Chapter 515: Preparing (5)

What is the hardest thing for a human being to deal with?

There must be many answers to that question. Everyone was different, after all. And what they thought of as 'difficult' should also be different.

As for Vincent, he could confidently pick one answer to that question. No, it'd be more correct to say that his situation was helping him with picking that particular answer!

Vincent wouldn't even need one second to reply to that question. What was the point of hesitating and mulling his answer when the hardest thing for him—at least right now—was making a choice?

Didn't someone say this once? That making a choice might seem difficult at first, but it'd not leave the person utterly drained and devastated in the end? That choices might lead to one's unhappiness, but plenty of effort should be enough to overcome one's fate?

'That is all dogsh*t!'

Vincent quietly gnashed his teeth.

Maybe that sentiment was right. Only if the consequences hanging on the choices were trivial, that was!

The funny thing about making choices was that the pressure one felt would fluctuate exponentially depending on the consequences of their decisions. So, imagine the pressure when the consequence of Vincent's decision involved his survival! Not to forget, Vincent's choice could also result in his precious subordinates all losing their lives!

Could anyone say making choices was not that hard with that kind of condition hanging over their heads?

Vincent was currently stuck in this very situation. In less than two days, Vincent's eyes grew hollow until he resembled a dead fish. His nerves were so taut that even the sound of a water drop in the distance was enough to startle the bejeesus out of him.

And his condition was only getting worse.

Crunch, crack...

Vincent nervously chewed on his nails. Most of his nails were gone by now, and blood had begun seeping out. He knew he should stop, but... He couldn't.

Who cared about his damn fingers in this bloody situation! He might lose his life at any given moment, so preserving the health of his fingers didn't even register in Vincent's mind right now.

“C-captain...?”

.

Vincent heard a worried voice coming from somewhere behind him and slowly turned his head.

Mathieu was there, staring at Vincent with deep concern. “Captain... You need to eat something.”

“I'm... I'm fine.”

“Captain, the low blood sugar level will hinder your thought process. You need to eat something in order to make the correct judgments.”

Vincent shot a glare of irritation at Mathieu, but the latter didn't even budge an inch and continued to stare right back at his captain.

“...Fuu-woo.” Vincent groaned softly. “Right. You're indeed correct.”

Even if Vincent had zero appetite, he needed to shove something in his stomach. Only then would his brain function a little better. He glanced at the tray Mathieu had brought for him and began chuckling hollowly.

A beautifully baked croissant, a professionally sliced baguette, cheese blocks and a small jar of jam were on the tray.

'What a f*cking humane dish this is...!'

As a prisoner, Vincent should be much obliged to receive such a thoughtful selection of foods. With the sole exception of one thing, that was!

“Black tea...? Goddammit, doesn't this country drink coffee?”

If Vincent could get out of here and take a stroll in the streets, he might get a chance to appreciate the awesomeness of South Korea, unofficially THE Country of Coffee Fanatics! As a matter of fact, Korea had already leapfrogged the coffee's country of origin in terms of how much it appreciated the drink! Unfortunately, though, he was still stuck behind the steel bars.

Vincent tutted while glaring at the teacup. “Why can't these people differentiate between the French and the British?”

“Captain, that sounds suspiciously like what the Chinese and the Japanese say to us.”

“...Bloody hell.” Vincent shook his head in defeat before picking up the croissant. He shoved the whole thing in his mouth but didn't taste anything. His state of mind meant eating this pastry was no different than chewing on a lump of mud.

Vincent continued to shove everything on the tray in his mouth before silently chewing and swallowing them all. To cap his meal off, Vincent drank the black tea in one shot. He put the cup down and wiped the corners of his lips. “Thank you for the meal, Mathieu. And thank you for thinking about this idiot, too.”

“You're welcome, Captain.”

“...So, it's today.”

“Yes, sir.”

Vincent anxiously gripped his thigh. Kang Jin-Ho said he'd come today, didn't he?

Not too long from now, Kang Jin-Ho would demand an answer from Vincent. Death? Or submission? Which one of the two would it be?

What an exceedingly terrible choice this was. And Vincent had been forced to make this choice quite a lot recently.

The fact that Vincent still couldn't make the decision despite all the pressure to do so proved beyond doubt the brutal nature of this choice.

“...I'd rather prefer a heart attack over this crap,” Vincent muttered lifelessly.

“Don't say that, Captain,” said Mathieu.

“Yes, yes. I know. I know that now's not the time to whine like this.” Vincent roughly rubbed his face to wake himself up, then glanced at Mathieu. “How is everyone? What are their opinions on this matter?”

“Captain, they are fifty-fifty about this,” Mathieu explained as his expression grew gloomy. “About half wish to choose death to protect their honor. They argue that surviving and going home like this will mean they can never hold their heads up again. As for the other half, they argue that doing as told to keep their lives is better than dying a dog's death. Neither side has gained an upper hand at the moment, so…”

Vincent leaned against the wall while contemplating the current situation.

'That... sounds about right.'

This problem didn't have a silver bullet of an answer. Vincent could've asked for his subordinates' opinions if the question had a clear-cut solution. Unfortunately, this was a matter of choice. No one could advise Vincent and say this was wrong or that was right.

In the end, Vincent had to make this difficult choice, and all the responsibilities fell squarely on his shoulders, too.

When was the last time Vincent was subjected to such crushing pressure? It felt like the oppressive weight bearing down on him was gradually asphyxiating him to death.

“Mathieu... Do you think the Round Table still hasn't contacted this side?”

“Captain. If they had, we'd heard about it by now, sir. And we'd no longer need to choose.”

“Mm... You're right,” Vincent slowly nodded. Even though he wasn't convinced that the Koreans would keep the Chevaliers up to date, he didn't see the need to voice his suspicion in the open.

“Captain, if I may...?”

Vincent raised his head and quizzically stared at Mathieu.

Mathieu furrowed his brow. “If you don't mind, I'd like to offer you my help in making your decision. May I proceed?”

“...Very well. Let's hear it.”

Mathieu pushed the empty tray aside and leaned forward. “The food... It's been great, Captain.”

“...Mm?”

Mathieu's expression grew somber. “We expressed discontent over our meals once, yet they provided us with the finest-quality food almost immediately.”

Vincent tilted his head. “Is that so? I didn't notice.”

“With your current state, it's not all that surprising that you didn't notice the superior quality of the food, Captain.”

“Huh. I guess you have a point.”

“In any case... Yes, the food has been great. No, let me revise that. The food has been top-notch. Let us not forget that we're in the middle of a deep mountainside, sir. You must've seen the scenery while we were being brought here. We're far from any city centers, yet a single request for different food from us was enough for the Koreans to provide this level of quality... At the very least, it proves our captors aren't heartless, classless bastards.”

“...I have to say, Mathieu, you really are French to the core.”

“Sir? I don't quite follow...?”

“To judge another person by the quality of their food is... How should I say it, the image of a stereotypical Frenchman?”

Mathieu chuckled softly at that. “Well, Captain. There's a reason why we've been behaving this way since ancient times.”

What an absurd reply that was, but...

'...Mathieu is right. For sure, I should consider this.'

This information was significant to Vincent's calculations. It implied that if Chevaliers surrendered, the treatment from the Koreans shouldn't be inhumane. Arriving at a conclusion like that from a trivial matter such as food seemed illogical. However, trivial matters like this were actually the best barometer to judge a person's attitude.

'Kang Jin-Ho... He's doing something that doesn't suit him.'

The image of Kang Jin-Ho, as branded into Vincent's mind, was that of a man who'd throw his prisoners inside a coal mine and make them work like slaves while providing only some withered rat meat for food. So, learning that he had a humane side came as a bit of a shock to Vincent.

Vincent admitted that after the Chevaliers were brought here, no inhumane treatments or tortures had happened to them. Ironically enough, that also tortured Vincent the most.

Vincent wouldn't have to agonize over anything if Kang Jin-Ho was a straight-up cruel and vicious devil. However, the 'Kang Jin-Ho' Vincent had observed so far was not as simple as that. As a matter of fact, Kang Jin-Ho was a shockingly complex individual with many sides to him.

Even after observing Kang Jin-Ho several times, Vincent still hadn't gotten a decent grasp on who that man was. On one hand, Kang Jin-Ho seemed like the cruelest, vilest mass murderer. On the other hand, though, he seemed to be just another ordinary, common-or-garden young man in his twenties.

This duality was a major culprit behind Vincent's indecision. Vincent just couldn't estimate how Kang Jin-Ho would respond to his decisions. However, Vincent had no choice but to decide.

...Because he had run out of time.

Clomp...!

Clomp...!

The sounds of leisurely footsteps echoed from the exit stairwell. Vincent's bloodshot eyes quickly shifted in that direction. It was still too early for a shift change, so the fact that someone was coming down now...

Wasn't it too obvious who that could be?

Vincent nervously swallowed his saliva at the sight of Kang Jin-Ho leisurely walking down the stairs.

Imagination had the power to stimulate and agitate people. The image of Kang Jin-Ho was powerfully branded into Vincent's head, but the truth was... Vincent had faced Kang Jin-Ho only a handful of times until now. Most of the time, they weren't even in the same building, never mind the same room!

Even then, Vincent couldn't stop thinking about the individual named Kang Jin-Ho. Ironically enough, it was Vincent's mind that had been adding flesh to the bare frame of 'Kang Jin-Ho' in his imagination.

Simply put, the power of Vincent's imagination had turned Kang Jin-Ho into a monster!

'My... imagination, is it?'

Vincent hollowly chuckled. That had to be a lie, didn't it? There was no way he'd be in this... new state if that had been true!

If the image of Kang Jin-Ho stuck inside Vincent's mind was merely a product of his imagination, why did Kang Jin-Ho's figure walking down the stairs eerily match that mental image? What could possibly be a logical explanation for this?!

That was when Vincent realized something. If Kang Jin-Ho was thinking about something sinister while walking down the stairs... Surely, he'd make that kind of expression. That was what Vincent's imagination said.

If his imagination was right, Vincent could draw two conclusions from Kang Jin-Ho's expression. One, the Round Table probably has not made any attempt to rescue the Chevaliers until now. And the second conclusion would be...

'He's going to... kill us all.'

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

If Kang Jin-Ho believed the Chevaliers' cooperation was crucial, he'd not have made a face like that. Right now, Kang Jin-Ho was looking at the Chevaliers with a hint of annoyance.

It seemed Kang Jin-Ho was thinking about how to deal with the prisoners. He had spent time and energy to capture the Chevaliers, but they turned out to be useless. In that case... The conclusion should be obvious enough.

Kang Jin-Ho reached the foot of the stairs, then silently walked over to the steel bars. Vincent's forehead was caked with cold sweat at this sight.

Today's Kang Jin-Ho was noticeably different from the last time. The best description Vincent could think of was that this Kang Jin-Ho was much closer to the one from the deserted island!

To be more specific, the 'Kang Jin-Ho' of now didn't resemble the monster wantonly slaughtering the Japanese on that day. No, he was more like the version that slowly revealed himself from the dark forest.

Kang Jin-Ho back then was suppressing his thumping, boiling heart while knowing that the festival of slaughter and destruction was about to begin. However, he still couldn't do much about the corners of his lips curling up into an insidious smirk.

...And that devil-like figure of Kang Jin-Ho was standing before Vincent's eyes today!

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the prisoners, then leisurely raised his voice. “And now...”

“We shall cooperate!”

“...?”

Even before Kang Jin-Ho could say anything, Vincent cried out loudly first.

“C-Captain?!”

“I-isn't that too easy, sir?!”

Unsurprisingly, the Chevaliers behind Vincent cried out in panic and flabbergast. But Kang Jin-Ho remained silent. Of course, Vincent ignored the voices of dissent coming from behind him.

'You idiots...!'

Without a doubt, the Chevaliers wouldn't have wished for this sort of 'negotiation'. Even if they relented and decided to cooperate, they would've wanted to extract as many benefits as possible first. That was the smart thing to do in a situation like this, after all.

Obviously, Vincent thought the same. He told himself that, even if they cooperated, they wouldn't sell their pride out. At least, not all of it.

However, that thought went out the window a few seconds ago. More specifically, when Vincent saw Kang Jin-Ho's figure coming down the stairs!

'It's impossible to negotiate with the current Kang Jin-Ho...!'

A discussion was supposed to take place between human beings. What could a human even talk about with a bloodthirsty monster? Right now, Vincent shouldn't worry about keeping his pride but focus on preserving...

His life. His subordinates' lives. The most important, sacred, and precious thing in the entire world!

As long as Vincent could protect this one thing, he didn't give a damn about abandoning everything else.

Kang Jin-Ho's lips parted before closing again as if he wanted to say something but changed his mind at the last second. His expression was slightly distorted as if he hadn't been expecting this development. And that distorted expression bore down on Vincent with unimaginable pressure.

Kang Jin-Ho mulled something for a little while before finally breaking his silence. “Is there an interpreter here?”