«Byron, Martha has told me a lot about you. Is it true that you can blow out anyone here with a single hit?» - Kyon decided to break the silence. Of course, the woman did not provide him with such revelations, but he had to start a conversation somehow.«I guess she"s exaggerating a lot about me.» - The big man grunted, rather emotionlessly.
«I think it"s really cool that she thinks so that about you, don"t you?»
«Yeah, probably.» - all attempts to talk the man broke with a rattle about a wall of his indifference.
{Yes, fish would envy his talkativeness. We"ll have to use heavy artillery.} - and told already aloud:
«Someone told me that you have a wonderful brother with whom you get along very well…»
Of course, he knew that, according to Borya"s information, the relations.h.i.+p of Byron with his brother was far from «normal», and therefore decided to go from the contrary... However, the reaction of the men exceeded all expectations:
«That b.a.s.t.a.r.d! G.o.d forbid I get out of here! I"ll tear him into ten thousand pieces!» - roared the big man instantly enraged.
«Did your brother do something wrong to you?» - here it is at last!
«That f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d kicked me out of the family and sold me into slavery!»
«Why did he sell you? What was the guilty of yours?»
«Because I"m weak ... I"m the only one in the family who couldn"t connect with the spirit! I lost to a 14-year-old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but is that a reason to do that? f.u.c.king a.s.s... It makes me furious...» – the man naturally choked with hatred. He already did not care that he just deliver his story to some inexplicable kid – apparently he just wanted to talk out.
{Mmmm - Yes, the man is clearly not of a great mind, since he is ready to spread his ugly biography to the first pa.s.ser-by. Anyway, it"s quite well for me.} – mentally chuckled Kyon, but he continued to emphasize out:
«Then how do you plan to tear it into ten thousand pieces if you"re the weakest in the family?»
Byron gritted through tightly clenched teeth.:
«I"ll find someone to do it for me!»
«A good approach, but if he simply put you into slavery, thenit means that you have no money, no special ties. How are you going to hire someone for that?»
«I don"t know.» - Byron lowered his head, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
«I see your determination and I"m willing to help you.»
«You?» - the man"s gaze held a sneer. - «You can do nothing for me. Just forget about it.»
«Here you are mistaKyon... I have a lot of influential friends outside this mine, I can just ask, and they will do everything necessary.»
Perhaps many people would despise Byron because he wants revenge by proxy, but no Kyon. «All means are good during the war» - here was his main principle.
«Don"t make my fists laugh! Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds? A weak kid who is in slavery in a mine tells me he has connections! So, what are you doing here? Have you come to play with stones?» - the big man said sharply.
Kyon clucked:
«Perhaps you heard that I was brought here out of ordinary supplies, alone? Why do you think I was so "honored"?»
«No idea. What"s that supposed to say?»
«That my family, who sold me, has a great influence! I"m going to seek help among the influential friends of mine…»
«Hmm ... I have understood nothing. Tell me more ...» – asked Byron not so skeptically.
On the way to the common room, Kyon diligently hung noodles on ears to the trusting interlocutor. The story turned out to be the most compa.s.sionate and necessarily affecting the feelings of the big man. The guy told him that he was also the weakest in the family and, like Byron, could not establish a connection with the spirit; that"s why his influence in the house was at the level of servants, and even lower. He was cruelly and unfairly made an outsider and he was insidiously exiled to this hole; he was so much hurt from the betrayal (at this point, Kyon even started up avaricious man"s tears). But despite his status, he had influential friends (the guy swelled up with pride for himself, as a loved one) that were probably looking for him and were waiting for his sign to perform all that he needs.
«The end justifies the means» – and it does not matter that in this fiction there is not an ounce of truth, the moral component loses all weight, the main point is the result! And Kyon needed to get close to Byron, to become kindred spirits with, just a bit.
The simple-minded big man was touched by the story of the guy, it never occurred to him to doubt the truth of his words.
«Your story is full of injustice.» - Byron said slowly, after listening to the story. – «Me story is not worth mentioning comparing with yours... I still can"t understand why they did it?! After all you so young...» - he shook his head angrily, marveling at the human callousness, and patted the guy"s hair: - «If you need any help, you can always contact me. After all, we are brothers in misfortune.»
«OK. By the way, my tools were confiscated, and no new ones were issued... Can you help with this anyhow?»
«No problem. So how about I send you to group 9? It is responsible for screening spiritual stones from other ore. This job still easier than swinging a pick and batter the breed.»
«I agree!» - grinned Kyon in all his thirty-two teeth.
«OK. By the end of the working day, I"ll introduce you to Osip, he"s the supervisor of group 9, but have a rest for now. I need to get the income and distribute it among all the supervisors.» – he shook the man"s palm in sign of solidarity in farewell and locked up the door after Kyon had entered the common room.
The room was without much refinement and was carved into the mountain. It was huge-perhaps it could accommodate half a thousand people, or even more. At the moment it was empty, everyone was at work. Lighting crystals were attached to the high ceilings, and there were stone tables, chairs and stools. A sort of mini-stage was constructed near one of the walls. Eleven doors (apparently the entrance to the «apartment»), a small door to the bathroom in the farthest corner.
{It is a pity that Byron was in such a hurry – I have so many questions to him...} - sighed Kyon, briefly examining his current «place of residence».
The guy wanted to learn by chance about spheres of development, particularly how to activate all the keys. That"s just it would be very strange after his stories about the «influential and powerful family» to ask about such basic things.
Kyon pushed the first door he found. There were about 30 beds inside, each with a name badge on the headboard. He walked along each of them in turns and remembering the names simultaneously. The guy had not found his «bed» and kept on exploring the room further. He found a sleeping pale Mike in the next bedroom.
{Poor fellow, he has not fully recovered and now he has to lie down.}
Kyon knew that if you don"t get a job, then you will not be given any food, and therefore, Mike is now not to be envied. Alas, he can do nothing to help him now.
Two of the 11 rooms were locked. {There must be bedrooms for the supervisor and the leader.}
Having found eventually the bed that marked «Kyon», the young man allowed himself to lie a little. {Dinner in the hospital is served at 19-00, and the working day starts at 6 am and lasts 15 hours, taking into account the time to reach the workplace, there is less than an hour before the arrival of the others.}
Although he did not have anything like a watch, the synergy allowed him to navigate in time without any devices up to a second. Very convenient.
Synergy could also be transformed into electrical impulses, which the guy certainly took advantage of, recreating his favorite music in his mind.
Under a pleasant mood, it was a good time to stretch his inconvenient body, but before he had erased the wooden key on the floor, in order to get rid of the last evidence.
An hour later there was a distant ringing - the end of the work s.h.i.+ft. After about a quarter of an hour, the living room began to fill with noise, tired workers returned under the leaders.h.i.+p of the guards. Many of them immediately walked to their bedrooms and immediately fell into bed to sleep tight.
Kyon came out to the common lounge and was spotted there – almost everyone here was actually staring at the young man. He decided that the point is in his young age, still slender 14-year boy stood out on the background of inflated ugly mugs. In fact, yesterday there was a rumor that a guy who had been missing for 3 days had been found – which was surprising - but the most shocking thing was the fact that his formation was out of order.
In this human turmoil Kyon easily observed Byron on tilt talking with a man 50-55 of years. Apparently, the big guy is not talkative with strangers exceptionally . Coming closer, the man waved his hand.:
«Kyon! Meet Osip, the head of group nine and your new supervisor.»
Kyon held out his hand:
«Nice to meet you.»
Osip shook his hand and frowned severely.:
«Boy, mind, I"m very strict when it comes to the quality of the work. I hope you won"t let me down!»
«I will do my best!» - Kyon nodded seriously pretending to be enthusiastic and workaholic.
«That"s what I wanted to hear. On the first day of the week, before work, I"ll give you a short course and everything you need.» - then he said goodbye to Byron and went to his group.
«Osip is a conscientious man. The main thing is that you do not s.h.i.+rk from work, or he will punish you.» - he glanced at his friend"s back and added quietly,: «Actually, he didn"t want to take you, but helet exclusively me for friends.h.i.+p.»
«I understand everything. I won"t let you down.»
Byron nodded and went to his exclusive bedroom.
Osip was a slave of the 2nd rank, «Supervisor». Since he got a decent percentage of the over-fulfillment of the norms of his group (and because of his nature features), he always treated his subordinates very meticulously. He was a strict but fair boss: he always punished for s.h.i.+rking, and did it pretty tough, but also he did not pinch honestly earned money. This situation was fine for Kyon.
Suddenly, a loud cry was heard from behind:
«Son of a b.i.t.c.h, where the f.u.c.k have you been?»
Kyon sharply whirled at the shout and saw the rapidly approaching tall man with face contorted from anger. There burned a formation on his forehead with the name «John». So this is the last of his supervisors, who was notably punched for what he had lost Kyon. In that case, his displeasure is quite understandable.
A tall man of thin build, cursing loudly, quickly approached the young man. Coming at him like a tank, the supervisor could not help attracting attention, and now everyone in the room was nodding knowingly. Everyone has long been known about loss of this boy as well as the fact that John was found guilty for the case.
Kyon, considering the aggressive att.i.tude of former boss, soon realized – the words the case would not solve. He"ll have to defend himself.
Options to run away or hide behind Byron"s back were not considered, whereas with his reaction and movement skills he would be able to stand up for himself.