“You useless bastards!! I even changed your damn diapers!!”
The old man sighed.
Seeing the old man like that, some of the prisoners who had been bowing their heads to the ground whispered softly.
“Still, he never actually changed our diapers, right?”
“He did make us piss and shit ourselves a lot, though.”
“The Boss isn’t exactly the kind-hearted type.”
Kick, kikikik!
They chatted among themselves for a while.
Bam!!
“Pfft!!”
The old man’s fist flew, and they were sent kissing the wall.
“Damn it! You pathetic brats!! I should just throw you all into a damn trash can!!”
Thud! Wham! Boom!!
The old man didn’t stop at just one hit; he kept beating them.
-…The old man’s still got some energy left.
‘Yeah, no kidding.’
As I watched for a moment, the old man seemed to sense my gaze and turned to look at me.
“…Hoho, my apologies, guest. You had to see such an unsightly display.”
His expression changed to a smile, and I couldn’t help but flinch.
It was familiar, yet awkward… like when my aunt scolds us, but then her voice changes when my older brother calls.
-Oh! It’s just like when Auntie scolds us, but her voice changes when Older Brother calls!
Narin’s explanation made me realize why it felt so familiar.
He’s gruff with those he’s close to or doesn’t care about, but with strangers or those he needs to impress, his voice softens a bit.
“…? Guest? Is your translator not working properly?”
“Ah, no… no, it’s working fine.”
Perhaps wondering why I hadn’t said anything, the old man asked. I quickly corrected his assumption.
“Hoho, that’s good to hear. It’s embarrassing, but living here makes it hard to get such things.”
How he got it… I didn’t need to know.
I fiddled with the translator on my left ear.
‘Even though I’ve put it on, it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing anything.’
It’s so comfortable that you wouldn’t even know it’s there unless you touch it.
Plus, the translated voice isn’t just a stiff mechanical voice—it feels like the person’s actual voice is being translated.
‘This seems like a pretty good translator, huh?’
I’ve never seen a translator on the market with this level of performance.
How did he even ‘procure’ something this hard to get outside…? The question crossed my mind again, but I held it back.
“Old man, let’s get to the point.”
If I slip up now, I might end up being the one ‘procured.’
“You’re being so nice to me and putting on this show of discipline in front of me… you want something from me, don’t you?”
“……”
Every kindness has a reason.
And there’s no way I can trust these guys who ended up in prison because their backsides were so dirty.
‘They’re definitely being nice to me because they think they can get something out of me.’
There’s no other reason.
Did they suddenly have a change of heart?
Or do they want to show kindness to Akaoni, a rookie villain who hasn’t done much?
Maybe it’s just an apology for a misunderstanding?
No matter how you look at it, the chances are slim.
It’s more likely they’re being nice because they think they can benefit from me.
I smirked and tilted my head.
“Tell me first. If you tell me what you want, maybe I can help.”
“Hmm…”
The old man hesitated for a moment at my words.
What could he possibly want to be this excessively kind?
‘Since I’m an outsider, maybe he wants me to bring something from outside?’
Or, like a true villain, maybe he wants help escaping this place.
As I tried to predict what the old man would say, he seemed to make up his mind and spoke.
“We want food and miscellaneous daily necessities.”
“…Huh?”
Food and daily necessities?
What the old man wanted was surprisingly simple and ordinary.
“That outfit. Since it’s not a prisoner’s uniform, you must be an outsider from outside Tartarus.”
“…Hmm.”
I should put on my most mysterious smirk.
Like I know something, but want him to keep talking.
“Plus, considering how the perfectly fine gun disappeared earlier, you must have a Summoning-type Ability.”
“So you thought I was a smuggler?”
“The only way to open that iron gate normally is with a prison guard’s key. That means you’re a smuggler with the guards’ permission. At least, I assume you’re not an illegal intruder.”
A permitted smuggler… that’s a bit funny.
But I think I understand why a smuggler is needed.
‘In case of a riot or something.’
Even though they’re looking like beggars now, they were once dangerous criminals who caused chaos in the world.
If they caused chaos back then, and now these guys who’ve survived in this hellhole join forces and cause a riot, and some of them escape, it would be a disaster.
-They’re using smugglers to keep throwing limited resources at them.
To make them fight each other over the scraps.
The guards made deals with smugglers to provide goods and food to the criminals here.
‘And the guards stay safe in the process.’
Overall, my non-prisoner outfit, the easily mistaken Summoning-type Ability, and the Creation Ability that was only revealed a year ago.
And thanks to my ability to create keys and open the iron gate, the old man completely mistook me for a smuggler.
‘Maybe I can use this to my advantage.’
If I play my cards right, I might be able to finish this without too much trouble.
“Well, I am a smuggler, but I’m new here.”
“Ah, I see…! No wonder you seemed unfamiliar.”
I stayed calm and started carefully gathering information.
‘If I act like I know too much and slip up, it’s game over. It’s better to take a detour and get a feel for things first.’
“There’s just one thing I’m curious about…”
By the time I had gathered enough information and got a feel for things, I smirked under my mask.
-This seems easier than I thought.
Just like Narin said.
From what I’ve learned, smugglers are a precious resource on the 6th floor, not to be messed with lightly.
Since they provide most of the necessities for survival, they’re naturally important.
And the teams on the 6th floor might try to win them over, but they wouldn’t directly threaten them.
‘In the original story, I only knew that some guys here would escape later, but I didn’t know the details. I guess I’m luckier than I thought.’
If I can pull off the smuggler act well, I won’t end up as paper meat or get ‘procured’ on the 6th floor.
Plus, what they want is just food, some toiletries, razors, and other simple things.
-You can just make all that, right, Older Brother?
Just like Narin said, most of it is stuff I can easily make.
“Alright, let’s make a deal with this area. You’ve got the money ready, right?”
“Of course. Hoho!”
I smirked and started checking the items they wanted.
*
“Wow! A damn new toothbrush!!”
“Finally, some shampoo to keep my hair flowing!!”
“Look at this sashimi knife! Just a touch, and you could slice sashimi right away!”
A little while later.
I opened the iron gate and created a large amount of daily necessities.
‘Good thing I know how to make most of these things.’
Of course, making something with the same quality as what’s sold in stores was a bit of a stretch.
So, for things like razors and toothbrushes, I simplified them as much as possible and was a bit worried, but they seemed to like them more than I expected.
“Um… are you sure this much money is enough?”
The old man handed me a crumpled wad of bills with his wrinkled hand.
“This should be enough, right?”
I saved as much mana as possible by cutting costs, so the quality dropped a lot, but I got more than double the market price.
“But other smugglers would’ve added an extra zero for this quality…”
‘How much are those smugglers ripping them off?’
Doing bold business with 6th-floor prisoners.
I don’t know if they’re brave or just have no sense.
“It’s fine~”
I already have plenty of money, and there’s not enough space to carry more.
Plus, I don’t have a hobby of swallowing money that could kill me.
“But…”
Maybe because the old man also knows there’s no such thing as free kindness?
Instead of gratitude, his face showed discomfort, like he was wondering what my angle was.
-Older Brother! Can you ask that old man for a favor?
Meanwhile, Narin contacted me.
“Ah, hold on.”
After excusing myself from the old man, I whispered and started talking to Narin.
“What is it?”
-It’s about our destination! The 7th floor!
“…So you couldn’t find a way from the 6th floor to there?”
-It’s frustrating, but… yeah. It seems like it’d take at least a full day of non-stop work to bypass the security…
While I was making the daily necessities as the old man requested, I had asked Narin to find a way from the 6th floor to the 7th floor.
But from the 6th floor onward, there are no CCTV or electronic devices.
And the security level for the 7th floor is so high that finding a path in a short time was a bit too much.
-The fastest way now is to get help from a local.
“So, ask the old man for help?”
-Exactly.
Alright, I don’t know if the old man knows the way, but it’s better to ask than to stay here all night.
I turned and looked at the old man.
“Well then, old man, instead of payment, can I ask you for one favor?”
“What is it? If this old man can do it, just say the word.”
“Ah, it’s nothing much.”
Just like I sold you stuff, this time I’m just going to make another deal.
‘Though the target happens to be the Worst Hero.’
I smirked and started explaining to the old man.
