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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: A Peculiar Fellow
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“Bwahahahaha!”
Three hours later, Sergeant Steven roared with laughter as we sat together in the guards' break room.
“I seriously thought some half-wit had joined the ranks!”
It seemed things couldn't go on like that, so after a long talk, he claimed to have cleared up his misunderstanding about me.
The Warden hadn't just given me a disguise kit.
He'd crafted a complete backstory for the guard I was to impersonate—personal details, hometown, life story, everything.
“Memorize it all. I've created a profile that makes even your unhinged way of speaking understandable.”
Those ten days were also for me to review this information, memorizing it until I could recite it in my sleep.
“So, the third son of a baron? I get it. It's not uncommon for guys like that to snap under pressure.”
‘Garet’ was the third son of a declining barony, in a position where he couldn't even inherit what little wealth remained.
The cover story was that he, fortunately, knew how to use a bit of strength-enhancing Kia, and on that basis, he'd applied to Niflheim.
“Survive three years in Niflheim, and you can become an imperial knight or a capital noble.”
“…”
“It's a well-known path for guys like you who can't even dream of inheriting a title, or for bastards.”
The guards here often have to subdue prisoners who can wield Kia.
Therefore, they need to know how to handle Kia themselves. But those who are skilled with Kia are considered high-tier talent.
There's no reason for such talent to come to this godforsaken, notorious prison.
So, the empire began to highly reward the careers of those who applied to be guards here.
Survive more than three years, and you get a non-hereditary title. More than five, and you get a hereditary title and a position as a capital knight.
“I am grateful for your understanding.”
“Tsk, tsk. I thought your speech was unusually stiff. Still feeling the pressure, huh? Relax. Just relax.”
Sergeant Steven, having realized that what I said to the male lead was actually an attempt at a joke,
cackled for a good while, saying he'd never seen anyone interpret the manual like that.
After that, he started acting friendly toward me.
Since I needed to blend in with the guards, it wasn't a bad thing.
“Right, right. To be a Stray Dog warden here, well, it's probably easier if you're a little crazy. Hmm... Yeah, it might actually be comfortable for someone who's already lost their mind.”
“I see. I will endeavor to lose my mind.”
“…”
“I will take that into consideration. Thank you for the advice.”
Sergeant Steven's mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something, his expression unreadable.
“…I've only known you for a short time, but you're a really peculiar fellow. Thanks to you, I've learned what happens when someone snaps under pressure.”
“I am pleased to have been a source of learning for you.”
He soon shook his head.
“Have you familiarized yourself with the layout here?”
“Yes. I was given some time, so I have memorized the entire structure and all the sectors.”
“Wow, I like your attitude. Then all that's left is... work talk, I guess.”
Sergeant Steven stroked his chin.
Here, new guards were addressed as junior officers for their first year and ‘Sergeant’ from their second year on.
“You know that new guys are assigned to a new prisoner, right? Did you get the manual?”
“Yes. I have reviewed it.”
“Good. There's not much to it. Just follow them around and babysit them.”
“…”
“There'll be senior guards like me around, so don't worry about small mistakes. This rule was made so rookies can get a feel for the sectors and look around anyway.”
At his words, I briefly thought of ‘Haira’.
She was the new inmate who arrived on the day I decided to disappear as Mint.
The timing was bad, so I couldn't teach her the ropes like I did with other new prisoners.
*I hope Ramona and Deril are guiding her well.*
They're good people, a rarity here. But they've also been here a long time.
I wasn't sure if they'd be kind to a newbie.
Guards and prisoners alike need time to adjust.
“Ah, by the way. Do you know the charge for the prisoner you're assigned to? That pretty boy.”
“I haven't seen the file yet.”
I had, but I pretended I hadn't.
“Tsk. A damn sinner with a face pretty enough to get him tangled up with every woman he meets. ‘Helios’? Ha, what a grandiose name from mythology.”
For a moment, I felt like I was experiencing that ‘inferiority complex towards handsome guys’ Sergeant Steven had mentioned. But I decided not to say anything.
“You are a source of great learning, senior.”
“What? This kid says something weird every ten words. Damn.”
Sergeant Steven looked dumbfounded.
Then, he casually recited the male lead's charge.
“That bastard's crime is ‘massacre’.”
His face was bored as he spoke the heavy charge.
“He massacred the people of a village and then set it on fire. At first, it was pinned on the revolutionary army, but an investigation team dug up the truth.”
“…”
“Tsk, anyway. Every last person who comes through here is no ordinary criminal.”
Of course.
It's the worst prison on earth for a reason.
However, the male lead had every right to feel wronged.
Because that wasn't a crime he'd committed; he'd been framed.
*Is that something we have in common?*
Furthermore, there was another commonality: the true culprit of the crime this body I possessed was framed for,
and the true culprit of the massacre the male lead was framed for—
*are one and the same.*
were the same person.
“Hey, rookie. Break's over. Let's go relieve the next shift.”
“Yes.”
***
The next day.
The time came for the male lead, who had spent the night in a building near the prison entrance, to be moved to the main building.
On this day, all prisoners pass through the garden and walking area in front of the Tower, arrive at the main building, and are assigned their cells.
“This is your assigned cell for the next month.”
It was the same for the male lead, Helios.
“I'm told that prisoners with crimes as severe as yours are assigned to their next cell after a probationary period.”
Mass murderers are assigned to a four- or seven-person cell after their probationary period, which lasts from one week to a month.
They used to have fifteen-person cells, but those were apparently abolished after the prisoners ganged up and attempted a breakout.
If your rank increases, you can get a three- or two-person cell.
A question surfaced on Helios's face as he stared silently at the cell.
“Is this solitary confinement?”
“Yes. It is. Your next cell depends on what you do from here on out.”
The manual said not to give prisoners too much information, but.
*This much should be fine.*
It was called solitary, but the cell was filthy and squalid.
“They say even this cell is a luxury for a mass murderer.”
At the words ‘mass murderer,’ Helios's face hardened. A faint look of indignation and resignation flashed across it.
Did my face once look like that?
I wondered for a moment, but it was all too long ago.
“You are now a prisoner of the lowest rank. However, if you enter the ‘Tower’ within the prison, overcome its trials, and raise your rank, you can be assigned to a cleaner cell befitting that rank.”
This was mandatory information.
“And I am ‘Garet’. I will be your dedicated guard for the time being.”
For the time being, my ass. You'll be seeing me until you're sick of me, right up until you become the boss of this place.
“Dedicated? Does that mean you'll be following me around like a puppy?”
His voice was sarcastic.
I understood.
*How shocking and terrifying it must be.*
It's common to see prisoners here express their fear through defiance.
Besides, I was always kind to new inmates. That hadn't changed now that I was a guard.
“Similar, but different. For one month, I am obligated to protect and monitor you to ensure you do not die, suffer permanent physical damage, or lose any limbs.”
“…”
But I swallowed the fact that dedicated guards rarely fulfill this duty.
You could tell just by how most new inmates die within their first month.
“I will protect you.”
The newly arrived chicks, in their ignorance, would often break the taboos.
After watching countless lives snuffed out like that… I began guiding the new inmates myself.
“Of course, few guards here consider this duty an actual duty. But I will uphold it. So you can trust me.”
Being a new guy here means being at the very bottom of the pyramid.
Unfortunately, in this place, those on the lower rungs are even more cruel to those below them.
“Ah, and I apologize for my remark yesterday.”
“Apologize?”
“I belatedly realized my praise was misdirected.”
Helios stared at me as if I were a lunatic.
His eyes also held hostility.
“A lot of good you'll be at protecting me.”
“…”
“With a body so much smaller and slighter than mine, who's protecting whom?”
“Kid.”
“What?”
He's confused right now, so he's at his most hostile. It's understandable.
“Inmate Helios, you can't wield ‘Kia,’ can you?”
“…What of it?”
It's a power that half the world can't use.
In the outside world, life isn't so bad even without Kia. Not being able to use it doesn't make you deficient. But it's different here.
“The moment you step into the common areas, you will become a target of violence.”
