Chapter 446: Karma

“You should stop. This is too much.”

Joe said, holding Oliver’s wrist.

The sight caused the Fighter Crew members like Dual-Gun Sam and Steel-Bat Owen, as well as everyone from The Selectors with Marie, to gasp in shock.

After all, Oliver was that kind of existence now.

Unexpectedly, only Marie remained calm as she observed the scene.

“…”

Oliver looked back and forth between Joe’s face and Joe’s hand that was gripping him.

Though Joe was afraid, the resolve in his eyes shone brightly, and the desperation in his grip was clear, even to Oliver.

While everyone held their breath, Oliver finally spoke.

“What’s too much, exactly?”

“Everything you’re about to do from here on is too much.”

Joe said, struggling to keep his trembling voice steady, showing his concern for Oliver.

“The fight is over. It didn’t even last two hours, let alone half a day. There’s no one left willing to fight. It’s enough now.”

Oliver didn’t argue. He knew better than anyone that the fight was already over. But still, he asked.

“Is it wrong to go too far?”

“…”

“In this world, it’s not that uncommon for someone to kill more or destroy more when they get pissed off, even after being paid… Can’t I do the same?”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

Even in a world where violence is bought with money, violence is still violence.

Violence breeds grudges, and grudges often lead to actions beyond reason. In fact, seeking only reason in this world is what was unreasonable.

Joe knew this, perhaps better than anyone. After all, he had been in this world longer than most.

But even so, Joe shamelessly pleaded.

“I really wish you wouldn’t.”

He showed the same resolve as when he tried to protect Nora.

That light… It was quite beautiful.

Oliver asked, puzzled by Joe’s stance.

“Why?”

“Because you’re my… No, you’re our hero.”

Joe spoke on behalf of the Fighter Crew. To confirm his words, the entire Fighter Crew silently supported and agreed with him.

It wasn’t a lie. If Oliver’s eyes weren’t mistaken, Joe genuinely thought of him as a hero.

Oliver was momentarily surprised but quickly shook his head in denial, rejecting the ridiculous idea.

“…Sorry, Joe. I’m not a hero.”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we think you are.”

“…”

“I apologize for bringing this up suddenly… But do you remember? When we were holding onto Ewan at Dave’s request? Forest and Dave came together.”

Oliver didn’t remember very well, but he soon recalled.

They were asked to find Ewan, who was in X-District, because they had a request concerning the Meat Hammer.

Joe, who received the request, found Ewan who was in debt from playing poker and took care of it, holding him until Oliver arrived by drugging him with sleep potion-laced alcohol.

“…I remember. But, why bring that up now?”

“There was a rumor back then. They said the real leader of the Fighter Crew was Dave. We even wore suits similar to Dave’s to deepen the misunderstanding. It wasn’t a bad misunderstanding.”

“…”

“We also asked Dave to become our leader.”

“I remember that too. But, what’s the point of saying it now?”

“Then, do you remember what he said when he rejected the offer?”

“…I said it was nonsense for me to take the leader’s seat when you had learned and worked hard for it. I also said I didn’t have the skill for it.”

“Yes, that’s right. You did. And you told us to become independent and self-reliant, to think, decide, and take responsibility ourselves… You said you liked people like that. And that you’d help us from time to time.”

As Oliver fully recalled the time, he nodded. Yes, he had said that.

It wasn’t that long ago, but it felt like ages had passed since then.

“So I’m asking you, please stop here. No matter what you think of yourself, you are a hero to me and to us. You could have killed me, but you didn’t. You willingly shared your knowledge, forgave us even after we betrayed you, and even offered help. You also created stable jobs for us… I know it’s selfish and shameless for a mere back-alley thug like me to ask this, but, please, don’t.”

Joe was sincere. And the rest of the Fighter Crew behind him shared similar feelings.

Dual-Gun Sam, Steel-Bat Owen, and the rest of a dozen or so Fighter Crew members.

At that moment, Oliver felt an intense weariness.

“…Marie.”

“Yes, Dave.”

Marie, who had been silent, quietly bowed her head in response.

“Marie… Do you have any opinions on this?”

“I will follow and support any decision you make, Dave. That’s my opinion.”

Oliver looked at Marie. Naturally, she was sincere. Despite the name change to The Selectors, they were still the same as before.

‘Or maybe not? If it was the past, she would’ve told Joe to stay quiet.’

Oliver pondered, noting how Marie was both similar and different from before, then shook his head.

He was too tired and his head hurt; he didn’t want to consider any more possibilities.

In any case, Marie’s answer was genuine.

She probably wouldn’t stop him, even if he decided to kill the Druids. In fact, she would likely help.

She would kill the Druids who had no strength or will to fight, who were bound by restraints.

Oliver suddenly imagined that scenario.

Marie killing the restrained and injured Druids.

No, it wasn’t just Marie. The other members of The Selectors would assist too. Faces like the young lady Celine and Lawrence came to mind.

Celine, the girl he first met in Wineham when they went to help Marie, and Lawrence, who worried about Marie despite being badly injured. Other followers he had briefly seen also came to mind.

The thought of them killing Druids who couldn’t even move… It wasn’t a pleasant image. Seriously.

Right then, Oliver wondered what he was doing.

What could he possibly gain by shedding more blood here?

No, it felt like he might lose something instead. He didn’t know what, but he felt like he’d lose something precious.

The air slowly began to clear, as if a natural disaster had passed, and Oliver started to regain his calm, considering what to do next… Just then, as if on cue, he felt a new presence.

It was none other than the Reformist Druids.

“Greetings, Pierce.”

Oliver said, turning around, making everyone else also turn their heads.

There was nothing in their line of sight, but soon enough, they saw the Reformist Druids leaping between the buildings and landing on the ground.

The three Druids who had visited during the earlier meeting quietly reeled in shock upon seeing the aftermath before them.

The man named Pierce, who seemed to be the leader, was no different.

He didn’t seem terrified, but he was certainly tense and alert as he coolly observed the surroundings.

“Dave.”

“Yes.”

“Could you explain what happened here?”

He asked more politely than before, and Oliver looked around.

The ruins of central X-District, with massive trees, weeds born in the aftermath, and the countless Enjoyment members lying dead.

In that moment, Oliver found out what he needed to do.

“May we have a conversation?”

***

Pierce nodded in response to Oliver’s suggestion.

Immediately, Joe quickly instructed his comrades to fetch chairs and a table.

It was questionable if they would find anything intact amid the chaos, but luckily, they managed to set things up.

“Chomp. Chomp. Chomp… I apologize. I was hungry.”

Oliver said, munching on a Calorie Bar and apologizing for his poor manners.

Though he wanted to hold back, he was too hungry after the intense battle to resist.

Fortunately, Pierce understood.

“It’s okay. Judging by your face, you need to eat more.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Although you’re surprisingly strong for someone so skinny.”

Pierce’s words made Oliver recall their first encounter.

Pierce had ambushed Oliver to see the power that took down Seamus, but Oliver easily blocked him… He had to be careful from now on.

Recognizing the changes in his body and the necessary caution, Oliver spoke.

“So, how did you find this place?”

He asked to change the subject. It was a fair question.

Oliver had decided to attack the Enjoyment members about two hours ago.

Forest was probably still negotiating with the City.

Yet, the Reformist Druids had already shown up. They were fast, too fast.

“We’ve been monitoring the Enjoyment members through the World Tree. That’s how we could get here so quickly.”

“Ah… Using the World Tree without permission from Randa is technically illegal.”

“Is that so? I’m not too familiar with city laws.”

Pierce blatantly lied without a hint of shame. Well, it wasn’t a serious crime for the Reformist Druids to use the World Tree for personal reasons.

The offense wasn’t severe, and the City wouldn’t dare create trouble with the Druids.

The City needed to trade with the Druids, and recently, the Royal Family had even provided them with backing.

As long as the Druids didn’t cross a line, the City wouldn’t push back.

“And compared to what happened here, using the World Tree seems pretty minor.”

Pierce brought up the situation again.

“I knew people from Randa were money-hungry, but I didn’t realize it was to this extent.”

Joe and Marie were about to refute his words, but Oliver raised his hand to stop them and gestured respectfully for Pierce to continue.

Just as Oliver had his own perspectives and circumstances, Pierce had his own as well.

Pierce asked directly.

“Let me ask bluntly. Why did you do all this? Why did you kill all those Enjoyment members? Was it because of business?”

Oliver didn’t answer immediately, instead scanning the surroundings with Warlock’s Eye.

Third, who had been sent to find First, was returning with him and the surviving Enjoyment members.

“Pierce, first of all, let me clarify that I didn’t kill everyone. There were about 100 Druids in the fortress, and now 22 or so are still alive.”

As if to confirm his words, Third and First appeared, dragging the remaining Enjoyment members, who were bound in restraints.

Third had tied a vine around the necks of the surviving Enjoyment members and was dragging them like dogs, while First had used blood to bind them and attached blood wings to bring them along.

The unusual approach made the Reformist Druids flinch, while Marie treated them as Oliver had requested.

“So you’re saying you only killed about 78 of them?”

“No. I’m simply stating that I didn’t kill them all. And also…”

“…What?”

“I didn’t do it because of business. Although there’s some connection, it was mostly personal.”

“Personal?”

“Yes. That young lady over there used his [pointing at Joe] sister to try to poison me.”

Oliver pointed to Joe. Though Nora wasn’t technically Joe’s biological sister, it wasn’t entirely wrong, as Joe was now responsible for her.

When Pierce heard this, he looked at the female druid and noticed that the statement was true.

“Don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t so much out of anger for his sister, but more out of personal annoyance… Just a release of frustration.”

“…You killed 78 druids out of frustration?”

“Yes.”

Oliver answered confidently, so confidently that it left no room for rebuttal.

“Of course, now I find it embarrassing. And I regret that it might be inconvenient for you all. Since you’re here for a mission, this might be upsetting, given that your goal was to capture the Enjoyment members.”

Pierce continued listening, analyzing the situation calmly despite any anger.

He didn’t want to escalate the conflict with Oliver.

“But I hope you can understand my side of things as well. The Enjoyment members threatened us first, and I’m one of the representatives in this business. A suitable response was necessary.”

Oliver lied skillfully.

He hadn’t really considered things like organizations, representatives, or responses, but his words weren’t entirely unreasonable.

Given the organizational structure, it was only natural to respond proportionally to any harm inflicted, especially for those in leadership roles.

This was a universal rule, not only in Randa but across the world.

Without it, organizations couldn’t sustain themselves.

As Oliver ate his Calorie Bar, he marveled at himself. How had he come up with such thoughts? Was it because of the high sugar content?

“So, essentially, you’re regretful about killing so many Enjoyment members, but you’re asking for understanding and for this matter to be quietly covered up?”

“If you could do that, I’d be truly grateful.”

“Ha! How polite. Honestly, you could have taken a much tougher stance, given that there’s no formal alliance between us. We wouldn’t have had much to say.”

Oliver denied it with silence.

Though Pierce’s words seemed correct, they weren’t. Oliver knew this.

Regardless, the Reformists came here knowing the Enjoyment members were their target, so they could have objected if they wanted to.

At the very least, they could have indirectly expressed their dissatisfaction and retaliated in some fashion.

That’s just how things worked in this world.

Once again, Oliver admired himself for identifying this. Was it really because of the Calorie Bar?

“Fine. Since the Enjoyment members are also at fault, I won’t pursue the matter. However, there’s a condition.”

“Thank you. Please, tell me.”

“Hand over every survivor. Even if they betrayed our teachings and ran to the city, they’re still Druids. Only we can punish them.”

“Of course. You can take them.”

“And hand over the bodies as well. Dead or alive, Druids are Druids. They must be buried in the forest.”

This was a pretty heavy demand. In this world, even corpses were valuable. And if the corpses were Druids, even more so, especially if they were black magic practitioners.

Joe and Marie were about to object on Oliver’s behalf when he responded with an unbelievable answer.

“Sure.”

“Really?”

“Yes, since you’re making concessions too, Pierce. But could you give me a week?”

“…Why?”

“I just need to check something. Please.”