Chapter 438: Me?

“You said you are you.”

Merlin spoke after listening to Oliver’s answer.

“An orphan and a mine worker. A person who eats potato soup alone, learns black magic, and becomes a Solver. Just Oliver, Dave, and Xenon. Oh, and you said it’s hard to admit that you can’t joke.”

“That’s still the case.”

“Good, good… But, why suddenly claim you don’t know yourself? I think that’s quite an excellent answer?”

Merlin remarked. Though his emotions were hidden by a thick magical barrier, Oliver somehow felt that he was sincere.

“Someone told me that I don’t think people are that important; to me, people are like living machines that create interesting emotions. No precious people, only precious emotions. Like toys.”

“…Who said that to you—no, that’s not important.”

Merlin pondered for a moment before speaking again.

“May I ask how you felt when you heard that?”

Merlin asked, and Oliver recalled the memory. It wasn’t a pleasant memory, but since he was the one who brought it up, he answered.

“Hmm. A little annoyed… No, I think I was a bit angry.”

“Why were you a bit angry?”

Merlin asked, sitting at the edge of his chair. He looked serious, yet also tired.

“I don’t know? I’m not sure. Maybe because it felt like an insult?”

“You?”

“Not just me, but the people around me… Mr. Kent, Mr. Forest, Marie, Joe, Miss Jane, Rossburn, and others. They are people who work hard for their own purposes and lives, and with one word, they became my toys, didn’t they?”

Merlin nodded silently.

It was a fair point. Even if they lacked power and talent, it would still be sad to have their sincerity treated like a toy. Very, very sad.

It was only natural for Oliver to get angry. Especially someone like Oliver, who valued the people around him.

“But you know, Elder… On the other hand, I think I might have been angry because I felt guilty.”

“Guilty?”

“That I value emotions more than people.”

Oliver confessed. The same question he had been pondering since the battle with the Flesh Cook.

“Would I have been happy about becoming friends with Mr. Kent or Miss Jane if their emotions weren’t interesting?”

“…”

“Would I have helped Marie, Joe, or Rossburn if their emotions weren’t beautiful?”

“…”

“Suddenly, when I fell into this thought, I don’t know… it felt a bit…”

Oliver, who had been explaining well, ended vaguely, like a child who couldn’t put his thoughts and worries into words.

Merlin, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Wondering if a person can truly like someone purely as a person.”

“…Yes?”

“Most people are conditionally attached. For example, women look for a man’s wealth, men look for a woman’s beauty, and a student looks for a teacher’s skill and experience. To be honest, I even wonder if that’s wrong. After all, not everyone can be a saint, right? So it shouldn’t be an issue to consider one’s gain and preferences. The same goes for looking at emotions.”

Oliver nodded slightly.

Even though he couldn’t see Merlin’s emotions, he understood the main point. Most people are like that, so there’s no need to worry.

As Oliver was about to make that judgment, Merlin spoke again.

“But what’s interesting is that over time, people can come to like others for different reasons.”

“…For example?”

“It’s not hard. A woman with many scars might marry an old rich man expecting him to die soon, but she could end up liking his kindness. An arrogant man might marry a woman just because she’s pretty, but he might fall for her when she stands by him during tough times. A student might choose a teacher for their ability and experience but later admire their character.”

“Is that common?”

“Hmm… Honestly, I can’t say it’s common. But conversely, I can’t say it doesn’t happen either. The main point is that although you may not like someone initially, you can grow to like them over time.”

It was a rather vague and lengthy explanation. However, Oliver could tell how much Merlin had pondered it before answering.

He was truly grateful. That he reacted to his worries like this. But—

—it wasn’t enough of an explanation. If this kind of flowery rhetoric could solve the question, he wouldn’t have raised it in the first place.

Merlin said, and he was right.

Personally, Oliver appreciated Merlin’s response, but it didn’t entirely clear up his doubts.

“However, I can offer some advice, though I can’t assure you it’s the right answer.”

“What kind of advice are you referring to?”

“Return to your original intent. To the moment you first took an interest in people and the world outside.”

At that moment, Oliver recalled words he had long forgotten.

‘Don’t remain in such darkness. Step into the world. Meet people there and learn how to live as a person… Get up early, work diligently, make friends and neighbors, laugh together, cry together. I’ll help you.’

“Sometimes going back can be the way to move forward.”

Oliver chewed on the Calorie Bar he was holding.

It didn’t seem wrong. No, it was correct. Among the many correct answers Merlin had mentioned, this was the most valuable.

‘You… are broken.’

‘You don’t consider people that important… No, even more than I do. I hate people, but you don’t even do that.’

Both Joanna and the Flesh Cook. Despite their differences in gender, age, and status, they were remarkably similar in their assessment of Oliver.

Returning to the original intent, as Merlin suggested, might indeed be the way forward. However, there was a problem.

“Think long and hard… Learning and understanding are scarier than you might think.”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just some advice from an old man. At first, learning something new is enjoyable, but later it becomes difficult and terrifying.”

“Has that happened to you before, Elder?”

Merlin laughed. A sad smile.

“Of course… Earlier, you asked if I ever experimented on Kevin’s family.”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize. It’s what I did. No one forced me. It was my will… If I hadn’t become Archive, I might have even used Kevin as a test subject, with a smile on my face.”

Merlin smiled.

It was strange. Although Oliver could see emotions, he had been slow in sensing them. But now, he could feel Merlin’s sadness.

Emotions like regret, sorrow, and self-loathing.

It was even more surprising than when he had briefly penetrated the Flesh Cook’s emotions right after defeating him.

“Why did you stop after becoming an Archive?”

“Because I realized… They were people, just like me.”

***

Merlin explained what it meant to become an Archive.

It wasn’t much different from what Oliver already knew: inheriting the knowledge of the previous Archive. But that wasn’t all they inherited, he said.

They also inherited the vast wealth, achievements, and reputation built up over a thousand years, as well as the experiences, realizations, and sometimes even emotions.

‘Experiences, realizations, emotions?’

‘Yes, mostly the intense ones. For example, realizing that the fellow you experimented on was a person, just like yourself. If the predecessor learned that through experience, the inherited Archive would know it too. Whether they wanted to or not.’

‘Sorry to say, but didn’t you already know that the test subjects were people?’

‘That’s true… But at the same time, it’s false. You know, yet you don’t know.’

‘Pardon?’

‘It’s like sin. There’s a difference between knowing sin because others call it that, and realizing it’s sin yourself… Both are sins, but entirely different.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Neither do I… Why didn’t I see Kevin, his family, neighbors, and friends as proper people back then? What was I thinking, feeling special?’

‘…Can I ask one more question? What exactly is Archive?’

Merlin opened his mouth to answer the question.

“Dave? Dave? Dave!”

“Mr. Forest?”

Oliver, who had been lost in thought, was brought back to reality by Forest’s voice.

Looking around, he saw those involved in the X-District redevelopment project.

Marie from The Selectors, Joe from the Fighter Crew, and the other notable figures who agreed to collaborate on the redevelopment.

There were also familiar faces among them.

Like Joe and Oliver’s gym owner, Dean Cliché, or Smith, Ewan’s apprentice and the one who made Big Mouth.

For the record, Smith wasn’t originally from here, but thanks to his exceptional black magic craftsmanship and business prowess, he was accepted as an X-District resident.

He expanded his workshop, which he used to run alone, to one with three employees and ten apprentices by mainly serving Fighter Crew members. Now it serves diverse clients beyond X-District, including the Crime Firm’s gray and black markets.

Considering that he came to X-District because of troubles with the Crime Firm, it was rather ironic.

Anyway, Smith had become a big shot, negotiating a new workshop location with Forest.

Tap. Tap.

Forest, sitting next to Oliver, poked him in the side and asked quietly.

“Are you very tired?”

“No, I’m sorry. I was just distracted for a moment… My apologies to everyone.”

Oliver apologized not only to Forest but also to the others attending the meeting.

Fortunately, those like Marie, Joe, Dean Cliché, and Smith, as well as other significant figures, showed understanding.

That was to be expected. The two strongest factions here supported Oliver, and everyone knew he was the key to this project.

“Sorry, where did we leave off?”

“We were discussing some landowners and building owners on the streets we’ve purchased who have gone missing. It seems they’ve disappeared deliberately.”

Neither Oliver nor anyone else reacted much to this. They had encountered similar occurrences before.

As the X-District redevelopment picked up, some people tried to make a quick profit, while others sought to maximize their earnings as much as possible.

“Are the unaffiliated gangs involved again? I thought we had smashed them enough that none dared interfere anymore.”

Joe said, looking at the X-District map. He had been at the forefront of acquiring property in X-District, earning him a new nickname, ‘Joe the Persuader.’

“The problem isn’t the unaffiliated gangs.”

“What?”

“Enjoyment seems to be involved too.”

All eyes turned to Forest. Meanwhile, Oliver received another cup of coffee from Nora and sniffed it.

“…It smells good.”

“Oh, uh… Thank you.”

Nora, who had stiffened, replied.

A significant figure asked.

“By Enjoyment, do you mean people like Seamus?”

“Yes, the fallen Druid monks.”

There were clicks of tongues from various sides. Understandably so, because Seamus’s ABC scam had created many victims in X-District.

Although the damages had been recovered, the terrible experiences wouldn’t be forgotten.

“We learned this from Heimdall, so the odds are high.”

“Heimdall? The magic hacking group… Can they find out such things? That kind of information doesn’t seem like their style?”

It was a legitimate question. The World Tree hackers were more suited to retrieving high-level information under the World Tree’s domain or recording area footage, not street-level rumors.

A back-alley information broker or agent would have been more appropriate.

Instead of giving a long explanation, Forest took out a photo. The picture showed two men meeting, and Al distributed copies to everyone.

“This is Russell the Freak.”

Joe spoke, and Oliver, familiar with the rumors, knew who it was.

An unaffiliated gang leader not part of the Crime Firm and one of the powerful magic users.

A retired veteran who received Mattel’s body modifications, he cemented his position through seven disputes with the Crime Firm. Currently, he’s armed his gang with military-grade magic weapons, making them influential in Randa’s underworld despite being unaffiliated.

“Well, they, too, have been in decline since the Fighter Crew signed a contract with the Crime Firm… But what’s important isn’t him, it’s the man opposite him.”

Everyone looked at the picture again. The man opposite Russell. He was as tall as a tree. Nearly as tall as Russell, who measured around 2.4 meters.

“Is he from Enjoyment?”

“Correct. Why would an unaffiliated gang bigshot and Enjoyment have a meeting at a time like this?”

No one spoke, but everyone knew the answer. In the underworld, they knew there’s no smoke without fire.

If there’s smoke, someone’s lighting the fire.

“We were lucky. We commissioned Heimdall when they briefly halted activity and resumed, and almost immediately they brought back this. While skilled before, now they’ve surpassed ‘good’ and reached ‘exceptional.’ This level of delicate net sailing is a first for me.”

“This is not the time to admire their work. We need to consider how to deal with this situation. A Druid and unaffiliated gang alliance… What you mentioned about the Druid was true.”

Joe spoke, and other attendees, including Dean Cliché, asked what it was about.

Naturally, Joe explained. Reformist Druids, special laws, and the three Druids who came concerning this.

They had initially decided to observe the situation, not wanting to get entangled with Druids connected to the Royal Family, but now, just as they warned, the situation had indeed arisen. It was rather inconvenient, to say the least.

Proven by the disturbance among the previously calm meeting attendees.

The strength of Druids was established through both rumors and experience.

A single misstep and this could lead to a large-scale conflict. Another clash like Seamus’s.

Each person offered their opinion. Some suggested reaching out to the Reformist Druids. Others proposed asking for reinforcements from the Crime Firm. Some advocated for striking first.

Meanwhile, Oliver alternated between smelling the new coffee and the cookies in front of him, as if verifying something.

“Everyone, please calm down. I haven’t finished what I was saying. There’s more to discuss. And it’s also bad news.”

“…?”

“Fighting Enjoyment now would be problematic. They’ve been in contact with the City and are negotiating a deal—”

“—Mr. Forest.”

Oliver interrupted Forest, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“Can we take a break from the meeting for a moment?”

“…? Why?”

Oliver whispered into Forest’s ear very calmly, having alternated between sniffing the cookies and coffee.

“They’re poisoned. Only mine.”