Became a stagnant person in a squalid prison cell

Chapter 28:

Mint spoke in a voice so quiet that only Helios could hear it. Helios’s hand was still trembling from resisting the power.

Even while holding Mint, his eyes stayed calm and steady.

“You’re gonna hit me?”

“……”

Helios slowly let go of Mint’s hand and stood up.

“That’s not going to happen.”

He avoided her gaze, his voice returning to normal.

“Well, yeah.”

Helios probably would never hit her—because by the time he reached the top, she wouldn’t be around anymore.

“You guys can get up now.”

Mint gestured toward Ged and the others, who had been hesitantly getting up.

A little later…

“You guys, come here.”

Ged’s group looked unsure but slowly approached Mint.

On the way, Mint got impatient and used her floating disc to shove them forward, causing a bit of a fuss.

Eventually, they all sat down quietly in front of her.

“Stay still.”

“…What’s Master doing?”

“She’s figuring out your worth. You know, to see if you’re good enough to be Helios’s teammates.”

Helios quietly watched Mint.

She stared intently at Haila and Brett—so fiercely it felt like she could burn holes through them.

It made Helios uncomfortable.

Did she always look at him that way too?

He suddenly shook his head. What was he even thinking?

Thinking weird things about someone who shares his room?

He must’ve gone a little crazy being stuck in prison.

As Helios smacked his cheeks lightly to shake it off, he noticed something.

‘A light?’

A strange golden light flickered briefly in Mint’s eyes.

“Hm…”

“What is it?” he asked.

Mint just shook her head.

Her face was expressionless and calm. Helios thought back to what she had said earlier:

— Don’t be surprised. I’m just sharing my memory with you.

The moment Haila used her power, Helios had heard Mint’s voice in his mind. Then, very quickly, he had seen and understood everything Haila had experienced.

After that, when Mint crushed Ged’s group with force—it was terrifying. Not because she looked angry, but because her face was completely emotionless. Like she was just doing her job.

Even more chilling was how kind and soft her face looked while doing it.

‘And yet…’

He didn’t feel disgusted or upset.

In fact, he kind of felt like Mint had been angry on his behalf.

‘Am I going too far with this thought?’

While Helios was lost in thought, Mint straightened up.

“Tsk…”

She clicked her tongue, ignoring Helios’s confused expression.

She was honestly shocked.

‘Wow, amazing.’

The people Helios had chosen as teammates—whether because of her little test or because he couldn’t ignore someone in trouble—were all surprisingly useful.

Now that she looked more closely, their abilities were perfect for someone like Helios.

‘They’re basically built to support the male lead.’

She couldn’t deny it. This had to be fate.

Each one of them was a perfect fit for Helios, who was destined to be the main character.

Even if he chose them out of compassion, they were the best options.

‘Is that why the hero always wins in stories?’

But Helios wasn’t a classic righteous hero—he was more like the dark, twisted type who goes through pain and revenge.

Still, maybe revenge was a form of justice.

“I’ll say this now—I’m not very kind.”

“Th-that’s okay!”

“Same here!”

“Haha, it’s an honor just to be accepted by someone like you. From now on, I’ll call you Boss.”

“……”

Haila bowed deeply to Mint in apology.

But Mint had already moved on. She wasn’t even that angry to begin with—just a little annoyed.

“I’ll say this too…”

She felt a bit irritated that someone had touched her person without permission.

“If you’re looking for a leader to follow, it’s not me—it’s him.”

She pointed to Helios, and everyone looked at him.

Helios looked confused.

A little later, they all stood together in an open field. Helios on the left, Ged’s group on the right.

Mint sat comfortably on a tree stump. Ged glanced at her nervously.

“Um… Boss… can we start calling you Master too?”

“No. I don’t like that.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because I don’t plan on being your master.”

“……”

“Just call me what you’ve been calling me.”

“Y-yes, Boss…!”

“The only one who can call me Master is him,” she said, pointing to Helios.

“Ah…”

Ged and the others felt a little weird about that, but it passed quickly.

“Oh, and Haila—don’t go testing Helios like before just to get on my nerves.”

“Yes, got it. But… what’s the deal between you two? Just a teacher-student thing? A guard and a prisoner?”

“Something like that. Helios is all I have.”

She said it casually, but she meant it. She needed him to get out of this place.

“If you mess with him again, I won’t let it slide.”

“…Okay.”

This was their last chance. They needed to treat it carefully.

“There’s only one of him, so take good care of your lives.”

“……”

Everyone naturally turned to look at Helios again.

Helios felt strangely embarrassed, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. His ears were getting hot.

“…Once you spend time with her, you’ll see. My Master… isn’t very normal.”

“What the—why are you making me sound crazy all of a sudden?”

“You made it sound weird yourself!”

“What did I even say?”

Helios started to talk back, then gave up and wiped his face with a sigh.

Haila watched them go back and forth and quickly figured something out.

‘…Looks like someone hasn’t realized their feelings yet.’

Of course, she was completely wrong—but it felt that way.

“Anyway… let’s focus on healing first. Just so you know, the reason I accepted you guys is because of Helios.”

“……”

“And because of him.”

Mint pointed to someone—Seth.

The quiet one who hadn’t said much so far was completely startled.

“M-me?!”

Seth pointed to himself in shock. His full name was Seth Galligan.

On paper, he was a huge criminal—caught up in a massive drug case on a national scale. He had taken the fall for his organization’s boss and ended up here.

But in truth, he had been abused his whole life and had only ever learned to make drugs. He was timid and gentle.

“You have healing powers, right? Go ahead and heal everyone.”

Mint’s words surprised him so much, he jumped.

“M-me? Healing powers?! That’s the first I’ve heard of it…!”

Among people with Kia abilities, healing powers were rare—so rare that they were often treated like holy priests and kept by temples.

He was just a guy who made medicine. Healing powers?

“Oh, you didn’t know yet?”

“M-my ability is just weak telekinesis… nothing more…”

Seth always thought he survived this far thanks to his lucky friendship with Ged.

He clutched his long hair nervously, his pretty face making him look more like a delicate boy than a hardened prisoner.

“Oh, it’s okay if you can’t use it yet.”

“H-huh?”