Chapter 448: Situation Analysis

Whisper, whisper.

Third, who had entered the test chamber, whispered quietly.

It was so quiet that it was hard to understand, and even if it could be heard, it didn’t mean much.

Since Third’s real body, which wasn’t inside the cadaver puppet, couldn’t speak in a way humans could understand, it was just like a bug’s chirping noise.

Except for one. Only Oliver, who had created Third, could understand.

Inside the freezing cold storage room, where you could even see your breath, Oliver had set up a desk and was transcribing the knowledge Third was whispering, knowledge from the Druids, without missing a single character.

Flip.

Oliver, who had filled a page densely with writing, immediately turned the page.

A newly spread out, blank page appeared.

Just as Oliver was about to write something new, Third’s whisper abruptly stopped.

It seemed that the memory or knowledge had run out.

Oliver made a note on the page.

[20-30]

Then he asked Third again.

“Third, would you please examine bodies 31 through 40?”

At Oliver’s request, Third quickly exited the test chamber and entered body number 31, one of the 82 Druid corpses neatly arranged in front of Oliver.

As Third entered through the mouth, the unprocessed, raw corpse seemed to gain life. Its eyelids trembled, and its fingers and toes twitched.

With its knowledge or memories being examined, Third moved to the 32nd corpse after about an hour.

“The time is shortening.”

Oliver recorded the time in the observation log for the Child as he thought.

When he first examined the Druid’s corpse, it took at least a whole day just to go through ten bodies due to the sheer volume of information, but now it took about an hour per corpse, cutting the time by more than half. At this rate, he could likely examine all of the corpses within the promised period.

“As expected, the Child is growing. Controlling Seamus helped… I wonder if the people outside are doing well.”

As he looked over the thirty-four notebooks filled with Druid knowledge, Oliver turned his thoughts to the outside.

Currently, outside, Child-First, Second, and Fourth were inside temporary cadaver puppets with reduced strength, receiving socialization education from the women of the Angel’s House.

They were learning conversation skills, manners, how to dress, and how to order coffee at a café.

Actually, he had intended to do this training for a while but had postponed it due to a lack of time. The need arose, so they proceeded immediately.

“It seems like they’re learning well since there isn’t much commotion.”

While Oliver reflected on this and reviewed the Druid notes he had taken, a heavy metallic clang echoed as the thick cold storage door opened.

It seemed like the promised guest had arrived.

“My God…”

James, who had entered the cold storage with Joe, muttered as he looked around.

James, an employee of the Wineham Apothecary.

He was astonished by the sight of 82 Druid corpses laid out. It wasn’t a sight you could easily get used to, so it was understandable.

“Have you arrived? Mr. James.”

Oliver, draped in thick clothes, rose from his seat to greet him.

James looked at him and spoke.

“The rumors were true.”

“Rumors?”

“Yes, the rumor that you massacred a hundred Druids who were disrupting your business and showed who the true king of X-District is.”

Oliver tilted his head in confusion. He understood how rumors could spread and get exaggerated, but calling him a king was absurd.

“Absurd, is it?”

“Yes, it’s completely wrong. First of all, I only killed 82.”

“Ah…”

James let out a gasp. Though it was fewer than 100, it somehow felt more chilling.

“I see… Then, is it also a lie that the communities and gangs of X-District are all coming here to pledge allegiance to the Redevelopment Coalition?”

Joe, who had been quietly standing by, frowned. He was impressed by James. For a guy from a small town, he knew quite a lot about Randa.

As he mentioned, the currently fractured X-District was indeed uniting under the leadership of Oliver, representing the Redevelopment Coalition.

And they were doing so voluntarily.

Well, it was only natural, considering the power that had been displayed.

As a result, rumors were spreading that Oliver was practically the king of X-District, and it wasn’t entirely untrue.

But Oliver, the subject of these rumors, denied it.

“No, they’re not pledging allegiance. They’re just cooperating after seeing our business vision.”

James raised his eyebrows. A gesture that showed he didn’t believe it. He then looked at Joe with a glance that asked if Oliver was being serious.

It was an attitude that only someone familiar with Oliver could have.

“Well, okay… I believe you.”

James lied. He didn’t believe a word of what Oliver said.

Oliver wanted to explain, but he was too busy, so he decided to postpone it for now. There was something more important at hand.

“Anyway, thank you again for coming. I called you because I have something to discuss.”

“There’s no need to thank me. Actually, we came here because we had some business of our own. We’ve finished the urgent matters like the Tower of Magic business trip and X-District redevelopment, so now, can you keep the promise you made to us?”

The promise James was referring to was none other than helping with the Druid plant research that the apothecary was working on.

It was a promise Oliver had made while helping Marie, but circumstances had caused it to be delayed multiple times.

He really felt sorry about it. And he was about to feel sorry again.

“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you about that.”

“For some reason, I feel uneasy. Very uneasy.”

James spoke sincerely this time. It was only natural, considering they had already compromised twice.

“Unfortunately, something has come up again, and it seems difficult to assist you.”

“Oh dear, Mr. Dave… We know you’re capable and talented, but may I say something bluntly?”

“Yes, please do.”

“We’ve already compromised twice. And you’re asking us to delay it a third time? Doesn’t that seem a bit unreasonable?”

Oliver nodded in agreement.

The apothecary had helped him when he needed it and had even postponed the promise twice. Asking them to delay again—Oliver thought it might be too much.

But he couldn’t help it. He had urgent matters. Once again, Oliver realized how selfish he was.

“I’m really sorry… Instead, I’ll make sure to provide compensation worthy of the delay.”

“I don’t know what kind of compensation you’re talking about, but we don’t want money—we want knowledge. You know very well that we didn’t make this deal for a few extra coins, don’t you, Dave?”

Oliver nodded again. Indeed, if it were just about money, there would have been no need to make this deal in the first place.

The apothecary was already recognized as wealthy in Wineham and had become even richer through its dealings with Marie, enough that they could move to Randa.

The reason they craved knowledge wasn’t because of money, but rather an intellectual desire and the dream of reviving Wineham.

“I apologize once again. Still, could you grant me just one more favor? If you’re not satisfied, I’ll help the apothecary immediately.”

“… What is it? Your compensation, I mean.”

“It’s the Druid’s herbal knowledge, although not in its entirety.”

Upon hearing this, James’s expression hardened like stone. He was incredibly shocked.

For about five seconds, he remained like that before turning his head with a creak to carefully examine his surroundings.

The desk that seemed out of place in a cold storage room and the 82 Druid corpses neatly laid out before it.

It was only then that he started to take an interest in why Oliver was here and what he was doing.

“Could you explain it in detail?”

***

Oliver answered James’s question.

He explained how he had acquired the knowledge of Druid herbalism.

It was a natural question. Everyone knew Druids didn’t leave their knowledge in written form due to tradition and security reasons.

That’s why Druid knowledge was more precious than magic.

“Through the Child?”

“Yes. The Child reads the knowledge or memories and conveys them to me. Third, could you please stop what you’re doing for a moment and come here?”

In response to Oliver’s call, Third, who was examining a Druid corpse, returned to the test chamber.

Oliver took the test tube from its stand and showed it to James.

Inside the transparent flask was the Child. It looked like a small lump of meat, as if black smoke had been condensed, and was floating inside. The black mass whispered something with its small protruding leaves.

To James and Joe, it only sounded like the irritating noise of a bug.

“… A creature. An artificial life form, created through necromancy magic.”

“You know about it?”

“I’ve done some studying… Does it enter the corpses to extract information?”

“Yes, to be exact, it extracts knowledge or memories.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Similar, but slightly different… Anyway, the Child enters the corpse, reads the Druid’s knowledge, and tells me. I then write it down.”

James looked at the thirty-four notebooks piled up on the desk and whistled.

All of them contained Druid knowledge, treasures worth a fortune. This was no exaggeration but a fact.

“… Amazing.”

“It was just luck.”

“You’re still being overly modest.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

Oliver was sincere. He hadn’t intended for the Child to have this ability.

The original purpose of the Child was only to control the cadaver puppets in Oliver’s place. It was truly a case of stumbling upon a fortune by accident. He had been lucky.

“If the Reformist Druids hadn’t agreed to our demands, it would have been difficult. I’m glad they gave me that one-week delay.”

James spoke,

“Well, I get it… So, are all these notebooks about herbalism?”

“No, they’re not. Besides herbalism, there’s also animal communication and breeding methods, spells, Druid-specific physical training, and nature communication training.”

James’s eyes shone with greed for a moment.

Each one of these was valuable knowledge. Just selling them would make an enormous amount of money, and using them could provide even greater value.

However, James couldn’t open his mouth carelessly. He knew the value of this knowledge and also understood Oliver’s stature.

Considering his recent rumors, he couldn’t afford to make any careless moves. He was now practically a leader of a faction. Any reckless move could lead to serious consequences, not just for himself, but for those around him as well.

As James calculated the new situation, Oliver spoke.

“Are you interested? In other Druid knowledge as well?”

It was an unexpected question. James hesitated before answering.

“Yes, well… Honestly, if I said no, I’d be lying, wouldn’t I?”

“Then, why don’t you talk with Mr. Forest?”

“Mr. Forest, you mean… the intermediary who deals with you?”

“Yes, and also the co-representative of the Redevelopment Coalition. By the way, when I mentioned the promise I made with you, he suggested sharing the herbalism knowledge. Even though I secured this Druid knowledge, he decided how to use it. You should talk to him. He’s also said that he has a proposal for you… At the very least, it won’t be something bad to hear.”

James tilted his head.

He wondered if the intermediary who worked with Dave would like them sniffing around. He might find them annoying, like flies. However, it was worth trying.

Even securing just the Druid’s herbal knowledge wouldn’t be a loss.

“All right.”

“Good. It just so happens that Mr. Forest is over there.”

Oliver pointed to the wall of the cold storage. To be precise, he pointed beyond it.

“Why don’t you go talk to him first? I have something to finish here. I’ll join you after.”

***

James immediately followed Joe’s guidance to meet Forest, while Oliver captured another part of Third’s read knowledge or memories into his notebook.

After transcribing all of Third’s whispers, about an hour had passed. Oliver then crafted an artificial soul and fed it to Third, giving it some rest before heading outside.

“Once you return, we’ll get back to work immediately. We have a tight schedule, so there won’t be any time for rest, including sleep. So, get some good rest now.”

“Damn it.”

Third responded to Oliver’s concern.

Upon exiting the storage room, Oliver soon ran into the women from the Angel’s House, who were teaching the Child inside temporary cadaver puppets.

They were dressed in plain everyday clothes, not in the store uniforms, which suited them quite well.

“Oh, Dave? You’re out!”

The oldest of the women, among the twenty or so employees of Angel’s House, approached Oliver to greet him.

“Yes, I’m here to see Mr. Forest for a moment.”

“Aha, he went into the office over there.”

She pointed to one of the temporary offices set up to increase the efficiency of the X-District redevelopment.

“Thank you… Is everything going well with your work?”

“Yes, no problems. First, Second, and Fourth are all learning well.”

Oliver looked at the Child, who were surrounded by the employees and were learning various lessons.

“Now that you’ve learned natural makeup, shall we start on party makeup?”

“I’ll also teach you how to choose a dress.”

“And how to deal with a boring conversation partner!”

“How to wear heels…”

“Perfume—”

“Shall we practice ordering coffee again? If we do it three more times, we’ll reach 100 times in total. This time, let’s skip the slurping sound.”

“At a time like this, it’s good to ask about their hobbies or job.”

“Shall we learn how to smile?”

“A true gentleman—”

“I don’t have anything more to teach right now, so I’ll just chat while I’m here.”

Surrounded by about twenty women from Angel’s House, the Child seemed halfway out of their minds, forced to listen to the conversations.

Especially Second, who, appearing extremely distressed, made a gun gesture with his hand and pretended to shoot himself in the head.

Was that why?

As soon as they saw Oliver, they let out a choked scream and started shouting for help. Or to be killed.

But the women of Angel’s House, having received a substantial tuition fee from Oliver, didn’t let go of the cadaver puppets.

It was quite impressive. Even though the cadaver puppets were technically corpses, after all.

“Heh, sometimes we get customers way worse than corpses in the store. Don’t worry.”

One of the employees said with a smile. It wasn’t just bravado; her gentle demeanor exuded strength.

A different kind of strength from guns, physical power, magic, or necromancy.

“You’re amazing.”

“To survive in Randa, this much is nothing. But thanks for the compliment.”

“I’m the one who should be thankful, getting help from someone as strong as you.”

“No need to say that. Besides, we’re not just helping for nothing. You’ve given us a generous tuition fee. And there’s something else… It’s actually pretty fun.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… I mean, I had to learn all of this for work anyway, but I never thought teaching it, especially to someone like you, would feel so rewarding. It’s, well, refreshing.”

When it came to work, it meant Sisterhood. Oliver noticed how her bitter memories contrasted with her current enjoyment.

“Are you enjoying it now?”

“Hm… Yes. It’s fun.”

“Then maybe you should open a class in the future. Something like an Angel’s Manners Class.”

“Ha… Are you serious?”

“Yes, I think you’d be great at it. If you want to do it, I’d like to invest.”

“… Really?”

“Yes. I think you’d do well, and I also want to keep learning.”

When Oliver replied, the employee looked surprised.

“I heard you were studying humor, is that true?”

“Yes… Ah, but this wasn’t a joke.”

“I know… I was just going to suggest that it would have been funnier if you’d said you were evaluating the Child’s condition.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… Well, I’ll make sure to educate them properly, just in case.”

The employee clenched both fists as she spoke. She seemed to be in an even better mood.

Oliver also clenched his fists in a similar manner and said he was looking forward to it. Then, he moved to meet Forest.

As Oliver was leaving, First called out to him in a more refined tone than before.

“Dave! Help me! Dave! Seriously!”

Oliver stopped at First’s call, clenched his fists, and said to him.

“I believe in you.”

“Damn.”