Future Titans (3)
Future Titans (3)
The incident was quickly resolved.
The prisoners were returned to their cells, and Marek, who was completely passed out, was taken away by the medical officer.
and
"I'm supposed to be doing work today, but some crazy bastard has been mowing down the prisoners, get out of here now!"
Vergo and I were taken to the ground floor by a prison guard. There was a sign on the door in front of us that said 'Operations Department'.
The Operations Department.
It uses prisoners to process gems and sell them to towers, knights, and kingdoms for profit.
They provide 60% of Burning Hell's operating funds.
Not only that.
Most section chiefs move on to become general managers, and most general managers move on to become deputy directors.
In a nutshell.
It's a key line of power in Burning Hell. That's why it's the second most powerful department.
At this point, I'd say it's the second dirtiest thing next to the Department of General Services.
“haa...”
Vergo sighs, the ground beneath him lifting away. He doesn't even look happy. He's dead, like a dog being led to the slaughter.
I suppose that's to be expected.
Vergo is a grade 6 teacher, and the work team leader in there is a grade 4 assistant principal.
In other words.
It's like a rookie screws up and gets punished by the boss himself.
Now that I think about it, I feel sorry for Vergo all over again.
I didn't mean to do that.
"you… Whooo... no."
"... ..."
"But why did you suddenly... No. No."
"... ..."
"Ha... I just... want to die."
'I can't be angry with the new guy because I know he knows the director, but I'm mentally distraught at the thought of breaking up with him.', Vergo suddenly thought while stealing a glance at Redin.
In fact, there is nothing to say that it is my fault.
If the inmates got rowdy, it was the jailer's job to subdue them, and he did just that.
"just… just say you're sorry, don't give me any excuses or anything, okay?"
In those brief moments, I found solace.
After setting everything down, Vergo stares blankly at the ceiling and mutters.
"yes. sorry."
He pretended to understand, which was fine.
It's not that I don't feel sorry at all, but I didn't care much because I was the person who was going to use it as a shield in the first place.
Just in case
If the need arises later and Vergo goes with him, he can always give him something as a reward.
“Yaaaaaaaa!”
A bursting of eardrums filled the hallway. A contemplative Vergo's jaw rattled, and in the distance, someone walked by.
With very fast steps.
"Oh... here it comes... Creator Berthia... please... let this moment pass quickly."
At the end of Vergo's short prayer.
The work team leader has arrived. He's got a little bit of a belly, pomade hair, and a greedy look on his face.
He looks familiar.
"What an asshole."
The team leader shouted.
At the same time, his eyes widened with anger.
An uncharacteristically murderous momentum.
With a swallowing sound beside him, Vergo opened his mouth to speak forcefully.
"so-sorry!"
"sorry?"
The work team leader's hand slapped Vergo's cheek.
SMACK!
With a heavy thud, Vergo's body fell to the side. He rose to his feet and slapped Vergo across the cheek again.
smack
smack
smack
Fall, stand up.
Repeating it, one cheek of Vergo's swelled. Red eyes popped open. His lips burst open, blood mixed with saliva running down his chin.
"so-rry, I'm sorry."
"Do you have any idea what kind of bastards those kids are today?"
The work team leader pushed his finger against Vergo's forehead.
"No, you're not, asshole."
"I'm sorry."
"They're the ones who process the higher-end gems that make up half of our gemstone sales, and you're breaking their limbs so they can't do their job?"
That's just an excuse.
There are plenty of people who can do the job without them. There's nothing to be upset about in the first place.
'I wonder.', Redin pondered
He didn't get that title for nothing. There's got to be a reason he's so angry about this.
"Look at this asshole."
The work team leader's gaze snapped to me.
I stared at the poisoned toad-like face and searched my memory. The face was familiar, but it didn't match the dress uniform.
What was his name?
“You’re holding your neck stiff for doing something good! Aren’t you going to close your eyes right now?”
Redin lowered my gaze slightly.
A name tag on his left chest. As I mulled over the name on it, my mind lit up with a nickname.
It sounded vaguely familiar.
It's him.
One of three captains in the Magnes organization. Nicknamed the Toad, he was once a prison guard in Burning Hell.
I wondered why I didn't recognize him.
It's in the past, so he's much thinner and doesn't wear the black coat that is the signature of the Toad's character.
It all made sense now.
The toad was a key player in the upcoming events in Burning Hell, and the prisoners from Magnes were in cahoots with him.
Those prisoners are half-baked.
There must have been a setback in what was planned.
"Are you laughing?"
As the toad raised its hand and glared at me, the bergo next to me stood in front of me and bowed his head toward the toad.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault."
"What are you doing."
"I'll make sure they're trained well."
" Training? What training when you're an imbecile!"
"I'm sorry."
Just as the toad was about to snap his wrists and go at it again, one of the guards approached, announcing that he had an urgent call.
"Brace yourselves. I'm going to make you pay for what happened today."
With that, Toad and the rest of the guards strode off.
An empty hallway.
A disheveled Vergo sits down on the floor and lets out a half-hearted laugh.
"Hahaha... I'm screwed now, right?"
"Why didn't you tell him it was me?"
Honestly, I was surprised.
I thought it was more of a pretentious style that's all about getting promoted.
"How do you sell a junior in public?"
"Hooo......."
"What is that look in your eye?"
"No, you need to go to the infirmary and get checked out."
I helped Vergo to his feet.
His slumped shoulders looked desolate.
He patted her lightly.
"It's going to be okay, why would you die?"
"I'd rather kill you."
"You should get that promotion you love before you die."
"Can you do that?"
"How high would you like to go?"
"Chief of Security."
If it's always going to be this way.
Screw it, I'll do it.
"That might be hard."
"Damn... even a word... ah... it hurts."
* * *
The entire environment is white.
A strong, flowing medicinal odor.
When they arrived at the infirmary, he don't see the medical director. Instead, Rebecca was there.
She looked at Vergo's condition.
She frowned slightly, then resumed her normal nonchalant expression.
"Have a seat, please. I can do some simple medical treatment, so let me check your condition first."
"Yes? Yes..."
I glance over, and Vergo's mouth is torn open.
Tsk, tsk.
I bowed my head slightly.
"Senior? What kind of senior are you, embarrassing."
"Scuse me. Hmph."
"How did you end up like this?"
Rebecca grabbed Vergo's chin and wiggled it around, then patted her reddened cheek.
"Ouch! No... ah, not like that......."
"It doesn't look serious."
After checking your condition, Rebecca walks over to a display case in the corner and pulls out something.
An herbal remedy.
There are stamina potions in this world, but they're only meant to restore physical vitality. They don't heal wounds.
There isn't much supply.
Unless they have divine power, in most cases, treatment is done through the combination of herbs.
"Aaaah… Aww! Aagh!”
"I'm applying the herbs, just be patient."
I left them alone for a moment and went into the infirmary. I came to the infirmary, partly to heal Vergo's wounds.
But the bigger reason was Marek.
I saw a row of beds and a blue curtain. The bed at the very end. The only one with curtains drawn.
There it is.
I took a slow step toward it.
I pulled back the curtain slightly and there was Marek.
I could see the bruises through his scrubs, the shriveled limbs, and the blank stare of a man who had given up on life.
Indeed, he had lost everything.
I remembered his history because it was required to break a special achievement, and I was forced to look at it.
An undercover from Magnes.
It was his job to get into a place called the Knights of Ignis and get information out of them.
However.
As is often the case in movies.
He fell in love with a woman from the Knights Templar, and eventually they married and had a daughter.
To preserve happiness.
Marek betrayed Magnus, choosing to remain with the Knights of Ignis, and all he got back was the deaths of his wife and daughter.
Betrayal of an organization.
At the same time, the Knights of Ignis learned that Marek had been a spy, and he was imprisoned in Burning Hell, unable to seek revenge.
Life inside was even more miserable.
First, the members of Magnus's organization who had entered Burning Hell realized that Marek was a traitor, and they would not leave him alone for a single day.
Day after day of violence.
Unable to fight back, Marek gave up everything.
It wasn't until he met a member of the Darkness Seven that he began to dream of revenge again.
Since then, Marek has brought a great deal of money to the Darkness Seven.
As long as they know about it.
I have no intention of handing it over to them. It takes a lot of money to lead a powerful faction.
I'll take him.
"Marek Casino."
I walked up to him and lowered my stance.
I whispered quietly against his ear, so only Marek could hear.
"Your daughter is alive."
I felt a slight tremor.
"If you want to hear more, keep what happened today a secret and focus on getting your body back in shape, and I'll come find you."
* * *
The toad's declaration of intent was fulfilled the very next day.
"One day. You're going to work for the prisoners who can't work because of you."
The task and the warden's words made Vergo look devastated, but I laughed inside.
What the hell is this?
The place where Harungel's Heart of 3 was hidden was the workshop. A place no newcomer could enter. So if something happened, they'd be able to hear it.
Naturally, all eyes would be drawn to the incident, and the plan was to quietly obtain the Heart in the midst of the chaos.
"Are you laughing at this?"
When Vergo gave me an incredulous look, I shrugged it off.
"If you can't avoid it, you might as well enjoy it."
So, shall we go to get the Heart?