CH 6

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“Hahaha!”

Three hours later, sitting together in the guards’ lounge, Sergeant Stephen burst into laughter.

“I thought you’re a weirdo!”

It seemed that there was a misunderstanding, so after talking about it with him, I cleared up the misunderstanding about me.

The warden didn’t just provide me with disguises; he handed over all personal information, history, and life story of the guard I was acting as, allowing me to fully assume the role.

“Memorize it perfectly. I’ve created a profile that could make people understand even your crazy way of speaking.”

It took about ten days to memorize it to the point where I could recite properly even when half-asleep.

“Oh, you’re the third son of a Viscount? I get it. Usually, there are guys who become strange under pressure.”

‘Garrett’ was born as the third son of a declining Viscount family, in a position where he couldn’t even inherit the remaining estate.

The setting was that he could use Kia, so they supported him to go to Niflheim with that belief.

“If you can hold on in Niflheim for three years, you can become a imperial knight or a capital noble.”

“….”

“It’s a famous story among the people, even though you’re someone who can’t become a noble, let alone inherit the fortune.”

The wardens here deal with prisoners who possessed Kia frequently. Therefore, they need to know how to use Kia. However, someone who handles Kia well was classified as a high-level talent.

There was no reason for a talented person to end up in this remote, notorious prison. Therefore, the Empire started giving incentives to those who applied as wardens here.

If they endure for more than three years, they would receive a minor noble rank. If they endure for more than five years, they can receive a noble rank along with the position of an imperial knight.

“I’m grateful that you understand.”

“Tsk, tsk. I thought your manner of speaking was unusually stiff. You still feel a lot of pressure, huh? Relax. Take it easy.”

Sergeant Stephen, who realized that the words I said to the male lead was meant to be a joke, laughed heartily.

After that, he began to show friendliness towards me.

It wasn’t a bad position to be in, as I had to blend in among the guards.

“… I understand. I will work hard to relax.”

“….”

“I will take note of that. Thank you for the advice.”

Sergeant Stephen’s lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, his face showing a strange expression.

“…Even though I’ve only seen you briefly, you’re really an unusual person. Thanks to you, I learned what happens when a person succumbs to pressure.”

“I’m glad I could contribute to your learning,” I replied, bowing my head slightly.

He soon nodded with excitement.

“Have you familiarized yourself with the areas here?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I have memorized all the layouts and areas.”

“I see. I like your attitude. Well, then, is there anything else… work-related?”

Sergeant Stephen stroked his chin.

Here, newly appointed guards were called Sir until their first year, and from the second year on, they were referred to as Sergeant.

“You know that the rookies are assigned to handle one specific prisoner, right? Did you receive the manual?”

“Yes, I know it.”

“Yes, there’s not much to do. Probably just running around, cleaning up their mess.”

“….”

“Don’t worry about making mistakes since there are seniors like me around. After all, the rules were created for the rookies to get a real grasp of this area and observe.”

His words reminded me of ‘Hira’.

She was a new prisoner who entered on the day I decided to disappear as Mint. Unfortunately, due to bad timing, she became a prisoner who couldn’t be told about various things like the other newcomers.

‘Ramona and Deryl should guide her well.’

They were rare good-hearted person, but they have been here for a long time, so it was uncertain if they would be kind to newcomers. Even though both guards and prisoners need an adaptation period.

“Oh, by the way. The prisoner you’re assigned to, do you know his offense? That shameless guy.”

“I haven’t seen the documents yet,” I lied, pretending not to know.

“Tsk. That damn criminal, Helios or something, causing chaos with his face, messing with this and that woman. Pathetic to use a name from mythology.”

For a moment, I felt like he had an inferiority complex toward the handsome guy, like what Sergeant Stephen said before, but I decided not to say anything.

“Senior, you have taught me many things.”

“What? You’re saying nonsense every ten words, you brat.”

Sergeant Stephen made an expression of disbelief.

Then, he suddenly muttered the offense of the male lead, “That guy’s offense is massacre.”

His face while saying the weighty charge didn’t change.

“He massacred the village and set it on fire. At first, he tried to blame it to the revolutionary army, but the investigation team uncovered the truth.”

“….”

“Tsk, anyway. There’s not a single ordinary criminal coming in here, including him.”

Naturally. There was a reason why it was considered the worst prison on Earth. But the male lead must’ve felt unjustly accused. He didn’t commit the crimes he was accused of.

‘I guess we have that in common.’

Moreover, there was another similarity between us: I possessed the body of a criminal, but the real culprit wasn’t me. Also, the real culprit of the massacre incident that the male lead was accused of…

‘Is the same person as my culprit.’

That was a fact.

“Hey, rookie. Break time’s over. Let’s go for the shift change.”

“Yes.”

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The next day.

The time had come for the male lead, who had spent the night in the building near the entrance of the cell block, to move to the main building.

Every prisoner passes through the garden, which doubles as a walking area, and arrives at the main building, where they are assigned their own cells.

“This is the room assigned to you for a month.”

The male lead, Helios, was no exception.

“They said that despicable criminals like you should go through a management period before being assigned to the next room.”

The perpetrator of the massacre will be assigned to a 4-person or 7-person cell after a management period lasting from a week to a month.

There used to be 15-person cells, but they were removed after prisoners gathered together and attempted an escape.

If their grade goes up, they can use a 3-person or 2-person cell.

A question arose in Helios’s mind as he stared at the cell.

“Is this a solitary cell?”

“Yes, it’s a solitary cell. The room you’ll be assigned to next depends on what you do.”

Although the manual advised against providing too much information to the prisoners, this shouldn’t matter much.

It was just about the solitary cell, and about how the room was dirty and gloomy.

“They say even this room is a luxury for a perpetrator of a massacre.”

At the mention of ‘massacre’ Helios’ face stiffened. There was a faint trace of injustice and resignation that flickered across his expression.

Was my face like that once?

I pondered for a moment, but it was too distant of a memory.

“Right now you’re the lowest-ranking prisoner. However, if you enter the ‘Tower’ in the prison and overcome the trials, you can be assigned a cleaner room according to your grade.”

This was something that should be made clear.

“And my name is Garrett. I’m assigned to be your guard for a while.”

For a while? No, I’ll make him sick of seeing me until you become the head here.

“Assigned guard? You mean someone who constantly follows me around?”

His voice sounded resentful. I understood.

‘How surprising and frightening it must be.’

It was common to see prisoners expressing their fear as rebellion in this place. Moreover, I had always been kind to the new prisoners, even after becoming a guard.

“It’s similar but different. I have the obligation to protect and monitor you to ensure you didn’t die, sustain permanent physical injuries, or have your limbs mutilated for a month.”

“….”

However, I hold back the words that assigned guards rarely fulfill this obligation.

Thanks to that, they can see from the fact that the highest number of deaths among new prisoners occurs within a month of their admission.

“I’ll protect you.”

Newbie who have just arrived usually break the taboo because they don’t know any better.

Seeing so many lives being wasted… I started personally guiding the new prisoners.

“Of course, there are hardly any guards who consider this duty as a duty. But I will protect you, so you can trust me.”

Being a newbie in this place means being at the bottom of the pyramid.

Unfortunately, this place was even more cruel to those at the lower ranks.

“Oh, and I apologize for what I said yesterday.”

“Apologize?”

“I realized too late that the direction of my compliment was wrong.”

Helios looked at me as if I was a lunatic. There was even a hint of hostility in his eyes.

“You’re going to protect me fiercely, huh?”

“….”

“Why would someone with a much smaller and weaker physique protect someone else?”

“Kid.”

“What?”

Now was the time when I needed to stand firm when he was confused. It was understandable.

“Prisoner Helios, you can’t handle ‘Kia,’ can you?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Half of the world had the power that he can’t use. The outside world was not such a bad place to live even without Kia. They were not inadequate just because they can’t use it. But here, it was different.

“The moment you enter the recreational area, you will become a target of violence.”

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