Chapter 142

Chapter 142

The supervisor’s harsh words were already infamous.

From the very first day I started working here a week ago, I had to endure his verbal abuse every single day.

And today, he seemed to be in an especially bad mood.

I had gotten caught taking a break when he was already on edge, and naturally, no kind words came my way.

“Are you out of your mind? We’ve barely made any progress, and you think you deserve a break?”

“W-What? I just sat down for a moment…”

“You think you can just take it easy, waving your hands around for easy money? You’re getting paid for this, you know, and you want to take your sweet time?”

Crunch.

The supervisor barely applied any pressure, but the water bottle crushed under his grip.

He was a superhuman with immense strength.

While it wasn’t a particularly unusual ability and wasn’t even that powerful, seeing it up close was a different story.

Natalie looked at the crushed bottle, terror written all over her face.

The supervisor glanced around, then raised his voice.

“What are you all standing around for? Get back to work!”

At least within this factory, his word was law.

The other workers quickly averted their gazes, trying not to draw attention to themselves.

The supervisor spat out his words laced with curses.

“You bastards better not think about going home until we finish up today. Get the rest of the work done!”

Natalie’s face turned ashen.

It was no surprise that the pace had slowed down after two people quit two days ago.

It was already 1 AM, and to finish the remaining workload, it would take until well past 3 AM.

Natalie was on the verge of collapse, having used her magic continuously to the point of exhaustion, and now she was expected to keep going for two more hours?

She felt dizzy just thinking about it.

And, of course, the supervisor wasn’t the kind of person who would pay extra for overtime.

Just as he had done all week, he would find some excuse to dock her pay.

But that didn’t matter to Natalie.

Learning was more important than money to her.

For someone of average talent to catch up to geniuses, she had to work hard.

She thought this experience would be valuable for her future studies in the Magic Tower, so she wanted to learn as much as she could.

‘What am I even learning right now?’

What could she possibly learn from people who yelled at children and tried to cheat them out of their pay?

For the first time, Natalie felt a sense of doubt.

Over there, in the distance, Han Siha was sitting.

Unlike the other workers who were nervously avoiding the situation, he was staring directly at her.

‘What should I do?’

What would Han Siha do in this situation?

‘What happens when someone is really good at their job?’

‘They get more work.’

‘Everything gets dumped on them.’

Natalie thought that Han Siha had almost predicted this situation.

No matter how hard she worked, all she got in return was more burdens.

It was unfair.

Something was wrong. If something was wrong, it needed to be corrected.

At least, that’s what the Han Siha she knew would have done.

Gathering her courage, Natalie spoke up.

“Our shift is over.”

“What?”

“I learned that if we work past the scheduled hours, we’re supposed to get overtime pay.”

The Ardel Empire had laws regarding this as well.

Natalie recited the knowledge she had learned in her general education classes.

“What… are you sick?”

“Yesterday, after deducting meal costs, we didn’t even get one silver coin, but the job listing didn’t say anything about that… So, we should get paid properly.”

“You’ve completely lost it.”

“And it’s not that the pace has slowed down. With two people gone, it’s only natural that we’re not producing as much as before….”

Before Natalie could finish speaking, the supervisor slapped the back of her head.

It was a sudden act of violence.

Smack!

The same immense strength that had crushed the water bottle was now directed at Natalie.

She staggered on the spot.

Even though she had expected it, it hurt.

“Ugh….”

“If you’ve got complaints, get out! Who do you think you are, trying to lecture me?”

The initial sting gave way to a dull, throbbing pain.

Tears welled up in Natalie’s eyes.

“If you leave, don’t even think about coming back here.”

The life water factory didn’t have many suppliers, so it effectively held a monopoly.

Even if Natalie specialized in herbology in the future, they could just refuse to supply her with life water.

It was a thinly veiled threat.

The implication was clear: this industry is small, so watch your step. Don’t even think about coming back.

The supervisor spewed more venomous words, his eyes cold and menacing.

“You’re bringing nothing but bad luck.”

Natalie bit down hard on her lower lip.

Being blacklisted by the life water factory didn’t matter to her right now.

What mattered more was…

She was embarrassed.

‘Han Siha must have seen all of this.’

In the end, she couldn’t even say a single word properly and just got hit.

She had shown him her pathetic, passive self.

She didn’t want to be like that anymore.

Natalie lifted her head.

“I’m not going to let this slide. If you don’t pay us, I’ll report you.”

“What… what did you just say?”

As soon as Natalie finished speaking, the supervisor, his face twisted in rage, raised his hand again.

Smack!

Another loud crack echoed through the factory.

“Aah!”

Instinctively, Natalie covered the back of her head.

But—

“Huh?”

It didn’t hurt.

Natalie, surprised, turned her head to look.

“Hoo….”

A madman who had just bashed the supervisor’s head with a water bottle.

There was only one person who would do such a thing.

“Damn it. I’ve heard enough of this. You’re just a piece of trash.”

Han Siha stood there, holding a water bottle in one hand.

—

The problems at the life water factory were well-known even within the Empire.

Whenever power becomes concentrated in one place, it inevitably leads to problems, and there are always those who exploit the situation.

Han Si-hyuk had been investigating, trying to root out the corruption.

Honestly, all I needed to do was report what I saw and heard today to Han Si-hyuk.

Once my job was done, I could just leave.

After today, I wouldn’t need to come back here.

But

There’s no reason to just quietly walk away, right?

“You guys sell this expensive life water, yet you hire as few people as possible and don’t even pay them properly? The more I think about it, the more I realize there aren’t many pieces of trash like you.”

“What the hell are you?”

“At 1 AM, you’re not letting us go home, and you think I’m just going to sit back? Seriously, why’d you have to piss me off?”

Smack!

I threw the empty water bottle.

This time, it struck the supervisor’s head perfectly.

“…Strike.”

“You son of a—!”

All that practice shooting magical arrows had really improved my aim, huh?

As I admired my handiwork, the supervisor’s eyes turned red with rage. His fists clenched, shaking with anger.

He was a superhuman with immense strength.

If he landed a solid punch, bones would definitely break.

Grinding his teeth, the supervisor charged at me.

“You little brat, you need to learn your lesson…!”

Swiftly, I sidestepped, grabbing a water bottle from the rattling conveyor belt.

I wasn’t about to throw something this heavy.

Pop.

I opened the cap haphazardly, aimed at the raging man.

And then—

Splash—

I drenched him with the life water.

“Aaaah!”

The supervisor’s entire body was soaked. He blinked in disbelief, completely drenched from head to toe.

“W-What the… what the hell…?”

The other workers stared in shock at the puddle forming on the floor.

No one in their right mind would waste such an expensive commodity by splashing it on a person.

And certainly, no one would dare splash it on their supervisor.

Realizing what had just happened, the supervisor started to lose it.

“Do you even realize how much that water costs? Do you know that even combined, your wages couldn’t cover the price of that bottle?”

“Oh, so you’re admitting you’re paying us next to nothing.”

“What?”

Splash—

I answered him with another bottle of life water.

“I don’t know how much it’s worth, but if you’re so upset, go ahead and bill me.”

“You little—!”

The supervisor swung his fist at me again.

Thud.

I caught his punch with my hand.

His immense strength nearly made my arm buckle.

The fact that this brute had used that strength to hit Natalie’s head made my blood boil.

What if hitting a growing child in the head caused lasting damage? Would he take responsibility?

This bastard was really asking for it.

Thud.

I kicked at his legs, causing him to lose his balance and stagger.

In the brief moment of instability, I grabbed another water bottle with my right hand.

Even though he had immense strength, this guy wasn’t used to fighting.

Without giving him a chance to recover, I swung the bottle at him.

Smack!

“Ugh!”

I hit him across the back of the head with the empty bottle and quickly backed away.

The supervisor, now beyond enraged, lunged at me, but his movements were wild and sluggish.

Easily dodging his swings, I taunted him.

“Don’t just use brute strength. Maybe try using your head.”

“What?”

“Where do you think I’ll strike next? Your head? Your legs? Or maybe….”

I grabbed a mop and used it to block the supervisor’s incoming punch.

“Oof!”

People who only rely on strength often end up being exploited by it.

All I had to do was tilt my head slightly, and his full-swing punch threw him off balance, creating an opening.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I brought the mop down hard on his shoulder.

“Aaagh!”

Getting hit even once by someone with superhuman strength could leave you incapacitated.

If the supervisor had been more experienced in combat, I might have been in trouble.

But I learned something during my battles with Han Si-hyuk and Archant.

To defeat a dangerous opponent, you have to overwhelm them without giving them a chance to fight back.

Strike, knock down, and beat them down.

Crack. Thud.

I looked down at the man, who was now trembling and unable to get up, likely because his shoulder blade was shattered.

He was a powerful figure in the factory, trusted by the owner and feared because of his strength.

In this factory, his position was almost absolute.

He probably wasn’t used to bowing his head to anyone.

Then again, neither was I.

The supervisor spat out curses through clenched teeth.

“You… you little punk with no sense of fear!”

I kicked away the broken mop.

Then, I crouched down to meet his gaze.

“I don’t know where you crawled out from, but you’re going to regret this. This entire factory belongs to my father, you know?”

Now I understand.

So that’s why he was acting like such a tyrant—he was the owner’s son.

With bloodshot eyes, the supervisor continued.

“I swear, I’ll make sure you rot in jail. Just you wait.”

“And what are you going to charge me with?”

“….”

“You got beaten up by a sixteen-year-old, and your face is all swollen. Yeah, that should get me locked up.”

In the Ardel Empire, social status still trumped the law.

I wasn’t sure if he could actually get me imprisoned, but given his confidence, this factory must be pretty influential.

“Illegal employment. Embezzlement. And wow… wage theft too. I’m pretty sure I can get you locked up too, so I’ll see you in the cell next door.”

“You… you….”

I glanced at the shattered mop and stood up.

“Let’s go, Natalie.”

Natalie, who had witnessed the entire scene up close, stood there with a dazed expression.

I grabbed her wrist and started to leave.

And then—

Clang.

The factory door, which had been tightly shut, swung open, and a man walked in.

Clack, clack.

Holding some fluttering documents in one hand, the man spoke in a formal, business-like tone.

“I’m Han Si-hyuk from the Ardel Magic Investigation Department. I’m here to investigate illegal employment and embezzlement charges….”

Rattle, rattle.

Han Si-hyuk trailed off as he took in the sight of water bottles rolling across the floor, a man slumped with a bloody face, and the puddles covering the ground.

His eyes landed on me, standing in the middle of the chaos.

“Um?”

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