Genius Warlock - Episode 47
47. cant (2)
There was a small fight with the mole gang, but my daily life didn't change much..
To make a living each day, he woke up early in the morning and wandered the streets. Even when the weather got cold, Oliver and his fellow beggars went to different areas every day to collect trash..
“Has everyone arrived??”
“““yes.”””
The sweaty, stinking beggars answered..
“Well, pour it out!”
A lot of trash pouring out of the sack.
There were old pots, broken furniture, old clothes, and bent dishes, all of which were meant to be reused here..
But the most important thing among them is paper waste..
To be exact, it was cut or torn paper waste..
The beggars who collected the trash crouched down and began to sort the paper waste, being careful not to mix it with trash collected elsewhere..
After sorting everything, I brought it to the old man squatting in the corner and the middle-aged beggar wearing glasses..
“I picked it up from the restaurant in front of me..”
“iced coffee···.”
“This was collected from the gang hideout behind here..”
“leave it there···.”
“This was collected from the factory trash can..”
“····.”
White and yellow paper waste piled up like a mountain in an instant, and the old and middle-aged beggars could only nod their heads with a sigh every time..
He looked very tired, but he didn't stop putting the pieces of paper together one by one..
Oliver was once asked why he did something like that, and he answered that it was to make money..
This is to find out what competitors are doing and whether they have better business partners through documents from competing stores or factories..
He said the price usually ranges from hundreds of thousands of rand to millions of rand sometimes, and although it was more of a side job, it was a fairly important source of income..
Oliver asked, belatedly becoming curious..
“Why are they the only ones doing that job? Shouldn’t we help too??”
“huh? How can I help you? can't you read?”
“····. iced coffee. Yes.”
Oliver said so.
When I thought about it, it was obvious. She herself had only recently learned to read..
It was actually amazing that everyone around her, including Marie, knew how to read and write..
Then a new curiosity arose..
“But, how do they know how to read??”
“There are so many useless questions. But since I'm not lazy, I'll answer... I heard the priest who was my head taught me this..”
“Priest.?”
“Uh, okay. Thanks to this, we are the only ones doing this. Nowadays, there are competitors and the price has decreased a bit, but that's the reason why we don't starve..”
“····. If you learned it from a former head priest, it means he's been here for quite some time.?”
“Well, that's right. They've been here longer than Mr. Cant, so they're all familiar with this place..”
“hmm····.”
At that time, I heard an angry sound..
“Why is everyone making such a fuss! Don't collect useless waste quickly.?!”
At those words, the beggars who had been lazy began to move briskly again..
The usable trash was left in the corner of the house, and the rest of the unusable trash was put in bags and taken outside..
Afterwards, I threw it back in the trash can I brought with me, so it was like one job was done..
Although it is simple labor, it is hard and very unpleasant, so a certain amount of rest is guaranteed after the work is finished, and usually Oliver takes a breather and recovers his strength at this time..
However, today was not that ordinary day..
“excuse me····.”
“huh?”
Oliver approached the group of paper beggars and spoke to them..
They looked at Oliver with tired and annoyed eyes..
“····. what? I'm busy.”
“can you help me?”
At those words, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Oliver..
Everyone made dumbfounded expressions, but Oliver noticed first and opened his mouth..
“I know how to read. By learning.”
everyone was silent.
Their emotions were filled with puzzlement, displeasure, suspicion, and wariness. Among them, the beggar wearing glasses said,.
“I know how to read?”
“Yes, I learned it a long time ago.”
“But why didn't you tell me until now??”
“Because no one asked?”
“····. That's a really good reason. Then, why did you suddenly say this??”
“There's something I want to ask, but it's useless to just ask... I learned that if you want to ask for something, you have to give something..”
“Well learned. But I don't think it will help you? This isn't possible just by reading the text... look.”
The beggar with glasses held up a small piece of torn paper..
It was about the size of a finger, and there were two small letters inscribed on it..
“Reading text is basic, and you have to analyze the shape of torn paper and put it together like a puzzle, and infer sentences and words by looking at blank letters. You can't help just by reading the text..”
“Shape, context, shape, context... understand.”
“·····?”
Glasses beggar is ridiculous... No, I looked at Oliver with slightly annoyed eyes..
“good···. He just won't go away. Guess the piece of paper over there. However, if you don't do it properly, you will be slapped on the ears. I'm already really busy, but I'm acting crazy for no reason..”
“Yes, I understand.”
Oliver answered coolly and went to the pile of papers on one side..
It looked like it was in hundreds or thousands of pieces, but it had been torn very carefully..
Everyone looked at Oliver for his sudden action. It was definitely a notable action..
Anyway, Oliver was only focused on the task at hand..
“form, context, form, context····.”
Oliver muttered that and suddenly started laying out the torn papers on the floor one by one..
Then, as I heard earlier, I focused all my attention on form and context..
“·····.”
After a long moment of silence, Oliver finally started to move..
He picked a few pieces of paper that were lined up, pulled them aside, and started putting them together at a noticeably fast pace..
More than half of the pieces were guessed right away, but Oliver looked at the context of the paper, took out the lined paper, and put it back together again..
“oh·····.”
“What is this····.”
“····.”
“Nonsense····.”
People watching around me expressed their admiration one by one..
That's because some newbies are doing the work that takes days and days just to make one..
Oliver has already completed one document. Looking at Oliver like that, the glasses beggar said.
“·····. That's fast.”
“Because you taught me the trick.?”
Speech as if it were obvious.
It was so different that we all didn't know how to react..
While there was an awkward silence, the glasses beggar spoke up..
“what···. Good. I had a lot of work to do anyway. can you help me more?”
“Of course... Instead, can I ask you something??”
“what?”
The glasses beggar’s eyes shone sharply. As if trying to see through.
“I almost got beaten up by some beggars a while ago..”
“I heard. Cant helped me···?”
“yes. But who the heck is the mole??”
“why am i curious about that?”
“Is it just because I keep hearing your name in this neighborhood and almost get beaten up? Shouldn’t you know??”
Everyone looked at Oliver quietly. Their eyes were full of caution..
Why? It was a completely natural curiosity.?
Perhaps it was because Oliver's curiosity was stronger than his fear..
Curiosity, like being curious about ants, not fear of predators.
Oliver didn't know this, but a silence that he couldn't understand continued to fall..
After a while, the glasses beggar slowly opened his mouth..
“·····. This guy settled down around here the year before last. mole.”
“ah····.”
“Rumors say he's a fixer, ex-military, gangster.”
“Is that why everyone says it’s dangerous??”
“No, it wasn't like that until a year ago. He was a bit of a rowdy guy, but not to that extent. But things suddenly changed in the past few months..”
“What do you mean specifically??”
“I don't know where the money came from, but he suddenly started recruiting beggars who used their fists, and added the nearby beggars into his gang one by one... I even went over to other beggar gang areas..”
“What a bastard.···.”
someone muttered lowly.
“In places where they are oppressed with such force, money is taken away in the name of taxes every month. Also, he used that money to hire a fist... It's purely a rumor, but there are some dangerous rumors going around these days..”
“dangerous rumor?”
“Yes, there are rumors like kidnapping and selling the same beggar. Something like a slave or a guinea pig.”
“Oh, I heard that too. There was also talk of a deal with a warlock.?”
Someone intervened and said: However, the glasses beggar dismissed it as nonsense..
“No, not that. It went too far... Why would a warlock come to a place like this??”
“is it?”
“yes···.”
“·····.”
If necessary, the warlock could have contacted the beggar as much as he wanted, but Oliver remained silent and observed the situation..
the glasses beggar said.
“And you can't be a warlock. It can't be like that..”
“Why??”
“Why why? Because they are very dangerous beings.”
“is that so?”
“Anyway. It is said that a warlock uses people as material and even has sex with demons when necessary. Why not? These guys are very dangerous.····.”
For a moment, Oliver thought of Joanna. She also said something similar.
Are what she said true??
perhaps? When I thought of Joseph, Andrew, and Dominic, it didn't seem so wrong..
“But why are you interested in that??”
“ah··. I'm curious.”
There was awkward silence again. Then, someone opened their mouth.
“By the way, what happens next??”
Oliver, the glasses beggar turned his head..
“what?”
“You know, right? These days, the mole is expanding its influence significantly. Not only small groups of beggars, but also large groups of beggars... Honestly, these days, they say it's hard for a mole group to just be called a beggar group..”
With those words, anxious feelings arose everywhere. As if I remembered something I had forgotten.
“That's right.”
“Botti said that the old dog eventually went over there too.?”
“okay? That old man?”
“I heard they blocked the street and made you pay the toll? If you don't like it, join their gang of beggars..”
“uh. uh. I heard it too.”
“Wouldn't it be a bad idea to go there instead??”
“what does that mean?”
“No, right? Right now, I'm trying to avoid eating up all of Area W, so is there any need to fight? I think Mr. Cant will treat you well if you tell him to come in because his name is worth it.?”
“That's right... Maybe we'll get better too.”
Along with the murmur, numerous opinions and emotions shone from everywhere..
Some people said they would rather jump on the bandwagon and feel comfortable, while others still felt uncomfortable, and there was also a hint of an obedient feeling that they would just follow whatever Cant decides..
In the midst of all the commotion, an old man who was quietly doing his job said:.
“Arthur crab. Arthur... Can't he just hold her hand with the mole to make it easier? If I could have been more comfortable in the first place, I would have left here a long time ago..”
Then everyone fell silent. The silence was consent, a kind of belief in Cant's character..
“····. Are you related to your predecessor, the priest??”
Everyone looked at Oliver at the sudden question..
“Why are you asking that??”
“I'm curious?”
“why am i curious about that?”
A voice came from behind me..
I looked back and saw Cant standing there holding a quarter staff in one hand..
Oliver looked at him and said.
“Ah, hello?”
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