“I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”
Rednose kept grieving, unlike his usual cheerful attitude.
His expression was not a lie.
He was really full of guilt for what happened to Harmonica, and couldn’t raise his face in front of Kent.
His face was a mess.
Since Kent understood how he was feeling, he remained calm despite his anger.
"Tell me what happened, we can feel sorry about it later."
Rednose grabbed his swollen face and opened his mouth.
"Ugh… The crackdown officials came, so we ran off to a byway like we usually do."
“If it’s a byway, it’s a byway that only we know, right?”
"Yeah… I hate to say this, but it seemed like they knew that we would come in that way…"
"Don't dare say anything you're not sure about. Then what happened?"
“Sorry… Then on our way, a gangster came out and slapped me in the face with something like a stick.”
Rednose said while pointing to one side of his face, which was severely swollen.
“After that… I hardly remember anything. I was too busy getting punched and kicked here and there. However.”
"However?"
"I remember the guy wearing a torn fedora hat spitting on my face and stepping on my stomach while dragging Harmonica."
A torn fedora hat….
Oliver remembered someone.
He was the beggar of Freckle’s group that got beaten up by Kent some time ago.
Oliver was not the only one who thought of it, soon there was a buzz around.
"Isn't he Freckle’s…?"
“Maybe… Is it because of what happened with Kent?”
"What are they planning?"
"Ah… I guess it's because of the humiliation at that time."
“So, are they holding a grudge?”
"Might be, I heard that they've got more men, and they're making a lot of money."
The anxious emotions grew as they exchanged stories, and soon the emotions turned to fear.
Suddenly, rather than worrying about Harmonica who had been kidnapped, they feared that they would suffer the same thing.
Except for Kent.
“Everyone calm down…. Rednose, how long has it been since she has been kidnapped?”
“Uh… three or four hours?”
If it was long, then it would have been hard to save but if it was only three hours, then there was a possibility of rescue.
Unlike the confused beggars, Kent immediately made a decision.
“Even if they had kidnapped the child, they wouldn’t have taken her far away. Bigfist, gather everyone, and start looking for the child right away."
At that time, a beggar spoke.
“Are we going to look for the child?”
“Of course, we should. After all, she’s a kid from our gang.”
“The one who kidnapped Harmonica belongs to the Freckle gang, so wouldn’t it be better to go to their place and talk?”
“If it was something that could be resolved by talking, then I wouldn’t have fought them in the first place. We’ll think about it later, but now we have to find our Harmonica first.”
Kent looked very angry.
Although he seemed calm on the outside, he was greatly angered by the fact that Harmonica was kidnapped.
Because of that, no one could say anything to Kent.
Except for one person, Bigfist.
“Hey, Kent… I don’t think it’s a very good idea for everyone to go and look for Harmonica.”
"…. What?"
“Isn’t that right? If you take the guys out, who's going to protect this place? It may be an exaggeration, but while we're away, they may come here."
The faint anxiety everyone felt suddenly began to turn into fear.
Everyone knows that Freckle’s group continues to expand its power.
“Kent… I don’t think Bigfist is wrong…”
"Yes, let's calm down first…”
"I can't believe you are telling me to calm down…everyone has heard the rumors and knows what happens to the children who were kidnapped by Freckle. We made a living with the money she earned."
“That’s right, but…”
People couldn't say more than that.
Even the insensitive Oliver understood roughly what they were trying to say.
They were more concerned about their own safety than Harmonica who had been kidnapped.
Of course, that was a natural reaction.
What Oliver couldn't quite understand was Kent's attitude to save Harmonica while putting everyone in danger.
It was a very incomprehensible emotion…
And, perhaps because of that, Kent was someone unique in Oliver's eyes.
Kent was similar to the Paladin named Joanna, but also different.
Amid Oliver’s thoughts, Bigfist made a suggestion.
“Then, Kent, why don’t we leave most of the guys here and search for the kid with only you and me?”
"What?"
"Honestly, you wouldn't be convinced by letting things go like this, would you? So let's go find her alone… It would be better to let the experienced people handle these than those who don’t know how to handle the situation."
To Kent, who was suffering from internal conflict, Big fist's opinion was like an oasis in the middle of the desert, and so Kent immediately accepted it.
Others felt uneasy about Kent's departure, but knowing Kent's personality no one could say anything.
Just as Kent and Bigfist were about to leave, Oliver raised his hand.
"……what?"
“Um…can I follow you?”
"You?"
“Yeah, there’s absolutely nothing for me to help by staying here anyway, so if it’s okay, I want to go with you.”
“No… I'm sure you'll just get in the way, so you can just stay here."
Bigfist intervened, but Oliver denied it head-on.
“If you take me, I will definitely be helpful.”
"You will be able to help us out? Hey, kid. I know you're talented, but this is different. It's not something that you should get involved with. Try to understand the situation when I’m saying it in a good way."
“Okay, follow me.”
Kent looked at Oliver quietly and said okay.
Bigfist was startled and tried to argue, but Kent simply ignored him.
"… Anyway, there is nothing wrong with taking one more person. However, we are not going to play. If you interrupt us, then we will leave you alone."
“Yes, I will make sure that never happens.”
Kent nodded at Oliver's affirmation, and Bigfist frowned.
Looking at Oliver and Bigfist, Kent said
“Okay, let’s go.”
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Along with Kent and Bigfist, Oliver arrived at the byway where Rednose got beaten.
Soon, they found the bloodstains, and it seemed that someone had been attacked there.
Oliver looked at the blood splattered here and there representing the intensity of the violence but suddenly he felt something was strange.
They were the people who kidnapped Harmonica and beat Rednose without hesitation, but he didn't understand why they didn’t kill Rednose.
The person with a torn hat named Henry did seem like a person who would cross the line…and kill a person.
Oliver looked towards Bigfist.
He wondered if this situation had anything to do with Bigfist's emotions which looked like a snake.
“…there are no traces here. Kent, what did you find there?”
"No…Ah! I found the harmonica that she uses."
Kent spoke, as he picked up the harmonica which had fallen in the corner.
He was happy for a moment looking at the instrument he had found, but soon resented the fact that it was just an instrument.
"There's nothing else."
"Look here."
Bigfist spoke while pointing between the cracks in a building.
It was full of dirt and dust, and there were footprints of someone who was presumed to have stood there for a long time.
“It looks like they had been waiting here… This mark here looks like a stick on the ground… I think there's really a traitor in our beggar union."
Kent's emotions subtly shone.
He was shocked but still, he expected it.
"They've decided to go after us. Ha… Any other signs?"
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing more than this. There are only the marks of being dragged and bloodstains…"
“Um, Mr.Kent…”
“What? Oliver.”
"If you don't mind, can I see the harmonica?"
Kent looked at Oliver strangely at the inappropriate question and then handed the harmonica to him.
Oliver took the harmonica and pretended to look back and forth for a moment and look for traces.
The truth was, he pulled out the test tube and extracted the emotions in them.
[Sensitive nose]
Oliver used the extracted emotions to cast black magic on himself.
With that, Oliver’s sense of smell grew stronger, and Oliver had to close his eyes tightly at the intense smell he had never felt before.
The familiar smell such as the smell of dirt, excrement, rotten food, sweat, and dust smells was combined into one and went straight to his head.
It made him remember the black magic that Dominic used in the past.
As it had been written in the book, disease-based black magic seemed to put a lot of strain on the body.
Oliver rubbed his sticky nose and sniffed the harmonica.
He searched for the girl's smell ingrained in the instrument.
Sniff Sniff
Oliver sniffed like a dog.
The intense smell bothered his nose, but soon he found the smell of Harmonica, which was fading faintly in the thread of the countless tangled smells.
He was lucky.
If he had waited a little longer, it would have completely disappeared.
“What are you doing?”
Kent asked while looking at Oliver, who was sniffing into the air.
“I found it. Follow me.”
"What?"
“I found where Harmonica is. Please follow me.”
Oliver sprinted forward.
This was to prevent Kent from asking unnecessary questions, but there was also the reason that the smell was about to disappear.
Fortunately, Kent noticed that something was serious, so he followed Oliver without saying anything.
Bigfists rushed up and asked.
“Geez, where is he going now?”
“He found traces of Harmonica.”
“Are you talking about the girl?”
“Yeah, the girl.”
"Do you believe it?"
“You can ask questions later, so chase after him. There’s no point in arguing right now, right?”
Kent interrupted Bigfist's words like that and limped.
Sniff Sniff
Oliver, who was running while sniffing, suddenly stopped in front of a large trash can on the roadside.
The huge trash can was bizarrely dirty.
The surface was rusty here and there, and there was something like a sticky, smelly black mucus on it, and even beggars would be reluctant to approach it.
It even felt like someone made it this way on purpose.
Oliver tried to open the lid of the trash can, but he couldn't open it easily because of the rust, and then Kent, who came after him, helped him to open the lid without asking anything.
CREEEEK
The trash can opened with a creepy sound of iron.
There was an unpleasant odor and black, sticky mucus all over the place.
"Oh… that's a little harsh."
Kent, who almost throw-up, spoke while covering his nose.
It was even worse for Oliver, who had a stronger sense of smell due to the black magic [Sensitive Nose]
It felt like an explosion exploding inside his head, but Oliver went near the trash can nonetheless.
Because the smell of Harmonica remained in that terrible stench.
After entering the trash can, Oliver squatted down and searched the floor by dipping his hands in the squishy mucus.
Bigfist shouted hastily.
"What the hell are yo…?"
SHUDDER!
Oliver pulled out something hidden deep in the floor.
With that, the bottom of the trash can opened, and there was a secret passage in which an adult man could enter.
“… Harmonica seems to be down here? And there are other kids too.”
(To be Continued)
