EP.86 Arrangement
“Aji. Let’s eat!”
A suffocating silence briefly fell. Both the regressor and Tir. They stared at me at my sudden shout.
Like a coin flipping, the ego that had been holding its breath on the other side surfaces. The candle that only had an ember left catches fire. The world brightens, and I feel as if I am looking down at everything objectively.
Having regained my senses, I swept my chest and cried out.
“Uwaaa. That was close! I almost died like this!”
It feels like I fell into a river, was swept downstream, and barely managed to return to the riverbank. A fatigue, as if I were drenched in water, overwhelmed my body.
Damn it. I only meant to read a little, but I let my guard down at the last moment and read too much. Because of that, I was swept away by the memories and my ego almost went out.
Phew. Thank goodness I took out insurance. It's rewarding that I didn't neglect drinking and smoking and smoked diligently. What would have happened if I hadn't...
Huh? What's this. The cigarette is all burnt out.
“But what exactly made me come to my senses?”
Tir, who had been looking at me with a thrilled face, rang the bell once more at my question.
Jingle, jingle, the sound of a bell rings. The chime I used to ring when feeding Aji. A psychological trap I devised to better ‘use’ the King of Dogs.
Upon hearing that bell sound, something stifling surges from within. Feeling like I should, I unconsciously called Aji's name.
“Aji!”
“Woof!”
With perfect timing, Aji kicked the door open and came in. Aji, approaching me with bright, shining eyes, changed his large goodwill to a puzzled face and looked around.
“Woof? Food?”
Ah, so... instead of the magic cigarette I hadn't smoked for weeks while imprisoned, it was the bell sound that rang every meal during that time...
Ah...
“Woof! Food! Woof? Food? ...Food, where?”
“Sorry, there actually isn't any. I was just playing around because I was bored.”
“Bark! Bark bark!”
“What? You don't really hate it? As expected, you like me!”
“I hate it now! You smell!”
I reached out my hand to pet him, but Aji smelled it, frowned, and left.
I scratched my head with the hand that meant to pet him and muttered.
“It's useless now anyway. Since I've quit, might as well quit smoking too.”
Anyway, as long as I reach the destination, it doesn't matter which way I go. Whatever the process, as long as the result is good, right.
There's a reward for living diligently. If I hadn't rung the bell every day to tame Aji, I would still have lost my ego and acted like a girl who lived before the 12th century.
...But it doesn't feel that good because it feels like the bell I made to train the dog actually trained me.
After catching my breath, I looked up.
In the narrow room, the regressor and Tir were staring intently at me. Their gazes were different; Tir was purely happy, but the regressor only intended to shake off all remaining doubts.
“Alright, everyone. You must have worked hard taking care of me while I was unconscious...”
I placed one hand on my chest, spread the other arm wide, and pretended to bow gracefully.
Then I abruptly thrust my head up and shouted.
“...Did you think I'd say that!”
I preempted them just in case they acted like the guilty party playing the victim.
The law of perspective exists in the human heart too; there is a tendency to see a small kindness recently bestowed as larger than a great favor received in the past.
Of course, there's also a bit of human selfishness in easily forgetting what one received rather than what one gave.
But that doesn't work on me. I used to act as a fixer and even collected debts. A debt unpaid, even if it is a debt of the heart, I will scrape it out and extract it.
“I ended up like this trying to gift my heart to Tir. I sacrificed for you! If I collapsed because of the aftermath, of course you have to take care of me! This is common sense, common sense! It's a necessary expense, similar to providing meals when hiring a worker! Remember it!”
“Of course. How could I forget? I will always remember that you had to pay such a great price for me.”
Tir immediately nodded and answered. So I lost my words.
...Huh. Why is she so obedient? If I spoke like this, even Buddha would want to hit me.
“Do not worry. Even if you've come to your senses, I will continue to protect you with all my body and mind in the future.”
“Yes? Uh, no, there's no need for that.”
“It's fine. Compared to what you gave, what I will give is as light as a feather.”
...Something is slightly strange. Her heart is, um, slightly heavier than I expected. To the point where I'm scared to add more words.
If I asked more, I felt like I would face a baffling situation, so I changed the subject.
“And everyone, you didn't do anything weird while I was unconscious, right?”
Tir was startled and whipped her head around, and the regressor snorted.
Both of their reactions are a bit weird.
The regressor would have tried to check all sorts of things while I was out. Honestly, that was within my expectations.
But what on earth did Tir do?
As I stared at her intently, Tir hesitated for a long time before pointing at the regressor and snitching.
“Shei. Shei interrogated you.”
The regressor, who was snitched on right in front of her eyes, widened her eyes.
“Huh? Tirkanchaka? You cooperated too!”
“I had my head turned. I also stopped the interrogation before it went on further.”
What on earth did they do?
I want to read her thoughts, but my ego is still too dim to use telepathy. It will take a few more minutes to read properly.
Still, my suspicions didn't subside. What on earth did Tir do that she would even snitch...
I'll ask later for now. I glared at the regressor whose crime was established.
“Trainee Shei, are you not afraid of heaven? You read the content of the note and blatantly ignored it? Do you not have any appreciation for the value of promises!”
“You made a double note...”
“Have you lived in the Military Nation for a day or two? Even if you were tricked, once you nod, there's a minimum obligation to fulfill! You have to check contracts carefully! And!”
Words won't do. With the intention of showing how big my dissatisfaction was, I hit the bed with all my might. Then, Tir, who was sitting next to me, bounced up for no reason.
The bed is hard, maybe because it resembles the country that made it. I rubbed my stinging fist on my thigh and shouted.
“Think of my position too. How untrustworthy must you have been for me to do that! Honestly, the content written on the double note wasn't even a big deal! Is it that hard to not touch a person of weak body and mind?! But I put a little fun and emphasis effect with the double note because I thought you'd refuse even that trivial request, and you ignored it like a joke!”
Every word is correct. The suspicion that you tried to extract information while I was weakened still remains.
The regressor let out a slight murmur.
“...Right. I was hasty. I admit it. But you won't have anything to say either, right?”
What? She did wrong but has this confident expression.
The regressor spoke with a triumphant expression as if she had caught my weakness.
“Your name, Huez. Right?”
“Huh? That's my name on my citizen registration? How do you know?”
What. Did she dig up my name while I was unconscious?
At my question, the regressor narrowed her eyes even more and muttered.
“Level 0 citizen, Tantalus laborer, Huez. Amazing. I was completely fooled from the start. Thanks to your useless act, I was sent right back.”
“Wh, what? How do you know that!”
Telepathy! Ah. It's not back yet!
It can't be helped. I have no choice but to act like an ordinary person for a moment. I raised both arms and protested.
“Th, this is an invasion of privacy! It's a personal information leak! Who on earth are you? The person who exposed my citizen registration name!”
“It is this official.”
A voice came from outside the door.
Turning my head to look outside the door, a stranger was crossing her arms and glaring at me. She was a woman with a large peaked cap used by Military Nation officers, and a bob cut sharp as a knife to match it. Her stiff uniform and the medal proudly hanging over her chest stood out.
The officer spoke in an intimidating posture.
“You were here. Laborer.”
An officer. Even in uniform. Why is a Military Nation elite officer here.
Huh? Did she come as an instructor?
In...structor?
Why is the instructor here already!
The moment I realized the other person's identity, I jumped up and pointed my finger at the officer.
“Waaah! Trainee Shei! What are you doing? Quickly cut off that person's arm!”
Most of them didn't even understand the meaning of my words. Among them, only the regressor knew it was about her and just crumpled her face.
The regressor retorted with a cold attitude.
“...Why, when I didn't even cut off your arm?”
“I said I didn't cut it! You should speak properly! You failed while trying to cut it! Not equality of results, but equality of opportunity! Please give that arm an equal opportunity to part with its shoulder too!”
“No. My interest is gone.”
“What. Was cutting off arms all this time based on interest? Is cutting off someone else's arm such a light matter?! Rather, cut it out of a sense of duty equally!”
The regressor retorted with an indifferent attitude and even stepped aside to let the officer in. She gave the officer a slight glare but didn't cut her arm and walked past.
The officer who entered the room just glanced around the inside with her eyes. At her attitude as if trying to find fault, I shrank back like a frightened student.
“Tantalus is in a mess. Did you neglect it for days?”
“No, well. I was picking up some lost memories.”
“And yet you point at the supervisor and spout nonsense about cutting off an arm.”
Steeped in petty bourgeois tenacity, I couldn't retort to the officer's words and shrank my body. The officer became confident seeing my attitude. From the faintly felt thoughts, she seemed slightly glad.
She was probably glad to see the only being weaker than her.
“It's a summons. Laborer. Come to the instructor's office immediately.”
“Ugh...!”
Ordinary citizens cannot disobey an officer's order.
An officer has the right to command the workers of the facility they belong to, and in case of disobedience, has the authority to punish them by their official power.
Moreover, the opponent is the instructor who came as the general manager of Tantalus. Even if she summarily executes me in this bottomless pit, no one would be able to blame her... I bowed my head with a bitter expression.
“Keukeukeukeukeuk!”
But the reason I bowed my head was a fake to gain momentum. Laughter spilled from between my closed lips.
The officer's expression hardened.
“What's so funny?”
“Hahaha! Did you think I would sit still without any preparation until you came!”
The Military Nation always prepares reserves.
Whether it's a new laborer, or an instructor.
From the time the golem sent me a warning, the Military Nation probably looked for someone else to manage this place besides me.
...It was unexpected that the officer came this quickly, though.
“I knew this would happen, so I made arrangements! Try touching me! I'll give you a beating!”
“You?”
What meaningless words. Even if I punish her, she won't be scared.
I jumped up and pointed at Tir standing beside me, shouting.
“Not me! Tir will!”