Chapter 429: Calm Period?

429. Calm Period? (2)

Suddenly, Merlin’s voice echoed in the air.

Oliver, who was deeply immersed in his work, turned his head, dark circles under his eyes.

Recognizing Merlin, Oliver responded a moment later.

“…Elder, you’re here?”

“Did you sleep?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… Two days ago. I’ve just had a lot of work lately.”

Oliver pointed around him as if making an excuse.

Surrounding Oliver were large blood tanks intricately connected with auxiliary machinery, containing bodies being restored, including the broken corpse puppets of Duncan, Seamus, and Bathory.

In addition, there were also other tasks being performed simultaneously, like embalming the restored bodies, and signs of separate organ packaging were visible.

Merlin glanced around the surroundings and spoke.

“It certainly looks that way. It’s too much to handle alone… Didn’t you have help?”

Oliver, wearing an apron, responded while hanging one of the preserved bodies on a hook. By the way, he was also using Ptah’s Assistant to repair the damaged bodies and corpse puppets.

“Well… everything got messed up from the recent incident. The Childs also went through a lot, so I’m handling it on my own now… But don’t worry, it’s more manageable than it seems.”

That last statement was true.

Despite two sleepless nights, dark circles under his eyes, and his body being emaciated as if from malnutrition, oddly enough, his stamina and strength had improved, making the work easier.

He could now effortlessly lift even the stiffened bodies that had been processed in embalming fluid.

“If you say it like that, I have nothing more to add, but is the workload really the reason?”

It was a reasonable question since such tasks could’ve been postponed until after returning to Randa. It would’ve been wiser to take a break for multiple reasons.

Rest, after all, has its time and place.

It was more reasonable to assume there was another reason for pushing through with this work rather than just a heavy workload. For example…

“…The restoration of the corpse puppets is urgent. A fixer who lives by violence must always keep their power in check, and personally, I’m in a hurry because I want to work on some materials as soon as possible.”

Oliver pointed to the corpse of Deziher Durance, which he had hung on the rack.

She was the former dean of the School of Alchemy of Life in Gallos. Oliver had rejoined her upper and lower halves that had been separated in the blood tank, then embalmed her and hung her on the drying rack.

Her shoulder bore a mark indicating an S-rank quality.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, there’s an empty spot among the corpse puppets I’m currently using, and I found her abilities intriguing.”

Oliver responded, recalling how Deziher used her body like a whip. He predicted the potential use of her abilities to be endless.

“But more importantly, elder, may I ask what brings you here? I thought you were still busy.”

Oliver pointed to a table in the corner of the basement where a stack of newspapers lay. Seven or eight out of ten mentioned the Archive.

They called him the hero who saved the city from an evil warlock, the collaborator of the Gallos royal family, the wise man advising on this situation, and the patron providing support.

While impressive, from Oliver’s perspective, it seemed exhausting. Something he would rather avoid.

“It’s not necessarily so. If I wish, I can slack off whenever I want. That’s one of the perks of having a great reputation. Even if I do nothing, people will attach some plausible reason on their own.”

“Is that so?”

Oliver asked again, as this was beyond his understanding.

“That’s the power of a high-ranking name. It can blind and dumbfound people alike.”

“So, did you come here just to slack off?”

“Not entirely.”

Merlin answered as he pulled something out from inside his robe. It was an unnamed savings book.

“What is this?”

“Just take it.”

Oliver did as Merlin instructed, taking the savings book handed to him. It was newly made, with just one clean entry recorded.

The problem was that this single entry’s amount was beyond imagination.

“Zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten… Excuse me, did I see this correctly?”

Oliver asked, doubting his eyes. Because the amount inscribed on it was a staggering 50 billion Randa.

In the past, they had captured Seamus thanks to ABC’s case and received 20 billion, but this was two and a half times that amount.

“You saw it right. It’s 50 billion Randa. It’s yours.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

Oliver paused all his work because of the mind-boggling sum. While Oliver also liked money, it was only meaningful when he felt he had earned it.

“You earned it, so just take it without worry.”

“But I still don’t understand what I did to earn this. For the past four days, I’ve done nothing but eat meals, sleep, and shut myself in here to work. I haven’t done anything that would warrant such a sum, let alone 50 billion.”

Oliver spoke sincerely, and Merlin, hearing his words, both shocked and impressed, thought it was typical of Oliver. Doing nothing…?

“Are you aware that the Flesh Cook was a high-risk criminal?”

“Yes, I know that. He was an enemy of the world, the worst criminal defined as evil across the globe. He could be killed without trial, and those who did would… Ah.”

Oliver, who was explaining about high-risk criminals out of habit, realized the source of the money.

“It’s bounty money.”

“Exactly.”

At Merlin’s simple answer, Oliver checked the numbers on the savings book again.

[₤50,000,000,000]

“…Isn’t it too much?”

Having confirmed the reason for receiving the money, Oliver now questioned the amount.

Even if the Flesh Cook was an ancient entity who had lived for centuries, 50 billion Randa for one person’s life… This was an amount far beyond Oliver’s economic understanding.

“And Gallos seems to be in a tight situation right now. Can they afford to pay such a large sum?”

“The Pater Church paid for it, so don’t worry.”

“The Pater Church?”

“Yes. To be precise, it’s money from a fund provided by several countries, including Gallos and the United Kingdom, as well as some wealthy patrons.”

“I don’t really understand what that means.”

As Oliver slowly showed interest in this, Merlin inwardly sighed in relief and explained further to keep his curiosity on the right track.

“It’s a fund created after a certain incident.”

“An incident?”

“Yes, but let’s leave that story for another time. It’s too long… Anyway, after that incident, various countries’ vigilance against the Black Hand increased sharply, and they each set bounties, which were later pooled together and deposited in the Pater Church’s bank, for administrative convenience and efficiency.”

“Are you saying that fund amounts to 50 billion?”

“It’s money pooled from several countries and wealthy individuals. Also, since the Pater Church manages the fund, it grows with interest. By the way, 50 billion wasn’t exactly set for the Flesh Cook’s bounty.”

“…??”

“The Pater Church manages the massive fund and distributes it in percentages to those they deem high-risk individuals. The Flesh Cook was worth 50 billion.”

“Hmm… It feels strange to attach the word ‘only’ to a sum like 50 billion, but I see… Can I ask one more question?”

Oliver, who had returned to his usual self, asked, and Merlin readily accepted.

“What is it?”

“If the Flesh Cook was worth 50 billion, how much are Puppet and Fen? Or the Pied Piper? I’m just… curious.”

“Since interest is still accumulating, I can’t give an exact figure, but Puppet is around 55 billion, and Fen is about 47 billion.”

“How about the Pied Piper?”

Oliver asked again about the answer that was intentionally omitted, and Merlin hesitated before answering.

“…1.82 Trillion Randa.”

Oliver was shocked. 1.82 trillion Randa. It was 300 billion more than the combined value of the Flesh Cook, Puppet, and Eternal Child Fen, totaling 1.52 trillion Randa.

“That extra 300 billion is the bounty for the Flesh Cook’s younger sister, Gretel. That part went to the Gallos royal family since they also made a substantial contribution.”

Oliver nodded in understanding. He hadn’t even known about receiving bounties, and he had dumped all the troublesome aftermath on Merlin, so it wasn’t his place to complain.

“But the Pied Piper’s bounty is insanely high. It’s more than the sum of the other fingers combined, including Ms. Gretel.”

“I’ll explain that in detail later. For now, there’s something else to discuss.”

“What is it?”

“It’s quite a bit.”

Merlin started with this introduction. The first thing he brought up was the corpses of the Flesh Cook and Gretel.

“As we discussed earlier, Gretel’s body will be jointly owned by the kingdom, Loculi University, and the Tower of Magic. Technically, the ownership is still pending.”

Oliver understood. Gretel had lived for centuries with the knowledge and blessings of demons, devoured numerous wizards, and in the end, even absorbed a few drops of infernal energy.

Her body could be considered a treasure trove of knowledge—worth far more than her bounty of 30 billion Randa.

Thus, it would be difficult for anyone to give up ownership of her body. Anyone would want to secure it by any means necessary.

Oliver felt the same way but chose not to dwell on it.

First, because, in reality, it was Merlin who had defeated Gretel. And secondly, because there was something he desired even more.

“What happened to the Flesh Cook’s body?”

“As planned, they believe it was destroyed.”

Oliver felt relieved. After taking down the Flesh Cook, Oliver wanted to secure his body, but Merlin advised that it wouldn’t be easy.

Like Gretel, the Flesh Cook’s body also had immense value, making it highly sought after by many factions.

Frankly, it wasn’t wrong. It might seem unreasonable on the surface, but such things happened often in the world.

However, Oliver didn’t back down easily. He was determined to keep the Flesh Cook’s body.

Oliver wanted to study his body, process it into a corpse puppet, or even just possess the body itself.

For this, Oliver asked Merlin for help, and Merlin suggested that by handing over Gretel’s body, he could secure ownership of the Flesh Cook’s body without any trouble.

“If they get the chicken instead of the pheasant, they won’t ask where the pheasant went, especially if they did nothing to catch it.”

Oliver understood what that meant. Merlin had explained this to him before.

The idea was that the Flesh Cook’s body would be destroyed during the battle, and by giving Gretel’s intact body, everyone would be so focused on it that they wouldn’t even think to look for the Flesh Cook’s body.

It turned out to be true. Everyone was consumed with Gretel’s body and didn’t even consider looking for the Flesh Cook’s body. After all, it was what the Archive said.

‘Besides, the unnatural battle that erased part of a city also played a role… It wouldn’t be surprising if a single body vanished.’

“As per our agreement, I’ll get a chance to study the Flesh Cook’s body first and return it afterward… Is that fine with you?”

Without hesitation, Oliver nodded. Merlin had greatly assisted during the battle and had also helped secure the Flesh Cook’s body. Moreover, Merlin was still, even temporarily, Oliver’s teacher.

“If you just return it, please take as much time as you need to study it.”

“Oh… Your words touch me. Are you learning how to flatter me now?”

“No… Is there a book on that?”

Oliver asked seriously, and Merlin sighed in resignation.

“It was a joke… You still lack a sense of humor.”

“I’m studying it for 30 minutes every night before bed.”

“Study it for an hour.”

Oliver instinctively nodded at the advice from his interim master. It was a good point. The issue might be time. What can you really study in just 30 minutes?

“Also, once we return to Randa, I’ll pass you over the books owned by the Flesh Cook, including research materials, journals, and the demon’s books. But the demon books stay in my library, so if you want to read them, you have to do it there.”

Oliver nodded obediently. Demon books were dangerous items, so he understood why Merlin was doing this.

He was also satisfied that Merlin had helped him without asking for any reasons.

“Thank you.”

“You should thank the Gallos royal family. Thanks to them, we were able to avoid interference from the holy knights.”

That was true. By the rules, all of the Flesh Cook’s books were supposed to be managed by the holy knights.

Their duty was to protect the human realm from evil demons.

Even so, the fact that Merlin could secure these was largely thanks to the Gallos royal family.

‘Of course, the royal family didn’t just cooperate for no reason.’

That wasn’t just an expression. It was a strict fact.

While the city was being turned into ruins by the Flesh Cook and his followers, the royal family did nothing. But due to Merlin’s help, they gained a reputation for helping to protect the city.

It wasn’t difficult. With the infamous name ‘Archive’ and Merlin’s active participation, all he had to do was make the claim.

Moreover, Merlin found and handed over the connections between the Flesh Cook and the Commoner Party to the royal family, helping them severely weaken the Commoner Party, which had been threatening them. He also provided various forms of assistance to the Gallos royal family and government, coping with the enormous political turmoil and economic damage caused by the destruction of the capital.

He also handed over the ownership of the Hecatoncheires summoned by Gretel, enabling them to secure funds based on it. Additionally, he donated part of the Archive’s vast wealth and gave credit to Loculi University and the royal family, helping to solidify their positions.

In essence, Merlin handled both the conclusion and aftermath of the incident. Thus, the Gallos royal family and government had no choice but to cooperate with Merlin’s requests.

Oliver had never really understood why even the royal family acknowledged the authority of the Archive, but now, he thought he could understand it, at least a little.

The Archive wasn’t just limited to being a wizard; it possessed enormous influence in multiple areas.

“You’re amazing.”

Oliver said, feeling newly impressed by Merlin’s greatness. However, Merlin merely shook his head.

“You’re the amazing one. After all, you’re the one who took down both the Flesh Cook and Gretel, right?”

Oliver shook his head.

“No, you were already nearly subduing Gretel, elder. She was out of strength.”

Merlin had many things he wanted to say but didn’t. Instead, he listened to what Oliver had to say.

“And as for the Flesh Cook… Yes, I did defeat him, but honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t really remember it clearly.”

“You don’t remember?”

“Yes… I do remember, but it feels vague and surreal.”

“So, that’s why you decided to give me all the credit?”

“No, that’s not it. I just didn’t want to get entangled with the Flesh Cook, so I dumped it all on you, elder. After reading the newspapers, I think that was the right choice.”

Oliver pointed to the newspapers again. They were filled with stories about Merlin, something Oliver had no interest in.

It would be too chaotic, too noisy, too conspicuous, and too tiring.

“And personally, my memories of the Flesh Cook… aren’t great.”

Oliver recalled the last conversation he had with the Flesh Cook. It was… unsettling.

“Well, if that’s the case, I’m relieved. I felt a bit guilty about taking credit for a young man’s accomplishment, but it seems like there’s no need.”

Merlin joked, and Oliver nodded, actively agreeing.

Stopping the Flesh Cook was about doing the right thing, not seeking fame.

In fact, receiving a cash reward of 50 billion and many high-quality bodies besides the Flesh Cook’s was more than enough satisfaction. Though he didn’t feel amazing, he was fine with it.

‘But at least, I got to see the elder’s feelings for a moment, so maybe that’s alright?’

After defeating the Flesh Cook, Oliver had, for a brief moment, managed to see past Merlin’s magical barrier and glimpse his emotions. Those emotions were…

“Alright, I’ve said everything I needed to, so I’ll take my leave now.”

“What? Are you leaving already?”

“Why, do you feel sad that the old man is leaving?”

“Not sad, but I’ve learned that it’s courteous to offer a cup of coffee.”

“It would have been better if you removed the first part and just said you wanted to offer me coffee out of courtesy.”

“…I would like to offer you some coffee, elder.”

“It’s too late… Besides, it’s better for the young to meet alone without an old man getting in the way.”

Young? Old man? Oliver tilted his head at these words, but soon he understood what Merlin meant.

Jane was approaching through the basement corridor.