Chapter 1919 – 1919. Dark Moon
Even so, it might seem like I’m causing too much of a ruckus, but this prison on the outskirts was special.
Being so far out, it was a place where the empire’s reach didn’t extend.
A place where criminals who were difficult to deal with for various reasons were shoved.
One of the places where soldiers who had displeased their superiors or caused trouble were sent.
Lumen Prison was such a place.
A small kingdom.
A small kingdom maintained by its own laws. The warden was the king here.
The problem was that the king’s power was unstable. It was natural for the underlings to frequently revolt. My actions just now were also a kind of preemptive strike.
A warning that the new warden was a madman, so they should behave themselves.
‘I wonder if that warning will work.’
It didn’t really matter if the higher-ups intervened or if a rebellion broke out. I didn’t seriously intend to do the warden’s job anyway. I just needed to achieve my goal. The deal with Leon Schneider? We didn’t even write a contract, so what’s the point? He’s dead anyway. I don’t take it seriously.
Thud, thud.
I was led by one of the guards towards the warden’s office. Along the way, I looked around.
The prison was gloomy. The floor and ceiling were all filled with gray concrete. There was mold in the corners. It gave off a very eerie feeling.
“Don’t they clean properly?”
“W-well, we’re short on manpower… B-but we do it regularly. And the building is quite old, so it only looks bad on the outside.”
The guard’s voice trembled. He had every reason to be nervous after seeing what I did to the deputy warden.
“Only on the outside?”
“The entire prison is protected by defensive magic. Even though it looks like old concrete walls, its value is enormous. Only about 30 prisoners have escaped from our Lumen Prison so far!”
“So, 30 people have escaped.”
“W-well, I’ve heard that other prisons have far more…”
“……”
I don’t know about other prisons. I changed the subject. I wasn’t interested in the traditions or history of this prison.
“What’s the current status of the prison?”
“We have a total of 150 guards, and 1,574 inmates. Among them, 300 are female inmates.”
I already knew there were female inmates. Of course, they were managed in separate areas from the male inmates.
“The ratio of guards to inmates is more than 1 to 10.”
“Yes. The situation is dire. But somehow, it’s still operating.”
The guard sighed. Soon, the warden’s office came into view. He opened the door and saluted. I nodded once and entered the office.
‘…It’s cold.’
The warden’s office was, to put it nicely, clean. With just a desk, chair, and bookshelf, it couldn’t help but be clean.
‘Anyone would think this is a prison cell.’
I searched through the bookshelf and drawers. There were documents with information about the inmates.
‘In this day and age, there isn’t even a computer in the office… Does that make sense?’
Looking closely, there were traces of a computer. Someone had removed it. Why? To keep information from the warden? Or was it a silent message not to do anything?
I immediately left the warden’s office. The guard, who was about to turn around, widened his eyes.
“There must be a place that handles the prison’s administration.”
“Do you mean the administration department?”
“Yes. Guide me there.”
The guard swallowed hard and led me to the administration department. I opened the door and went inside. Guards in light attire were sitting at desks. There were nine people, three of whom were women. Not many of them seemed to be working properly.
The man sitting at the head of the table slowly rose from his seat. His large belly jiggled.
“Oh my. Are you the new warden? I’ve heard the stories. You were a famous combat alchemist from a noble family… What brings you here?”
“Are you the head of the administration?”
“Yes, sir. I am the head of the administration.”
A middle-aged man in his 40s swaggered. The man, who resembled a pig, had a sly smile on his face. He didn’t seem to know what happened to the deputy warden.
“You’re slacking.”
“Huh?”
“You’re slacking. Head of administration. Where did you sell your rank and name?”
“Ah, ah. Lieutenant Stefan Weismuller. As you can see, I’m the head of the administration.”
His expression crumpled. He was deliberately hiding his expression. He was completely ignoring me. I looked around. The guards were watching Stefan, not me. From a distance, it would seem like Stefan was the warden.
‘He’s openly ignoring me like this… I can’t stand it.’
I strode towards Stefan. Stefan seemed flustered and hesitated.
“W-Warden? I admit I made a mistake, but please, be reasonable. There are laws here.”
“Are they above the imperial law? The military police would love to hear that. Should I go report it?”
“You know that’s not what I mean. I know who you are, Warden, but this is Lumen Prison.”
“You know me? No, you don’t.”
I raised my fist and slapped him across the cheek.
Whack!
But Stefan didn’t fall. On the contrary, his head didn’t even shake. He frowned, clearly displeased, and lowered his voice.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I was educating an arrogant lieutenant… Your body is tougher than it looks.”
Stefan grinned.
“It’s a meager talent of mine. By the way, assaulting a subordinate is illegal. My, my, I can already see the military police swarming Lumen Prison.”
“The lieutenant shows no sign of remorse.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong. Why should I repent?”
“The lieutenant lacks respect for his superior. Starting with talking back like that, it’s an insult and insubordination to a superior.”
“What kind of bullshit is this… Ha, I’ll report this to the higher-ups, so be aware. Since the introductions are over, please return, Warden. Your place isn’t here, but in the warden’s office.”
Bang!
I pulled out a pistol and shot Stefan in his right eye.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Stefan grabbed his right eye and collapsed.
“It seems that your meager talent doesn’t protect your eyes.”
His eyes were also enhanced. Since they were enhanced, he didn’t die, and it ended with his eyeball bursting. Stefan, who was writhing in pain, regained his senses and jumped up.
“You son of a bitch!!”
Bang!
“Aaaaaaah!”
I shot him in the other eye as well. The man, who had lost both eyes, fell to the floor and screamed.
[Strength]
I enhanced my strength with magic and kicked Stefan in the head. Thud! A satisfying sound echoed as Stefan’s head hit the concrete floor. I kicked his head a few more times. Stefan’s body went limp. He had fainted.
I looked around. The guards flinched. Their backs stiffened.
“You must be keeping the budget ledgers. Bring them to me right now.”
They looked at each other. With Stefan, who could be called their leader, out of commission, they didn’t know what to do.
“Are you going to disobey like Stefan?”
“N-No, sir! We’ll prepare them right away! W-We should send the lieutenant to the infirmary…”
“Lieutenant Stefan is a soldier of the great Highst Empire. He won’t die from just this.”
“……”
“Just bring the ledgers.”
“…Yes.”
A minute later, the budget ledgers were in my hands. Even though I look like this, I’m running a business. I knew how to read ledgers. Of course, I learned it from Yuria.
I widened my eyes as I looked at the ledgers. The budget allocated to the prison was more than I expected.
‘It’s a decent size, so I guess it’s natural. And…’
Something was a bit strange. A lot of money was being spent on facility maintenance. But the prison facilities I saw on the way here were just dilapidated.
‘Were they embezzling the budget this way?’
Well, that wouldn’t be all. They must have been taking the budget in more subtle ways that I didn’t notice.
“The lieutenant has been tampering with the budget. It’s not surprising. I’ll give you a week. Bring the embezzled budget to me in cash. I’ll use that money for the good of the prison.”
I could get at least 300 million credits.
I was short on money lately due to investing in my business, so this was good.
‘Warden. This is a sweet job.’
I looked at the guards. They all looked pale.
“W-Warden, I’m sorry to say this, but we’ve used all the budget. The remaining budget is also earmarked for specific purposes.”
“Ah, is that so? Should I report it to the military police? Or do you want to become an eye cripple like the lieutenant?”
“……”
“Was a week too long? Bring the embezzled budget to my desk within four days.
“Four days…! That’s impossible!”
“If you can’t, the military police will come knocking. The inmates will love it if you’re locked up in prison.”
“……”
“It’s exactly four days. Break your savings, take out loans… If you don’t want to see the military police come, bring the embezzled budget.”
I cut off Stefan’s arms and legs in front of them and threw him into the infirmary. Stefan. I couldn’t kill him carelessly. The amount of money this guy had embezzled so far must be astronomical.
I sat in the warden’s office chair. I closed my eyes and pondered. I had caused a big incident as soon as I arrived at the prison. But I wasn’t intimidated. Right now, I’m not Eugene Meyer, but Leon Schneider. There’s no chance my real identity will be revealed.
‘I have the World Door. If it seems dangerous, I can just run away.’
As long as I had a door, I could use the World Door. With that, escaping was a piece of cake.
Knock, knock, knock.
I opened my eyes at the sound of knocking.
“Warden, this is Captain Kevin.”
“Come in.”
Kevin came in. He was soaking wet.
“I’ve taken all the corpses and disposed of them with magic. The soldiers’ corpses will be handed over to their families, and the corpses of the attackers will be cremated.”
“Those were the guys who attacked me. Did you identify them?”
“…I didn’t have time to go that far. I think they’re from a gang or the mafia.”
“Find out exactly and bring it to me. You can go now.”
But Kevin didn’t leave right away.
“…I heard you turned the administration department upside down.”
“They were messing with the budget. I held back from executing them all.”
“……Why did you cut off Lieutenant Stefan’s arms and legs?”
“I cut them off because there was a risk of resistance. But are you interrogating me now? As a captain?”
“No, sir. I’ll take my leave.”
Grind.
I heard the sound of teeth grinding. I took out the documents and checked the information about Kevin.
