It was such a bizarre scene.
A black wizard taking confession proudly in a secret lab of the Wizards.
If a stranger hears it, he will laugh because it was a ridiculous lame joke, or would say it was an ungodly thing that cannot be said.
But surprisingly, it was actually happening in the underground secret laboratory of the Mattel Lab.
It was like……. a very sacred and unsacred sight at the same time.
The suffering boy was freed from pain and fear whenever he confessed, and the Warlock, who held hands together, recalled the contents of the scripture and asked God for forgiveness.
Everyone watched this ridiculous scene without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Oliver, his voice was calm as if there were no emotions, but his face… it was completely covered in darkness, perhaps because of the darkness of the laboratory.
Thus no one could see what expression it was.
"Lastly… I couldn't save my brother who went to the lab first. He asked for help, but I was so scared. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
The boy cried for forgiveness– to his brother and to God.
Oliver asked God for forgiveness in a calm voice as before.
"Holy Father, forgive us for our sins….. We are weak and troubled. Holy Father, forgive your child’s sins. Your child is asking like this. Mallelujah."
"Mallelujah… thank you. Thank you…"
Oliver said, gently raising his hands over the swollen boy's eyes.
"… It's okay now, so sleep comfortably. When you close your eyes and wake up……. Everything will be fine."
The boy did not answer, but fell asleep without fear, and Oliver held his hand until the boy was completely asleep.
"……."
After a short and long silence, the boy fell into complete sleep.
Oliver said to the children around him, letting go of his hands carefully.
"Everyone, please wait here for a moment."
Oliver looked out of the lab, leaving the words.
Mattel's researchers were standing there with the lights backlit.
Oliver looked at Rosbane and asked again.
"Can you wait?"
Rosbane nodded and brought the other children behind him like the eldest brother.
Oliver nodded and walked out of the lab.
As soon as Oliver approached, Mattel Wizards stepped back and made room for him.
According to the information on the World Tree, the number should not be large, should be around 20.
But the amount and quality of mana were enormous.
Some were as good as the three wizards he faced when he came in, while one was stronger than all of the other wizards combined.
"… Thank you for your patience."
Oliver said to the wizard at the end of the group.
The man's age was in his mid to late 20s, and he was quite young, both objectively and subjectively.
He seemed quite surprised by Oliver's behavior, but he didn't show it on the outside.
"How did you know I was in charge here?"
"I just saw. Thank you again. Thank you for not disturbing earlier."
"I'm grateful, too. I saw something funny. A Warlock taking confessions. I saw something really rare.”
Oliver agreed.
He still didn't understand why he did that.
He could only explain that he just thought he should do that.
But apart from that, he felt uncomfortable.
It was hard to explain, but it was a little annoying.
So Oliver spoke bluntly without realizing it.
"………I'm sorry, but could you please step aside so that we can pass? I'm very tired today.”
The man looked back and shook his head.
"That would be hard, I can't let you go after this fuss. Most of all, those half-dead guys are my friends. They are also elite from the Magic Tower who graduated with high grades. I need to get compensation for the damage.”
"That's a relief.”
"What?"
Oliver placed his quarterstaff aside, took off his coat, and rolled up his sleeves.
"Actually, I didn't want to just let go of you either.”
With those words, Oliver placed his hand on his chest and… tried to extract his emotions.
SHUUUUU
For the first time, Oliver extracted his emotions, a tiny amount, without taking a Pilgaret.
A very unusual moment.
And at that moment, an older-looking wizard who felt something was wrong tried to attack Oliver immediately.
Oliver tried to respond accordingly.
"Hell…"
BOOM
Suddenly, a huge light burst between Oliver and the wizard.
Looking at the surprised reaction of the Mattel Wizards, it didn't seem like it had anything to do with them.
As Oliver continued to wonder who it was, he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, mate. I came to get paid for my loan."
Bald upper head, drooping hairs like seaweed on the side, and an egg-like head– the old man from the bookstore appeared in the air.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Oliver was taken aback.
He couldn’t believe seeing the old man from the bookstore here and wondered how he showed up here
And it didn't seem like only Oliver was surprised.
All Mattel Wizards seemed to be stunned by the appearance of the old man.
"Who the hell are you? Are you with him…?"
In response to a wizard's attempt to ask, the old wizard, who had attacked Oliver earlier, intervened by stopping him.
Looking at his emotional state, it seemed like he knew the identity of the old man.
"Archiver Merlin?”
"Ho-ho…do you know me?"
The old man from the bookstore asked in an arrogant, confident voice, not a humble voice when he talked to Oliver.
Mattel Wizards, who were arrogant until a while ago, began to shake when they heard the word [Archiver Merlin].
The old wizard answered Merlin's question.
"I met you from afar 20 years ago. My name is Finn Rousseau, a disciple of Grandmage Theodore."
"Ah, I remember. A Rare-case. I thought you would die since you went under Theo, but I guess you didn't. Congratulations."
The man named Finn Rousseau bowed his head politely at the words. It was with respect from the bottom of my heart, not a pretense.
Somehow the atmosphere went off strangely.
The atmosphere that seemed like a fight was going to break, die down like a lie, and it took a completely new turn.
The man, who appeared to be the leader of the group of wizards, intervened unpleasantly.
"What are you all doing?”
As the old wizard was about to say something, the old man from the bookstore…. No, Merlin said.
"Let's see… Shiny blonde, white skin without blemishes, a sturdy physique– neither fat nor thin, tall, upright, and no glasses…Aha, you must be Carl, grandson of Theo, the one behind many rumors. It's nice to meet you, mate. I'm a friend of your grandpa."
Carl looked silently at Merlin's stretched hand.
As much as he wanted to ignore it because of his temper, he hesitated and soon stretched his hand, as if pressed by Merlin's spirit.
Merlin smiled and shook hands with Carl.
"Not only do you look like Theo, but the shitty personality also seems to be the same.”
Carl snapped.
"Watch your mouth. I don't know what relationship you have with my grandfather in the past, but he is now a Grandmage, the head of the School of life magic."
Instead of being surprised or angry, Merlin stared– as if looking at someone pitiful.
"…Hey Rousseau."
"Yes, Sir. Merlin."
"I guess young chaps don't know about me, huh.”
"Sorry, I'm sorry, Sir."
"No, no, no. Forgetting is a great blessing. I didn't expect anything in the first place… Anyway, I'll take this friend."
Merlin said, putting his hand on Oliver's shoulder.
Everyone was surprised, surprised but didn't think about giving in.
"What?"
"That's right, mate. This is a friend I've been paying attention to for a long time, it was you guys who butt in with your funny tricks.”
"Paying attention?”
"Aha… I guess you guys just approved it roughly without reviewing properly. You guys are always the same. Really smart in some things, but really dumb in other things… Or is it the person in charge's fault?"
Merlin narrowed his eyes and looked at Carl.
As soon as Carl received the look, he expressed his anger, but he was overwhelmed by Merlin's pressure and could not say anything.
"Did you think I don’t know how you guys work?"
"…"
"You had kept an eye on this friend from the beginning, and that eye should have told you he was with me. Did you think I didn’t notice it the first day this friend entered the gray market?"
"……."
"I was kind of enjoying my time with this friend a little bit. But you didn't ask my permission and made a move…. Isn't that something I can be displeased with? Feel free to answer, I won’t mind what you say now."
When Carl tried to say something, Rousseau stopped him. It was like a babysitter stopping a child.
"We’re extremely sorry, Sir. Merlin… We acted a little rashly this time."
"Huh, it's nice to see you admit your fault. I understand, accident happen at work. Anyway, can I take this guy? No one's dead, so everything’s good, right?"
Merlin placed his hand on Oliver's shoulder and asked.
It seemed like a friendly question, but it was more of a notification under the guise of a question.
The other side was also aware of this.
In a long silence that pressed down the surroundings, Rousseau finally opened his mouth.
"…of course. Rather, thank you for understanding."
Clap!
Merlin clapped his hands. as if he had finished his work
"Good. So, will you cooperate?”
Merlin asked, looking back at Oliver standing behind his back.
Oliver looked at Merlin, at the emotion in his hand, and then the laboratory, to be precise– the kids inside the laboratory.
"Yes, but can they come with me?”
Oliver asked, pointing to the closed laboratory door.
It was more of a demand than a question.
However, Carl shouted before Merlin could answer.
"What the fu*k!!"
Rousseau was flustered by the sudden roar and tried to stop him, but it did not work.
"Let go of them! Those trashes over there are the ones that we recently succeeded in experimenting! What the fu*k do mean by taking them!?”
It seemed to be more than just pride.
Merlin asked as if he had noticed something.
"Hmm… Are they related to the reincarnation project?"
"Yes!"
Shouted Carl. Judging from the reaction, it did seem to matter.
Merlin pondered for a moment, then looked at Oliver. He tried to ask something, but when he saw Oliver's expression, he gave up and saw Mattel Wizards again.
"…I'll take them as compensation.”
"!! Are you kidding?”
"… It's not a joke, mate… I'm not in a position to joke around with you. Let's be clear. You've put your foot in my quiet zone and bothered me. Whether you admit it or not, you owe me here. And I need to be compensated.”
"……."
"What are you going to do? Will you accept my reasonable request now and go back with a smile on everyone’s faces… Or do you want to check out the skills of the Wizard your grandpa never once defeated? For your information, I’m fine with both.”
At that moment, Merlin freed some of the mana hidden deep in his body.
Mana particles quickly scattered in all directions in the air, sweeping through everything.
The force was so intense that everyone's bodies went numb.
It seemed to indicate the difference in power.
It was simple but effective, and Carl said in a cold sweat.
"Ugh, Ugh….. Do you think this is acceptable? How dare you try to take our research results!!?"
"Acceptable? That doesn't matter, mate. It's whether you have the power to do that or not. Didn’t your grandpa teach that?”
"……."
When Carl couldn't say anything, Rousseau interrupted again.
Before he knew it, he aimed to calm the situation as much as possible.
"You can take them with you, Sir. Merlin, but just make one promise."
"……what is it?"
"…don't take away our research by examining the bodies of the children over there. It’s a request to a fellow scholar."
Carl tried to complain about something, but Rousseau stopped him.
"All right. I promise, as a fellow scholar."
That brought the case to a close.
There was an atmosphere in which no one could raise any more objections
Merlin said, turning his head toward Oliver.
"Will you bring the children?"
"Yes."
Oliver put his emotions in the test tube, opened the laboratory door, and went to pick up the kids, while Merlin confronted Mattel Wizards alone.
In an atmosphere that was completely opposite to when Oliver faced the Mattel Wizards, Carl said in a low voice.
"…I'll talk to my grandfather about this."
"You don't have to do that, mate. I'll go see him myself."
(To be Continued on Jan 16 {MON})
OR
$5/month2 chap ahead$15/month6 chap ahead$30/month12 chap ahead$45/monthAll advance chap + 7 chap/week
