Novels online

Genius Warlock-Episode 76

Just-just-just-

After finishing work, Oliver visited Forest, a restaurant located on Street 27 in District T, and then headed straight to his accommodation..

I was tired anyway, so I just reported the mission and planned to go right back and rest, but even so, I ended up going back faster than I thought..

The reason was none other than Forrest and Al..

When we visited the restaurant, a different employee came out to greet Oliver, unlike usual. He said that Forrest had work to do and asked for his understanding that he could not come to the restaurant today..

I asked what was going on, but the employee only said that he went to a regular meeting of Randa's brokers' union and that he didn't know anything more..

Since Oliver was just asking reflexively, he didn't ask any more questions and just asked that he tell him that the mission was completed. The employee then brought a document and asked him to sign it..

To officially document the completion of his mission, Oliver signed the document as requested by the employee and left..

When I officially filled out the documents, I felt like the work was really over and all the fatigue that had accumulated over the month came all at once..

Well, it wasn't anything serious..

Murphy's side took care of things like sleeping and meals..

I've lived worse than this, so it wasn't that serious..

My body feels a little heavy and I feel sleepy.?

Probably, if I rested for a day, I would recover as if I had been washed..

Arrived at the accommodation, opened the door and went in..

"who..… . ah! It's you.”

The inn hostess, who was preparing food in the restaurant as usual, said as soon as she saw Oliver..

"Yes, hello. Long time no see.”

"Yes, it's been a really long time. The work is done?”

"Yeah, roughly… .. Did anything happen??”

"Is it any big deal? Except the price of eggs has gone up. How in the world can the price of eggs rise?... .. Did you eat more than that? Would you like a meal??”

"No, thanks.”

“ah!”

Then, someone shouted.

It was none other than the inn worker who was bringing a basket of potatoes. The boy, whose body was covered in dirt from carrying the potatoes, looked surprised as soon as he saw Oliver. For some reason, the child showed a very happy feeling..

Who came to mind, um… .. ah! It was Marie.

“Rossburn! I told you to bring potatoes?! The basket doesn't walk on its own!”

As usual, Rosburn was startled by the hostess's yelling and began to carry the basket full of potatoes..

It looked like he wanted to say something, but Oliver didn't bother to ask..

The first reason is that I’m not particularly curious. The second reason was that my child was busy and I was also sleepy..

So Oliver went up the stairs and entered his room..

I returned to the room after a month, but nothing had changed..

Not only do I not have many personal items, but even if I do have them, I put them in a personal storage box..

I know this because I've already experienced it, but the innkeeper here may be a bit picky, but he wasn't the type to search through guest rooms when cleaning..

‘hmm..… . Still, it's a bit like staying here..’

Oliver suddenly thought..

It wasn't that I was dissatisfied with my life here, but even so, considering some information I had recently received, I thought it would be a good idea to leave here and find a new place to stay..

Even if the price was lowered, staying at an accommodation was a waste of money in the long run, but I realized that it is more profitable to rent or buy a house for a long period of time even if you spend a lump sum..

The basis for this is that many former military workers complained about rent..

Let's actually calculate the numbers based on what they said. Living at the inn was an unnecessary expense for Oliver..

‘It would be better to rent for a long period of time rather than buy. It costs less money and is less annoying. Above all, home is unnecessary to me..’

That's what Oliver concluded. What Oliver needed was a decent place to live, not a house as an asset..

Above all, Oliver wanted to have a completely private space..

A private space for black magic experiments..

A house with a warehouse or basement was nice, but if that didn't work out, I didn't think it would be a good idea to get a warehouse in a quiet place like Glip the Puppeteer..

‘Even if it's not a human corpse, wouldn't a dog or cat body be okay??’

Just as I was contemplating whether to ask Forrest about this, I heard a knock on the door..

Oliver turned his head. I could see the emotions reflected beyond the door. It was a feeling I knew..

“….Rossburn? What's going on??”

Rosburn was startled by Oliver's words..

A trembling voice was heard beyond the door..

"Oh, can I open the door??”

"Oh, wait a minute..”

Oliver got up from his seat and opened the door..

I saw a boy with straw-colored hair cowering nervously..

"Ah, hello.”

"Yes, hello. what's going on?”

"Lord, my master asked me to ask if you would like to have dinner.."

"Dinner? Um.... Yes, I will eat it..”

"Ah, yes…..”

Rosburn did not back down but hesitated. His emotions were tinged with nervousness and fear, and he expressed them by wiggling his hands..

Nevertheless, a thin but strong strand of will kept the boy standing..

“……Do you have anything to say??”

"ah..…"

The boy's emotions fluctuated even more..

Countless feelings of defeat and frustration hit the boy, but a small, persistent will like a sprout tried to rise up..

Eventually, the boy spoke in a trembling voice..

"Could you please tell me the article??”

***

During dinner time, Oliver went out right after eating..

Then I headed to the traditional market where the gray market is located..

It's a traditional market in a corner of District T..

Perhaps because the sun was setting, the traditional market was colored orange, but there were not many people and the stores were closing one by one..

Even the mayor was falling asleep as night fell, but fortunately Oliver's destination seemed to be a late night sleep..

Where is the destination?..….

“..…Wow, it's been a while. young friend.”

An old man in a small used bookstore between stores said:.

He was sitting in front of the store, just like the first time I saw him, reading today's newspaper..

"Hello, old man. long time no see.”

Oliver greeted the old man politely. He learned about the world tree through the book recommended by the old man, so he thought he should do this..

The old man smiled as if he didn't like Oliver's attitude..

"I think he has become more polite since I haven't seen him. Thank you, but it's too much for an old man in a bookstore who doesn't do anything special..”

“…? Thanks to the old man, I read an interesting book. What does that have to do with being an old man in a bookstore??”

The old man chuckled and shrugged his shoulders at Oliver’s innocent question..

It was a gesture to stop talking about this topic..

"What brought you here? Seeing it coming from afar, it doesn't look like it came here for the sake of it.?”

Oliver looked back the way he came..

Even though he was an old man, he seemed to have very good eyesight..

"yes, that's right.”

"I knew it..… . Can I guess? The reason I saw it here. I guess you came to me because you were curious about something in the book, is that correct? However, considering all that, it's a bit disappointing that I came here with bare hands. young friend.”

The confident voice of an old man.

Oliver answered honestly and without any malice..

"no. I came here because I was wondering if there were any good books to teach children how to read..”

"........"

The old man looked at Oliver without saying anything..

I pretended to be calm on the outside, but on the inside I was feeling embarrassed and embarrassed. It was like a kettle that is slowly being boiled..

I thought I had made a mistake, so I looked at it quietly, but there was an awkward silence for a while..

"......."

"........"

".....Did I make a mistake??”

"no… no. Just stay still for a moment. I need to drink some courage medicine..”

With those words, the old man drank from the bottle of liquor in the brown bag. Still, I took two more sips as if my embarrassment didn't subside..

"I feel better... ..what kind of book are you looking for??”

"This is a good book for children to study letters. one.… Fourteen years old? Fifteen years old? Because the child studies. ah! It would be nice to have an arithmetic book. Do you have one??”

"Fourteen, fifteen years old... .. Letters and arithmetic… .. It’s strangely specific..”

The old man slowly got up from the chair and said.

After sitting for a long time, the old man's stiff knees made a crunching sound, like a tree breaking..

"Probably, there will be. But young friend... . If you don't mind, I may ask why you want to buy that book.?”

Oliver thought for a moment before answering. It didn't seem like a story worth hiding..

"The kid who works at the inn I'm staying at asked me to teach him..”

"The inn house kid… .. Is this the inn owner’s couple’s child? I'll reduce your rent so you can teach.?”

The old man went deep into the bookstore and opened a huge book and asked. It seemed to be a list of book locations..

"ah.… You can save on rent that way too.?”

"That's not it.?”

"yes? Ah, yes. I'm just a kid who works there..”

The old man laughed vainly..

"Are you saying they teach without receiving anything? Why??”

"well? The kid just asked me to teach him.?”

The old man stopped looking for a book and turned his head slightly. Perhaps because of the darkness of the bookstore, it looked heavy..

"You asked me to teach you, so I just taught you.?”

“to… ..is it not possible??”

"It’s not that it can’t be done, but… . That's because it's a bit surprising. Most people don't do that..”

surely… . When I thought about it, it seemed like people were a bit reluctant to teach something. Of course, I know it's natural, but it still seemed harsh..

Oliver thought for a moment. Why did he accept the boy's request? He questioned his own choices..

It took quite some time, and in the meantime, the old man in the bookstore took out the book Oliver had ordered from the corner..

It must have been a very old book, but when the wind blew on it, brown dust flew around..

"Fortunately, there is a book here. I don't know why this exists. It's an old and dirty book, so please give me 10,000 Rand in total..”

Oliver continued to think and took money out of his wallet..

And the moment I handed over the money, I opened my mouth..

"Because it's amazing.”

I'm sorry. What did you say??”

"Because the kid is amazing.”

“……What's so great??”

"He was very scared, perhaps because he worked at an inn every day, but he talked to me first to learn how to write. Even though I was very scared, I mustered up courage… .. therefore. I think it's so great that I'm trying to teach it to you. What you're trying to learn is great, isn't it??”

Oliver spoke with a poor vocabulary, like a three-year-old..

However, it was also the most honest answer. Enough to understand.

When the old man saw Oliver like that, he laughed again and took out a writing utensil from under the counter..

"This…?”

"Service. A young friend said something special. The will to learn is amazing. That's right.”

"ah… . thank you.”

Oliver greeted the old man for his kindness and took his writing utensil along with two books..

Once I achieved my goal, I felt at peace..

"Oh, can I ask you a question about the book??”

"this… . After all, you have something to ask, right? Then why are you saying that so late? I was just embarrassed for no reason.."

"sorry.”

"Good. what is your question.”

"I've read the World Tree book you recommended last time. But there is something I don't understand.”

"Oh, I read it all... .. I don’t understand what.?”

"It is said that the World Tree stores, manages, and outputs information from around the world. Is this true?.”

"exactly. What's the problem with that??”

Oliver said as he thought about it in advance..

"The whole world has different languages ​​and scripts, so how does the World Tree manage this? It doesn't seem like proper management if you just leave it as it is..”

The old man's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Oliver. She also harbored a subtle but small admiration..

“..…That's a pretty interesting question..”

"is that so?”

"exactly. Usually, students who study in this area don't ask such questions. Were there at least one or two people? .… Anyway, that's right. The characters and languages ​​are different, but if you just keep them as is, you are not managing them. So the information stored in the World Tree goes through one processing..”

“Processing?”

"exactly. ‘Code word’. The World Tree processes the information it receives in its own way. The principle is not yet known, but any language can be saved as a code word and output as a code word..”

Oliver remembered the unknown letters he had seen in the past when he entered the World Tree and looked for Forest..

I guess that was a code word..

"So how do you know?”

"Why are you asking something so obvious? Of course I have to learn code words..”

With those words, the old man held out an old and very thick book..

On the outside of the book, the words [Learning basic code words (top)] were written in a very stiff form..

"I will sell it specifically for 300,000 Randa. Even so, it is a precious book..”