Chapter 728: The Test (3)
Oliver spoke with a pained expression.
He, too, had wrapped up his memories, but upon revisiting them, found himself disappointed.
He didn’t directly say what disappointed him, but it was clear enough, and Kent was no stranger to that feeling.
Still, he managed a smile.
Although his bitterness crept onto his face, he forced himself to smile.
“Hoo... So a lot happened in the center of the continent, I see.”
“Haven’t you already heard from Puppet?”
Oliver replied.
Through Puppet’s all-seeing eye, he knew Kent had already heard most of what happened.
Kent didn’t deny it.
“That’s true... In that case, let me get straight to the point. Why did you return to Landa?”
“Were you hoping I wouldn’t?”
“No, it’s just that what I heard from Puppet was only about you being holed up in the underground prison of the Holy See State. I didn’t hear why you returned to Landa.”
“I thought you might ask what had happened before that.”
“I want to, but if I did, I’d inevitably end up talking about myself.”
“...”
“I’d rather put off talking about myself for now. I want to hear about you. So start with that story. It’s a request from a friend. Will you do that for me?”
Kent was Oliver’s very first friend, and this was his request.
After a long moment of contemplation, Oliver finally spoke.
“I hadn’t originally planned on coming back.”
“I heard that much, about what happened to you. That’s why I asked. So, why did you return to Landa?”
“A certain princess kept pushing me along.”
“No matter how much someone pushes, it’s ultimately your own will that moves your feet.”
Kent’s sharp insight made Oliver clarify.
“...She said I was going to be tested.”
“Tested? For what?”
“For anger, sorrow, and love.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’ve already faced two of them: anger and sorrow.”
Oliver remembered being consumed by the anger of the Pied Piper, and how that led to Rosburn’s death.
“So, love is left.”
“Yes, I’m supposed to be tested on love here in Landa. Probably.”
“Probably?”
“It’s uncertain. The princess said that I’d find it if I went to the place I most want to go, yet also least want to go.”
“Is that place Landa?”
“That’s what I think.”
“Makes sense. People see it similarly. Landa is the largest, wealthiest place, admired by many, but it’s also fiercely competitive and violent, which makes it repellent to others. But that’s not why you came here, is it?”
“...”
“Why did you want to come to Landa?”
“Because there are people here. People I know and like.”
“And why didn’t you want to come?”
“Because there are people here. People I know and like.”
He answered the two different questions with the exact same response.
One could call it a contradiction, but Kent took it seriously.
“Why did you want to see the people you like, but also not want to see them?”
“I thought they’d disappoint me. Like my temporary mentor.”
“You mean Archive Merlin?”
“Yes, you met him?”
“I did. No need to explain his past—I’ve already heard enough.”
“That’s a relief. I didn’t really want to talk about it anyway.”
“Then, why did you come? Surely the feeling of not wanting to come was stronger.”
“I’m not sure. Maybe I hoped...”
“Hoped for what?”
“That I’d find someone I wouldn’t be disappointed in.”
Oliver voiced his quiet wish.
That there might be just one person whose presence, even when seen through his eyes that see all human sin, wouldn’t leave him disappointed.
Just one person.
“What did you find?”
“I met a lot of people. And I saw some truly remarkable ones. Mr. Carver, the city minister, realized the end was near but didn’t let fear take over. Instead, he chose to act within his power. The Chosen Ones and Fighter Crew members both made efforts to protect their loved ones even in moments of crisis.”
“I’m listening.”
“Criminals who committed terrible sins in the past risked their lives to atone for them, even if only slightly. And Mr. Forest expanded his business at risk to himself to help me, which ultimately landed him in prison due to royal scrutiny.”
Yes, Forest had been imprisoned due to a dispute over the reclaimed island from the fall of Neverland, and that dispute was for Oliver’s sake.
To be precise, it was to support those who followed Oliver so he could live more peacefully.
In other words, it was all for Oliver.
“A young girl pleaded for the life of the man who killed her own brother, asking only that he save the brother who raised her. Another woman took it upon herself to subdue her grandmother to make up for the wrongs her grandmother had committed... All of them were remarkable, truly remarkable.”
“Are you impressed?”
“Yes, they’re all remarkable people.”
“Were you not disappointed?”
“No, it’s not that. But even so, I was disappointed.”
...
While Oliver admired them, he didn’t deny his disappointment in them.
In fact, it was perhaps the most vivid emotion he felt.
It was only natural. Sin doesn’t vanish.
No matter what accomplishments or achievements they gained, or how much good they did, their sins would never disappear.
“Do you know what sins they committed?”
“There are too many to recount them all.”
“It’s a friend’s request.”
Kent asked once more as a friend, showing a rare side of himself.
And, in the end, Oliver honored that request.
Starting with Paul Carver, the first person he met upon returning to Landa, he recounted the sins of all those he encountered: citizens, royal soldiers, defense forces, the Chosen Ones, Fighter Crew, the Development Opposition Committee, Mari, Forest, and Joe, among others.
From small lies to large transgressions.
For example, in Carver’s case, his sins were of negligence, distortion of duty, discrimination, and arrogance.
Back when he was an official under the Ministry of the Interior, during the redevelopment, he turned a blind eye to people being unjustly evicted and even killed by gangs.
It wasn’t because he was bribed. It was worse than that.
He justified it as a necessary evil for smooth work, and he saw those who were evicted as dispensable to the city, believing it was all for the greater good.
The moment Oliver saw Paul Carver, he vividly witnessed those past events, and felt the victims’ suffering.
The same applied to others.
The Chosen Ones, under Mari’s teachings, became arrogant in their belief of being chosen, easily harming the bodies and lives of others.
The Fighter Crew, too, used their own hardships as justification to rob others and endanger lives.
All the rest were more or less the same.
“What sins did Forest commit?”
Kent interrupted, asking as he quietly listened. Oliver paused for a moment before answering.
“...The same as the others. Greed for wealth, arrogance born of a distorted sense of self-validation. He hurt countless people and took their homes.”
“Whose sins are the most similar to his?”
Kent asked again, and Oliver hesitated once more.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to save your own story for later?”
“This feels like the right time. So answer me. Whose sins are most similar to Forest’s? Please.”
Kent asked sincerely, and Oliver finally replied.
“It’s you, Mr. Kent. The sins most similar to Forest’s are yours.”
Kent smiled as if in agreement.
In fact, they were not just similar—they were identical. During the redevelopment boom, Forest and Kent had joined forces, working as partners.
However, having the same sins didn’t mean that Oliver’s disappointment in both men was the same.
Relationships exist between people, and the nature of those relationships makes them respond differently to the same actions.
For that reason...
“The difference is only in degree; they’re all similar,” Oliver said, offering Kent a small comfort. Even if Kent was a sinner who had plunged many into misery for his own greed and lost his family in the end, Oliver softened the blow.
Kent’s bitter smile grew more pronounced.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Fundamentally, sins are all alike, at least from what I can see. They vary only in talent and luck.”
Still, Oliver offered Kent comfort.
Kent had been the one who’d helped Oliver, without any ulterior motives, when he first ventured into the world. He’d even helped other beggars as well.
But precisely because of that, Kent was also the one who had disappointed Oliver the most at this very moment.
Even someone like Kent had once been consumed by greed and arrogance, hurting countless people.
Then, abruptly, Kent changed the topic.
“Out of nowhere, but... do you listen to radio dramas?”
“I hear them occasionally, but I don’t follow them actively.”
“Then you likely wouldn’t know.”
“Know what?”
“Red Nose made his debut as a radio actor.”
Red Nose.
One of the beggars who’d been around when Oliver joined Kent’s crew, with his nickname owing to his red, drink-flushed nose.
This news caught Oliver off guard.
“Did he?”
“Yes. Though he’s mostly taking minor roles, it’s true. He was a stage actor before, but he ended up here after failing.”
“When did he debut?”
“Around the time you left and I recruited more beggars. One day, Red Nose came with a job advertisement, asking for help. I suppose your departure stirred something in him. I gave him part of the money you’d given me. That’s why it wasn’t there when we met again.”
He was referring to the time when Oliver and Jane were on the run together.
Back then, Oliver hadn’t thought much of it. He’d assumed Red Nose was simply away, given the growing size of Kent’s crew.
‘Or perhaps... I simply didn’t care? After all, my only concern was Mr. Kent.’
As Oliver considered this, a new question arose.
“Did Harmonica and the others leave too?”
For the first time, a hint of light appeared in Kent’s smile.
“Yes. A musician took in Harmonica, saying he seemed talented after hearing him play.”
Harmonica. The boy with mismatched clothes and shoes, who played his harmonica while begging.
A cheerful boy, but one who consistently brought in a steady income for Kent’s crew.
Only now did Oliver realize Harmonica’s absence when he reunited with Kent.
“I investigated, and the person seemed reliable. Just in case, I check in on him from time to time. Currently, he’s performing with others on a small stage.”
Kent went on to share what had happened to the others in the original crew.
The boy who dressed as a girl left to take on odd jobs; the women with children banded together, finding factory work with the money Kent had given them.
Oliver could tell that all of this was true, and he knew Kent had indeed helped many other beggars reenter society.
“You’re impressive.”
Oliver’s admiration was part genuine, part courteous.
Kent shook his head.
“It’s not that impressive. After all, during that time, I told you to ignore that boy, Rosburn.”
Oliver hesitated.
“Don’t you remember?”
“...I do.”
“I heard about what happened to that boy. My condolences.”
“Thank you.”
“But, if I may say... I’m far more relieved that you’re alive.”
“...”
“You mean much more to me than some boy I never met.”
Kent’s words left Oliver at a loss for words, stirring up an uncomfortably complex feeling within him.
Kent then apologized.
“I’m sorry if I let you down. But that’s who I am. Here I am, doing all these supposedly impressive things, but I’m still this person.”
“...”
“You called me impressive earlier, but if you peel back one layer, you’ll see I haven’t changed much from who I was. And even if I had, nothing would erase the sins of my past. You were right—sins are sins. They never disappear. I’ve long accepted that.”
“Then, why did you help the other beggars?”
“Because the past is the past. Avoiding what I can do now because of the past would be ridiculous, don’t you think?”
Oliver felt a pang of familiarity in Kent’s words. He’d heard something similar before.
From Director Amelin of Arkh Orphanage.
She, too, worried about her ability to guide the children and whether she had the right to do so.
This was because, in the past, she had considered turning some of the children out when the orphanage fell on hard times.
But the previous director had insisted that no matter how unremarkable the children seemed, they couldn’t be abandoned. With that, Director Amelin resolved to teach them the right way, even if it meant she might sin again in the future.
She believed that if she couldn’t guide them, the children would never even have the chance to do right.
It struck Oliver as a wise sentiment.
The past is the past, and now is now...
However, despite understanding it intellectually, Oliver couldn’t fully accept it emotionally.
For, with these eyes that saw everything, past and present held no distinction.
Every sin appeared as vividly as if it were happening right before him.
Right now, even—
“The Dashwood sisters. Little girls who lost their parents in a tragic accident. They were living in the redevelopment zone I oversaw, and under my lies and threats, they ended up selling their home without fair compensation. Afterward, they got jobs at a matchstick factory, where they suffered from phosphorus poisoning, and were dismissed. That winter, they passed away.”
For the first time, Kent’s smile faded as he rubbed his face wearily.
But he continued speaking.
“Then there was Rail Fadel. A husband with a wife, a son, and a daughter. He had no intention of taking my compensation offer, so I got him addicted to drugs to force him out. His family fell apart, and... hoo…”
Kent paused to steady his breath, which had grown increasingly unsteady, then went on.
His story continued:
Elton Martin. A staged accident. His mother passed away under suspicious circumstances.
Frank Smith. I hired thugs to intimidate him. The injury left him permanently disabled, and his family was scattered. He died alone in despair.
The Morelands. I planted drugs on the husband, framed him, and sent him to prison. Alone, the wife struggled to make ends meet and eventually took her own life. When her husband learned of her death, he couldn’t bear it and followed her.
Hervil Hayter. He couldn’t be intimidated, so I had him killed. To keep the family silent, I set their home on fire.
All of them were people I harmed in my quest to satisfy my own desires.
These weren’t even all of them, yet Kent stopped to ask his next question.
“Are all of my words true?”
Oliver, whose eyes could see through to the core of any sin, confirmed.
“Yes, all of them are true… Did you investigate them?”
“After I unified the beggar factions to form the Poor Brothers and gained some stability, I slowly started to look into what became of those I drove from their homes.”
“Why?”
“Because even if the past is the past, I have a responsibility to know. There are many others, but I don’t intend to recount them all.”
“Because it’s too painful?”
“That’s part of it, but this time... I want to hear about yours.”
Kent extended his hand.
“I want you to tell me about the sins that torment you.”