Genius Warlock - Episode 92
Area T, Street 27.
Just yesterday, puppets appeared from the contaminated area and killed numerous solvers, but the streets here were as peaceful as usual..
Well, I wasn't particularly upset or angry..
That's what the job of a problem solver was like in the first place..
However, it was interesting.
Even though the city defense force and the Holy Knights caused quite a stir, most people didn't even know that the incident had occurred, let alone the existence of the puppet..
It felt like living in another world..
Even though we are in the same time zone and same space..
Jingling jingling.
Oliver opened the door to Restaurant Forest and went inside..
Even though not much time had passed, it felt like it had been a long time since I had visited..
"welcome. Mr. Dave. Thank you for visiting here..”
As usual, Al came out and welcomed me..
He was usually kind and polite, but he seemed even more so today. Should I say that I think of Oliver even more??
"Yes, hello. Mr. Al… .. Did anything happen??”
"I am always calm. Are you here to see the boss??”
"Yes, I'm here to report that work on the contaminated area has been completed..”
Actually, you can use communication equipment, but I came here in person because I had some questions..
I wanted to tell this kind of story face to face..
"okay. If you don't mind, could you please wait for a moment? The owner was working for a while. It only takes a moment."
Al asked so politely, so much so that he was cautious..
Although he didn't know why, Oliver just nodded without asking..
“Yes, I understand. Because you are a busy person.”
"Yes, thank you for your understanding. Then, I will guide you to a place to wait for a while..”
Oliver nodded and followed Al..
Al guided me to a table in the restaurant, and when I looked around, I saw that 2/3 of the floor was already filled with people..
Among them, there were white-collar workers wearing glasses and suits, and there were also people who appeared to be problem solvers..
There was something about it that didn't fit, yet it fit together, and Oliver sat in the middle..
"Is your coffee okay??”
"yes."
As soon as I could answer, Al brought me a cup of coffee..
Oliver tried to give him coffee money and a tip in advance, but Al politely declined..
"it's okay.”
"yes? but....."”
"It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but I heard what happened in the contaminated area. I dare you to just drink it..”
What Al said was sincere..
Oliver nodded and drank his coffee, but when he was halfway through drinking Al came up to him again and said:.
"The boss says you can come in now..”
Oliver went down deep into the basement, where Forrest's real office was..
I'm used to it now, but when I arrived at the office, he was busy talking to someone on a large communication device the size of a person's head..
However, even for a moment.
When Oliver showed up, he quickly ended the call and welcomed Oliver..
"I'm here. Welcome.”
"Yes, it seems like it's been a while since I last saw you..”
"Actually, it hasn't been that long, but it feels like it's been a while too... ..Are you okay??”
“yes? what do you mean?”
"I heard the story. Didn't she say she fought a puppet? Is there any problem with your body?... . Oh, excuse me, I called a guest and left him there. First, take a seat.."
Oliver sat down, tapping the floor with his quarter staff..
Forrest poured him a drink as usual and offered him a drink, but Oliver covered one eye with his hand and looked around..
There has definitely been a change.
I didn't even pay much attention to my eyes, but I could see emotions beyond the building as well as on the ground, and in the case of the forest in front of me, I could see the emotions in much more detail than before..
He was currently full of admiration and pride for Oliver..
I thought it was because I had survived the fight against the puppet, but at the same time, I was harboring a slight sense of guilt..
I denied the feeling, but as with all emotions, I couldn't shake it off easily..
So Oliver spoke first.
“….There is nothing wrong with my body, so you don’t have to worry. The reason I didn't come right away yesterday was because I was tired..”
Indeed, it was so. After the fight with the puppet, I couldn't rest and was interrogated for hours..
I was so tired that I went straight to my dorm and fell asleep..
"I understand. You must have been very tired.”
"Well, I'm glad I did. When the Holy Knights showed up, I thought something big would happen, but they let things go more smoothly than I expected..”
"Of course. No matter how great a paladin is, he is ultimately tied to a religious order. We cannot unilaterally ignore the contract between Landa and the church. As long as there is an association of brokers, they cannot be dragged away without any evidence..”
"okay. That's amazing.”
"But don't be too careless. On the other hand, as long as there are enough cases, you can take them as you please.."
Oliver nodded..
The paladin named Elton actually seemed to be hoping that Oliver would make some mistake..
Meanwhile, Oliver suddenly had a question..
"Can I ask you a question??”
"Something?”
"As far as I know, the Holy Knights are people who protect the human world, so they say their power is very strong, so why can't they just take a fixer like me? So, until the number of cases comes out.?”
"As mentioned earlier, it is because of the city agreement between Landa and the church. Even though Landa's faith is weak, he donates a huge amount of money to the church every year..”
Oliver asked in surprise..
"They say it's because of the money.?”
"Yes, it's for the money. Originally, this is what happens when the sacred and the secular world meet. It's not that bad. Thanks to this, the church receives ample operating expenses, and Landa can enjoy safety and freedom at the same time. It's like an adult's world..”
He only half understood, but he didn't really want to say anything, so Oliver just nodded..
Then Forrest opened his mouth..
"Is that all you want to talk about? Something about the contaminated area and the paladin.?”
"No, there's one more.”
"Speak. I also have something to tell you. you talk first."
Oliver nodded..
"Can you tell me about the puppet appearing in the contaminated area? Even if I ask, no one answers me..”
Forrest hesitated as he took a sip of his drink, but soon answered..
"I'll do it for you. Because you have the right to ask... .. The story is complicated and not certain, but according to our sources, it seems that a high-ranking city official working in Landa's Ministry of Interior was bribed by Puppet..”
"Buy it?”
"okay. I don't know if he thought he was a puppet or not, but I heard that the government official who was supposedly bribed recently got into a lot of debt due to gambling. At that time, he was presumed to have been bribed. He says it's under investigation, but I think it's clear. It's fun?”
Oliver agreed. It was quite fun. In a way, it was even funny.
It wasn't certain, but Oliver heard that the number of people involved in this cleanup was between two and three hundred, including fixers and mercenaries..
However, only less than a hundred of them survived, and it was really interesting that it all started with a civil servant's gambling debt..
It's so absurd that it's almost laughable.?
It was so outside of common sense and irrational that I even wanted to research it..
"I think it's ridiculous too. But, this is Randa’s daily life..”
"Is that so?”
"Yes, Randa…. . No, most things in the world are run like a chorus of idiots. The brokers' union will be fighting with the city for a while because of this cleaning issue. Of course, it will be a form of negotiation, not punching..”
"What are you talking about specifically??”
"Compensation payments to the families of dead solvers and damage costs to brokers who lost a large number of manpower. We're planning on tweaking some of the other rules we've agreed upon. The city and the real estate agent union have a clear superiority relationship, but they still need each other... .. Every time something like this happens, we band together and gain an advantage. The city is also at fault, so as long as it is not too excessive, it will accept our demands to some extent..”
"Ah, I see..”
"In addition, a political dispute will break out within the brokers' union. Most of the brokers of B, H, N, and T who participated in this cleaning suffered great damage. We'll fight over each other's territory.”
"Is it a big deal??”
"For some. You may lose your competitive edge and have to retire..”
"Forest, are you like that too??”
Oliver said regretfully. We worked together.
But Forrest’s expression shone. It's like I've been asked the question I've been waiting for.
"No, I'm the opposite..”
"On the contrary?”
"While others have lost manpower, I haven't lost much. There are many people who collaborated with Arthur..”
Ah, now that I think about it, I remembered the story that among Arthur's party, there are some problem solvers who work with Mr. Forrest..
"Above all, didn’t you come back alive??”
"Me?”
"Yes, there you are. Of all the problem solvers I manage, you are the best. I avoided major damage just because you survived safely. Moreover, the rumor that he survived the fight with the puppet is spreading, so it is actually beneficial..”
"Profit?”
"Yes, since you saw the puppet and survived, a lot of big names started taking interest in you... .. Even if this floor is focused on skill, there must be a notable incident, but ironically, your name has become quite well known due to cleaning up a contaminated area that everyone avoids..”
"ah..… . It sounds like a good story, but I don't understand it? I didn't win, I lost and barely survived.?”
"Surprisingly, people are not interested in such detailed information. Survived against the puppet. This fact is the only thing that matters... .. That's what I'm saying, but a nomination request has come in..”
"Request for nomination?”
"Yes, what you have done so far is a general request. A general request in which work and compensation are randomly distributed to intermediaries. However, nomination requests are a bit different from that.."
"What's different??”
"The customer nominates you and commissions you. They decide that their job is important and difficult, so they handpick a competent problem solver. The work is difficult, dangerous, and demanding, but the pay is basically strong. Average range from 10 million to sometimes 100 million.”
"..…I think I've only done 10 million units of work so far.?”
"It's all thanks to you doing so many difficult things... . You are so special. Sometimes I'm sharp and I can't understand what's going on, but usually I'm so carefree..”
"is that so?”
"Yeah, I don't hate it, but be careful. There will be people who want to take advantage of you. I can do that too.”
"You are kind..”
Forrest laughed..
"If you say that, your trust in me will grow stronger. This is what all smart people do, so be careful..”
"Yes, I will keep that in mind. Thank you again for your kind advice..”
“..…Anyway, nomination requests are highly remunerative. In some cases, compensation may be negotiated. You can simply increase the amount, or you can ask for something else..”
"What specifically can you ask for??”
"Things like useful items, information, and medicine. Of course, not everything you ask for is granted, but in some cases, it is granted. For example, you can find out about the black market and maybe get some black magic books..”
"A black magic book.?”
"okay. Surprisingly, there are quite a few wealthy people who collect black magic books. That's what you're asking for.”
Money was money, but I was more interested in the second condition..
Would you say it has become more certain than meeting random clients??
"I quite like it..”
"But the risk also increases..”
"You told me earlier that work is difficult.?”
"No, I'm not just talking about that. Direct requests are likely to be important to the client, and are also likely to be political. There are cases where we can unintentionally catch a glimpse of the client's corruption or sins, and in the process, the problem solvers make mistakes. Brokers like us are there to prepare for things like this, but to be honest, they can't protect everything..”
At first glance, it may seem like an irresponsible statement, but in reality, it was not so..
If Oliver learned something through this contaminated area incident, it was that the world operates based on lies more than we thought..
When a lie is discovered and the incident grows, they quickly clean it up, but it seemed like they had no intention of getting rid of the lie itself..
Because it is relatively easier to cause an incident and clean up after it..
And it was no different from a broker or a fixer..
Whatever it is, it's what you do to make a living..
The reality was that even if an incident that made a mockery of one's professional ethics occurred, it could be surrendered if it was overcome with greater power and profit..
Rather, Forest's attitude in pointing out this point accurately was remarkable..
At least that's what Oliver thought..
"yes, i understand.”
"Are you serious??"
"Yes, Cant gave some warning about this too. I hope that doesn't happen, it's my job to be careful..”
“..…If you request it directly, the person you meet will also be more dangerous. They may not be high-risk criminals like Puppet, but there are still a lot of strong people on this floor. To put it simply, it is moving from a river with minnows to a river with piranhas..”
"okay. it's okay.”
After hearing Oliver's answer, Forrest looked dejected..
"It's an attitude I expected, but when I actually heard the answer, I felt a bit discouraged. Well then, would you like to at least hear the story about what I came here for??”
Oliver said no..
"no. I will refuse today."
"okay? What a surprise. I don't mean to rush you, but I thought you would ask me to show you right away.."
"Yes, I would have asked to see it if I didn't have an appointment, but I have an appointment soon..”
"promise? That's fascinating. If you don't mind, may I ask who you are??”
Oliver said, getting up from his seat..
"This is the person who gave me good advice..”
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