There was a small fight with the Freckle’s gang, but Oliver’s daily life did not change much.
To make a living, Oliver woke up every day early morning and went scavenging on the streets.
As the days got colder, the number of streets Oliver and other beggars went scavenging increased.
“Are you all here?”
"Yes."
The sweaty and stinking beggars answered.
“Then, pour it out!”
Thousands of garbage poured out of the sack.
There were old pots, broken furniture, old clothes, and bent tableware, all of which can be reused.
But the most important of them was paper waste.
To be exact, it was paper waste that was cut or torn.
The garbage collectors crouched down and began sorting the paper wastes.
They carefully sorted it so that it did not mix with other garbage collected from elsewhere.
After sorting it out, they brought it to the old man crouching in the corner and the middle-aged beggar with glasses.
“It was collected from the restaurant in the front.”
"Ugh…"
"This was collected from the dog house in the back."
“Leave it there…”
"This was collected from the factory trash can."
White and yellow paper wastes piled up like a mountain in an instant.
The old man and middle-aged beggar just nodded their heads each time making a squeaky sound.
They looked very tired, but nevertheless, they didn't stop working on the paper.
Oliver has asked in the past why they are doing this, and they answered that they were making money out of trash.
From the documents of the rival stores or factories, they try to understand what they do and with whom they partnered to do their business and who their clients are.
The price of that information usually ranges from several hundred to several thousand bucks. Even though it can’t be called a side job, it was quite an important source of income.
Oliver asked curiously later.
“Why are they the only ones doing that? Shouldn’t we help them too?”
"Huh? How can we help them? Can you read?"
“…Ah, that’s right.”
Oliver suddenly remembered a fact which he forgot – Everyone can’t read and write.
Even he himself learned how to read and write, just a few months back.
It was a great thing that Marie and the people around him knew how to write.
Then a new question arose.
“Um, how do they know how to write?”
“You have a lot of useless questions. Still, you’re not lazy, so I’ll answer you….. The former head, Priest taught them.”
“Priest?”
“Un, yeah. Thanks to Priest, they got to know about this job, and these days, we've got competitors, so the price has decreased a little, but anyway, we're not starving."
"…If they learned it from the former head, then does it mean that they have been here for a long time?"
“Yes, that’s right. They’ve been here longer than Kent, so they are very knowledgeable people."
At that time, an angry voice was heard.
“What are you all talking about? Hurry up and collect the useless garbage!"
At those words, the beggars who had been lazily standing around began to move quickly.
Usable garbage was left in the corner, and the remaining garbage was put in sacks and taken outside.
After that, they threw it in the trash can that they had brought with them, and once it was completed, it would be the end of a single task.
It was a simple job, but it was hard enough to make Oliver’s stomach feel strange, so he was guaranteed some rest after work, and usually, Oliver only took a break to recover his physical strength.
However, today that was not the case.
"Excuse me…"
"What?"
Oliver walked over to the group of beggars and spoke to them.
They looked at Oliver with a mixture of tired and annoyed eyes.
"…what is it? I'm busy."
“Can I help you?”
At that, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Oliver.
Everyone had an absurd expression on their faces, Oliver noticed that and opened his mouth first.
“I know how to read. I learned it.”
Everyone was silent.
Their emotions shone with wonder, displeasure, doubt, and vigilance.
The beggar with glasses asked.
“Do you know how to read?”
“Yeah, I learned it a long time ago.”
“Then why haven’t you said anything about it until now?”
"Because nobody asked"
"…. a plausible reason. Then, why did you suddenly talk about it?"
“There is something I want to ask you, and… I learned that, if you want to ask for something, you have to give something.”
“You have learned well. But I don't think you'll be able to help. This is not possible just by reading texts… look.”
The beggar with glasses lifted a small piece of paper.
It was about the size of a finger, where two small letters were embedded.
"Reading is basic, you have to analyze the shape of torn paper and match it like a puzzle, and then you also have to infer sentences and words by looking at the blank letters. Just reading the text doesn’t help.”
“Analyze, infer, analyze, infer….understood.”
“…?”
The beggar with glasses felt ridiculous…
No, he looked at Oliver with slightly annoyed eyes.
"Okay… You just don't back down. Then, guess what’s on the paper over there. However, if you don't get it right, you'll be slapped in the ear. Since we've been distracted by you.”
"Yes, I understand."
Oliver replied bluntly and went to the front where the papers were piled to one side.
It looked like it had thousands of pieces that were torn apart very carefully.
Everyone looked at Oliver.
Oliver quickly focused on the immediate task at hand.
“Analyze, infer, analyze, infer…”
Oliver muttered and suddenly began to line the torn paper one by one on the floor.
Then, as he had heard before, he focused his attention only on analyzing and inferring.
After a long silence, Oliver finally began to move.
He picked out a few pieces of paper and began to fit them noticeably fast.
More than half of it was right, and Oliver looked at the context of the paper, took out one of the papers, and re-arranged it.
"Oh…"
"What is this…"
"No way…"
Those who were looking around spit out admiration one by one.
A newcomer was doing a job that takes a few days to complete in just one day.
Oliver completed a sheet of paper before he knew it.
Looking at Oliver, the beggar with glasses said
“…… It’s fast.”
He talked like it was normal.
It was so heterogeneous that he didn't know how to react just like everyone.
As an awkward silence fell, the beggar with glasses opened his mouth.
“Well… that’s good. We have a lot of work anyway. Can you help us more?”
“Of course… then can I ask you something instead?”
"What is it?"
The eyes of the beggar with glasses shone sharply.
As if trying to pierce what’s inside.
“I almost got beaten up by some beggars a while ago.”
“I heard. Kent helped you…?”
“Yes, by the way, who is this Freckle?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Just because I kept hearing this name in the neighborhood and I too almost got beaten up? Don't you think I should know?"
Everyone looked at Oliver quietly.
Their eyes were full of vigilance.
They wondered why he was asking and whether it was a natural curiosity.
They felt weird looking at Oliver, who was curious about the predator rather than fearing it.
Oliver was unaware of this, and a silence that Oliver could not comprehend continued to descend.
After a while, the beggar with glasses slowly opened his mouth.
“…… The guy who settled in this neighborhood last year. He is called Freckle.”
"Um…."
“Rumor has it that he is a Solver, a former soldier, and a gangster.”
"Is that why everyone says, he is dangerous?"
“No, it wasn’t like that until a year ago. He was just a bit violent, nothing much. But he had changed all of a sudden in the last few months."
"How? Can you be specific?"
“I don’t know where he got the money from, he suddenly recruited beggars who were good at using their fists, and then pulled the beggars in the neighborhood into his gang one by one… He even crossed to the other beggar union’s zones.”
"He was such a jerk…"
Someone mumbled low.
“In places that had been suppressed by such force, money is stolen every month in the name of taxes. Also, using that money he hires gangsters… and… there are also dangerous rumors about him these days.”
“Dangerous rumors?”
“Yeah, rumors like kidnapping and selling the beggars. Somewhere like slaves or lab rats.”
“Ah, I heard that too. There is even talk of him having a deal with a warlock?”
Someone interrupted.
However, the beggar with glasses dismissed it as a false rumor.
"No, that's not possible. That’s too far…why would a warlock come here?"
"Is that so?"
"Right…."
Oliver observed everything in silence.
The beggar with glasses spoke again to Oliver.
"And you can't talk about a warlock even if you’re curious. You shouldn't."
“Why?”
“Because they are very dangerous.”
"Dangerous?"
“Yes, they say that warlocks use people as ingredients, and they even interact with demons if necessary. They are very dangerous people…”
Oliver immediately thought of Joanna.
She also said something similar.
Oliver thought about whether what Joanna said was true.
He was also convinced that it didn't seem completely wrong when he thought of Joseph, Andrew, and Dominic
“But why are you interested in that?”
“Um… just curious.”
There was an awkward silence again.
At that time, someone opened their mouth.
“And what will happen in the future?”
Oliver and the beggar with glasses turned their heads.
"What?"
"You know, Freckle is expanding his power these days. Not only small beggar unions but also large beggar unions have joined him… To be honest, I've heard that Freckle’s group is not called beggars these days."
With those words, anxious emotions rose everywhere.
It was as if they had recalled a fact they had forgotten long ago.
"That's true."
“Bottie said, Olddog ended up going over there”
“Really? That Olddog?”
"I heard that he blocked the street and asked us to pay the taxes. If we don't like it, they told us to move into their union."
“Uh-huh, I heard it too.”
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to go into such a union?"
“What do you mean?”
"They are doing better than anyone in all of District W, so do we need to fight? Kent is worth his name, so if we go in, I think they'll treat us well”
"That's true… Maybe our livelihood and Kent’s will get better if we join them."
Along with the murmur, numerous opinions and many emotions shone from all over.
There were those who said that they would rather change with the time, while others said that they felt uncomfortable, and there was also a sense of obedience to just follow what Kent decides.
The old man who had been working silently at the corner in the midst of such a disturbance spoke.
"IDIOTS… If Kent wanted to just live a comfortable life, he would have long left this place."
At those words everyone shut their mouths as if they agreed to what he said, a kind of belief in Kent's character.
"……does it have anything to do with the former head?"
Everyone looked at Oliver at the sudden question.
“Why are you asking that?”
“I am curious?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
A voice intervened from behind.
When Oliver turned around, he saw Kent holding a quarterstaff in one hand.
Oliver spoke while looking at Kent.
“Um, hello?”
(To be Continued)
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