Chapter 630: After a Night

Thanks to the Pied Piper, Oliver was injured from head to toe.

His condition was so bad that his brain wasn’t functioning properly.

He couldn’t remember why he passed out, and only realized he was in a hospital after hearing the word ‘visit’. He didn’t even know why all these people were gathered around.

But the biggest mistake was not recognizing Rosburn.

“It’s okay! Don’t feel bad about it at all!!”

When Oliver apologized, Rosburn quickly waved both hands to reassure him.

Rosburn seemed more mature both physically and mentally since the last time they met.

“Hehe, it’s been some time after all.”

“I see.”

“Ah! The other kids wanted to come too! But they couldn’t because they’re training in magic right now.”

Rosburn started smiling at Oliver while explaining, as if he’d suddenly remembered.

Oliver could guess who he was talking about.

They were the children who escaped from Martel with Rosburn, also staying at a branch of the Tower of Magic thanks to Merlin’s help.

In past letters, it was mentioned that they were learning about magic there, and it seemed to be going smoothly.

“Yes! Everyone’s doing well and learning magic. They asked me to deliver letters to you instead.”

Rosburn took out a bundle of letters that had been carefully hidden in his coat and handed them to Oliver.

Oliver naturally accepted the letters. He gazed at them for a moment before treasuring them like they were gold.

Because to Oliver, they were more valuable than gold. Especially now.

“They’re really sorry they couldn’t come in person—”

“—No need to apologize, Rosburn. Thank you so much for delivering the letters.”

Oliver spoke in his usual calm tone. But everyone around, including Rosburn, paused.

What could it have been? Maybe it was just a feeling, but it seemed like Oliver slightly smiled.

The change in his expression was so subtle that it was hard to be sure, but it couldn’t just be dismissed as a feeling either.

Everyone had seen it. Without speaking, they exchanged glances, silently asking, ‘Did you see him smile too?’

It was an unfamiliar, almost surreal sight.

But it was comforting to simply watch.

Like some kind of magic.

Whether Oliver knew what they were thinking or not, he quickly returned to his usual self.

“But how did you get here, Rosburn? If the others are training, shouldn’t you be training too?”

“Wow, you thanked me for coming, and now you’re putting me in a tight spot?”

Merlin jabbed Oliver in the side, commenting with a smirk.

Rosburn smiled.

“Don’t worry. I’ve already completed my training.”

“Completed already?”

“Yes!”

Rosburn answered energetically. He channeled the magic power within him, releasing a faint electric current from his fingertips. He controlled it perfectly, establishing a stable flow of electricity.

Though basic, this was part of lightning magic where many would fail.

But Rosburn succeeded in mastering it.

Born an orphan, he worked as an errand boy in an inn, gained the ability to control magic power through Martel’s human experiments, but was late in starting compared to others. Even Merlin had worried if he could truly learn magic.

But Rosburn diligently built a strong foundation, as if mocking those concerns.

It was indeed an impressive feat.

“Impressive.”

Oliver offered genuine praise in his calm tone.

Feeling the sincerity, Rosburn was thrilled with the compliment.

“Thank you. I’m nowhere near your level, but… Oh! I was able to come visit thanks to our elder! We’re in a place with limited access to information, but he informed us. Also, we’re not allowed to leave, but he made an exception so I could come.”

Oliver turned his head toward Merlin at the mention of ‘elder’ from Rosburn.

He was met with Merlin’s smooth bald head.

“Shouldn’t you be looking at my face instead of my scalp?”

“Sorry. And thank you.”

Oliver thanked Merlin for bringing Rosburn.

Understanding the message, Merlin didn’t feel the need to reply. After all, he hadn’t brought Rosburn to hear a thank you.

Merlin had brought Rosburn simply because he deemed it necessary.

As the conversation with Rosburn started wrapping up, Oliver’s attention naturally shifted to those around him.

Marie and Jane on his sides, with Forest, Al, Joe, Paul Carver, Kevin, Yareli, Unner, and Derek opposite him.

They all were worried about Oliver’s injury, but also glad to see him awake.

Oliver responded accordingly.

“What brings all of you here?”

“Damn it! What’s with the cold reception?”

Derek, who had his arms folded, spoke for everyone.

Calling it harsh might be an understatement for something said to a patient who had been in a coma for days after being beaten by the Pied Piper, but everyone had similar expressions.

Oliver also belatedly realized he had made a mistake and corrected himself.

“Ah, sorry. My body isn’t in the best shape, so I misspoke. Please forgive me.”

“…”

“Thank you all for visiting… But why did you come?”

“Damn it, seriously.”

Derek muttered once more, and a few others vocalized similar feelings, indicating it wasn’t just him feeling that way.

“Dave, let’s be serious here…”

“He didn’t mean anything bad by it, so don’t misunderstand him.”

“Really?”

“Probably. I’m not entirely sure though. It’s complicated, so let’s not push it any further.”

Jane, Forest, and Carver each responded in their own way.

Oliver was puzzled by their reactions. His quick-witted effort to show care was based on social skills he had honed in Randa.

After hearing the explanation, Paul Carver from the City Ministry of Internal Affairs asked again.

“Do you really think that’s being considerate to the people who waited days hoping Dave would wake up?”

Carver’s tone implied, ‘Listen to your conscience, would you?’

“I apologize if my tone offended you. However, knowing how busy you are as the Minister, I thought if you were waiting for days, there might be urgent business to discuss.”

“Do I really come off as someone without a shred of humanity?”

“No. I believe you’re a kind person who was genuinely concerned for me. But as a Minister, you would prioritize public affairs, so if you waited, I assumed there must have been a significant issue.”

Oliver’s keen observation left Carver momentarily speechless.

“Ha… it’s hard to believe you just woke up. Yes, you’re right. To be honest, I was waiting because of some business. I feel a bit embarrassed now for pretending to be just concerned.”

“There’s no need to feel embarrassed. I actually admire that quality in you.”

Oliver’s genuine response softened Carver’s expression.

For reasons unclear, Carver started to trust Oliver even more than before, along with a glimmer of hope.

Hope? That was strange.

“You must be very tired, so let’s skip the small talk and get straight to the point.”

Carver returned to his distinct City official stance. The matter seemed quite serious.

“Please go ahead.”

“Dave, you have been declared a hero who saved Randa.”

“…What?”

***

Oliver repeated, ‘…What?’ with a delayed and dumbfounded expression.

It expressed how utterly absurd it was, like claiming Oliver chased away the Pied Piper.

But oddly enough, what Carver was saying was somewhat connected to the idea of Oliver having driven out the Pied Piper.

“If you were the one who drove away the Pied Piper, rescued the Prince, and minimized the damage to Randa, then you are indeed a hero.”

This was similar to the conversation with Forest earlier. Naturally, the discussion flowed in a similar direction.

“Who says I drove the Pied Piper away?”

“The fixer from the Randa T-District, Lumberjack Dave. Isn’t that right?”

“Uh, no, actually. Not if we’re talking about the way I remember the concept of ‘driving out’.”

To drive out: ‘to force someone or something to leave a place or position.’

Oliver felt bad about disappointing them, but he hadn’t been able to exert any real force on the Pied Piper. He even doubted whether such a person could exist.

But Carver wasn’t discouraged and continued.

“From what we’ve heard, the Pied Piper tried to kidnap the Prince. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s correct.”

“And you were the only one who stood up against him. Joe took the Prince and fled, and the other survivors, including Agent Arthur, retreated. Isn’t that so?”

“That’s… also correct.”

“Then wouldn’t that mean you drove him away? Or did someone else help that we’re unaware of?”

A headache began to creep over Oliver.

Suppressing the pain, he organized his thoughts to recall the events.

“…No one helped.”

“So you drove him away then.”

“No, that’s not it. I did buy some time, but I didn’t stop the Pied Piper.”

“Then why did he withdraw?”

“I don’t really know. I passed out.”

Oliver naturally lied.

He had no choice.

Explaining how he made a deal with the Pied Piper to send him away was too problematic.

So, Oliver simply said he bought time and passed out, avoiding any details about why the Pied Piper withdrew.

From what Carver said, the City seemed to have pieced things together just on statements, so he would remain in the dark.

If they had found out through other means, they wouldn’t have been asking like this.

‘Also, it wasn’t exactly untrue.’

Oliver justified his reasoning.

Meanwhile, Carver was also deep in thought, processing what he had just heard. Oliver’s story must have been unexpected.

Carver had believed that the fixer Dave must have used some trick to drive away the Pied Piper.

‘But does this even make sense?’

Carver wondered suddenly.

Honestly, the opponent was the Pied Piper.

Someone who could withstand artillery fire, summon countless rats to wreak immense havoc on Randa, and had a reputation as a walking disaster, more akin to a legend.

No matter how skilled Dave was, it would have been difficult for him to hold back that kind of force. Even the City Council had raised this point.

At that moment, Oliver made a comment.

“There’s something I’d like to point out… The Pied Piper didn’t come here with any firm resolve. He was simply hired by someone.”

With the new information, Carver massaged his temples.

To think such a disaster could be caused by a mere contract. Moreover, the bigger issue was that another force had hired him.

It was a horrible truth that was hard to accept, but despite that, Carver didn’t doubt Oliver’s words. This was the credit Oliver had earned through his time in Randa.

The kind of credibility where people would believe him even when he said something ridiculously insane. After all, this was the man who had willingly handed over a staggering 3.1 trillion Randa solely due to a contract.

He wasn’t just an ordinary man, but one who had detached himself from worldly concerns and possessed almost ridiculous credibility.

So instead of questioning the truth of this new information, Carver took a more productive approach. He tried to understand it and apply it to the current situation.

“It doesn’t matter in the end. Whatever the case may be, you did stop the Pied Piper, Dave. Above all, we’ve already announced it.”

“Announced?”

“See for yourself.”

It’s better to see once than to hear a hundred times. Instead of explaining, Carver handed over a bundle of newspapers.

[Shocking! ‘Black Hand’ Operative Attempted to Kidnap the Prince!]

[Dark Mages Running Amok. Can Peace Survive?]

[Hero who Saved the Prince. Xenon Bright, Founder of the Tower’s Dark Magic School?!]

[Dark Mage Stops the Hand’s Onslaught! A New Perspective on Dark Magic!!]

[Dark Magic: It’s Not the Magic, it’s the People!!]

[Progress, Openness, and Tolerance in Randa. A New Perspective on Dark Magic Illuminated by the Pater Church?!]

… As such headlines blared from Randa’s leading newspapers.

Oliver felt like his head would explode from the confusion.

“What is all this?”

“It’s exactly as it looks. These publications talk about how you saved Prince Albert from the Pied Piper. We thought it would be better to use your identity as a Tower of Magic member rather than a fixer, so we used the name Xenon instead of Dave.”

It seemed ridiculous, even though everyone knew Dave was actually Xenon, but Oliver didn’t argue. There were many other things to question.

“I didn’t mean it like that—”

“—I understand. You’re wondering why we took the liberty of publishing these articles?”

Oliver froze for a moment and then nodded.

“To stabilize the City in the midst of confusion.”

“…”

“In just one night, an unprecedentedly large City suffered immense damage at the hands of a single Dark Mage. Not to mention the near danger the Prince faced while being a guest here. It’s impossible to keep it under wraps… To escape this mess, we needed a hero.”

“A hero?”

“Yes, a hero. A figure who, by mere existence, can give people strength and hope.”

“Sigh…”

Oliver unconsciously sighed. He didn’t know much else, but he was sure about one thing—he wasn’t fit to be called a hero.

What kind of hero makes deals with Dark Mages and lies?

Seeing this, Paul Carver, the City’s Minister of Internal Affairs, quickly spoke.

“I understand you’re not happy with this. I apologize for taking matters into our own hands. But understand that Randa’s situation was dire, and we needed to act fast. If we hadn’t declared that you stopped the Pied Piper and saved the Prince and Randa, the City would have descended into chaos.”

Oliver roughly understood what he meant.

The idea that a City’s safety could be compromised by an individual would sow unimaginable fear and chaos.

Even though Oliver didn’t like it, he could see where Carver was coming from. There were always different perspectives. Carver’s love for his City was strong—strong enough to bet his life and his irreplaceable pension on it.

“Of course, we’re not using your name for free. That’s not how things work in Randa.”

“…?”

“I heard you want to establish a Dark Magic School. The City and Tower of Magic will fully support you in that endeavor.”

After finishing, Carver turned his gaze to the Tower of Magic members—Kevin, Yareli, Derek, and Unner—all of whom nodded.

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes, we’ve already discussed it with the Tower of Magic. We’re also in talks with the Pater Church. Funds, manpower, collaboration systems, benefits, equipment, and other infrastructure… It will all be provided.”

Carver’s demeanor echoed the absolute seriousness in his voice.

Though Oliver didn’t know the full details, it seemed some agreement had been reached while he was unconscious.

Oliver reflexively looked at Forest, who nodded.

The gesture meant that, right or wrong, this was the best course of action once the situation had already escalated.

Oliver somewhat agreed. Even if he refused, the newspapers had already been printed. Besides, he owed a debt to Randa for various reasons, including the issue with ‘The Selectors’ and the Redevelopment Union.

In the end, Oliver nodded, signaling his acceptance. It wasn’t what he had anticipated, but he could handle it.

“Thank you for understanding. Please discuss forming the Dark Magic School with Forest… And when your body recovers, could you talk to us about the Pied Piper?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Thank you. And again, thank you for saving Randa on behalf of its people.”

After concluding the official business, Carver expressed his personal gratitude once more.

Ready to leave to let Oliver rest, Carver was about to exit when Oliver called out to him.

“Mr. Carver, May I ask you a question? Is the Prince safe?”

“Ah, Prince Albert is—”

—knock, knock.

Just as Carver was about to answer in front of the hospital room door, there was a knock.

Everyone’s gaze shifted toward the sound.

Creak—

The door opened.

“I heard you woke up… It’s true.”

Prince Albert entered with a royal secretary, looking at Oliver as he spoke.

Beneath the facade of dignity, his face was filled with gratitude and relief.

“Hello, Your Highness.”