The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 19



Only Noblemtl

Episode 19. Skull Tattoo

“… … .”

Restaurants in District 3 that have signed a free-use contract.

I stared into space from a corner of the noisy, bustling hall.

I felt ashamed of myself for doing this amidst the waves of gazes directed at me, pretending it wasn’t me, but I had a reason for doing so.

“An achievement that led the wizard who rejected providence to harmony!”

“The spirit feels a great affinity with you!”

“Your natural affinity increases!”

“The spirit vaguely awakens to its own origins!”

A system message appears after finishing off the Warlock.

There were many parts that needed to be interpreted rather than just passed over.

‘The first sentence means that the warlock was killed.’

It was expressed in an orphaned way, but the essence was like that.

The nuance didn’t matter anyway.

The thing to focus on is understanding the trigger and what benefits it gives me.

‘My affinity for nature has increased.’

The number now stands at 13.

This is not a small income as it is a skill that is difficult to raise step by step.

And the final message involved an increase in natural affinity.

‘The spirit has awakened to its own origin?’

I rinsed my mouth with cold water because it was rough from the bland fried rice.

‘The source of the World Tree’s power is the spirit, so it must mean that it is ready to acquire new abilities.’

Perhaps because the content is vague, I haven’t acquired the skill yet.

One, that was soon too.

Now that the trigger has been provided, the rest is just a matter of time.

And the most common way to shorten this is through repetition mastery.

“Hey, come here.”

After I finished eating all the food, I called out to the spirit swimming in the owner’s hair.

The spirit flew in a lively trajectory like a puppy wagging its tail.

I pretended not to hear the manager’s muttered words of wonder, “Oh my, what’s wrong with your hair?”

He was a guy who knew how to use physical force, perhaps because he was gradually learning how to use magical power.

Because there were so many pranks, accidents occurred without regard to time.

“If you have a newly awakened ability, try it out.”

The spirit tapped the world tree, wondering what I was saying.

“The World Tree knocks on its chest, telling you to trust only in itself.”

“You don’t have any breasts.”

The World Tree explained something to the spirit.

The spirit was still shaking as if it was floating in the ocean, then it emitted light in the shape of an exclamation mark.

‘When did you learn that?’

While the spirit was amazed at his ability to learn, the guy showed off his talent.

It dug through the trunk of the World Tree and struck the center of the table with its flickering tip.

Knock knock!

Then something started to spread.

It covered the surface as if it was multiplying, and eventually it reached my fingers, so I grabbed it and pulled it off.

“Tree bark… …?”

Golf, no, a sledgehammer.

The grooves were deeply engraved and it was thick and hard to the touch, like metal.

The spirits were jumping around and having fun on top of it.

The World Tree looked at this closely and not long afterwards.

“The World Tree awakens to the power of wood transformation.”

“How was your meal today?”

A closer look at this has been postponed until a later date.

The female manager, who had fixed her hair, approached me with a kind smile.

“Yeah, well. It wasn’t bad.”

To be honest, it wasn’t my taste, but I couldn’t say anything bad to her face.

It’s free anyway, and they even provide coffee after the meal.

It wasn’t always provided, but when it was, all my complaints were washed away.

A person with any sense of shame would not be able to say anything.

“These days, word of mouth has spread about our store and the number of customers has increased a lot.”

“Oh, congratulations.”

“It’s all thanks to the customers.”

It was a store with a lot of empty seats, but it definitely wasn’t deserted.

I feel like the hole-in-the-wall store that I used to go to alone has become famous.

It may have been a flash in the pan, but its growth was dazzling.

“If this trend continues, I’m happily contemplating whether to expand the store or increase the number of stores.”

The eyes of the CEO, who smiled bashfully and confided her dreams to me, were filled with longing.

‘Was he originally such an ambitious person?’

When I met him as an NPC, he had a blank expression or an expression that seemed to be unable to hide his boredom.

After all, the very act of hiring me as the face madam is an expression of ambition.

There were many new things I learned when I met him in person.

“How are the pickpockets you warned me to watch out for last time doing these days?”

Pickpockets that I’ve personally dealt with and experienced.

It’s already a finished story, but there was something I was curious about.

“It was so quiet that it made no sense whatsoever. I heard that someone died because they messed with the wrong person… … .”

There the lady came close to me and whispered.

“… … I think they were part of the Brotherhood. That’s why there was chaos.”

What a mess?

I asked her back.

“Usually, it’s not a big deal if the lower-level people die, right?”

“As the customer said, it’s something that should be quietly passed over. But for some reason, I heard that the branch over there is chasing after a criminal.”

“… … .”

It was a result that I had been hoping for even when I asked directly.

‘Hela said that this branch manager is very careful about personnel management.’

I really thought he’d take out his sword when a few low-ranking people were harmed.

It was an unusual decision for a Brotherhood organization known for its lack of loyalty.

‘It’s hard to hide my identity.’

Since I didn’t bother to hide my whereabouts, many people saw my face.

If we continue our investigation, it won’t be difficult to identify me.

‘… … Honestly, it’s not scary.’

The skills of Brotherhood members varied greatly from branch to branch.

Because the 100th branch was only in name due to its lack of substance compared to its size, it would not be strange to call it a back-alley gang rather than a gang.

I may have been afraid back when I was a factory worker with no skills, but now I have absolutely no fear.

But if there is one thing that concerns you.

‘If they decide to interfere with me, things will get tricky.’

There was a lot of work I had to do, like looking up information on Hynax and waiting for Greenwood’s request.

If you try to interfere with my work by pushing forward with your numbers, you will be a stumbling block.

‘Should I contact the Drexia office?’

I thought of Hela, who had shown me great favor.

If you associate with mercenaries, it would be burdensome for a single branch of the Brotherhood to touch them.

‘For now, I need to just quietly observe the situation.’

On hold for now.

It was like burning down the whole house to catch a flea.

I didn’t have enough money to buy information to handle the commissions, and my circumstances weren’t favorable for me to belong to a mercenary agency.

There was still some time left, so it was best to watch the situation and then make a decision.

Then, suddenly, he may change his mind and take your hand away.

‘If it doesn’t work out, I have no choice but to handle it myself.’

Clearly, an all-out hostility towards the Brotherhood was something to be reluctant about.

In addition to the differences between the organization and the individual, the Brotherhood was by no means an easy organization once it became fully operational.

But isn’t it something that you can’t just sit back and let it happen?

If necessary, you had to know how to draw your sword.

“But sir.”

The lady manager pointed to my table with her face still smiling brightly.

“Why did it suddenly become like this?”

“… … .”

Oh, I forgot.

“Yes, that’s right.”

There was no evidence that I had done it.

I acted shamelessly.

“Was it like this before the guests arrived?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’m sure I showed you to a clean table… … .”

The fierce battle left me breathless.

The first one to back down was the female president.

“I guess I was mistaken. I wasn’t trying to blame you, so don’t misunderstand. This looks nice from an interior perspective.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s expensive, wooden table. It’s rare and therefore very popular. I don’t know who did it, but if possible, I hope they change all the other tables to this one.”

The lady manager whistled and gave me a hot look.

It was an overt suggestion, not a subtle one.

Somehow, it felt like the leash would be tightened, so I just stopped talking.

“I hope so.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’ll come again next time.”

“Take a look.”

I ignored the hot gaze of the owner on the back of my head and left the store.

***

“You came at a good time.”

A brokerage office I visited again after some time had passed.

Strangely enough, Cromwell welcomed me.

His expression wasn’t very bright, which suggests that it was because he had not seen me since my last request.

“What’s wrong with your face? Did you have the nerve to say that the city government organization wouldn’t give you money?”

“No, the compensation has been neatly taken care of. You’ve even received the warlock’s bounty, so things are going well for you.”

Well then, that’s the rest.

A follow-up investigation into Hynax.

My mood, sensing that things were not going well, sank along with Cromwell.

“I’ll give you a more detailed explanation after you’ve looked through all of this.”

I received the report from Cromwell.

In addition to investigating the company, he also asked for the identity and whereabouts of the person involved.

It was not something that could be contained in just a few sheets of paper, but the amount I held in my hands was very meager.

“… … This kind of handling of affairs may not be a problem for a broker, but it’s a dud as far as information is concerned.”

After reading everything, the first thing that came out of my mouth was a question.

“If everything is unintelligible, unidentifiable, and investigations have failed, do you really need to read this?”

Even that handful of paper was filled with blank spaces.

The result is one that casts doubt on Cromwell’s abilities.

“I did my best, since we are not strangers. But that is all I can find out with your commission.”

“If the reward money wasn’t enough, I wouldn’t mind using the bounty money.”

“Of course I did. So the money I gave you was all the commission. It was your decision, so don’t feel sorry.”

The wad of bills taken out of the drawer was meager.

It was certainly not a small amount, but it was far below what was expected, considering the bounty on top of the reward.

“It’s quite a sight.”

I spent all my money and this is what I got.

I felt more puzzled than disillusioned.

“Can investigating a single company be this difficult?”

It wasn’t something that could be passed over as just bad luck.

There is no effect without a cause.

Especially in this world where anything is possible with money and power.

“There was intervention from above.”

“That is correct.”

The reason was so obvious.

Cromwell gave a cool, affirmative explanation.

“The company went bankrupt a year ago and collapsed, and the researchers I found in place of the director of the research institute are all dead or have disappeared from the city without a sound. This means that action was taken from the higher-ups.”

“… …Did the city government intervene?”

The city government had the power to do so.

The highest power structure that truly rules the city.

It wasn’t even a difficult task to bury a few people without them knowing.

“I can’t be sure. In fact, contrary to popular belief, the city government is not that thorough in its handling of affairs.”

Cromwell’s answer was ambiguous.

“This way of doing things is closer to the corporate way.”

“enterprise?”

“There was a rumor that Hynax grew in size by eating the beans of large companies.”

“… … It’s a big company.”

Among the candidates that were considered, he was ranked as the worst.

The large corporations that controlled the city’s capital were a group with immense power that was not inferior to the city government.

In some ways it is more demanding than city government.

Among them, Megacorp, which is called Cheonwicheon, was so great that even the city government sought understanding and made concessions.

“How much do you think it would cost to dig in there?”

“At least it would cost the price of a decent house. That would be the bare minimum.”

“… … .”

It was not something that a mere contractor, a runner for the underworld, could touch.

Even leaving everything else aside, the realistic cost of this would have been astronomical.

“If it’s something like Militechnica, it might be worth a try, but if it’s something like Sylvester or Centrim, it’s wiser to give up.”

The latter two were a terrible lineup.

Centrim, who has eaten up half of the city’s capital, and Sylvester, who is closely following him.

These are the leading players of Megacorp.

It was too big of a deal to be mentioned while chasing a closed laboratory and a single warlock.

‘Things have gotten quite messed up.’

As Cromwell warned, we had to get out of here.

I don’t know about later, but it was too burdensome to touch it now.

‘Still, I’m glad to know that I didn’t do anything wrong.’

I was convinced that it was something that involved a large corporation.

The circuit engraved on the spirit’s cocoon fragment is an artificial creation.

The harvest was sufficient, as I was sure there would be no competition in recovering the fragments of the spirit’s cocoon.

‘And it’s not something to give up on altogether.’

If you go straight, you’ll end up in Seoul.

A direct investigation was unsuccessful, but one trace still remained.

“You said there was a bounty on the warlock?”

The person who used suspicious black magic.

Since he was a person with a bounty on his head, his personal information was not erased and was made public.

“I knew you’d ask that.”

Cromwell handed me a wanted poster with an X drawn on it, meaning “completed.”

Name is Dalton Sunderland, age 45, warlock… … .

As I read on, my eyes were fixed on one spot.

The guy’s affiliation history.

There was a very conspicuous group name written there.

“… …I’m from the Brotherhood.”

A clue to unraveling the tangled situation appeared at an unexpected connection.

***

“Brother, just stop right there.”

I was on my way back to the hotel.

I was thinking that there weren’t many people on the street today, and then some men sitting blocking the street grabbed me.

“Take off that hood for a sec.”

“… … What’s going on?”

“Woah, don’t be afraid.”

The menacing men approached me, shaking their fists and snapping their necks.

‘What the hell are you guys doing?’

It’s a city where even the police from the Public Security Bureau don’t patrol.

Are they some kind of vigilante group doing inspections or something?

My doubts were quickly dispelled.

“We’re just looking for someone. Once we confirm that it’s not you, we’ll let you go.”

“Let’s just check each other’s faces, so let’s not make things uncomfortable for each other by acting up unnecessarily.”

It can’t be a lie, because even the most unmotivated police officer wouldn’t have just stood by and watched if an incident occurred.

But I couldn’t just cooperate.

‘Skull tattoo on exposed skin.’

I’ve seen this behavior before.

‘Brotherhood.’

The intention of those who stopped and questioned passersby was aimed at me.