Genius Warlock

Wrrrrrrrrrrr.

On a road outside of Landa, there could be seen a car running, an F-series that was widely seen in the market.

It was a car that could be easily seen everywhere, and there was a unique combo on the driver's seat and the passenger seat of the car.

The unique combo was Oliver, a Warlock Solver, and Jane, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man, both had a normal conversation as the car ran through the forest.

"You drive better than I thought."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. . . Uh, you are really good considering that you learned it in half a day. Did you really learn it in half a day?"

"Yes, I learned from the truck drivers."

"The truck drivers? Oh, they're great people. They're essential to Landa. If the trains were like heart, they're like the lungs of our country."

There was a mixture of lies and sincerity in the words Jane spoke.

She did think that drivers are important, but she didn't think they were that great.

Oliver wanted to ask why, but he held it in because it did not seem to be a good time.

Jane pretended to be calm on the outside, but in truth, her emotional state was not very good.

She seemed quite shocked.

"You can sit in the back if you feel uncomfortable, Ms. Jane"

"Back?"

"Yes, you look a little tired."

Jane looked back slightly troubled.

"Well… no, I'll sit here if you don't mind. I'm a little nervous. Do you, by any chance, hate me being next to you?"

"No, that's not it."

"That's a relief. Then, I'll sit here. I'm so glad that you don't hate me."

Jane breathed a sigh of relief.

Rather than wanting to rest, she was more conscious of Oliver.

However, when Oliver didn't give her a glance, she started organizing her clothes and hair feeling disappointed.

While organizing her outside, she also organized her thoughts on the inside. She forced herself to push the shock and anger of being betrayed and thought hard about what she had to do in the future.

As Oliver felt in the mansion, she seemed to be a mentally strong person.

"Um…May I ask you a question if you don't mind?"

Oliver asked.

"Question? Oh, yes. As much as you want."

"Can you tell me where you’re going to ask for help? I think we'll be in Landa soon, but I don't know where to go."

As soon as she heard the question, Jane closed her eyes with a confused feeling.

She tried to hide her expression as much as she could, but she revealed some detail, and it was impossible to deceive Oliver's eyes that saw through her emotions.

Oliver wondered whether she really did not have any place to ask for help.

‘No… that’s not the case.’

When Oliver first asked her if she had anywhere to ask for help, there wasn't any lie in what she said.

He remembered that it was a place where she said she didn't want to ask for help.

What kind of place makes her hesitate even in this situation? Oliver was really curious.

Jane finally opened her mouth as if understanding what was going on in Oliver's mind.

"…it's Sisterhood."

"What?"

"Sisterhood. Oh, you don't know?"

"No, I know. Isn't it a women's organization where women gather to help each other?”

"Yes, that's right. It's not exactly that kind of place, but….. Anyway, I'll get help if I go there.”

"Oh, do you belong there?"

"Well, it's similar. No… please forget it. It’s not like that. I'm still confused… Anyway, we'll get help if we go there.”

Her words seemed somewhat true.

Jane, who always had a calm demeanor, was in a state of confusion due to a big shock.

To the point where the acting skill that she had shown so far kept shaking.

"You must be very shocked."

"Yes, a little bit……. I'm just saying, just in case, is there anyone who would help you, Dave?”

"Pardon?"

"No, I mean….. Just in case, if we couldn't make it to Sisterhood. District O is a little further back, so something could happen on the way, right?”

Oliver thought.

Jane was certainly not wrong.

It’s good if they were able to get help from Sisterhood, but what if they couldn’t?

He had to prepare for the worst situation.

"… Wait a minute."

Saying those words, Oliver looked for the communication device he received from Forrest in his pockets.

Oliver wasn’t sure whether Forrest could give him any direct help due to the nature of his job as a broker but thought maybe he could at least ask for advice.

However, sadly, the beetle model communication device was broken.

Jane said disappointedly.

"It's broken."

"Yes, it must have been broken when I was fighting with Mr. Scott."

Jane stared at Oliver without saying anything for a while, but soon after, she asked.

“… Is that really your original personality?”

"What? What do you mean?"

"Scott. I mean the Druid. You said he betrayed… And he almost killed you, right?"

"Yes. He was really strong.”

"Then, why are you still calling him Mr. Scott?"

"…? I learned to be polite."

"You almost died, don’t you hate him for what he did? Or, are you role-playing some kind of character?”

Jane asked sincerely. She just doesn't seem to understand what Oliver was thinking.

Oliver was confused.

"Um… I don't know what you mean, but I don't have any particular resentment toward Mr. Scott. I don't want to blame him for killing people when necessary. He must have his own reason."

Jane was utterly dumbfounded. She was so dumbfounded that she felt like she lost all her energy.

"Ha… well, maybe Duncan had a reason?”

Jane muttered unconsciously. She seemed to be really curious about the reason at the same time feeling betrayed, sad, and despair.

The trust she had in Duncan seemed so great.

"…. Were you close to Mr. Duncan?”

"Huh? I don't know anymore. Really."

Along with that, there was an awkward silence, but the car did its part silently, and before they knew it, Jane and Oliver were taken to their destination, Landa.

The gray-red buildings that rose beyond were the proof.

As soon as Oliver saw those buildings, he slowed down and drove off from the road into the woods.

Jane asked in surprise.

"…Dave? What are you doing?”

"I think we should get off and walk from now on."

Oliver replied and packed the clothes, and shoes that he had brought before leaving the mansion.

"Why?"

"Because we don't know what Mr. Duncan had prepared for us. He even brought Solvers to hurt you, so he would likely take some countermeasures if he knew he failed. And this car was in front of the mansion. He knows the license plate number, so if we take this to Landa, we'll be found out sooner or later. It's safe to walk from here."

Fortunately, Jane nodded as if she understood what Oliver meant and got out of the car.

"That's right."

"Thank you for understanding."

Oliver answered and handed over the men's shirt, pants, coat, hat, and shoes.

"Okay, change into this."

"…Here?"

"…? Yes, that dress stands out, too. Is there a problem?"

Oliver asked sincerely. Jane tried to say something, but soon she sighed and nodded.

"Well, that's good. Would you mind not looking this way?”

"…? Yeah, sure.”

Oliver answered and turned around.

Oliver heard Jane changing clothes, and Oliver also took off his clothes and changed into new ones.

"I'm done changing Ms. Jane. Are you…"

"… Don't turn around for a second! I haven't changed yet!"

Jane screamed in a hurry.

Oliver stopped in surprise, and after a few seconds, Jane said.

"…I'm done changing now.”

"Then, can I turn now?”

"……Yes."

Oliver turned and looked at Jane who was in men's clothing.

It didn't look very natural, perhaps because she was in men's clothing, and Oliver asked with a puzzled feeling.

"Um…, will this stand out, too?"

Jane said, looking at her loose clothes.

"No. . . . it would look like any other woman living in a slum. Everyone there wears it like this."

"Oh, that's a relief.”

"…are you doing this on purpose?”

“Um? What do you mean?”

"No, nothing."

Oliver nodded and looked at Jane again.

Something stood out like a protruding nail, and he didn't know what it was.

She even completely ducked her pink hair inside the hat.

‘..…. ah!’

"Could you take off the magic items you are wearing?”

"Magic item.”

“Yes. It stands out too much for this outfit."

Understanding what Oliver meant, Jane looked at her bracelet, necklace, and earrings.

She hesitated but took off her jewelry and put it in her pocket since she agreed with Oliver’s opinion.

"How did you know?”

"What do you mean?"

"This accessory. How do you know it is a magic item?"

"Because I can see the mana flowing within it….. Speaking of which, can I ask you what item it is? Every time you touched me, I sensed some kind of magic activating, but I didn't know what was going on.”

"…..!"

Confusion shone in Jane's emotions.

"Can I tell you later?”

"Um… at your convenience. Then, shall we move?"

Jane nodded and started walking with Oliver.

After walking for a while, they were able to enter Landa, however, an unfamiliar scene unfolded in front of Oliver and Jane.

"Do you know where this is?"

"Um? It's my first time here, too. But it doesn't look too bad."

Oliver answered, looking around.

It didn't look so bad because there was no outright crime, though it was not a safe place.

At least compared to District X.

"I think we can take a taxi from here and move to our destination right away. If we go a little further inside, the taxi will probably…"

Oliver stopped talking and looked in one direction.

Even though he didn’t know who their target was, Oliver could see eight people who were looking for something carefully, not together, but divided into groups of two.

They were not scattered here and there and their emotional state matched with each other.

They felt similar to the intruders Oliver met at the mansion.

Jane, who looked at Oliver in silence, asked anxiously.

"Dave…?”

"This way."

Oliver dragged Jane to the corner.

The reason he went to the corner was that there were no other suspicious people.

Of course, Oliver would be able to break through head-on, but using black magic on the roadside was too much of a burden for Oliver, so he tried to hide.

But that seemed to be a mistake.

Somehow, people who were believed to be looking for Oliver and Jane turned around and flocked towards the place where they hid as if they were chasing after some kind of trace.

Oliver wondered how they were able to pinpoint their location, and at that moment, he thought of the magic items in Jane’s pocket.

"Ms. Jane, throw away the magic items."

"What? Oh, yes!"

When Jane noticed the seriousness of the situation, she immediately threw away her jewelry.

But the pursuers had already narrowed their location, which made Oliver move deeper into the alley.

However, after reaching a certain place, there was nowhere else to go.

Oliver wondered whether the only choice left was to fight, but at that moment he heard a voice from the sewer below the street.

"Hey! Hey!"

"…?"

Oliver and Jane both turned their heads.

At the point where their eyes met, there was a beggar in a worn-out silk hat.

He looked a little familiar.

He was the beggar who Oliver used to see on the street of District T, and to whom he often offered a penny.

Oliver wondered how he was here.

But, regardless of that, the beggar shouted in a low voice,

"Come quickly. Come on!"

Jane hesitated for a moment. However, Oliver saw the beggar's emotional state and decided to follow him since he had no malice.

He took Jane and approached the beggar.

Then, two sturdy beggars appeared and pulled out the iron bars that were blocking the sewers to make an entrance, and when Jane and Oliver entered, they placed the pulled-out iron bars in the way it was before.

"Come on, follow me. He's waiting."

Oliver didn't know who he was but decided it was relatively safe, so he took Jane and followed the beggar.

He followed him quietly into the darkness.

(To be Continued)