Genius Warlock-Episode 93
Just-just-just-
Oliver walked for a long time and visited Area P..
Although Area P was a factory area and worker residential area like Area T, it seemed relatively safe compared to other worker residential areas, perhaps because it was adjacent to upper-middle class residences..
But, that's also a story about the central part of the district..
When we went to the small cathedral located on the outskirts, the area was extremely lonely..
It looked like an abandoned place, but only beggars were seen occasionally..
Oliver looked around, handing one or two small bills to the beggars..
Fortunately, there was nothing particularly suspicious..
It was a happy thing. She said that Joanna really wanted to talk to her..
Oliver entered the entrance of the cathedral where the old cross was erected..
The interior of the rectangular cathedral was filled with long, uncomfortable-looking chairs so tightly that it was suffocating. Oliver wondered if this was why there were no people inside the cathedral..
Of course, it was none of Oliver's business.,
Oliver took out some bills from his pocket, put them in the offering plate, and then went inside..
He then sat down behind a woman with long blonde hair who was sitting alone in the cathedral..
Oliver said quietly, clasping his hands together after her..
“..…Sir?”
"Shh. wait a minute.”
Oliver did as he was told and remained silent..
Then I listened, and I could hear Joanna praying.
“..…father. Please give us strength, courage, and wisdom as we are weak, and please look down on us so that we can fulfill the glorious mission that you have gifted us. Please help me become your proud child. Your children pray... . mahalla.”
After the prayer, solemn silence covered the surroundings. After a while, Joanna slowly opened her mouth..
It was a calmer voice than I had heard before..
“.…Is it Oliver??”
"yes."
"thank you for coming out.”
"Thank you for having me. I learned what an honor it is to speak with a paladin. Thank you sincerely.… . In that sense, can I ask you a question??”
"What is it?”
"How did you know it was me? As you can see, my face has changed.?”
Oliver asked, touching his face covered in a leather mask..
Is there something that only a paladin can recognize??
Joanna maintained her characteristic silence before opening her mouth..
“..…I just found out.”
".…yes?”
"You can tell from your attitude and tone of voice that it’s you.?”
"........"
Oliver was shocked and silent..
I tried to become a normal, common-sense person in my own way... . I felt bitter because my efforts seemed to have been denied..
"this..… . I should have tried harder?”
"what happened?”
"yes? Ah, I tried to look like a normal person, but I guess I wasn't trying enough..”
"no. That's not what I'm asking... .. What are you doing here?.”
"yes? Of course the driver called me here... .. Oh, why did you ask why I was working as a troubleshooter??”
Joanna, who was staring straight ahead, must have felt the limit of her patience, turned her body back and answered..
"Yes, that's right. Why are you working as a troubleshooter? you are.… He was the head of a warlock organization.?”
There was no hostility in her expression..
Rather, there was confusion, doubt, and anticipation of what might happen. I don't know the specific reason for my feelings, but.
Oliver replied, rubbing between his eyes tiredly..
"I just followed the driver's advice..”
"Advice?”
"Yes, you told me to get out into the world and mingle with people. That's why it came out... .. Of course, that's not everything, but it was a pretty big reason. thank you I wanted to say this, but I ended up doing it..”
Joanna looked dumbfounded, as if she couldn't believe it..
It was an expression I had seen many times. The expression on your face when you see something you don’t understand. I didn't know what it meant, but the people who talked to Oliver had that look on their faces every once in a while..
"......."
"......."
There was an awkward silence for a moment, but then Oliver broke the silence..
He was someone I wanted to meet, but wouldn't it be such a waste to spend time in silence??
"How were you?”
"Me?”
"yes… . He said the pharmacist had sent it well, but I was a little worried. How has he been??”
Then Joanna's pale face turned slightly red..
I could see the shame, embarrassment, and guilt that came with it, but for some reason, she seemed to think that what happened at that time was shameful and sinful..
“..…Did I make a mistake??”
Silence for a moment. Joanna answered.
".…Embarrassingly, I was doing well..”
"Oh yeah?”
"Yes, I failed the mission and couldn't eradicate the evil medicine, but I successfully completed the mission and was given the title of Paladin and was officially assigned here... . I feel truly ashamed and guilty..”
she meant what she said.
"Then why didn't you tell me the truth??”
Oliver asked without thinking. I'm really curious. However, apart from that, she flinched..
“……Many people who helped me told me to be silent. He said that it would be better for the world and everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and move forward..”
Oh oh..… . Oliver admired the pharmacist.
It was as he said. It was true that he said that due to the complex interests within the Church of Pater, the fact of Joanna's failure would not be known, and as a result, Weinham would be safer..
He was truly a clever man..
".…But the driver still doesn’t think that’s right..”
Joanna responded with silence.
My emotions were complicated, but it seemed like it wasn't just a recommendation from those around me. There seemed to be another reason for her making this choice. something very precious involved.
I was about to ask about it when Joanna spoke half a beat faster..
"So now it's my turn.”
"yes?”
"What happened after leaving the black magic organization??”
Oliver clenched his jaw at the unexpected question..
Can I tell you?
what..… . It seemed okay. Since she was the one who gave the advice in the first place, she seemed entitled to an answer..
Above all, there was no ulterior motive or malice in my feelings..
"Well, I don't mind telling you, but the story might be a little long..”
"There's still plenty of time, so don't worry..”
Oliver nodded and opened his mouth..
The content itself was nothing special..
He talked about leaving the Joseph Family secretly, visiting Area X, and meeting Cant along the way..
Cant's actions and the group of beggars who followed him were explained in detail, but not excessively, and perhaps that was what Oliver had been expecting..
He said that Joanna might be able to speak for him about the indescribable emotions he felt after watching Cant.…..
However, contrary to expectations, Joanna only nodded and did not say anything..
Afterwards, Oliver talked about leaving Cant and becoming a problem solver..
I omitted anything that might be inconvenient to others, but I told him a story about a retired soldier that I found interesting, and a story about a brave boy who asked me to teach him how to write. After speaking, Oliver suddenly realized that he had met a lot of people..
It's hard to describe, but I was quite satisfied..
Joanna said, as if she could see the sight..
“..…Looks like you're having fun.”
“hmm… .. Yes, it's fun. The world… It was a pretty fun place..”
"Well, I'm glad... .. But is there a special reason why you became a problem solver??”
"Well, I got an offer, and it was the least lucrative job I could do.?”
Oliver answered appropriately. He didn't mean to tell the paladin that he was buying books on dark magic and demons..
“….So you make money by shaking your fists??”
"Yes, no matter how hard you work at a restaurant, it's hard to buy a book... .. Well, I guess it's okay since I'm choosing to do something that doesn't cause harm to the general public? Solvers are also cleaning up contaminated areas, so I think we are also helpful..”
Joanna was silent again, as if she had nothing to say..
She looked at Oliver with a very complicated expression..
"Let me ask you a question.”
"Yes, you say it..”
"Did nothing really happen with the puppet??”
"yes… . What are you talking about specifically??”
"……It is said that a warlock takes someone stronger than himself as his master..”
Oliver remembered his past experiences with the Joseph family..
"Yeah, I guess so..”
"By any chance, did you save your life in exchange for becoming a puppet's slave??”
"Um, no. no… .. But I'm curious, what happens if that happens??”
"I can't leave you alone any longer”
Joanna spoke firmly with intense eyes. she meant it.
"Oh, I see.?”
"Yes, puppets… He is a heinous sinner who has lived for hundreds of years and committed countless crimes. As if that wasn't enough, they are training numerous warlocks and creating numerous criminal organizations, causing chaos throughout the world. Above all else, he is a Black Hand executive who is plotting the destruction of the human world. He is absolutely unacceptable.”
“……The Black Hand is trying to destroy the human world.?”
"yes… . Why are you doing that??”
“ah… .. I just knew that the Black Hand was a criminal group made up of warlocks. So, it's a somewhat strong and large organization. But I didn't know that they were trying to destroy the human world..”
“……They regularly try to make deals with the devil. According to the church's survey, yes..”
"So, does the church know much about the Black Hand??”
"To some extent.”
"Could you please tell me what kind of organization it is??”
"Why do you want to know?”
"I'm just curious. As I mentioned last time, I had a chance to go in there once. The conditions for entry were a bit tight, so I declined, but I'm curious about what kind of place it is..”
Joanna glanced at Oliver again..
Deep doubt and faint faith. Two conflicting emotions were mixed together, and it could be said to be truly strange..
In a way, I thought this might be a good thing about emotions..
Anomalous, conflicting, contradictory. That's why it was beautiful and enjoyable.
"The Black Hand is a loose coalition of powerful warlocks..”
Oliver perked up his ears..
Because it was a group with a lot of rumors, not even Cant could tell me in detail about the Black Hand, but I heard valuable information from a completely unexpected place..
"According to the investigation conducted by the church, it is not an organization led by a single head, but rather an organization led by each finger, and in fact, it is difficult to call it an organization..”
"Fingers.?”
"Yes, it refers to the Black Hand executives. puppet-like.”
Oliver suddenly had a basic question..
"why? Why is the Black Hand called Black Hand??”
Actually, I didn't ask the question expecting to hear an answer, but to my surprise, Joanna answered..
"The black hand means death. Usually. And like a shadow, it exists everywhere.”
The hand of death exists everywhere.…..
"Is that actually the case??”
".…Sadly. Numerous fingers, including puppets, spread widely around the world like spider webs. They are even connected to corrupt high-ranking officials in each country. We monitor and investigate it..”
It was interesting. As Cant said, I expected it to be a fairly dangerous and powerful organization, but Joanna's explanation seemed to make it more concrete..
I felt more and more disappointed.
I thought I should have just accepted the puppet master Glip's offer..
Maybe I could have met the puppet and talked to him about various things without being an enemy..
But when I thought about the conditions, it was a bit like that..
Maybe I wouldn't have been willing to follow Cant if I hadn't met him..
What should I say? I felt a little confused..
As Oliver was daydreaming and falling into his inner world, a small sound rang out..
I looked ahead to see something, and instead of talking, Joanna was looking at some kind of machine. She was like some kind of communication device.
She checked the machine, pressed the button to turn it off, and stood up..
"I'm sorry, but I'll just get up... . Something suddenly happened.”
“ah… .. That's a shame. There were a lot of things I wanted to ask..”
"Don’t worry… ..I will come to spy on you from time to time..”
Although the tone was mixed with warning, Oliver was actually happy..
Doesn’t that mean we can meet again and talk??
"That's nice to hear. Thank you sincerely.”
"I'm happy?”
"Yes, I like the driver. Because it's beautiful.”
Joanna flinched at those words and blushed angrily..
“…Don't be weird..”
“…Are you serious? That beautiful light back then... . It was beautiful."
"......"
Joanna frowned and searched for something in her arms..
Oliver looked at her, not particularly wary, and after a while, she took out a small booklet..
"This..…?”
"This is the Pater scriptures. I think you like books. Read them..”
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