56 – Episode 56. Mines, Hongsam Candy, and Thousand Ma Hitler (1)
Having breakfast with the sad, iron-like gaze of Tribor, like the morning sun.
“How about this? I’ll use the pseudonym I’ve been thinking about for the mines.”
A confusing name, whether it’s Shin Nobeon or Nobeonson. I take pride in my perfect naming sense that suits my dual identity.
“How can a person’s name be like that…”
[Make it a name like the people of the Erugal Kingdom.]
“Didn’t you feel anything weird while making it?”
The reaction is not as good as I expected. Not only the two yokai trapped in prejudice, but even Orpheus.
“What about Robinson? It’s not much different from the current name, easy to remember, and it’s a common name that won’t stand out.”
“Robinson…”
Orphe murmured the name that was given to him. For someone like me, gifted in literary talent, this was no ordinary name.
It was the same name as the protagonist of the world-renowned masterpiece, “The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a York Sailor, Who, After Suffering Shipwreck, Was Rescued by Pirates, and Lived Twenty-eight Years on an Uninhabited Island on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great River Oroonoque; Having Been Cast on Shore by Shipwreck, Wherein All the Men Perished but Himself. With an Account of How He Was at Last as Strangely Deliver’d by Pyrates.”
Having drifted on the planet of the luremen for over 20 years, I feel a strange sense of affinity with him.
“Let’s go with that.”
He neatly stacked the empty dishes and stood up. It was his way of helping with Orphe’s dishwashing. Truly considerate.
“I’ll head out now. Trivo, if any problems arise, contact me with the necklace.”
[Understood. I’ll make sure to hide the bead well, as it will shine brightly when communicating.]
“Just in case, I wrapped the gem in bandages. Don’t mistake me for water.”
Let’s assume we are inside the enemy’s headquarters. When I’m waiting for the right moment in the shadow, if the necklace suddenly glimmers and shines, the atmosphere can only become tense.
Many supporting actors in movies were discovered because their cell phones rang, revealing their hiding spot to the villains. I won’t make such a mistake.
“I’m going to the Adventurers Guild for a request.”
“You’ll receive a request that will be finished today, so you won’t be late. See you in the evening.”
“Thumbs up.”
With Orphe’s level, he can handle most requests on his own. I sent her a thumbs-up.
“Yeah. Thumbs up to you too.”
Orphe sent me a thumbs-up in the same gesture. It’s a good reaction.
I feel a little proud. Is this how a father feels when he sees his daughter growing up?
To create the effect of facial recognition disorder, I marked a dot next to my nose with a feather pen before setting off. Thorough preparation leads to good results.
Click-
I opened the front door and looked around Amelie’s house. Unfortunately, Adalie wasn’t there. I was hoping to catch her in the garden like last time and ask her various things.
Well, there are plenty of opportunities. Just take it slow.
I headed straight to the mine.
***
“Robinson? Where are you from?”
The person conducting the interview was a stern-looking woman in her mid-40s.
“I’m from Puskin Village.”
“That’s quite far away. Do you have a place to stay?”
“I’m staying at an inn not far from here.”
“Then you don’t need accommodation. Have you had any experience working in a mine?”
“No, but I’m confident I’ll do well. I’m good at physical labor.”
“You’re young, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Look for the supervisor with the badge that says ’45’.”
“I’ll remember that.”
They don’t seem to be too picky. Is it because this is mainly a job done by people from poor backgrounds who are hard to verify?
Still, I’m sure the important facilities have strict security. I can’t let my guard down.
Approaching the middle-aged man with white eyebrows, the supervisor with the number 45, I explained my situation.
“Another young one has arrived. Just because it’s a mine doesn’t mean you have to swing a pickaxe until you drop dead. Keep in mind that I have a lot of work for you.”
“Of course.”
“What kind of slang is that? Young people these days, casually destroying the Korean language.
Back in our day, if we said something like that, we’d get beaten up.”
“Sorry.”
“Stop talking nonsense. We’ll call you in a bit, and you’ll sit with the team.”
The 45th caretaker pushed me into a corner. I must be weak since I was easily pushed. The old man’s strength was no joke. Must be a muscle trained through hard labor.
“Hello? My name is Robinson. I’m a reliable colleague who will work with you all.”
I greeted the team members who were sitting in the corner. They were all young like me, but their shabby clothing suggested they were from a poor neighborhood.
“Hey, you’re the youngest starting today.”
The blond tanned girl, who was sitting in a squatting position, suddenly stood up and approached me, tapping my shoulder. Was she the team leader? Though her words were a bit sharp, I decided to endure it. My ninja spirit had to be preserved.
“During break time, if there’s a shortage of staff for fetching water or if the caretaker asks for something difficult, be the first to volunteer.”
I had to act tough? In the ninja village, I was just a student and endured all kinds of violence, but it might be different in the mine.
“I’m sorry, but no.”
I clearly expressed my refusal. Because of this, the shuttles would be commanded by the team members for a whole year, leaving me with sausages and stale cookies.
There was also a way to use my fist to give them a lesson they wouldn’t forget, but that would be too conspicuous, so I held back.
“What? Hey, you seem like you came from far away, so listen to me for a while. We should get along well.”
“Workplace bullying is a problem.”
“You crazy idiot.”
The blond tanned girl frowned like a pig demon and even came close enough for a kiss. She was so close that I could feel her breath.
It seemed like she was trying to dominate with a staring contest, but that was something I wouldn’t even consider. I didn’t step back an inch and shot lasers from my eyes. I didn’t use any mana.
“Robinson, just listen to Bianca. It’s not that difficult. Let’s move on nicely. They say new recruits will come in a few days.”
The curly-haired male team member approached, making a gesture of reconciliation. A typical traitor’s posture.
“I hate it so much.”
I had no intention of bowing my head to these delinquents. If I were the wandering swordsman Robin, I would at least give them a good beating.
“If you keep doing that-“
Drrring~!
The sound of an alarm bell interrupted the blonde tanning girl’s words at just the right moment.
Did she use a magic loudspeaker or something? Upon closer inspection, there was an object resembling a loudspeaker attached to the wall.
“Class 45! It’s time to work. Everyone, follow me.”
With that shout, the 45th supervisor entered the mine first. He’s telling us to follow him and goes in first. Even a mother duckling wouldn’t treat her ugly ducklings like this.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. You’ll be the only one suffering.”
“Next, you delinquent.”
The blonde tanning girl and her teammates hurriedly followed the 45th supervisor.
Other team members from different groups rushed into the mine. Afraid of getting lost, I ran as fast as I could to keep up with them.
The inside of the mine was larger than I had imagined. There were enough lights installed, so it wasn’t dark at all. It felt like I was looking at a real mine from the 21st century.
I admired the quality of this mine, which was on a completely different level from the abandoned mines in Sagal’s Tail Ninja Village, and naturally blended in with Class 45.
“…”
The blonde tanning girl quietly gave me a knowing look, probably because we were in front of the supervisor. I ignored her casually and kept walking.
“Everyone, grab the pickaxe next to you. We have a lot of work to do today. Hit the rocks until lunchtime, and after that, operate the ‘work machine’ to adjust fatigue and continue working.”
“Yes!”
One of the voices belonged to the rowdy guys. After picking up the pickaxe, they glanced at their teammates. Since I’ve never done mining work before, I need to imitate the movements of the skilled ones.
“Hey, what are you doing over there? Aren’t you moving?”
The blonde tanning girl immediately started picking a fight. Whether it’s this world or Earth, the patterns of delinquents are the same.
“Shut up, just wait calmly. I’m trying to awaken my ‘senses’ right now.”
I rotated the pickaxe like a pro, aiming it at her. It’s important to look like an expert.
“You talk a lot. Have you ever tried using a pickaxe?”
Damn, how did she know? The blonde tanned girl chuckled and flicked her index finger.
“Follow me. I’ll show you.”
Is it the duty of a team leader or something? It can’t be bad.
I stood next to the blonde tanned girl and quietly watched her pickaxe work.
“Don’t use too much force. You might twist it. And don’t hit it hard like this, do it gently like this.”
I roughly understand as I listen to her explanation. I adjust my stance and slowly strike the rock.
Thud. Thud.
“You’re doing well. Have you used your body a lot before? Where did you work?”
It feels like something is missing. What if I apply “helicopter technique” here?
“Hey, can’t you hear me? Where did you work?”
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
“Ugh, you crazy bastard! The rocks are flying everywhere!”
As I expected, it was Eva. I just followed what the blonde tanned girl was doing.
“Are you insane?”
“Anyway, no.”
After that, nothing special happened. We worked hard with the pickaxe until lunchtime and had a meal of canned soup.
Of course, I only took mine. Ignoring the blonde tanned girl who kept babbling, I ate quickly and time flew by.
After lunch, we went outside the mine with the team members and lifted the triangular machine we saw with Orphe yesterday. This must be the “working machine” that the 45th supervisor mentioned.
I was curious about what kind of object it was, but we couldn’t investigate it, so we couldn’t satisfy our curiosity.
“Oh, it’s over.”
“Everyone, be careful and see you tomorrow. Hey, you come with me.”
“Sure.”
I couldn’t follow the blonde tanning girl. Pretending to follow her, I slipped away in a different direction.
When I got home late in the evening, Orpheus had bought muffins and was waiting for me. I ate, showered, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. Another uneventful day passed like this.
The incident happened on the second day of going to the mine.
“Escaped ninja! The escaped ninja has appeared!”
Another supervisor shouted like that and rushed over.
“Nin?”
What? I’m right here? Perplexed, I looked around and saw a man dressed in all black.
“Oh, wicked followers of the Red Whale Matap. I have come to judge you today.”
Behind the man, about twenty black-clad men and women emerged.
“It’s a clone technique! This guy really uses the clone technique!”
The supervisors trembled in fear, hearing some rumors.
Just by looking at the woman being involved, it’s not a clone technique. Has everyone gone crazy?
“They’re going insane, seriously.”
Who are these bastards?