Chapter 293
Chapter 293
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 293
Chapter Title: After the Fight Ends (2)
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Albert and the other mages from the Moirai School gathered around the World Tree log, injecting their mana to examine the stored information.
The armed forces filling the area around the forest watched the scene in tense silence.
And for good reason—3 trillion. More precisely, 3 trillion 130 billion 2,550 million randa was on the line.
Factor in the political and social ramifications, and the weight of it all was immeasurable.
The city could lose its free city status to the Central Council over accusations of mismanagement, while the Crime Firm and Sisterhood risked getting dragged into disaster through their ties to Shamus.
Pinkman had no direct involvement, but given the sheer scale of the incident, they couldn't afford to relax.
'Though some folks seem to have other ideas.'
Oliver thought, glancing at a few Pinkman executives.
They harbored a somewhat calculating air.
As they debated whether to tip off their employer Carver, the Moirai School mages abruptly cut off their connection.
They looked somewhat fatigued, likely from the sheer volume of stored data.
"How'd it go?"
City official Carver approached them and asked.
As Oliver had mentioned, he inquired whether the log contained the locations of the slush funds Shamus had siphoned off and traces of black money from other Enjoyments.
Albert wiped the light sweat from his brow, looked at Oliver, and slowly nodded.
"...Yes. Just as Dave told us, there are the anonymous accounts, the locations of the secret vaults holding them, and all the necessary passwords... neatly organized."
Albert's response carried a mix of doubt, admiration, and the unfamiliar dread of encountering something unknown.
All of it directed at Oliver.
"Oh, Lord... thank you for returning our randa."
Carver, visibly relieved from the heart, made the sign of the cross, a faint remnant of his faith shining through.
"...Is there anything on that too? Traces of the other Enjoyments' scams?"
Surprisingly, Carver—exhausted from a whirlwind of anxiety, fear, crisis, and relief in less than a night—mustered fresh zeal to assess the cards now in his hand.
Albert looked at Oliver again and nodded slowly, just as before.
"Yes... There's a rough summary of the scams carried out overseas by a druid named Craig and other Enjoyment druids, along with related funds."
The moment confirmation came, Carver shoved his fatigue aside and got his brain in gear.
His emotions flickered wildly: joy at the unexpected windfall, calculating thoughts on how to exploit it.
A short while later, faint suspicions and questions began to creep in.
Carver eyed Oliver, and Oliver met his gaze.
"Hmm... Any issues?"
"No, seems not... Thank you so much, Dave. Randa owes you a huge debt. Truly impressive. And grateful."
Carver offered polite thanks amid a storm of conflicting feelings toward Oliver—gratitude, fear, and more.
A wise choice. He had plenty of questions for Oliver, but the key takeaway was that Oliver had made this mission a success.
"Just doing my job."
Carver shook his head, sincerity in his voice.
"No. It's truly remarkable, and you deserve all our thanks. Not just succeeding solo, but staying put despite knowing where that 3 trillion went... That couldn't have been easy. Randa's received two massive favors from you now."
"It wasn't my money... Anyway, I appreciate the words."
Oliver spoke his honest mind, neither humble nor boastful.
The 3 trillion was an enormous sum, but his promise held him back from seizing it.
However, those who disagreed—the gangsters with submachine guns, the Pinkman crew armed with magic gear, the security team's chief, and others—stared at Oliver with utter incomprehension.
A perfectly normal reaction.
3 trillion was enough to tempt anyone to sell their conscience, even their humanity.
Everyone in this line of work was here for the money, after all.
So seeing someone pass up the chance and capability to pocket it? Frustration turning to outright bafflement wasn't surprising.
Calming his racing heart, Carver addressed Oliver again, polite and cautious.
"If it's alright with you, could you perhaps help verify the information from that World Tree log later—"
"—Hey, Carver?"
One of the middle-aged Moirai School mages cut in.
He feigned calm, but inside, doubt and anxiety churned—especially anxiety, burning fiercely.
"...Yes, Gary?"
The middle-aged mage's name seemed to be Gary.
"If it's okay, can we talk now? We have our own business to attend to."
Carver let out a belated "Ah..." of realization, then nodded.
The Moirai School weren't mere hires; they were temporary partners with the city, each pursuing their own gains.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Middle-aged mage Gary approached Oliver.
From the atmosphere, he seemed the highest-ranking among the mages present.
"Hello, Dave. I'm Gary Hess, master of the Moirai School. Pleased to meet you formally."
"Hello, Gary. I'm Dave, fixer from Sector T. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. I've heard plenty about your reputation... Straight to the point. You said you asked someone to dig into Shamus earlier. Who? And did that entity organize the data in there like that?"
Gary Hess called it an "entity," not a person.
His emotional state felt less like a question out of curiosity and more like seeking confirmation of a hunch.
"Yes."
"What... How'd you get it to do that? What did you ask?"
"Hmm... Eve?"
"You know Eve?"
Albert, standing behind Gary, widened his eyes in shock—intense shock.
Oliver gauged their reactions and deflected smoothly.
"Who knows...? She called herself Eve. Not entirely sure, though."
Oliver recalled the moment he'd connected to the World Tree.
After taking down Shamus, curiosity led him to link up, entering a pitch-black void like a starless night sky.
There, he'd found an entity bound in place.
A mass of energy blending vast mana, faint emotions, and natural forces.
Shapeless, and thus unstable.
It didn't know exactly what it was—only that the druids had labeled it Eve.
Eve. From Elder’s book The Evolution of the World Tree. An artificial will or ego born when excessive data accumulates to a singularity. Not discovered yet, but highly likely, so mages and druids alike tentatively call it Eve.
The book speculated Eve could elevate the World Tree by one stage... or several, discussing its immense potential.
Perhaps fearing they'd lose it, the druids had bound Eve tightly—even using machines unfit for their ideology and pride.
But that seemed a mistake.
Bound as she was, Eve had grown vicious, refusing to heed anyone.
"So what did you do?"
Gary asked, unable to even pretend nonchalance.
"Set her free."
"......"
Silence fell over Gary and everyone else.
Mouths clamped shut, eyes bulging nearly to four-white-eye glare.
Hard to read faces perfectly, but they looked grave. Their emotions confirmed it: shock, doubt, anger.
Gary asked again.
"What?"
"I set her free."
"...Why?"
"Hmm... She looked really uncomfortable?"
Oliver answered after a moment's thought.
Bound by the druids, Eve wasn't just restrained—she was wrapped tight like prey in a spider's web. Shapeless energy or not, she looked suffocating.
Oliver thought it a reasonable excuse, but Gary disagreed, grabbing both his shoulders on instinct—less intent, more uncontainable emotion.
"Uncomfortable...? You just let Eve go for that flimsy reason??!!"
"I didn't just let her go."
"......???"
"As a condition for freeing her, I asked her to find, organize, and transfer that info into the World Tree log... A trade for the mission—"
"—You're seriously calling that a deal right now!!"
Gary, gripping Oliver's shoulders tight, lost control and yanked him up by the collar.
The loss of Eve hit him with profound grief and regret, surpassed only by rage, resentment, and hatred toward the culprit: Oliver.
"This... doesn't look good."
Jo grabbed Gary's arm—the one clutching Oliver's collar—and intervened.
Thanks to dealings with the Crime Firm, Randa's underworld rulers, he'd polished his manners far beyond his old days.
Not that his true feelings matched.
'Why's he so pissed?'
Oliver wondered, noting Jo's emotions.
"You damn thug— Gah!"
Jo's fury and disgust rivaled Gary's; he squeezed hard, and Gary felt his hand crumple in pain.
Sensing physical threat, Gary shook off Jo's hand with mana and moved to cast a spell. Jo didn't stop, deftly layering Black Suit and Black Armor like overlapping plate mail.
Intimidating as powered exoskeleton gauntlets. Even without Oliver, Jo had kept training, honing proficiency and adapting it to his style. Impressive.
'Still, that's that, and this is this.'
Thinking so, Oliver wedged his quarterstaff between Gary and Jo, activating black magic.
Voracity
Absorbs and decomposes enemy magic into emotions
Oliver used his scant remaining emotions to sprout tiny mouths at the quarterstaff's tip. They absorbed Jo's black magic, broke it down into emotions to empower Voracity further, then sucked in Gary's spell too.
The steps were distinct, but the speed made it seamless; both ended up disarmed in a blink.
Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill. Chill.
"......!"
"......!"
Jo and Gary, disarmed before they could blink. They—and the onlookers—were stunned by Oliver's technique.
Neutralizing a mage and black mage simultaneously wasn't easy on paper, let alone against skilled ones.
Oliver had taken down Shamus solo, so it might seem expected, but impressive was impressive.
Oliver spoke.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I was taught that colleagues fighting isn't good."
His casual remark rapidly cooled the heated air.
Jo checked on Oliver first, apologized, and Gary—after Albert's whisper—reluctantly followed suit.
Including for grabbing Oliver's collar.
"Uh... sorry."
"No, my fault. I should be the one apologizing... Fatigue must've clouded my judgment. Sorry."
Oliver spoke with some sincerity.
Indeed, fatigue had hit after felling Shamus, and spotting Eve had mesmerized him into granting her request.
Likely a tired mistake.
"Can I say something now?"
With no resolution in sight, city official Carver stepped between Oliver and the Moirai mages.
"I get you all have much to discuss, but dawn's breaking. How about heading back to Randa? People might be coming after that battle."
Everyone glanced at the graying sky and the ravaged forest.
They agreed to withdraw.