"..."
I sat in the corner of the cell, silently observing the surroundings.
"Man, the atmosphere here is not good..."
Meanwhile, Damian can't shut the fuck up.
But annoying as he was, what he just said wasn't wrong.
'The tension in here is thick enough to choke on.'
I thought, glancing around.
Everyone was on edge. Small groups were already forming, seeking safety in numbers. Nobody trusted anyone.
'If we all just stay put and act civil, there won't be any trouble and we don't have to be nervous... We could just do our thing and survive.'
I stated in my head, being logical.
But I know that this wouldn't happen.
Because as I scanned the cell—
"Wooow~ look at those breasts~"
My eyes landed on a group of three men—early to mid-twenties—they were staring at the three women in the cell with obvious, predatory intent.
'Yeah… I don't think everyone here has that kind of common sense.'
I thought, slightly frowning.
There were fifteen of us total in the cell—three women, twelve men, myself included.
And from what I had seen so far, the guards won't give a damn about what happened in here—to us.
That's also basing to what I had experienced ever since coming to this world as a slave.
To them, we were nothing...
Slaves are being treated more like an object rather than a living being.
We could beat up or probably kill each other, and they wouldn't bat an eye.
'Ugh… I just know this is going to be a pain in the ass.'
I grumbled internally, already annoyed.
Then, as I was deep in thoughts—
"Excuse me."
A soft, high-pitched voice entered my ears.
"Hmm?"
I turned my head toward it.
"...?"
Damian did the same.
And there—
"Hello."
We saw the three women, looking at us.
They looked to be in their early twenties, a little older than me and Damian.
Anyway—
"...?"
I didn't say anything to them, just raised an eyebrow, asking what they want.
Then, the one in the middle stepped forward and opened her mouth—
"Can we join your group?"
She bluntly asked without hesitation.
"..."
"..."
The two women behind her remained silent.
Damian, on the other hand—
"W-What?!"
He stammered, clearly flustered.
He turned to me, whispering urgently—
"H-Hey, they're asking to join us... Do you think they l-like me?"
His face was turning red.
"..."
I just frowned at him.
Then, ignoring his idiocy—
"You want to join us?"
I repeated the question, directing it to the woman in the middle. She seemed like the leader of their little trio.
"Yes."
The woman answered immediately.
After that—
"..."
I went silent, thinking.
'They probably want to join us for safety, to increase their numbers. Makes sense. But why us specifically?'
My eyes flickered to the other groups with that question in my head.
'They didn't approach them… Probably because they saw how those guys were looking at them earlier. Instead, they came to us—because we're the youngest. They think we're the safest option. That even if we turned against them, they could handle us.'
I concluded in my head.
That's the only reason I could think of why they want to join us.
And realizing that...
I frowned.
"This is already getting annoying..."
I muttered to myself.
Strength in numbers was a good thing.
But at the same time—
'If we take them in... Then there's a chance that the other groups will target us because of the women.'
I don't want to attract unnecessary troubles.
Especially since I'm still clueless about how this world works.
"Looks like you understand our intentions well."
Just then, the woman in the middle suddenly said that as I was stuck in my thoughts.
"You're sharp for a kid."
She added.
I looked at her—
"Well, yeah… I'll die early if I'm as stupid as this guy."
Then I responded with that, gesturing to Damian with my head.
"Huh? What do you mean? What are you guys talking about?"
Damian asked in confusion, but we just ignored him.
"So, what do you think?"
The woman in the middle asked me again.
"..."
I didn't answer.
But obviously—
'Declining would be the logical choice.'
It would keep us out of the eyes of the other groups.
'We won't attract trouble.'
I concluded in my head
Then, just as I thought of that—
"Hey!"
A raspy, arrogant voice rang out throughout the cell.
"..."
I turned toward the source of it.
And there—
"Why are you girls hanging around with the kids? Join us instead. We'll protect you."
I saw a man step forward.
Brown skin, brown hair, brown eyes. He was well-built and confident.
And behind him—
"Heh, big brother's right. Come on, join us."
"Yeah, we're strong, you know?"
Two bald men stood at his sides, grinning disgustingly.
They were the same group that I had been watching earlier.
The strongest looking group in this place.
'Tch... It's happening already?'
I complained in my head.
"Tsk…"
I heard the woman in front of me click her tongue. Her brows furrowed.
Tap- tap- tap—
The three men then started walking toward us.
Big smirks on their faces.
And as soon as they reached where we were—
FWIP—
"UGH...?!"
Each of them grabbed a woman by the wrist!
"You guys don't mind if we take them, right?"
The man with the brown hair turned to me and asked that with a disgusting smile on his face.
"..."
He was looking down on me.
And didn't even let me answer, because after asking me that—
"Let's go."
FWIP—!
"GAH...!"
They started dragging the three women in the middle of the cell.
"S-Stop!"
"Get away from us!"
"Ghg...!!"
The women struggled against them.
"H-Help us!"
One of them cried out.
But—
"..."
Nobody in the area moved.
Nobody dared to interfere.
"..."
Even me.
"H-Hey! Shouldn't we help them?!"
Damian turned to me, eyes wide and worried.
"..."
I just stared at him.
My face expressionless.
"Hey! Answer me!"
His voice rose, shaking my whole body.
"HEY!!!"
He shouted in my ears.
Then—
BAM!
We heard something heavy hit the concrete floor.
"...?"
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.
And there—
"URGH…!!"
We saw the three women being shoved down.
They were pinned beneath the three men.
"...!"
Damian's face twisted with rage after seeing that.
It was obvious what was going to happen next.
Swish—
He turned back to me, eyes full of disappointment.
And opening his mouth—
"If you won't move, then I'll do something about it myself alone."
He declared that.
"Our team is disbanded."
And after saying that to me—
Fwish—
He stood up.
Meanwhile, me—
"..."
I remained seated on the floor, frowning.
After all...
'Shut up, Damian... I can't concentrate...'
I had been silently processing everything around me since earlier.
Running scenarios in my head.
What should I do?
What are the consequences?
What benefits me the most?
Can I handle this?
What about the future?
Countless questions flooded my mind.
Then—
After just a few seconds...
'... Okay.'
I reached an answer in my head.
"..."
FWISH—
I immediately stood up.
Pat—
I grabbed Damian by the shoulder.
"Huh?"
He looked back at me.
And without sparing him a glance—
"My name is Kaiser, not 'Hey'."
I declared that.
"Huh?"
He was confused.
But I didn't care.
"Follow me."
I just instructed to him.
"Huh?"
Ignoring Damian, I quickly scanned through the cell with my eyes.
The other groups.
They were just watching.
Silent.
Not showing any signs of stepping in.
'Good.'
Tap—
I took a step forward.
"...?!"
"Wait!"
Damian followed after me.
Then—
I spotted it.
A rock about the size of my fist.
I saw it earlier as I was scanning the surrounding.
Fwip—
I picked it up on my way.
Tap- tap—
Then I kept walking.
"Hold the two baldies."
I ordered to Damian.
"Huh?"
He blinked in confusion, but I didn't explain any further.
Tap—
And as soon as I reached the back of the bastard with brown hair—
Pat—
I grabbed his left shoulder with my left hand.
"Hey."
I called to him.
"Huh?"
And as he was turning his head toward me—
FWOOOSH—
BAM!!!
I bashed the back of his head with the rock on my right hand as hard as I could.
"GAAHHH?!!"
He screamed in pain.
"..."
Then blood splattered from his head.