Unsealing Emptiness

It was time to give his old friend Count Oliver a visit.

When he reached the Count’s estate, it looked exactly the same as before. If he were to point out any difference, it would be that the garden looked a little more abundant. It seemed that Count Oliver was taking extra care of the garden nowadays.

This time he did not bother to go through the main gate and directly landed in the garden. As expected, he found Oliver in his most favorite spot, with the old butler standing behind him as usual.

Count Oliver was startled when something suddenly landed in front of him. He and the butler immediately assumed a battle position, ready to deal with whoever it was.

“... It’s been a while,” Ozul said as he noticed the small beard Oliver had now. It was only a few years, but the slight change in his appearance made it seem as if a lot of time had passed.

“Ozul! Haha, Yes! Yes! It has indeed been a while,” Oliver laughed merrily. Albert behind him also visibly relaxed.

.....

As Oliver laughed, he did not fail to notice the fact that Ozul had an actual foot instead of that prosthetic one. Seeing that, his smile could not help but widen.

“Look at that, you could indeed get your limbs back!” After spending so much time working together Oliver had managed to learn a few vague things about him. And one of them was that he had to find his limbs and he wouldn’t have any problem in reattaching them.

Oliver had a hard time believing it previously, but now the truth was in front of his eyes and he could not deny it.

“It drained me, but I have one of them back... Only two more to go,” Ozul muttered while glancing at his two prosthetic arms.

“You will eventually get those back too! Anyway, come and take a seat! There are so many things I want to ask you about!” Oliver enthusiastically pushed him on the chair. Albert went inside to take some snacks and tea as he knew that Oliver would not stop for a long time no.

After some one-sided chit chat from Oliver, Ozul spoke, “For the thing that I had come here for...”

“Hoh~ Even after all this time, you had come here only for business~ Can’t say it doesn’t hurt~” Ozul looked at his antics with a deadpan face. It was just this behavior of his that made Ozul avoid meeting him as much as possible.

*Cough!*

“Master, you are supposed to be a Count. Please act like one.” Albert coughed to remind Oliver that he had to maintain his dignity.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Oliver asked, acting as if it wasn’t him whom Albert had scolded just now.

“About the organization-”

“Oh! That reminds me! Is it really your organization? The Three-Eyed Strangers?” Oliver suddenly cut in when he remembered the intimidating middle-aged man telling him that he worked for Ozul and required his cooperation.

He waited for Ozul’s reply, but then noticed the cold look on his face. “Haha... I apologize. Continue...” Oliver laughed shamelessly.

No one liked being interrupted and Ozul certainly hated repeating stuff. He was too lazy to repeat his own words.

“I am creating the organization. It will be big... Big enough to cover the whole continent.” Ozul said making both Oliver and Albert stare at him with a blank face.

“... Haha! It has indeed been a while. You have even learned to joke!” Oliver laughed loudly but stopped noticing Ozul’s emotionless face, “You... are not joking?!”

“No.”

“...” Oliver could not think of any words. Just a few years ago, he had started working with this little kid, and now he had come here to tell him that he was going to create an organization that worked at every corner of the Mainland!

“Are you sure about it?” he could not help but ask and again went into contemplation when Ozul nodded his head.

“... You know, there is essentially nothing I would be able to help with if it even goes out of the Silverbird Kingdom, not to mention you are talking about the entire continent of Egon,” Oliver replied while shaking his head a little.

Although he had built up many connections in the underground business, he was, in the end, only a Count of the Silverbird Kingdom. What kind of help did Ozul even seek from him?

“I don’t want your help. Oliver, I am here to ask you; isn’t the Count’s title getting a little rusty?” Ozul asked in a straightforward manner. Not only Oliver, but even Albert looked at him with wide eyes.

If they couldn’t even understand his words, then they had wasted all those decades of their life. It was an invitation that degraded the Count’s title, but Oliver could care less about that. For now, he was thinking of all the possibilities.

Ozul’s question had rung differently inside Oliver since it wasn’t always that he said out aloud his name.

Albert was waiting for him to refuse the offer any minute now, but he was surprised to find that Oliver was actually considering it!

“Master! Don’t tell me...”

“Why not, Albert?” Oliver knew what he was going to ask.

“What about your father’s legacy?! Being the Nobility of the Silverbird Kingdom is both your right and your duty...” Albert could not help but speak in such a bold manner. Though he immediately realized his mistake, “Cough! Forgive my manners.”

“It’s fine, Albert. I know what you must be feeling since you also served my father... But you are wrong.” Oliver paused and looked back at Albert before continuing, “Being a Count is not my birthright and certainly not a duty that only I must fulfill.”

Ozul silently looked at them and did not bother to intervene. Albert looked on the ground, comprehending what Oliver was trying to say.

“If I had given it up, someone else would have taken it. If I didn’t follow your training when I was a kid, then I would have also been some merchant. They gave me this title because I had the power to back my heritage. This... however, is different.”

Oliver looked back at Ozul and continued, “Ozul here is offering me something that probably exceeds my strength...”

“Yes. What I need right now are brains, not muscles. All the better when I can trust those brains,” Ozul added while referring to Oliver as the brain that he could put his trust onto.

“Are you in or not? Hurry up and decide,” Ozul had yet to take his self-promised sleep after returning back. So he was a little impatient right now.

“Well someone is eager to make me work for him~” Oliver joked, but Ozul had enough of his antics and was about to stand up and walk away when he hurriedly stopped him.

“... You never learn to laugh at jokes, do you. Of course, I am in! Haiz... If I don’t help you, your organization might not even start before crumbling-”

“It is already spread all over the Silverbird Kingdom.” Ozul did not let him finish his words. This cut off Oliver’s newfound wings and smashed him back on the ground.

“A-already?!” Oliver could not help but stutter. “Huu...” He took in a deep breath before smiling excitedly. He could not help but think of all the future prospects.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Oliver suddenly asked Ozul who slightly nodded his head in reply.

“Why are you creating something this big? I mean... you certainly don’t look like the ‘ I want to stand above all’ type. So, why?”

“It’s because I have questions... and there is no one to give me the answers, so I have to find them on my own,” Ozul answered while looking at the sky which had lost its color of endlessness because it was day time.

Oliver and Albert could not stop themselves from feeling bad for Ozul. It was something that even Ozul wasn’t aware of, but whenever he said something in this tone, whoever heard him would unconsciously feel pity for him, even if only in their heart.

“Hey, where is that lass? Hadn’t she sworn to never leave your side or something? And that new kid you had picked up as well.” Oliver asked, trying to shift his own mood.

“Raven and Blaze are in the Neutral Lands. They needed to grow up,” Ozul answered while standing up to leave. The longer he stayed here, the more questions Oliver would keep asking. It was better to leave as early as he could.

“Says the brat who has much to learn himself,” Oliver mused. Unlike what he thought, Ozul did not stop to entertain his taunts.

“Hey! Hey! At least tell me what do I have to do before you leave? And when do I start?” he shouted, stopping Ozul before he sprinted off.

“You will be doing whatever you have the ability to. Get to the base and talk with Haley, she will give you your roles or you can suggest yourself, whatever.” Ozul immediately disappeared the moment he finished his words.

He could already guess that Oliver would next make a joke about how he didn’t know the ins and outs of his own organization. And Ozul did not care, but he was too lazy to stay here any longer.

“Haa... and there he goes again. Damn brat doesn’t even know what he wants me to do in this organization of his...” Oliver muttered under his breath, with an amusing smile hanging on his face as he stared at the spot where Ozul had been standing just a moment ago.