Chapter 143

Project.

It was a word that bothered Oliver quite a bit.

So Oliver asked Forrest.

"What's the project?"

"It's not a confirmed story. It's just a rumor. Do you still want to hear it?"

"Yes."

Forrest rose from his seat and trimmed his clothes.

"…I think city councilors are planning to create a new armed group through city officials."

"Armed group?"

"Yes, an armed group. It's like soldiers who can be more flexible and different. The Police Department and the City Guard are strictly administrative agencies for city security and city defense. It's hard to do as you please with them. And there are a lot of eyes."

As soon as Oliver tried to ask why they needed troops, the reason flashed in his head.

"…by any chance, is it because of the wizards?"

"Yes, that's not all, but it's a big part. I guess you're used to this city now."

Forrest said so, but it didn't sound like much of a compliment.

"The city council members must have been nervous because the wizards accumulated more power in Landa. That's why they want a flexible armed group that they can handle."

Oliver nodded.

If that was the case, he has heard enough already. However, he had doubts.

"But why do they have city officials do that?"

"I haven't heard that much, but I can guess."

"What kind of guess?"

"They're passing the risk. Because of the wide world, there are people who can compete with the Magic Tower wizards among solvers, street wizards, and veterans. The problem is that these people are not easy to deal with."

Oliver thought it over. It seemed to be true to some extent.

There were quite a few eccentric people in this field of work. That is why they use a broker as an intermediary.

"Of course, some city council members are good at dealing with these people, and some already have their own force. But some don't. That's why they leave this job to city officials. They're dogs that have already been tamed, and they're going to tame the wandering wolves. Above all, in case of an emergency, the responsibility can be passed on. This is more important than you think."

Oliver, who understood what he meant, nodded.

"I think it's a risky job, why did the city officials accept such a job?"

"You can't see it that way. At least I would have accepted it without thinking. I described the city officials as tamed dogs earlier, but the city officials are also pretty smart dogs."

Oliver had an interesting response to the new story.

Forrest continued as if he had seen it himself.

"It is the city council members who decide Landa's policy and direction, but it's the city officials who actually run Landa. They are the undisputed elite."

"Is that so?"

"That's right. Even if the public swears at them saying they're tax thieves, they're one of the pillars of Landa with excellent ability. If such people accepted it means they have their own intentions."

Oliver nodded curiously.

It felt like he saw another new side of the city.

"So, what're the intentions?"

"Well, as the work increases, the effort increases, and the authority also increases….. It's hard to answer right away. I'll look into it a little more and give you an answer. First, take care of what the city says. In order to talk to them, you have to address their needs first. Can you do it?"

Oliver nodded and took the file.

"Is there a time limit?"

"By the end of this month. But, the sooner the better."

"All right."

Oliver nodded, packed the file, and left.

Ding

Oliver came out of the restaurant under the escort of Al.

The time limit given by Forrest was not short, but at the same time, it was not long either.

After much thought, Oliver decided to calmly prioritize what he had to do first instead of looking for them right away.

It wasn't about being relaxed.

More than that, he needed time to strengthen his power to work.

Oliver, who made such a judgment, grabbed a taxi and asked the driver to go near the general museum in District R.

The taxi driver gulped down the alcohol in a brown envelope, nodded, and then started driving.

Oliver sat in the back seat and looked at the files Forrest gave him.

Large and small executives of the organization called the Kell Liberation Army, ranging from reinforced humans who underwent illegal remodeling procedures to Warlocks, and to a lesser extent, wizards.

It was quite fresh for Oliver.

Even among solvers, there tends to be a bad relationship between Wizards and Warlocks, so it felt interesting when he saw both Wizards and Warlocks working together in the same organization.

He wondered what brought them together.

'Maybe I should meet them later and ask if we had time?'

Oliver thought so and looked at the bounties, personal information, and characteristics of the executives.

The current hiding place of some was predicted to some extent.

Most of them were in District X, and Oliver decided to target them.

Most of them have a higher risk, but the range of where they are was narrowed, which seemed to reduce the time to find them.

"But how to find them."

Before leaving, Oliver asked Forrest if there were any samples of blood or any traces of the people in question, but unfortunately, there were none.

Northland, of course, had a less administrative system than the United Kingdom, so it was not easy to secure it unless it was in a special case.

'Um, how do I find them?'

Oliver kept thinking about how to move forward with this job.

His days as a Solver were short, but maybe because he went through a lot, there were many things he personally wanted to do.

After a while, the car stopped.

Near the general museum in District R, Oliver thanked the driver and handed him the taxi fare and the tip.

The taxi driver smiled and said goodbye to Oliver after receiving the taxi fare and tips.

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day."

"Yes, thank you. Drive safely."

"I always drive safely."

The taxi driver drank a bottle in a brown envelope and replied.

Oliver went to the entrance of the general museum, slipped aside, and entered the corner of the black market.

A black market employee posing as a security guard watched as if he was wary, but when he saw Oliver's face, he soon stopped caring.

After going down for a long time, he arrived at the black market very deep in the museum.

The scenery of the black market was a little different from what Oliver remembered because there were many tenants who were receiving supplies at that time.

Although he wanted to look around, Oliver headed straight to the Crime Firm's office at the end of the black market, reminding him that he didn't have enough time.

When he reached the office, there was an empty desk and cabinet next to the office, as he saw before.

"Oh, you're here."

said the old gentleman sitting in front of an empty desk.

Wearing gold-rimmed glasses, an old suit, and an arm warmer, he recognized Oliver at once and greeted him.

"How are you? I'm here to pick up the goods."

With the words, Oliver took out an iron key from his pocket.

The old gentleman politely received the key, looked at it, and asked.

"Did you bring the money?"

"Oh, wait a minute."

Oliver said as if he had forgotten, and took out a wallet-type glutton bag from his pocket.

The glutton bag looked around and tried to run away as if it had expected what would happen next.

Unfortunately, Oliver forcefully opened its mouth without any malice and without mercy, squeezed it in with his hand, stirred it, and began to shake it upside down.

Uuuuuuuh-!!

Kwuh–!Kwuhhh———!

Queueek————!

Queueek—————!

As if he got used to it, the resistance decreased and the bundles of money fell in tandem to the rhythm of the shaking. Along with that, the tears of the gluttonous bag also dripped down.

The old gentleman skillfully arranged the falling bundles of money without saying anything, as if he also had gotten used to it now.

After a while, the old gentleman, who had counted all the money, opened his mouth.

"The balance is 125.5 million. Exactly."

Along with that, the old gentleman called an employee who was nearby and handed over the money, and the other employees quietly moved as if they were going to pick up the goods.

"Am I late?"

Oliver asked to confirm.

In the past, among the contents of the documents prepared to order goods, there was a statement that said if the goods were received late, an additional management fee would be charged accordingly.

The old gentleman did not hesitate and answered naturally.

As evidenced by his working attitude, he seemed fully aware of his work.

"If you're talking about maintenance costs, you don't have to worry. It's not too late."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. If you need something again next time, please visit us. I'll try to provide the best I can… Oh, there's your order."

The old gentleman pointed to one side and said.

At the place where he pointed, two big men in overalls and yellow running shoes approached, each carrying a huge corpse bag.

Mana could be seen flowing in the corpse bag, albeit minutely, and judging from its shape and flow, it seemed to be ice-type magic.

"The goods are stored at ultra-low temperatures, so they are in good condition without decay. However, if left at room temperature, decay can occur quickly, so please note that. Here's the document with the data of the item."

The old gentleman zipped down the corpse bag, showed the item, and handed over the document,

Oliver glanced through the papers and examined the condition of the goods.

It was cold, and as the old gentleman said, there was no decay.

'After processing this and the body of a Mattel employee, repairing and remodeling the corpse dolls will take a day or two. I have to experiment with other things, so at least 2 to 3 days… … . Wouldn't it be a little too soon to use them for the job?'

Oliver thought as he looked at the corpses.

It seemed like he could shorten the time as much as possible if he slept less, but the problem was that he did not know exactly where the Kell Liberation Army executives were.

He thought it would have been nice if there was something that could be used for tracking, such as blood, clothes, etc.

Since he didn't have any of that, he was worried about where to begin.

"Um…"

"What's wrong with you?"

A familiar voice was heard from behind.

When he turned, Joe was standing there, with shaggy hair and a loosely worn suit.

"Oh, Joe. Nice to meet you."

Joe nodded as if he meant the same thing.

"If there's no problem, please tell him, he's waiting."

Joe pointed to the old gentleman standing next to Oliver.

The old gentleman stood waiting as if he felt something was wrong.

"Is there a defect in the item?"

"No, there isn't. I was thinking about something else for a second. I'm sorry."

"No, if there is no defect in the product, and if you will receive it as it is, please sign here."

The old gentleman stuck out the confirmation document on the clipboard.

Oliver read the confirmation document once and signed it.

The old gentleman checked the sign and said politely.

"Thank you for using our branch. Please visit whenever you need it. We'll serve you better."

Oliver accepted the greeting, and the old gentleman went back to his seat and sat at the desk again.

Oliver asked Joe to wait a moment, then took out a leather case around his waist and took out Big Mouth.

Then, as usual, Big Mouth swallowed the two items it was asked to swallow.

"By any chance, did something happen?"

Oliver asked back at Joe's sudden question.

"What? Suddenly what…"

"No, just a little…. More reliable…. No."

Joe shook his hand and canceled his words.

This time Oliver said.

"Are you working?"

"Yeah. I have to make a living."

Upon hearing Joe's answer, Oliver looked at him quietly and opened his mouth again.

"Have you been waiting for me?"

"Yes. . . By any chance, can I know when I can take the next class?"

"How long did you practice?"

The practice Oliver asked for was the extraction of raw emotions, which was the basis of the basics.

It was inevitable because Joe learned black magic strangely. The basics were important to use [Black suit].

Instead of explaining Oliver's questions one by one, Joe took out a test tube.

Inside it was crude cheap emotions, but it wasn't processed.

Shuaaaaaaaa.

Joe extracted the emotions, not fast, but not too slow either.

Thinking about the first time when he had a hard time, it could be said that it was a great development.

"Oh, that's great. It's much faster than I thought."

"It's all thanks to you."

"What?"

"Thanks to you. Thanks to your help, I got the hang of it. Since then, I've been practicing it over and over and over again. Thanks to you, I lost some money, but… Where did you learn this way of teaching?"

"What do you mean where I learned"?

Joe stretched out one of his fingers and placed it on the back of his other hand. When Oliver gave him his tips, he gave them indirectly in that way.

"You gave me an indirect tip like this, didn't you? Thanks to that, I was able to practice as efficiently as possible."

"…? I didn't learn anywhere. It's just something I've always known."

"Really? …that's… Great."

"Why? Don't other people teach that way?"

Joe nodded.

"Except for you and our captain, I don't know any other Warlock who was good enough to teach someone, and you were the only one who taught me that way… But, you knew it from the beginning?"

"Yes."

Oliver looked at Joe and answered. It didn't seem like a lie.

Thinking of it, he had never read this kind of teaching method in Joseph's study, in Glyph's diary, or in Puppet's book.

Oliver suddenly thought.

'How did I know about teaching like that?'

All he remembered was that he did it reflexively when teaching Marie.

"Then, when can you teach me next?"

"Oh…. I'm sorry, but could you wait a little bit? I don't have time because I have a job now."

"Job? Solver job?"

"Yes, it's a little hard to tell you…"

"Are you talking about the Kell rebels hiding in Landa?"

Oliver looked at Joe silently.

Joe answered tactfully.

"The rumors have spread."

"Um, I see."

"Hey, Dave."

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind…. Can I help you?"