While Forrest was talking to Al about Oliver, Oliver had already entered the second step of his new life.
The first step was, of course, to become a Solver by signing the contract with Forrest, and the second step was just as important as the first one in some sense and was more difficult than the first.
It was none other than finding accommodation.
It may sound like bullshit, but, in the case of Oliver, it was true.
Finding accommodation was unexpectedly difficult for Oliver, who lacked common sense about things such as buying or having normal conversations
It may sound silly, but for him, it was more difficult than catching a chimera, but fortunately, it wasn't as difficult as he thought.
It was because Kent had already taught him how to find a decent accommodation, and he had told Oliver how to get a room and how much the room prices can be lowered in case of a long-term stay.
After several trial and error, Oliver was able to get a room at a decent lodging, a few steps away from the Forrest restaurant, more easily than he expected.
As it was a place that does business all night, he was able to find a room without much noise, and as Kent advised, he was able to reduce the price of the room by paying one month's rent in advance.
CLICK.
Oliver opened the door and looked at the room.
It wasn't a very good room for the price, but it was still quite spacious.
It was a good enough room for Oliver, who had been sleeping in the beggar's den until yesterday.
After entering the room Oliver unloaded his bag, put the quarter-staff against the wall, took off his coat, and felt a little satisfaction.
It was a very successful first day after leaving the beggar's den.
It was different from what he expected, but anyway, he met Forrest and became a Solver, and he also got a place to stay.
It was pretty good by Oliver's standard.
But the joy was short-lived.
Because this was just the starting point.
Oliver's goal was to get the books and knowledge he wants by using the black market.
However, compared to that goal, what he did today was a mere starting point…. No, this couldn’t even be considered as a starting point.
As Kent said, the black market is an unknown territory that ordinary people could never get access to.
Even though Oliver had some experience with the underworld, he would still need to put a lot of effort to get there from here, and even if he were to become qualified enough to use it, that’s not the end. Because he needed money to buy things.
Kent said that he did not know the details because he had never used the black market, but considering its reputation, he said that it would require a huge amount of money just to use it once.
If Oliver wanted to buy a rare book about black magic or a book about demons, Kent said that he would need a lot more money.
Oliver also agreed with that, since it was natural that the rarer and more dangerous the books on black magic and the books on demons are, the more expensive it would be, and when these thoughts hit his brain, Oliver couldn't sleep even though he was a little tired.
Instead of falling asleep his mind became clearer.
If he didn't put this issue back altogether, it would get hard to sleep well today too.
So, to organize his thoughts, Oliver took off his coat and lifted the quarterstaff that was placed against the wall.
He grabbed the end and stretched it forward until it reached the opposite wall.
Oliver then began to pull and swing the quarterstaff as he had practiced with Kent.
He could hear the sound of striking the air, which could be said as a major development compared to the beginning.
Oliver continued to repeat the movements mechanically while thinking about what to do next.
The first thing he thought of was his goal.
Needless to say, his goal was the black market.
Although he got to know about it by chance, the black market was essential to learn about the beautiful light, black magic, and demons.
To use it, Kent said that he had to become a skilled Solver, build up a reputation, and form a connection with influential people like the capitalists, politicians, or the heads of the big criminal gangs who rule Landa.
Kent said not to worry about it too much because Oliver's ability would be sufficient to meet the demand, but frankly, for Oliver that was still a question.
Because Oliver didn't know whether he was strong or weak.
Of course, out of all the warlocks he had met so far, Oliver has never been beaten by anyone and that didn’t make Oliver feel prideful or confident.
In the past, some people almost killed Oliver, such as the Lightning Wizard or Joseph, and especially, the moment he met ‘old man on horseback’ was still unforgettable.
Despite the crude appearance of flesh and intestines intertwined, Oliver had no idea of how he was going to win if he were to fight him.
Of course, unknown familiarity was stronger than fear, and it did not attack instead it greeted him, Oliver found this certainly out of place.
It was a baseless instinct, but he was more certain.
It could be said that Oliver was lucky enough to survive that.
That was why Oliver tried to be as careful as possible. Kent also said that, and of course, Oliver too didn't want to die.
Dying was a scary thing for Oliver, and it was even more frightening to die while there were so many questions unanswered like now.
Kent advised him to collect more information to avoid such a scary situation.
That's why Kent didn't die and survived, and of course, Oliver was going to follow that advice unconditionally.
As advised by the broker Forrest, Oliver planned to solve the requests one by one to build a career, gain trust, and learn about this field.
Oliver was a little impatient, and he still has a lot of work to do, because Forrest said that this field was different from when Kent was working.
Oliver thus planned to slowly but surely approach the black market by learning and conquering this field.
Oliver wouldn't have thought so deeply if it had been in the past, but thanks to Kent's constant explanation, he was able to recognize what was necessary right now.
It was to minimize the risks as much as possible to reach the goal.
-Well, if you want to be a Solver who can use the black market then facing risks is inevitable.
Kent's unconfident voice suddenly rang in his ears.
Kent had been teaching Oliver hard for the past three months, but nevertheless, he always said uneasily that the road to the black market was an unknown territory he had never been to.
It was like he wanted to stop Oliver if possible.
Oliver stopped swinging the quarterstaff and shook his head.
It was a pointless act to recall what Kent said.
Anyway, this was the path Oliver chose.
Curiosity was not something he could give up even if it was something he could hold it in for a while.
“Ah… money is also a problem.”
Oliver murmured with sweat all over his body.
Then he put the quarterstaff on one of the walls and pulled out the gluttonous bag and the bundle of money he had received from Forrest today from the inside of the hanging jacket.
The gluttonous bag, which was made of the beast’s teeth, eyeballs, and emotions of greed opened its eyes from the desk and looked around to make sure that there was no money or precious metal nearby.
“…!”
The gluttonous bag turned towards Oliver.
It checked him.
Then, limbs sprouted out from the gluttonous bag and it ran towards the currency bundle that Oliver had.
As the gluttonous bag was about to pick up the bundle of currency notes, Oliver blocked it with his hand.
The gluttonous bag looked up at Oliver with dissatisfaction.
Oliver spoke with a smile.
“Gluttonous bag. I’m sorry, but could you take out all the money that was placed in?”
At first, the Gluttonous bag swung its arm in anger, but when Oliver looked at it silently, an unknown fear took over it, and it began to spit out the money by forcing its arm into its mouth.
GURRR! GURRRR!
It made a bizarre sound, as if it was vomiting, and poured out a bunch of currency notes.
The money it vomited was the money Oliver received from the Beggars Union.
Oliver picked up the piles of money one by one and calmly organized them.
He included the money he received from Forrest as remuneration after finishing the mission.
Altogether, it was about 80 million.
It was a huge sum considering the fact that he was an orphan who had been a miner a while ago.
Oliver agreed too, but now it was not enough for him.
There are things that he needed to buy at the black market, and there are other things that Oliver wanted to do personally.
For example, making a corpse doll.
Among the books he got from Puppeteer Glyph, there was a small number of books describing how to preserve a corpse, control it remotely, and transform it into a corpse doll.
Oliver read this and kept thinking about it since he wanted to try it himself.
Of course, the human body could be difficult, but the animal body would be fine, but the problem was that it would also require a lot of money.
Puppeteer Glyph was meticulous, so he wrote down the cost that would be needed for the work.
Starting with the cost of finding a workplace, everything, such as preservatives, various drugs, mechanical devices, work tools, emotions, and Life-force, was expensive.
Even with rough calculations, it can be concluded that the initial cost of making a corpse doll would at least cost from tens of millions to hundreds of millions.
Stabilizing the workplace would reduce costs, but whatever comes next will take a lot of money, which means that Oliver can't make a corpse doll right away.
There was something he wants to do, but he can't because he doesn't have money.
Oliver seemed to understand why Peter and others crave money so much.
For everything money was essential.
There was no part where money did not intervene, from simply wanting to sleep and eat.
This natural fact that he knew in his head felt real for the first time in his life.
“…… Interesting.”
Oliver muttered silently without realizing it.
Until now, when he was in the orphanage, mine, warlock organization, or beggar’s den, all he had to do was obey the order, but not anymore.
Whether Oliver wanted it or not, he had to keep thinking for himself.
To be honest, he was annoyed just thinking about it and wanted to pass it on to others, but nevertheless, Oliver felt a different emotion than before.
The feeling of thinking about what to do in the future was quite interesting.
“……”
Oliver took only two million of his fortune and then spoke again to the gluttonous bag.
“Take the rest.”
At that, the gluttonous bag, which was suffering from hunger, immediately ran to the pile of money, climbed on top of it, and began to devour the money.
It was very cheesy, but Oliver looked at it without saying a word and muttered.
“I have to make money first. Like this.”
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
The next morning.
Oliver got up early as usual.
Compared to the beggar's den where he had stayed, this place can be called a palace, so there was no discomfort at all.
After washing his face, getting dressed, and having a light breakfast provided by the inn, Oliver left the lodging and headed for the Forrest restaurant.
Fortunately, the restaurant has been open since early in the morning, and the employee named Al welcomed him as usual.
“Mr. Dave…what are you doing here this early in the morning?”
Oliver looked at Employee Al’s emotions.
There was no malice, but he seemed to be hiding something.
Kent's words were right, this was a place where everyone has a secret.
“Hello, Mr. Al. I came to see if there was any job.”
“I see. Then, I'll guide you to the boss… Oh, and you can call me Al comfortably. Come on, follow me.”
(To be Continued)
