87 BROTHER BIG BELLY (1/2)
In the voting hall of the twelfth deck, there was a lively ambiance, at least on the face of the ongoing election.
Thousands of people had given their votes and were waiting for the lottery to start, but they were doubtful if the said event would take place or not. Tensions were slowly but surely climbing over their shoulders.
”Hey, where's that toothless boy you've spoken of? Why isn't he here?”
”I don't know. Maybe he's still on the way.”
”Hmph, if he doesn't come here, I'll make you suffer for dragging me here!”
Hundreds of groups kept chattering among themselves while some people handed the cats they had caught to Sean's pupils.
Sean, who was on the stage and observing the voting process with his own eyes, asked his disciple, ”What's the number?” A hint of unrest flowed through his voice.
”Just crossed nine thousand, Master,” the senior pupil replied with a tone filled with awe.
”Nine thousand?” Sean wouldn't have believed if he wasn't overseeing things himself. He placed his hands behind his back and feigned composure. ”Not bad.” A moment later, when no more eyes were watching him, his brows furrowed. (I'm not surprised that thousands came lusting after tuna, but there are many more in this hall than the attendees to the chamber of chefs.) He glanced in the direction of the currently-busy water counter where half-liter water bottles were being provided. (I guess cost-free drinking water also helped the cause.)
As per the rules, half-liter water or some sort of liquid drink must be arranged for all the voters during an election, so Sean was weighing in all the mandatory options that might have pulled people into visiting the voting hall.
”Even if votes totaled to ten thousand, the chances of people backing a rule that brings them five percent less profit are not high, but you never know,” Sean mused to himself. ”In case the new rule gets passed, a lot more people might move to a different deck. Even though the administration may earn more profits with this new rule, it wouldn't amount to much when the overall number of bettors has lowered. It seems like this rule would have been effective if it applied to the whole sector, but for that to even be considered, you need at least a hundred thousand votes in which case I could have appealed to the captain, but I guess that's just me being too greedy. Getting such a large number of votes is almost impossible when the rule puts some sections of people at a clear disadvantage.”
At that moment, Hundred came into the hall, wearing a top hat, and many eyes recognized him right away.
”Hey, it's you!”
”Look at his belly. It's so big—like the members of Belly Batch. Did he really get all of it in one sitting?”
”I think it looks somewhat bigger than when I saw him hours ago. I'm not sure, though.”
”But why is he alone? Where's that boy?”
”Don't tell us that he cheated!”
Everyone converged upon him and cast an avalanche of questions.
”Easy, easy, guys,” Hundred raised his palms as if telling them to calm down. ”I've come here in his stead.”
”What good are you to us without the reward?”
”Yeah, are you taking us for fools?”
Hundred hurriedly took his hat off as men took a step closer with hostile looks, but inside the hat was the nine kilos of tuna meat. Everyone who lay their eyes on that promptly stopped in their tracks. The rest followed like sheep.
”He has the fish meat!”
”He was hiding it in his hat? How calculated.”
”Hmph, so he wasn't lying after all.”
The anger in men's faces vanished almost instantly, and hope replaced it soon thereafter. ”We knew Brother Big Belly is a man of his word the first time we saw him.” Some even rubbed their bellies and sweetly smiled at Hundred as if subtly substantiating the saying, 'Teeth do not see poverty.'
Hundred could see through their humbug, but he understood where they were coming from by putting himself in their shoes. ”But I'm afraid,” Hundred said, trying to keep the growing nervousness at bay, ”there are only nine kilos in this.”
”Huh? What?” everyone was puzzled and aggravated at the same time. ”What the hell do you mean by nine kilos? Wasn't there supposed to be ten?”
”Y-Yeah, but,” Hundred scratched his chin and awkwardly beamed, ”I could only bring nine kilos. Better little than too little, right?”
Though displeasure developed and dwelled in people's eyes, they could only bite their tongues and grind their teeth.
Hundred kept the professional smile alive on his visage. (Most people seem to have already voted, so this news shouldn't affect the result much.)
”Some land-rat must have snatched a kilo of it somehow. How unlucky!” Sean intervened, getting everybody's attention. ”At least there are nine kilos left, right, folks?” he looked at everyone.
Though they were disappointed, they could only look away in silence.
”Whew…” (As expected of a commander.) Hundred gave a thankful smile to Sean before speaking out, ”I'm sorry for what happened, and as a compensation for that one kilo of meat, there's something else I can offer.” His words made many heads swivel toward him, and he pulled out something from his pocket. It was a tiny crystal at the size of a rice grain.
”What the heck is that?”
”How can it possibly be worth the same as a kilo of meat!”
”Are you taking us for fools?”
Many men snorted and started to rant and ridicule.
”It's only a fragment of the whole thing,” Hundred said, lifting the grain-like object as it stood between his thumb and forefinger, ”but since it didn't disintegrate, it may really be a Beast Bit.”
Everybody's mouth hit a break, and their eyes focused on the tiny, brown crystal. ”What?”
”Is it... really...”
”T-That's a beast bit?”
”C-Can you let us get a closer look at it once?”
Hundred immediately closed his fist, hiding the tiny crystal from view.
”You, what are you doing!” many men roared in fury and frustration.
Hundred patiently waited until the vocal tide waved about and slowly died down. He then smiled and said, ”If we win this voting, I will put this in the lottery, too.”
”What?” Many men looked at each other's faces, and some regret could be seen in their expressions.
Sean stepped forward straight away. ”I'm afraid I can't allow that. You can do anything to bring people for the voting, but no incentives should be given that affects their freedom to vote!”
”S-Sorry, I take it back,” Hundred quickly apologized by tilting his head down, but then he smiled while studiously keeping his face hidden. (Of course, I know that, but thanks to that bluff, I could tell that quite many people probably voted against bringing this new rule. Even though their empty stomachs may have brought them here, they're not so foolish to vote in our favor, huh. It looks like this voting's result may go in any direction.) He lifted his head and cleared his throat. ”I guess I will just include this in the lottery whether the new rule gets passed or not.”
”Yeah!” Everyone now excitedly roared and cheered.
”Brother 'Big Belly' sure likes to keep his word like he keeps the size of his stomach,” one of Sean's disciples, the blonde youth who previously fought Sariyu, said aloud. Clearly, he also had participated in the election.
”Hahaha.” Laughter sprang to life in the hall.
”If that really is a beast bit as he says, it may really sell for a reasonable price regardless of its level.”
”Yeah. Compared to this, a kilo of ordinary tuna meat is nothing.”
”Haha, true. It's like comparing a crow's feather to that of a peacock!”
”If I can get this, I'll wear it as my good luck charm!”
The chatter in the hall soon went out of control.
Hundred, meanwhile, placed his hand on his belly, looking a bit troubled by its appearance and effects. (I've never eaten so much bread in one day. I don't even want to sniff it for another decade!)
It was Lirzod's idea that Hundred should eat more and appear like a woman with a child. And Lirzod forced him to eat sixteen loaves of bread. Right now, if there was any food item that Hundred hated the most, it was definitely bread. He could feel its smell flooding through his mouth and nose clearly even now, and it irritated him more than anything.
”Once the voting is over, I should vomit all this out,” Hundred muttered under his breath, for he could already feel some pain in the stomach, especially when he stood still. The longer he let all that food stay inside, the more he'd be suffering later, or so he thought.
At the same time, elsewhere on the same deck.
Lirzod was inside the drill hall. He gave almost a quarter kilo of tuna to Beren through the gap between the bars. The trainees in the background shamelessly drooled from smelling raw fish meat.
”W-Why are you giving this to me, uncle?” Beren was pleasantly surprised, but he wasn't sure if he could take such a thing or not at the moment. ”I won't be leaving this cell anytime soon. You probably need it more.”
”No, keep it,” Lirzod said.
”No. I don't want it,” Beren shook his head.
”No. I don't want it,” Lirzod shook his head.
”You keep it,” Beren put forward the small meat packet.
”You keep it,” Lirzod stepped back and put his hands behind his back.
A bead of sweat formed on Beren's forehead, and he helplessly smiled. (Why does it feel like I'm talking to myself?)
Lirzod then looked at the trainees, ”You guys, help him roast those meatballs, got it?”
”Got it. Got it.” They all nodded repeatedly and mechanically.
Seeing them drool, Lirzod narrowed his eyes. ”I'll come back again. If I hear that you stole it from him, then I'll report it to your commander.”
”Eek!” all the hopes of the guards shattered, and they now had dull complexion.
”How can I repay your kindness, uncle?” Beren asked, his voice sounding somewhat emotional.
Lirzod sighed and said, ”Just anything better than uncle will do.”
Beren's eyes took in more light, and he straightened his spine, ”O-Okay, brother.”
”Brother sounds way better.” Lirzod grinned like a Cheshire cat, even though it exposed the cavity in his mouth.
”I…” Beren tightly held the wooden bar with his hand, but his eyes slowly shifted down toward the floor. ”Our teacher at the child booth always told us to be happy, but I still don't know how true happiness really feels. I wanted to be happy and share it with my mother, but she's no longer…” Tears welled up as he revealed his eyes. ”I don't know where she is right now, but… wherever she is, do you think she will be happy if I'm happy?”