CLOMP CLOMP.
Oliver followed the beggar into the sewer without speaking to Jane.
It was very dark and damp, and there were smelly sections as well as non-smelly sections.
But the thing that bothered Oliver the most was that they went on a very complicated route, and it felt like they walked for a few hours.
Jane also seemed to be bothered by that, and she whispered in a low voice by pulling Oliver's clothes lightly.
"Is this okay?"
"What?"
"Is this okay? We came in really deep, right? The secret passage or something has passed twice."
"Un? I don’t know, but I don't think he has any malicious intentions."
"Still…"
"…You don't have to worry, Lady."
The Silk Hat beggar who was leading the way spoke.
He abandoned the rather frivolous attitude he used to show on the streets of Section T and spoke calmly.
"Never, we don't mean any harm, Lady. Even though we’re beggars, we are not ignorant enough to harm those who have befriended us."
Jane apologized with a hint of embarrassment.
"Oh… I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."
"That's all right. After all, beggars are all seen that way."
Oliver found the beggar interesting.
It wasn't long but he had stayed in Kent's beggar den and watched the beggars, who were mostly timid as if weaklings of the street.
However, the beggar in front of him had few such corners.
There are only two reasons for a beggar to be like that.
One, he was confident in his strength, or he was confident in the person protecting him.
"Um…Excuse me, sir."
"Sir? Haha….. Just call me Silkhat. It's too much for a beggar to be called Sir."
"Okay, then, Mr. Silkhat. Who's the one who wants to see us? You said earlier that he was waiting for us, didn't you?"
The beggar named Silkhat closed his mouth as if thinking.
"…I think it would be better to meet him in person than tell who it is. We'll be there soon, so please wait."
His words were true.
As they turned at the last passage, a beggar's den appeared.
Thanks to a small crack in the ceiling, sunlight came in and illuminated the inside, and there were numerous beggars underneath.
It was no exaggeration to say that it was an underground village, and everyone was living by building tents or huts.
"This… this is amazing."
Jane said and Oliver agreed.
Not only was it large, but there were also women, children, and elderly, and the atmosphere was not bad.
At least it was not an atmosphere where the one with power exploited others.
Surprisingly, it was a rare atmosphere for a beggar den, but Oliver had stayed in a similar place in the past.
"I'm back. We have guests today."
Silkhat said in front of the largest tent built in the innermost part of the beggar den.
Soon, there was a rustling sound in the tent, and soon after, someone came out.
He was wearing a beanie, a shabby long coat, limping on one leg, and holding a relatively new quarterstaff.
"Kent?"
Before Oliver knew it, words just came out of his mouth.
Looking at Oliver’s reaction, Jane asked in surprise.
"Do you know him?"
In an awkward situation where Oliver hesitated to answer, Kent skillfully intervened.
"That's right, Miss. I was greatly indebted to Sir. Warlock in the past. I'm Kent, the head of [PoorBrothers]. It's an honor to meet you."
"Ah…"
Jane was flustered by the skillful greeting of Kent, but soon regained her composure and lowered her knees and head slightly.
"Thank you for your hospitality. My name is Jane, Mr. Kent."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Jane. It is an honor to have you in this humble place. There's not much to offer, but I hope you'll have a good time. And if you don't mind, would you allow me to talk with Sir. Warlock for a moment?"
"Oh, I'm fine, of course, but you should ask Dave…"
" Did you make this place?"
Oliver asked, looking around the giant beggar den.
Beggars were gathering in order around boiling soup in a large pot, and children were playing or learning to read with adults around them.
"…Is this your new beggar den?”
"Our den. Me and the people who live here."
Jane alternated between Oliver and Kent, frowning at the mysterious conversation, and at that moment she saw something amazing.
"He…Hehe."
It was Oliver who did something similar to laughter for a moment.
"Oh, my"
"Huh…!"
Both Jane and Kent were surprised, and so did others.
It was a strange and difficult phenomenon to explain, but everyone's attention was focused on Oliver's laughter.
Like people who saw a miracle.
However, the person involved didn't seem to know this.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Kent."
"Same with me. Sir. Warlock”
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Oliver went into Kent’s tent after asking Jane for her understanding.
Looking at the size which was big compared to other tents, he was curious about what was inside, but when he entered, there was nothing much.
Just a sleeping bag, a sitting desk, and some hanging clothes.
The only thing that looked expensive was an old Magic stone lamp.
“Isn’t it empty?”
Kent asked, organizing his seat.
"Um? It looks neat."
"Is that it?”
"I think it's a little wide."
"Everyone said I need to set up a big tent to be dignified. As you can see, there are a lot of people.”
"I saw, but what happened?"
Oliver sat down and asked. The seat was the bare floor lined with newspaper.
"What do you mean?”
"All of this?”
Kent smiled quietly.
"Thanks to you.”
"Me?"
"Yeah, it’s because of the money you gave me."
Oliver remembered the safe he found after killing Puppeteer Glyph.
After taking all the money in the safe, he handed it over to Kent, and the amount of money inside was hundreds of millions.
Now that he thought about it, it was a pretty big sum.
However, Oliver did not have any regrets. Thanks to that he was now able to see something interesting.
"The money you gave me… I was thinking about what to do, and then, decided to bring together all the beggars of District W."
"Why did you bring everyone together?”
"After the Freckle incident, I felt that we needed to be strong to be truly safe. If we remained like that there was a chance that another Freckle would appear to exploit us….. Don't get me wrong. I didn't force anyone to grow bigger by using violence like Freckle."
"I know, and even if you did, you don't have to tell me that. I just gave you the money because I wanted to see what you would do with that."
Oliver spoke from the bottom of his heart.
Whatever Kent did with the money, Oliver had no intention of getting angry. Whatever he did, he thought it would be fun.
"……Right. You were that kind of guy. How have you been?"
Oliver answered after much consideration.
"Me? Um… I think I've been well."
"How's Forrest doing?"
"Yes, I think he’s doing fine. Oh, but how did you recognize me? As you can see, I'm wearing this."
Oliver asked, pulling the leather mask.
"It's not difficult. Forrest doesn't accept anyone, so there are only a few new solvers. It's not that hard to infer when you compare the time when you left and the time a new Solver appeared. Though, I didn't expect you'd use the name Dave."
"Um… I'm sorry if you got offended for using your son's name. The name suddenly came to mind."
"I'm not offended. Really."
Kent said so and laughed. He looked happy, but Oliver had a hard time understanding why.
"…By the way, the beggar’s den is really big."
"I was lucky. After the incident with Freckles, other beggars wanted a new group to protect themselves. A huge group that exceeds the size of beggars."
"Is that PoorBrothers?”
"Yes, I had the money you gave me, so it was easy to persuade other beggars."
"Even if you had a lot of money, it wouldn’t have been easy.”
"Yeah, that’s why I increased the size of the business.”
"Business?"
"Yes. Now, we deliver confidential goods and letters for gangsters and businessmen, rummage through all the back alley trash cans to gather more information than what we did before, and resell it at a high price. Other than that, we also sell rumors."
"Rumors?"
"We hear rumors and gossip at restaurants, bars, and social gatherings. There are a lot of fun stories going around here and there. It's sloppy but when you connect various dots, it becomes useful information."
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. How is that possible for PoorBrothers?”
"We find friends who are healthy in limbs and appearance, wash them, buy clothes, get them a room, and get them a job at a restaurant or bar that we're aiming for. Instead, they bring us the stories they hear while working there."
"Um…"
"Thanks to this, the information we handle has become more diverse and valuable. Now, some places do business regularly with us, so the income is quite good. As evidence, the amount of money you gave me has increased, not decreased."
Kent said with pride.
"But don't worry. The profits are put in a common safe and taken out in front of everyone's sight only when necessary. Thanks to you, we all trust each other.”
"That's great. Is it okay to settle down in the sewer here? I think you said it was dangerous in the past."
"Don't worry, it's safe here. I've already looked into it several times. On top of that, our headcount is not around 20, but hundreds, so they won't be able to touch us easily. Still, just in case, we have weapons and also maintain a connection with the surroundings, so it won't be a big deal all of a sudden… Now, Tell me more about yourself. Apparently, you were being chased. What happened? In particular, she seemed like a daughter of a precious family."
Oliver pondered for a moment whether to talk or not.
In a normal situation, it would not be right to say, but the situation itself was too far from normal.
And he might have to get Kent's help if he had to.
So, finally, after much consideration, Oliver outlined the situation.
"You……. You got caught in a dirty and variable job.”
"That's what Mr. Forrest said. But I really didn't expect this."
"It's a big deal."
"I feel the same way."
"No, that's not what I’m talking about. I'm not sure, but they might turn you into a traitor.”
"Me? Why?"
"Because you're a Warlock?"
"I will get framed because I am a warlock?”
"Yeah. I don't want to say this, but blaming everything wrong on a Warlock is a kind of card everyone likes to play. That's why even if someone picks a fight with a Warlock in the city, the Warlock doesn't touch them. Because in the end, they will end up as a sandbag."
"Um… It doesn't sound very good to me."
"Yes, but in this case, I think the other side will also not like to make things big, so probably they won't go to the police from the beginning.”
"Then?"
"Probably after killing the girl and you, they'll decorate it in a way that you killed her. Forrest and the person who introduced you will all be poisoned."
"Um, then, I'll have to get her somewhere safe as soon as possible."
"A safe place? Is there one?"
"Yes, she said she could get help from a place called Sisterhood. Do you know about that place?”
Kent thought for a while before opening his mouth again.
"I think I know, but she wouldn’t be interested in it, right?"
"Yes, do you know the reason for that?”
"Not exactly. This is something I heard from people who have been there… How much do you know about the Sisterhood?"
"I only know that it is an organization of a group of women, and they help each other."
"It's not quite wrong. They indeed help each other. But, that doesn't mean that's all.”
"Is that so?"
"Yes, this city is complicated and the people who live here are also complicated. Even if you're the same woman, you can take advantage of each other's weaknesses. That's why Sisterhood invests in illegitimate children."
"Invests?"
"Yes. The illegitimate children of more influential people, such as politicians and capitalists. Some of them don't have a proper heir, and some of them can be blackmailed using them later. They bring and raise illegitimate children of those people so that they can use them later."
“Um…”
Oliver was a little surprised. It was something out of common sense he thought of.
"But, don't mothers raise illegitimate children?"
“Surprisingly, illegitimate children are cheaper. Millions will do."
"Um…"
"Sisterhood gives a lot of education to the children they bring in. They have to be smart to use them later. Even if they can't use them, they can use them as workers who can work for the organization."
For a moment, Oliver thought of Miss Coco, the employees at Angel’s House, and Elizabeth.
It didn't seem to be a coincidence that they had a similar atmosphere.
"Um…What if they could use them for their original purpose?"
"They say they would help her receive the inheritance and ask her to use some of it for Sisterhood in the form of investment, as a way of paying off her debt. But, if the girl asks for help now, she’ll accumulate more debt, and they will have a leash on her. I don’t think the girl would like that.”
Oliver understood the reason for Jane's uncomfortable reactions whenever she talked about Sisterhood.
As long as it's the worst situation, she has no choice but to get help, but it was also understood that she didn't want to.
Oliver pondered what to do.
He pondered whether he should put in a bare minimum effort for this job, or should he work a little harder.
"…….."
"Are you okay?"
"What? Um, yes… Excuse me, Mr. Kent. It's better to work hard, right?”
"Maybe? You have to work more than the money’s worth and try to get paid more next time. But why are you asking that?"
Oliver didn't answer, he once again went back to thinking.
"Um… Since the lady taught me this and that.”
"I'm sorry, what do you mean by that? I really don't understand."
"It's nothing. Could you do me a favor? She'll be able to pay for it."
"What is it?"
Kent asked with a look of uneasiness, and Oliver replied.
A moment later, Kent opened his mouth.
"You're crazy."
(To be Continued)
Comments