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Districts D, E, and F were the places where Landa’s financial institutions, corporate headquarters, and Mattel Research Center were concentrated.
Among the various gorgeous buildings in those districts, this was one, and it was a hotel where Forrest was staying.
It was a hotel in District E whose main customers were the wealthy businessmen who could afford expensive hotels, the corporates that hold meetings, the politicians who hold negotiations, or a prominent group in Landa holding its regular meetings… such as the brokers’ union.
Forrest was currently drinking coffee and reading a book in the hotel’s waiting room, when Al, who had followed him as an attendant, quietly came and whispered something in his ear.
“Boss, the meeting will start in the 6th-floor hall in an hour.”
Forrest nodded.
He looked calm on the outside, but there were various thoughts that kept swirling around his head.
It was obviously a regular meeting of union members, but the atmosphere was slightly different.
Usually, if there were no special issues, there will be an atmosphere as if everyone came to rest on the operating expenses of the union, but this meeting felt a little different.
Even though most of the brokers were resting, as usual, some brokers were busily running around, as if something big had happened.
“Al… do you happen to know what the fuss is about?”
“I’m sorry, Boss. There is nothing specific. The people from Districts A, B, C, and D seem to know something, but… they were not willing to share anything….”
Al apologized, but Forrest shook his head.
Al was a capable guy, especially considering the fact that he was a slave brought from one of the colonies of the New World. This made the wizard’s statement that the superior genes of human beings are predestined from the beginning, a big lie.
It wasn’t Al’s fault that he couldn’t figure out what was going on. Rather, it was because of Forrest’s position, which was low in the circle.
It wasn’t an absolute rule, but the brokers were also ranked. Of course, most of them maintained a horizontal relationship, but there was a subtle power superiority like a leader created even when three people gather.
The rank of a broker was determined mainly based on the customers they were dealing with.
The closer they were to the Districts of powerful politicians and wealthy capitalists the higher their ranks, and the closer they were to the Districts of gangsters and beggars the lesser their ranks.
Naturally, the influence and capitals available to those in the top ranks were completely different from those who were running around for pennies in lower ranks. The order of brokers was also divided by that difference.
In that sense, Forrest was weak.
He was a Broker from District T, which was filled with worker’s residences. There was once a time when he too had the chance to settle down in the top ranks, but now, it was just a thing of the past.
“Forrest!”
A man appeared in front of Forrest who was lost in thought.
It was N, the Broker in charge of District N.
The name N was not his nickname, it was a name he changed by himself after becoming the representative broker of District N.
“Long time no see, N.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long time, Forrest.”
N, who had a big knife mark on his face said with a grin.
Unlike Forrest, he did not become a Broker right away, instead, he became a broker while working as a Solver.
Because of that, unlike Forrest’s place, the brokerage house of N was more like a mercenary organization.
N approached Forrest, looked rudely at him, and spoke bluntly as he sat down
“By the way, tell me something. I heard some interesting rumors these days.”
“Interesting rumors?”
“Come on, Pal…Don’t play dumb. It’s noisy these days, and there are rumors saying that you found a pretty good Warlock…. Rumor has it that he even won against a Wizard, that too one from the Magic Tower, is it true, Pal?”
Unlike his rugged appearance and tone, his behavior expressed quite a bit of sarcasm.
Even though it was frustrating, Forrest did not express it.
The rumors in this field spread so fast that even Forrest who was away from District T knew about it.
When he heard that there was a battle near the warehouse where the magic wine factory was being built, he knew that there was a high probability that it was a wizard.
“Nothing is confirmed yet.”
“Oh, man! Is there anything definite in this field? How the hell did you survive in this field for this long, Pal?”
How did he survive this long?
Forrest asked himself. At that moment, he suddenly remembered the letter of introduction that he received from Kent.
‘Is this some kind of fu*king joke fate is playing with me…’
“Woah man!!….so you ain’t going to open your mouth? Well, all right, then I’ll tell you an interesting piece of information. Hmm… It won’t change anything even if you know right now, but still, it’s better to know beforehand than getting hit out of nowhere, right, Pal?”
“What do you mean, N?”
“Oh oh oh, look at this docile friend?! He responds back when he hears a story that is advantageous to him… What a cunning Pal!…….. It seems like the ‘cleaning season’ is here.”
“When you say cleaning season…”
“… Yes, the contaminated area is going to be cleaned.”
“I don’t understand. There are still a few months left for the cleaning season, right?”
“Suddenly, the number of zombies and contaminants in the area increased dramatically. So, the schedule has been moved up, and… that’s not the problem.”
“What?”
“Unlike usual, they said they would hire mobilized manpower directly from the city instead of employing their own manpower. This season is our group’s turn, isn’t it?”
“A…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“B…”
“Yeah, that’s right again.”
“C….”
“Yeah, that’s great. What next?”
Oliver was teaching Rosbane in the corner of the restaurant.
Contrary to his expectations, Rosbane had a hard time remembering the letters.
Originally, Oliver was going to teach him vocabulary and move on to grammar. But now, they were still stuck on the vocabulary.
Although Rosbane’s study speed was not fast, the boy’s will to learn did not weaken, rather it only strengthened. As if, he will never miss this opportunity to learn.
At that moment, the inn hostess, who was filling out the books at the checkout counter, shouted.
“Rosbane! Five minutes left.”
Rosbane was startled by the sound of the clock ticking.
With Oliver’s persuasion, he was allowed to study during the break times after business hours, but the hostess warned him that if he was late by a minute, he would have to take a permanent break.
He couldn’t complain because she had already given him a lot of concessions. So, Rosbane began to recite the next alphabet one after another.
“ D, E, F, G……”
As his mind urged, the fear he had decreased, and the hesitation in Rosbane’s voice disappeared. Thanks to that, he began to recite the alphabet one after another more fluently.
Not only his reciting speed was increased, but his pronunciation was also clearer.
He proved that he could recite the alphabet in less than five minutes.
“How did I do? Teacher?”
“Yes, you were great. If you have a little more confidence, you’ll learn even faster.”
At those words, Rosbane’s gloomy face brightened a little.
Oliver’s words lit up Rosbane’s somber face.
He just told the truth, and he couldn’t understand why it made him so happy.
Soon, the voice of the hostess’ was heard once again.
“Rosbane! Time is running out!”
At those words, Rosbane ran away after taking the book and pen that Oliver gave him.
Oliver also got up and headed towards the room, because he had finished today’s work, and at that time, the hostess’ called Oliver.
“Hold on, Mr. Dave.”
“Yes?”
“… First of all, thank you for the chocolate and flowers.” Said the chubby middle-aged woman.
The old man at the bookstore said, in order for the child to study, Oliver had to ask the hostess’ permission and also advised him to buy the above gifts to persuade her.
“No, I just wanted to thank you for giving Rosbane the opportunity to study.”
The hostess’ looked at Oliver with a suspicious look, and she eluded doubtful emotions while looking at Oliver.
“I’m not the type of person to ask questions.”
“Yes, I know.”
“But now I want to ask. Why are you spending money and time teaching that child?”
It was the same question that the old man at the bookstore asked, but this time, Oliver answered more skillfully.
“Because I can teach and Rosbane wants to learn.”
“Is that all?…maybe?”
The doubts in the eyes of the hostess’ did not subside, but she did not show any signs of hostility or hatred.
After an awkward silence, Oliver spoke.
“If you don’t mind, can I take my leave now?”
“Ah, yes… I’m sorry for taking your time.”
“No. Then, have a nice day.”
After saying that Oliver went up to his room and immediately got ready to go out.
It was because today was the day he heard Forrest was returning.
According to the staff, he would be back at lunchtime, and it was already past lunchtime.
Oliver left the inn and headed straight to the restaurant.
Oliver slowly got used to this street, and the people in the stands, selling apples or hot dogs, looked at Oliver and bowed or smiled as if they knew him.
One such person was a beggar. He raised his worn-off hat and spoke to Oliver as soon as he saw him.
“Hello, Sir. You look great today. Can you spare a penny for this poor friend?”
“Thank you.”
As usual, Oliver took a small bill from his pocket and put it in his hat.
“Oh, thank you! You will be blessed, sir.”
The beggar thanked Oliver, and Oliver bowed his head in return.
After walking in the streets for a few minutes, Oliver finally arrived at the restaurant.
“What?”
Oliver saw the restaurant with a sign that said <closed> hanging in front of the door. The windows and curtains were also closed.
It was the first time he had seen the Forrest Restaurant closed. Usually, Forrest opens the restaurant early in the morning and doesn’t close until late at night.
Oliver had never even seen the door closed.
Oliver tried to go back, wondering what was going on.
It was then.
The restaurant door opened with a rattling sound.
“Mr. Dave.”
It was a calm tone, but Al took a deep breath as soon as he came out.
“Hello, Mr. Al. You were inside. How did you know I was here?”
“I heard footsteps…. Did you come to see the boss?”
“Yes, but I thought it was closed. Can I come in?”
“Of course. In fact, we were waiting for you to come.”
“Really?”
“Yes…if it’s okay, would you please come in?”
“Yes, I’ll excuse myself then.”
Oliver politely responded to Al’s words and entered the restaurant.
There were no customers inside the restaurant, but in their place, people who seemed like Solvers were seated.
There were about ten people, and among them, there was a face that Oliver knew.
It was Coco.
“Oh, my God, Mr. Dave. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
Coco looked at Oliver and spoke.
Oliver simply bowed his head and greeted her politely, and she spoke half-jokingly as she looked at Oliver.
“You’re polite, and do you know, polite guys like that will have a hard time capturing a woman’s heart.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I will let you know a lot about women if you ever had time to visit our store.”
Her words were half lies and half sincere.
As Oliver looked at Coco’s complex emotions, she asked.
“Did you also come because you were called?”
“Call? No. I just came.”
“Oh, really… Al? You didn’t even give this Warlock a pager?”
“According to the rules, it’s not yet time to give one. It was planned to be delivered soon.”
“Forrest…that old man is very inflexible. Well, it’s that inflexibility that’s saved his reputation till now. But, he shouldn’t be like that this time. What if the Dark Horse is stolen by another broker?”
“It’s not something that I, an employee can answer. It’s the boss’s job.”
Oliver was at a loss, but he could feel a little bit of irritation and anger in Al.
His loyalty to Forrest was extraordinary, and Coco also apologized as if she had noticed it.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I went a little too far. But understand me, Al, he’s also a human, right?”
Coco said while looking at Oliver.
When Oliver was about to ask Coco what she was referring to, an employee called Coco.
She entered the Boss’s office with a graceful smile while lifting her feather hat.
It seemed like she had come to work, not just to play.
As Oliver watched the door through which Coco went, Al spoke.
“If you don’t mind, can you wait a moment, Mr. Dave?”
“Ah, yes…”
Oliver looked around. Every solver sitting around the restaurant was restless. Everyone seemed to have something on their minds.
“Mr. Al, can I ask you what’s going on? Oh, if it’s hard to say, that’s fine.”
“No. I will tell you.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yeah…because it would be better if I explain it to you in advance.”
“…..? What happened?”
“It’s the Cleaning season.”