Chapter 34

34. Espionage (2)

As soon as they stepped outside the building, Oliver focused his attention on his eyes.

The pressure gradually increased, and the vision of an ordinary human became increasingly blurry, while the vision of a black mage who could see emotions became clearer.

It felt as if he were looking down at the street from the sky, sensing the emotions around him.

Without stopping, Oliver concentrated even more and was able to find Dominic and his subordinates moving along the underground sewer.

He felt a mix of unpleasantness, anger, and regret, which was good news for Oliver.

The more intense the emotions, the easier they were to detect.

Oliver followed Dominic secretly in this state.

Fortunately, there were no places where the sewer and the ground roads intersected. After moving for some time, they entered a new street he had never been to before.

It was a maze-like place with alleys intertwined, and it seemed familiar, as if he had visited a similar place before.

Ah, it came to him. It was similar to the X district of Randa, which he had visited with Joseph.

A dilapidated slum.

Not as bad as Randa, but still a dangerous place. At that moment, Dominic stopped.

No, he was coming up.

Creak――― Bang!

Dominic emerged from a large manhole in a corner of the slum.

Oliver hid in the alley and used black magic to suppress his presence.

[Eraser Exit]

A concealment spell based on shame.

He first encountered it in Joseph's study; it was an ambiguous black magic that suppressed presence, but it was said to be surprisingly effective.

Indeed, the content in the book was correct, as Dominic only looked around and did not notice Oliver's presence.

“...Huh?”

“Why is that, Master?”

“No... No, it's nothing.”

“Still, I feel quite disappointed. I thought we would do it together.”

“Well, there's nothing we can do. The plan is still on track. Once we take care of the Holy Knight, we'll ride the momentum and take care of Oliver, that brat, too.”

According to the plan?

Dominic's subordinate cautiously spoke.

“But even if the situation is sudden, wouldn't it be difficult for us to handle it alone, given how badly the Anthony Family was hit?”

“It's a matter of compatibility.”

“Pardon?”

“Anthony, who specializes in manipulation... especially command black magic, is weak against Holy Knights. They can be easily purified by the Holy Knights' holy magic. But not us. We will use living people, not corpses, so we can resist holy magic to some extent... Have you prepared the drugs sufficiently?”

“Yes, of course. Not only the drugs, but I have also gathered enough gang members to fight. Thanks to the steady recruitment since our profits started increasing, there were no difficulties.”

“Lucky, but also a bit disappointing. I didn't gather them for this purpose, but it doesn't matter, does it?”

“Can we really manage without the firepower of the Joseph Family?”

“It would be better if the Josephs were here, but we'll be fine. We can make up for the lack of firepower with the doped gang members... In a way, it's for the best. I originally planned to capture Oliver, but if we use the fact that he did nothing as an excuse, no one will question me.”

“Will the pharmacist not move?”

“What right does a man who did nothing when the Holy Knight came have? Even if he tries to move, the situation will have changed by the time he realizes it. Think about it. There are no other black mages to call for help besides us, so how can he act?”

“Ah, indeed.”

“Besides, only we can create Filgaret. Once we kill the Holy Knight and capture Oliver, he will have no choice but to follow us. He's a quick thinker.”

“Oh, indeed, you are remarkable, Master. To turn this crisis into an opportunity.”

“I think the same. To kill the Holy Knight and enhance our family's reputation, and to capture Oliver and use him as a slave.”

Dominic tapped his head and said.

“The true power of a black mage lies here. Oliver may be arrogant, but his skill in creating Filgaret is top-notch. I'll kill all the subordinates and only break Oliver's legs before taking him. Then, only we will be able to produce the high-quality Filgaret currently being produced.”

“You are remarkable... But, to be honest, won't more problems arise if we kill the Holy Knight?”

“We can bribe the higher-ups through the pharmacist. If that doesn't work, we can move to another place. With the reputation of killing the Holy Knight and the technology to produce Filgaret, we can establish ourselves anywhere. Then, after building up enough strength, we will expand our influence to Randa.”

“Oh...!”

Dominic's subordinates all exclaimed in admiration at his words.

Oliver, who had learned the details, only nodded silently while listening.

For some reason, Dominic's words seemed hollow, like smoke.

How to put it? It didn't seem logical.

However, Dominic's subordinates were convinced and quickly gained courage.

“Come, let's move. For our great first step!”

“Yes, Master!”

Dominic and his subordinates entered the alley.

Oliver also moved accordingly.

However, just following them would be dangerous, so he decided to chase them in a different direction.

Oliver carefully extracted emotions.

He cast a targeting spell based on obsession towards the top of the building where he was currently hiding, and then cast the same spell on himself.

As a result, the two targeting spells pulled each other like magnets, slowly lifting Oliver to the top of the building.

Once he arrived on the roof, Oliver focused his eyes again to keep an eye on Dominic.

He followed him between buildings and eventually saw Dominic enter a residential complex.

Laundry lines were densely strung between the buildings, and it was clearly an abandoned place, but about 20 people were gathered inside the building.

Moreover, about 50 people were visible around the building,

but their state was far from that of ordinary residents.

They were tense and excited, as if preparing for a battle.

Apparently, fighting against a Holy Knight was not a trivial matter.

“Hmm...”

Oliver pondered.

Initially, he planned to just observe, but seeing the level of preparation, his curiosity was piqued.

Oliver lay half-reclined on the building's roof and began to create a minion by extracting emotions.

He made it smaller than the existing minions to avoid being detected and endowed it with 'Eraser Exit' and 'Eavesdropping Ears'.

As a result, the minion's presence became blurry, and a pair of ears sprouted.

“Go around and eavesdrop on the conversations.”

Oliver sent the minion down the shaded wall as he spoke.

After a while, he could hear the conversations around the building.

“Really, it's nothing serious, right?”

“Didn't you hear? It's just dealing with some minor thugs.”

“Then, why are they giving us so much money?”

“Why not? More money is better, right?”

“Still, it feels off...”

“Don't think too much. From what I've heard, the black mages around here have made some money recently and are trying to expand their organization. It's like an initiation test.”

“An initiation test?”

“Yeah, to see if you follow orders and have the guts to fight... They're giving money, weapons, and potions. What's the problem? Who's going to come to this neighborhood? If you're scared, you can leave now. I'm trying to turn my life around.”

“It's not that... What is this drug?”

“This one gives you strength, and this one removes fear. There are almost no side effects if you don't abuse it.”

“Is it reliable?”

“Are you serious... Have you forgotten that everyone in this area buys doping drugs here? If you keep making trouble, get lost!”

“Alright, alright. I'll stop.”

The conversations in other places were similar.

It seemed that the gang members outside the building were unaware of the details.

A little thought would reveal the oddities, but the promise of a significant amount of money and a stable organization seemed to cloud their judgment.

It was interesting. It was surprising how easily people could be deceived by such a flimsy method.

Thus, Oliver eavesdropped on the conversations around him while waiting on the building's roof for a long time.

And the day began to turn to night.

·

·

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“...”

“...”

“...It's cold.”

“...”

“...Aren't you cold?”

“...Be quiet. The black mage said to be as quiet as a mouse.”

“Alright, alright.”

“...”

As the sun set and night fell, the hired gang members only exchanged intermittent conversations while waiting.

They were all extremely bored, and some even started snoring.

It wasn't hard to understand. Just standing still and doing nothing was more difficult than expected.

It seemed that the Holy Knight was not coming.

Just then, a suspicious presence was felt.

Oliver, who had been half-relaxed, focused his attention again.

A suspicious presence was approaching from a distance.

The number was twelve.

They were not just visitors.

All of them were tense and excited, as if preparing for a battle, and there was a sense of confidence and ease.

And among them was a different kind of presence.

Should it be called a new form of emotion?

A pure and clear belief and self-confidence, like a blank sheet of paper.

Seeing this clean emotion for the first time, Oliver immediately became interested, and his dulled mind and body quickly regained vitality.

What exactly is this?

[Shade Cloak]

Oliver extracted a small amount of emotion to create a thin, dark cloak and wrapped himself in it like a blanket.

It was a concealment black magic that hid the body in the darkness and suppressed presence, with the disadvantage of only being usable in the dark or shadows. However, it was a good spell that could achieve maximum effect with minimal emotion under the right conditions.

Oliver peeked out only his face to look down.

It wasn't just Oliver who noticed the arrival of the visitors. The gang members, who had been dozing off, woke up one by one with a commotion.

“They're here. Who are they? Those guys?”

“Don't be scared, don't be scared. How many people are here?”

“Just do as you're told. But, there's a woman among them?”

The gang leader stepped out alone onto the street and blocked the visitors' path.

“Hey, stop. Who are you guys?”

The visitors stopped. The gang leader spoke again.

“This isn't a place for just anyone to enter. If you took a wrong turn, go back. If you have business, come back tomorrow.”

The visitors showed no significant reaction.

“Hey, are your ears blocked?”

At that moment, a woman with a different, pure light stepped forward and spoke.

“Is there a black mage here?”

“...What? Who are you guys?”

“We know everything. We know there's a black mage here. If you're just hired, we'll give you a chance to repent by the grace of God. Drop your weapons and kneel.”

The gang members' emotions gradually shifted from tension to anger at the woman's proposal.

“...What the hell? You're just a pretty face, but you're completely crazy? Who are you?”

“I am Joanna, a Holy Knight from the Paternus Church's Seland branch. Once again, by the grace of God, I say: Drop your weapons and surrender. If you do, we will show you mercy.”

“Really... Damn it, God and all that crap, what the hell—”

Bang———!

A gunshot suddenly rang out, and the gang member who was talking fell to the ground.

It turned out that the bald man next to Joanna had fired the shot.

“Daring to blaspheme...”

The atmosphere became deathly silent with the appearance of a corpse.

But it was only for a moment. Someone shouted.

“It's an attack!”

Following the shout, the gang members, who had been watching the situation, burst out with murderous intent.

They were ready to tear the visitors apart, but the visitors remained calm.

One of the visitors shouted.

“Sir!”

At the shout, the woman named Joanna surprisingly showed a sense of sadness, which was quickly replaced by a sense of resolve.

[Ready for Battle]

With the woman's incantation, a brilliant light enveloped the surroundings.

Everyone was blinded by the light, and when it subsided, the visitors were already fully armed in iron coats and various weapons.

Joanna, holding a shield and a mace, said.

“In the name of God, forgive their sins.”