Unwanted Fame
I wanted out of the bandit group, yet here I was getting famous instead. How the hell was I supposed to sleep? The memory of my first night in this prison after being dragged here flashed through my mind. “Wonder if the others are up already.”
As I started to rise, I noticed the room was brightly lit by a yellow glow. Huh? It wasn’t even that late in the evening—why were the lights already on? Had the night grown much deeper than I thought?
I glanced at Phelton’s bed in the farthest corner. Empty. Marcus’s bed beside it was empty too. Then I looked toward the desk and saw Marcus sitting there, leisurely carving a piece of wood.
“Marcus, what time is it?”
“Past nine in the evening.”
“What? So it really is late… Why aren’t you working if it’s already past nine?”
“What do you mean, why? Can’t you see what I’m doing?” Irritation dripped from his voice. The man had just woken up and was already snapping at me. My own tone came out rough without thinking.
“I asked why you’re not working.”
“No work today.”
“We get days off?”
“Do you think we’re merchants? Did you really believe we’d be out selling goods every single day?” Another burst of irritation.
“No, but why are you so on edge? Did something happen?”
Marcus pointed his carving knife at Kelly. “It’s because of that girl. All because of her.”
Kelly flinched in fear and hid behind me.
“What did Kelly do?”
“She’s been sniffling nonstop, begging to be sent home. Wouldn’t that get on your nerves? She’s making it impossible for anyone to get anything done.”
I stared blankly at Kelly. She avoided my gaze. So that had been going on while I slept. She couldn’t leave this place anyway, so she might as well give up quickly. Clinging to hope would only make things worse for everyone, including herself. Hearing Marcus’s words only made the weight in my chest heavier.
Well, at least today was a day off. Perfect timing to discuss this with Marcus and ease some of the burden.
“Where did Phelton go?”
“Gambling.”
“Do we get days off this often?”
“When the raiding parties come back empty-handed, we have nothing to sell. Of course we rest. We can’t sell what we don’t have.”
I touched my chest and realized I wasn’t wearing a shirt. While talking to Marcus bare-chested, I searched around and finally spotted my shirt—on Kelly. Only then did I remember giving it to her. With no other choice, I pulled a ragged, torn shirt from the drawer and put it on before approaching Marcus, who was still working.
“Come outside for a moment.”
“Why?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Not here.”
I glanced at Kelly, still left on the bed. She had collapsed where she sat, sobbing quietly. Marcus seemed to catch my meaning and followed me out without a word.
“Listen, about that woman. I want to get rid of her somehow. Is there any way? Do I really have to keep a gift the boss gave me even if I don’t want it?”
Marcus stood with his hands behind his back, thinking for a moment before answering. “If you really hate it, there is one way. Make it obvious you’ve enjoyed the gift.”
“Enjoyed it? I don’t follow.”
“Bed the girl. Use her thoroughly so the whole camp knows, then sell her. The boss will be pleased you cherished his gift and won’t complain when you sell her later.”
“You’re telling me to… do that with her?”
“You received the gift. You should use it.”
…This was getting complicated. “Fine. Setting that aside, how exactly do you sell someone here? Are there buyers?”
“There are. The twelfth squad buys prisoners and sells them at the market. You’ll only get half the price of the slave market, but as long as she’s not old, ugly, or fat, they’ll take her. Or, since you’re broke, you could skip selling and run a business instead. Prostitution inside the camp works too. Plenty of bandits would pay to have her. You’d just be lending your slave out for a while.”
I nodded after a moment’s thought. Was this really the best option Marcus could offer? It felt too ruthless. For someone like me—the most moral, kind-hearted member with the heaviest guilt—it was impossible. It was the kind of thing only beasts wearing human skin would do.
“Hyunwoo. Want some?”
I turned to find Harry standing there, offering torn jerky. His face was still puffy from sleep as he chewed on rat jerky.
“Hello, Harry.”
I greeted him and quickly took the jerky, stuffing it into my pocket. The portions at mealtime were so small that I needed to hoard whatever I could or my body wouldn’t hold up.
“Perfect timing. Go learn how to use a sword from Harry. On days off, you should at least practice something like that.”
Swordsmanship. Marcus had finally said something useful. Of course I needed to learn. I’d even cut back on sleep if it meant learning. To survive in this world. Especially if I wanted to escape this dangerous bandit life. I pictured myself cutting down bandits with the very sword techniques they’d taught me and making my escape. Heh. Not bad.
Suddenly Marcus poked my stomach. “You, were you thinking something weird just now?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Then what? Something felt really off…”
Marcus muttered to himself, tilting his head. Damn old man. His instincts were terrifyingly sharp. I decided to save the daydreams about slaughtering bandits and the dilemma with Kelly for later.
“Harry, do you have time? If you’re free, could you teach me how to use a sword?”
“Sure. If that’s what Hyunwoo wants, I’ll help.”
“Harry uses his fists more than swords, but he still knows the basics.”
“Aren’t you coming with us, squad leader? Just me and Hyunwoo?”
“I have to finish this necklace, so I don’t have time. You teach him today.”
“Got it. Leave it to me.”
Marcus drew the dagger from his waist and handed it to me. “Use it carefully so you don’t dull the edge.”
“I will.”
“And take that girl inside with you. I can’t stand hearing her sniveling anymore.”
Granting Marcus’s wish, I grabbed Kelly’s rope and headed with Harry toward the clearing where training dummies stood.
“So you’re the new guy? The one who spotted the counterfeit money.”
As we approached the training ground, bandits grinned and swarmed around me, quickly surrounding us.
“Not bad, kid. If it weren’t for you, we’d have been humiliated by Chen.”
“Looks like we finally got a proper recruit this time. Already showing promise for greatness.”
“How did you figure it out? What’s your secret? I looked and couldn’t tell at all.”
“That bastard Chen tried to pull one over on us and got properly screwed. Khahaha!”
While I slept, the full story about the counterfeit money had spread through the entire camp. People followed me around, chattering for a long time. Thanks to them, I became an instant celebrity, and everyone was calling me the rising star who would one day lead the Elk Bandits.
Damn it. This wasn’t what I wanted at all. A rising star to lead the bandits? I wanted to escape this place right now!
“Ooh, the big one!”
Even the person I least wanted to meet appeared. Gladia, the eighth squad leader who had groped my crotch. I wanted to avoid this woman if at all possible. Her lively, energetic personality was too much for me to handle. Plus, she’d been incredibly annoying and kept sexually harassing me during the drinking session with the vice-captain, so the memory of her still felt like a nightmare.
“They say you’re the one who spotted the counterfeit money? Not bad!”
She thrust her brightly smiling face forward. Her deeply tanned skin looked even darker than usual, perhaps because it was night.
“How did you figure it out? Huh? You must know a lot about money. Did you handle money before or something?”
“No, I just…”
I was nervous her hands would suddenly shoot toward my lower body. Please, no surprise groping this time. Especially not with Nancy—her squad member and the world’s most cursed bitch—standing right behind her. I really didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of that woman.
“What’s with this girl? Huh? Crachio’s secretary?”
Fortunately, she turned her attention to Kelly, who wore a frightened expression. I straightened my previously hunched shoulders, relieved my goods were safe for now.
“She’s a gift from the boss.”
“Oh, really? Ooh, the big guy’s lucky. Getting a slave to relieve his urges. Or is it the other way around, and this girl’s the lucky one?”
When Gladia draped an arm over Kelly’s shoulder, Kelly flinched in surprise.
“You know you’re lucky, right? Do you have any idea how big this guy is? It’s basically the size of a forearm. Have you seen it? Probably already have, huh? How was it? Felt amazing, didn’t it?”
This was blatant sexual harassment. Directed at me. How humiliating. I tugged lightly on Harry’s sleeve. When he looked at me, I signaled that we should leave quickly.
“Huh? Why? What’s wrong?”
He just blinked, tilting his head as if asking why without any intention of moving. Seriously. This was the first time I’d ever felt frustrated with Harry. His innocent, slow-witted expression made my stomach burn.
“Hyunwoo.”
Suddenly Nancy called my name and approached. I met her eyes by accident and quickly looked away. Talking to her would only give me a headache.
“Congratulations.”
The most ridiculous words reached my ears. I was so dumbfounded my mouth fell open.
“Weren’t you the one who said we shouldn’t even acknowledge each other anymore?”
“After hearing about your achievement today, I got interested in you again.”
She said it so openly. Was something wrong with her head?
“Trying to latch onto me again? Give it up. It’s not happening.”
“Why are you like this? We’re from the same cell. And besides…”
Her lips drew closer, and she whispered softly into my ear. “I sucked that thing of yours, remember? If you want, I can do it again. Just tell me the time and place.”