Chapter 596: “Your eyes have gotten better, haven’t they?”

Merlin, who had his invisibility spell seen through, sat in front of the table and remarked.

Interestingly, though, he wasn’t looking in Oliver’s direction at all.

However, Oliver didn’t mention anything about it. He wasn’t looking at Merlin either.

They continued their conversation while looking in different directions.

“······It might be because of my fight with Fen, but my eyesight has improved a bit.”

“Young people sure develop quickly. At this rate, you’ll see right through my dark, old heart.”

“Not quite there yet.”

“Good. It’s embarrassing to have your true feelings laid bare.”

Merlin joked in his old man’s manner while sipping the coffee he poured from the table.

“Hmm, good beans. Would you like some?”

“Yes······. Did Lady Jane arrive safely in Randa?”

Oliver asked as he accepted the coffee cup Merlin handed to him.

“Yes, she arrived safely······. She even took the children with her. Fen’s children.”

“I heard. Thank you for taking them too.”

“No need to thank me. I just dropped them off since I was on the way······. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but that brave young lady is going to be quite busy from now on.”

Oliver roughly understood what Merlin was getting at.

Fen’s children. They were indeed children, but they were also underlings of Fen, one of the Fingers.

Taking such children to Randa was a significant risk in itself.

Jane would have to put in considerable effort to give them new identities, teach them city life, and reduce that risk. That alone would keep her busy.

“That’s part of what I meant, but there’s more to it.”

“More to it?”

“Oh, you might not know. Quite a bit happened while you were away from Randa. One of those is a lawsuit within the Sisterhood.”

Merlin mentioned the incident where Ms. Miranda had tried to take over Jane’s business shortly after Jane was kidnapped and went missing.

Oliver wasn’t particularly surprised. Edith had already told him about it. For the same reason, he wasn’t surprised at what came next.

“Just as Ms. Miranda was about to take over Jane’s business as per the contract, a woman named Elizabeth filed a protest.”

Elizabeth. The proprietor of the “House of Angel,” known as Mama, and someone Oliver was acquainted with.

Though she was of advanced age, she had grace. All of her staff viewed her as a mother figure. She had the charisma to run an establishment, the patience to tolerate Edith, and the courage to protect her employees from rude customers.

“She declared herself Jane’s legal guardian to protect her business. It stirred things up in Randa.”

Elizabeth acting as Jane’s legal guardian to protect her business.

Oliver immediately sensed the involvement of Edith behind this.

“But was there really a reason for such a commotion?”

“Plenty.”

Merlin answered firmly and raised his index finger.

“First, your friend, Lady Jane, is quite a famous investor in Randa. No, she’s a very famous investor. She participated in the early stages of the Gallos Reconstruction Project and achieved tremendous success. Just the fact that she was involved is enough to pique people’s interest.”

“I understand.”

Merlin raised his middle finger.

“Second, the fact that the lawsuit happened within the Sisterhood itself is noteworthy. The Sisterhood, like any organization with many secrets, rarely lets its internal matters go public. But a lawsuit? That alone is enough to cause rumors to spread and people to gossip.”

“What kind of rumors exactly are you referring to?”

“There are too many to explain them all, really. It’s Randa, after all. If I had to pick one, though, it’s that there’s a rumor Ms. Miranda orchestrated the kidnapping to hold Jane back—deliberately.”

“What a ridiculous rumor.”

Knowing the truth, Oliver muttered without meaning to.

While he disapproved of Ms. Miranda’s attempt to take Jane’s business, she hadn’t orchestrated the kidnapping.

“The important thing is that the story sounds plausible. On top of that, Elizabeth, Jane’s guardian, filed a lawsuit… Now, you see why it caused such a stir?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Well, with your friend’s return, it’s all old news now······. That young lady made the right choice. Although Elizabeth did hire a good lawyer, if she had stayed a bit longer, she might have lost the case.”

Merlin praised Jane for returning to Randa quickly, and Oliver nodded in agreement.

He finally understood why she’d hurried to leave, even though she didn’t want to.

It was probably because she anticipated this situation.

She was admirable. Despite being kidnapped by Fen and having to take care of the children, she hadn’t overlooked this aspect.

It seemed there were many ways to measure a person’s strength.

“Speaking of which, I think it’s time for me to head back as well.”

As Oliver was organizing his thoughts, Merlin suddenly spoke up.

“I left so suddenly that there’s a lot of work piled up at the Tower of Magic. If I slack off any further, I’ll probably get an earful. I’m too old to be scolded.”

Merlin joked that he intended to leave, and Oliver stood up and bowed to him.

Although the pain in his side made his posture a bit awkward, he still managed to convey his gratitude.

“······Thank you for accommodating my selfish request, sir.”

Merlin, seeing Oliver’s serious expression, paused to think momentarily before standing up.

“Even if I was just a temporary teacher, a teacher is still a teacher. Besides, I’ll get my repayment several times over later, so don’t be too thankful······. Do you plan to stay here much longer?”

“I haven’t thought it through completely, but I think I’ll stay for a few more days. There are things I promised, and it seems the Childs want to stay a bit longer too.”

Oliver mentioned the transport squad plans he had discussed with Jack and the fact that the Childs wanted to enjoy the festival.

He also needed some time to organize his thoughts.

“Is there any problem with that?”

“Not a problem, per se······. But it might get a bit hectic when you return to Randa. This time, the situation has gotten too big for me to completely cover up. Your name will be mentioned in the fall of the Sea of Oblivion and the defeat of Fen.”

“I understand.”

“······You’re not surprised? I thought you might ask me to find a way out of it.”

“Captain Hook had told me something about it already. Can I hear the details when I return to Randa?”

“Fair enough. It’s hard for me to say how things will turn out anyway. Let’s see how it goes.”

“Thank you for always helping me.”

Oliver’s calm demeanor. Merlin stared intently into Oliver’s eyes as if trying to read his thoughts beyond them.

After a moment, Merlin asked an unexpectedly abrupt question.

“······Have you thought about what you’ll do when you return to Randa?”

“I haven’t thought about it specifically yet. I’ll let you know when something comes to mind.”

Although it felt like he was hiding something, Merlin didn’t pry further.

After all, a lot had happened in that brief time—like the transformation of Neverland into the maw of a sea monster and Oliver’s shadow devouring it.

So Merlin decided to wrap up their conversation with a simple farewell.

“Well, I’ll be on my way. You should get some rest too. You’ve been through a lot.”

As Merlin prepared to leave, Oliver spoke up.

“I was lucky.”

“Hmm?”

“I said I was lucky.”

“······.”

“I was lucky to receive help from Captain Hook, who knew Neverland’s location. And then, I was lucky that you took care of the sea monster······. Although I did play a small part in Neverland, that too was because I was lucky—lucky to be born with certain talents, lucky to gain the demon-imbued right arm, and lucky to obtain the shadow infused with the Flesh Cook’s power······. I’m just a fortunate man. Don’t you agree?”

Oliver’s claim that he was simply a lucky man.

Strangely, it felt less like a question and more as if he were seeking agreement.

It was a rare sight for Oliver, who usually accepted everything emotionlessly.

And Merlin responded to this unusual moment.

“I agree.”

Oliver could see that it was a lie.

“······Thank you.”

***

After Merlin left, Oliver found himself alone.

Originally, he had planned to rest for a bit and then go to bed, but maybe because of the nagging pain in his side or the conversation earlier with Merlin, he found it hard to fall asleep.

His mind was rather restless, one might say.

So Oliver gave up on sleeping and decided to take a stroll around Bean City to clear his head.

Besides, he was curious about how the Childs and Big Mouth were doing at the moment.

Fortunately, he managed to satisfy that curiosity not long after.

“Aaaaargh······! Bang!!”

“Don’t just scream ‘Bang’! Beg for the money, you rascal!”

“Yeah! Screaming won’t get you a discount! We’ve already given you one, you know?!”

“So stop shouting! It’s scary!”

The first place Oliver visited was Giant’s Head Port, the noisiest location among the ongoing sporadic festivals in Bean City.

At that very moment, there, Second—inhabited by Zombie Puppet Durance—was haggling over something trivial with some pirates.

The haggling involved pointing guns at each other while shouting.

“Bang!!! Hand it over! I’ll shoot!! Bang!!”

“It’s honestly terrifying to see you shouting ‘Bang, bang’ with that face.”

“Get Captain Hook! This lady yelling ‘Bang, bang’ is trying to kill us! And she’s downright scary!”

As Second and the pirates wrestled over a pile of apparent loot consisting of newly made and antique firearms, Oliver approached the scene.

“Excuse me······.”

“What do you want? We’re busy here—”

Oliver’s cautious inquiry made one of the burly pirates, who had been arguing with Second, stop mid-sentence.

Not only the pirate who had tried to shout, but also Second and all the surrounding pirates, as well as the onlookers amused by the negotiation, simultaneously froze.

Everyone’s pupils dilated, words halted mid-sentence, and actions stopped altogether, as if time itself had paused.

This was one of the reasons Oliver had avoided going out of the mansion.

Since returning after rescuing Jane and the children, everyone who saw Oliver reacted this way.

People would freeze at the very moment they recognized him, as if overcome by some strange pressure.

Eventually, they’d return to treating him normally, but the initial reaction bothered Oliver enough to make him wary of going out.

‘Still, I’m glad I came out this time.’

Despite the unwelcome reactions around him, Oliver thought as he observed Second and the pirates in their standoff.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Uh······. Hello, sir.”

As Oliver greeted them, a bald man who seemed to be the leader of the pirates responded.

“May I ask what’s going on here?”

“Well······. This person? This Zombie Puppet?”

“Second, Baldy.”

“Ugh······. This Second has been trying to take our loot by offering an absurdly low price, so there was a bit of a disagreement. That’s all there is to it.”

The bald man pointed to the scraps of money on the table.

The pile of firearms stacked on the table made the already insufficient money look even less adequate.

Oliver spoke to Second.

“Second······. You can’t be unreasonable. They’re clearly uncomfortable.”

“It’s my paycheck that’s making me uncomfortable. I work sixteen to eighteen hours a day, and yet I can’t even buy one decent gun. That’s completely and utterly wrong.”

Second calmly expressed her dissatisfaction, while Oliver tilted his head in confusion.

What was the issue? He had ensured they followed the legal working hours and minimum wage requirements.

“Wait, eighteen hours?”

“Can you explain that in more detail?”

The pirates, sensing something was wrong, asked Oliver about the Childs’ working conditions, and Oliver proudly explained the labor environment that complied with Randa’s labor laws. Hearing his explanation, the pirates—

“Just take the guns for free······.”

“Consider it a reward for saving this city from the sea monster. Damn it.”

“Take this too.”

—Surprisingly, the pirates began offering Second the guns as gifts out of sheer goodwill.

There was no coercion; it was pure generosity. While it baffled Oliver, he congratulated Second on the unexpected bounty.

“Good for you, Second.”

“Damn it.”

The Child, Second, muttered a curse mixed with self-loathing as she carefully collected the modern military firearms and antique guns.

Surprisingly, similar things happened in other places too.

In the Smuggler’s District, Third, who was haggling over seeds and exotic plants, didn’t get them for free but managed to get a discount and barely obtained the items with an advance loan from Oliver.

Meanwhile, First and Fourth, who were communicating with black magicians in the Dark Workshop while wearing masks, received tools and several corpses needed for making Zombie Puppets as gifts.

Some black magicians even wiped their tears, though the reason was unknown. It was a kindness-filled city, one might say.

Though the Childs who received that kindness didn’t seem particularly pleased.

“I really don’t understand why this is happening.”

In the underground, makeshift arena of Bean City known as Centipede, Oliver spoke to Mayor Jack, who was hosting a match between Big Mouth and the Greedy Bag.

“Why are the Childs feeling so downcast? They’ve received gifts, haven’t they?”

Jack candidly shared his thoughts.

“The fact that you genuinely don’t get it… That seriously scares me.”

“Do you know the reason?”

“Well, it’s such a ‘Randa’ way of thinking that I’m not sure it’d make much sense even if I explained. Do you really not know what’s wrong?”

“No.”

Oliver confidently answered, proud of his compliance with legal working hours.

As Oliver’s overall attitude seemed like a total mess, Jack was about to say something when suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the arena.

“Waaaaaaah!!”

“Wow······. I’m not betting on that one!”

“This time, I’m betting on that side!!”

The spectators, gathered in the underground arena Centipede, cheered as they witnessed Big Mouth’s next opponent.

And for a good reason, as the opponent was a monster that looked like a combination of several Greedy Bags.

It was reminiscent of a Zombie Golem made by piecing together multiple corpses.

Oliver asked.

“Big Mouth is fighting to create a transport squad for Bean City, but can we even use such a Greedy Bag?”

“Well, we can fold it up when it’s deactivated. Besides, pairing Big Mouth against the same type of Greedy Bag wouldn’t be exciting.”

As if affirming Jack’s explanation, the gambling scene, which had cooled off due to Big Mouth’s consecutive victories, heated up again with the arrival of Big Mouth’s new opponent.

The growing piles of money.

Surprisingly, Big Mouth, who was competing, also placed a bet.

“Big Mouth. All in.”

Big Mouth bet its money on itself, enunciating each syllable clearly. Following Big Mouth, the Childs also bet all the money they’d saved over their entire lives.

For reference, Third, who had taken an advance, borrowed money from the loan sharks in the gambling den to place her bet.

“We believe in you.”

“Win.”

“Please.”

“We’re counting on you.”

“Ggrrrk!!”

Even their exchanges felt determined.

The match then started, with a five-bag Golem-like Greedy Bag clashing with Big Mouth.

“Grrrrruuullll!!!”

[Hate Bullet]

The giant Golem-like Greedy Bag’s fist and Big Mouth’s Bullets of Hatred collided, sending dust flying throughout the arena.

The citizens of Bean City cheered as they watched the scene, and the strengthened Greedy Bags who had vowed loyalty after being defeated by Big Mouth raised their fists to cheer for Big Mouth.

“Gruuuuk(Big Mouth)!”

“Gruuuuk(Big Mouth)!”

“Gruuuuk(Big Mouth)!”

“Gruuuuk(Big Mouth)!”

The overflowing energy and greed. It made even Oliver’s complicated thoughts feel lighter, and just then, a civil servant from the Bean City city hall approached Jack and whispered something in his ear.

Jack, displaying an unusual emotion.

Meeting Jack’s gaze, Oliver asked.

“Is something wrong?”

“Uh······. A prince candidate from the Swan Sect wishes to defect to our city?”

***

Step, step, step.

A rural farmhouse that was completely burnt out, emitting black smoke from all sides.

Puppet was walking over it.

In Puppet’s hand was a dagger with a red hue, and Puppet seemed quite satisfied with the acquisition.

As if to affirm that it wasn’t just an illusion, Unbent Knee asked in sign language.

[Is something wrong?]

Unbent Knee’s appearance, holding a drill-shaped knife made of flesh, exuded considerable intimidation, but Puppet simply answered normally.

“I unintentionally acquired something precious.”

For Puppet, who had lived for hundreds of years and seen all sorts of things, to call an item precious······. Though curious, Unbent Knee asked something he was more curious about.

[Why did you tell me to let it go?]

Unbent Knee asked against the backdrop of the burnt-out farmhouse.

[Don’t you need all six prince candidates to become a prince?]

Indeed, this farmhouse was originally where a prince candidate resided. It was attacked like the homes of the other five princes, in an attempt to take away his position.

However, the knees that didn’t bend intentionally let the last prince go.

Following Puppet’s request.

“I need to cast a spell before this matter is settled.”

[A spell?]

“Yes, I have to cast the spell on the biggest obstacle before we begin the real work.”