"I've always understood that you don't listen to advice. God, they say, made us stupid.

　It's disgusting, he adds, and the words echo. A voice that tickled my ears.

　The moment you try to move your body in response to the voice, you feel a ripping pain that starts in your shoulder and hand. It felt as if hot salt had been forcibly rubbed into the wound.

　I sobbed reflexively and opened my eyes. What I saw was probably a ceiling somewhere. I could see a series of neatly arranged stone bricks. It was only then that I realized that I was lying down.

　Where am I?

　My memory is fuzzy, but I at least understand what happened. In front of the palace, surrounded by elven soldiers, my body was embedded with arrows, I believe. I thought they were going to cut off my head right there, but if I'm still alive, then this is a prison or something.

　If my life is safe, then perhaps the lives of Kalia, Fialaat, and Mattia are safe, too, even if they didn't escape. Well, let's pray.

　My hands and shoulders twisted and ached as my lungs, which had begun to work actively, took in air, probably because I was awake.

See, now that you're awake, you can take your own medicine, can't you?　If you're my cellmate, shouldn't you try to lighten my load a little?

　I'm still staring blankly at him. There, a faint outline emerges. It's a neat, almost doll-like face.

　Elven princess, destroyer, madman, Erdis.

　You can see the blood drain from her face in a flash of fright. Why is this guy here? No, that's strange, because I don't even know where I am. At the very least, I couldn't understand how she could be so close.

...... What the hell, man. I should be in the bowels of the earth talking to the guardians of hell if I had one more step.

　I was lying on the bed, my lips quivering, saying.

　Now that I think about it, I realize that the bed I'm lying on seems like a very expensive one. I don't feel any firmness in my back. The feel of it is luxurious for me. I wonder how such a thing could exist in a prison.

　A sound that sounds like an exaggerated sigh reaches my ears.

"Don't worry. You're not going to get killed anytime soon. Not until you've been miserably exposed in the land of men.

　If you want to die, I'll let you die. As he said this, he put something in my mouth. A thin finger touches my lips and a pill-like substance is pushed into my tongue. What the hell is that? It tastes awful, disgusting. A tingling sensation lingers on my tongue, as if my sense of taste has been numbed.

Painkillers. It'll make you feel a little better, so just be quiet.

　With that, Elddis got up from beside the bed and slowly walked away. Her mind was occupied with confusion and confusion, her thoughts were almost buried. What do you mean?

　Painkillers. Indeed, I could feel the sensation slowly fading from my tongue to my body, like a numbing sensation. The pain will fade into oblivion.

　But why? For the umpteenth time today, I wonder. But so out of reach of understanding. I don't understand why the elf princess cares about me, and I can assure you she doesn't.

　She doesn't care about humans at all. Especially a lowly person like me, even if I were in her sight, she would only recognize me as a featherworm. There is no one who would help a featherworm just because it is injured.

　Yes, there was only one person that the princess cared about and allowed to take her hand. Only one.

　As she was leaving, she threw a questioning word at her back.

"Wait a minute. There's so much I don't understand. I don't understand why you're here, and where I am. It's not like you're in the depths of hell.

　There's a million other questions. But I have to ask you this. I'm not just grounded, I can't even find the ground I'm supposed to be on.

　Erdis's slightly frustrated, but resigned voice echoed.

"This is Gazalia's special prison. It doesn't have a name, though people call it a tower. And there's only one reason for me to be there, isn't there?

　It's a self-mocking phrase. It was a self-mocking phrase that didn't suit her, the Elven princess.

"I, like you. I'm imprisoned in this tower, just like you, my cellmate.

　I'm in a tower like you.

　After some time in the so called tower, I realized something.

　This place was too luxurious to be called a prison.

　Every piece of furniture, even the bed, was beyond the reach of the average person, much less a prisoner.



　The same goes for the meals that are served three times a day. Erdis' food, as well as the food given to me, is strangely elaborate.

　The cell itself is also strangely spacious. For some reason, the bed is located just inside the room, but it seems that there are even other rooms within sight of me. Sometimes I can't even see Elddis.

　The jailer is very polite to Elddis, and she takes it for granted.

　It's strange, after all. She said she was his cellmate, but is that true? There were doubts swirling around in my mind.

　First of all, from the way she looked and the tone of her voice, there was no doubt that she was the Elddis I knew, the Elven princess. Her behavior and personality seem to be much different from those of Kalia and Fialaat, but let's put that behind us for now.

　So why is the princess locked up in a cell? And why am I in the same cell with her? I'm just a lowly commoner...

You don't have to worry about it. Doubts and worries will eat away at your mind. It's best not to think about it.

　Asking Elddis was like throwing a stone into the wind. Except for answering my first question, she just dodges it. It was as if she didn't want to tell me anything, rather than hiding it. At the very least, he said, you'll have to wait until you're well enough to talk about it, and he quickly covered my mouth with those words.

"Well, talk to me today. I'm bored here. Let's start with the story of how you were almost killed by a hexenbiest.

　So our conversations were usually about these trivial things. Elddis said she didn't like people, but she was interested in stories about the world she didn't know. Her eyes twinkled like a cat's, and she always sat on the bed.

　Sighing and talking as she always does, Elddis began to give me the medicine and rewrap my bandages with a practiced hand. I felt a slight pain in the wound, but it was only a slight dull sensation, probably due to the painkillers she gave me.

　I guess it was more of a way for her to pass the time than a devotion.

　It seemed that the only thing she could do in this prison was to read on the chair or talk to me. Occasionally, she seemed unsure of where she was looking, but it might have been an elven ritual or something.

　He was still dressed as a man. Well, that's not surprising. After all, I am a man. There's nothing more threatening than a man and a woman together in a prison.

　But as for me, even though I have the most beautiful face in the world, I don't think I would be able to touch her with Erdis. In fact, if I were to imagine such a thing, a kind of nausea would well up from deep within my guts.

　In my heart, the fears of my past travels have become thorns and scars that will not go away. With all due respect to my current girlfriend, my chest is filled with doubts as to when she will change and hurt me.


　But other than that thought, and the fact that my wound has not healed completely, my days have been more peaceful than ever.

　There was food every day, good bedding, and no one to hurt or trample on me. It was a life that seemed like a heavenly life to me, more than I could ever imagine.

　Of course, such a life could not be given to me forever.

　--Knock, knock.

　The sound of a small knock easily shattered the peace.

"Excuse me, Princess.

　The voice sounded familiar. I'm sure I heard that voice somewhere, sometime.

"I've been ordered by Finn to check on you again.

　It was a woman's voice. There was an unmistakable sincerity in her words. The voice came to the side of the bed and knelt down.

"How are you? I hope there is no inconvenience in your life. ...... I am sorry. I am sorry that my lack of power has caused you such inconvenience. ......

　Then she continued to speak. She was piling up a bunch of words I didn't understand.

　Lying on the bed, I listened to her words in a daze, until I finally realized what she was saying.

　Oh, I see. He's definitely confusing me with Elddis. I could feel the cold sweat licking my forehead.