Tak Tak Tak
Oliver walked for a long time to visit District P.
District P was a factory zone and just like the worker residence of District T, it seemed relatively safe compared to other worker residence Districts because it was close to the middle and upper-class residential Districts.
However, that was true only for the central part of the district.
When Oliver went to a small church located on the outskirts, the whole area was very lonely.
It was like an abandoned place where only beggars could be seen occasionally.
Oliver handed the beggars one or two shillings and looked around.
Fortunately, there was nothing suspicious.
Oliver was excited.
It was because he will soon be able to talk to Joanna.
Oliver entered the entrance to the church where an old cross had been erected.
The rectangular shape of the interior of the cathedral was filled with uncomfortable long chairs.
Oliver wondered if it was because of this that no one was inside the church.
Of course, he didn't care about it.
Oliver took some bills from his arms, put them on the offering plate, and went inside.
Then he sat down behind a woman with long blonde hair, sitting alone in the cathedral.
Following her, Oliver also interlocked his hands, brought them close to his chest, and said quietly.
“…. Ms. Paladin?”
"Shhh. Wait a minute."
Oliver remained silent as instructed.
As he remained silent, he listened to Joanna's prayer.
“….Holy father. Grant us strength, courage, and wisdom when we are weak, and watch over us as we fulfill the glorious mission you have given us. So please make me a proud child of yours. Father's children pray… . Mallelujah.”
After the prayer, a solemn silence enveloped the surroundings. After a while, Joanna slowly opened her mouth.
She had a calmer voice than what Oliver heard before.
“… Is that Oliver?”
"Yes."
“Thank you for coming.”
"Thank you for calling me. I learned how honorable it was to have a conversation with a Paladin. I sincerely thank you… And, can I ask you a question?"
“What?”
“How did you know that it was me? As you can see, my face has changed, hasn’t it?”
Oliver asked, stroking his face covered in the leather mask.
Oliver wondered whether there was something that only paladins could recognize.
Joanna maintained her characteristic silence and opened her mouth after a while.
“…. I just found out.”
".…Pardon?"
"You're the only one with that kind of attitude and tone of voice."
"…….."
Oliver was shocked and went silent.
He did his best to be a normal, common-sense person in his own way and felt that all of his efforts were denied.
"Um… I should try harder?"
“What happened?”
"Um? Oh, I tried to look like a normal person, but I guess I didn't put in enough effort."
"No. That's not what I'm asking… what are you doing here."
"Um? Of course, because Ms. Paladin called me here… Oh, you were asking why I'm working as a Solver?"
Joanna, who had been staring as if she was at the limits of her patience, shook her head and answered.
“Yes, yes. Why are you working as a solver? You… were the head of a warlock family, right?”
There was no hostility in her emotions.
Rather, it was filled with confusion, doubt, and hope. The reason for these emotions was unknown, though.
Oliver answered looking at Joanna, who was rubbing between her eyes as if tired.
“I was just following Ms. Paladin’s advice.”
“Advice?”
“Yes, didn’t you say to go out and hang out with people? That’s why….. Of course, that’s not all, but it was a pretty big reason. Thank you. I wanted to say this all this time, and I finally could.”
Joanna gave a puzzled look as if she couldn't believe it.
It was a look Oliver had seen a lot. A look that meant that she couldn't understand what he was talking about.
Oliver wondered why all the people he talked to had that kind of expression once in a while.
"……"
"……"
There was an awkward silence for a while, and it was Oliver who broke that silence.
She was the person he wanted to meet, so he felt bad to spend the time in silence.
"How were you?"
"Me?"
“Yes…. I heard from the pharmacist that you returned safely, but I was a little worried. How are you?”
Hearing Oliver’s question, Joanna's pure white face turned slightly red.
Oliver could see the emotions shy, shame, and guilt rising within her, and somehow she seemed to feel shame and guilt about her work at that time.
“…. Did I say something wrong?”
After a short silence, Joanna answered.
“…Regrettably, I’m doing good.”
"Um?"
“Yeah, I failed my mission and I couldn't even eradicate the evil drug, but I got rewarded for successfully completing my mission and was officially assigned to this place.”
Her words were sincere.
"Then why didn't you tell the truth?"
Oliver asked without thinking due to curiosity, and Joanna flinched hearing it.
“… … A lot of people who helped me told me to keep quiet. They said that it would be better for the world and for everyone so that they can devote themselves to the holy mission.”
‘Um..….’
Oliver admired the pharmacist.
Everything went as he said. It seemed like he was right when he said that Joanna's failure would not go unnoticed due to the complex interests of the people within the Parter Church and that it would make Weinham safer.
He was a really clever man.
“…But Ms. Paladin still doesn’t think that’s right.”
Joanna answered with silence.
Her emotions were churning, and it didn't seem like she accepted it simply because of the recommendation from those around her. There seemed to be another reason for her to make this choice – Something very precious was involved.
Just when Oliver was about to ask again, Joanna opened her mouth half a beat faster than him.
"Then it's my turn now."
"Um?"
“What has happened since you left your Warlock family?”
Oliver stared blankly at Joanna at the unexpected question.
He wondered whether he could tell her.
It was Joanna who gave him the advice in the first place, so it felt she deserved the answer.
Above all else, there was no malice in her emotions.
“Um, I don’t mind answering, but the story could be a bit long.”
“Don’t worry, we still have plenty of time.”
Oliver nodded his head and then started his story.
He told the story of leaving the Joseph family secretly, visiting District X, and meeting Kent.
The story about Kent's actions and the beggars who followed him was detailed, but not overly exaggerated.
Seeing Joanna, Oliver thought she might tell what she felt, something he couldn't explain, but contrary to his expectations, Joanna just nodded her head and didn’t say anything.
Afterward, Oliver told the story of leaving Kent and becoming a solver.
He told the story of a veteran soldier and a brave boy who asked him to teach him to write while omitting the contents that would hurt others, and Oliver suddenly realized that he had met a lot of people.
It was hard to describe, but it was pretty satisfying.
Joanna said while looking at the expression on Oliver’s face.
“…. You seem to be having fun.”
"Um….. Yes, it's fun. The world… It’s a pretty fun place.”
“That’s right, I’m glad….. But is there any special reason why you became a solver?”
“Um, I got an offer, and it’s the best thing I can do to make money, right?”
Oliver answered vaguely since didn't want to tell a Paladin about wanting to buy books on black magic and demons.
“….So you make money by swinging her fists?”
"Yes, no matter how hard I work at a restaurant, they say it's hard to buy a book… Um, wouldn't it be okay to choose a job that doesn't harm the general public? There are also Solvers who clean the contaminated zone, so I don’t think it’s a bad job .”
Joanna remained silent again, as she had nothing to say.
She looked at Oliver with a very complex expression.
“I have a question for you.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“Did you really have nothing to do with Puppet?”
"Um… what are you talking about?"
"…I’ve heard that warlocks will follow someone stronger than themselves as their master."
Oliver recalled what had happened to him at the Joseph family in the past.
“Um, I guess so.”
"Didn't you save your life in exchange for being Puppet's slave?"
"Um, no… But I'm curious, so, what if that happened?"
“I can’t let you roam freely.”
Joanna spoke firmly with intense eyes. Her words were sincere.
“Um, is that so?”
"Yes, Puppet… he's a heinous criminal who has lived hundreds of years and committed numerous crimes. Above all, he has trained many warlocks and created numerous criminal organizations to cause chaos around the world. He is also an executive of an evil organization, which is absolutely unacceptable.”
“… … Is Black Hand also trying to destroy the human world?”
“Yeah… why are you asking that?”
"Um…… I just knew that Black Hand was made up of a group of criminal warlocks and a large organization, but I didn't know that they were trying to destroy the human world."
“According to the church’s investigation, yes.…… They periodically try to summon Demons into this world. ”
“Do you know about the Black Hand?”
“To some extent.”
“Can you tell me what kind of organization it is?”
“Why do you want to know?”
"I'm just curious. As I said before, I had a chance to join. The conditions for entry were not to my interest so I refused, but I'm curious about what kind of place it is."
Joanna looked at Oliver again.
Deep doubts and faint belief – a mixture of two conflicting emotions could be seen swirling like a bizarre.
Oliver felt this was the good thing about emotions – Anomalous, conflicting, and contradictory. So it was beautiful and fun.
"Blackhand is a loose coalition of powerful warlocks."
Oliver pricked up his ears.
It was a group with very little information that even Kent couldn't tell him the details about, but he heard valuable information from a completely unexpected place.
“According to the investigation conducted by the Church, it is not an organization led by a single head, but an organization that is actually led by many executives, called Fingers.”
“Fingers?”
"Yeah, it refers to the Black Hand executives, like Puppet."
Oliver suddenly had a basic question.
"Why? Why is Black Hand called Black Hand?"
In fact, it wasn't a question he was expecting an answer to, but to his surprise, Joanna answered it.
"Blackhand means death. And like a shadow, they’re everywhere."
‘Hand of death…..’
“Everywhere?”
“…Sadly, that’s the truth. Puppet and many other fingers stretch like a spider’s web all over the world. They even have connections with corrupt high-ranking people in each country. We monitor and investigate them.”
Oliver heard some interesting information. From what Kent said, he expected it to be a fairly dangerous and powerful organization, but Joanna's explanation seemed to be more concrete.
And suddenly, he felt regret.
He thought it would have been great if he had just accepted Puppeteer Glyph’s offer.
Maybe he could have met Puppet, not as an enemy, and would have had a proper conversation.
But again, it was not possible when he thought about the conditions.
Maybe he would have accepted the conditions if he hadn't met Kent.
He felt a bit complicated.
As Oliver daydreamed and fell into his own world, a small beep sound was heard.
When he looked ahead, Joanna was looking at a machine, which seemed like some kind of communication device.
Joanna checked the machine, pressed the button to turn it off, and got up.
"I'm sorry, I've to go… Something came up."
"Um…… That’s unfortunate. There were a lot of things I wanted to ask.”
“Don’t worry… I'll see you from time to time to check on you.”
The tone was mixed with a warning, but Oliver was happy.
Since it meant that he could meet her again and have a conversation.
"I’m glad. Thank you very much."
“Glad?”
“Yes, I’ll be able to see the beautiful you.”
Joanna flinched at Oliver’s words, and her face got flushed in anger.
“… Don’t say anything strange.”
“… I was being serious? That beautiful light… . It’s beautiful."
"……"
Joanna frowned and looked for something in her arms.
Oliver looked at her unconcernedly, and after a while, she pulled out a little booklet of hers.
"This..…?"
"It's a scripture of Parter church. You seem to like books, so please read it."
(To be Continued)
