Chapter 437: Me? (1)
"Pierce, how did it go?"
A gaunt druid wrapped in a green linen cloak spoke up. His hair and even his beard were dyed green, giving him an air of profound wisdom.
"Seamus... Yeah, that kid definitely got taken down," replied Pierce, who had been walking a step ahead before coming to a halt. Despite his massive frame, comparable to a bear's, and his rough demeanor, his eyes shone with the characteristic intelligence of a druid.
"It was different from what we investigated, but his skill was the real deal."
Pierce's companions, a druid with a long beard and a female druid clad in a leaf-patterned cloak, nodded silently in agreement.
Pierce was one of the top ten druids when it came to close combat, and his skills extended beyond mere strength; he was capable enough to teach others with the knowledge and experience he possessed. In fact, it was Pierce himself who had trained Seamus.
If someone like Pierce acknowledged it, the other two had no choice but to believe it.
"Well, even though you went easy on him, he did manage to block your attack."
"There was no need to hold back."
Pierce shook his head. His gaze was calm and stern.
"Whether I was holding back or not, he's no ordinary guy."
"...Is that so?"
Pierce nodded, recalling the moment his initial attack had been blocked.
With a quarterstaff in hand.
Although he was a bit surprised at the time, it was still within his expectations, which was why he had intended to launch a follow-up attack to confirm the skill of the person who defeated Seamus. However, he quickly stopped himself.
At that moment, when the opponent turned their head to respond, Pierce's druid instincts kicked in.
‘…It was just pure luck.’
Pierce felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what was unsettling him, but he knew that fighting in that way was not the right approach.
"...One thing's certain: that guy has the skills to take down Seamus."
"Do you think the other escapees who fled here are in danger?" asked the long-bearded druid. It might have seemed like an unusual question, but it was a perfectly reasonable concern. Their goal was to capture the escaped members of the Enjoyment Faction, not to kill them.
"There may be others with abilities similar to Seamus, but no one stronger. So, yes, they're likely in danger. If anything, it could be worse because, in terms of potential, Seamus was the most promising."
The female druid, who had been listening quietly, added her thoughts.
"That's a big problem. We still need to track down Eve's whereabouts, too. And remember, we’ve already lost one lead to Heimdall."
"For now, let’s watch and start by negotiating with the City. We have some bargaining chips on hand. If it doesn't work, we might have to take action by force," said the long-bearded druid.
Everyone nodded in agreement and resumed their journey.
...
Meanwhile, the druids from the Enjoyment Faction who had been observing through the World Tree all disconnected and returned to reality to discuss the situation.
"Heh... What makes those old guys so confident? What did they bring with them?"
"Don't bother worrying. What could those hermits who spent their lives in the forest possibly have to offer? Some fruit or herbs, maybe? Besides, we’ve got something better to negotiate with the City, don't we?" said one druid, prompting nods from the others. Through long discussions, they had agreed on a bargaining chip that the City, ever eager to acquire new technology, would find impossible to refuse.
"But what do you make of Pierce’s words...?"
The room fell silent. All present held a complicated mixture of feelings. They despised and resented the grueling training endured by the more traditionalist and reformist druids, but they also acknowledged their dedication to reaching higher levels through harsher practices than their own.
Pierce was undeniably one of them.
The fact that someone of Pierce's caliber recognized the skills of the problem-solver, Dave, was indeed concerning.
Not that there weren't options. Around a hundred members of the Enjoyment Faction had been concentrated in District X due to a series of schemes involving ABC Investment. If they could all strike at once, even the guy who took down Seamus would have a hard time.
However, doing so would risk disrupting their plans to establish a foothold in the city. If the conflict escalated too much and drew the City's attention, it could jeopardize future relations.
To prevent such a situation, it would be best to quietly take him out or deal with him in a secluded area, but even that wasn't easy. He was too skilled for a simple ambush, and now that he had gathered an organization around him, luring him to an isolated place was also challenging.
At that moment, a woman raised her hand. She was a druid who had infiltrated a tavern as a singer in District T.
"May I offer an opinion, given that I've taken time out of my busy schedule to be here?"
"...What is it?"
"In short, you find it troublesome to face him head-on, right?"
"...Well, yes. We could beat him in a direct fight, though we’d suffer some losses. After all, we have over a hundred druids."
"Plus, we can recruit some unaffiliated gangs here. We’ve already made contact with several groups."
"In that case, we just need to create a justification for a direct confrontation."
"A justification?"
"Exactly. If we handle it right, we might not even need to fight. Either way, let’s start by contacting the City."
...
"Are you done with your work?"
Oliver asked Merlin, who was directing his wooden golem to move a large number of documents into his personal office, while also having it bring out a significant number of books.
Incidentally, the books being brought out included personal research journals and collections of black magic texts from the Flesh Chef, totaling hundreds of volumes, most of which bore signs of age.
They weren’t bad finds; magic and black magic books often increased in value with age, especially when their previous owner was a notable figure like the Flesh Chef.
Standing beside the growing pile of books, Merlin responded, "This is just the beginning. Now that I've been treated as a hero, it's time to act like one. Cleaning up after the mess is always harder than starting it... By the way, what are you eating?"
"Oh, sorry. It's a military calorie bar. I was hungry."
"Well, if you’re hungry, you’ve got to eat… Anyway, I’m busy. Besides this, I also need to wrap up matters concerning the Life School. Who would’ve thought I’d be this busy at my age… What about you? Is business going well?"
"I'm not doing much."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Oliver nodded. It wasn’t false modesty. He truly wasn’t doing much.
After all, major internal and external tasks were being handled by Forest, while smaller matters were dealt with by Fighter Crew, the mercenaries Forest had recruited, and other hired problem-solvers.
In the two weeks since the business had begun, Oliver had only taken action once, during negotiations with the independent gang alliance, and that had ended when the talks broke down, leading to an initial show of force.
The unexpected display of firepower had caught the gangs off guard, and the rest was handled by Mari and Jo, who had grown strong enough that even in District X, they had few equals.
"For someone doing so little, you don’t seem all that pleased. Don’t like making money?"
Oliver nearly replied, "I have less to do than I thought," but he bit back the words.
No matter the reason, it wouldn't be appropriate to say that in front of Forest, Jo, and Mari, who were all dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to the work.
Oliver pulled out Big Mouth from his belt. The pouch puffed up like a loaf of bread as usual.
He asked Big Mouth, "Could you swallow those books for me?"
Oliver gestured at the towering stacks of books and journals.
Thanks to Merlin’s wooden golem, the pile was growing even bigger.
It was an overwhelming amount, and Big Mouth shot Oliver a disdainful glare, which Merlin noticed.
"It looks like it’s too much. It’s glaring at you with contempt, and I’d agree. How could it swallow all that by itself?"
"It’s possible."
"And why’s that?"
"I made it fight two other greedy pouches yesterday. Big Mouth won, and after devouring them, its abilities improved. Though its size hasn’t changed, it can swallow everything."
"My goodness… You've done a lot while I wasn't around."
Oliver took the comment as a compliment and nodded. Indeed, a lot had been accomplished.
The most significant achievement was creating internal components and installing them in the corpse puppets.
As Big Mouth began swallowing the towering pile of books, Oliver and Merlin continued their conversation.
For instance, Oliver asked about what had happened to Kevin, Yareli, and Terrence after they returned to the Magic Tower.
"They all returned safely and are doing well. Having gone out as the vanguard and come back as heroes, of course, they’re being treated as such. You could be treated like a hero, too... Not interested?"
"Oh... I’m fine," Oliver replied, recalling the Flesh Chef. The words that the Flesh Chef had said haunted him, gnawing at him like the persistent hunger he often felt.
As his stomach grumbled again, Oliver took another bite of his calorie bar, and Merlin spoke up once more.
"If you say so, it’s your business. So then, shall we move on to the main topic?"
"Huh?" Oliver asked, slightly caught off guard.
"You’ve been dragging this out, and it’s making me nervous," Merlin said with a wry smile. "I don’t know what it is that’s making you hesitate, but let’s get to it. You asked me to collect some demonic books for you—what’s got you stalling?"
"Did... it show?"
"Most of the time, you’re hard to read, but sometimes, like right now, you’re as obvious as a child. So, what’s bothering you? Did you cause some trouble?"
"No, nothing like that," Oliver said quickly.
"Then, why are you holding back? Go on, tell me. It’s unsettling."
"...I’m afraid it might be an impolite question," Oliver admitted.
"Well, I’d prefer impoliteness over being left in the dark."
With Merlin pushing for an answer, Oliver finally spoke up.
"...Did you ever use Professor Kevin’s family for human experiments? Like what they do at Martel?"
Merlin’s emotions flickered for a moment. Although Oliver couldn’t see Merlin’s emotions, the slight tremor in the older man’s eyes gave him away.
"...Yes."
"...And after you became an Archive, you stopped and took Professor Kevin as your disciple. May I ask why you did that?"
"Hmm... This all feels familiar. Didn’t you ask something similar when you were about to leave for Wineham? Back then, you told me the important thing wasn't the present."
Oliver remembered saying those words. He had boldly declared them at the time, and yet now, here he was, asking the very same thing. It was rather embarrassing. Nevertheless, he had to ask.
"Of course, I’m not blaming you," Merlin continued. "I’m just curious. Why are you bringing this up again? There’s got to be a reason."
He hit the nail on the head. Merlin’s guess was precisely right. Oliver closed his eyes for a moment, thinking, and then answered.
"Back then, I thought I understood, but now I don’t."
"Understood what?"
"Myself."