Oliver handed over the bag to the real estate agent from District L, who greeted him with a professional smile and proceeded to open it.
Click-!
With a pleasant sound, the lock opened.
When the bag was opened, a large amount of high-value currency caught his eye.
The sum was quite significant, encompassing a year's prepayment for the house rent, contract charges, commission for the real estate agent, and other special fees, including confidentiality assurances.
However, Oliver didn't feel it was a waste.
His financial situation had significantly improved due to various endeavors, including working with the Kell Liberation Army, partnering with Arthur, receiving direct tasks from the city, escorting Jane to the auction house, recovering auction items, and more.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he could deposit all the money in a bank and generate sufficient interest to cover basic living expenses.
For this reason, Oliver didn't feel disheartened about parting with the money, as long as he received appropriate services in exchange.
Thud.
The real estate agent from District L inspected the cash and closed the case.
He seemed to be familiar with large cash transactions like this, as he completed the verification with just a few inspections.
"I've confirmed it. Thank you, sir."
"Thank you as well… Ah, here are the signed documents."
Oliver retrieved his paperwork before passing the remaining documents to the real estate agent.
He briefly checked the papers and put them in a file.
"We've set up the furniture as requested, and the basement has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized."
"I inspected it earlier. It was spotless. Thank you for your efforts."
"No trouble at all, sir. We've provided the service in line with the payment received. Here are your keys."
The real estate agent handed Oliver two sets of keys, which emitted a faint magical aura.
"These keys unlock the front door and each room in the basement. One is a spare key, please be careful not to lose it. For security reasons, there will be a small fee for reissuing keys for the magic-locked device. Please be aware of that."
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way. Have a great day."
The real estate agent bowed courteously.
Oliver escorted him out and looked around the rented house inside and out.
The house had a pointed roof, like any other two-story house in the city center of Landa.
Built after the enactment of fire safety regulations, the building was not directly attached to the neighboring buildings, providing a certain degree of privacy.
Furthermore, the surrounding area was remarkably tranquil.
At the very least, it seemed that he wouldn't have to hear drunkards' ramblings or gunshots at midnight.
Oliver went inside the house and looked around the living room and kitchen.
As per the contract, all the basic appliances were provided, and the bedrooms and private rooms on the second floor were also furnished according to Oliver's order.
"Oh, there's even a radio."
Oliver noticed the radio placed on the bedside table drawer.
In the P, Q, R, S, T, and U districts, which are mainly composed of factories and workers' residences, it was a relatively rare and expensive commodity.
Oliver had not felt the need to buy it but had the opportunity to purchase it out of curiosity as an option.
Click-!
Oliver turned on the radio.
With a whirring sound, news from a channel came on. It was the local news of Landa, and when he turned the button again, this time it was an economic investment channel.
[-Therefore, the possibility of developing a new magic stone mine in the new continent is very high. It's an opportunity! An opportunity! ‘Prometheus Corp.' which discovered it first is expected to monopolize the development. Thanks to this, not only can Prometheus Corp. catch a break from the setbacks, but it also established a new foothold. The stock is rising again…]
Although the radio was chattering non-stop with an energetic voice, it was not easy for Oliver to focus since it was not his area of interest yet.
If he let his guard down even a little, the sound scattered in his head, but he still tried to listen.
The reason was none other than that such economic channels were the core value of the radio.
Most of the Landa middle class, who were interested in investment, obtained investment information through radio, which is why the radio distribution in workers' and slum areas, where there was no room for investment, was much lower compared to other areas, and the radio distribution rate was higher in relatively affluent areas.
It was an interesting phenomenon.
‘Hmm. … But, if certain people only get information through the radio, doesn't that mean they can manipulate the information by intentionally releasing limited information?'
Oliver suddenly thought while looking at the radio and then shook his head.
‘There must be some safety mechanism. It can't be that sloppy…’
After roughly checking the basics, Oliver nodded and went straight down to the basement.
The biggest reason for choosing this house was the large, neatly finished basement under the house.
As soon as he checked the basement, Oliver took out Bigmouth from his waist.
Bigmouth, responding to Oliver's will, swelled up like bread dough. The creature seemed happy to open its eyes in the basement after a long time, probably because it wasn't a desperate situation.
"Bigmouth, can I ask for your help?"
Bigmouth nodded and vomited four corpse dolls from its mouth.
Gwack-!
Gwack-ack-!
Gwack-ack-ack-!
Gwack-ack-ack-ack-!
The corpse dolls – Helper 1, Duncan, Sniper, and Warlock – spilled onto the floor.
Oliver took out four test tubes containing [Child] from his pocket and opened the caps.
As if they had already agreed, the Children each entered a corpse doll, got up, and stood in a line.
"New… new house."
"Like it. Satisfied."
"Kyahaha!"
"……"
Fortunately, the Children seemed to like the new basement. After all, compared to their previous accommodations, it was almost twice as spacious, and without mold, the environment was more pleasant.
It wasn't strange for the Children to prefer a larger and more pleasant space, just like Bigmouth enjoyed expensive things.
Clap! Clap!
Oliver clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
Bigmouth and the corpse dolls focused their gaze on Oliver.
Oliver handed Bigmouth a bundle of bills consisting of 10,000 Landa each.
"Kruk?!"
"Here you go. You've been through a lot."
No sooner had he spoken than Bigmouth pulled out one bill at a time and swallowed it, savoring the taste.
Oliver immediately prepared gifts for the Children. It was the energy that combined emotions and Life-force.
"Here you go."
As soon as permission was given, the Children inside the corpse dolls opened their mouths and directly extracted and absorbed the mixture of emotions and Life-force.
Shwooshahahahaak—!
Shwooshahahahaak—!
Shwooshahahahaak—!
Shwooshahahahaak—!
The Children quickly finished eating everything, as if they were starving. Their already good appetite had become even better.
It was indeed a good decision not to create more Children recklessly. If he had thoughtlessly increased their numbers, it would have been quite challenging to manage their food expenses.
"Are you all full now?"
"No."
"Grrr."
"Nope."
"No way."
"Give me more."
They all shook their heads. However, it didn't matter. He was just asking out of courtesy.
"As you can see, we've all moved. We've moved to a better place than where we lived before. Now I can set up a proper laboratory."
The Children cheered, and Bigmouth happily played along.
"Grrrrrrrrrr…"
"Thanks for being happy… Second, please don't shoot the gun."
The Child-Second inside [Sniper] was about to shoot a gun with its eight hands but then put it away again. It looked extremely disappointed.
"Kyahaha…"
"Now, we're moving our accommodations here, and we'll be using the basement as a lab and workspace. So, please help me a bit. Bigmouth?"
"Gruk?"
"Can you take out the things I bought from the black market a few days ago in the order I mentioned? And First?"
"Kyaah…"
"I have a simple picture and description here. Can you arrange them according to the order Bigmouth vomits them out? I have a lot to do, and I need some help."
At Oliver's request, First nodded, and the other Children and Bigmouth also nodded.
"I'm relieved. Thank you for your help. After finishing the work, I'll give you more money, and I'll also give you more emotions, mana, and Life-force."
"Hahaha!"
"Kyahaha!"
"Click-! Click-! Click-!"
"Grrrrruk-!"
As soon as they heard the reward, the Children and Bigmouth moved right away, making their unique sounds.
Their good relationship helped them work well together.
Without being asked, they each took their positions and moved the items that Bigmouth vomited to the designated places, and First patted Bigmouth's back.
To make it vomit harder.
Satisfied with their actions, Oliver went outside the basement and extracted the mana stored within him to cast pre-learned security spells on the entrance and windows, and soundproofing spells on the interior walls.
The chances of intruders entering were low, and privacy was ensured, but there was no harm in being cautious.
While enchanting the entire house with magic, a signal sounded…
beep, beep, beep.
It was the direct communication device from Forrest.
Thump.
Oliver picked up the communication device.
"Yes, Mr. Forrest. Isn't there still some time left before we go to District X? …Not that? Then? …Yes, I understand. …Yes, yes. …Yes, I got it. I'll head to the restaurant right away."
As soon as Oliver finished the call, he immediately prepared to go out.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Responding to Forrest's call, Oliver stopped what he was doing, took the Children and Bigmouth, and went to the restaurant on Street 27, District T.
The restaurant was still in operation, but upon closer inspection, one could see a sign indicating that the restaurant would soon be relocating.
"Right, I need your help with this. The union should step in for such matters… Huh? You came?"
Unusually, Forrest was having a conversation outside the restaurant and greeted Oliver when he arrived.
"Yes, I just arrived. Is everything alright?"
"I don't mean to be a downer, but things aren't going so great. Honestly, I'm pretty confused and ticked off."
Forrest said, suppressing his boiling emotions.
The reason for his anger was none other than the call from the Paladins regarding the warlocks. Suddenly, they wanted to conduct a light investigation.
Oliver asked, "Has this never happened before?"
"It's rare, but it has happened a few times. However, that was after something had already happened… This is the first time they're doing this without any prior warning. That's why I'm a bit angry."
Forrest was sincere. It felt like an unpleasant sensation akin to observing an ill-mannered child.
"Some skilled solvers have already been summoned for investigation. Among them, there are friends I know. They're warlocks, but they're polite guys."
Forrest opened his mouth again, holding back his anger for a moment. It was to regain his composure for an appropriate response.
"However, we can't fight the Paladins. For now, it's wise to comply in many ways. I'm sorry, but can you cooperate?"
Forrest asked for help, and Oliver gladly nodded.
Honestly, it wasn't very pleasant to have his time taken away right after moving, but this was an unavoidable situation.
"Then let's leave immediately."
"Are you coming with me, Mr. Forrest?"
"Of course. I’m your broker."
"Oh… Thank you."
"If you die, the current business would be ruined, and I don't know how to handle the aftermath."
"……."
"Why are you looking at me like that? Get ready to go."
(To be Continued)
OR
$5/month6 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$15/month12 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$30/month19 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$45/monthAll advance chap + 6 chap/week
