as if a punch was thrown in the face..

There was no malice toward Oliver, but a fist was a fist..

A normal person would blush and say, 'Big, big.' It was a question that made him clear his throat, but Carver didn't seem to be fazed..

"It's not common, but I wouldn't say it's rare. I can count it by hand..”

Sincerity.

Oliver made a sound like 'Ah'. It was not an expression of displeasure or anger, but simply a reflexive exclamation in response to hearing the question..

"I'm just saying this out of curiosity, why are you doing this??”

"hmm… .. There is a saying in the East:.”

"Heaven's secret leak)”

"What do you mean?”

"It means that heaven's secrets are leaking out, and it is usually said that heaven kills those who know the secret to prevent this.."

"Why is that like that again??”

"well. Personally, I think it is to protect the system..”

“System.?”

"Yes, let me give you a quick example. Take a look around this store. It is made up of employees and customers, right? Customers pay, and employees provide services and products..”

Oliver looked around the store. As Carver said, customers paid when they left, and the waiter delivered tea and cake..

"But what happens if for some reason the customers don't pay? The store will be a mess.?”

“yes.”

"The same goes for the world. Even though the scale is larger and the roles are more complex, the basic system is not much different from this store. Landa City does Landa City's work, and the royal family and central council also play their own roles. There are times when it gets creaky, but no matter what, the store survives because we have each other..”

It's not perfect, but I thought I understood roughly what he meant..

Even though the city of Landa seemed to be in conflict with the royal family and the central council, it seemed to have a need at the same time..

"If I spread what I found out during the mission, the system could be in danger.?”

“It's dangerous... .. Let me correct you by saying that it can be a little noisy. If you live in Landa, wouldn’t you know this? The truth is more fragile than you think. It only works if a powerful person speaks out.."

"Then, there's no reason to care about me in the first place, right??”

"High-ranking people don’t want even small risks. Bold, yet timid at the same time.”

At that time, a store employee brought a tray, poured coffee into the cup in front of Oliver, and gave him a banoffee pie..

"Enjoy your meal.”

"This is what I ordered. Let’s try it. It's a famous shop for pies..”

Oliver did as he was told and took a bite of the pie..

“…It's delicious.”

"I'm glad it suits your taste. I like pie... . Anyway, what I want to say is that although our city has had no choice but to do something like that on several occasions, we have no intention of causing harm to Mr. Dave. We also have trust, so we don’t do things without thinking. This is a harsh prescription that is only given when there is absolutely no other way to do it..”

To some extent sincere. Oliver nodded his head..

"Yes, I understand.”

“..…Is that so?”

Carver said with a curious expression..

"Yes, it could have been a bit dangerous, but if we talked about it well, it ended without any problems, right??"

"Well, that's right.”

"That's it then. I'm fine. The story about the leakage and system you mentioned was also interesting... .. Now that you have been taught, may I ask one more question??”

"....What is it?”

"So, will the price of coffee be lowered??"

Oliver pointed to the coffee in front of him..

“..…You're a fun person..”

"is that so?”

“yes… .. The price of coffee will remain the same. I'm not planning on using it right away, but saving it for just in case..”

"okay. Mr. Arthur said he would..”

Carver looked at Oliver for a moment and then opened his mouth..

“..…Thank you for listening to the story. Then, can we move on to the next story??”

With those words, Cover held out a pure white envelope from within his arms..

When I opened it, there was a bankbook and a seal..

It was a bearer account at Goldsmith Bank, the same as Edith's, and just like back then, the amount in the account was stamped in excess of what was expected..

“Mr. Carver. This amount is strange.?”

"It's not strange. The city is very careful about calculating money..”

"Is that so? But I still can't get this much, right? too many.”

That was true. The success reward for this out-of-city mission is 1 billion..

What was more was the bounty paid out during the attack on the abandoned incinerator..

Oliver also has a lot of money to spend these days, so he calculates the money every time he finishes work..

Of course, I also calculated the compensation I would receive. However, the amount in the bank account seemed to be more than twice that amount..

When asked about this, Carver calmly said:.

"I heard from Arthur how active Dave was. From searching, to negotiating, to sacrificing his last body to protect everyone… . He said he wouldn't have been able to succeed without Dave..”

"That's too much praise..”

"No, since Mr. Arthur said so, it's hard to say it's too much praise. He's like Carl when it comes to those things. It is a bonus that takes into account the contribution and results brought to work. I'm not using that as an excuse to ask for anything, so you can just receive it with peace of mind..”

At that point, Oliver stopped pursuing it..

I was planning to move, so the more money I had, the better. He had no reason to refuse to take care of it..

I felt like I could definitely move into a middle-class residence with this..

"Oh, let me correct you. I have a favor to ask of you..”

"ah.… . What is it?”

"I hope you will not reveal anything more about what you heard during the mission to anyone. It may be dismissed as a rumor, but you never know what other variables may arise. Let's call it a secret value..”

"Yes, I understand. Of course it should be. I thought it would be difficult, but I'm glad. I'll keep my mouth shut..”

After the story was over, Oliver tried to get up. He finished the coffee and the pie. As Carver said, it tasted good..

I asked for understanding and was about to leave when Carver stopped me..

"Can I also ask you a question??”

"yes? what....."

"Just a personal curiosity, why does Dave work as a troubleshooter??”

A question with a hidden intention. But there was no malice. There are only calculations.

Oliver answered honestly, thinking there would be no problem..

"I want to know the world.”

***

After working outside, Carver returned to work in his own car..

Landa's civil servants receive fairly decent salaries and benefits, but in return they can't even dream of leaving work early or taking vacations..

So sometimes, working outside like this was fun..

It may be dangerous, but the taste of tea and pie eaten outside during working hours is special..

Upon arrival, Carver went not to his office but to the city minister's office at the top, where the head of the Department of the Interior was located..

The minister's office, located in the center of the top of the building, was positioned like a king on a chessboard..

smart-

Carver knocked on the door..

After a while, I heard a voice telling me to come in, one beat late. The voice was as dull as the reaction..

"hello? Minister.”

Carver opened the door and greeted a middle-aged man who looked helpless..

He was, amazingly, the magistrate of the greatest city in the world..

He's an old man whose biggest goal is to keep his place without any trouble... . I really didn't like it.

“..…I'm here?”

"yes."

"work?"

"Well done.”

There was no reaction from the minister. After a while, he spoke again..

"hmm..… . No matter how much I think about it, I’m not anxious?”

"......."

"You're a wizard, right? I know it's dangerous... .. huh? Is it necessary??”

He pressed Carver without using any direct words. I was wondering if something annoying would happen and sparks would fly to me..

Carver responded, managing his expression..

"I think it would be better to wait and see for now..”

"We've been tracking Dave's movements for the past few days, but we haven't found anything that suggests he's dangerous..”

Actually half of it was a lie.

Although it may not be dangerous, such as the contaminated area and the handling of the corpse doll, there were some suspicious areas..

But apart from that, it was also true that he was a person worth throwing away..

The mission success rate was 100%, and he didn't seem like a person who was a jerk like these low-ranking merchants..

Fortunately, the minister nodded slowly. It was natural to leave everything to the working staff and not even understand it..

"That's right..…."

"Yes, it is. Minister. Although he is a warlock, there are no other visible dangers. In particular, in this case, it is said that they wasted time fighting a war wizard..”

"war wizard?”

"yes… .. I don't know the details, but according to Arthur's report, he grabbed the war wizard's ankle and escaped on his own. That alone is worth the risk. City council members will want that too..”

City council member. When I said those magic words, the minister took a step back..

They were the ones holding on to their lives..

"That's right... .. Then, how about adding it to the project??”

"I already tried my luck, but he refused..”

"okay? How arrogant. The topic of life on the street.”

"Don't be too angry. It's unfortunate, but putting a warlock in a public institution doesn't fit the style of this project, so there's nothing to regret..”

"......."

"The core of the project is not to gather outstanding individuals, but to create a strong organization. It would be cheaper to leave it to the problem solver's union and request it when needed..”

"hmm… .. okay?”

"yes. Minister.”

"Well, then there is nothing more to say. If you can guarantee that...good job. go out.”

Carver bowed politely and walked out of the minister's office..

Although he was an overall incompetent person, he took good care of himself. Meanwhile, Carver is being accused of vouching for Oliver..

Probably, if there was any problem there, it would all be blamed on him..

Well, what can I do? We have no choice but to be careful and pray that something like that doesn't happen..

Oh my god..….

Carver returned to the office and sorted out the scattered papers..

I was so busy at work that it wasn't easy to organize..

"By the way, what are you really doing?…..”

Carver muttered unconsciously..

Out of curiosity, I asked Oliver why he became a problem solver, and he shamelessly answered that it was to learn about the world..

He talked about things that only scholars would talk about, such as why colonies are created and why the poor are created..

An answer that can never come from a place that kills people for money. But it didn't even seem like a lie.

"..…Well, you'll find out if you stay in this city..”

Carver pushed his messy head to one side and finished organizing his papers..

Collecting the papers and putting them in rows, Carver read the first page once again..