Genius Warlock

It was 27th Street in District T.

Just yesterday, Puppet appeared in the contaminated zone and killed many Solvers, but the streets here were as peaceful as ever.

People felt upset when they heard that a lot of Solvers died, but no one felt any remorse. After all, Solver was a profession where death looms in every step the Solvers take.

However, Oliver felt the People’s reaction was fascinating.

Even though the City officials and the Paladins made quite a fuss about the appearance of Puppet, the majority of people didn't know either what happened or the existence of Puppet.

It was like they were living in another world, despite sharing the same time zone and same space.

Tring Tring.

Oliver opened the door to Restaurant Forrest and went inside.

Even though not much time had passed, he felt like he was visiting after a long time.

"Welcome. Dave. Thank you for visiting."

As usual, Al came and greeted him.

He was normally kind and courteous, but today it seemed like the kindness went up by one notch.

"Yes, hello. Mr. Al…What’s going on?"

"Nothing. Did you come to see the boss?"

"Yes, I'm here to report that I've finished the work in the contaminated zone."

In fact, Oliver could have done it with the communication device he received, but since he had something to ask Forrest, he came directly to the Restaurant.

Oliver felt like these kinds of things should be done face to face.

"Okay. If you don't mind, could you please wait for a while? Boss is working right now. It'll just take a minute."

Al asked so carefully that Oliver wondered whether he was being polite or nervous.

Even though he didn’t understand the reason, Oliver just nodded his head without asking the reason

"Yes, I understand. He must be busy.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Then I will guide you to a place to wait.”

Oliver nodded his head and followed Al.

Al led him to a table in the restaurant, and when Oliver looked around, two-thirds of the restaurant was already filled with people.

Among them, there were people who were well-dressed in suits and at the same time, there were also those who appeared to be solvers.

It felt strange and convincing at the same time.

"Are you okay with coffee?"

"Yes."

Al brought a cup of coffee within a few minutes as soon as Oliver answered.

Oliver tried to give him the coffee price and tip, but Al politely declined.

"It's okay."

“Um? But…”

"It's presumptuous to say, but I've heard of what happened in the contaminated zone. Please, it’s on the house."

Al's words were sincere.

Oliver nodded his head and drank the coffee, and when he was halfway through, Al came back and said:

“Boss says you can come in now.”

Oliver descended deep underground where Forrest's real office was.

Now he was used to the place, and when he arrived at the office, Forrest could be seen busy talking with someone through a large communication device the size of a human head.

However, after a while, when Oliver showed up, he quickly ended the call and greeted Oliver.

"Hey, Dave. Come on in."

"Hello, Mr. Forrest."

"So… Is everything fine?"

"Pardon? What do you mean?”

"I heard the story. Didn't you fight with Puppet? Are there any problems with your body?… Oh, excuse me, I called a guest and kept you standing. First, take a seat."

Oliver sat down, pounding on the floor with his quarterstaff.

As usual, Forrest offered him a glass of booze, and as Oliver took it, he looked around.

There was definitely a change.

He didn't put that much energy into his eyes, but he could see the emotions beyond the building as well as on the ground, and in the case of Forrest in front of him, the emotions were much more detailed than before.

He was full of admiration and pride for the present Oliver.

It must have been because he had survived after fighting with Puppet, but at the same time, he harbored a slight sense of guilt.

He himself denied that feeling, but he couldn't shake it off easily.

Seeing that, Oliver spoke.

“… .There’s no problem with my body, so you don't have to worry about it. I couldn’t come yesterday because I was tired.”

After his battle with Puppet, Oliver couldn’t get an ouch of rest and was interrogated for hours.

As a result, he was so tired and went straight to the inn and fell asleep.

"I understand. You must have been very tired."

"Yes. When the Paladins showed up, I thought something big was going to happen, but they released me more easily than I thought."

"Of course, they should. No matter how great a Paladin is, they are ultimately tied to the Church. The pact between the Church and Landa cannot be unilaterally ignored. As long as there is a Brokers guild, you cannot be dragged away without any evidence."

"I see. That's great."

"But don't let your guard down. Even without evidence, if the number of cases against you piles up, they can take you as they please."

Oliver nodded his head thinking about the Paladin named Elton, who actually wanted Oliver to make a mistake.

Thinking about that, Oliver asked Forrest.

“Can I ask you a question, Mr. Forrest?”

"Yes, anything."

"As far as I know, Paladins are people who protect the human world, and they have very strong powers. Then why can't they take a Solver like me as they please?

"As I said before, it's because of the agreement between Landa and the Church. Landa, even though it has a small number of people who believe in the Parter religion, makes a huge donation to the Church every year."

Oliver asked back with surprise.

“Is it because of money?”

"Yeah, it's because of money. This is what happens when there is a clash between sacred and profane. It's not too bad. Thanks to that, the Church gets a good operating cost, and Landa can enjoy safety and freedom at the same time. That’s how the adult world works.”

Oliver only understood half of what Forrest said, but he nodded his head, not wanting to say anything.

After taking a short breath, Forrest opened his mouth once again.

"Is that all you want to ask about?"

“No, there is one more.”

"Say it. I have something to tell you too. I’ll tell you after answering your question first."

Oliver nodded his head.

"Can you tell me how a wanted criminal like Puppet entered the contaminated zone? No one answered when I asked."

Forrest hesitated as he took a sip of the drink, but soon answered.

"I'll tell you. You deserve to ask… The story is complicated and I'm not sure, but our sources suggest that a high-ranking city official working for the Landa Department of the Interior was bought by Puppet."

“Bought?”

"Yeah. I don't know whether he knew he was dealing with Puppet, but I heard that the official who got bought by Puppet owed a lot of money to gambling recently. At that time, I'm guessing he got bribed. I'm sure it's under investigation. It's pretty funny, right?"

Oliver agreed. It was indeed pretty funny, and as proof, a small smile even formed on Oliver’s face.

It was not certain, but Oliver heard that the number of people involved in the cleaning was between two hundred to three hundred, including the solvers and mercenaries.

However, only a hundred of them survived, and it was really interesting that the starting point of all this was the gambling debt of a city official.

It was so absurd that it made Oliver laugh.

It was so out of the ordinary and irrational that he even wanted to study it.

“I think it’s ridiculous, too. But, this is Landa’s daily life.”

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, Landa… No, most of the world is run by a herd of fools. And, regarding this cleaning, the Brokers Guild will fight the city for a while over this. Of course, in the form of negotiation, not a fist fight."

“What kind of negotiation?”

"The compensation for the deceased solvers' families and the cost of damages for the brokers who lost a lot of manpower. We're going to revise some of the rules we made with each other. The city and the Brokers guild are in an agreement, and we still need each other… Every time an incident arises, we grab each other's collars and try to take an advantageous position. The city was at fault this time, so if it's not excessive, they will accept our demands to some extent."

“Um…”

"Aside from that, there will be strife within the Brokers guild as well. Most of the Brokers who participated in this cleaning suffered great damage. They will fight each other for territory."

“Is it a big deal?”

“For some, they may lose their competitive edge and have to retire.”

"Isn't that same for Mr. Forrest?"

Oliver said sadly, but Forrest's expression shone brightly as if he had been waiting for this question.

“No, I am the opposite.”

“Opposite?”

"I didn't lose that much manpower. Most of the Solvers from District T worked with Arthur."

Oliver recalled the solvers he saw at Arthur's party.

"Above all, didn't you come back alive?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Of the solvers I manage, you are the best solver. You avoided a lot of damage just by coming back safely. In addition to that, rumors of surviving after fighting Puppet are spreading, so it is rather a plus on my side."

"Plus?"

"Yeah, just because you survived after fighting puppet, a lot of big shots are starting to show interest in you… Even if this field is all about skill, you need an event that stands out, that’s why everyone tries to avoid doing jobs like cleaning, but ironically, because of the cleaning your name has become quite well known.”

"Um… It sounds like a good thing, but I don't understand. I didn't win, I lost, and I barely survived?"

"Surprisingly, people aren't interested in such details. You survived after facing Puppet. Only this fact matters… In fact, right now, you have received many nominated commission requests."

“Nominated commission request?”

"Yeah, what you've done so far is a general commission. A general commission that distributes work and remuneration to brokers at random. However, a Nominated Commission is a little different from that."

"What's different?"

"The customer appoints you and commissions you. They choose a competent solver themselves because they judge their work as important and difficult. The work will be difficult, risky, and demanding, but the pay is basically high. On average, from 10 million to Sometimes even billions.”

"…I think I've already worked for 10 million."

"That's because you've done a lot of difficult things… You're very special. Sometimes you're sharp as if I can't understand what you’re thinking, but most of the time you're too easygoing."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it's not that I don't like that kind of attitude, but be careful. There will be people who want to take advantage of you. Maybe I might too."

“You are kind.”

Forrest laughed.

"Speaking like that builds trust in me. Still, be careful, because all shrewd people are like this."

"Yes, I will keep that in mind. Thanks again for the kind advice."

“…. In any case, the Nominated commission request is highly paid. In some cases, you may be able to negotiate the pay. You can simply increase the amount, or you can ask for something else.”

“What specifically can I ask for?”

"Useful items, information, drugs, etc. Of course, they don't do everything you ask for, but sometimes they do. For example, they might find out about the black market and get some black magic books."

“A black magic book?”

"Yeah. Surprisingly, there are quite a few people who collect black magic books from among the wealthy."

Getting more Money was interesting, but the second condition seemed even more interesting for Oliver.

Oliver felt like the clients he could meet through the Nominated commission would be better than meeting some random clients.

"Um… it seems a lot beneficial."

“But it also increases the risk.”

“If it’s about the work, didn’t you already say it’ll be difficult?”

"No, It’s not just about that. The requests in those cases are highly likely to be important to the client, and there will be a lot of politics involved in it. There are intermediaries like me who prepare for this kind of thing, but to be honest, we can’t protect you from everything.”

At a glance, it may seem irresponsible, but in reality, it was not.

If Oliver learned something from the contaminated zone incident, it was that the world was more based on lies than he thought.

When a lie is exposed or the case becomes bigger, they hastily try to organize it, but they don't seem to have any intention of getting rid of the lie itself.

It seemed like it was relatively easier to erase something than get things sorted out.

And it was no different from a Broker or a Solver, they also seem to be doing it to make a living.

The reality was that even if an incident that ridicules professional ethics occurs, it can be subdued if it was perceived with power and profit beyond that.

On the contrary, Forrest's attitude to accurately point out the disadvantages was remarkable.

At least Oliver thought so.

“Yes, I understand.”

"Really?"

"Yes, Mr. Kent warned me about this a little bit. I hope it doesn't happen, and it's my job to be careful."

“…. If it’s a direct request, the person you meet will be even more dangerous. They may not be high-risk criminals like Puppet, but there are still a lot of strong people here.”

"Yes. It's fine."

Hearing Oliver's answer, Forrest put on a troubled expression on his face.

“It’s the attitude I expected, but I feel a bit drained after hearing the answer. So, do you like to hear about the Nominated commission requests you received?”

Oliver refused.

"No. I will excuse myself for today."

"Hmm? That's surprising. I didn't mean to rush it, but I thought you'd ask me to show it to you right away."

“Yes, I would have asked if I didn’t have an appointment, but I have one right now. I’ve to meet someone.”

"Meet? That's strange. If you don't mind, can I ask who it is?"

Oliver stood up and said.

“Someone who gave me a good advice.”

(To be Continued on NOV 07 {MON})