I Became a Leader in a Wretched Prison - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 34

“Hmm, and….”

I recalled something I had heard in conversations with the male prisoners who used to be my subordinates.

“Boss, for men, being pretty is all that matters.”

“That’s just this bastard’s personal opinion.”

“Ah, why? Boss, you’re beautiful!”

“He’s a reactionary! Drag that bastard out! Throw him in the underground!”

There were some strange lines mixed in, but they all had loose screws as a common trait, so it wasn’t unusual back then.

“Pretty.”

“…I suppose so.”

“Hm?”

Helios had suddenly covered his mouth and turned his head away.

“Well, yeah. I’m pretty, right? It’s not like I’ve never been told I’m pretty.”

“More?”

“More…?”

I was done describing my face. Even though I usually lived without looking in mirrors much.

I couldn’t very well mention my hair color though. Ah.

“I have long straight hair.”

“Cough!”

Helios suddenly choked, so I had to stop and pat his back for a moment.

Of course, Helios got angry, saying that wasn’t patting his back but an attempted murder.

Even when I’m looking out for him, he makes a fuss.

* * *

“I have long straight hair.”

Recently, Helios had been experiencing anguish he didn’t particularly want to feel.

That night, the day he had made a promise and resolution to definitely reach the tower summit, he had seen a strange apparition.

Yes, an apparition. That was the cause.

His master apparently had a female sibling. But from what he heard, they didn’t seem to resemble each other.

Rather, from the description alone, they seemed to have completely opposite impressions.

“Haah….”

So even if he were to actually see his master’s female sibling, there was no way he would feel the same emotions he had when seeing that apparition.

“I have long straight hair.”

That Guy’s straight hair.

Helios let out a sigh. It was because of the flickering illusion that kept appearing again.

If only Master had long hair instead…

Crazy bastard. What the hell am I thinking?

Mint returned to the room just as Helios was beating his head instead of just messing with his hair.

“What kind of crazy bastard game is that?”

Helios turned his head and flinched.

Standing before his eyes was the main culprit who had thrown him into anguish.

‘What the.’

Helios flinched.

And for good reason, as Mint usually preferred to wear cheap thin t-shirts that covered up to his neck.

But now he was completely different from usual, standing there with his neck fully exposed as if he had just washed up, dripping with water.

The moment he saw the water droplets hanging from the tips of his hair, Helios unconsciously felt tension.

As Mint approached, there was an indescribable fragrance.

How to put it. It was a scent that stimulated the tip of his nose refreshingly while making him feel comfortable when he kept smelling it.

“…Why does Master lo-look like that?”

“I washed up.”

Though Mint usually maintained cleanliness without washing with Kia.

‘Sometimes washing with water like this isn’t bad either.’

Of course, after washing his face at the washbasin, he had also washed his hair with cheap soap while he was at it.

“…What is this smell?”

“Smell? Ah, is it the soap smell?”

Helios slightly swallowed his breath.

It was because Mint had unconsciously come closer.

It was ridiculous. What was he being so conscious about with the same man right in front of him?

This was all because he was startled by his appearance being different from usual.

That must be it.

‘Of all things…’

The ‘Garret’ that Mint had created had a rather small Adam’s apple. Because of that, you had to look very closely to notice it protruding.

Helios eventually let out a soft groan while running his hand down his face.

That person is a man, and I’m a man too!

Why does he keep imagining that person with long straight hair in such strange ways?

“There’s no crazy bastard like me.”

“What. Now you’re cursing to my face? Is washing up a crime?”

Helios quickly turned his face away.

“…I wasn’t talking to Master.”

Mint tilted his head.

Somehow his disciple has been acting quite different from usual lately.

Even so, he was following the training well and there were no problems with clearing floors, so he just let it pass.

‘Look at this?’

“What, what are you doing?”

Because Mint suddenly grabbed his collar and yanked him forward, Helios’s upper body tilted and his face came closer.

Helios’s own face was reflected in those transparently clear blue-green eyes.

“You’ve lost weight in your face.”

“…It would be strange if I didn’t lose weight when you’re working me like this. Let go.”

“Huh? That can’t be right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think I make you eat two bowls and give you my portion of food for nothing?”

Helios flinched.

“You can’t sleep, can you?”

“I sleep well…”

“Should I watch you all night tonight?”

“Are you crazy? What person could sleep soundly with someone watching them?”

“Why not? I could make you sleep if you just do 30 minutes of training right now.”

“…”

As the nonsensical talk continued, it was Helios who raised the white flag.

“…I’m sleeping just a little poorly. Happy now?”

Mint stared intently at Helios.

The dark circles that had settled deeply under his eyes.

This wasn’t something that would happen from just missing sleep for a day or two.

Moreover, the floor they would soon have to climb was none other than the 29th Floor.

Of course, since Helios and Ged’s Group had done so well up to the 28th Floor, it wouldn’t be too difficult.

But it wasn’t easy enough to succeed smoothly in poor condition.

‘He’s quite high-maintenance.’

Just a little, my ass.

Mint pondered what to do with a disciple who was blatantly lying.

Should she just smack the back of his head and knock him unconscious?

No.

While he might sleep well for a day or so, this wouldn’t be a fundamental solution.

The longer Mint’s gaze continued, the more Helios’s back became slightly damp.

“Why are you sweating? Are you sick?”

“No, everything would be solved if Master would just let go.”

It was as if she was treating him like some kind of disease. Mint naturally paid no attention to this nonsense.

“Seeing how you keep deflecting with nonsense, I’m getting curious.”

“Please let go of this…”

“How long should I keep letting you fool me?”

Mint had noticed Helios’s condition quite a while ago.

Honestly, she had been troubled.

She thought she just needed to feed him, let him sleep, work him, and climb the Tower.

But this Male Lead seemed to be shouting with his whole body that he wasn’t a dog or cat.

Frowning, getting annoyed, angry, resentful, and sometimes even cursing.

But gradually, his true feelings became visible within that anger.

So this current frowning was closer to perplexity rather than irritation?

The problem was that I couldn’t understand why he was acting this way.

“This won’t do. How about just getting hit once today and sleeping well? If you can’t sleep anymore, it’ll interfere with your Kia usage.”

“You sure make jokes sound like you’re serious.”

“It’s not a joke though?”

I’ll hit you so it won’t hurt. At Mint’s words, Helios turned pale.

“If I graze you wrong, you might never open your eyes again, but don’t worry. I’m confident.”

“Pick one – is it a threat or are you serious!”

He was definitely certain that he had gone crazy.

What kind of insane imagination had he entertained about this ignorant brute!

Today too, Helios ended up surrendering completely.

He confessed while grinding his teeth.

That he had barely been sleeping lately, and that sleep wouldn’t come even when he closed his eyes and lay down.

Of course, he didn’t say what was causing it.

“That’s serious. I can’t hit you to sleep every night either.”

“If it’s a joke, cut it out, and if you’re serious, don’t even think about doing it.”

“I don’t want my disciple’s brain to have problems either.”

…Had she been thinking of continuously hitting him to put him to sleep to the point where it would damage his brain?

Helios felt a moment of reality check.

‘Insomnia.’

Actually, it was a common ailment among the prisoners here.

Anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and so on. In this place where all kinds of mental illnesses ran rampant.

Insomnia was the most basic ailment.

Those who felt guilt were deeply aware of their responsibility.

Those who felt despair cried out at being unable to leave.

Those who shuddered at the Tower’s horrors went mad with fear that they’d have to go back there when the sun rose.

They suffered from insomnia for various reasons.

‘Drugs circulate too.’

Illegally manufactured sleeping pills circulating wasn’t even unusual.

Even before Mint became the boss, some crazy alchemist from the Tower had made psychotropic powder so prevalent.

That the Warden, who usually just watched, finally drew his sword.

Most importantly, Helios wasn’t a criminal but a normal person.

Would it be easy for a person with two eyes to adapt in a country of people with only one eye?

Perhaps it was strange that insomnia was only appearing now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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