The gate opened at the priest's words.
The black gate made a squeaking noise and the beggars who were dying outside poured in all at once.
It looked like water flowing into a sewer.
Oliver, too, was swept away by the crowd and went into the church and was able to get in the line after a few mishaps.
"I'm glad. It looks like we can get it…"
“It’s been a while since I’ve eaten bread.”
“I know.”
The beggars who lined up looked at the pile of bread and said to each other.
But the whispers were not loud enough to be deafening.
Looking back, everyone was looking at the man who was handing out bread and the priest in charge.
Nevertheless, the priest and the church staff had a sense of disgust, discomfort, and a strange sense of superiority toward the beggars.
It felt like if they were offended then the beggars will be kicked out.
“Hey…don’t stare at them.”
The old beggar lowered Oliver's head and said.
“Bend your head. Look at the ground. Only the ground… They hate people like us looking at them or making eye contact with them. Don’t blame me if you were to get caught.”
Oliver lowered his head as soon as he told him to.
But that didn't solve his curiosity.
“…can I ask you a question?”
“Question…? Make it shorter.”
The old beggar looked in the direction of the priest and said.
“A while ago, you said there were other reasons for distributing bread…what is that?”
“…you want to know that now?”
“Yes, please.”
The polite yet sincere request made the beggar moan.
He looked at the line decreasing, and then he looked at the foot of the priest who was getting closer.
"Okay… I'll explain it later. Later."
“Thank you, Mr. Botti.”
“This bastard….. Ugh, he strangely makes it hard to refuse.”
Meanwhile, the line gradually decreased, and it was Oliver's turn.
Oliver followed Botti by lowering his head and bowing his back while looking down at the ground.
Yet, he could still see the staff and the priest giving the bread with a face full of disgust.
Is it because of the distance getting closer? Their feelings of looking down became more vivid.
“Here you go.”
Botti placed the bread in a pre-prepared sack and thanked the priest.
“Mallelujah. Thank you. Thank you. You will surely be blessed.”
The Priest stood without answering.
However, as if it was familiar, Botti took the party and went out of the Church.
"What a relief. There's not much bread left. If we had come late, then we wouldn't have gotten it."
“Excuse me? What happens if the bread runs out?”
“Whatever happens, what’s the matter with you? If we can’t get it then we have to just go back…. You have a lot of questions.”
“Ughh… we have to go back empty-handed?”
"Yes. They don't have any bread, so what should we do? We just have to suck our fingers. Do you think we woke up and prepared to go before sunrise for nothing? Don't be lazy even if you're a beggar. Then you'll get hungry and end up dying."
“Um… I see.”
Oliver replied with a nod of his head.
Clearly, beggars associated with Kent were far from lazy.
Harmonica and Rednose also went to beg at a preset time.
Other ordinary beggars collected garbage here and there throughout the back alleys or collected food waste to eat.
The people who took everything for free were the Sticks that were protecting the beggar's den.
Contrary to the contents of the journal he saw in Joseph's study, Kent's beggars were very diligent and hardworking.
The book described beggars as foolish and greedy creatures who were willing to commit all sorts of horrific crimes, such as selling friends for a penny.
So, they were good resources for a warlock to use, but the reality Oliver encountered was different.
It was quite interesting – The gap between books and reality.
“Ah, everyone stop.”
Botti stopped suddenly and said.
He looked outside.
There were quite a few people walking around.
“Hey…it seems like it’s been a while since we came from our territory. So, let’s go back.”
“What? Are we going back?”
“Yeah, if we take a long walk for no reason, we will only get tired. We have to go a long way, so we have to move now.”
Everyone frowned at Botti's words, but no one denied him.
Oliver had seen this a few times before.
When collecting trash, beggars avoided crowded places and moved mainly through the alley behind the crowded places.
Oliver wondered whether it was because they would become targets of people if they were caught by people's eyes.
“Come on, let’s go. Anyway, we’re lucky that everyone got bread, right? Let's go… Oh, right. Oliver."
"Yes?"
“You asked a question before, about the other reasons, right?”
“Um, yes.”
“I’m going to tell you this only once, so keep it in mind. You’re a member of our den, so I’m telling you specially.”
"Yes."
"It's because they want to let the world know that they're agents of God and saviors."
“Savior…?”
“Yeah, bread is precious to people who are hungry. The people who receive the bread have no choice but to listen to the people who have given them bread…. Besides that, they can also create a good image of helping the poor.”
“Um… but why does the Priest didn’t seem to like us?”
“Ah…, It seems it’s true like Rednose said, you do have pretty good eyesight.”
“According to the overall flow of the organization, individuals have to follow the rules even if they don’t want to. There are a lot of people like that in that place….there are even worse people who steal the relief supplies organized for the poor and take it for themselves.”
"Really…!?”
Oliver exclaimed in admiration at the new fact, which was obvious.
The Paladin named Joanna he saw was surprisingly clean and clear, but the priests were more different on the outside than he thought.
Of course, Oliver didn't meet all the Paladins and Priests, but he did somehow see through some of them … It was interesting.
Oliver felt fun learning about new facts.
The irony about things made him feel curious.
“Um, how do you all know about that?”
“Well… it’s nothing. We were just bragging, but it was something we heard from someone.”
“Someone?”
“From the Priest…”
“Priest?”
"I don't know if he's a real priest, but that's what we called him… Now he's dead, but he treated us equally and taught us this and that. He was a good guy."
Oliver saw respect in Botti's emotions.
The same emotions could be seen in others which was a rare thing.
It felt strange for Oliver, he believed that once you die then it's the end, but here a dead person was respected.
Someone said it as if to prove it.
"I don't know if what he said was real or not, but anyway, he's a great person. He taught us how to have a conversation with other beggars without fighting, and he even brought Kent along."
“Mr. Kent?”
"Yes, actually, it was the priest who brought Kent here. He's gotten a lot sassier now, but his personality wasn't normal at first."
"Is that so?"
“Yes. He looked like a corpse, he would get angry like a seizure even with the slightest touch. But now he is different.”
He is different now.
Oliver's curiosity got turned on.
He was different now and Oliver wanted to know why.
Botti suddenly interrupted Oliver who was about to ask more questions.
"Come on, let's stop talking about it, let's not talk about others behind their backs, especially among beggars like us. There's no human being in this place who doesn't have a story. Everyone, stop talking."
At Botti's words, everyone closed their mouths along with Oliver.
Oliver thought it was a sensitive question.
Nevertheless, he wanted to somehow resolve his curiosity.
It was like he want to scratch the itchy place.
“Um…what is there?”
Oliver asked one of the party members while pointing at a narrow street in the distance.
There were several beggars gathered there.
“That…?”
“It’s Freckle’s group……”
Botti said softly.
Freckle.
Oliver has heard about him a few times but does not know who exactly it was.
Oliver took a quick look at them to satisfy his curiosity.
There were many people who looked as fierce as Bigfist, and among them, there was an old man who was holding big dogs.
There was a gloomy atmosphere.
They looked more like gangsters than beggars, and some of those who got caught by them were being robbed of the bread which they had received from the Church.
Oliver watched them silently.
"…what should we do? Botti? Shall we go back?"
“Um… No, we came too deep, and we even made eye contact. It could be even more dangerous if we were to show our fear. So, let’s go forward confidently.”
With those words, Botti walked forward.
It was obvious that they were pretending to be strong, and they seemed to be in a much more dangerous situation.
Suddenly, Oliver remembered the time when he first met Kent, he remembered that the men who had followed Oliver were also very wary of Freckle.
“Stop there.”
A man with a shaggy beard stopped Oliver's group.
He was wearing a hat that was ripped off.
"You have to pay the passing tax here. You're all on your way back from the Church, right? Give us half of your food."
An absurdly imposing attitude.
Botti protested against him.
"I've been living here for over 30 years, I can’t believe I have to pay taxes. What does that mean?"
"Huh…! You've been a beggar for a long time. And you're even bragging about it."
“Aren’t you also a beggar?”
"We’re not just any beggars. Don't put us in the same group as you guys, I will nauseous… Anyway, until a while ago, there was indeed no owner in this alley but now it's different. You have to pay tax to get through."
“How could there be an owner for the alley?”
“It has an owner from now on. It’s our Freckle. What are you doing? Do you want us to take everything away? Or maybe you will just give half of the bread personally like the one before. My hands are itchy."
The beggar waved his hands to threaten them.
The way he behaves was reminiscent of the Dominic family, and Botti spoke courageously while trembling with fear.
“Hey, how dare you.”
"Wait a minute."
An old man who was on the side of the Freckle group intervened.
He was squatting with several large dogs beside him.
Dogs were panting when they were stroked.
The old man opened his mouth and spoke.
"… Priests… No, you are from the Kent gang?"
Botti hastily answered.
“Yes, that’s right… Aren’t you Olddog?”
"I see, just let them go, Henry. They belong to the Kent gang."
“Kent? Ah… the person with a quarterstaff and the one who was once a Solver?”
“Yes, let them go.”
The beggar called Henry narrowed his eyebrows and said.
“Quarterstaff Kent…. Contrary to what I heard, his subordinates are not young, and they all look like weaklings. Especially, that guy.”
Henry said while pointing towards Oliver.
Looking at it from the outside, it sounds like a true statement.
"They are the people below that fellow… just let them go. Freckle doesn't want to bump heads with him yet."
Things seemed to be going well, but the beggar named Henry opened his mouth in dissatisfaction.
“Oh, I also want to let those guys go, but I don’t like the look on that old timer’s face?”
He looked down at Botti and said.
“You dare to compare me with you sh*tholes, Oldtimer.”
“Isn’t that true?”
“We are not dirtbags like you guys. How about we check that out, Oldtimer?"
After those words, the other beggars who were watching the situation began to surround Botti and others with clubs and bats.
"… Hey, Did you forget Freckle’s orders? What are you doing?"
"What if I'm doing it on my own?"
"Ha… It's not on me. Whatever you’re going to do has nothing to with me. Do whatever you want to?"
The old man stroked the whining dog and started smoking something.
Henry spoke while tilting his head.
“Hey, did you hear that? Do whatever you want.”
All of a sudden, they were surrounded.
Everyone felt very tense, but at that moment, a finger-snapping sound was heard.
“Then, it means I also can do whatever I want. Is that right?”
Kent appeared from the other side.
(To be Continued)
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