Episode 389 New Wave’s Dog Eaten (5)
Another page from New Wave’s calendar has been torn out.
After one month, guards are subject to end-of-month evaluation.
The labor system of Nouvelle Vague is somewhat unusual, and one guard leads 12 prisoners to work.
At this time, the jailer is like a god to the 12 prisoners he is in charge of.
Whether to punish or not, how much to do, how much work to do, how much to rest, everyone can decide at their own discretion.
This group changes once a month.
After a month, both the prisoners and the guards dispersed.
Therefore, the jailer has to work the prisoners who have become his work crew for a month, and he can decide whether to punish or reward, make the work harsh or easy.
However, that did not mean that the guards could take care of the convenience of the prisoners.
The guards of the New Wave are also subject to end-of-month evaluations, as mentioned above.
They receive points based on how much work they complete with 12 prisoners for a month, which is reflected in the performance evaluation for promotion.
The jailer had to make the prisoners do the maximum amount of work for his score.
Whatever method is used for this is at the discretion of the jailer.
There were guards who threatened the prisoners with beatings with knives or whips, restrictions on eating, restrictions on sleep, restrictions on rest, etc., and there were guards who appeased the prisoners by handing out a little more bread or work tools.
Prisoners also had to work hard to ensure that their guards didn’t give them low marks.
Otherwise, the jailer, who seems to have the right to escape their life and death, would not know what to do.
……Well, anyway.
At the end of this month, a notice was also posted in Nouvelle Vague.
It was a table that ranked the guards with the highest performance.
Wardens compete with each other to rank well on this evaluation table.
There was an endless war of nerves, such as using a lottery trick to attract a good and obedient prisoner to their own group, giving money to transfer them, or secretly stealing bread or work tools to go to another group.
Of course, the goods in the New Wave are limited, so if someone eats one more meal, someone has to starve.
So, the group that always talked a lot was the group of lieutenant ‘Gareum Nord’, a junior guard.
Gareum’s Joe has always been miserable.
Joe has no motivation, no grades, no future.
Befitting the name ‘stupid Gareum’ or ‘a dog that ate rain’, only prisoners who ate rain were always given to Gareum as his crew.
Bread and work tools were also always intercepted by other guards, so Garum had to give his own meals to encourage the prisoners to work.
Of course, the prisoners who belonged to Gareum’s group did not work hard at all.
This is because, as long as he joined Gareum’s group, it was impossible to achieve good results, and because Gareum had a timid personality, he rarely punished him.
So Gareum was always ignored even by the prisoners.
Needless to say, being bullied by the same guards.
The number of prisoners sent to solitary confinement, calculated by adding up the number of riots quelled, Garm never came out of last place.
however.
An unprecedented change has occurred.
< List of Report Cards >
1. Garm Nord / / 108%
2. Kirko Grim / / 96%
3. ……. / …… / 89%
4. ……
.
.
※ Name/rank/task achievement rate
Always the last to take charge of the division.
He scored first place in this month-end evaluation.
Garum even went beyond the limits of the workload guidelines set by the upper management.
Exceeded 100% achievement rate and exceeded 108%. It was unusual among lower-level guards.
That’s why the junior guards always talked about the evaluation table whenever they got together these days.
“Wow – did you see the report card this time?
“I first learned today that the work achievement rate can exceed 100%.”
“Originally, the task achievement rate set above is set a bit excessively.
“That’s right. So even that Kirko stops at 95% to 96% every time.”
“That’s amazing too. Did you see the gap with third place? There’s a 7% difference.”
“But the gap between first and second place is 12%. Does this make sense?”
“Did Gareum originally get that good?”
“There’s no way that could be. It’s ‘stupid hair’. He was always at the bottom with 40%.”
“What is it? You’ve been hiding your power and pretending to be the loser all this while? It’s a really disgusting development…”
Then. The atmosphere in the kitchen, where the lower guards were gathering and talking, suddenly became quiet.
This is because Kirko, who always took first place and ranked second in this month-end evaluation, appeared.
…widely!
Kirko set the plate down on the table and sat down to eat.
A cup of fermented sea catfish roasted waterfowl, boiled peas and sea cow’s milk was the menu of the day.
At that time, Kirko, who was eating quietly, heard whispers from other lower-ranking guards.
“Does Kirko look in a bad mood today?”
“That’s right. First place was taken away. Of course, that was also to the idiot Gareum.”
“……At this rate, isn’t Gareum promoted first?”
Kirko stopped chewing the peas.
Then he turned his head away with a feeling of displeasure.
at that time.
“……!”
The low-ranking guards, who had been talking behind Kirko, all stopped what they were doing in unison.
Garum. The main character of the topic entered the restaurant.
* * *
Cut. No, Bikir was chewing on boiled peas and chewing on his plans for the future.
‘To activate Poseidon, I have to apply as much mana or physical impact as possible to the explosion point.’
To do so, it was far more convenient to operate as a guard than as a prisoner.
This is because you can observe the dynamics of Poseidon at any time.
However, in order to frequently visit Poseidon in the depths of Level 9’s workhouse, it was impossible with the position of a low-level guard.
‘At least, to be safe, it’s better to be promoted to the rank of major.’
A captain who wears a rank insignia studded with three diamonds.
A major who wears a rank insignia studded with a rose of sharon.
At this level, there should be no hindrance to the activity.
‘……From the rank of captain or higher, you can roam around the whole area of the workshop without reporting. It would be possible to secretly activate Poseidon at night.’
To do so, he had to work diligently.
Fortunately, unlike regular units that take months or years to get promoted, in New Wave, the promotion reward based on performance was quick and certain.
This is because so many guards die or become disabled while serving and retire.
When Bikir was thinking about this and that.
…widely!
Something was placed on the table in front.
It was powder in a paper bag.
“Gareum Nord. It’s your birthday today, right? Congratulations!
”
It was only then that Bikir realized that Gareum’s birthday was today.
“……?”
The paper bag was filled with white powder.
When I tasted it with my finger, I could feel the sweetness.
“Is it sugar?”
Come to think of it, it was the same as what I had seen in Gareum’s diary.
In Nouvelle Vague, they give out a bag of sugar as a gift to a guard on his birthday.
However, the sugar in the bag had a bit of a bitter taste.
It was hard to see because it was the same white powder, but it seemed to contain a significant amount of salt.
“what?”
Bikir tilted his head as he waved the envelope.
at that time.
“Are you a real idiot?”
A cynical voice came from the side.
Kirko was standing there with her arms folded.
“You get the same reaction every birthday. That’s why the other guys call you ‘Stupid Gareum’.”
Kirko looked into the sugar bag in Bikir’s hand and shook her head.
“Colonel Bonama or Dordium must have eaten it. I’ve heard that he likes sweet things. He must have filled it with common salt because he was embarrassed himself too.”
“That’s right. Cover your eyes and say Aung.”
“Don’t you know why Colonel Dordium was demoted here to Nouvelle Vague in the first place? It’s because when he served on the ground, he mixed sand and rice bran with rice for his subordinates and got caught. easy.”
Kirko grumbled, saying, “I can’t give you dog habits.”
Seeing that even his superiors were swearing without hesitation, it was clear that his personality was not normal.
“…Anyway. Happy Birthday.”
Kirko mumbled a bit before continuing.
“And thank you for helping me last time.”
The words added at the end were so small that even Bikir, whose hearing reached the level of a superhuman, could not easily understand.
‘It’s my birthday.’
Bikir thought about the day she was born.
A date that does not have any particular meaning, so it is neither remembered nor meaningful.
It was a common point seen in all of Bikir’s lives, who had gone through a total of three lives from before returning to Naraksu and from his old age to this moment.
In Nouvelle Vague, a birthday is just one low point in a gloomy and soggy timeline.
It was always the same in the Age of Destruction, in the Tower of Naraksu, and in the Baskervilles.
The sugar quickly became sticky due to the sticky moisture.
The musty fishy smell from the peas was choking me.
…widely!
Bikir got up with an empty tableware and headed for the exit.
Then, Kirko looked at Bikir’s back with a slightly embarrassed look.
“… It’s strange after all.”
muttering quietly to himself
* * *
In the days that followed, Kirko kept a close eye on Bikir.
‘Was he originally like that?’
Since they were siblings, I watched them from time to time.
The Gareum she saw was always pathetic and stupid, but unlike the others, it wasn’t to the point of contempt.
Just someone who doesn’t fit in here in New Wave. just a person
Whenever she thought, ‘Is it because I lived on the ground when I was young’, Kirko somehow hated separation.
For her, who was born in Nouvelle Vague and had never seen the ground, the ground was represented by the image of Gareum.
Leisurely, timid, slow, and somewhat timid. A boy who showed no fighting spirit or competitive spirit.
……But recently, his behavior has changed.
He led the prisoners to accomplish tasks that were considered impossible, and scored great marks in physical fitness tests and written tests.
The way fellow guards see Gareum gradually began to change.
The attitude that was usually close to indifference or contempt gradually changes to an attitude of eagerness to be friendly.
But Kirko didn’t want to admit that distinction for some reason.
……complex.
Perhaps it was the heart that did not want to acknowledge the earthly world represented by Gareum.
No matter how good or how good he was here, it could have been the manifestation of the complex of being a frog in a well.
Is that why? Little by little, Kirko was burning a feeling of competition that had never been felt by Gareum or anyone else.
‘How do I get the replacement work done? What do I have to do to get that amount of work?’
Kirko was secretly following Gareum and 12 prisoners belonging to Gareum’s group going down to work.
I was also curious about how he was able to achieve the absurd figure of 108% to command prisoners.
at that time.
Kirko saw Gareum sending prisoners to the field of labor.
And soon I was stunned.
“…!?”
Something she could never have imagined was happening.
