As I beat a hasty pace down the corridor of Jail Bella, I looked ahead.

　Although it has the appearance of a large fortress, the number of personnel, including guards and menial workers, is limited to a few hundred at most, which makes the facility strangely quiet.

　Rather than the sounds of human life that would normally leak out, the noise of the water moats around the prison and the sound of the wind blowing made it sound much more lively.

Unusual. The water here doesn't freeze even in dead snow.

　As if to break the tension in the air, Vesterine muttered quietly. She was probably referring to the sound of the water flow hitting her ears.

　The Kingdom of Garleist has most of its territory in the northern part of the continent, and many of its rivers and lakes are transformed into frozen land itself in the age of dead snow.

　Even the Augustus River, the border with the East and one of the largest rivers in the Kingdom of Garleist, freezes over and transforms itself into frozen earth during this time.

　One of the few exceptions to this is the unfreezable moat here in the Burial Jail, Bella.

　Strangely enough, even in the age of dead snow, the water in this pond does not freeze, but continues to flow in a swirling motion.

　After all, this is not a prison where prisoners are thrown in, but a relay fort between the front lines. It would be useless if the moat froze over when the enemy attacked.

　It is said that the previous king, who was called the King of Architecture, said so and put all of his magical skills into building an ice-free moat.

　Well, most of that is probably true.

　The architecture that his king had created had an unmistakable fervor and a certain brilliance, and at first glance, it was almost bizarre.

　But I wish he hadn't put his genius into building such trivial things. The chill that bites my skin makes my lips tremble unconsciously.

Someone must be stirring the water hard to keep it from freezing. It's pathetic to think about.

　He shrugged his shoulders and replied in that way. Vestalinu didn't seem to be offended, but he let out an exasperated sigh. Apparently, she's gotten used to dealing with me.

　I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

　Picking up the nature sounds in my ears, and occasionally letting the guard's blood drip, I made my way to the base of the north tower. Strangely enough, the prison was silent. Somehow, I felt a rush down my spine.

　Suddenly, I had a bad feeling.

　I wondered why the guards were so outnumbered. The guards I had just met were strangely sparse.

　Why are they able to roam around so easily in the prison? Shouldn't there be a little more surveillance?

　To say I'm lucky is an understatement. But I'm confident enough to know that I'm being abandoned by the Lord of Fortune. An unwarranted chill slowly stroked down my spine.

　At last, I could see the corridor leading to the north tower in front of me. If I crossed it, I would be at the point where all I had to do was walk up the north tower to the prison warden's office.

　That's where my legs stop. My fingertips twitched and jumped.

　Vestalinu was staring at my profile in wonder. Her earnest eyes are asking me what's wrong.

　But I didn't have time to pay any attention to those eyes. I slide my finger to the jeweled sword at my waist. The heat in my breath turned into a white mist that stroked the hollow.

　I don't understand the logic. I don't even know why. But there was a strange certainty.

　--There's a guy waiting for us in the corridor right now with his big mouth open.

　There's still no sign of anyone in the corridor. But a weight of fierce disgust hangs over my guts.

　The corridor is pervaded by a smell I've smelled many times before, a smell I'll never forget. What, no wonder the mercenary Vestalinu did not notice.

　It's an unmistakable demonic scent.

　It is so dense that once it enters your nostrils, it will grab your brain.

　I've felt it many times in my adventuring days, and in my travels in the past. A very, very unpleasant smell.

　But I've never been able to react to it with such sensitivity. Is it growth, or have I somehow transformed myself?

　While grasping the treasured sword that makes it tremble as if it were stirring, I take a step forward. With Vestalinu behind me, I took another step forward.

　That's all I need to know. This is a different world now. It was the inside of a demonic stomach.

　It's as if I'm struggling underwater. More demons than you can handle are being forced into your stomach.

　One step forward. Second step, third step.

　I forgot to even blink. My lungs stopped breathing as if they had lost their function, and my skin was burning like hell.

　Fourth step, fifth step-sixth step, seventh step, eighth step-coming. The unseen eyes are not on me, but on Vestalinu.

　Without pausing to breathe, I reflexively leap off Vestaline and swing my arm. Pushing aside the intense pain in my joints, I let the purple light draw a line.

　The dark purple flickered in the air and shot it down without even allowing it to fight back as it closed in on you. I could see that Vestalynn's eyes were wide open.

　--A sickening reverberation sounded in my ears.

　An unpleasant reverberating sound pierced my ears. It was not the sound of steel rubbing against steel. The feeling on my hand was also unpleasant, as if I had touched something soft.

　What the hell is this? I frowned slightly.



　He took a half-step forward to close the distance, and held his sword at an angle.

　The true nature of the threat was already in front of me. A human form stood above the corridor, as if it had just appeared out of thin air from the floor or ceiling.

Please don't be so hostile. But I've made adjustments so that you can die cleanly and comfortably, with no regrets. Well, you played it well. No, no, no. That's a compliment. Brother, for a human...

　A voice that's far too cheerful for the occasion. It was a child with two large horns on his head who threw it away unceremoniously.

　No, perhaps the child was only a child in appearance. I have no idea what its true nature is.

　In any case, his voice is strangely melancholy and adult-like, with none of the innocence of a child.

　And judging from its curving angles and fully formed shape, it is certainly far from being human.

　You can find a lot of people who are interested in this.

"Hmm... No, it's still human. Yes, it's very good for a human. I'm very curious how you made it, brother.

Okay. Then I'd like a round of applause. If you can, I'd like you to show some respect and clear the way.

　He said this in a light tone, and took another half step forward with his sword at the ready. That alone made the pressure on me seem more dense.

　No, not only did I feel it, I'm sure it's true.

　A demon with curly horns was looking at me with distorted eyes. I can't tell if it's really looking at me or if it's looking at something else.

I don't have a problem with that. Apparently, the warden is very angry with you.

　A much smaller body than mine is holding a stance with bare hands. From a distance, he looks like a child with no threat.

　But when I faced him, I understood.

　From every part of his body, he is filled with the unique evil intent of a hexenbiest. From the corner of his eye, he breathed a sense of oppression that could be described as rage, telling me that his short frame was not what it seemed.

　As he leaned on his treasured sword, he muttered to Vestalinu at his side.

"Vestalinu. It seems I've been spotted by some troublesome people. I'm sorry, but can you run ahead and grab the jailer by the neck?

　To be honest, I'm not sure I can take everything this demoness has just said in stride. But if the two of us are stuck here together as we are, it's as if we're just waiting to die.

　The guards, who have been acting as if they were powerless until now, will come running to us if we make a fuss, no matter how much we fight each other.

　Then, no matter how many swords you wield, it won't matter much. We have a force of two, and they have hundreds. It's obvious that we can't even talk about it.

　That's why we have to accomplish our goal quickly. If we can get the warden out of custody, we can negotiate our way out of this one. No, we'll get it.

　But Vestalinu didn't move his body even after my words. But Vestalines did not move her body even after my words.

I can't do that, Lord Lugis.

　At the same time, Vestalinu spun his battle axe around and repositioned it so that he could carry it on his shoulder.