The Old Man Is So Good at Acting Like a Loser

＜ 2. Slave and the Sea (2) ＞

“Andrea, what an unusual name. Was it named after the famous phantom thief Andrea?”

“Yes? Yes, what…”

Jeonghyun was taken aback. Dungeon of Infinity is not a story-driven game. However, I was able to learn about the story and settings outside the Infinite Dungeon through simple conversations between characters and various pieces of paper that could be picked up during exploration.

However, it was the first time that Andrea was the name of a famous thief.

In most cases, you can have conversations related to that character’s story only by seeing the events they encounter with other characters. Jeong-hyeon had faced other characters a few times as Andrea.

The problem was that when other characters spoke to her, Andrea either ignored them or gave short answers.

‘Why on earth was this damn character so trashy even his social skills?’

The strong are lone wolves if they lack social skills, but if the weak lack social skills, they are just social misfits. Jung-hyeon was determined to make Andrea a good human being while he was in control.

Marco was the most important person among the slaves. In order to have a smooth relationship with other slaves, he had to look good unconditionally.

“Well, the name is not important. Do you know why I came here?”

“It’s not just because I think I’ll die if I leave it alone…”

“Yeah, I have some sense. Do you know which cabin you are in right now?”

Come to think of it, it was the first room I saw. The room Andrea had been staying in was as narrow as the bathroom in the world she used to live in. There, six men with rice cake sticks were crumpled and tried to sleep, so every evening was literally to die for.

The room he was in now was slightly larger than the one he was in, and he was the only one there. However, perhaps because of my mood, something musty smell seemed to come out stronger than other places.

“···I do not know. It’s the first time I’ve seen it.”

“There is no specific name, but we call it the Fish Bowl. Slaves who are about to die are left here overnight and then thrown into the sea.”

“…”

“Actually, whether you eat this porridge or not, you will be dead tomorrow anyway.”

It didn’t look like Marco was joking. It doesn’t seem like he’s feeling particularly sorry about anything. Looking at that attitude, Andrea was able to quickly find out the intention behind Marco’s words.

“But the fact that you came to see me means that you came to tell me how to survive, right?”

“Certainly quick-witted.”

“…”

“I have a wife and daughter on land.”

“…”

“Before I became a slave, I was a soldier of Helios. I took part in the holy war and was taken prisoner, so I ended up in slavery as a rower… but my wife and daughter were still waiting for my return from their homeland.”

Helios was the name of a country familiar to Jeong-hyeon. This is because the fanatical crusader from Helios, who serves the sun god, was one of the playable characters.

“In the meantime, this galley happened to dock in the port of Helios. It was a place that I could go to in one night on foot to where I originally lived. I wanted to try to escape right away, but the supervisor found out about it and watched me closely, so I couldn’t even try. As a workaround, I bribed the supervisor to inquire about my wife and daughter.”

The story was running ominously. Andrea looked at Marco. He was suppressed, but he seemed quite emotional.

“I didn’t expect much, but to my surprise the supervisor brought news of my wife and daughter. It was said that both were fine. I was relieved and gave up my escape. stupidly… But last night the supervisor overheard a conversation with another crew member. In fact, the wife is dead and the daughter is missing where she was sold, but she lied to me.”

In the end, Marco was unable to speak for a moment, perhaps because of his emotions. Andrea thought about what to do and carefully offered comfort.

“I don’t know what to say. You must be heartbroken.”

Marco waved his hand as if he was okay. He quickly caught up with his emotions and went on with what he had to say.

“I must find out where my daughter is. This galley comes with a small boat for emergency evacuation. I’m going to escape on that boat tonight. As you may have already noticed, bringing this up means you’re coming too. Aren’t you dead if you stay here anyway?”

Andrea put on a puzzled expression. It was a proposition that was difficult to accept.

“Why are you folding? If you’re going to escape with a companion, wouldn’t it be much more helpful to go with another sturdy slave?”

“The others aren’t as desperate as you and me. It’s actually an almost suicidal adventure to ride in a small boat without knowing the direction in this vast sea. Fortunately, I can see some constellations. How about you, will you come with me? You never know who might come, so decide quickly.”

Even though it was a plausible explanation, I still couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Even when I was playing ‘Dungeon of Infinity’, there were times when I was faced with options that were hard to refuse. I can’t help it, and if I accept it, the game always hits the ground.

‘Even so, there is no reason why you must take me with you. But Marco definitely wants to seduce me.’

Intuition was telling me clearly. There is always a trap in this proposal. As Marco guessed what he was hiding, a thought suddenly came to his mind.

“What about food? What are you going to do with the food?”

momentary silence. Marco’s answer follows.

“That’s not your concern. Because I took good care of it.”

Andrea did not miss the strange air current that had flowed for a moment. And I came to an absurd conclusion that I don’t even want to imagine.

“Could I be food?”

He quickly hid his expression, but it was already too late. Andrea could see the bewilderment on Marco’s face.

“What nonsense is that? People eat people, just imagining it makes me sick.”

“Mr. Marco, if you’re looking for your daughter’s whereabouts, can’t you put up with that level of nausea?”

Andrea longed for a negative answer even if she had asked a question. Marco didn’t answer.

At this point, I couldn’t help but know. Stealing food and escaping is much more difficult than just escaping. However, if ‘food’ directly helps them escape, the story is different.

‘Isn’t this a crazy bastard?’

As long as it was decided to use human flesh as food, there was a chance that the suppression would fail if another strong slave was taken. However, if it was Andrea who was very skinny and even injured, there was no need to worry.

Andrea burst out laughing. It was so funny that he decided to build a good relationship with Marco for a moment.

‘It’s the opening of the character background story, really.’

It is a reality that is too burdensome to accept. Jeong-hyeon intentionally escaped from reality, thinking it was a story in a game.

However, it soon caught on again. Nothing was going to get better with this attitude. If someone who is a developer decides to treat himself like a dog like this, he decided to live his life as if he had seen it once.

‘Yeah f*ck. No matter how bad it is, I’d rather die.’

“Okay, Marco. I’m going to die anyway, so it doesn’t matter if you use me for food. However, there are two conditions.”

Marco opened his eyes wide. Although he knew that he was planning to use it as food, he did not know that he would accept his offer. Andrea continued in a determined voice.

“The first is that I will never use it as food until I die. Of course, Mr. Marco must not kill me. If I can’t survive the voyage and die, then you can salt or dry my corpse as you like.”

“Yes, I see.”

“Swear by the name of the sun god and the honor of your daughter and wife.”

sun god Helios. Those who break the oath by that name will die and will not reach paradise and will forever wander in the darkness where the sun never rises. It was a setting that I came to know while playing the character of the Crusader of the Sun Bridge.

Marco was quite surprised. Hearing that he was from Helios, he brought up family honor and an oath from the sun god. The skinny man in front of me was not only quick-witted, but also seemed to have a lot of common sense for a slave.

However, with that injured body, even if I didn’t kill him, I wouldn’t be able to endure it for long. It was a condition where there was nothing to lose. Marco immediately nodded.

“I swear.”

“And when you land on land, grant me one wish, whatever it may be. Even if I am going to die soon, I am also risking my life. Shouldn’t you arrange this?”

This time, Marco fell into a longer agony than before. It was a difficult condition to readily accept, as it was unknown what kind of favor Andrea would ask for this.

But Marco, like Andrea, was cornered. There was no promise of when the slaves would enter the fish bowl again, and Helios was getting farther away day by day.

Besides, even a wounded slave would not be an opponent as easy to subdue as Andrea. Finally, Marco nodded.

“If it doesn’t endanger my life, I swear he won’t either.”

Andrea let out a sigh of relief. It was the same for each other that they were driven into a corner. That sturdy man would be of great help whether he landed on land or in a ‘dungeon’.

“Then the contract is established.”

Andrea held out her hand first, and Marco grabbed it and waved. Somehow, it felt like there was power in my hands. It was a very strange feeling to shake hands with a man determined to eat his own corpse.

“Now, can you explain your plan? The cabin where the slaves are kept is locked by the supervisor every night, so there must be a way to escape.”

“Yes, it is. But the fish bowl is an exception. I can miss the roll call because the supervisor accommodates a lot. After the roll call, there will be no personnel checks, so all we have to do is hide here until dawn, untie the ship, and escape together.”

“Why don’t you also find a way to get food separately? Even if I eat all of my corpse, there is no guarantee when it will reach land…”

“You have to cross the deck once to get to the food storage. There’s no way there aren’t sailors on watch. Look, this is the first and last chance. I don’t want to take that risk.”

I was speechless at the determined attitude. A normal person would, of course, choose this method, even if it was a bit risky.

With that attitude, there was no room for rethinking. In order not to be eaten by this crazy ghoul-like man, he had to die no matter what.

Andrea swallowed and made a determined decision.

‘Let’s not die. Let’s not die no matter what.’

＜ 2. Slave and the Sea (2) ＞ End