Chapter 31

31. Guest (2)

When he stepped outside, he actually saw James there.

It was the employee A of the pharmacist, who had been in the same truck with him during the final battle with the wizard and when they went to Randa.

He was waiting for Oliver at the factory, and with his distinctive square jaw, brown hair swept back, and broad shoulders, he was very noticeable.

As soon as he saw Oliver, he approached with a friendly smile and extended his hand.

"Ah, you came out."

Oliver reflexively shook James's hand.

"Hello."

"Yeah, nice to see you. It's been a while since we parted in Randa, hasn't it? I did some work there for a while, and when I came back, I heard some interesting stories. Is that true?"

"I don't know what's interesting, but it must be true."

James laughed.

"Wow... I didn't expect this. You're really something. Should I call you 'Lord Black Mage'?"

"No, not really... What brings you here?"

Oliver asked, recalling Filgaret.

"Huh? Oh... It's nothing much. I came to check if the production is going well. The boss is worried. Well, the order volume has been quite high lately. I know it's a bother, but is everything okay?"

"Yes, don't worry. We're well-prepared."

Oliver looked at Peter, who nodded, indicating there were no issues.

"That's good... I'm relieved."

James nodded mechanically, scratching his chin, as if he had something else to say.

"Is there... something else?"

James's hesitation deepened, and he finally spoke with determination.

"Do you remember the conversation we had when I took you to Randa?"

"What conversation?"

"Come on..."

"No, I really don't remember."

"... I taught you about wizards, and you promised to teach me black magic, remember?"

James's words surprised Peter and the other apprentices nearby, including Marie, who was watching Oliver from a distance.

Oliver, however, remained calm.

"... Yes, I remember now."

He nodded slowly.

James crossed his arms and said,

"I came to keep that promise... What about you?"

Just as Oliver was about to answer, Peter interrupted.

"Master? What is this...?"

"Exactly as you heard. The gentleman—"

"—James. My name is James. I told you before, call me James. Don't be so formal."

"James said he knows a lot about wizards, and in exchange for teaching him, I promised to teach him black magic."

Peter and the other apprentices were shocked. To teach black magic for just that?

"Master... This is an absurd deal. How can you teach black magic for just that, and besides, he's not even a real wizard...!"

Peter's reaction was understandable.

While the barrier to learning magic was lower, the opportunity to learn black magic was still enormous.

Even though he lived most of his life as a slave under Joseph, he stayed until the end because being taken in by a black mage was a miracle.

Black magic, which required spending a significant part of one's life as a slave or servant to learn.

Yet, James was trying to gain this noble knowledge with just a bit of street smarts.

Realizing this, he quickly spoke up.

"Well, I have a lot of experience and interesting stories about wizards... If that's not enough, I have other stories too."

"No, this is absurd—"

"—What stories?"

Oliver interrupted Peter.

"Well? Stories about being a troubleshooter, street life, and the back alleys of Randa... I know a lot about these things."

James laughed awkwardly, knowing his claims were far-fetched.

However, Oliver's reaction was unexpected.

"... Okay."

"Master?!"

Peter, flustered, spoke urgently.

"That's absurd. He's just trying to trick you."

"Well, a promise is a promise."

"..."

Peter was speechless, seemingly realizing the vast difference in their thought processes.

Leaving Peter aside, Oliver spoke to James.

"Then, when do you want to start?"

"Right now is fine with me."

"Hmm... Alright. Follow me."

***

Oliver led James down to the classroom in the basement.

Everyone looked at them strangely on the way, but no one dared to ask.

Once in the classroom, Oliver took out a vial of emotions from a shelf.

"Let's see what you can do first."

"Nothing."

"... Pardon?"

"I can't do anything... No, no. Don't try. Don't gather emotions in your fingertips. I can't see that either."

Caught off guard, both of them looked at each other, speechless.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Phew... Can I be honest?"

"Yes, please."

"I have no talent for black magic."

"Really?"

"There's something I didn't tell you. I actually had a chance to learn black magic before, but I just didn't have the talent."

"Oh... Then why?"

"Well? I still wanted to learn somehow? I'm getting old, but my heart is still hot... How? Is there a way? You did defeat Joseph, after all, with black magic."

Ah. Now James's intention was clear.

He had come with the faint hope that Oliver might have a way to teach him.

Frankly, it was a dilemma.

Oliver had looked through books on education in Joseph's study but found nothing useful.

As a result, all he could do was point out others' problems and occasionally help indirectly.

Until now, that was enough. Everyone could open their third eye and extract emotions, albeit clumsily.

But teaching someone who couldn't even do that was uncharted territory.

James asked, disappointed.

"Why is there no way?"

Oliver looked at him silently, then suddenly reached out and covered James's eyes.

"Ah? What are you doing...?"

"Just wait a moment."

Oliver pushed away James's weak resistance and covered his eyes again.

Oliver focused on his eyes, and as his emotions became clearer, he extracted some from a test tube and placed his hand on James's eyes again.

"What are you...?"

"Just wait."

With that, Oliver applied more pressure to his eyes.

As his normal vision weakened and his black mage vision strengthened, at the moment of transition, Oliver forcefully inserted the emotions he held in his hand into James's eyes.

"AAAAHHH-!"

James started thrashing in agony, feeling intense pain in his eyes.

Oliver, however, did not let go.

"It hurts! Damn, it hurts!!"

"Yes, yes. It's okay. Just a moment."

James, in pain, thrashed for a while until Oliver finally released his hands.

"Ugh...!"

James fell to the ground, clutching his eyes, unable to open them, as if he had seen a flashbang.

"eyes...! My eyes...! What the hell did you do?!"

He shouted, clutching his burning eyes.

However, the pain gradually subsided, and his vision returned.

"What do you see?"

Oliver, standing in front of James, who had just opened his eyes, raised his finger and asked.

James, dazed, replied.

"... A circle?"

***

"Then, is Randa a city built by wizards?"

"Yes... More accurately, by capitalists and wizards. However, people generally say it was built by wizards. It's not entirely false. The capitalists provided the money, but the wizards rebuilt Randa with their skills. Even a three-year-old knows this."

"Oh... I didn't know."

"That's just how it's said... Do you know what a metaphor is?"

"..."

"Ha, you don't know... Anyway, the point is that wizards have a significant status in Randa. They are important elsewhere too, but even more so in Randa."

"I see. But how do you know so much about wizards, James?"

"Oh? Well... Stories about wizards circulate in bars and on the streets, and I've been hired by wizards a few times. When I worked as a troubleshooter."

"Oh, really? What for?"

"Setting fires to competing wizard businesses or beating up employees."

"... Do wizards often fight each other?"

"Yeah. Smart people dislike other smart people. It's a kind of in-group hatred. But let me ask you something now."

"Sure."

"How long do I have to keep doing this?"

James, gathering emotions in his fingertips, formed a squiggly circle.

It was a circle in name only, a shape that was embarrassing to call a circle.

"Until you can make a perfect circle."

"Ha... Can't you just teach me black magic directly? Something really powerful. Something that goes boom. Okay?"

"If you can't even make a proper circle, I can't help you."

James visibly showed his disappointment.

He was eager to take the first step in black magic, but Oliver calmly advised him.

"... And the true power of black magic doesn't lie in sheer strength."

"What?"

"According to Master's notes in the study, the true power of black magic lies in the ability to see through others and use that insight to strike unexpectedly. I agree with this. Just thinking about powerful black magic won't get you far."

The words of the boy, who looked only about fifteen, carried a surprising authority, and James, unable to joke as usual, watched him silently.

"Then... "

"- James! We've moved all the items!"

The workers from the sausage factory, having loaded the boxes containing Filgaret into the truck, called out from a distance.

"Got it! Wait a moment!"

James, now back to being the pharmacist's employee A, lit a cigarette and spoke.

"Phew... Okay. That's enough for today. I'll stop talking nonsense and keep practicing making circles."

"Good. Once you can make circles, practice making squares."

"Got it... squares... By the way, can we increase production? We can provide the emotions."

"?... We're already producing a lot, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are. But we need more."

More? Oliver pondered.

The production of Filgaret had increased from a little to double, triple, and now quadruple.

This meant more work for Oliver.

It wasn't a particularly enjoyable prospect for someone who wanted to study black magic.

However, he had almost finished reading the books in the study, so it wasn't a major issue. Still...

"... Can I think about it? The factory is already at its limit."

"Got it. I'll tell the boss. But try to be open to it. Your product is very popular. You need to row when the tide is in your favor."

To Oliver, who wasn't particularly interested in money, it was a hollow statement. But it wasn't entirely uninteresting.

"Popular?"

"Yeah. Didn't you know?"

"No."

"Why do you think production increased? Obviously, because demand is high. Supply and demand. Your product is very popular. Other clients are even trying to buy it. If I exaggerate a bit, it's threatening Black Smoke."

"... What is Black Smoke?"

"... You don't know what Black Smoke is? Are you kidding?"

Oliver shook his head, and James was taken aback.

"A black mage who sells Filgaret, and you don't know what Black Smoke is?"

"I've never learned it."

"Black Smoke is the most popular Filgaret brand... High-quality Filgaret is branded to stand out. Your product is that good."

"... I see."

"Your reaction is always the same, which is nice. How much praise do you need to be satisfied...? Anyway, I'll speak to the boss. See you next time."

Oliver nodded and saw James off. James suddenly stopped and asked seriously.

"Can I ask one more thing?"

"Sure."

"It might sound funny, but why are you teaching me so easily? Black magic. You could have ignored me."

Oliver thought for a moment before answering.

"Why shouldn't I teach you?"

James laughed softly.

"Ha... You're a strange kid."

"Am I?"

"Yeah. See you next time."

***

Several vehicles were driving into the rundown city of Wynham.

They were F-series mass-production vehicles, models that looked unremarkable.

As a result, they were very popular among the middle class, who were short on money, and those performing covert missions.

Squeak—

The vehicles stopped on a hill overlooking the city.

A moment later, a woman stepped out of the lead vehicle.

She had porcelain-like skin, distinct features, and radiant blonde hair.

She was so beautiful that she seemed almost sacred.

Or was she really sacred?

"Is this the source of the item?"

"Yes, it is, Sir Knight."

The woman, called Sir Knight, touched the cross around her neck and said,

"Then, let's hurry. We must eliminate the evil that spreads the wicked drug."