“So you couldn’t help it…?”
"Yes, yes! There was no place for us after being chased out by Freckle… You know too, right!? What happens to the beggars union whose territory gets stolen? We had no choice but to go under him."
Oliver, who was watching from behind Kent, asked the Rednose.
“What will happen if the territory is taken away?”
"Huh, uh? Well, I mean…that is, sir…”
"You can speak comfortably."
“… well, living becomes risky… if the space to accommodate were to disappear, they would have to either go under another beggars union or have to live in really dangerous locations. If you stay in such places, there are high chances of getting dragged away to Concentration camps.”
“Concentration camps?”
“It’s a place where beggars and poor people are sent…”
Regardless of the conversation between Oliver and Rednose, Kent went on with his interrogation.
“So, what you are saying is, you were forced into joining the Freckle gang and were forced to lay hands on my people?”
“Yes… please understand. Some of my colleagues are held hostage by Freckle, so I had no choice, I couldn't refuse Freckle’s orders."
“Haa… So, what were you planning on doing after taking everyone from here?”
“That, I don’t…Kek!”
The intruder’s sight blurred as Kent tightened his hold on the intruder's neck.
The other intruders got frightened seeing Kent’s action.
In such a chilly atmosphere, Kent lowered his voice and spoke.
"Don't answer my question by saying you don't know. I hate being fooled, you know what I'm talking about, right?"
As Kent’s intimidation worked, one man opened his mouth.
"We really don't know, we do know that they are getting sold somewhere… but we don't know where. It’s TRUE… Please believe us."
Kent looked at them with a sharp glare in his eyes.
As everyone became nervous at that gaze, Kent opened his mouth and spoke.
“… Release them all.”
The intruders as well as fellow beggars looked at Kent in surprise at the completely unexpected answer.
Oliver released the intruders at the instruction of Kent.
The intruders felt relieved at the sudden situation, but they were also puzzled.
One by one, they got up.
“Really, are you really going to release us…?”
“Yeah, just deliver my words to Freckle instead.”
"What?"
"I don't know what he believes in, but if he keeps acting like this, we won’t stand still… Next time, we’ll come for his head. Tell him what happened and get me his answer within a week. Did you get it?"
“… Yes, yes! I understand! I promise.”
“BUZZ OFF.”
Hearing Kent's words, the intruders fled the place.
All the beggars of Kent’s union looked at those running figures anxiously.
Except for Kent and Oliver,
"…is this enough?"
"Yeah, I added [stalker] and [eavesdropper] when you let them go, so it'll be fine."
"I know it's rude to ask this, but is there any chance of your magic getting caught?"
"Um, maybe not."
"Maybe?"
"Yeah, It had never been seen through till now….From the book I read, unless the other person was a warlock who was better than me, he wouldn't notice."
"Haha… Then, I guess it should be fine. Aren't you the better one?"
“Um, of course, that would be great too, but… If he was someone who's better than me, then I can learn something from him."
“……?”
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
"No, you’re really strange. I've met a few warlocks in the past, but never saw one like you."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, I don't know a lot about warlocks, but at least the people I've met were kind of… snobs. At best, they were realistic people."
“What do you mean by realistic?”
“They were obsessed with safety and security… like most humans.”
Oliver thought about warlocks, including Joseph, Andrew, Marie, and Peter.
They were also like that.
“Are most of them like that?”
“Well, There are warlocks who are not interested in such things, but I don’t want to meet them…… Because there is a high probability that those kinds of warlocks are dangerous.”
"Um…"
"I'm not talking about you… By the way, can you help me with something?"
“Yes, what is it?”
“The fight with Freckle is inevitable. So we need to gather some troops.”
“Troops?”
“Yeah, no matter what, I can’t just rely on you and stand still. If we want to survive on this street, we have to win by ourselves.”
“Um…How are you going to gather them?”
“I have to buy them. If I had done this by myself, other beggar unions would have complained a lot, but that isn’t the case now.”
“Um… I don’t know what you are saying, so if you ask for help with me, will they help you?”
“There is a popular saying among solvers.”
“…?”
“You can convince people if you have enough money. But, if you place a gun along with money, then you can convince them more efficiently… Do you not like your face being known?"
“Uh… maybe?”
“Then use this hood.”
Kent pulled out a hood with eye holes from his pocket.
"This…?”
"Use this and come with me. I need your help."
“Um, okay.”
"Yes… Hey, someone get the money from the vault. All of them.”
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
[So what’s the matter…?]
There was a man in an abandoned sewerage in the District W of Landa.
He was called by the nickname Freckle instead of the name his mother gave him.
“It's… things got messed up and the delivery of the products will be a little late.”
[…]
“Mister. Warlock?”
[Delivery will be late?]
“ha….”
Freckle sighed in annoyance.
Although the name Warlock was useful, the authoritative attitude and the tone of speech were hard to endure.
“Ah…… Yes, I’m sorry.”
[I think I told you to set the delivery date correctly?]
An arrogant voice that could be heard through the walkie-talkie made Freckle even more irritated.
"Yeah… I know. Again, I'm sorry. There was a minor problem."
[I don't care about your problem. What I want is performance. Not an excuse.]
“If you listen to this, you will change your mind.”
[… Tell me.]
“To put it simply, intruders entered the warehouse and stole the products. However, it seems that one of the intruders was a warlock.”
[…….]
Silence came from the communication device.
Freckle raised the corners of his mouth thinking that the person on the other side was disturbed.
After a while, the voice was heard again.
[Are you sure?]
"I didn't see it myself, but my men saw it. They were attacked by a Warlock while they were working."
[Be more specific.]
“Suddenly, something like a bullet flew and exploded in the head, and he summoned a face that screamed horribly… ah, he even made something like a weird meat dumpling.”
[Hate Bullet, Creepy Scream…. I don't know the last one.]
"What? Even Mister. Warlock doesn't know?"
[… I don't know everything about black magic. Maybe it's a unique black magic that the guy developed on his own.]
"Anyway, you freak…"
Freckle murmured in a low voice and spoke back into the communication machine.
“Is he dangerous?”
[I don't care how dangerous he is. He's nothing compared to me.]
"Yes, of course, I don't doubt it. Of course… But, the guys under me rely mainly on weapons. If there was someone like that, it would be hard for us to deal with alone, so… we need help."
[help?]
"Yes, I'm sorry. But don't get me wrong. I didn't mean to bother you. But you said you'd help us if we provided what you needed, don’t you think you should help us in this case?"
[Be careful with your mouth, Beggar… Who do you think made that shitty kingdom of yours?]
"… It was all thanks to Mister. Warlock. I will always remember it. Thanks to your support, I gained this strength. But, don't you know that there's not much we could do against a Warlock?"
[…]
"There, I think the warlock was brought in by none other than Kent… I don't know how he got a warlock, but this could delay the District W’s integration that Mister. Warlock ordered."
[Are you threatening me?]
“No, no….how could I do that? Unfortunately, this Freckle needs the help of the great Mister. Warlock to take care of the sloppy warlock brought in by Kent.”
[…]
“I have to take control of the beggars in District W so that I can deliver products regularly to you.”
[…]
“I need to deliver products regularly so that Mister.Warlock can join the ‘Black Hand’”
[STOP IT.]
A voice filled with anger could be heard through the communication device.
Even Freckle, who was showing a somewhat cheeky attitude, was noticeably nervous at that sound.
Although warlocks were called talentless beings, they are still someone who could sweep away everything on their way.
Freckle still hasn't forgotten the zombies he saw back then.
[You talk too much without knowing anything]
“……”
[The reason I told you about the big plan is for the sake of progress. Nothing more, nothing less. So, don’t you dare say anything like that? If you want to live as the king of that garbage kingdom, that is.]
“…… I’m sorry. Mister. Warlock.”
[It’s okay… Anyway, some warlock intervened… I wonder who dared to stand in front of Me, the disciple of Puppet Master. Interesting.]
"Then…."
[I'll send my disciple.]
"Thank you."
[Don’t let anything happen before that?]
"That won't happen. Kent has now become much weaker. The best proof is that he just sent away the captured prisoners. He's trying to avoid a fight because of his injured subordinates. He is waiting for my answer now, so there's no problem until then. If there is any problem, there is still the present given by Mister. Warlock, so there is nothing to worry about.”
[… That's right. Then, call me back when you need.]
“Yes, please take care. Mister. Warlock.”
A crackling sound came from the communication device.
Feeling tired, Freckle placed the communication device aside.
“You did it, leader.” said a subordinate who was standing next to him like a piece of furniture.
"Henry, that idiot……If you can’t do it properly, don’t do it. Because of that idiot, everything is a mess. If he was alive, I would have killed him with my own hands… Are you sure he’s really dead?”
“Yes, Leader…the guys who went to look said everyone was dead. It was like they were stabbed by something.”
“Fu*k…! Where did it go wrong? How the hell did they get a warlock?”
“Leader, Kent is a former solver, so maybe he used the people he had made contact with at that time?”
"Hmm…even if that's the case, a warlock wouldn't help just like that. Were the reports that they didn't have any money to feed those useless mouths false? Did they know about Bigfist from the beginning? Or did they pretend just like me?"
Freckle was troubled because the plan didn’t go the way he wanted it to.
He understood the usefulness of a warlock more than anyone else, and the cost was relatively insignificant.
All he has to do is bring the beggars scattered on the streets and offer them.
It was a very easy way for someone like him to live.
Of course, sometimes the warlock wanted a human with difficult conditions, but that was a problem that could be solved at a small cost.
Compared to what he got from having a Warlock behind his back, the lives of beggars who he threw away were nothing.
"By the way, is it all right, Leader? I'm sure the Warlock will ask for something more after helping you."
"Of course, he'll ask for more…but that doesn't matter. At best, he is going to ask us to give him more kids and girls. Let’s just pay and clean up the entire District W at once.
"Yes."
“I know that Kent is stupidly kind, but I don't think he's a guy who would let go of the enemies.”
“Are you talking about middle-aged brothers, leader?”
“Yeah, if it were me, I would have killed them.”
"Well…. I searched through their bodies, but there was nothing to be found. Maybe they were just released out of goodwill? After all, Kent is that kind of a human?"
“Then, I guess it’s fine…”
At that moment, the sound of footsteps of someone rushing in came, and soon someone opened the door.
Due to the nature of the basement, the sound got even louder.
"What?"
"Freckle! We are fuc*ed. It’s Kent…Kent came in with the beggars from other unions.
(To be Continued)
