An Ominous Atmosphere (2)
After that, Enis knew no quiet days.
"What's with that attitude during evening roll call? Starting tomorrow, increase that bastard's workload."
"Yes, sir!"
Day by day, the inspectors' nitpicking only grew worse.
"Why the hell are those guys acting like this lately?"
Lev grumbled. The other prisoners shared the same discontent.
"They've never been this blatant about it before."
"These days, just breathing is enough to get your food rations cut."
They voiced their complaints, but there was little they could actually do about it.
I think I've got a pretty good idea of what's going on.
Ellen, quick to grasp a situation, nodded as he pieced together the rough picture.
They're being oppressive overall, but they're focusing their attacks on the noble faction and black mage faction prisoners. That means Chedleton isn't specifically targeting me yet.
Ellen decided to keep watching the situation for now.
There was still plenty to gain from Proveng's laboratory. Unless a direct threat appeared, he needed to stay here longer.
"Lights out. Time for bed."
The guard finished roll call.
"Finally over. How are we supposed to live when they drain the life out of us every evening roll call?"
"Ugh! Disgusting."
"Quit complaining and lie down, all of you. We just need to be careful."
As the lights illuminating the corridor went out, Brady stepped in.
At his words, the prisoners lay down without another word.
Inside Enis, his words carried absolute weight for most of the prisoners.
Even the noble faction deferred to him to some degree.
I'm curious about his true identity.
After spending some time turning that over in his mind, Ellen slowly sat up.
Sleep.
Just in case, he cast Sleep magic on Brady and a few other sharp ones.
No need to waste mana on the ones already dead to the world.
Ellen confirmed everyone was deeply asleep.
Unlock. Hide.
Ellen opened the iron door and concealed his body. As long as he didn't get close enough for the guards to sense him, he wouldn't be discovered.
He headed straight for the communal laundry room.
Escaping past the rooms guarded by knight-origin guards was easy enough.
But the path to the mining grounds had mage guards.
Rumble.
He opened the floor of the communal laundry room.
A tunnel had been dug there.
Ellen had spent the past few days using Dig magic to connect it all the way to the mining grounds.
Through it, he could reach the laboratory every night.
Several days passed like that.
In the pitch-black night when everyone was asleep.
As usual, Ellen sat up.
He cast Sleep magic one by one.
Last up, Brady.
Ellen reached out toward him.
Sle—!
Thud.
Brady grabbed Ellen's hand.
Ellen was startled.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Brady had been awake.
He glared at Ellen once, then, sensing no hostility, released his hand.
His breathing was the same as when he usually sleeps. How? Does he know I neutralized the bracelet? I can't be sure yet.
"I was just checking if you were asleep. I was going to read a book."
"A book? Where'd you get that?"
"I swiped one the guards were looking at. I have trouble sleeping at night, so I always used to fall asleep reading."
Ellen quickly gauged Brady's reaction.
Bringing books in was forbidden to begin with.
But this was something that could slide under Brady's watch.
Ellen was testing whether Brady knew his secret or not.
"Normally I'd let it go, but these days you'd better be careful. If you don't want trouble landing on you, keep your head down. There might be something even more troublesome than the inspectors."
"Understood."
Hearing Ellen's words, Brady shifted and rolled onto his side.
Ellen figured the laboratory was out of the question tonight and lay back down.
Then Brady turned his body toward Ellen.
"How did you say you ended up here?"
"I was at the academy and got framed."
"Framed?"
"Yes. I got stabbed in the back hard by some noble brat."
"Who was it?"
"Rick Chedleton. Son of the Chedleton family."
At Ellen's words, Brady's expression shifted oddly.
"You seemed to have noticed something different about the inspectors."
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't you find anything strange about the inspectors' behavior?"
At Brady's words, Ellen's mind began racing.
"The targets the inspectors are focusing on are limited, yes."
He decided he needed to hear more of what Brady had to say.
"Exactly. You're different from the others, as expected. Right now the inspectors are targeting the black mage faction and noble faction prisoners. Among them, the leaders of both camps are the real goals."
"So they're going to eliminate them?"
"They'll probably pin all sorts of charges on them soon and purge them."
"If they can pull off something of that scale, it has to be either the royal family, the Chedleton Marquis family, or the Gronreed Duke family, right?"
Something flashed through Ellen's mind.
The power struggle between the Chedleton and Gronreed families.
The two great pillars of Prode's mages and the leaders of the noble faction—from this period onward, the balance began tipping toward the Chedletons.
"The Chedletons. They won."
"That's right. Those bastards made their move. The problem is, if the Gronreed family lost, the black mage faction won't just sit still either. The Gronreeds were the ones protecting them, after all."
I knew the Gronreed family accepted magic from various schools, but they were taking in black magic too? Still, getting involved here doesn't feel right for me.
Ellen read Brady's intentions.
"But for now, I intend to stay here. Honestly, I'd prefer if no trouble broke out."
At those words, Brady's eyes changed.
"You seem to know everything already. Fine. I'm going to raise a revolt with the black mage faction. But how did you know? That I'd be with them."
Ellen opened his mouth to answer.
"I saw how they react instantly to a single word from you, and how carefully they treat any encounter with you. I figured you ranked higher than most of them. You were posing as part of the neutral faction to hide that, weren't you?"
"Impressive. I'll be honest. I'd like your help in this uprising. Your physical abilities would be the greatest asset we have here. And you've got a grudge against the Chedletons, don't you?"
Brady sat up as he spoke to Ellen.
Even in the darkness, his eyes gleamed with the moonlight.
They held resolve.
The black mage faction isn't even that large in numbers. What are they counting on to stage a revolt? What can mages who can't even use magic do?
Ellen shook his head at Brady's words.
"My answer will be the same. In fact, I'm the one asking you. Please stay quiet. I don't want the royal court and the nobles' attention drawn here yet."
That was his honest wish.
There was still much to take from Proveng's laboratory.
And now that he'd left the academy, few places offered as quiet a spot for training as this.