Chapter 439: Who Am I? (3)
Oliver could see it.
In just one second, he saw Forest's expression change multiple times.
An expression that conveyed emotions opposite to what he actually felt. Although everyone at the meeting seemed to notice Forest's sudden shift, they quickly dismissed it as nothing unusual due to his flawless poker face.
Except for the black magicians Mari, Jo, and Smith, who sensed something was amiss.
Forest finally spoke, using his usual tone.
"...How about we take a break?"
...
When Forest declared a recess, everyone quickly left the conference room, though some were puzzled. The lengthy meeting had left them restless.
As a result, only Oliver, Forest, Jo, Mari, and Nora remained in the room.
Nora, who had seemed lively earlier, was now frozen stiff, staring at the floor.
Forest, on the other hand, wore a stern expression that Oliver had never seen before, struggling to suppress the anger boiling inside him. It was quite unexpected—he hadn’t thought Forest could be so furious.
But the most surprising one was Mari.
Although Oliver had expected her to react strongly upon hearing about Nora's attempt at poisoning, she didn’t display as much anger as he thought she would. She was, of course, upset, but she managed to remain remarkably calm.
"...I'm sorry. I should have done something... Anything. I'm truly... Sorry."
Jo approached Oliver as he spoke, standing between him and Nora, as if trying to shield her.
His actions reflected regret, guilt, fear, and apprehension.
Regret for failing to prevent this situation, guilt towards Oliver and Nora, and fear of what was to come.
However, there was no resentment. Not even towards Nora, who had caused this situation. All he felt was the need to protect her.
Oliver closed his eyes and took in the scent of the coffee and cookies once more.
"Sniff, sniff... Let's first confirm if there's indeed poison in the cookies and coffee. I can smell something, but my sense of smell has never been very good."
It was true. Oliver's sense of smell was not just bad—it was almost nonexistent.
Growing up in a smelly orphanage and a smoky mine would do that to anyone.
Yet, oddly enough, he could now perceive scents in incredible detail.
He could distinguish the flour, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, chocolate chips, cocoa powder in the cookies, and even the smell of the Eel Tail Herb in the coffee, which, when mixed with Peach Butt Herb, formed a deadly poison.
‘Could it be because of this constant hunger?’
Oliver pondered as he felt his stomach rumble. Even so, it was strange.
He could understand recognizing flour and eggs, but he had no way of knowing the scents of Eel Tail Herb and Peach Butt Herb, except from books.
Yet, as soon as he detected them, he could identify the herbs as if he had encountered them in real life.
"Jo."
Oliver opened his eyes and spoke.
"Could you please bring me the necklace Nora is wearing?"
Jo turned sharply to look at Nora.
Though he initially showed doubt at the mention of a necklace, his doubt quickly turned to a cold sweat when he noticed that she was indeed wearing one, just as Oliver had said.
It was a black magic item known as the Liar's Necklace, crafted from the heart of a fetus at least seven weeks old. The necklace was designed to deceive even black magicians by imparting temporary emotions different from the wearer's true feelings.
Although useful, it was a rare and expensive item because it was single-use and had a short duration.
It wasn’t something Nora would have been able to obtain on her own.
"This confirms it."
Forest, who had checked Nora's necklace, declared.
Since she had been wearing a black magic item to conceal her emotions, it was as good as proof that there was poison in the cookies and coffee.
Moreover, as soon as the necklace was removed, Nora's intense resentment, hatred, and sense of betrayal towards Oliver became evident.
Not long ago, she had been a girl who showed fondness and smiled at him.
Now, she was in an inescapable predicament. A heavy silence hung in the air like a suffocating fog.
Breaking the stillness with difficulty, Jo spoke up.
"Dave... I know I’m not in a position to ask this, but I will take responsibility, so please—"
"—Jo."
"...Yes?"
"Could you tell me why Nora dislikes me? You seem to know."
Oliver's tone was so calm that it left everyone speechless. It was hard to believe this was someone who had just narrowly avoided being poisoned. His composure was enough to calm those around him.
"...Nora is Nico's younger sister."
Jo spoke solemnly. Oliver confirmed.
"The person who was with you when we first met, one of the two, right?"
Jo nodded slightly, looking surprised.
Oddly, Jo felt a sense of gratitude at that moment—grateful that Oliver remembered both Nico and Big Jaw.
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
"There was never a good time to bring it up."
Oliver understood. Indeed, it would have been awkward to suddenly mention that Nora was Nico’s younger sister while they were busy acquiring assets.
Especially since Nora had been continually preparing coffee during that time.
Now, he could see why Jo had been so opposed to letting Nora prepare the coffee.
‘I should’ve just stopped her.’
Oliver spoke again.
"So, why didn’t you tell Nora?"
"I couldn’t say it. I was... Sorry."
Jo faltered, struggling to find the right words, but it didn’t matter much. Even Oliver could understand.
It would have been hard to tell Nora that the person who had helped him was also the one who killed her brother.
"Ugh, I’m starving."
Deep in thought, Oliver picked up a cookie and sipped his coffee.
"...!"
Everyone was shocked, including Nora, who had been hanging her head.
After all, he had just consumed the very items suspected to be poisoned. However, he couldn’t help it. His hunger was overwhelming, and for some reason, he felt like it would be okay to eat them.
It was an ungrounded intuition, but fortunately, it proved correct. Oliver experienced no adverse effects.
Everyone silently watched him, as if witnessing something entirely beyond comprehension.
"Jo, may I have a word with Nora?"
Oliver stood up and made his request. Jo hesitated but eventually stepped aside after seeing the look on Oliver's face.
Nora stood a few steps ahead.
Oliver approached her and lowered himself to eye level. This was how conversations should be held.
"Nora."
He spoke to her, whose emotions reflected resentment, hatred, betrayal, and fear.
"Do you hate me?"
Nora, who had been avoiding his gaze, responded and looked directly at him.
The girl in her early teens feared Oliver but despised him even more.
"...Yes. I hate you. I hate you enough to wish you were dead."
She was sincere.
"You killed my brother. You... and Big Jaw too."
Oliver was silent. It was true.
"But... I thought you were a hero. I thought you were a hero who helped us...!"
Her emotions swirled, and her voice trembled, like a dam starting to crack.
"But you deceived me. You lied to me... I called a person who killed my brother a hero..."
Nora eventually began to cry. Jo, who had been watching, wanted to confess that he was the one who had lied, but Oliver raised his hand to stop him.
"First, I had no intention of deceiving you."
Oliver spoke calmly, addressing Nico’s little sister.
"I didn’t know Nico had a younger sister. In any case, I apologize if I offended you. And I’m sorry for killing your brother..."
Oliver trailed off, something troubling him, and soon he realized what it was.
"I'm sorry, Nora... but I’m actually not sorry at all."
"..."
"...I'm not sorry, not even a little bit. Ah..."
Oliver gasped as if in shock, covering his mouth.
He had realized that he couldn't empathize with Nora's emotions at all. It was a startling and painful revelation—a selfish sadness, to be sure. Standing before a girl who had lost her family because of him, Oliver could only feel sorrow for his inability to share in her grief.
...
After his battle with the Flesh Chef, Oliver had undergone many changes—both good and bad.
The good changes included a deeper understanding of disease-related black magic, as well as significantly enhanced physical abilities, reflexes, and sensory perception. Though he had vaguely noticed these improvements before, it didn’t take long to fully recognize them.
Additionally, he had gained a powerful resistance to disease-weakening black magic and poison, to the extent that hardly anything could affect him. This had been confirmed through several experiments.
However, that didn’t mean he was pleased with these changes.
The conversation with the Flesh Chef had been deeply unpleasant, and the lingering hunger he had left behind was no small source of discomfort for Oliver. In fact, it was one of the reasons Oliver had returned from Gallos early to participate in the redevelopment project, work with corpses, and immerse himself in the research of strengthening corpse puppets.
He thought staying busy might help him forget the hunger. Unfortunately, all such attempts had failed.
The hunger proved stronger than expected.
Strangely enough, though, something entirely unexpected helped him forget about it, albeit in a rather unsettling way.
"Six... No, maybe seven?"
Oliver mumbled, deep in thought after his conversation with Nora.
It was then that Forest returned, having finished his tasks, and spoke to Oliver.
"Are you alright?"
After witnessing Oliver's unusual reaction, Forest had adjourned the meeting entirely and sent the representatives from X-District away.
This allowed Oliver some time to gather his thoughts.
"...Yes, I'm fine, Forest. I'm sorry for causing trouble. I apologize to everyone as well."
Oliver spoke to Mari and Jo, who were looking at him with concern.
"Are you really alright?"
Forest asked, using his intuition as a broker. It was understandable, considering that this was the first time he had seen such a response from Oliver.
It was hard to describe, but it felt ominous—like the ground shaking and the sky falling.
Although this was an extreme way to put it, Forest couldn’t shake the feeling. He was sure Jo and Mari felt the same way.
Oliver replied, "Yes, I really am fine. I've organized my thoughts. I need to go back to the beginning."
The beginning. The unfamiliar term left everyone puzzled, but no one dared to ask for clarification. Something instinctive warned them not to.
"Jo... Did you ask Nora who told her about the poisoned coffee and cookies, and that I killed her brother?"
Oliver asked, continuing to eat the poisoned cookies and coffee as if driven by hunger.
"She said it was a beautiful woman she met in the marketplace, a singer at a shop... She even taught her some songs."
"Enjoyment."
Forest said, his tone certain despite lacking solid evidence. His extensive experience and instincts as a broker pointed toward Enjoyment.
They had been aiming to settle in Landa due to the rapidly changing circumstances, with X-District as their target.
It seemed they were preparing to go all in, not just stoking the flames but setting the whole house ablaze.
‘Still, it doesn’t make sense... Unlike before, Enjoyment now needs the city’s cooperation. If things go wrong, the reformist druids could be granted authority to arrest them.’
Forest thought, regaining his composure. Although Landa was known for its strong autonomy, it wasn’t an impossible move. If they found a suitable justification, it could be done, as evidenced by the Holy Knights.
‘And yet, they’re pulling a stunt like this on Dave, who is unaffiliated with the city. This could provoke the city... Or did they think they could get rid of Dave with a scheme like this?’
Forest looked at the now-empty poisoned cookies, coffee, and the Liar's Necklace.
It was a well-planned effort, but still insufficient to take down a solver like Dave.
As he pondered this, another thought occurred to him—it wouldn’t matter whether they succeeded or failed.
That seemed plausible enough.
Based on what Forest had gathered about Enjoyment’s dealings with the city, this was entirely possible.
"Forest."
Oliver called out to Forest, who had been lost in thought. He turned to face him.
Unlike a moment ago, when he had seemed deep in thought, Oliver now radiated a sense of purpose and determination—or perhaps, simply a desire to resolve things quickly.
It was a troubling atmosphere.
"What is it?"
"Do you know where Enjoyment is located? I assume you’ve already looked into it."
He was correct. However, Forest didn’t answer immediately.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I need to handle something quickly."