Chapter 21
The mine was filled with thick, smoky air.
Miners began walking out with pickaxes resting on their shoulders. They trudged forward while groaning from exhaustion, their faces completely covered in dirt and dust.
“Whew... My back is killing me. We worked ourselves half to death, and this is all we got?”
The cart was not even half full of gold.
The carts that followed were no different.
The amount they had mined was clearly much smaller than before, making everyone sigh heavily.
“Haah... The gold’s completely dried up. We’ve searched this whole mountain, but there’s barely anything left.”
“Tsk. Just thinking about that damn lord throwing another tantrum is already giving me a headache.”
Not only were they trapped by an unfair contract, but all of them had families they needed to feed.
The foreman ripped the towel from around his neck and threw it onto the ground.
Slap!
“If I hadn’t gotten greedy and said we could make more money back then... I’m sorry, everyone. This happened because of me.”
Breaking their contract came with consequences.
It could cause terrible pain in their hearts or temporarily paralyze their bodies.
Because of that, none of them could even seriously consider stealing some of the gold.
“If it weren’t for our families, I would’ve already...”
Worse still, they were trapped inside the territory.
Their families could not escape either.
It was truly the worst possible situation.
“I’m sorry, everyone...”
The foreman kept blaming himself.
The miners immediately tried to comfort him.
“Oh, come on. There goes our foreman again. You’re getting too sentimental with age. How is this your fault? We all made the choice ourselves.”
“That’s right. Who could’ve known things would turn out like this? The ones at fault are this damn mine and that rotten lord.”
They gathered together, sitting around and complaining.
That was when they heard footsteps.
Step. Step.
“What? They’re already here? Damn it. They can’t even let us rest for a minute.”
Everyone hurried to their feet.
Their eyes turned toward the approaching footsteps.
They assumed it was another person sent by the lord, so everyone immediately became tense.
“...Who are you? You don’t exactly look like someone who belongs around here.”
“That’s true. There’s no way they suddenly replaced the bastard watching us.”
The miners whispered among themselves while glaring suspiciously at Suhyeok.
There was an obvious reason for their reaction.
Hail regularly sent people here.
Their job was to force the miners to work faster by any means necessary.
...What? You barely mined this much, and you still have the nerve to ask for wages?
A man had once insulted the foreman in front of everyone.
The foreman had forced an awkward smile and bowed politely.
Ha... W-Well, you see... We’ve already mined most of this area, and it seems the gold vein is running dry...
The man completely ignored him.
Instead, he repeatedly poked the foreman’s shoulder with his index finger.
Hey. You can’t even do your job properly, yet you think you deserve that? Huh?
The miners tried to step forward, saying he was going too far.
Before they could, the foreman bowed again as if nothing had happened.
I-I’m sorry. But please try to understand. Everyone here is struggling to survive, so please forgive us...
Thud!
“Urgh!”
The man kicked the foreman with all his strength.
When the foreman collapsed, the man pressed his foot hard against his chest.
“Ugh...”
If things still look like this the next time I come, you’d better prepare yourselves. You understand? Answer me.
Y-Yes... I understand.
They had already endured more than enough.
That was why the miners now looked at Suhyeok with open hostility.
They tightened their grips around their pickaxes.
The atmosphere quickly became dangerous.
The foreman stepped forward and faced Suhyeok.
“...Did the lord send you?”
Everyone swallowed nervously.
Suhyeok calmly replied,
“Bens sent me.”
Silence fell.
The foreman stared at him in surprise.
“...Young Master Bens sent you?”
Suhyeok nodded.
The miners exchanged looks.
Then...
“Hahahahaha!”
“Oh, you should’ve said that from the start! If the young master sent you, we would’ve prepared a seat for you right away!”
“Hey! Hey! Spread out the lunch we brought! I’m starving!”
The gloomy atmosphere from moments ago disappeared completely.
Everyone hurriedly began eating the food they had brought.
Some even pretended to drink water while secretly pouring themselves alcohol.
“Don’t drink too much. You’ll regret it if you get completely wasted later. Understood?”
“Oh, Foreman, you worry too much. How many years do you think we’ve been doing this? A little alcohol is necessary for this kind of work. Hahaha!”
They were already getting drunk and barely listened to him.
The foreman could only sigh.
“Looks like Bens has treated you fairly well.”
“Ah, yes. Well...”
“Ahem! Don’t even get me started. We’re all trapped here against our will. If Young Master Bens hadn’t secretly looked after us, we would’ve starved to death by now.”
“His personality’s a little rough, sure, but compared to those two rude young masters, he’s practically an angel! Hahaha!”
The miners kept answering for the foreman before he could speak.
Finally, the foreman lost his patience.
“You bastards! If you’re drunk, go back over there and drink quietly!”
“Oh, come on. We can answer for you once in a while. Why are you so stingy, Foreman?”
“That’s right!”
The foreman sighed and shook his head.
Then he repeatedly apologized to Suhyeok.
“I’m sorry. Those idiots have always been a reckless bunch... Haah.”
It was exactly as Bens had told him.
There was only one reason these miners had not rebelled yet.
Bens had secretly taken care of them without letting anyone find out.
It might have been fine for now, but Bens must have known they would eventually reach their limit.
“Ahem. More importantly, what brings you here? Usually, the young master calls only me separately...”
There was only one reason Suhyeok had come here immediately after finishing his conversation with the lord.
His eyes moved across the miners.
Their bodies were covered in hard, compact muscles developed from swinging pickaxes.
It proved that almost everyone here had spent decades doing this work.
Suhyeok would need them to operate the mines that would appear in the future.
“I came to make a contract.”
Flinch.
The moment they heard the word contract, the noisy atmosphere froze.
Their expressions immediately hardened.
One by one, they grabbed their pickaxes and stood.
“...Ha! I knew it! You were acting friendly just so you could trick us into signing another ridiculous contract, weren’t you?”
“Damn it! Screw this! Let’s just fight! What else do we have left to lose?”
“We’re going to starve to death at this rate anyway! So what if we die fighting?! Huh?!”
The miners glared at Suhyeok as if they were ready to kill him.
The foreman stood in front of them and calmly asked,
“...A contract? What exactly do you mean?”
