Became a stagnant person in a squalid prison cell

**Chapter 34**:

—

“Hmm, and then…”

I remembered something I heard from male prisoners I used to be in charge of.

> “Boss, with men, if a girl is pretty, that’s all that matters.”
> “That’s just his personal opinion.”
> “Aw, come on! Boss, you’re beautiful!”
> “Traitor! Drag him out! Lock him in the underground!”

There were strange comments mixed in, but it wasn’t anything new. All of them were a little crazy.

“You’re pretty.”

“…I thought so.”

“Huh?”

Helios suddenly turned his head and covered his mouth.

“Well, yeah. I’ve been told I’m pretty. It’s not like I’ve never heard that before.”

“Anything else?”

“Anything else…?”

That was all I could say about my appearance. I didn’t even look in the mirror that often.

I couldn’t talk about my hair color either. Oh!

“I have long straight hair.”

“*Cough!*”

Helios suddenly choked, and I had to stop and pat his back.

But Helios complained that I wasn’t helping but trying to kill him.

Even when I help, he complains.

—

“Long straight hair.”

Lately, Helios had been struggling with thoughts he didn’t want to have.

That strange vision he saw the night he swore to reach the top of the tower kept bothering him.

Yeah. It was just a vision. That’s all.

He had heard that his teacher had a younger sister. But from what he heard, she didn’t seem like the type he saw in the vision.

In fact, the description gave a completely different impression.

“Sigh…”

Even if he met her in real life, it wouldn’t feel the same as seeing that vision.

“Long straight hair…”

That hair again.

Helios sighed. The image of that vision kept appearing in his mind.

What if his teacher had long hair…

Crazy. What the hell was he thinking?

Mint came back into the room just as Helios was pulling at his hair in frustration.

“What’s with the crazy act?”

Helios turned his head—and flinched.

The person who had been making him feel this way was standing right in front of him.

‘What…’

Helios was startled.

Usually, Mint wore cheap shirts that covered his neck.

But today, he looked completely different. His neck was exposed like he just took a shower, and water was still dripping from his hair.

When Helios saw the drops at the tips of Mint’s hair, he felt himself tense up.

As Mint came closer, a gentle scent filled the air.

It was refreshing but calming at the same time.

“…Teacher, w-what happened to you?”

“I washed up.”

Normally, Mint didn’t need to use water because his kia (energy) kept him clean.

> *“Sometimes, washing with water feels nice,”* he thought.

He had washed his face at the sink and decided to wash his hair with cheap soap, too.

“What’s that smell?”

“Smell? Ah, it’s probably the soap.”

Helios swallowed nervously.

Mint had unknowingly come closer.

It was funny. He had seen the same man many times, but why was he so aware of him now?

It had to be because Mint looked different today.

That must be it.

*Why now…*

The body Mint created, “Garet,” had a small Adam’s apple. You had to look really closely to even see it.

Helios ran a hand over his face and let out a small sigh.

He was a man. Mint was a man.

So why did he keep imagining that guy with long hair?

“You’re insane.”

“What? Now you’re insulting me to my face? Is it a crime to take a shower?”

Helios quickly turned away.

“…I wasn’t talking about you.”

Mint tilted his head.

Lately, his student had been acting strangely.

Still, since Helios was keeping up with training and clearing tower floors well, Mint didn’t say anything.

‘What’s this now?’

“What—what are you doing?!”

Mint suddenly grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward, making their faces almost touch.

Helios could see his reflection in Mint’s clear, teal eyes.

“You’ve lost weight.”

“Well, duh. You keep pushing me so hard. Let go.”

“Hmm? That’s odd.”

“What is?”

“You think I’ve been giving you two servings of food and even giving you my share for nothing?”

Helios froze.

“You haven’t been sleeping, have you?”

“I sleep fine…”

“Want me to stay up tonight and watch you?”

“Are you nuts? Who sleeps well with someone staring at them?!”

“Why not? Just do 30 minutes of training now and I’ll knock you out so you can sleep.”

“…”

Helios gave up with a sigh.

“…I haven’t been sleeping much. Happy now?”

Mint stared at him.

Dark circles had formed under his eyes.

This wasn’t just a day or two of bad sleep.

And soon, they had to reach the 29th floor.

It wouldn’t be too hard thanks to Helios and Ged’s team doing well up to the 28th floor, but still…

Not if Helios was in poor condition.

‘This one’s a handful.’

A *little* lie? Yeah right.

Mint wondered what to do about his lying student.

Should he just hit him on the head and make him pass out?

No.

That might help him sleep today, but it wasn’t a real solution.

As Mint stared longer, Helios’s back started sweating.

“Why are you sweating? Are you sick?”

“No. Everything will be solved if you just let go of me.”

As if Mint was some kind of disease. Of course, Mint ignored that nonsense.

“You keep talking nonsense. Now I’m curious.”

“Just let go—”

“How long do you want me to pretend not to notice?”

Mint had known for a while that Helios was acting weird.

To be honest, she had wondered about it.

She thought she just had to feed him, let him rest, and push him through the tower.

But this male lead was clearly not a dog or cat.

He frowned, got angry, looked frustrated, and sometimes even cursed.

But in those moments of anger, she could see his true feelings.

So now, his frown seemed more troubled than annoyed.

The problem was—she didn’t know why.

“This won’t do. Want to get knocked out and sleep just for tonight? If you go on like this, you won’t be able to use your kia properly.”

“You joke like you’re serious.”

“I’m not joking.”

*I’ll hit you gently*, she said. Helios went pale.

“If I mess up, you might never wake up, but don’t worry. I’m confident.”

“Pick one! Are you threatening me or being serious?!”

He really was going crazy.

Why on earth had he imagined something like *that* about such a brute?

In the end, Helios gave up again.

Grinding his teeth, he admitted:

He hadn’t slept much lately. Even lying down with his eyes closed, sleep wouldn’t come.

But he didn’t say why.

“This is bad. I can’t just knock you out every night.”

“If that’s a joke, stop. If you’re serious, don’t even try.”

“I don’t want to damage your brain, either.”

…So she had actually thought about hitting him repeatedly to make him sleep?

Helios felt weirdly empty inside for a moment.

*Insomnia,* he thought.

Actually, it was a common problem for prisoners here.

Anxiety, OCD, depression—there were all kinds of mental illnesses in this place.

And insomnia was the most basic one.

Some felt guilt and couldn’t sleep.

Some screamed from the despair of being trapped.

Some trembled in fear knowing they’d have to go back into the tower when the sun rose.

Everyone had different reasons for their sleepless nights.

*There’s even illegal medicine,* he recalled.

It wasn’t unusual to find illegal sleeping pills going around.

Before Mint became the boss here, some crazy alchemist’s powder had become so popular that even the usually passive warden had to draw his sword.

But most of all—Helios wasn’t a criminal. He was a normal person.

In a place full of one-eyed people, someone with two eyes wouldn’t fit in easily.

Maybe what was strange wasn’t that he was having trouble sleeping now—
but that he hadn’t had it sooner.