"Please sign here."
A female real estate agent from District O pointed out the spot for signature on the document.
As one of the rare female professionals in Landa, she had not survived in this business casually. She was kind, charming, yet flawless.
A strength different from physical power.
After completing his observations, Oliver complied with her request, signed where indicated, and extended a case bag filled with cash.
Click-!
When the real estate agent opened the bag, the crisp sound accompanied the sight of pristine high-denomination bills.
It was a special fee that included a year's advance rent for the house, the deposit, the brokerage fee for the real estate agent, and other costs related to maintaining secrecy.
As everyone in Landa did, she received the large sum of money with a gleaming smile.
"Thank you. The house is yours for the next year. Thank you once again for a clean transaction."
"No, thank you."
Oliver had become accustomed to life in Landa. He handled the paperwork with more proficiency than when he had first rented his place.
The real estate agent, satisfied with the clean transaction, handed over the property and left the house after politely saying goodbye to Oliver and the group behind him.
Thud.
"Here are the keys."
As soon as the female agent left, Oliver extended a bunch of house keys to Unna.
"You can easily duplicate the keys according to the number of people."
Unna, still seeming to find the situation surreal, hesitated before accepting the keys.
She was questioning and wondering if she was doing the right thing.
Regardless, Oliver said what he wanted to say.
"District O is quite a nice place to live, although it's a bit risky. Security and convenience facilities are pretty good. Above all, it's good for privacy protection."
All he said was true.
This house was one of the many options he had considered when he was choosing a place to live.
The house was large, had a basement, was soundproofed, and it was set some distance from the neighboring houses, which made it advantageous for maintaining privacy.
Unna nodded in agreement on this point.
"……Ah."
After explaining about the house, Oliver seemed to ponder for a moment before pulling out a red notebook and a wallet-sized money pouch from his bag.
"Is this… mother's?"
"You recognized it. It's Lady Bathory's notebook. It seems to be a list of clients."
Upon seeing what could be considered Bathory's relics, Unna and the other disciples were momentarily stirred.
However, under Oliver's overwhelming force and bizarre pressure, coupled with the absurdity of receiving help from an enemy, they were all held down and couldn't move.
Perhaps it was because of the promise made in the sewer.
‘Could we possibly reconcile for a while……? At least for a year.'
Unna had accepted then.
Because the outcome was too clear.
Of course, they could have chosen death, but it was questionable whether it was right for the Bathory family to vanish futilely in a foreign sewer.
Wasn't it over when one died? Just the end.
So, Unna had accepted the one-year reconciliation, as unpleasant and grotesque as it was.
"I put some money in this pouch. It should be enough for living expenses for a year. Do you have any questions?"
Looking at her enemy who was speaking politely as if nothing had happened, Unna turned her head towards her sisters.
"Go upstairs to the bedroom for a moment."
"Huh? But, Unna……."
"I said go up."
The sisters, under the firm command of their current leader, Unna, went upstairs. They were uneasy, but they did not harbor any complaints.
Watching them, Oliver spoke.
"Everyone seems to have tremendous faith in you, Miss Unna."
"Is there a problem?"
Unna exuded an aura of vigilance and hostility.
It was understandable. Whatever happened, Oliver was the enemy.
They had agreed to reconcile for a year, but it was hard to completely eradicate hostility.
"No……. Just that it's impressive. Normally, even if warlock families appear to get along well, they don't really, right? But you guys are different……. That's a bit surprising and impressive.”
Unna, remaining on guard, didn't respond at all.
The silence was awkward, and Oliver was slowly starting to pull back, preparing to part ways, when suddenly, Unna slowly opened her mouth.
"We're sisters, after all, having the same mother."
"Ah… You mean Lady Bathory?"
Unna nodded. She sincerely thought of Bathory as her mother.
Oliver once again pondered whether to talk about how Bathory only saw them as useful tools.
He was very curious about their opinions and feelings on this matter. However, he also had a feeling that maybe it was a little inappropriate.
"Do you have something to say?"
"Huh? Oh, yes… How did you know?"
"I'm a warlock too… Your emotions are very weak, so it's hard to distinguish."
"Ah… There is something I want to say, as you guessed. However, it might be rude. Maybe."
Unna hesitated a bit before telling him to go ahead, trying to gauge Oliver.
"Well… It seems that you and others cherish Lady Bathory, but do you know that she doesn't actually feel the same? She calls you her daughters, but she sees you like how other warlocks see their disciples."
In other words, she sees them as her property or tools. However, Unna showed no particular reaction.
Not because she didn't understand, but because she knew.
"You knew."
"I've been serving her for a long time."
She was surprisingly calm.
"But why…"
"Am I following her?"
Oliver nodded.
The anger she showed when he showed her Bathory made as a Corpse Doll was real.
Strong emotions that consumed reason.
And yet, she knew Bathory saw them as tools.
It was interesting.
"Most of my sisters and I are abandoned beings. We're also women in the lower class."
Oliver nodded.
He roughly knew how hard it would be to be a woman in poverty and in the lower class.
He'd seen it in the orphanage.
"Most of us almost died… No, we did die. Miserably and like trash. The only one who helped us then was our mother."
"Lady Bathory?"
"Yes… She gave us a second, albeit unstable, life, she taught us, she gave us a better life and sisters. Even if she saw us as tools, that fact won't disappear."
"Ah…"
Oliver could understand.
Regardless of Bathory's motive, the undeniable fact was that she had helped them.
That's why their relationship with Bathory was both false and true.
Oliver nodded and apologized again, with more sincerity this time.
"I'm really sorry about Lady Bathory."
Unna said nothing. The situation was not good, and they had formed a crazy reconciliation relationship for a year, but it was proof that she hadn't yet forgiven him.
He had no particular complaints. After all, Oliver was the one who suggested it and wanted it.
Then Unna opened her mouth.
"Can I ask a question too?"
"Please go ahead."
"Why are you helping us like this? It seems like you spent quite a lot of money."
She was right. He rented this house, spent an amount unimaginable to Oliver of two or three years ago on living expenses.
"Um…… I like you guys.”
“What did you say?”
Unna, who was trying hard to remain calm, furrowed her brows in discomfort.
“Aren't you on good terms with your sisters? …… It's not easy for a Warlock Family to be like that. I find it interesting and pleasing to watch.”
Unna focused her attention on Oliver's eyes to determine whether he was being sincere or mocking. Oliver continued to explain as if to prove he was not mocking.
“Of course, I spent a considerable amount of money, but my recent earnings have been good enough to afford it. Also, I have many things to ask you. There's no other way to get news from across the sea other than newspapers.”
“You want to use us as your source of information. We have no choice but to answer. We've received your help, so……."
“No. That's not it. I'd be grateful if you could answer, but you don't have to force yourself. Helping you like this is a sign of my apology for a year of reconciliation, even though I didn't intend it, but I did kill Lady Bathory."
The muscles and tendons on Unna's face became slightly more prominent.
“……Then, do I not have to answer your questions?”
"Um……. How about we help each other as needed? If you help me with my questions, I will help you.”
Oliver sincerely rambled about this crazy talk, not knowing where to begin.
Unna didn't know what to say, and Oliver stood up from his seat.
"……For now, I'll take my leave for today. I'll visit from time to time, so let me know if you need anything. Oh, and I would appreciate it if you could keep your promise with me.”
The promise was a reasonable one, to not attack him for at least a year and not do anything that would be harmful to Landa.
He made it a condition that he would kill them all if they violated it, and Unna accepted it.
“May I ask one more thing?”
“……What is it?”
“Do you think you can subjugate us and keep us below you?”
Unna asked after much thought.
There were times when one would control other warlocks with their power, wealth, and charisma.
Oliver responded with all sincerity.
“No. Not at all…… I would also prefer it didn't happen. I really mean it.”
***
“Did you enjoy your vacation?”
Kevin outright asked Oliver, who had returned to the magic tower after a legal three-day vacation.
“Yes……. I had a good time. Is there anything you need?”
“No. Just asking. There are often accidents during the post-final party, so I just asked in case.”
“Oh……. Don't worry. I didn't get invited to such places.”
“There are also thieves, petty thieves, swindlers who target awkward-looking officials of the magic tower. Besides, I feel like you would step into such places out of curiosity.”
Kevin had Oliver figured out.
Although the circumstances were different, Oliver had once encountered a thief.
“I'll be careful.”
“Yeah, you should be. The summer semester is about to start.”
“Yes, I'll keep that in mind. By the way, is there anything I need to do?”
“There is. For now, sort these until lunchtime.”
Kevin pointed at the stack of documents piled on his desk.
The documents were student information, and there were quite a lot of them.
“By sorting, do you mean the sorting we did at the beginning of the semester?”
“Yes. Divide them according to their affiliated school of magic, minor schools of magic, and other characteristics. We need to understand the students in order to plan the lessons accordingly.”
He was right, but a question arose apart from that.
“Weren't you saying that the summer semester usually has fewer students?”
“Right."
"But the pile of documents there seems to be quite a lot?”
“Yes, that's right. All the students you were in charge of last semester have reapplied, and other students have added applications as well."
"I see……."
“I think they have heard some rumors, but regardless, I'm going to proceed in my way. It's not urgent, so sort them out slowly until lunchtime, and follow me in the afternoon.”
“May I ask what it is?”
“I'm thinking of picking a research assistant to help me during the holidays. Come and assist.”
(To be Continued)
