When Oliver returned to the sausage factory, everyone welcomed him.
But thatâs only for a moment.
Everyone was silent when they saw Oliver.
Maybe itâs a normal reaction.
Walking from Landa to Wineham didnât make any sense to anyone.
Oliverâs face and hands were covered with dust and something black, while his clothes were soaked in sweat and dirt and were in a state of rags.
The shoes that were sturdy got eroded slightly due to walking.
Overall, Oliver looked like a beggar.
After a long silence, someone spoke.
âUgh, Senior Oliver? What the hell happenedâŠâ
âI didnât know how to get here from Landa. I just walked. I didnât get lost because it was a single road.â
A very natural answer.
But, that is not what everyone wanted to hear.
Everyone wanted to know why Oliver came alone without Joseph and Andrew.
Everyone instinctively felt something unusual, and at that moment, Marie stepped forward and said,
âFirst, why donât you wash up? Senior Oliver.â
âOh, that would be good.â
Oliver said, touching the back of his hand and face.
He was in a bad state as he had been walking day and night for several days.
Oliver, guided by Marie, headed to the shower room, but suddenly stopped on the way and spoke to the disciples who were present.
âAh, right. Are you all busy?â
The disciples looked at each other and someone answered.
âOh, no⊠Not really.â
âThen, Iâll go wash up quickly, so could you all gather around? Donât leave anyone out. Is there a good place to gather together?â
âI think the studio would be good enough.â
âThen, can you gather in the studio as Marie said? Please,â
With that said, Oliver left.
No one rebuked Oliverâs request.
As Oliver asked, not only formal disciples but also informal disciples to gather in the studio.
Oliver was the one in charge of the family while Joseph was away.
However, even so, they couldnât get rid of the awkwardness.
Apparently, Oliver came back a long time after he went to see Joseph.
No, it didnât matter that he came.
The real problem was that he returned alone.
No one made a fuss, but the Senior and intermediate disciples gathered together and whispered.
âWhat the hell is going on? Where the hell is Master?â
âI donât know, I wonder if he went on another trip. Itâs always been like that. He leaves all of a sudden, doesnât he?â
âThen, Andrew? Most importantly, even if he went on a trip, he wouldnât have let Oliver return by walk.â
âWell, thatâsâŠ.â
They didnât know what happened, but everyone instinctively buzzed, feeling something was wrong.
But all the buzzing lasted only for a while.
When Oliver, who had finished taking a shower in a hurry, came out, everyone shut their mouths.
âThank you for waiting.â
Oliver came back with a bag on his back.
When everyone looked at it closely, they realized that it was the money bag that Oliver took when he went to meet Joseph.
When Oliver opened the bag, there were countless bundles of money bills.
Oliver dragged the table and poured out the bundles in the bag.
ââŠ.!!!â
Everyone was astonished at the amount of money they had never seen in their lives.
âMarie, can you organize this for me?â
âAhâŠyes, I will.â
Marie who froze for a while nodded awkwardly at Oliverâs request.
âIâm sorry, but could you please follow me?â
When Oliver said that, those who were in a frozen state looking at the bundle of bills looked at each other and followed Oliver one by one.
After a while, they brought more banknotes than the ones spilled from the bags.
(âŠâŠ!!!!!!!!!!!)
Everyone was so shocked that they screamed silently, but Marieâs hands were arranging the bundles on the table as fast as the bundles of notes kept falling.
This happened several times.
Eventually, the number of bundles of notes piled up overflowed the table because they couldnât fill the table.
Oliver looked at everyone in that condition.
Oliver realized that what Joseph said was true.
It is just as he said when a huge amount of bills were gathered, they give off magical power, and everyone who sees them canât take their eyes off the bills.
Oliver noticed various emotions such as great greed, fear, and anticipation.
A senior student asked in a trembling voice.
âHeyâŠ. what the hell is thisâŠ?â
âUh⊠itâs from the secret safe in the masterâs room.â
At Oliverâs words, everyone was astonished and they took a deep breath in shock.
There were many rules in the family, but the most important thing was not to touch Master Josephâs possessions.
Especially books, work tools, and money.
In fact, those who violated this disappeared one day without any trace.
âNo, no! Are you out of your mind?! MasterâŠ! You brought Masterâs money from the safe! Are you crazy!?â
The senior disciple who shouted, stepped back as if he had unwittingly been caught up in a crime.
The rest of the people also reacted similarly with only a small difference but Marie was the only one who kept her composure.
Oliver calmly raised his hand.
âEveryone, calm downâŠâ
âCalm down?! Calm down! If the master comes, heâll kill us all?!!!â
âNo, I donât think so. Heâs already dead.â
âHow on earth are youâŠ? Huh?â
Those who were frightened and surprised suddenly stopped in unison as if someone threw cold water on their faces.
Then they looked at Oliver silently with a silly look.
Oliver stayed silent just to give the people a break until they had completely calmed down, and after a while, a senior disciple who came to his senses asked.
âWha, what do you mean? I canât believe the Master is dead. By whose hand did he die?
âIn my hands⊠I killed him.â
At Oliverâs calm reply, everyone faltered a little.
This time their reaction was different.
Some frowned as if they had heard a bad joke, some were frightened, some did not believe what Oliver said and there were also those who denied it.
Among everyone, only Marieâs eyes shone brightly.
Suddenly a senior disciple said.
âLieâŠ.. Itâs a lie.â
âItâs not a lie. Itâs true.â
âThen, show me the evidence that you killed Master.â
â⊠Do you need proof?â
âYes, of course! How can you not bring any evidence with you when youâre saying this nonsense!â
âAh⊠Thatâs right.â
Oliver scratched his head as if he had belatedly realized his mistake.
That reaction made everyone terrified.
In such a ridiculous situation, everyone was out of breath and sweating as if they had reached their mental limit.
Oliver scratched his head and thought, and suddenly opened his mouth.
ââŠ.Master was the one who helped me a lot, so wouldnât it be inappropriate if I were to cut off his head just for everyone to see?â
âThen, why did you kill our Master!â
Eventually, the senior disciple, whose mental state reached its limits, asked like a scream.
Everyone stood aside in fear.
It wasnât weird to think a fight would erupt.
But, Oliver treated everything calmly.
âIâm sorry about that, too. I didnât want to kill him either. I got some help from Master and there were many things I wanted to learn from Master.â
The sadness buried in the calmness seemed to be something foreign rather than humane and the listeners who heard this were horrified.
âBut believe me. I couldnât help it.â
âWhy couldnât you help it?â asked Marie, who was watching the situation quietly.
There was faith in Oliver in her eyes.
âHe tried to kill me. He was going to offer me as a sacrifice.â
âSacrifice?â
âYes, I heard that it was a sacrifice for the Demon. Sir. Andrew was already killed as a sacrifice, and I think Master has also given a lot of other people as a sacrifice.â
The horrific truth was conveyed with a calm expression and this disparity caused the disciples to turn their faces white with fear that surpassed their shock.
Everyone felt like they had been cattle who thought they were human while looking in the mirror.
In the meantime, someone denied it.
â⊠Lie, itâs a lie. Why would Master do that?â
âI think itâs to be strong. The stronger the offering, the stronger the power⊠and the more the disciples were given.â
âThis doesnât make any sense! Master bought you only a while ago. No matter how genius you are, how can you beat a man who came to Wineham alone and built a family?â
âAs you said, Master was strong and I almost died. I was a bit lucky,â
After thinking for a while, Oliver murmured as if it was the most appropriate answer.
A very consistent attitude, but surprisingly, that attitude made people slowly start to believe it, even though he didnât show proper evidence.
Everyone started to believe that Joseph was dead and in Oliverâs hand.
Oliver clapped his hands when everyone was overwhelmed by the overwhelming situation and couldnât take any action.
âThen, may I speak again?â
Oliver resumed as the silence returned.
âI have no intention of leaving here for now. Not yet. I have a lot of things I want to study,â
Oliver said, pointing in the direction of the study.
âSo Iâm going to stay here and study for a while, and I think you might feel a little uncomfortable. There are people who donât like me.â
Some flinched.
Even ordinary consideration and thoughtfulness seemed alien and bizarre when they came out of Oliverâs mouth.
It was rather frightening and horrifying.
âThis money is⊠Itâs Masterâs property, but I donât think heâll need it anymore. If you donât want to be with me, why donât you take your share and leave? If you want you can even take my share.â
ââŠâŠwhat?!â
Everyone asked back in shock.
Oliver answered in surprise.
âI donât want to leave yet⊠There are too many books in the study. Is that too much to ask?â
âNo, itâs not that. Can we really take this money? Are you serious?â
âUh⊠Yes, Master is not here anyway. Canât we share it?â
The focus of the conversation was strangely out of place.
All of the disciples looked startled.
The people here once dreamed of becoming powerful Warlock like Joseph and forming their own families, regardless of what they have ended up doing now.
Everyoneâs ultimate goal had been Power and Money.
Only the form was different, but the fundamentals were similar.
Oliverâs proposal was a shock to them.
His approach was completely different from their Master Joseph, who only thought of increasing his own wealth and never thought of sharing.
Everyone thought it might be a trick to get rid of impurities.
When everyone was in the midst of confusion, Marie raised her hand.
âOh, does Marie want her share? Letâs see. One, two, threeâŠâ
âNo, Senior Oliver. I raised my hand to ask you a question.â
âOh, really? What is it?â
âWhat happens if we stay?â
â⊠I donât know. Canât we just do what we do?â
âMaster⊠No, Josephâs dead. The family canât function in Wineham like it used to. In the first place, this peace was maintained by Josephâs power.â
âIs that so?â
âYes, Iâm sure. Some other family might try to take control of our base when they find out Josephâs gone. If we resist, a fight might ensue.â
âThatâŠwill make it difficult for me to read books.â
âYes, itâll be difficult. To avoid such a difficult situation, Senior Oliver, who defeated Joseph, should be the new Master of the family.â
âMe?â
âYes.â
Surprised Oliver looked at determined Marie, whose eyes sparkled.
Oliver said, scratching his cheek.
âBut⊠I donât know what to do.â
âYou can lead the organization and teach us, just like Joseph did. If you want to read a book comfortably in the study, you should become our master.â
Oliver approached Marie and stared at her face.
It wasnât a threat, but it was quite intimidating to the party involved and the people watching.
After a while, Oliver replied.
ââŠ. If itâs a must, it canât be helped. Iâll be the MasterâŠâ
Marie breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with joy.
Oliver didnât know why she was so happy.
At that moment Peter cut into the conversation.
âThen, I think I know what to doâŠ.â
âWait a minute,â
Oliver raised his hand, stopped Peter, and spoke to everyone who kept staring at him.
âWhat would you do? Do you want to stay here? Or do you want to leave?â
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