Chapter 462: The Golden Shaman

462. The Golden Shaman (3)

Edith spoke.

She mentioned that in the past, there were rumors about Prometheus Corp making deals with demons to turn the Red Ones into mana stones. And that’s how the legend of the Golden Shaman began.

“Of course, it’s not certain. The New Continent is full of strange rumors… Honestly, I’m not that interested.”

After hearing the explanation, Oliver asked how she knew all this.

“A long time ago, some Red Ones were shouting and protesting. They claimed that people suspected to be from Prometheus Corp were kidnapping their families and friends to do horrible things… They were ignored and suppressed, though.”

Oliver asked how such things could happen.

“I’m not an expert in this field, but it seems like something that shouldn’t have just been ignored or suppressed.”

“Why shouldn’t it be ignored? Back then, First Step was transitioning from a military town to a resource mining town. It was like turning a money-sucking monster into a milking cow. And that cow was Prometheus Corp. Why wouldn’t they ignore it?”

Finally, Oliver understood. Even in Randa, minor truths were often covered up for significant economic gain.

Oliver recalled the past incident with Martell. Though it’s not certain yet, it seemed that such things were common in the world.

Edith added another comment, casually.

“And more importantly, we’re talking about the damn Red Ones here. There’s no problem ignoring them.”

It seemed like a half-hearted answer, but Oliver felt like he understood what Edith was trying to say.

It wasn’t just the increasing influence of Prometheus Corp that was important at the time. The fact that it was the Red Ones who raised the issue played a significant role too.

“But as I said earlier, I don’t care about any of that. What matters to me is my own profit. Back then, I dismissed all the rumors as nonsense when Prometheus Corp’s stocks were skyrocketing like crazy, but now the situation has changed, and I’m interested. So, I’ll give you some materials from when I investigated those rumors. You can check if they’re true. If they are, bring me the evidence.”

Edith handed over a bundle of old papers along with a new mission.

She seemed uninterested, but it looked like she had investigated it personally back then.

When Oliver looked through the materials, they were mostly rumors, but they were quite detailed, proving that Edith hadn’t reached her current position by chance.

Oliver asked what she would do if the rumors were true and he found evidence.

“I’ll negotiate.”

Edith answered.

After hearing everything, Oliver decided to visit a slum near the harbor where the slaves were once gathered, using the information Edith had given him.

To verify if the rumors about Prometheus Corp were true and to find evidence.

“Finally, I’m here.”

Oliver mumbled to himself as he finally reached his destination after wandering through the complex slums.

The destination was none other than the abandoned slave prison, a building located atop the highest hill in the slum.

This slave prison, which operated until slavery was officially abolished, now stood abandoned, creating a gloomy atmosphere; it also served as a landmark of the slum.

It felt very ironic.

That the housing area for Red Ones and their mixed descendants was built around the building where Red One slaves were kept.

But then again, if you think about it, it might not have been that strange.

This place with the slave prison was a shunned area of the city, and it was natural for the lower classes of society to gather in such a place.

“In some ways, it looks like fate. Like everything is returning to its original place. But in fact, it’s just a natural phenomenon following a certain logic. In the end, people gather with their kind and go to the place that suits them. Except for a few peculiar individuals.”

Paul Carver’s teachings, which he received in the past when he was a Minister of Internal Affairs in the City, came to Oliver’s mind.

Lost in thought for a moment, Oliver quickly brought himself back to reality.

Recalling past teachings was enjoyable, but business came first.

Depending on how things went, he could finish this task quickly and return to his original agenda.

Oliver took out the old papers from his coat and read them again. The materials Edith had given him were all rumors circulating among the Red Ones back then.

Of course, none of the rumors were good, and among them, the ones about this abandoned slave prison were particularly bad.

They claimed that Red Ones were turned into mana stones through horrific rituals.

“Nothing seems strange from the outside.”

Oliver thought as he examined the abandoned slave prison. As mentioned before, it looked eerie, but other than that, his Warlock’s Eye didn’t pick up anything special.

There was no evidence of magical or dark magical defenses or concealments.

If there was anything unusual, it was that there was an eerie silence with no people around. But that was probably just because it was an abandoned building.

After contemplating for a while, Oliver realized that he wasn’t smart enough to figure things out with his brain, so he decided to take action.

He lightly touched the wooden fence that looked like it could collapse at any moment and jumped over it in one go.

Without using any physical enhancements through magic or emotions.

Oliver was impressed anew by how much his physical abilities had improved.

Growl—

However, he still hadn’t gotten used to this constant hunger.

Chewing on a Calorie Bar, Oliver continued inspecting the building and soon found an entrance. He covered one hand with the Black Suit and forced the door open before entering.

Unsurprisingly, the inside of the building, which had been left unattended for a long time, was filled with dust and darkness. Oliver used the stored mana in his body to create a light orb, which illuminated the surroundings and settled the dust as he moved deeper inside.

The building’s interior stood out for its crude and practical design, probably because it was a long time ago and the purpose of the building was what it was.

“It reminds me of the buildings I entered with my master long ago.”

Oliver recalled the time when he first arrived in Randa and followed Joseph into a building. Coincidentally, that place was also an abandoned building where Joseph offered his disciple as a sacrifice.

“Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t dealt with that place yet. There’s still my master’s body there.”

Oliver realized belatedly that he had overlooked something important.

Since that place wasn’t selected as a key redevelopment area, it should be fine to leave it alone for now. But once the redevelopment project intensifies, that place will also be affected.

“Hmm…”

While pondering over what to do about that place, Oliver finished inspecting the ground floor of the slave prison and descended to the underground level where the slaves were actually kept.

“Everything looks the same.”

After quickly scanning the underground area of the slave prison, Oliver muttered.

The basement, made of cold stone and rough iron, had such a simple structure that everything looked identical. It seemed as though it had been deliberately designed that way.

The only differences were the faint blood stains and nail marks that remained in various places.

Judging by their faded and almost washed-away appearance, a lot of time had passed. But still, the emotions of the owners could be felt from the marks.

Fear and anger. Hatred and sorrow. Humiliation and despair. Resentment and grievance.

It reminded him of the artworks he saw at the auction he attended with Jane.

The emotions of the artist who created the artwork were embedded in it, and it was the same for these blood stains and nail marks. The only difference was that in some ways, this was even more profound.

Over time, traces left on objects usually fade and disappear. But even after all these years, these traces remained. The depth was remarkable.

It must have been at least several decades.

Oliver wondered what had happened here.

To find those traces, Oliver started exploring the area again.

Though officially, this was the underground level of the slave prison, according to the information Edith had obtained, there were supposed to be concealed spaces.

The problem, however, was that Oliver didn’t know where they were—

–[Holly Light]

A familiar but strange voice echoed, and dazzling light burst forth from a corner of the corridor, extinguishing the light orb that Oliver had created.

It was paradoxical. Light extinguishing light.

When the Holy Light extinguished the light orb, the surroundings fell back into pitch-black darkness. Soon after, someone sprang out from the corridor corner and swung a smooth, rounded mace at Oliver.

Not to kill but to subdue him.

Their skill wasn’t bad. Combining the Holy Light to suppress vision and both magical and dark magical abilities before attacking was both well-timed and effective. Their close combat skills were also decent.

Despite wearing steel armor and wielding a heavy shield and mace in both hands, their attacks were swift and deadly.

In the past, Oliver would’ve been subdued immediately.

The problem was that the current Oliver wasn’t his past self.

Oliver blocked the mace aimed at his shoulder with his Quarterstaff, deflecting the blow.

The Holy Knight responded instantly by swinging the shield in the other hand to target Oliver’s face. Oliver dodged and countered the follow-up attacks.

Bang! Boom! Boom boom boom—!!

In an instant, dozens of attacks and defenses were exchanged.

Though the mace was a heavy weapon, it cut through the air faster than a sword, and Oliver skillfully swung his Quarterstaff to block and deflect all the attacks.

Just like when he sparred with Bartholomew, the elder of the Anti-Development Committee.

The intense battle in the darkness. The Holy Knight grew anxious and sped up their attacks, while Oliver slowly retreated until he reached a point where he couldn’t keep up and leaped back to create distance.

At that moment, the Holy Knight stomped the ground and charged forward, but Oliver grabbed the end of his Quarterstaff and thrust it out, widening the gap between them.

Just enough to see each other’s faces.

At that moment, Oliver saw her. Joanna, with eyes imbued with Holy Power, looking at him. Her surprised expression and emotions.

After a moment of hesitation, Oliver finally spoke.

“…It’s been a while, Knight.”

***

“Finally, I get to see that face.”

The plump Edith visited a mansion and spoke, looking at a man.

The man was a middle-aged individual with sharp features and dark blonde hair slicked back; although handsome, stress had slightly expanded his forehead.

His name was Kenny Midas. The founder and CEO of Prometheus Corp. Well, not much of anything now.

“…Why do you keep bothering me even after I’ve retired?”

With wrinkled, disheveled clothes, Kenny gulped down his drink as he asked. He looked quite a mess.

It was hard to believe from his current state, but Kenny didn’t always look like this.

During the early days of his business, when things weren’t going well, and his wife left him, he used to look like this. But after he finally found a mana stone vein and struck it rich, he always kept his appearance neat.

To show off that he was a successful businessman as much as possible.

“But seeing you like this again, it really makes it clear that you’re screwed.”

“Did you send me this ridiculous letter just to piss me off?”

Kenny put down his drink, took out a crumpled letter, and tossed it onto the table.

The letter was none other than a personal one from Edith to Kenny.

The contents were simple. A bluff, saying that if he didn’t meet her, she’d spread the word about how Prometheus Corp had made deals with demons to turn the Red Ones into mana stones.

“It’s not a bluff anymore.”

Edith thought calmly and confidently.

From the fact that Kenny, who had retired from his CEO role and mysteriously avoided external contact, came to meet her because of this one letter, it was practically an admission.

Contrary to her usual self, Edith felt a sense of unease as she told a lie.

“I just scribbled it to get your attention. I guess there really is something, huh?”

Edith tried to play it off and reached for the letter. At that moment, Kenny suddenly grabbed her hand.

“Is it really a bluff? You didn’t hear this from anywhere else?!”

Kenny gripped Edith’s hand tightly as he asked.

His hand strength was intense, perhaps due to his background as a former miner. But curiously, Edith didn’t feel scared.

Not that she was ever the type to get scared by things like this, but at this moment, Kenny posed even less of a threat.

No matter how strong you are, a fearful beast isn’t scary.

“Hmm… I’m not sure about anything else, but I can see that you’re acting like a castrated dog. What the hell happened?”

“It’s nothing. I just made a reasonable proposal.”

A third voice interrupted. Someone else had spoken from within Kenny’s estate.

Edith slowly turned her head toward the direction of the sound and saw an old gentleman with men in pink suits accompanying him.

Edith thought she knew who they were.

There was only one kind of person crazy enough to wear pink suits, and thanks to a few social events, she was able to vaguely guess who the old gentleman was.

“A Royal Secretary, I’m honored.”

The old gentleman raised an eyebrow slightly, expressing mild admiration.

“How did you know?”

“The only people arrogant enough to stand with their hands clasped behind them while being employed are Royal Secretaries.”

“…Impressive observation.”

“I’m equally surprised. I didn’t know this bastard had really turned into a castrated dog.”

Edith pointed at Kenny with disdainful expression. He might look like this now, but he had once been even more shameless and crazy than herself.

“Once, he convinced me to invest all my hard-earned money from the gambling den into his business, which honestly looked like a scam set to fail… He was a scammer and a bastard, but I liked him. But now, he’s nothing more than a dog digging traps on your behalf. It’s pathetic.”

Edith’s tongue turned into an invisible blade, stabbing at Kenny. If he still had any remaining pride to feel ashamed, he let go of Edith’s hand.

The old gentleman intervened.

“There’s a misunderstanding, there is no trap.”

“Sorry, but don’t concern yourself with that. I’ll be the judge of that. Rather, if you’re here to negotiate, come and sit down. Kenny, you get over there like the beaten dog that you are.”

Edith conducted the conversation as if it were her own home. She was surprisingly calm and confident, even when it was a situation where most people would’ve been flustered.

Her demeanor surprised not only the host, Kenny, but also the experienced Pinkman and the Royal Secretary.

To them, Edith spoke again.

“Or what? Are you planning to kill me?”

The old gentleman replied.

“No, of course not… But what would you do if I said yes?”

“Go ahead and try. But remember, there’s no turning back after that.”

Edith looked directly into the old gentleman’s eyes. He returned her gaze and saw that she was completely unwavering.

There was a long silence, and just as the tension reached its peak, the old gentleman finally spoke.

“Mr. Kenny, could you please step aside? I’d like to have a word with Ms. Edith.”