Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: Infiltrating the Labor Camp
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Ramin's plan was simple.
If Gorgota's explanation was correct, the Rubel labor camp operated under such a massive administrative system that the overseers and guards were kept separate.
That meant they didn't share information with each other in real time.
"They'll check, of course. But that'll be after we've entered the camp, and it'll be up to the overseers. The United Kingdom modeled a lot of its systems after the military, so I figure the labor camp's the same. Officers don't memorize every single soldier's face. What do you think?"
"I think... it's probably the same."
Getting the laborers to escape was the hardest part of the plan, but it was still easier than infiltrating the camp's guards.
The logging sites rotated periodically, and among them were mountain lodges temporarily used by the laborers.
Gorgota had hidden the weapons he carried in bedding and toilets used only by the laborers.
What Gorgota worried about was the laborers reporting these weapons to the guards or overseers.
If that happened, it wouldn't be long before the hiding spots were discovered, and the guarded perimeter would expand, making it even harder to enter the camp.
But nothing like that occurred.
Gorgota had figured that even if the weapons were found, the laborers would need a few days to plan an escape internally. But their breakout happened immediately.
Ramin and his group, who had been hiding nearby, approached two human laborers attempting to flee.
Gorgota asked the two laborers to swap clothes with Ramin and Juran in exchange for guaranteeing their escape.
They naturally agreed.
Ramin and Juran were "caught" by the guards, pretending to be laborers who had given up on fleeing.
As they were dragged toward the center of the labor camp, Juran said to Ramin,
"We might not be able to hold out for long."
"We just need to get inside the camp. Confirm if Hwigyeong's here and get out."
Ramin didn't think they could last long either.
The "Cursed Ones"—whose bodies were partially deformed and inhabited by demonic spirits—were viewed extremely negatively in the United Kingdom.
As a result, you could spot these Cursed Ones even among the laborers.
'Separate from that, the horns are pretty eye-catching, though.'
In fact, Ramin wasn't too worried about Juran's situation.
The laborers had escaped in the late afternoon, and it was now after sunset. But come sunrise, her face would be exposed during activities, and her vampire nature would be immediately obvious.
In the United Kingdom, Cursed Ones were just laborers, but vampires were executed on the spot.
'The Fangs of Wrath are chasing me anyway, right? No real reason to be scared.'
However, there was one thing Hwigyeong had overlooked.
The guards didn't have precise personnel records, and while the overseers were at the camp's center, there was a group close by who could spot the swapped laborers.
"Hey."
The one grabbing Ramin's shoulder was a gaunt elf man.
"What are you two?"
He was dressed in the same laborer garb as Ramin and Juran.
———
The elf introduced himself as Aganin Or.
Aganin ordered his fellow laborers to surround them, blocking both other laborers' ears and the guards' line of sight.
Aganin said to Ramin,
"I've survived in this labor camp for over ten years. Everyone in today's logging crew knows my face, but you're definitely new."
"Hmm..."
"Don't even think about lying. I'll report you to the guards immediately."
Ramin pondered briefly, but the decision was straightforward.
'We gave guns to the laborers, and they tried to escape right away. The camp's conditions must be bad. In cases like that, laborers are more likely to cooperate with the overseers and guards. Refuse to submit, and you'll be tormented. But...'
Ramin considered manipulating the elf in front of him with lies.
He could claim to be an imperial intelligence agent here to liberate the labor camp.
He could even say they needed his help for that.
'But that's a lie. Even if it's partially mixed with truth.'
Instead of coaxing Aganin with tall tales, Ramin decided to tell the truth.
"We're here looking for someone."
"You walk into Rubel on your own feet to find someone? You're insane."
"It's important enough to risk our lives for."
Aganin said,
"And if you find them? Satisfied? Got a way out of this camp? Or does 'risking your lives' mean you don't plan to leave?"
Ramin shared that concern.
All of this was truly because the gods willed it.
Ramin didn't believe he was fanatical enough to stake his life on religion.
He'd told Gorgota his faith was strong, but he'd never really felt that way himself.
'Yet here I am, jumping into something with no guaranteed escape. What's going on?'
Defying the gods' will was frightening.
Looking at the long war between the Empire and the United Kingdom, even human lives weren't valued highly, making the gods terrifying in themselves.
But throughout this journey, he hadn't felt pursued.
'If anything, my life before felt like wandering.'
During this journey, Ramin had faintly sensed the gods' will.
And he knew that will aligned and moved with his own.
'Being manipulated? ...No, not that negative.'
Ramin tried to think deeper, but Aganin pressed on.
"Are you Fangs sent by the United Kingdom to test the laborers' loyalty?"
"Do we look it?"
Aganin burst out laughing.
"A human man with horns on his head and a human woman traveling with him? ...No way."
Ramin said,
"We're really just here to find someone. That's all we want."
"Hmph. Let's hear it then. Who exactly are you looking for?"
With a sliver of hope, Ramin asked,
"Her name's Hwigyeong."
"...Hwigyeong? Doesn't ring a bell."
"She might have been here a very long time..."
"I've survived long in this camp, but I don't know everyone. It's divided into sections. They rotate people periodically to keep laborers from getting too close, but there are still plenty I don't know."
"Ah, she's got a distinctive look. Human woman with horns on her head."
Aganin's expression shifted slightly at that.
Ramin realized Aganin knew something.
Aganin pointed at Juran's head.
"...Horns like hers, you mean?"
Ramin nearly gasped.
But Aganin's next words made him doubt his own ears.
"Is the one you're looking for... the Saintess?"
———
Ramin and Juran received Aganin's help.
Aganin seemed to know not just the laborers, but also the guards and some overseers on a personal level.
According to him, Aganin was one of the leaders of a fairly notorious crime syndicate in the United Kingdom.
Started as a thieves' guild among the nomads, the group now handled drug trafficking and gambling on a large scale, earning widespread infamy.
Thanks to that, Aganin wielded unofficial autonomy inside the labor camp.
"So pulling two human laborers off the roster is no big deal."
The camp's central area was somewhat familiar to Ramin.
It had been an entire village from the old Garang Kingdom, converted into a mining site.
Aganin claimed Ramin and Juran weren't among the escapees, and the other laborers backed that up.
On top of that, they were excused from roll calls, claiming illness.
Thanks to Aganin's arrangements.
"Most overseers don't even remember what the laborers look like, but those horns are an eyesore. If you plan to stay long, cut them off. Can't keep excusing you forever."
Ramin said,
"We won't be here long. We'll be exposed at sunrise tomorrow anyway."
"Exposed no matter what?"
"Anyway, tell me more about this Saintess."
Aganin explained.
The so-called "Saintess" of the Rubel labor camp was in the deepest part: the coal mines.
But little was known beyond her being a humanoid female.
She always appeared with special guards and overseers, making it hard for other laborers to approach.
"Then why call her the Saintess?"
"She helps laborers with mysterious powers."
Hard for laborers to approach her, but she approached them sometimes.
"How does she help?"
"Just like it sounds. Heals wounds, takes lashes for them, even does their work."
"Doesn't sound that mystical."
Aganin shook his head.
"In this camp, one in three dies from a lashing. Surviving repeated ones is miraculous in itself."
"Hmm."
"Plus, she's walked into gas-filled tunnels alone to rescue people, or escaped burial alive when others were trapped. Anyway, she's shown lots of miracles that are hard to explain."
Ramin said,
"Sounds like a good person, but not exactly holy."
"No, it is."
Aganin said,
"After saving someone, she says the miracle came from 'the person standing behind her' and urges them to take up the faith. Plenty in the camp follow her, believing in that 'person behind.' They call it the Patron Cult."
"...Patron Cult? They just let that happen in the camp?"
Aganin grimaced and said,
"Honestly, the overseers like it. The cult teaches that the punishments here pay for our sins, and dying in labor leads to happiness in the afterlife."
"Weird religion."
"I don't care."
Aganin snorted, then quietly added,
"They give special rations, so I go to the gatherings."
"...Uh, so how do I meet this Saintess?"
Aganin said,
"Not hard to meet her. There's the regular gathering I just mentioned, and..."
As Aganin started to say more, someone entered the laborers' quarters.
The one who opened the door was a masked Fang agent.
The sudden appearance froze Aganin, Ramin, Juran—and even the agent—for a moment, no one moving.
'...Of course the agents are stationed inside the camp! And some know my face. I got careless.'
Ramin moved first, but the agent wasn't slow.
In fact, he was faster despite the delay.
What the agent drew was a powder revolver.
'Damn, so close!'
Even if Ramin could disarm the revolver barehanded, the gunshot would ruin the whole plan.
Ramin reached out, but unleashing the lightning from the gods required a moment's focus—and that inevitable delay.
The instant Ramin saw the agent pull the trigger, Juran jumped between them.
Ramin thought it was a foolish choice.
But his fears didn't come true.
-Click.
The revolver's hammer struck, but no bullet fired.
'A dud? Lucky, but...'
With Juran suddenly blocking, the Fang agent had multiple chances to pull the trigger again.
He cocked and fired.
-Click.
Again.
-Click, click, click.
The Fang agent stared at his gun in disbelief.
All five rounds were duds.
"This can't be..."
Ramin caught Juran's faint smile but didn't ask.
Instead, he thrust his hand toward the agent.
A bolt of blue lightning shot out.