Chapter 66 Work Experience [3]

66 Work Experience [3]

There wasn't much that I knew about the penitentiary. The location was undisclosed, and only a select few knew the exact coordinates of the place. Some speculated that it was located in the middle of an island while others speculated it was located inside a mountain range. There were a lot of rumors about the place, but nobody knew the real location. Wooom—

I came out of the portal feeling a little wobbly. It felt as though my organs had flipped over. Thankfully, nothing came out of that and I was able to recover rather quickly.

"....." I looked up to stare ahead. Before us a large wall loomed, stretching across several kilometers. At its forefront, imposing gates greeted our sight, flanked by stationed guards.

'So this is the entrance of the penitentiary.'

It was rather imposing. "Follow along... Follow along..." I never had the chance to properly admire them before the Professor's lethargic voice brought me back. Scratching his head, his eyes drooped slightly. "Let's get you all registered..." Scratching his hair, he just seemed tired of life. I couldn't blame him. I was feeling the same way. Especially when I felt a pair of eyes burning holes at the back of my head. I paused and looked back. "Get over it." "....." "It was an accident." "An accident?" Aoife, who was glaring at me, clenched her teeth and finally spoke. "Do you really expect me to believe that?" "Sure you can. You tripped over your feet." At that, Aoife's usual blank look showed signs of cracking. She appeared to be on the verge of losing it, but... Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Taking a deep breath, she suppressed her anger and left. "....." 'She's definitely mad.'

But... It was worth it. "By the way..." Her steps continued even as I spoke. "....If you're scared, I can help you out agai-" "Uht!" She ended up tripping on her feet and losing balance. Just barely, she managed to keep herself from falling face flat and recovered rather quickly. Her head flicked back as she glared at me. "I wasn't scared." "Oh." Sure she wasn't. "Okay." I nodded, ready to leave things be, when suddenly, I felt the back of my blazer get pulled, and her face appeared inches away from mine. Like a wild animal, she bared her teeth at me.

"I. was. not. scared." Her teeth didn't open once as she spat those words out. "Not." Just then...

"What did you call me?!" "Kakaka." Smacking her thigh, she started to laugh. "Holy shit! I didn't think you could make yourself look ever worse than that, but here you are...! Kakaka." Clank—!

"You bitch!" "...." I tried my best to ignore her, but she really was a...

"Crazy bitch." Thankfully, the Professor intervened. ".....T-ah." Just then, she was about to click her tongue but stopped herself when realizing who she was talking to. I couldn't help but find her expression amusing as her face scrunched up as a result. It looked like she had just eaten shit. Snap— Snap— Snapping his fingers to gather our attention, the Professor spoke. "You may disperse and start to familiarize yourselves with the surroundings. For now, your role won't be anything big. If you see any of the inmates starting a fight, it's your job to break it up. All of them have their mana sealed so it shouldn't be a problem for you to deal with them." Or so he said. However, knowing what I knew, I didn't let my guard down and made sure to be on full alert the entire time.

"Alright, off you go. Wander around and familiarize yourself with the surroundings. If you have any problems come find me. I'll be at the guard station." With a lazy wave of his hand, the Professor finally left. "He's finally gone."

"Hey, do you want to team up with me?" "Let's go." From there, all the cadets went their own separate way. Most of them went in groups of four that they formed after the Professor's absence. I was one of the only few who remained alone. Well, it was something that I had expected and desired. I looked around me. "For now, I need to get a better idea of my surroundings."

I planned to meticulously learn all the details of my surroundings. While I didn't know exactly where the escape was going to happen, every little bit of information helped. In fact, there was something that I needed to prioritize before that. There was a certain person that I wanted to meet. That I had to meet. "Heh." 'I wonder if he still remembers me.' I wasn't sure. Back then, all of it happened due to the skill. I was still not sure whether the time I spent with him was something that he remembered.

Was the person I met his subconscious or just a manifestation of it? Something that the skill had created to mimic how he'd react? I wasn't sure, but I was about to find out. However, if he truly did remember, then...

"....It'll turn everything around." After separating from the other cadets, Kiera walked around to monitor the area. It had been several hours since, and she was somewhat starting to get accustomed to the surroundings.

As she scanned the surroundings, a voice echoed. "Look at you~" A whistle followed. "Come here and have some fun with me. I promise I don't bite." It belonged to a skinny man with a buzz cut and sunken features. ".....Is that so?" Kiera smiled as she neared one of the prison cells where the inmate appeared. Holding onto the bars, he brought his face closer. "What do you say? I'm not bad, right?" "I wonder." Brushing her hair behind her ear, she leaned forward a little. "I'm curious about something though." "Oh?" The inmate looked down slightly. "Ask away. I'll tell you anything. Hehehe." "How sweet of you~" The current Kiera seemed like a stark contrast to how she usually was. Normally, she would've insulted them back or thrown a middle finger, but such wasn't the case at the moment. "So, I was just curious... You are like the small dogs here, aren't you?" "Small dogs?" "Yeah, you know. The low-risk guys." The prisoners were separated into three ranks. They were ranked depending on the severity of the crimes committed, and their general strength; Extreme-risk, High-risk, and Low-risk. "....Where are the really scary guys locked up?" The face of the prisoner changed at the inquiry. No longer did he seem as keen to talk to her as he was before. "Why are you asking about them?" He almost seemed wary. Kiera could even sense some lingering fear in his tone. 'As expected, he might know something...'

She hadn't selected him for no reason. Having talked with the other inmates, she more or less came to learn about the general hierarchy within the prison. The inmate before her was an 'informant'. He was someone who knew a lot, and the exact person that Kiera was looking for. "Dunno, I'm just curious. Heard a lot of stories about them before coming here." ".....I see." He seemed to have bought that, but... "Sorry, can't talk." "You can't...?" "Well..." He glanced at her, the meaning of his gaze clear. Kiera smiled and looked around her. Then, making sure nobody was looking, her hand flashed forward and reached for the inmate's shirt before she thrust it back and pulled him along. "Hey, wa...!" Bang—! A loud banging sound echoed. Several gazes fell on her the moment the sound echoed, and she returned them with a glare. "What are you looking at?" Only then did they look away and she returned her gaze to the inmate. She discussed it with the other guards, and so long as she had a proper reason, she could use some 'force' against the inmates. So long as it wasn't excessive... "Ukh... You!? What are you....!" Her head reached into the cell again and she once again pulled. Bang—! "Akh...!" Drip... Drip! Blood started to drip down from the inmate's nose as he looked up to Kiera. "Wh!" Bang—! He was never able to get a word out as each time she'd trust his head towards the bars. Bang—! It went on for several times before his expression contained nothing else but fear. "Huu... Hu..... Y-you..." Her cold gaze bore down on him as she looked at him from above. ".....Looking at me doesn't come cheap, you know? Time for me to collect my payment."