Episode 383

"Block 106?" I echoed. "What does Block 106 want with us?"

The number sounded familiar. I was pretty sure it was the block that Ailak had headed toward shortly before his head.

"I don't know, but Block 106 is on good terms with our block. The previous director visited them often, and they came here a few times too," Topepo replied.

"Did their director come personally?" I asked.

Topepo shook his head. "I don't know."

"How did we end up on good terms? Shouldn't all blocks be competing with each other?"

Topepo avoided my gaze. "I'm sorry. I usually stay in the workshop and work with metal. I don't know much about the relationship between the blocks."

"Is there anyone who would know?"

Topepo pondered for a moment. "Ailak's group... I guess Jorette would."

Jorette was currently in the infirmary with a broken arm and a broken finger. We hadn't met face-to-face recently. I needed to call him in for questioning, but Topepo looked oddly uneasy.

"Is there something bothering you?" I pressed.

Topepo hesitated. "It isn't a big deal. The man who came as the messenger looks a bit strange."

"Strange how?"

"He looks like he hasn't eaten properly in days, and his movements are odd, almost ghostly. He gives off a gloomy feeling," Topepo explained. "Honestly, he isn't someone I'd want to be around for long."

I paused for a moment, though I had already made a decision. "Where is he now?"

"He's waiting in the dining area."

There was no proper reception room, so this was understandable.

I nodded and said, "Bring h—"

Before I could finish, the door suddenly swung open without a knock, and an unexpected face appeared. It was Jorette, the very person we had just been discussing.

"You...?" Topepo's eyes widened before narrowing again. Anger spread across his wrinkled face. "This bastard still hasn't come to his senses...! Do you know where this place—"

Topepo's words trailed off.

Before I knew it, Jorette had rushed up to me and dropped to his knees with a thud, pressing his forehead to the ground. "Spare me!"

I looked down at him in confusion.

"Please spare me! I'm still useful. Starting tomorrow, no. I can go to work even today! I'll do anything. I can do it! If I can't defeat the monsters, I can at least handle chores. So—"

"Calm down. I have no intention of killing you."

I had considered giving him a few solid hits. However, he seemed half out of his mind and kept babbling.

"Please spare me. I was wrong. I'll never protest again. I—"

I stood up, walked over to Jorette, grabbed him by the hair, and slapped him on the cheek.

Slap!

One didn't feel enough, so I slapped him twice more.

Slap!Slap!

I ended up hitting his right cheek twice. For fairness' sake, I slapped his left cheek one more time.

Slap!

The sensation of a lizardman's hand slapping a cheek is unexpectedly satisfying, so just two more won't hurt.

"W-wait a minute!" Jorette hurriedly stopped me. Focus had returned to his clouded eyes.

"Have you come to your senses?" I asked.

Jorette hurriedly nodded. "T-that's right."

"I don't think so. Just a few more..."

"No! I'm really fine! Apologies! I went crazy for a moment..."

I nodded in satisfaction. "This is a secret lizardman technique. The Mind-Awakening Strike is worth using."

"Mind-Awakening Strike... This is the first time I've heard of such a technique."

"It is a secret technique passed down by a master," I said flatly.

I studied Jorette's face closely. His focus had returned, but fear still lingered. What caught my attention was that the fear wasn't directed at me. So what was this fellow afraid of? What could terrify him enough to drive him to his knees and make him beg for forgiveness when, only a few days ago, he couldn't stand the sight of me?

Just then, a gloomy voice echoed through the room. "Excuse me."

I turned toward the door with a frown. A man stood there, his presence impossibly faint.

Is he a vampire too? He looked more like a moving corpse than a vampire. His cheekbones were so sharp that almost no flesh remained on his face, and his eye sockets were deeply hollowed. In short, he resembled a walking corpse. He was so gaunt that he looked as though a light tap could make him crumble apart.

"It was so noisy that I came on my own despite knowing it was rude." His voice was grating like a rotting tree being scratched.

"Ugh..." Jorette looked at the man named Lotus with a trembling expression.

Naturally, I understood what Jorette was afraid of: Block 106.

***

After sending Jorette and Topepo away, the gloomy man and I remained alone in the director's office.

He straightened his clothes before speaking. "I am Lotus."

"Yes, Lotus. I was recently appointed as the new director of Block 107."

"Yes. I've heard a lot about you."

I nearly laughed for a moment. As Stonegan had once said, contact between prisoners from different blocks was generally impossible. Only the directors, or one of their lackeys acting with permission, could move between blocks.

However, I had never interacted with another director, nor had I seen a prisoner meet someone from another block. So who exactly told this man about me? Or was he simply offering empty pleasantries?

I asked, "What is your purpose here?"

"Purpose? Ah." Lotus tilted his head in confusion. Then he slowly nodded, as though he finally understood. "Now that I think about it, the former director, Mr. Ailak, died suddenly. I suppose there was no proper handover."

I nodded. "That's right."

"It's merely a trade proposal. A reasonable arrangement that should satisfy both parties." With that, Lotus placed two objects on the desk. One was a document. The other was a leather pouch that looked heavy at first glance.

"What is this?"

"It is a proposal," Lotus repeated. Then he asked, "Can you read?"

I nodded. "I can read and write."

"That's good."

I lowered my gaze to the document: Consent Form for the Relocation of Prisoners Between Living Blocks.

The list section beneath the title was empty. At the bottom was a clause stating that the approval from the respective director was required, along with a space for a signature.

"Three people. Please transfer three people to our block. Their race, age, personality, strength, health, mental state, or injuries don't matter. It is fine even if they are useless, troublesome, or don't meet your arbitrary standards. They just have to be alive. Send us three individuals, and in return..." Lotus tapped the pouch with his gaunt fingers.

The loose knot came undone, and the contents spilled out. They were gold coins.

"This is your first deal with us, so I added a little extra," he said.

At that point, I was about to laugh. There had to be dozens of gold coins. I had wondered how that bastard had managed to collect money while working as a director. It turned out that he had been making regular deals with Block 106 all along.

And if that was the case, then what kind of person was the director of Block 106 to conduct such transactions inside the labor camp?

Something bad will definitely happen in Block 106. Now I understood why Jorette had dropped to his knees in fear. He was afraid that I would hand him over to Block 106. It seemed that prisoner transfers between blocks could only happen with the consent of each block's director.

I still don't have enough clues. At the same time, a certain conviction settled over me. Those bastards from Block 106 were most likely related to the Dark Church.

I maintained a neutral expression and said, "What happens to the prisoners sent to Block 106?"

"I can't reveal that. This is one of the terms of the deal."

Then this money also plays a silencing role. I asked another question. "What if I refuse?"

Lotus tilted his head again, as though the reaction had caught him off guard. "Refuse?"

He gave off no trace of vitality, and even his voice sounded faint. His gestures carried an oddly exaggerated quality, like an actor performing onstage. "Ahh... Is the money not enough? I will tell the director so I can take better care of—"

"That isn't it."

"Right, I heard that members of the lesser races aren't very greedy for money. Can I offer you points instead?" Lotus asked.

I shook my head. "I don't need either. I just need to be convinced. It will be hard for me to hand over prisoners if I don't know how they will be treated."

Lotus fell silent for a moment before sighing. "If you insist on this, then I have nothing more to say. I don't have that much authority. If you want answers, please stop by our block. You speak with the director in person and learn the details there. Then I take it that the deal is settled?"

"No. I need more time to think about it."

"I can't provide any advance payments."

"I don't need them. Just leave the document."

Lotus looked slightly puzzled, but he soon nodded and stood up. "It was an impressive meeting. I hope you will give us an answer by the next rest day."

At that moment, I had a premonition, so I said, "I have one more question."

"Feel free to ask."

"What is the name of the director of Block 106?"

Lotus' unfocused gaze shifted to me. "It is Gustav."

***

In the director's office, after returning from her errands, Leone said, "Big Boss Gustav is a big shot. You mean that he is likely a church member, and the individuals he took are being used as sacrifices?"

I replied, "That would be the most reasonable guess, but one thing still bothers me."

"What is it?"

I showed the document to Leone. "If the prisoners are going to be used as sacrifices, shouldn't there be a condition attached? The transferred prisoners should be limited to the seven races."

In the Dark Church's demon king descent ceremony, only the seven races held sacrificial value.

I continued, "But the document mentions no such condition. Based on Ailak's journal and Jorette's testimony, most of the prisoners transferred previously were from the lesser races."

Leone also looked a bit troubled. Surprisingly, the one who usually seemed to know everything didn't know what was happening in that block. Then again, she had entered the labor camp at the same time I did.

Leone asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I suppose I have to see for myself. If I talk to Gustav face-to-face, I may learn something more."

"That's reasonable." Leone nodded. "But being reasonable alone isn't enough."

"Do we have any other options?" I asked.

"Yes. Let me go."

"You? It could be dangerous."

One thing was obvious. The prisoners taken to Block 106 never met a good end. In other words, Leone was volunteering to walk straight into danger.

Leone chuckled. "I'm confident that I can escape any situation, even if the Pope is there. What matters is understanding what's really happening, right?"

That was true. I pondered for a while before speaking.