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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: A Dramatic Change
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“But as you can see, that’s become difficult, so these two will take my place and handle this role for you.”
At my glance, Ramona and Deril, who were still bickering, fell silent.
Deril looked thoroughly displeased, but she held her tongue.
Agreeing to a bothersome request like guiding a new inmate, with nothing to gain from it.
They really are too kind for a place like this.
“Unfortunately, there aren’t many people kind enough to agree to a request like this.”
In other words, you’d better stick with them.
I hope she manages to survive in this harsh place.
“These two are some of the most capable people here, so learn as much as you can from them in the next week.”
“……”
I have a feeling. This new inmate, Haira, is going to get a pretty high rank.
Eyes that fearless are bound to cause trouble, for better or for worse.
‘She’s the type to survive. That’s a relief.’
Not every prisoner who comes here is strong-willed.
With depression, or anxiety and delusional disorders. And some are tormented by obsessions.
The ‘Top’ exists to prevent crime in this place, but…
Nevertheless, what’s bound to happen, happens.
It’s a hopeless place, so it can’t be helped.
It would be ridiculous if a prison were comfortable, after all.
“It was brief, but it was nice to meet you.”
I dusted myself off and stood up without a second thought.
I’d said my goodbyes to my roommates, so it was time to disappear.
A few other people I should say goodbye to came to mind, but I figured I could do it on my way out.
Then again, does it even matter if I don’t?
‘They’re all strong. They’ll be fine.’
Boss. That’s what they called me, but I knew it was just an empty title.
“Boss, when are you coming back?”
“Oh, honestly. Do people on their way to be executed come back? That would be a resurrection. The second coming of Lumen? Hahaha.”
“Ugh, seriously, Ramona. Shut up. Can’t you be serious for a second!”
I had no intention of ruling, managing, or getting involved with them in any way. And they didn’t want me meddling, either.
“Take care of yourselves. You’re both good people, and more importantly, you aren’t in for life like me. You’ll get out someday, and you’ll do just fine wherever you go.”
My words silenced Ramona and Deril.
I gave a polite wave to the others staring at me and turned away without a second thought.
“That… that psycho…! Ramona, did you see that? Does she look like someone on their way to be executed? And *good* people? That crazy bitch. I’ve been called a vicious bitch a hundred times, but *good*? I can’t believe the crap I’m hearing!”
“Hm, so it must be death by hanging after all.”
“Aargh, seriously!”
Letting the commotion go in one ear and out the other, I walked away calmly.
I wonder who this VIP coming here is.
* * *
Deril was anxious.
Rank: High-Grade/Class 1. Charges: Urban arson and destruction of state property.
She had burned down the entire human experimentation lab she’d escaped from—a place that lured in children and experimented on them under the guise of researching ‘Kia’.
Though she’d been sent to Niflheim—to hell—for refusing to repent, Deril had never once regretted her actions.
But now, that same Deril was plagued by anxiety and restlessness.
Mint.
She looked to be in her early twenties at most, despite actually being in her mid-twenties.
And yet, this young woman was the king of all prisoners.
The Warden, Ralph, the king of this place? What a joke.
Mint was the true leader they all recognized.
So for someone like her to be leaving, it was only natural to feel a sudden pang of anxiety.
She was the boss, yet she was always polite, even using formal speech with everyone.
The truth was, it was less about manners and more that she’d forgotten all common sense and was just trying to appear normal on the surface.
‘Is the Boss even going to tell the kids in the next room she’s leaving?’
She thought of the twins who suffered from separation anxiety.
Knowing Mint’s personality, she was one hundred percent certain to just leave without a word because it was too much of a hassle.
What kind of trouble is that psycho trying to cause now?
And can she even handle the fallout?
‘No, she can handle it, right? It won’t be an incident like that one a few years ago, right?’
Deril, who considered herself Mint’s right hand despite never being officially recognized as such, felt her mind race.
* * *
In this world, there is a power that can do anything.
A mass of energy, to be precise. This power, normally dispersed throughout the air, was called ‘Kia’.
From the moment people capable of wielding it appeared, humanity developed this power in countless ways.
The power of ‘Kia’ was truly limitless.
Therefore, it wasn't difficult to imbue objects with powers that had special properties.
‘So this is it.’
I examined the green bracelet fitted snugly around my wrist.
It was made of rubber.
The inside was densely engraved with Kia-infused spells.
Its ability: ‘Transformation’.
‘If it's made of rubber, it wouldn't look out of place in a prison cell.’
I slowly turned my head and looked at the person standing in the mirror.
My turquoise hair—so unique you’d wonder if another person in the world had it—was gone.
Brown hair, green eyes. A man with an ordinary, almost naively kind face stood there.
It was me, transformed.
‘Wow, my entire look is the complete opposite of before.’
I had sharp, upturned eyes, but the man in the mirror had the kind, gentle eyes of a puppy.
His height was about average. Neither tall nor short.
From his features to his build, everything seemed meticulously designed around the theme of ‘an unremarkable appearance’.
‘Anyway… I can’t believe I’m going in as a guard, not an inmate.’
The man in the mirror was wearing a perfect prison guard’s uniform.
A uniform designed for mobility, yet tailored with a neatness that conveyed authority.
‘I never thought I’d see the day I’d be wearing one of these.’
I feel like it was just ten years ago that I had the thought, *I woke up and I was a prisoner.*
Now I can say, *I woke up and I’m a guard.*
‘My, my. What a dramatic change.’
The name given to me was ‘Garet’.
As a rookie guard, I was scheduled to be assigned to the men’s ward.
First, I was to meet the ‘VIP’ the Warden had mentioned. Then I was to stick close to them, acting as a dedicated guard, and assist them until they climbed to the upper levels of the Top and became the new leader.
‘It’s been ten days since I disappeared.’
In Niflheim, a new boss is chosen if the old one dies or is absent for seven days.
The position couldn’t be left vacant for long, as there was a role within Niflheim’s Top that only the prisoners’ boss, the highest-ranking inmate, could fulfill.
I’d been cooped up, memorizing manuals to become the perfect guard.
By now, they would have already chosen someone new to take the boss’s rank—a position only one person can hold.
‘The most likely candidate probably got it.’
In my case, I learned Kia simply because I didn’t want to be beaten.
I just happened to get good at it, and that’s what propelled me to that position.
I had no regrets about it.
I’d already received a note from the Warden telling me who the new boss was.
I finally opened the note I’d been too lazy to read until now.
The new boss’s previous rank was High-Grade/Class 1.
It was the highest rank, but it wasn’t the person right below me, the one who had been second-in-command.
However, I had known for some time that this person was hiding their power.
I’d always found it strange that they never revealed their full strength and seemed content with their rank.
Well, I figured they must have their reasons.
It was none of my business.
“Sir Garet. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
An attendant, the kind only found in the guards’ building, bowed his head.
I followed the attendant. To meet the ‘VIP’.
“Where are we going?”
The attendant gave the rookie guard a strange look for using formal speech with him.
“We have orders from Sergeant Steven. You are to go see the inmate arriving today. I will be escorting you as far as the building’s entrance.”
But, as was typical for an attendant in this prison, he quickly lost interest.
His expression seemed to say he just figured another weirdo had shown up.
I stood there for a moment, looking up at the sky.
‘The original story is about to begin.’
Ten years have passed, so the male lead should be appearing soon.
Did that mean I now knew what my future held? Unfortunately, no.
‘How could I know anything, based only on a story that was told in brief snippets focused on the male lead?’
The female lead would have already begun her journey far from here.
This prison was just a bonus stage before the female lead’s appearance.
A side story that did little more than reveal, *The male lead is here.*
So there was only one thing I could rely on.
Perfectly carrying out the Warden’s orders.
And then, escape.
* * *
A moment later, that resolve was shattered.
“Inmate ‘Helios’?”
Before me stood the new inmate.
No, the male lead himself, standing there with a defiant look on his face.
