Chapter 552: A New Phase

[A female entrepreneur from Randa, Jane. After the orphanage, she invested in establishing a textile factory for single mothers. The nearly abandoned construction project gained momentum.]

Oliver’s gaze stayed on the article.

He couldn’t believe he was seeing his second friend, Jane, Edith’s daughter, in a foreign newspaper.

But, it wasn’t really a surprise.

Jane had previously visited Ravely for real estate investments.

‘And we met then.’

By some coincidence, Jane had visited Ravely while Oliver was there for the Flesh Cook, and ended up getting caught in the chaos caused by the Flesh Cook.

She was quite unlucky, yet lucky at the same time.

Although things got dangerous, Jane wasn’t hurt in the end,

Moreover, due to the situation in Ravely caused by the Flesh Cook and the connections she made there, along with her capital and investment network in Randa, Jane became an investor in Ravely’s early reconstruction efforts.

Although he didn’t get the details, Forest and the ladies at the House of Angels mentioned that Jane seemed to have achieved considerable success.

Well, it wasn’t really surprising.

She joined in on reconstruction in the Capital of Gallos, a major power competing with the Allied Kingdoms. It would be strange if she didn’t succeed.

At that moment, Forest’s words flashed through Oliver’s mind.

‘The important thing isn’t just that she succeeded, but that Miss Jane succeeded on her own. Alone.’

Forest emphasized that last word. When Oliver asked what he meant, Forest explained.

‘No offense, but wasn’t Miss Jane not that remarkable a person as an investor? She was able to pretend to be an investor thanks to the inheritance from Edith and help from the Sisterhood, but she never really showed the abilities of a true investor.’

Oliver couldn’t say anything in response to the cold but accurate assessment.

There’s no denying she deserved praise for not settling with the wealth she received from Edith and trying to grow as an investor, but Jane still didn’t demonstrate significant investor skills.

She had made some profits in the past, but those were mainly due to the expertise and intel from the professional investors hired by the Sisterhood. They weren’t solely Jane’s abilities.

It was the same for the other female investors in Jane’s group.

Their roles were more like actresses than actual investors.

The Sisterhood. Or more specifically, actresses following the orders of Lady Miranda, the biggest influence within the Sisterhood.

That was who the female investors in the Sisterhood truly were.

‘But now, that’s changed. Miss Jane genuinely succeeded in a huge project on her own… This could lead to a shift in the power structure within the Sisterhood.’

‘Power structure? What do you mean?’

‘I mean exactly that. In any organization, the one who holds the money holds the most power, and it’s no different in the Sisterhood. The person holding the money there is none other than Lady Miranda. She has a lot of her own money and has a huge influence over the women who control the finances.’

‘And you’re saying that’s changing?’

‘It’s the same as before in many ways, but we can’t deny the situation has changed. There’s a rumor that Miss Jane’s assets have multiplied several times over from this recent investment, and that her reputation as an investor has grown to match. If she wants to, she might step out from under Miranda’s shadow and form her own faction.’

‘Would Miss Jane have any reason to do that?’

‘Who knows? But there’s a big difference between not doing it because you don’t want to and not doing it because you can’t.’

Forest ended that conversation with a meaningful comment.

The point was that Jane had succeeded in an investment so significant that even Forest was impressed.

Just as she aimed to do. But she didn’t stop there.

Upon reading the article in detail, Oliver found out Jane had done more than just make money. She had also engaged in a number of other activities, like donating to orphanages and establishing aid facilities for single mothers.

It was truly admirable. Sincerely.

Continuously working towards her goal and then going beyond to show passion elsewhere too.

‘Compared to that, I…’

Oliver trailed off in his thoughts.

In the past, everything seemed simpler and more straightforward, but now it felt quite the opposite.

Blurry and uncertain.

In the past, just learning or discovering new things was satisfying enough, but now that wasn’t always the case.

Learning and knowing were still joys to him, but some things were now something he wished to avoid.

It was a contradictory feeling, something he found difficult to explain, a desire to know yet not wanting to know at the same time.

In addition, where he once had a clear goal of pursuing beautiful light, now that goal felt lacking.

However, what had changed the most was Oliver’s perception of himself.

In the past, he thought he knew exactly who he was, but now things were a bit confusing.

Was he broken, different, a false deity, a hero, or just another person, like everyone else?

‘Or maybe…’

[-Dave. Are you alright?]

Just as Oliver was about to sink deeper into thought, Eve interrupted him.

She was worried because Oliver suddenly went silent.

“Oh, yes. I’m alright… Thank you.”

Eve’s call brought Oliver back to reality, and he thanked her.

The worries that Oliver was pondering over just now were questions that arose during the X-District development that he hadn’t been able to resolve.

He knew better than anyone that even thinking about them now wouldn’t give him any answers.

It was a waste of energy. It was more productive to finish reading the newspaper.

Seeming to want to prove this thought, Oliver shook his head, pushing aside the previous worries, and started reading other articles.

But the remaining articles were just about the ongoing troubles caused by Black Magicians disrupting the public order and key figures related to the Flesh Cook being arrested or fleeing—nothing particularly interesting.

[I find it quite interesting. There’s a lot to think about from many perspectives.]

“You do?”

[Yes. Every problem in the world is connected like a spider’s web, affecting each other. But social problems are the most intertwined.]

Eve offered an interesting perspective.

After finishing the conversation with Eve, Oliver read the remaining newspaper articles, then stood up to pay for his meal, and left the restaurant.

As Oliver stepped outside the restaurant, rays of sunlight greeted him along with the sight of a Ravely that was becoming more modern… More like Randa.

Gone were the profound and odd scenes of ancient and modern architecture mixed together that characterized the city’s long history, replaced by a more uniform look.

The result of the new buildings built after the destruction caused by the Flesh Cook. The change wasn’t limited to the buildings.

The view on the roads had also changed significantly.

The roads that used to have a mix of dirt and pavement were now fully paved, and most noticeably, there were fewer carriages.

Where Ravely once had a near-equal ratio of carriages to cars, cars now outnumbered carriages by a noticeable margin.

They said that many horses died during the chaos caused by the Flesh Cook, which severely impacted the carriage industry. It seemed they were taking the opportunity to replace public transportation with automobiles.

‘Well, it’s not exactly a bad thing for me.’

Having lived in Randa longer than in Ravely, Oliver felt a strange sense of familiarity as he hailed a taxi.

He had been given a car as a gift from Lieutenant General Philip, so he could have driven himself, but he opted for the taxi for two reasons: the car was too conspicuous, and he wanted to take in the city at a leisurely pace.

After getting in the taxi and telling the driver his destination, the driver quickly took off, chugging a bottle of wine.

The speed was so fast that, if exaggerating, it was difficult to even glance at the scenery. But luckily, a traffic jam ahead allowed him the chance to look around.

It was an unusual situation caused by the increase in cars, and Oliver used it as an opportunity to inspect the scenery of Ravely through the window.

The most noticeable feature was the historical buildings under restoration, which was something unlike what was seen in Randa.

Unlike Randa, which had been completely rebuilt after the Great Catastrophe, Ravely was in the process of restoring its history and footprints.

However, Oliver couldn’t shake the feeling that Ravely had become quite similar to Randa.

It might have been because of the application of Randa’s modern architectural techniques, but that wasn’t all. Because.

BOOM!

The explosions of flames, magical energy, and dark energy erupting intermittently throughout the city said otherwise.

Superhumans fighting each other in broad daylight.

Ravely resembled Randa not just in the buildings or road scenes.

Ravely, which had better public order than Randa, had become chaotic and similar to Randa.

The freedom and disorder characteristic of Randa, where superhumans fought each other over interests.

“Oh no… Sir?”

“Yes, driver?”

“I’m sorry, but I think we have to take a detour.”

The driver said this, watching the fireballs that rose and then faded a few hundred meters ahead.

Superhumans engaging in battle to seize the gap left by the Flesh Cook, and several cars were already veering away to avoid this man-made disaster.

‘Seeing this really drives home how Ravely’s public order has deteriorated.’

Oliver thought to himself, recalling the article he recently read at the restaurant.

After the Flesh Cook disappeared, ironically, Black Magicians had been running more rampant.

Many citizens and critics were blaming the Royal Family for failing to resolve the issue.

Of course, it wasn’t that the Royal Family hadn’t tried, but it was turning out to be as hard as eradicating cockroaches.

Making a low sound, Oliver spoke to the driver.

“Hmm… Alright. Let’s take a detour.”

As soon as Oliver agreed, the driver immediately turned the wheel to get out of the area, but with so many cars trying to go the same way, all the vehicles got stuck together and couldn’t move easily.

The unexpected fuss and traffic jam heightened the drivers’ irritation, with some rolling down their windows to yell curses at each other.

BANG!

An explosion rang out from the upper floors of a building, and a figure fell, crashing right in front of the car Oliver was in.

“Aaahh! Damn it!!”

The driver screamed as the roof of his nearly new car caved in, and Oliver spotted a familiar face.

It was Murphy Kimble, the head of the Kimball Family, wearing a suit that was torn and singed from the battle.

“This is messed up…”

Caught in this unexpected disaster, the taxi driver cursed, a mix of frustration and discomfort in his voice, while Oliver handed him some cash.

“I’ll get out here.”

“What?”

“Thanks for the ride.”

The chaotic situation left the driver’s mind reeling, but Oliver handed him the taxi fare plus a tip and got out of the car.

A communicator inside his shirt collar vibrated as Eve’s voice came through.

[Are you planning to help?]

“Yes. I need to have a word with Murphy.”

Oliver remembered Murphy’s youngest brother, Milo, who had come to learn Black Magic from him and answered her.

At the same time, Oliver quickly extracted his emotions. He deployed the Black Shield over Murphy, and just as it formed, another figure descended, attempting to stab through the shield with a sharp-edged knife.

Oliver controlled the shield, increasing the thickness and density at the point of attack, causing it to deflect instead of being pierced.

“So, you’re one of the Flesh Cook’s disciples.”

Oliver said this, watching the Black Magician who was forced back after losing his chance to break through the shield.

About a dozen other Black Magicians, who seemed to be his comrades, quickly joined in, surrounding Oliver.

Judging by the knives in their hands and the crude mixture of magical energy and emotions, they seemed to be the remnants of the Flesh Cook.

Oliver first greeted them politely.

“Hello-”

“-A gaunt face… Quar-”

“-terstaff?”

“Bandaged arm.”

“One side of his hair is stark white!”

“It’s Dave. Finger Dave… Abort mission! Everyone retreat!!”

All the remnants of the Flesh Cook, who seemed to number in the dozens, screamed nearly in unison and began to run away.

In an utterly unexpected turn of events, Oliver stood there, dumbfounded, watching them flee, then met eyes with Murphy.

“…How are you?”

“Hello, Mr. Dave. Nice to see you. And…”

“…?”

“Congratulations on becoming a Finger.”

Murphy, the King of Liquor in Randa, said something inexplicable.