Chapter 374: The Lava Shark (2)

The third method the prisoners used to obtain food was through begging.

A few guards were sitting on rocks, enjoying their lunch while the prisoners, munching on black bread and salted fish, watched enviously. The guards’ meals consisted of salted pork, boiled fish eggs, fresh seaweed, a bottle of sea milk, and occasionally, special treats like carrots, spinach, or potatoes. Higher-ranking officers even received fruits like apples or oranges.

Compared to the meager rations, the guards’ meals seemed like a feast to the prisoners. So, sometimes, the guards used these meals as bait to manipulate the prisoners.

“Hey, Fatty!” A guard playfully waved at a distant prisoner, prompting him to run over, sweat dripping from his forehead.

“Get down.”

The prisoner obeyed, lying face down on the ground, his stomach heaving.

“Up.”

“Sit.”

“Lift your legs.”

“Open your mouth.”

“Hands.”

The prisoner followed the guard’s commands like a trained dog, and in return, the guard tossed him a leftover piece of pork.

“Keep up the good work, alright? Don’t cause trouble.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!” The prisoner remained with his head on the ground, saliva dripping as he waited.

Like a scavenging bottom-feeder, he eagerly ate the discarded meat once given permission.

“That’s enough. Eat.”

With trembling hands, the prisoner picked up the piece of pork, savoring the scent for a moment. Then, he licked the greasy fat off the surface with delight, tears welling up in his eyes.

Savoring every bite, he chewed slowly, almost reverently, as if it were candy melting in his mouth.

Watching him, the other prisoners could only swallow their saliva in envy.

“Alright, if you meet your work quota this month, you’ll get to eat the leftovers!”

“Work your butts off! Then, I’ll treat you to my private stash of leftovers!”

“Keep it up! Whoever works the most this round, I’ll personally treat to ice cream!”

The guards encouraged the prisoners, throwing fish eggs, meat scraps, and sea milk onto the floor.

For the prisoners who had no rotten fish or rock bread to eat, the sight of these leftovers was a tantalizing prospect.

“Yesss! Let’s work!”

“Did you hear? Ice cream!”

“It’s mine! I’ll work the hardest!”

The prisoners’ morale soared. They were starting to question whether they were human or not.

Regardless of gender, hunger was a terrifying force. They were becoming deeply conditioned to it.

But not all prisoners dreamed of being bottom-feeders like the Fat Shark.

.

“Hey.”

There were times when the dynamic between guard and prisoner flipped entirely.

Sakkuth, a level 8 prisoner.

He was currently perched on a rock, popping his pimples and eating them.

Other prisoners couldn’t even get close, fearing the plague might spread.

“Hey, can’t you hear me? Has your gut swollen so much that it’s poking out of your belly?”

And the one he was calling out to wasn’t a fellow prisoner but a guard.

“……”

The hesitant figure receiving his call was a junior guard with a large burn scar on his forehead and face.

He was none other than Garam Nord, as he was known.

As if it were obvious, Garam extended his palm towards the guard.

“Hand over the meal.”

“……”

At that moment, Garam glanced around at the other guards.

Whether unfortunate or fortunate, his fellow guards were completely oblivious to Garam’s humiliation.

It was possible not because the guard’s actions were discreet but because Garam was in a position where his comrades didn’t pay any attention to him in the first place.

With a wry smile, the guard snatched the meal from Garam’s hand.

“No one cares about you boi~”

“……”

“Consider yourself lucky I’m letting this slide with just this meal. Got it?”

The guard threatened Garam in a low voice.

“If I wanted to, you know, I could, right? Brats like you catch the plague easily. They’ll meet a miserable death.”

“……”

“You have a crush on that girl, don’t you? You don’t want to see your crush turn into a shriveled mess like dried meat, do you?”

“……”

“Then make sure to bring lunch like this every day. Ssshhh……”

The prisoner muttered under his breath, attempting to shove pieces of pork and fish eggs into his mouth.

Just then,

“Hey!”

A sharp shout echoed throughout the workshop.

It was such a loud yell that even the guards were startled.

When Garam turned his gaze, there stood a female guard.

Kirko Grimm, to be precise. An elite junior guard soon to be promoted to captain.

She squinted her eyes, alternating her gaze between the guard and Garam.

“Are guards sharing food with prisoners now? Are you out of your mind?”

Under Kirko’s stern scrutiny, Garam couldn’t even meet her eyes.

Prisoners who witnessed this snickered.

“Are those annoying lovebirds at it again?”

“A smart girl and a stupid guy.”

“What a waste of a girl.”

“Ha-ha-ha, mess with the dynamics, suffer the consequences.”

From the prisoners’ reactions, it was evident that such incidents were quite common.

Kirko stepped forward and confiscated the food from the guard’s hand.

Then, with a sharp gaze, she declared,

“If I catch you trying to share food with prisoners again, you’ll be in front of the disciplinary committee. I’ll report it straight to the authorities.”

“Shhhh… Why is our lovely lady guard so grumpy today… ugh!?”

Sakkuth tried to play off the situation with a chuckle, but Kirko’s swift kick to his ‘precious jewels’ made it impossible.

Thunk!

Kirko quickly drew her knife and cut off the end of his beard.

As he blinked in astonishment, Kirko let out a snort and then glanced at Garam beside her.

“Embarrassing, don’t embarrass the guards!”

“S-Sorry…”

“Don’t even bother saying sorry. Are you really that stupid?”

Even in Kirko’s glare, there was a hint of disdain.

“…If you can’t do the job, get lost.”

With that, she left with a gust of wind.

Garam couldn’t muster a response, hanging his head low while the prisoners mocked him.

“Stupid Garam strikes again.”

“What a pathetic guy. How did he even become a guard?”

“If he’s in charge, can we steal his meals too?”

“What a lucky bastard. Doesn’t even have to work and gets to eat full meals.”

“Food, I also want to work under Garam next time.”

Garam’s nicknames varied.

‘Stupid Garam’, ‘Pathetic dog’, ‘Walking bread’, ‘Simpleton’, ‘Sucker’, and so on… All negative.

Surprisingly, it was his fellow guards who used these nicknames more than the prisoners did.

“Hey, did you let a prisoner steal your meal again? This guy is seriously dumb.”

“It’s good to prevent problems by not bribing prisoners… But if you do that, other prisoners will follow suit. Don’t harm your colleagues.”

“Oh, come on, Kirko. Don’t worry about that guy. You’ll ruin your pretty face stressing over him.”

“You idiot. Let’s settle this after evening roll call.”

His colleagues glared at Garam with hostility.

As they did, Garam, with his scarred face and burnt hair, bowed deeper and deeper.

Seeing this, Kirko sighed lightly and completely turned away, leaving with her colleagues.

“Ughh… I’ll let it slide today because of that damn woman, but starting tomorrow, it’s over. Don’t forget. Bring all the meals yourself. Otherwise, as I said before, I’ll turn that Kirko into a piece of jerky.”

With a final whisper into Garam’s ear, Sakkuth left, humming a tune.

“……”

Alone, Garam bore the scornful gazes and ridicule from both the surrounding prisoners and guards with his entire being. Yet, amidst it all, his gaze was fixed on Kirko, who stood at the center of his colleagues in the distance.

…

And there were eyes silently observing all these events unfold.

“Hmm…”

It was Vikir.

After much deliberation, he formulated a plan.

‘If I play this right, I might be able to use this to my advantage.’

Garam. And Kirko.

The relationship between these two young individuals might be of help in the upcoming moment of escape.

‘At the imminent moment of escape.’

Vikir was currently devising a plan to leave Nouvellebag.

This plan would likely be set into motion as soon as the opportunity to find humanity’s hope, Poseidon, arose.

…And.

‘That moment’ came much sooner than Vikir anticipated.