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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Such a Baby
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You’re the only one who can help me get out.
Helios paused, his expression hardening.
Is he upset? Or just flustered?
My ability to read emotions wasn't great, so I couldn't tell.
“You…”
“Not ‘you.’ ‘Master.’”
“Ha, right. Master. Why do you always say things that can be so easily misunderstood…”
Helios lowered his head slightly and mumbled.
“Well, if that’s what it is…”
He even cleared his throat.
I glanced at him, then my eyes widened slightly.
“I suppose I have no choice.”
Helios was smiling faintly.
For a moment, my gaze was captured by the corners of his upturned eyes, and the three moles just beneath them that curved in kind.
“I thought you liked all prisoners.”
I stared at him blankly and shrugged.
“I may be wearing a prison uniform right now, but I’m a guard.”
The truth was, I couldn't be bothered to answer.
I only wanted to think about Helios. And about getting out of here.
‘Aside from that, he really is ridiculously good-looking. He’s probably a magnet for every pervert out there…’
It was a bit complicated.
I realized I couldn't take my eyes off this newbie until I'd raised him to be capable enough to pull his own weight.
For some reason, Helios's expression soured a little at my "I'm a guard" comment, and this time he lowered his head and grumbled.
I had no idea what he was unhappy about now.
‘Ah.’
My gaze fell on a woman passing by.
She was the one who had been in the same group as Helios a little while ago.
The only woman among those who passed the trial.
And a familiar face, too.
‘That’s Ms. Haira.’
Haira. She was a new inmate who had arrived in the women's wing around the time I accepted the warden's offer and stepped down as the cell block leader.
She was also the one I'd asked Deril and Ms. Ramona to guide since I couldn't do it myself.
Seeing that she'd made it all the way to the 20th floor…
‘They must have raised her well.’
Besides, her progress was quite fast.
‘More importantly, she seemed overflowing with talent.’
I'd seen her ability to immobilize the dogs. It looked like a ‘Charm’ ability, one with great potential.
It would be a long time from now, but if nurtured properly, she could aim for the 80th floor, or even the 90th, depending on who taught her.
But I had no intention of acknowledging her.
Partly because I was in ‘Garet’s’ body, but also because I wanted to focus solely on Helios.
“…Is that your type?”
“Hm?”
Helios was looking where I had been looking.
Ms. Haira hadn't moved, so she was still in plain sight.
“Are you asking if I’m interested in the woman over there?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I be?”
Of course not.
“You’re the only one I need to worry about, Helios.”
“…”
Helios promptly ran a hand down his face. Then he turned and walked ahead.
What’s with him?
It was soon time to return to our cells. My eyes met Haira's for a moment, and she gave a deep bow of her head.
She still has such good manners.
Helios returned, striding over and blocking my view with his large frame.
Haira disappeared from my sight.
“I have something to ask you.”
“What?”
He had a stern expression.
“This morning, when you tripped me over and over.”
“…”
“Did you do that on purpose?”
Uh oh.
“Were you trying to give me another ‘hint’?”
He leaned down, lowering his voice so much that it was barely a whisper in my ear.
I didn't even blink.
“So naive.”
“…What?”
Just then, a guard’s booming voice cut between us.
“All inmates, return to the cell block!”
I chuckled and gave his stomach a light tap.
“You should save such private conversations for when we’re alone, baby.”
“Who are you…!”
“You’re quick on the uptake.”
The sky visible above the prison was as blue as ever.
Part 3. A Villain to Villains
“You said the 20th to the 29th floors were all animals and scarecrows that attack suddenly, right?”
“Mostly?”
Helios covered his handsome face. He sank into his chair.
I was poor at reading emotions, but I knew this one.
It was familiar.
Despair hung from his broad shoulders.
I knew why, too.
“Why… from the 21st floor on, do ‘those things’ keep appearing…?”
I answered nonchalantly.
“Insects?”
“Don’t say it!”
When he moved his hands, his face was quite pale. And yet, far from looking ugly, he was still radiant.
In fact, the faint shadows under his eyes gave him a decadent air.
What kind of face attracts even more perverts when it's tired?
I let out a small laugh.
“What, can’t even call a bug a bug?”
“…”
“Scared of bugs. What a baby.”
Helios gritted his teeth.
“Who are you calling a baby?”
“You, baby.”
“That nickname is a bit…!”
“An opening.”
*Smack!*
A disc that had shot out from behind me slammed into him at high speed, and Helios went tumbling to the ground.
Through the dust, I could see his face, teeth clenched.
“If you can’t even dodge this, you are a baby.”
“…Stop it.”
“Goo goo?”
“I said, stop.”
“There, there. Was the little baby scared?”
I whispered with a deadpan expression. Helios looked utterly fed up.
“Why on earth do you call me that?”
“Oh, you don’t remember? You said any nickname was fine. Surely you haven’t forgotten your own words.”
“…”
“Besides, about that nickname.”
“Hah, call me whatever you want! I don’t care anymore, so just do it!”
Helios seemed to recall their past conversation and buried his face in his hands again.
‘How strange. He could just say he doesn’t remember.’
He could have yelled at me for talking nonsense or turned the tables on me.
It was strange how he didn’t deny it, his face clearly showing he remembered and was full of complaints.
Honest and upright.
But it was a righteousness that didn’t belong in a den of criminals.
“Given up already, baby?”
“…Do what you want. You’re going to do whatever you want anyway, Master, aren’t you?”
Helios dusted himself off and got to his feet. The moment he stood up straight, I flicked a slender finger.
*Thud!*
The disc I’d sent embedded itself in a tree. Helios had dodged it perfectly.
“…”
Even he looked bewildered.
‘Oh, not bad for just one week.’
Helios had currently reached the 22nd floor.
“Congratulations. Your first time dodging.”
“…Hah.”
“Should we try with two discs now?”
Helios’s face, which had just begun to brighten, hardened.
“Let’s go to the 23rd floor tomorrow.”
“…”
The 20th floor had featured mutated ‘dogs,’ but the 21st and 22nd were different.
Here, mutated insects appeared.
“Are bugs really that scary?”
“It’s not that I’m scared, I just hate them…”
Helios groaned and covered his mouth with his hand.
“‘Those things’ come out several times larger than normal. Things like that don’t usually exist in the world.”
“How long are you going to avoid calling bugs ‘bugs’? You’ll make them sad.”
His aversion was understandable. In truth, it wasn’t his fault.
“I told you. The insects on the 21st and 22nd floors are the kind that normally appear from the 11th floor and up.”
Normally, Helios would have had to pass through floors teeming with bugs, but he’d skipped them by going from the 8th floor straight to the 20th.
That’s why it was taking him longer to get used to them.
‘No, I think his own disposition is also part of it.’
A male lead who’s scared of bugs. It made him seem a little pathetic, and kind of cute.
I turned my head.
We were currently in a corner of the garden, available during break times, a spot people rarely used.
“Some advice: it’s about time you started making ‘allies.’”
“What?”
“You haven’t forgotten my advice, have you?”
I’m sure I said it.
“More than that, there’s one more thing the prisoners here need. What do you think it is?”
“The answer is ‘allies.’”
A look of confusion crossed Helios’s face. He didn’t seem to understand the reason, but his expression showed he wasn’t just dismissing it.
‘He really takes everything to heart. He’s smart, too.’
Definitely. He was a disciple who was satisfying to teach, thinking only of our master-student relationship.
He absorbed everything like a sponge in water.
*Rustle!*
Helios turned his head. It was the spot I had glanced at a moment ago.
A presence was felt.
To be precise, it was a presence I had already sensed and pinpointed, but one Helios had just now noticed.
“Ah, damn.”
First, a deep voice.
“Did I startle you?”
Following the voice, a familiar face emerged from between the overgrown bushes.
‘What was his name again?’
