The atmosphere changed in an instant when Kent appeared.
The face of Botti who pretended to be brave brightened noticeably along with the other fellow beggars.
Their emotions and their expressions changed from nervousness to calmness and from fear to relief and joy, it was a sight that looked very interesting to Oliver.
He wondered how could such a change in emotions happen with just the appearance of a single person.
Joseph and the pharmacist also had this kind of influence on the people under them but it was a completely different change. They merely provoked tension in others, but Kent, on the contrary, relieved tension and provided genuine relief.
Kent was different from the first time he saw him.
Oliver wondered and even became more curious about why Kent was so popular and why he was supported by everyone.
There was no one who was unhappy on his arrival and Kent gave a lot of them relief and faith.
Oliver pondered whether it had anything to do with him always helping them for no reason.
Oliver felt an intolerable curiosity starting to itch.
"Now, what are you going to do? Young friend."
Kent walked over to beggar Henry and asked.
Kent extruded a sense of intimidation that did not suit his limp legs, shabby appearance, and wrinkled face.
Olddog, who was petting the dog, started to step back along with the other beggars.
They didn't show it outwardly, but they looked flustered on the inside as they slowly backed away.
Except for only one person, Henry.
Hot emotions such as anger surged through his heart.
"You're the quarterstaff Kent? Once known as a famous solver? Really? It doesn't look like that.”
"I don't care whether you believe it or not, Young friend. After all, Now I'm just a beggar. In that sense, I'm giving you some advice as a senior."
"Advice?"
"Yeah, advice. Like you, once I used to use my fists pretty well, but now I forgot about those days because I am just a beggar. Even if you use your fists well, in the end, you're still a beggar."
"Don't compare me with an old man like you. Looking at those limping legs, it seems like you were forced to become a beggar, but I'm the opposite."
"Oh, you are stupid my friend, whether you become a beggar voluntarily or unwillingly, a beggar is a beggar, but rather than that answer my question. What were you trying to do?"
"Yeah, What am I trying to do? Umm… Let me see… Ah! Fu*king that bastard. I was going to beat those bastards with my fists and going to hang them naked even without their panties. Exactly like this!"
Henry shouted and swung his fists.
There was a knuckle in his hand that no one knew when he wore it.
Kent's face would have been broken like a rotten watermelon if it was right on the mark.
But before Henry's fist touched him, Kent pulled his neck back slightly, thrust out the quarterstaff he was using as a cane and hit the attacking arm.
Then, to Henry's surprise, his fists were stopped.
Kent blocking the attack made Henry’s face turn red, he rushed towards Kent once again, and Kent, like before thrust the quarterstaff and this time reached to Henry's neck.
Kent’s actions were fast and free-flowing.
If Henry hadn't grabbed his neck, the quarterstaff might have struck his throat.
“It seems like I Underesti….”
Henry couldn't finish his words.
Because Kent swung the quarterstaff and hit him in the temple.
Henry collapsed like a puppet with threads cut off.
Seeing that Freckle’s gang of beggars rushed toward Kent.
However, it was meaningless.
When the first two who rushed in collapsed in the same way as Henry, everyone hesitated to approach Kent.
“Do you want to continue?”
“Ah……”
As the sense of tension increased someone intervened.
"Let's stop here."
The speaker was an old man surrounded by dogs.
He said crouching down.
"…Olddog. When did you go under Freckle?"
"What can I do on my own?"
“I’m a bit surprised. I know you weren’t the type to work under someone?”
"Surprised? Type? Huh… If you want to make a living, you have to do unexpected things. Rather, your skills are still the same. You are still like a ghost?"
"Me… Ghost? You’re saying that because you haven't seen a real ghost. I'm barely able to protect my own body. Are you going to fight me?"
At those words, the big, ugly dogs that the old man was petting growled.
Olddog whimpered even though he was sulking.
Something seemed very uneasy.
"…no, Freckle has ordered me to occupy this alley. I don’t mean to fight with you.”
“GO BACK.”
“Okay…. Hey, what are you looking at? Pick ‘em up."
At the words, Freckle group beggars lifted the fainted Henry and the fallen fellow beggars with mixed feelings of dissatisfaction and fear.
Olddog got up.
"Well then, I’ll get going… and, I have to report this to my boss."
“Boss. Is it Freckle?”
"Yes, that's right… Just in case, how about joining Freckle’s group like me? Then, your Union will be able to live well."
Kent's emotions swelled up with concern for a moment, but it was only a brief moment.
“… To be honest, it’s tempting, but I can’t.”
“You fool. Well, I knew you would say this.”
"I know I’m a fool. If I weren’t one, I wouldn’t have accepted that damn will of that guy…."
Oliver couldn’t understand the conversation.
However, he could see that Kent shares the same emotions as the olddog.
Judging by the context of the story, it seemed that Kent was talking about the priest, who led the beggars union before Kent.
Oliver wondered again, how can a person who is already dead have such an influence?
Doesn’t the dead lose their influence once they die – Like Joseph, Anthony, and Dominic?
Oliver got more and more curious.
Once olddog left with his men, Botti spoke.
“Ha…you came at the right time. How did you get here?”
“I was just walking around and heard that there were people stealing the bread here. I came just in case. Is everyone okay?"
“Are we okay? Of course not! How long have you been living in the streets? Even loaves of bread aren’t safe here.”
Botti said while raising a bag full of bread.
Kent also opened the sack that he brought.
The sack was full of damaged onions, potatoes, carrots, and corned beef.
"Good. We can have a proper meal today”
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
As soon as they got back, the party started preparing for dinner.
No, to be exact, it was prepared by Kent.
He started a fire with broken furniture, then crouched down on the floor and started slicing those ugly vegetables.
Whether it was to cook them easily or to share them evenly, he cut the minced meat into small pieces and put the corned beef in a hot pot, and greased it with oil.
After applying some oil, Kent cooked some potatoes, followed by vegetables such as carrots and onions.
Inside the abandoned building, which was the beggar's den, a faint smell of food filled with warmth spread.
After the vegetables were cooked to some extent, Kent drained the water, then the hard biscuits were crushed with a knife and poured in. Then, the corned beef was put in.
"Kent…."
BigFist, who stood as a guard outside, approached Kent who was cooking
“Ah, welcome. Let’s eat.”
“Ah, that… I have something to tell you.”
"What?"
“…Rednose and harmonica are back.”
“…… That’s good. We can all eat together.”
“You know this isn’t good news, right?”
Bigfist spoke in dissatisfaction while Kent didn't say anything.
Silence filled the space because they know what it means to some extent about this profession.
However, knowing that silence would not solve anything, Bigfist spoke first.
"It looks like it’s a beggar crackdown period again. Our income is getting smaller and smaller."
“We can do more side jobs. I got a lot of work just in time. I was asked to look for some trash at the three-way intersection right in front of us.”
"It's a penny compared to what was offered by the old factory owner, the grumpy restaurant owner, or the gangsters. It’s a regular job, and it's more money. If we continue this, then we will only have to eat and live.”
"Eat and Live. Isn’t that a good thing? We won’t be starving."
"Kent…!"
Bigfist roared.
The voice was so loud that everyone in the den heard it, but everyone pretended not to hear it understanding the serious mood.
Bigfist regained his sanity and whispered again.
“It can’t be like this. No …. If the crackdown is severe, there won’t be any income. Tightening the belt can’t be a solution. We need to be more active.”
“Be active. . . . didn’t we decide not to talk about it?”
“….don't think of it as going down, think about it as cooperating. Freckle wants Kent, and if we cooperate, he will guarantee money and safety.”
Kent looked at Bigfist while cooking.
His eyes were soft, yet powerful.
The power to crush those who want to make the wrong move.
"Yeah, you're right. You're right… Going under Freckle will definitely make life easier and more stable than it is now."
“No, I didn’t say to go under him. Just cooperate with him.”
“Yeah, it would be easier to cooperate with Freckle than going under him, but… you do know what that Freckle is doing, right?"
“Isn’t it just a rumor?”
"There’s no smoke without fire. Especially the one regarding, crippling children and human trafficking."
“….Even if the rumors are true, why does it matter? If the rumors are true, we should cooperate more. If we stay still, without doing anything, we’ll be eaten by that guy.”
Dog eat dog world.
It seemed like the world of beggars here also had conflicts like the warlocks in wineham.
So everyone seemed to be on the lookout for Freckle.
Kent thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"If we go under Freckle, we can stay in a decent inn with a roof and get a decent amount of money every week…but, it doesn’t suit me."
"Kent…."
“I’m tired of living like that. I’m fine just by eating and living what I have. If it's frustrating for you, I won't stop you from leaving. But that's it. Don't drag me in. I'm serious."
“…Yes, I see. I’m sorry.”
Thinking that there was no point in persuading anymore, Bigfist answered meekly.
He seemed to be convinced on the outside, but on the inside, he was full of dissatisfaction.
Like Bigfist, Oliver also didn't understand Kent.
Most people are attracted to more money, comfort, and safety…at least that's what Oliver has seen.
However, Kent resisted this temptation.
The important thing here was, that Kent was interested in that.
He was obviously not swayed by the temptations of money, comfort, and safety.
He understood the sweetness of those temptations, yet still, he pushed it away with his own will.
Oliver wanted to know.
Why he was giving up on something that attracts him more?
Oliver thought, that maybe it was the driving force that drew positive emotions to other people.
Oliver really wanted to know.
Oliver opened his mouth as he pondered over the conversation he had heard through the minions.
“Um……. I need to know about Freckle?”
(To be Continued)
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