Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Deal (1)
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At exactly nine o'clock at night, when the hour and minute hands formed a perfect right angle,
Arthur and Oliver knocked on the door of Million General Store on West Central Road, their agreed meeting spot.
MacBoer and Donna waited outside the building, ready for any contingency.
Clank.
As the door began to open, a chain caught it. Through the narrow gap, half a man's face appeared, and he asked,
"Who is it?"
A large nose, a mustache, and sharp eyes glinting behind thick glasses. Arthur replied.
"We're here for an appointment. We were supposed to meet here."
"......Wait a moment."
The man, who seemed to be the store owner, closed the door, then with a rattling sound, unhooked the chain before opening it again.
He wore a checkered shirt and brown pants, his sturdy build evident, and in one hand, he held a double-barrel shotgun.
"Follow me."
After closing the door, the man led them past the counter to a storage room for goods.
Shelves lined the walls of the storeroom, stacked with canned goods, liquor, ropes, and all sorts of miscellaneous items.
The man lifted a carpet in the center of the storeroom and opened the basement door beneath it.
"Go on in. He's waiting."
The basement was dingy and musty, but with no other choice, Oliver and Arthur descended.
A fluorescent magic lamp sat in the corner of the basement. As they walked deeper inside, several blades sprang out, aimed at Oliver and Arthur.
"You've come."
Oliver called out into the darkness toward the presence he sensed.
It was the man he had fought earlier that day.
The man stared at Oliver as if appraising him, then retracted the blades and conjured a flame in his hand to light up the surroundings.
Whoosh. The air crackled as it ignited, illuminating the space.
There were the man from earlier and three more who appeared to be his comrades.
Four against two.
Arthur tensed, but Oliver placed a hand on his prosthetic golem arm to calm him.
"Relax...... These people have no intention of harming us. Not yet, anyway."
One of the Kel Free Independence Army members, who had been watching silently, stepped back a few paces, lit the wall-mounted torches, and sat in a chair at a table in the corner.
Only one chair remained, and he pointed at Oliver.
"Sit."
"Pardon?"
"You wanted to talk, right? Sit."
Oliver glanced at the single empty chair, then at Arthur.
He intended to yield the seat, but the man interjected.
"Not the old man. You sit. I only talk to the boss."
"......He's the leader."
"Not to my eyes. Sit, or we flip the table. Your choice."
His tone was firm. Any more excuses, and he'd really turn the table over.
Oliver looked at Arthur.
Arthur pondered for a moment, then nodded for Oliver to sit.
Somehow, Oliver had become the representative.
As Oliver sat, the man spoke.
"First off, you—"
"—May I have your name?"
Oliver interrupted with a question. The man, caught off guard, scowled and asked back.
"What?"
"I asked for your name."
"......What for?"
"Oh, nothing much. It just feels awkward talking without knowing it...... And personally, you remind me of someone."
"Remind you?"
"Yes. Someone named Hammersh. Beyond handling the same flame magic, your mana flow and usage style are similar...... But if you'd rather not say, that's fine."
At that moment, the man's emotions across from him surged.
Anger, sorrow, and other feelings boiled quietly, suppressed by patience, reason, and cold calculation.
"......Quarterstaff, unique black magic user. You're the one who took down Daemon, Alistair, and Hewitt."
"Yes, that's me."
Upon hearing the confirmation, the man suddenly clawed at his face.
His bare face emerged from beneath the leather mask.
Red hair swept back like a lion's mane, a neatly trimmed beard, an angular forehead, a prominent nose, and striking red eyes.
It was Welles, one of the leaders of the Kel Free Independence Army.
Arthur and Welles's subordinates were equally shocked by the unexpected reveal, but Welles continued regardless.
"My name is Welles. I'm with the Kel Free Independence Army. And you?"
"I'm Dave, fixer from Randa T District. Nice to meet you."
"You're not surprised."
"No, I am."
"What grudge do you have against us to chase us this far?"
"No grudge. Just business."
Clink.
Welles pressed a knife to Oliver's throat and said,
"Hammersh was someone I personally taught magic to."
"I see."
"Daemon lost his parents to the kingdom's suppression forces during a protest and joined us. Alistair's no different."
"Yes."
"And it was just business?"
"That's right."
Welles thrust the knife forward, nicking Oliver's skin.
"........."
"Then what's your business here? Depending on what you say, I'll handle mine. Think carefully and answer."
He was dead serious. Due to his caution and reason, Welles was holding back from starting a commotion, but deep down, his seething rage meant he'd gladly fight if given any excuse.
A truly complex mix of emotions.
Oliver glanced around. The situation was disadvantageous.
He didn't know Welles's full capabilities, and in this confined space, flame magic would be devastating.
Worse, there was a third mage.
Not certain, but likely a kingdom army-attached mage. Even if they somehow subdued Welles, his intervention would ruin everything.
Exposure would be disastrous.
'And Hewitt's not here......'
Oliver analyzed the situation and recalled their objective.
Welles was a big fish, but that wasn't the priority now.
Their goal was to secure Hewitt or aid his escape.
"Not answering?"
Welles pressed.
"......We came to secure Hewitt. The magic hacker Hewitt."
The enemies surrounding Arthur raised their blades.
"But we have another order too."
Welles raised a hand to halt his men and asked,
"......What order?"
"First, can you tell us what information Hewitt obtained?"
"......Why should I?"
"If you do, we'll help you. Help you escape the kingdom army."
Nine o'clock at night, the perfect time for a secret meeting.
The negotiation, which had started unexpectedly, yielded better results than anticipated.
Even Oliver, the negotiator, hadn't expected this level of success.
They had perfectly completed one of the city's requests: either secure Hewitt or obtain the information he had and aid his escape.
Arthur and his comrades were genuinely shocked by Oliver's achievement.
Of course, concerns remained.
They might be lying, or getting too directly involved with the rebels could be risky.
But as Arthur put it, the water was already spilled, so they decided to cooperate with the rebels as per Oliver's deal.
To fulfill the city's request, they had only two options: war with the rebels or cooperation.
For them, with risks like identity exposure and locating Hewitt, cooperation offered the highest chance of success.
After Arthur organized everyone, Oliver's group prepared and headed to the meeting spot.
The rendezvous was on the city outskirts, surrounded by scattered farmhouses, where Welles's group was hiding in one of them.
"To give away that much info...... Doesn't seem like a lie."
"Don't worry, Donna. Welles seemed relieved by our proposal, like he had his own worries."
"Ah, because you're a black mage who can see through emotions?"
"Not that precisely, but roughly."
"I've heard that at the peak, black mages can even read thoughts. That level?"
MacBoer asked casually. Despite his appearance, it didn't seem like pure curiosity. He was probing.
No malice, but calculating intent lingered.
Oliver answered anyway.
"Not quite. Not mind-reading, but I can sense intentions and attitudes."
"Handy. You'd win every card game...... What was Welles feeling?"
"What was he feeling—"
"—Like 'trouble showed up, but at least useful guys appeared'."
With a sudden voice, Welles and his comrades emerged from the darkness.
The three from the basement were there too. Each brimmed with mage-level mana.
Oliver, sensing their emotions ahead, wasn't surprised, but Arthur's group hid their dismay poorly.
Good call not fighting.
Any clash would have hurt them too.
"This isn't the meeting spot?"
Arthur asked, and Welles replied.
"We came to check, just in case. Looks like no tricks."
Welles had scattered mana threads through the air to scan the surroundings.
They sliced through the void, bouncing off trees and rocks to relay info back to him.
Oliver had seen a magic tower student use it once.
That student struggled; Welles did it as naturally as breathing.
Clearly versed in more than just flame magic.
With a 1.2 billion bounty target before them, even temporarily, Donna and MacBoer tensed, ready to fight if needed.
Welles's side stayed vigilant too, at a standoff.
The world's most awkward and bizarre alliance, Oliver thought.
"......Where's Hewitt?"
Arthur asked, and Welles answered.
"Not here. Already moving."
"What?"
"Why surprised? Got a date with him?"
"You said you'd hand over the info he found."
"I know. I'll tell you instead. I heard it all from him."
"It's true."
Oliver confirmed. Welles was sincere.
With Oliver's vouch, they decided to hear him out.
Welles spoke.
"The main northern routes are lightly guarded by kingdom troops, with reserves ready to reinforce. Get caught once, and it's over."
"So?"
"While Hewitt slips out safely, we'll raid the kingdom troops to draw their attention. Help with that. A magic gear expert, sniper, golem prosthetic, black mage—you'll make a difference."
"You want us to help raid kingdom troops?"
"It's your job, right?"
Oliver felt no particular emotion. Just that it was risky, so caution was needed.
But Arthur was different. Beyond the danger, he felt personal disgust.
Yet he weighed it against the rewards if successful.
Noticing, Welles tried to persuade him.
"You seem reluctant, but hearing my info might change your mind."
"So confident? Feels too easy for something that big."
Welles's emotions flickered briefly.
"......Because it's not just our war. Something bigger. As humans."
"......What do you mean?"
"They're dealing with demons. Someone from the royal family."