At a time when the hour and minute hands of a clock are at right angles, Arthur and Oliver arrived at the Millian grocery store on West Central Road and knocked on the door.
Meanwhile, McBore and Donna were waiting outside the building, ready to assist if needed.
CHUCK
A man peered through a small opening in the door that was held together by a chain, revealing only half of his face.
"Who is it?"
The man asked.
Arthur observed the man's features – his large nose, mustache, sharp eyes behind thick glasses – and replied,
"I'm here for an appointment. We're supposed to meet here."
The man, who appeared to be the owner of the store, responded,
"Wait a minute."
He then closed the door, undid the chain with a creak, and opened the door once more to allow Arthur and Oliver to enter.
The man who opened the door for Arthur and Oliver was dressed in a checkered shirt and brown pants.
He was well-built and held a double-barrel shotgun in one hand.
He simply said "Follow me" and led them to the storage room behind the counter.
In the storage room, there were several shelves set up around the walls, filled with various miscellaneous goods such as cans, alcohol, and ropes.
In the center of the room, the man lifted a carpet and opened a door to the basement below.
"Go in. He's waiting for you," he said.
The dark cellar was stuffy, but there was no other option, so Oliver and Arthur descended into the cellar.
As soon as Oliver and Arthur entered the basement, they were met with something that looked like a fluorescent caster in the corner.
As they approached it, multiple blades emerged and aimed at them.
"Thank you for coming," Oliver said looking at the darkness.
Oliver recognized the man as the one he had fought earlier that day.
The man observed Oliver for a moment, then lowered the blades and lit a fire with his hand.
The air filled with the sound of burning as three more men, who appeared to be the man's colleagues, stepped into view.
The situation was now 4 vs 2.
Arthur was nervous, but Oliver put a hand on his Golem prosthetic arm and calmed him down,
"It's fine… They don't mean to hurt us. Not yet."
The man, who had been watching silently, took a few steps back, moved the fire to a hung torch, and sat on a chair at a corner table.
There was only one chair left, and he pointed to Oliver and said,
"Sit down."
'
"Um?"
"You said you wanted to talk… Sit down."
Oliver looked at Arthur, then at the empty chair that was left.
He was about to offer the seat to Arthur, but the man intervened.
"Not that old man, you sit down. I only talk to the head."
"This is the leader,"
"Not in my eyes. You sit down, or we'll leave. Choose," the man said in a firm tone.
If Oliver talked about anything else, it felt like he was really ready to leave.
Oliver looked at Arthur and after a moment of thought, Arthur gestured for Oliver to take the seat.
Oliver sat down and the man opposite him spoke.
"First of all, you…"
"What's your name?" Oliver immediately asked.
The man looked at Oliver with an unpleasant expression.
"What?"
"I asked for your name."
"…what's the point of knowing that?"
"I thought it would be more comfortable to talk if I knew your name. And personally, I'm curious, you feel familiar."
"Familiar?"
"Yes, you remind me of Mr. Hammersh. The fire magic, the flow of mana, and the way it's used are similar. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to."
In that moment, the emotions of the man opposite Oliver fluctuated. Anger and sadness boiled while patience, rationality, and tranquility suppressed them.
"…..quarterstaff, a unique user of black magic and magic. You're the one who caught Damon, Allister, and Hewitt."
"Yes, it is."
Upon hearing the answer, the man suddenly began to pull his face.
Then the bare face under the leather mask was revealed.
Red hair that fell back like a lion's mane, neatly shaved beard, angled forehead, high nose, and distinct red eyes.
It was Willes, one of the leaders of the Kell Liberation Army.
Arthur and the other members of Willes' group were surprised by this action, but Willes didn't seem to mind.
"My name is Willes. A member of the Kell Liberation Army. And you?"
"My name is Dave. I'm a Solver from Landa. It's nice meeting you."
"You're not surprised."
'
"No, I'm surprised."
"What grudge do you have against us that you came all the way here?"
"I have nothing against you. I just came because it was part of my job."
CHAREENG.
Willes held his sword at the end of Oliver's neck,
"Hammersh is my disciple, the one to whom I taught magic by myself."
"I see," Oliver replied.
"Damon lost his parents to the kingdom's suppression forces during a protest and joined us, and Allister's story is not much different,"
"I see,"
Willes pressed the knife harder against Oliver's skin,
"But it's just a job for you?"
"Yes," Oliver replied.
Willes stabbed Oliver in the skin,
"Why are you here? I'll decide what to do based on your answer. Think carefully before you speak."
Willes' emotions were complex – cautious and reasonable, yet also boiling with anger.
He was unwilling to cause a scene, but would not hesitate to fight if given a reason.
Oliver surveyed his surroundings, feeling uneasy about the current predicament.
He was uncertain of Willes' abilities and the fire magic seemed deadly in the tight space.
Additionally, there was another wizard out there, possibly a war wizard from the kingdom's army, which could cause problems if intervened.
If the kingdom found out who they were, it could have dire consequences.
And more importantly, Hewitt was nowhere to be found.
Oliver reevaluated their mission: their primary goal was to secure Hewitt or assist in his escape.
"Why aren't you answering me?" Willes pressed for an answer.
"We're here to secure Mr. Hewitt, the magic hacker,"
Oliver replied, watching as the enemies surrounding him raised their swords.
"But we also received another order," he added, and Willes raised his hand to stop his men from attacking.
"What order did you receive?" Willes inquired.
"Can you tell us what information Mr. Hewitt obtained?" Oliver asked in return.
"Is there a reason why I should tell you?"
"We would like to help you if you tell us, help you so that you can escape from the kingdom's forces,"
'
It was 9 o'clock at night, an ideal time for a secret meeting.
The negotiations that had begun unintentionally turned out to be more successful than expected.
Oliver, the negotiator, had also exceeded expectations.
As a result, the city's request to secure Hewitt or obtain the information he had obtained and help him escape was achieved.
Arthur and his colleagues were surprised by Oliver's achievements.
However, there were also concerns that the other side could be lying and that it was uneasy to be so directly involved with the rebels.
However, following Arthur's opinion that it was already spilled milk, they all agreed to cooperate with the rebels as Oliver negotiated.
In order to complete the city's request, cooperation seemed to be the best option for this side which had many things to consider such as hiding their identity and finding Hewitt's location.
After Arthur brought order, Oliver and his party prepared and moved to the meeting place.
The meeting place was on the outskirts of the city, and there were several large and small farmhouses nearby. Willes and his party were said to be hiding in one of them.
"It feels like they might be lying to us," said Donna.
"Don't worry, Ms. Donna. Mr. Willes seemed genuinely concerned about something and was receptive to our proposal," Oliver reassured her.
McBore, who had been listening in, chimed in.
"Oh, since you're a Warlock, you can see through the other person's emotions, right?"
"It's not very detailed, but I can on a rough level."
"I've heard that you can even read people's thoughts at a certain level. Is that true?"
McBore asked as if having small talk. But, unlike his appearance, he didn't seem to ask out of pure curiosity, he seemed to be trying to find out something.
There was no malice, but there was a sense of prudent feelings.
Oliver replied, "Not to that extent. I can sense intentions and mindsets, but not thoughts."
"I envy you. I'll definitely win if I use it while playing poker. So, What was Willes' feeling?"
"He was feeling…"
"… I felt fortunate that there were people who I could use to push the car that I had a hard time driving."
Just then, Willes and his colleagues emerged from the darkness.
The three people they had seen in the basement were also there, each of them possessing the mana of a wizard.
Oliver was not surprised, having sensed their emotions in advance, but Arthur's group was visibly flustered.
It seemed like it was a good thing that they did not have to fight. Either way, once they fought, both sides couldn't avoid the damage.
"This is not the meeting place,"
Willes replied to Arthur's inquiry while extending his mana in the form of threads, exploring the surrounding area as he spoke.
"We came from our side just in case. Fortunately, I don't think you've done anything wrong."
'
Oliver had seen a Magic Tower student use this technique before, but Willes executed it with ease, revealing his deep knowledge of various forms of magic.
As the opponent in front of them had a bounty of 1.2 billion, Donna and McBore prepared for a possible fight, while Willes and his group also kept their guard up.
It was a strange and awkward alliance.
"Where's Hewitt?" Arthur asked Willes.
"He's not here. He's already moving," Willes replied.
"What?"
"What? Did you have an appointment with Hewitt?"
"You said you'd hand over the information that Hewitt found," Arthur reminded Willes.
"I know. I'll tell you that for you. I heard it all from Hewitt," Willes assured him.
"He's telling the truth."
Oliver confirmed that his words were sincere.
On Oliver's guarantee, everyone decided to listen to Willes for now.
Willes began to explain the situation.
"Currently, the main road to the north is guarded by a small number of kingdom troops. And the reserve unit is ready to back up if the need arises. If we get caught even once, it's over."
"So what?" Arthur asked.
"While Hewitt escapes safely, we will attack the kingdom troops and steal their attention. Help me with that. I think having a magic equipment expert, Magic sniper, golem prosthetic arm, and black magic will be a lot of help," Willes said.
"Are you asking us to help you attack the kingdom army?" Arthur asked, surprised.
"It's part of the job anyway, isn't it?" Willes said, shrugging.
Oliver didn't think much about it.
It seemed dangerous, so he just thought he should be careful.
But Arthur was different.
In addition to the anxiety of carrying the risk, he felt personal discomfort.
But at the same time, he agonized, weighing the price he'll get when this is done safely.
Willes also opened his mouth to persuade Arthur as if he had noticed this.
"You don't seem to like it, but you will change your mind after hearing the information I give you."
"What makes you so confident? Do think I'm someone so cheap that I would betray my country for your words," Arthur retorted.
Willes' emotions fluctuated a little at the moment.
"…because it's not just about our war. It's more important than that. As a human being."
"What is that?"
"Someone made a deal with the Demon. Someone from the Royal family,"