Chapter 604 – Assault
*
*
*
I stood behind the long line at the mine management office with Nora.
The faces of the people in line are full of fatigue.
Should I say that they are like soldiers who fought a fierce battle?
It was common to see people wearing bandages with blood oozing out of their arms or legs, as if they had been injured.
It’s a monster that’s nothing special to Nora or me, and it seems like it wasn’t an easy opponent for them.
Especially for those without combat experience, it may have been a life-threatening struggle.
Nevertheless, the inmates of Karaj had no choice.
There is no pressure to collect magic stones from the magic stone mine. However, if you do not repay the loan, you become a slave.
Even if it is not because of slavery, you have to pay rent for your accommodation, and you have to have money to live a humane life by eating more delicious food than the tasteless green oatmeal that is supplied.
But is there a job in Karaz as good as the magic stone mine where you can get magic stones?
There won’t be.
If this amount of magic stone is mined, people on Earth will be lining up to do it.
Including hunters.
In order to repay loans with murderous interest rates, Karaj inmates had no other choice than here.
However, there was one strong rule in the magic stone mine of Karaz.
That was also the reason I stood in line.
All the gemstones canned from the mine must be sold at the gemstone purchase office located at the mine management office.
It is said that if you are caught secretly taking even one magic stone without selling it at a magic stone purchase place, you will be subject to a large fine.
Even if it is not due to a fine, there is no reason to take the magic stone with you.
This is because magic stones are not used as currency in the city. There is no use taking it out, so would anyone want to take that risk and take it out?
I guess things got done faster than I thought, so the line got shorter quickly, and before I knew it, it was the person in front of me’s turn.
And then I was able to see a strict-looking man in a military uniform taking the magic stones brought by the prisoners and giving them money.
Are you an officer?
Since the magic stone purchase office deals with precious magic stones, it seemed like the military dispatched troops directly to manage it.
But for some reason, there was an expression of irritation on his face.
The female inmate in front of me carefully hands the magic stone she was carrying in front of her.
She had three magic stones.
It was shabby compared to the number of magic stones I brought.
“1,300 Zena.”
The officer who sees the magic stone puts a price on it as soon as he sees it.
“Okay, thank you.”
Eyes?
It doesn’t seem like the magic power of a magic stone is measured using something like a magic power meter to set the price.
Moreover, the price is more than half of the original price.
Nevertheless, instead of complaining, the woman kept nodding to the officer and hurried out of the Maseok purchase shop, holding the money in her arms.
‘Is that how much you get paid in the first place?’
Looking at the attitude of the woman who just left, it seems like that…
I also didn’t think they would pay the price that reflected the cost of the magic stone.
But to hit more than half of it…
I don’t like it, but I had no choice.
This is why monopolies are bad.
It’s my turn.
I put 31 magic stones on the desk, even if they were robbed by robbers.
The officer raised his head, glanced at me, and asked.
“How many?”
“31.”
After hearing my answer, the officer glanced at the magic stone and said.
“3,000 Zena would be enough.”
“…?”
The woman who brought 3 magic stones also received 1,300 Zena. But I, who brought ten times that amount, am I paying 3,000?
Does this make sense?
“… Selling more than 30 pieces costs 3,000 Zena? Didn’t you say 1,300 Zena for 3 pieces right before? Didn’t you make a mistake in your calculations?”
That’s right.
No matter how much I think about it, I must have calculated the units incorrectly.
However, the reaction of the officer who received my complaint was beyond my expectations.
“Huh… There’s someone who still hasn’t come to his senses.”
The officer looks at me as if I am puzzled. Then, with a wry smile, he said.
“30 Jenna.”
“… What?”
My magic stone has dropped to the price of shit that doesn’t even cover the price of the street toast I ate not long ago.
The officer threw 30 Zena at me like he was throwing trash.
“Get out.”
Banknotes flutter in the air and fall here and there.
“…”
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going? Ha… This bastard.”
The officer was so shocked that he stood up, twisting his head from side to side as if he didn’t like me standing there blankly. Then he opened the small door next to the desk, came out, stood in front of me, and said.
“Why? Report it to the Labor Office? I think you are making a big mistake. Do you think this is the outside world?! You are a prisoner. My word is law here. Did you understand?”
He kicked my shin with his military boot and started grinding, poking my chest with his finger.
When I saw him longing for me, unpleasant memories from a long time ago came back.
It reminded me of a crazy guy-like senior in the military who had already been discharged a long time ago.
Before I knew it, my fist was stuck in his face.
“Bah, Bark!!”
It seems like Nora called my name urgently.
When I came to my senses, I was standing on the officer’s chest and pounding his face repeatedly.
Blood foam was flowing from his mouth as he longed for me.
*
*
*
Besmore is the commander of Karaz Military Command.
He is said to be a commander, so it seems like he is something grandiose, but since the soldiers were avoiding positions in Karaz, it was just a fancy name.
Even in his superiors, he was not called Commander Karaz, but was more often called the head of the prison.
Karaz is usually a place where those who have been demoted from the military are sent.
Bassmore was also demoted and brought to Karaz, and was anxiously waiting for another prison warden to be dispatched and to be released from this position.
Meanwhile, the adjutant’s report brought a fresh shock to Besmore’s leisurely Karaz life.
“Commander. One of the inmates who came in this time assaulted the officer managing the Maseok Purchase Center.”
Beth More said for a moment he thought he had heard wrong. Or the adjutant made a mistake in reporting.
The magical power of Karaz inmates is suppressed.
If an officer beat up such a prisoner, he would have been beaten, but it was because he did not understand why he was beaten.
“… It wasn’t the officer who hit me… But the inmate who hit me?”
“That was because I was ambushed.”
The adjutant responded while looking at Basmore.
“Ambush? Surprise? Are you kidding me? A military officer gets beaten by a prisoner for being ambushed? Is this right?”
It wasn’t that there were rebellious people among the Karaz inmates. However, it was always the soldiers or officers who were beaten, not the prisoners.
Being beaten by a prisoner was a source of ridicule that would follow me throughout my military career.
“Who is that inmate?”
“For now, I was locked in solitary confinement.”
“A military officer gets beaten up by a prisoner. My face gets hot. How distracted do you have to be to get beaten up by a prisoner? The guy who got beaten up is told to take off his clothes. After suffering for about a year, he’ll come to his senses.”〈 Br〉
Taking off your clothes means becoming a prisoner of Karaz.
“Oh, I understand.”
Bessmore became curious.
What kind of person is this that turned a military officer into a rice cake?
「Incarceration number 8702. Bark.」
He was one of the prisoners sent by Gregory.
And he was also a human designated as a major surveillance figure.
Since Bassmore is a major surveillance figure, I looked into the data on Bark more to see if he was a special person.
“What about this guy? Is this the main surveillance target? Wow… Gregory is also completely lost.”
Magic attribute rank is D.
Even though he knew the interest rate for loans without parents, he was reckless and fearlessly borrowed up to the limit from the beginning.
What happened next was even more spectacular.
He went straight to a brothel and squandered almost all the loan.
And this time he went to the magic stone mine and got into an accident.
If you look at his actions in Karaz, he was just a dead end.
“… Are you crazy?”
It seems like that.
Gregory was quite angry because he had failed in an important operation, and he captured anyone who seemed even slightly suspicious.
Among them, there will be quite a few innocent people.
The guy named Bak lived as an ordinary person, but one day he fell into a place where only violent criminals frequent, so he may have suffered a mental shock.
I know what those people say.
After only a year, he was quite likely to be displayed in a store as a slave.
Karaz’s slaves are not just conveniently displayed in stores. Slaves who were not sold were also doing all kinds of dirty and hard work in the city.
“But you got beaten up by this guy? Should the punishment be extended to two years instead of one?”
*
*
*
After beating the officer until he was bloody, I was locked in solitary confinement.
This solitary confinement was a harsh environment that was completely different from the solitary confinement when I was first captured.
They were locked in a dark room without a single ray of light, and were not given water, food, or anything.
I thought in the dark.
Why did I beat up that guy?
I could have endured it.
But I didn’t hold back.
That’s right.
Because that guy reminded me of an unpleasant face from the past. Now that I think about it, I think their faces look a bit similar…
“…”
In fact, this was also a test of Nora’s foresight.
‘If her foresight is correct, the accident I had this time will not be a major hindrance to finding Helena.’
I had an idea.
〈True… Thinking it out, then bringing it in and pasting it.〉
