Tiles on the floor, pipes connected to the walls, steam in the air.
Oliver, who won the showdown, went to wash in the shower in the basement after being declared the winner by Joseph.
Washing with warm water was quite unfamiliar as this was the first time in his life, but it wasn't too bad nonetheless.
It was much easier to wash in warm water than in cold water, so just by bringing his face to the stream, the hard blood droplets easily fall off
After washing up, Oliver wiped himself with a towel and went outside.
The clothes he had put in the basket were gone, and instead, there was a new set of clothes which he saw for the first time.
“…..”
Oliver stood still, not sure what to do thinking where the hell did his clothes go?
He wanted to go out and find his clothes, but at that time he heard a voice coming from outside the door.
“That… Did you finish washing up?”
"What?"
“Did you finish washing up?”
This is the first time he heard this voice, but he answered,
“Yes.”
"Okay then. Get dressed and come out. I'll tell you where you will live from now on."
Oliver turned to the strangely trembling voice and said,
“There is a problem.”
"Problem?"
“Yes, my clothes are missing?”
“That rag… no clothes?”
“Yes.”
"I threw them away. I have placed new clothes into the basket, so just change into them. Even as a low-level disciple, you have to consider our master's face and should have some dignity. Why? Is it, by any chance, an important outfit?" "
“No. No.”
“Whoa…”
A sigh of relief can be heard through the door.
Oliver took out the new set of clothes from the basket and put them on, as the voice said.
A white shirt, jeans with suspenders, and a black jacket.
It was a little bigger than Oliver's body, but there was no problem.
Rather, it could be said to be a blessing.
It was the best outfit Oliver had ever worn, although the party involved didn't really care much.
After getting dressed, he opened the door and went out.
Outside the door stood a young man who looked about five years older than Oliver,
"….Are you done changing?"
“Yeah,”
“ really? Then… follow me.”
The strangely rigid man spoke and moved awkwardly.
He seemed to be treating him as his subordinate, but he was still cautious, but when Oliver looked at his feelings, he could see that he was scared.
Oliver didn't understand what was wrong with him, but he didn’t care to know about it.
After passing through an ant-hill-like hallway, they arrived at a huge dormitory.
There were about ten people.
The number of people was similar to when he was an informal disciple, but the size and quality of the room were completely different.
Although crude, there was one proper iron bed according to the number of people, and next to the bed was a cabinet table and a small desk where personal items could be stored.
It was incomparable to a barn that had only a damp mattress.
"This is your dormitory.
“………….”
Oliver turned his head and stared.
The young man who said those words was sweating as if his gaze was burdensome.
Even Intermediate disciples are not qualified to have a private room, it's only possible if you become a senior disciple.
Oliver asked, "Do I stay here? Do I…? "
"Huh? Uh, now that you're a junior disciple, shouldn't you stay here?"
Oliver tilted his head as if he didn't know because he really didn't know.
The only reason he wanted to become a junior disciple was to learn black magic, and it didn't include any improvement in life or treatment.
No, it would be more accurate to say that he didn't even think about it at all.
Oliver asked again, just in case.
"Can I really stay here?"
“Yeah, that’s your seat.”
The young man pointed towards the worst place in the corner.
Oliver approached and looked at it.
A bed that was neither damp nor moldy, a warm-looking blanket, sturdy cabinets, a hanger, etc.
"Ah, if you don't like the seat…”
“I like it."
“Do you like it?”
"Yes, thank you."
When Oliver expressed his gratitude, the young man breathed a sigh of relief, and then opened his mouth again with courage.
“Then…..Let me tell you about some rules”
Rules.
Oliver pricked up his ears.
There were rules in the orphanage, there were rules in the Mine, and also in the factory above.
If you break the rules, you will be beaten hard and will be kicked out.
Oliver felt he can finally learn black magic, so he thought it would be unfair if he got chased out.
“What are the rules?”
"Uh…it's not a big deal, it's about the role you have to play as a junior disciple. First of all, I'm the leader of this room. So you have to follow my instructions."
“Yes…Sir.”
"You don't have to …… Anyway, I'll explain again. A junior disciple is considered an official disciple, but still in the lowest rank of the family. Informal disciples and servants are not formal family members. Do you understand?”
Oliver didn't know what a servant was or what a family was, but still, he nodded.
"Okay, the servants do the chores, such as preparing meals and cleaning the room, but we have to clean important places. For example, the classroom, labs, workshops, study rooms, etc. Master likes clean things, so you have to clean them every morning. Did you understand?”
Oliver nodded again.
“Aside from that, it’s our duty to run small errands for our seniors and to help with experiments”
“Experiment?”
“Yeah, you just have to do what they tell you to do.”
“Uh… I see. But, sir, can I ask you something?”
“What, what is it?”
“When will I be able to receive our master’s instruction?”
“Uh, junior students are usually educated once every two weeks. In some cases, classes are conducted once a month, still, most of them are self-study based on the content of the class.”
"Ah…"
A strange disappointment flashed across Oliver's corpse-like-blank face.
Originally he was happy to be able to attend classes regularly, but there were still so few.
He thought he would be able to take a new class every day.
Perhaps aware of such feelings, the room leader spoke to comfort him.
"Master is busy teaching seniors and managing the business, so there's nothing we can do about it. And don't work too hard."
“Why?”
Oliver asked sincerely, he had just become a junior disciple, so why he shouldn't work hard.
The leader didn't answer, kept his mouth shut, and then mumbled.
"That's… um, no, just don't worry about it. That's all I'm going to tell you. Do you have any more questions?"
"There is none."
"Okay. So, let's get along well from now on… Oh, that's right. Check the drawers and check all the stuff. Make sure there are notebooks and pencils, if you say there isn’t later, they won't be given out except at regular distribution times."
Oliver opened the drawer and checked, and just as the room chief said, there was an old, yellowish notebook, a pencil that looked like it had been used, and a messy eraser.
“Why are they here”
“Well… Don’t you have to write something to learn black magic in earnest?”
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
During his personal time, Oliver left the basement and went up to the surface.
Unlike when he was an informal disciple, he did not work in the factory, so he had more time to utilize than he expected, but that didn't mean he came to the ground for no reason.
Oliver came out to the workshop through the sausage box and junk and visited the factory workshop where he used to clean up.
There were a lot of crushed meat crumbs and trash on the floor, and when the informal disciples who were cleaning them found Oliver, they quickly lowered their eyes and bowed their heads
Now that Oliver is an official disciple, he was above them.
Of course, it wasn't just that.
When Oliver saw the sudden change in the attitude of his fellow workers, he tilted his head.
They were jealous and envious of Oliver, at the same time they also had fear and anger.
He saw the light similar to that of the room leader, so he couldn't really understand.
Oliver approached one of the informal disciples.
" Can I ask you something?"
“uh, yes?”
“Where is Supervisor Marie?”
The worker said that Marie was in a corner of the factory, and when Oliver actually went to check it out, she was standing alone behind a huge, red, rusted, unused grinder.
Oliver subconsciously examined her emotions.
She looked very sad and depressed.
“Supervisor Marie?”
Oliver called her politely while tapping her shoulder.
Marie, who was lost in her thoughts got startled, and she looked at Oliver with a surprised expression, and then she quickly furrowed her eyebrow.
"Oliver… sir."
“Yes, hello?”
Oliver said hello.
But her frown only deepened further.
She extruded unpleasantness in the form of light, and Oliver had no way of knowing why, and she was a little perplexed.
She then opened her mouth again.
“What brings you here?”
“I'd like to ask you a favor.”
"Favor? Ha… Are you kidding me now?"
"What? No."
“So, how can someone who became a formal disciple within ten days of entering the factory ask for a favor from me, who has been an informal disciple for 6 years?”
She meant to be sarcastic, but unfortunately, it didn't work for Oliver, who didn't understand the sarcasm and just answered honestly.
"If I want to learn black magic formally, I have to learn letters and numbers. But I've never learned anything like that. So, can you teach me?”
“….."
Marie was silent. She found it ridiculous.
Oliver asked cautiously as if he had noticed something.
“Did I make a mistake?”
“mistake… No, you didn’t make a mistake. What kind of mistake would an official disciple make against someone like me?”
“Oh, that's a relief.”
“Ugh! Relief, What…!”
In the end, Marie exploded at Oliver’s frustrating attitude.
Her shout echoed throughout the factory, but Marie, who realized it late, covered her face in anguish, but Oliver remained the same.
"I must have done something wrong… I don't know what it is, but I'm sorry?"
Marie sat down on her seat with a powerless expression, it’s hard to say whether she was tired or exhausted.
“…. No. I was at fault. I was born in a shrewd corner and I’m rotting here because I didn’t have talent in magic. Who’s at fault, It's all my fault. You didn't do anything wrong."
It sounded like a resigned voice, but Oliver saw something.
It was the emotions of her obsession.
Yet at the same time the emotions of nervousness and fear, it was like a vortex of light, which looked a little pretty.
Oliver didn't know how to react, so he stood still until she regained her composure, and after a moment Marie spoke.
"…. Do you want me to teach you how to write and calculate numbers?"
"Yes. so, can you do it? Have you ever studied them?”
“Yes… I studied. You have to study them too. But, why are you asking me to teach you? Most of the Junior disciples you will be living with from now on know how to write.”
Oliver answered, looking into the air, wondering as if it was difficult to answer.
“That's… that's a little,…?”
“What do you mean?”
“It's hard to explain. The way they see me is like a child standing in front of the supervisor."
Marie frowned again at the incomprehensible words, but Oliver soon followed up with further explanations.
“I'm from the mines, and I was scared of the supervisor there. All the kids there were scared when they saw the supervisor, so they lied about anything to avoid getting in trouble no matter what the supervisor asked them. And, the junior disciples are also looking at me with the same light as the children in the Mine look at the supervisor.”
It was a brief explanation, but fortunately, Marie understood the meaning.
Is it normal that junior students are afraid of Oliver?
Tom, who was soon to be a junior disciple, was killed by Oliver.
But there was something even more surprising.
"……. No way. Can you read emotions?"
Oliver tilted his head.
"Maybe? What’s wrong?"
"Oh my God… That's the second stage of [Mind’s eye]. The first stage of the [Mind’s eye] is looking at emotions? It's not fair… Since when did you start reading emotions?"
“Uh… from the beginning?”
At Oliver's blunt answer, Marie only smiled dejectedly, as if she was exhausted from being angry.
She knew that the world is unfair. And she too admitted it, but today she realized it was a mistake.
‘How could it be so unfair?’
She felt it was so sad and hopeless that she couldn't even cry.
At that moment, Oliver asked again without noticing anything.
“Then, what about Words and numbers?
“Aww! really….! Why do I have to help you? I don't even know when I'll be demoted to a servant! I don’t know when I'll get another chance! Why should I spend my precious time with you?! Why?!”
Marie spoke with her emotions, not her head.
After some moment, when she regained her composure, Oliver opened his mouth
“Before coming here, I heard you were a servant. What is a servant?"
Silence filled the space for a while.
Marie, who was no longer in the mood to be angry, simply answered in a weak voice.
“……It means a slave who will take care of the handsome official disciples. It's the end of being an informal disciple. People like me who haven't been promoted for a long time, become servants, who cook and clean until they get old.”
“Are you sad now?”
“Of course I’m sad. Damn it…! Do you think I came here to be a maid for the rest of my life? Of course not, I'm here to be a warlock. I really don't have enough time now! But you want me to use that time for you. For you who have talents, I don't have?! That's ….”
As soon as Marie finished her words, she covered her face with her hands as if she was in great pain.
Her invisible lump of sorrow seemed to crush her.
Perhaps, if it was left as it is, after a few days, she wouldn’t have borne the weight and might have become wretched.
Fortunately, nothing like that happened.
“……Didn’t Supervisor Marie say? Next time if I were to ask for help, I had to bring something?”
Marie tilted her head slightly.
“If Supervisor Marie teaches me letters and numbers, I will teach you too.”
"….. What?"
“Black magic.”
