Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Mending the Stable After the Horse is Gone (2)
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The Paladin Order's Celand branch was more labyrinthine than expected, far removed from Randa's characteristically efficient building designs.
Its purpose leaned toward defense and security rather than convenience.
After descending stairs to the underground levels and winding around endlessly, they finally arrived at a door.
"Here."
The servant who had guided him said. It was a thoroughly sealed room without even a single window.
"Go in."
The servant urged him.
"Yes, understood. Thank you for showing me the way."
The servant snorted at Oliver's polite greeting. Somehow, everyone here seemed utterly furious.
Screeech...
Opening the thick iron door and stepping inside, Oliver saw a space with only a crude table and chair standing alone.
A man sat within that space.
It was a familiar face.
"Hello. Sir Elton. It's been a while."
Oliver greeted the paladin with his luxuriant, lion-like beard and mane of hair.
The middle-aged man had a sturdy build and sharp eyes, truly resembling a lion on two legs.
In the past, after miraculously surviving a puppet in the contaminated zone and being captured and interrogated by Paul Carver, the city official, this man had come with Joanna to question Oliver again.
It hadn't even been a full year, yet it felt like ancient history.
'Well, a lot has happened.'
The paladin slowly opened his mouth.
"...You remember me?"
"Yes... But I don't see the colleague who came with you last time."
That colleague was none other than Joanna, and she was nowhere in sight.
Elton flashed a hint of displeasure at the question, though he concealed his emotions with a magic item or some other power. To Oliver's eyes, it was faintly visible.
"Why the interest?"
"It's not really interest. It's just... different from before. If it bothered you, I'm sorry."
Oliver brushed it off immediately. Elton still harbored some displeasure but didn't press further. He simply wasn't that curious.
"Sit."
"Yes."
Oliver sat directly across from Elton at the table.
Memories of that past interrogation flooded back.
"May I ask why a black mage has been summoned for questioning?"
The paladin said indifferently as he sorted through some papers.
"Here's the rule: I ask the questions, you just answer. Got it?"
"Yes, understood."
"Good. What's your name?"
The exact same pattern as their first meeting.
Oliver answered as Dave. Next came questions about his handler, then the circumstances of his contract.
Questions he'd already answered in the past. Naturally, this wasn't out of curiosity.
Just like the first interrogation, it was to find any inconsistencies.
Oliver gave the same bland, boring responses as before.
As the Q&A dragged on, Oliver's boredom deepened, and so did his urge to ask why this was happening.
It suddenly hit him how much of a blessing it was to be able to ask questions.
If a world came where he couldn't ask any, it would be utter torment for him.
How long could he endure that?
"Last time we met, you said you had no connection to the puppet, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Then how do you explain using a corpse doll?"
Elton asked, his emotions sharpening visibly.
"We received a report of a black mage using a human-sized glutton pouch also employing a corpse doll. From what we know, you're the only fixer in this city using a pouch that size... Do you deny it?"
Ah... Oliver realized anew the truth in Forest's advice: there was nothing to discard.
He'd been told to refrain from using Big Mouth or corpse dolls in public, and the moment he ignored it, this problem arose.
"That sounds like me. As far as I know, no one else uses a glutton pouch that size."
"Then explain it. How did you come to use a corpse doll? You going to claim you could do it from the start?"
"No, I couldn't use it at first. But in the contaminated zone, I picked up a book on corpse dolls and learned from it. The materials were just recycled from abandoned corpse doll wreckage."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"But it's the truth."
Oliver lied brazenly. Well, not 100% a lie.
He had indeed learned corpse dolls from a book found in the contaminated zone. And initially, they were recycled ones.
"Whatever the reason, using a corpse doll alone is grounds for your arrest."
That was sincere. But they simply couldn't act on it.
For some detailed reason Oliver couldn't pinpoint, they couldn't arrest him easily.
Keeping that in mind, Oliver defended himself. There was no need to antagonize a paladin.
"I'm sorry for using the corpse doll. But please consider that it was already one and just reused."
As expected, the paladin couldn't pursue it further. Instead, he latched onto something else.
"One more thing to ask."
"Yes, go ahead."
"You said you encountered the puppet and lost?"
"Yes."
"But when we checked the site later, there were traces of an intense battle. Know anything about that? It didn't look like the aftermath of a one-sided defeat."
Elton cast his line.
From his emotional state, he was fishing for a slip-up, whether Oliver knew or not.
So Oliver brought up something unrelated. He was personally curious, too.
"Did you see it, then? The traces of the wizards' human experiments?"
Thud!
There was nothing, but Elton heard a heavy weight drop in his ears.
Clearly just an auditory hallucination, yet the room fell silent as if doused in cold water.
Deep silence. Paladin Elton finally spoke.
"......I said I ask the questions."
"Sorry. I was just really, really curious. Did you see it? Or are you pretending not to?"
Grit...
Paladin Elton ground his teeth. Rage, shame, regret, anguish colored his face, making him as intimidating as a true lion.
Silence descended again like lead. The black mage and paladin stared across the table.
For a very, very long time.
"...If it's a troublesome question, you don't have to answer. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much."
An utterly blasphemous remark. Yet Oliver meant no malice, making it more malicious than any mockery.
Elton spoke.
"Don't spout off about things you don't understand, black mage."
"Paladins. Shields guarding the human realm in God's stead, humanity's protectors. Bearers of the Father's teachings, upholders of order... I know that much."
"You dare, a black mage, speak of God?"
"No, I don't know Him well enough to presume. I've read the scriptures, but they're hard to fully grasp. Still, I admire Him. Hard to understand, but He seems incredible."
It was a profoundly strange sight.
Oliver's voice held a touch of admiration and respect, but it was worlds apart from how ordinary people spoke of God.
To people, God was an unattainable existence. Thus, worthy of longing and worship, but forever distant.
Yet for Oliver, that distance didn't exist. He spoke as if addressing someone he'd promised to meet someday—intimately familiar.
A potentially irreverent demeanor. But absurdly, it felt so natural that even the paladin momentarily forgot to rebuke him.
The paladin came to his senses belatedly.
"...Watch your mouth. Don't speak God's name lightly."
"Sorry. I was just answering your question. If it upset you, my apologies."
The paladin scowled at the black mage before him. He'd completely lost control of the conversation.
He remembered this kid as impressive, and while he hadn't changed much from a year ago, he had changed greatly.
Is that why she met him in secret?
Silence reigned again, and Oliver waited for the next question.
Tick-tock, tick-tock—
The sound of a nonexistent clock echoed as meaningless time passed. As Oliver began to find it a waste, he cautiously spoke.
"Sir? If there are no more ques—"
"—It might sound like an excuse..."
The paladin suddenly spoke. Oliver furrowed his brow slightly.
The paladin paused, then continued with astonishing patience and resolve.
"...It might sound like an excuse, but the world is complicated, black mage. And the Pater Church is an ancient, massive organization."
"......"
"Thus, we sometimes have to compromise with the world."
"Ah, I see. Well... I understand."
For the first time, Oliver uttered an 'I understand' devoid of sincerity. He didn't know why. He didn't want to think deeply, and it felt bothersome.
He just wished this moment would end quickly. Then the paladin spoke again.
"Those who don't compromise often break."
"Mm... Sir? You don't need to tell a mere black mage something like—"
"—Like Joanna."
"......"
"We're not blind or deaf. We know the ugly underbelly of this city. But we're part of the Order. We can't act on our own flimsy sense of justice. Doing so would distance us from cases, robbing us of chances to resolve them."
"......"
"Joanna. That girl insisted wizards were conducting horrific human experiments and pushed for an investigation over months to the higher-ups, only to be transferred away. Right after meeting you."
"...How did you know?"
Oliver didn't deny it. From the paladin's emotional state, he knew petty lies wouldn't work.
Besides, he was curious about Joanna.
"I told you: we're not blind or deaf. I don't know the details, but I knew you two met at the temple."
"Can you allow me one question? Please."
"Ask."
"Why leave it alone? I'm a black mage."
"Because I trusted her. I believed she had good reason."
Elton spoke with genuine sincerity. He truly trusted Joanna.
"But from the day she last met you, she was tormented and conflicted, then as I said, kept pushing for audits on the Randa wizards and got shipped off... So I ask you: what did you two talk about?"
"Why are you curious?"
"She was a good kid. My partner."
Oliver pondered briefly, then opened his mouth.
"Thank you for guiding me."
Oliver said after the interrogation, emerging from underground to the surface.
The guiding servant looked at him with an odd expression.
Regardless, Oliver bowed politely in greeting.
"Good you made it out. Quicker than I thought. No issues?"
Forest, waiting in the corridor, welcomed him. He was genuinely relieved and pleased at Oliver's safe return.
His emotional state suggested he'd worried about mishaps.
"Yes, nothing happened. Were you waiting in the corridor?"
"Yeah."
"Why not wait in the car?"
"Waiting here lets me show I was worried about you, right? ...Something happen? Your face looks off."
Oliver touched his face.
"Does my face look strange?"
"No, not really, just subtly... Must be my imagination. But really, anything happen?"
"No... Nothing. Let's head out first."
"Ah, I lacked consideration."
Forest immediately led Oliver out of the building.
On the way to the car, Forest asked.
"It's quite a trek from A Zone to T Zone. Got plans?"
Oliver checked his watch. They'd arrive around 4 or 4:30 PM in T Zone.
He needed to head to X Zone by 6 PM to teach black magic.
"Timing's tricky. Is this about work?"
"You wound me. What do you take me for? I'm not heartless enough to pile work on someone who's worked hard today. Besides, you're handling Fighter Crew now. I'll treat you like a grandmother's urn until this job's done. Then I'll grind you again... Look at you with those eyes. That's the good stuff."
"...Then why?"
"How about a meal? Don't misunderstand—I like young friends, but not like that. I just have something to say."
"Something to say? What?"
"Not here. That's why I said let's eat. Read the mood."
Oliver thought for a moment, then nodded. Eating with someone now might not be bad. His mood was like that.
"Anything you want?"
"......Ice cream."
"Ice cream?"
"Yes, craving it a bit."
"Alright... There's a hotel great at ice cream. Let's go there... What is it?"
Forest suddenly stopped, noticing Oliver staring into the distance.
If his eyes weren't deceiving him, Oliver's usually impassive poker face had twitched slightly. As if he'd seen something startling.
Oliver spoke.
"Mr. Forest."
"Yeah?"
"Can we part here until my appointment? I'll meet you at the restaurant. I'm truly, truly sorry."