Chapter 34: Espionage (2)
As soon as Oliver stepped outside the building, he sharpened his focus.
The pressure steadily increased, causing the ordinary human view to blur, while the Black Magician's vision, capable of perceiving emotions, became sharper.
It was as if he could feel the emotions around him from a bird’s-eye view.
Without stopping, Oliver concentrated further and was able to locate Dominique and his subordinates moving through the sewers below.
He could feel a mix of unpleasant emotions: anger, frustration, and regret. For Oliver, this was a good sign.
The stronger the emotions, the easier they were to detect.
Keeping his distance, Oliver quietly followed Dominique.
Fortunately, there were no mismatches between the path above ground and the sewer below. After some time, they arrived in an unfamiliar area.
It was a maze-like place where alleys tangled together, and for some reason, it seemed vaguely familiar.
Ah, he remembered—it resembled the X-District of Landa, which he had visited with Joseph.
A rundown slum.
Though not as bad as Landa, this place was dangerous too. At that moment, Dominique stopped.
No, he was coming up.
Screeeech――― Bang!
Dominique emerged from a massive manhole tucked away in a corner of the slum.
Oliver hid in an alley and used Black Magic to erase his presence.
[Eraser Exit]
A concealment spell based on the emotion of shame.
He had first encountered it in Joseph's study. It was a vague Black Magic spell said to erase one’s presence, but surprisingly, it worked very well.
True to what the book claimed, Dominique only glanced around, completely unaware of Oliver's existence.
"…Hmm?"
"What's wrong, Master?"
"Nothing… It's nothing."
"More than that, it's disappointing. I thought we’d all go together."
"Well, there's no choice. Things got slightly off track, but we'll proceed as planned. Once we finish off the Paladin, we’ll move on and crush that Oliver brat."
As planned?
Dominique’s subordinate cautiously spoke up.
"But, no matter how sudden it was, the Anthony Family got wiped out. Can we really handle this on our own?"
"It's because of the compatibility."
"Sorry?"
"Anthony specializes in necromancy... especially Black Magic involving the dead, which makes him weak against Paladins. His undead are easily purified by the Paladin’s holy magic. But we’re different. We use living people, so we can resist holy magic to some extent... You’ve prepared the drugs, right?"
"Ah, yes... We’ve stocked up on drugs and gathered plenty of thugs to fight. Once we started making a profit, we steadily recruited gangs, so there were no issues."
"That’s fortunate, though still a bit of a shame. We didn’t gather them for this purpose, but no matter."
"Are we really fine without the firepower of the Joseph Family?"
"It would’ve been ideal to have them, but it’s fine. We can make up for the lack of firepower with the doped-up thugs... Actually, it works out better. The plan was to capture Oliver in the first place, and now I can claim that he didn’t contribute at all. No one will be able to argue against me."
"Won’t the Apothecary make a move?"
"A Paladin showed up and just stood by watching. What right does he have to interfere? And even if he tries, by the time he figures things out, the situation will have changed. Think about it. We’ll be the only Black Magicians he can turn to. How can he oppose us?"
"Ah, I see now."
"Not to mention, we’re the only ones who can make Filgaret. Once we take out the Paladin and capture Oliver, even he will have no choice but to listen to us. He’s a clever guy."
"Oh, you’re brilliant, Master! You’re turning this crisis with the Paladin into an opportunity."
"I agree. To kill the Paladin, boost the family’s reputation, and capture Oliver to enslave him—it’s a perfect plan."
Dominique tapped his head lightly and said,
"That’s where the true power of a Black Magician lies. That brat Oliver may be arrogant, but he’s the real deal when it comes to making Filgaret. We’ll kill his followers, break his legs, and take him. Then, we’ll be the only ones producing high-quality Filgaret."
"Brilliant… But, uh, won’t there be trouble if we kill the Paladin?"
"We can bribe the higher-ups through the Apothecary. If that doesn’t work, we’ll just leave this place and move elsewhere. With the reputation of having killed a Paladin and the Filgaret production technique, we’ll be able to settle anywhere. Once we’ve built enough power, we’ll expand back into Landa."
"Ohhh…!"
Dominique’s subordinates all expressed their admiration.
While listening in, Oliver nodded quietly.
For some reason, though, Dominique's words felt hollow, like smoke.
How should he put it? It didn’t seem logical.
Yet, Dominique's subordinates seemed convinced, quickly gaining confidence from his words.
"Let’s move. For the glory of our first great step!"
"Yes, Master!"
As Dominique and his subordinates entered an alley, Oliver also moved.
However, instead of following directly, he decided it would be safer to take a different route.
Oliver carefully extracted emotions.
He cast a Targeting Magic spell, based on obsession, toward the rooftop of the building where he had been hiding. Then, he cast the same spell on himself.
The two spells worked like magnets, slowly pulling Oliver to the top of the building.
Once he reached the rooftop, Oliver refocused his eyes to keep track of Dominique.
He silently followed, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and eventually saw Dominique enter a residential building.
Laundry lines crisscrossed between the buildings, but it was clearly an abandoned place. Yet, inside, there were about twenty people gathered.
Additionally, Oliver noticed around fifty more people in the surrounding area.
It didn’t seem like they were just locals. They exuded a sense of tension and excitement, as if they were about to go into battle.
It seemed the talk about fighting a Paladin wasn’t just empty words.
"Hmm..."
Oliver pondered.
At first, he intended to merely observe, but seeing this level of preparation piqued his curiosity.
Oliver lowered himself onto the rooftop and started extracting emotions to create Minions.
He made them smaller than usual to avoid detection and imbued them with Eraser Exit and Eavesdropping Ear.
The Minions became nearly invisible, sprouting a pair of ears.
"Go around and listen in on the conversations."
With those words, Oliver sent the Minions down the shadowy walls.
After a while, he could hear the conversations around the building.
"Is this really not a big deal?"
"You heard it yourself, right? We’re just dealing with some low-life thugs."
"Then why are they paying us so much?"
"Who cares? If they’re paying well, that’s good enough for me."
"Still, this feels off..."
"Don’t overthink it. Word is, the Black Magicians here have made a lot of money recently, so they’re expanding their organization. This is just an initiation test."
"An initiation test?"
"Yeah, to see if we follow orders and if we’ve got the guts to fight… They’re giving us money, weapons, and potions—what’s the problem? Who in their right mind would come to a place like this? If you’re scared, you can back out now. I’m trying to turn my life around here."
"It’s not that... What’s this potion, anyway?"
"This one boosts your strength, and this one takes away fear. As long as you don’t overuse them, there are almost no side effects."
"Can we trust this?"
"You idiot... You’ve forgotten that everyone around here buys their dope from these guys? If you’re going to keep saying stuff like that, just get lost!"
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop."
Similar conversations were happening elsewhere around the building.
It seemed like the thugs outside had no idea what they had gotten involved in.
A little thought would have made them realize something was off. But with the promise of money and joining a stable organization, their judgment had been clouded.
It was fascinating. The fact that people could be deceived so easily with such flimsy methods.
So, Oliver waited on the rooftop, eavesdropping on conversations...
Time passed, and the sun began to set.
...
...
...
“...”
“...”
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“...”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Shut up. The Black Magician told us to stay quiet like we’re dead.”
“Alright, alright.”
“...”
As night fell, the hired gang members exchanged occasional small talk while they waited. Many of them seemed extremely bored, with a few even starting to snore.
It wasn’t hard to understand why. Doing absolutely nothing while just standing by was tougher than expected.
It appeared that the Paladin was not going to show up.
Right at that moment, Oliver sensed something unusual.
He refocused his partially relaxed vision.
From a distance, a group of intense emotions was approaching.
There were twelve of them.
They weren’t just ordinary passersby.
Each of them carried tension and excitement, as if ready for battle. Along with that, they exuded confidence, as if victory was already within their grasp.
Among them, one emotion stood out as distinct from the others.
It was an emotion Oliver had never seen before.
Pure conviction and self-assuredness, like a pristine white canvas.
Fascinated by this unfamiliar and clean emotion, Oliver's dulled mind and body instantly sharpened.
What in the world is that?
[Shade Cloak]
Oliver extracted a small amount of emotion and conjured a thin, dark cloak, draping it over himself like a blanket.
It was a concealment spell designed to hide one’s presence in darkness, though it only worked at night or in shadows. However, under the right conditions, it was an efficient spell that required minimal emotion for maximum effect.
Oliver peered down, just barely exposing his face from under the cloak.
It wasn’t just Oliver who noticed the arrival of the strangers. One by one, the gang members started waking up, alerted by the disturbance.
"They’re here. Who are those guys?"
"Don’t freak out. Look at how many of us there are."
"Just do as you're told. Hey, is that a woman with them?"
A gang leader stepped out alone to block the path of the strangers.
"Hey, stop. Who the hell are you?"
The strangers halted. The gang leader spoke again.
"This isn’t a place you can just walk into. If you’ve wandered in by mistake, leave now. Come back tomorrow if you’ve got business here."
The strangers remained silent.
"Hey, are you deaf?"
At that moment, a woman with a distinctive pure light in her emotions stepped forward and opened her mouth.
"Is there a Black Magician here?"
"...What the hell? Who the hell are you?"
"We know there’s a Black Magician here. If you’re just hired hands, I’ll give you a chance to repent under the mercy of the Lord. Drop your weapons and kneel here now."
The gang members’ emotions shifted from tension to anger at the woman's proposal.
"...What the hell, she’s just a pretty face but totally crazy. Who the hell are you?"
"I am Joanna, a Paladin from the Celande Branch of the Pater Church. Once more, in the name of the Lord’s mercy, I urge you. All sinners present here, including yourself, should lay down your arms and surrender. If you do, the Lord’s mercy will be granted to you."
“God and mercy, my ass...!”
Bang!
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the gang member who had been talking collapsed to the ground.
It was the bald man standing next to Joanna who had fired the shot.
“How dare you blaspheme against the Lord...”
The crowd fell eerily silent at the sight of the corpse.
But only for a moment. Soon, someone shouted out.
“It’s an ambush!”
With that cry, the gang members who had been observing the situation from the sidelines surged forward, radiating killing intent. They looked ready to tear the strangers apart, yet, surprisingly, the strangers remained calm.
One of them shouted out,
“Knight!”
At the sound of that cry, the woman named Joanna briefly showed an emotion of sadness, which was soon replaced by one of resolve.
[Ready for Battle]
With her chant, a radiant light spread out and enveloped the surroundings.
The gang members flinched in the dazzling light, but when it faded, they were stunned to see the strangers fully armored and equipped with various weapons.
Joanna, now clad in armor and holding a shield and mace, declared,
“In the name of the Lord, forgive their sins.”