Behind Joseph's sausage factory, several children gathered.
They were about 16 to 19 years old.
Their attire varied, but the common thing was, that they were not well dressed.
Some wore dresses that were out of fashion a long time ago, and some wore dresses that did not fit their body.
The children talked to each other without caring about their dress as if they were already used to it.
“Hasn't it been a long time since we went to gather ingredients?”
“Yes, there was the Master's trip and so on, thus the schedule got delayed.”
“Would you like to walk around for a while?”
“Well, I’m fine, but is it okay to go out?”
“Maybe, it’s alright.”
"If we're lucky, we can save some money and eat something delicious. I want to eat something called ice cream. I heard that it's popular in Landa, right now."
"Is there a place that sells such things in this neighborhood?"
It was noisy, and the two Room leaders who were checking the number of people suddenly shouted.
"What the f*ck? It’s one person short, Who's it damn it!" said the room Leader, irritatingly.
Although ingredient collection is a chore, it's definitely an important part of the family business.
So they couldn’t believe that one of the junior disciples hadn't taken the job seriously.
Thus the room leader had no choice but to lose his temper.
They are the ones who will get in trouble if they are caught by intermediate disciples.
Leader A raised his voice more irritatingly.
"Which one is late? Everybody, get up on your feet! Let me check!"
Then, Leader B interjected. "Calm down, I know who's late."
"Who? Which f*cker messed with the rules."
"It’s…"
"What?"
"It's him."
Hearing the words Leader A’s anger cooled down sharply.
Recently, there was only one person who’s referred to as ‘him’ by the junior disciples.
He became a formal disciple in less than 10 days after he came in, and literally killed one person in the process.
And when everyone was silent hearing who wasn’t there, a voice was heard.
"Hello,"
Oliver trudged in and greeted.
All the junior disciples who had come first didn’t open their mouths in response.
Originally, it would have been right to be angry that the youngest disciple was coming late, but no one did.
They were pretending not to be angry, remembering the last duel between Oliver and Tom.
But there was a courageous man among the group.
The person in charge, Leader B, managed to open his mouth.
“Why, why are you so late?”
Oliver said, showing the watch on his wrist.
"Short needle on 1, the long needle on 6… Didn't you say that was the time to gather?"
The room Leader looked at the watch.
"That's true, but as the youngest member, you have to come out earlier."
“Oh… I'm sorry,”
Oliver bowed his head immediately and begged for forgiveness.
Begging really didn't mean much for Oliver.
This was normal in the orphanage and Mine.
However, the room Leader smiled faintly because he thought he had kept his dignity.
"Well, be careful next time…"
As soon as it was about to end well, a third voice intervened.
"What do you mean by be careful next time?"
Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the sound.
There were intermediate disciples there.
"Ah…"
SLAP
"What do you mean by that? Tell me what do you mean by be careful next time?"
The intermediate disciple asked, hitting the Leader again in the face.
"Since when has discipline in our family been this lax? If it were me, I would have beat the sh*t out of the guy for being a little late. Like this!"
The intermediate disciple kicked Oliver in the chest.
"I'm just curious, is it supposed to be like this? Or are you only soft on this guy? You're not scared, are you?"
The intermediate disciple who kicked Oliver asked interrogatively.
The Leader was almost in tears when another intermediate disciple intervened.
“Come on, stop, we got work to do today.”
Only then did the intermediate disciple who kicked Oliver stopped.
The mediator briefly explained today's schedule to change the mood and reached out to Oliver, who collapsed.
“Are you all right?”
Oliver looked at him.
A man with dark brown hair who gave a likable impression on the outside, though not at all on the inside.
"Yes, thank you,"
Oliver replied, holding hands.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Ingredient collection is the collection of emotions and materials necessary for the family business, and the work was done by intermediate and junior disciples.
It was done in a group of three – One intermediate disciple, and two junior disciples.
In principle, a group of three had to travel around each assigned area, while the actual work was done by the intermediate disciple, the junior disciple should learn the process, and was also in charge of miscellaneous work.
"Do you understand?" said an intermediate disciple who helped Oliver and the Leader.
The intermediate disciples' name was Rasso.
While being scolded by other intermediate disciples, he not only helped the Leader and Oliver but also nominated them for assisting him with ingredient collection.
The room Leader bowed his head in a panic.
"Oh, thank you so much for your help,"
Oliver bowed his head along with the Room Leader.
"Thank you very much."
Rasso said, waving modestly.
"No, no, no. I chose it because I wanted you to be comfortable. Peter, you're famous for your hard work, and Oliver… who’s famous these days. Are you okay where you got hit?"
Oliver replied with a nod.
"Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for your help."
"No, no. If you really feel thankful, you can pay me back when you get out in the world. You look very talented,"
Rasso said, waving his hand and laughing.
But Oliver kept on bowing.
"Well, okay, let's start. Since everyone left. The schedule is not tight, but just in case. Have you got everything we need?"
The room Leader immediately checked and answered.
"Yes. I've got the test tube bag, and here's the money, and here's the mask."
Rasso checked his arm, and then he said,
"Let's all wear the mask."
Peter looked at the leather mask and handed the most handsome one to Rasso, and the other one to Oliver.
Oliver looked at the leather mask, and then noticed something strange.
It was not just a leather mask, but a face that seemed to be peeled off from a person's face.
“This is…?”
“Just put it on.”
Oliver looked at the mask and put it on his face casually.
Then a startling sensation arose.
Not only his face but also his whole body felt the touch of a leather mask.
Oliver looked at his hand unconsciously.
The pale and thin arms disappeared completely, and instead, black and thick forearms were there.
Oliver pressed his arm with curiosity. It was similar to adding a mask, but it felt somewhat strange, and it was not uncomfortable.
"It's a black magic item called [Fake Face]. It not only changes your face but also your body. It's more like a mask all over your body."
With Rasso's kind explanation, Oliver was intrigued.
He couldn't believe that something like this could be done with black magic.
A thump was felt in Oliver’s cold heart.
"Is this the product?"
“The product? Oh, to a certain extent? But it's not the main item. Fake faces are expensive, so bank robbers and gangsters buy them every once in a while. The main product is separate.”
“What is it?”
Oliver asked again.
Peter stopped Oliver as if saying it was inappropriate, but Rasso smiled and gestured as if it was OK.
"No, it's okay. If you want to be a Warlock, you have to have that much desire to explore. But not everyone thinks it's good, so you have to be careful."
"Yes, you're right. I'll teach him properly."
Peter bowed instead of Oliver.
Nevertheless, Oliver wanted to hear an answer, so Rasso thought for a while and opened his mouth.
"Uh… We have work to do. I'll let you know on the way. What do you think?"
Oliver bowed his head and answered yes.
Rasso laughed and said as if he liked the look very much.
"Okay, follow me, we’ll go to our area."
Oliver followed with a briefcase containing the test tubes.
Oliver didn't know where the area was, but he followed diligently, and suddenly Peter approached Oliver and whispered in a small voice.
“You're lucky.”
“What?”
Peter looked at the back of Rasso and said again quietly.
"You're lucky, Junior disciples should never talk back to an Intermediate disciple. Since Sir. Rasso was nice, he didn't mind it. Don't do that again."
“Nice….”
Oliver looked at Rasso.
No, his feelings, exactly.
‘Hmm… nice?’
" Why shouldn't the junior disciples talk back?"
"That's the rule. Our family values rules and order. Subordinates must obey their superiors."
Oliver nodded.
It was the same in the orphanage and the Mine.
However, unlike then, there were so many questions that Oliver wanted to ask now.
“What are you whispering about?” asked Rasso, who was walking in front of them.
Peter answered hastily,
"Nothing Sir,"
Rasso smiled as if he was fine.
"Haha, don't be so nervous. Just think that we’re going for a walk."
“Yes Sir.”
“Moreover, Oliver. I told you earlier that I would tell you what the product is."
"Yes."
"It's hard to explain right away, so first, Let’s begin our job."
Saying that Rasso took a notebook out of his pocket and examined it.
"Shall we start here? Let's see… 112A on Paul Street."
Rasso murmured, examining the cluttered inn, and went into a small, dirty place, and as soon as he entered, a strange stench reached everyone’s nose.
"Who is it?”
An old woman who is believed to be the owner came out and asked.
The age spots around her eyes were quite repulsive.
Rasso replied to her naturally.
"Is the fruit ripe?"
The old woman's eyes flinched and she replied.
"I've cooked three."
"Can you show me around? I'd like to have a taste of it."
"Follow me."
The party of three followed the old woman up to the second floor in a narrow hallway.
There were three small rooms and the sounds of children could be heard from each room.
The old woman knocked on the door.
“It’s me, Are you there?”
After a while, with a squeak, the door slowly opened.
Someone peeped out through the crack in the door.
"Landlord Madam. What brings you…?”
"Huh? Oh, nothing, The one I told you about before. That one. They’re here. Open the door,"
Oliver saw a faint emotion through the small gap.
The emotion was trembling with fear.
However, as soon as she was ready, the door opened, and a woman who was just before the transition from girl to woman appeared.
There was a baby in her arms, and it seemed like she was breastfeeding until a while ago.
“These people…,” she asked, frightenedly.
The old woman reassured her.
"Don't worry. As I told you earlier, it's not dangerous for the baby. Think of it as just blood donation."
The woman looked afraid but soon closed her eyes tightly as if she had no choice.
"…..Please"
"Hehe. How is it? Is it okay?"
When asked by the old woman, Rasso raised two fingers so that only the old woman could see them.
The old woman nodded in acknowledgment, and Rasso ordered Oliver.
“Can I have a test tube?”
Oliver opened the briefcase and held out an empty test tube.
After receiving the test tube, Rasso reached out to calm the woman.
"It doesn't hurt, there are no side effects, so don't worry,"
Rasso said, extracting her emotions.
The emotions was none other than love for the baby—motherhood.
The light was very beautiful and warm.
Oliver admired for a moment, and when the test tube was about a ⅓ rd full, Rasso stopped extracting.
"Ugh…"
The woman sat down, exhaling an unfamiliar sensation and a somewhat absent-minded feeling
However, when she saw the bundle of money offered by Rasso, she soon came to her senses.
“Is this…?”
“We told you, we'll pay you a lot, didn't we?"
The woman, distracted by the bundle of money, nodded.
Rasso after greeting politely handed over the extracted motherhood to Oliver.
"Then, I look forward to your kind cooperation next time.”
The woman clasped the bundle of money and nodded her head.
As the party came out of the room, they went to the other two rooms to extract motherhood from the single mothers in the same way.
When they came back down from work, Rasso gave the old woman more money than what he had given to three single mothers.
"Thank you, huh? The money is less than before?"
Rasso replied to the old woman's question.
"Didn't you know? As much as we pay the right price, we're picky about quality. The lady in the last room isn't very good anymore."
‘That's right, that's right. Okay, she'll be out of the room sooner or later, looking for another mother, right?"
"Yes, if you get the right stuff, I'll give you extra."
The old woman nodded her head and said,
"Okay.”
Rasso came out after greeting her, and after coming out, he said to Oliver.
“Did you take care of the emotions?”
“Yes.”
“That's the ingredient to make a product. Do you know what it is?"
Oliver shook his head.
Rasso said with a smile.
"It’s called Pilgaret."