The Punishment Hall (7)
The Punishment Hall (7)
"That can't be right."
"It's true."
"But that really can't be right?"
"...I'm not lying."
"But it really, really, really can't be..."
"I told you, it's definitely not."
What the hell?
No, Dimona definitely said she sent a letter... and there's no way it could arrive later than me when I set out much later.
"I'm sorry, but could you go check one more time? This time by name. Tell them Inquisitor Zahard is here."
The guard went and came back. His uniform was wrinkled, as if someone had grabbed him by the collar.
"She said if you don't leave right now, she'll really throw you in as a prisoner... and to stop bothering her..."
"Did Divine Judge Dimona's name come up?"
"D-Divine Judge Dimona? I-I'm sorry, but what exactly is your relationship with her..."
"You could say we'd die without each other."
-Sounds like something Dimona would die of rage if she heard.
The guard hesitated. The feet he forced to move were incredibly heavy.
He turned around sharply. Then came right back.
"I-I'm truly sorry... but if I go again, I think I'll really die."
"Then can I just pass through?"
"...That's not allowed."
"Then what do we do? Someone else could..."
The other guard, who had been standing watch in pairs, hurriedly hid. He locked the office door.
"M-Martin! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Strange. Winter's coming, but the mosquitoes are still loud."
"I-I really can't! I said I can't! Director Veronica will definitely try to kill me! She almost slapped me earlier!"
"She wouldn't actually hit you. Hurry up and go."
"Then why don't you go yourself?!"
"The mosquitoes are loud..."
The guard, who had been rattling the locked door for a while, glanced back at me. His gaze was so pitiful that I almost stopped him without realizing it.
But I can't spend all day bickering here.
"I-I really don't think I should go..."
"Then I'll go tell her myself."
"...I'll go."
The guard did not return.
Instead, a moment later, the door slammed open violently.
A foul stench of alcohol. Fur flew from the white coat draped over her shoulders.
Sharp eyes. A gaze that looked like a glare just from being looked at swept over me.
She's beautiful. Beautiful, but...
Kind of terrifying.
She looks like she was born a thug. You can tell at a glance.
"...You?"
"Excuse me?"
"I said, did you interrupt my cozy drinking time?"
I bowed my head politely.
"Hello, Director Veronica. I am Inquisitor Zahard..."
"Shut it. Hey!"
The remaining guard came rushing out of the office.
"Y-Yes!"
"The other bastard earlier said he definitely passed it on, right? Huh? You answer. What did I say I'd do if he didn't go and kept resisting?"
The guard caught in the headlock coughed and sputtered.
"Th-that you'd throw me in as a prisoner...!"
"Right. Exactly as I said. Now. Go grab him."
"Sh-should I really grab him?"
"What are you doing? Not grabbing him? Or do you want to go to the slammer instead?"
The guard approached hesitantly. He held out restraints to me.
"W-would you put these on..."
"Should I put them on?"
"W-well, yes...?"
Ugh.
Working under someone like that must be stressful every single day.
I rubbed my head roughly. I'd been trying to build favor as the kind and innocent type...
But she says she didn't get the letter, and the whole situation feels completely tangled, so let's give up on that.
"Director Veronica."
"Hmm?"
She leaned her head in. She's tall. Slightly taller than me, isn't she?
They said she was over 190 in-game, but seeing her in person, she was even taller. How is there a woman this tall? She's even taller than Tiela, isn't she?
Before I knew it, I was looking up at her slightly. But I couldn't lose momentum.
"You didn't get the letter?"
"Letter? What letter? What kind of damn letter is it that you keep yapping about it?"
"Divine Judge Dimona..."
"Dimonaaaaaaaaa?"
Veronica, dragging out the end of the word, thrust her face forward. Close enough that our noses almost touched.
The smell of alcohol and stale tobacco hit me hard.
"Who the hell are you to bring up Dimona?"
"...I'm Inquisitor Zahard."
"Zahard?"
Veronica glanced at the guard.
"I-I don't know that name..."
"Excuse me? You don't know me?"
"Wh-who..."
"I was on the Paramer search team roster! And I'm famous as the youngest graduate of the Theological Academy...!"
"What is this bastard talking about?"
"He must be talking about the outside world..."
This is why country bumpkins are the worst!
I took out my inquisitor's badge from my chest. I'd brought it just in case, and thank goodness I did.
"Will this do?"
"Hmm..."
Veronica stroked her chin. She stared at the inquisitor's badge, then called over the guard beside her.
"...Is this really an inquisitor's badge?"
"I-I wouldn't know... I only know the Punishment Office emblem..."
You damn country bumpkins!!
"No, Director Veronica, you should recognize it?!"
"Ah, I don't know. I've been stuck here for years, you think I remember every little thing? That... what? Zaha... whatever?"
"...Inquisitor Zahard."
"Right. Za whatever."
Veronica grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. She dragged me along.
So she's letting me in after all. I let out a sigh. Fine. If I've said this much, she should get it.
"But did you really not get the letter?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She walked down the corridor and, for some reason, directly into the prison itself, then forcibly threw me into a cell.
"...Huh?"
"I keep my word. So sit tight and stay locked up. Prisoner."
"No, wait...!"
Veronica scooped up Maya. She stared at her blankly, then buried her face in her fur.
"I'm taking this little teddy bear with me!"
"...Grk."
"N-no! Maya! Hold it in!"
"Maya... will hold it in..."
"Don't kill anyone! Seriously!"
"She's the perfect size to use as a body pillow!"
Veronica walked away. I clung to the bars.
Oh, for fuck's sake!
Why does everything turn out like this!
. . .
"I-Inquisitor Zahard."
"No. I'm not Zahard. I'm Prisoner 1."
"I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Monica, who had arrived late, released me from the bars. She whispered, unable to settle down.
"It seems the Director drank more than usual today..."
"Does she always drink that much?"
"......"
So she's going with no comment. Well, I roughly know the situation.
I let out a sigh. I followed her down the corridor.
"I'm an escaped prisoner right now."
"I'm sorry..."
"Joke. Anyway, can I have a conversation with the Director once she's properly sobered up?"
"I'll try somehow."
Monica came back grunting, carrying a bucket of water.
"No way?"
"Please wait a moment."
Monica went inside the Director's office.
A refreshing splash sound rang out.
"Blubblubblub?! M-Monica?! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Snap out of it! Please! I told you not to drink when guests come!"
"This isn't alcohol, it's my blood...!"
"What kind of blood is that?!"
Monica opened the door again. The inside was a complete mess.
Her eyes had returned to relatively normal compared to before. Veronica blew at her wet hair. She swept her bangs back and looked at me.
"What. You're a prisoner?"
"Warden Monica. Do you have another bucket?"
"One moment."
"C-calm down! Calm down!"
After another splash of water, Veronica closed her eyes and opened them again. Her slightly slurred pronunciation had fully returned.
"...So? What's going on that made you pull this bullshit?"
"The letter. You definitely didn't get it?"
"What letter have you been going on about since earlier?"
"No... I mean..."
Forget it. No point talking.
"If you didn't get the letter, I'll tell you directly. Isn't there a prisoner here named Apprentice Priest Beverick?"
"Is there?"
"One moment..."
Monica rifled through the documents. Soon she pulled one out.
"There is. A male prisoner in Cellblock 8. Apprentice Priest Beverick. Charges of embezzling offerings and rape, plus... there are a lot of other minor charges attached, aren't there?"
"Trash. So? What about that bastard?"
"I need Apprentice Priest Beverick. Give him to me."
"Hmm?"
Veronica picked at her ear. She asked Monica casually.
"What is this bastard saying?"
"...Are you asking to privately take a prisoner whose sentence hasn't ended? Inquisitor Zahard. Is this perhaps a secret mission from the Holy See?"
"No. I need him for personal reasons."
"Trying to take a prisoner whose sentence hasn't even ended as you please... and it's not even the Holy See's official position..."
Veronica slumped into a chair.
"Are you insane?"
"Something like that. But I'm an insane person with a purpose."
Originally, I'd planned to earn her favor first, then slowly dangle the bait. But now it's different.
I'm not in the mood to act, and with the letter gone somewhere, I'm just a suspicious 'stranger' to her.
So it's better to just make a deal. Our goals align anyway.
"Director Veronica. If you hand over Apprentice Priest Beverick, I'll drive Archbishop Dwayne out from the inside. I'll also arrange a position for you to be reinstated. How about it?"
"...What? Dwayne? Why is that bastard's name coming up here?"
Of course it would.
Because he's the one who stuck you here in the First Punishment Office.
"Aren't you frustrated? A caged beast, Director Veronica."
"......"
"I'll let you out. So help me. Just give me Apprentice Priest Beverick, and I'll get you out of this cage called the First Punishment Office."
"...Ho-oh."
Veronica's eyes changed. Her slumped body shifted.
"You talk pretty cute, don't you? Inquisitor."
"Well, this much is nothing."
"It's sweet enough to rot my teeth. But I don't trust just anyone. There are too many silver-tongued bastards around here."
"So?"
"I'll contact Dimona separately. Since I never received that so-called letter. Honestly, you know your identity is extremely suspicious, right? You show up out of nowhere asking me to hand over a prisoner and saying you'll drive out Dwayne."
Well, if she wants to wait.
If she sends a carrier pigeon now, it should arrive soon enough. I shrugged.
"Fine. It won't take long for letters to go back and forth. You'll use a carrier pigeon, right?"
"Of course. But before that... I have no reason to trust you, do I? So I want to verify something..."
"Verify?"
"I need to know whether you're just a smooth talker or someone who can actually back up those fancy words. Right? Regardless of Dimona, I need to know if you can keep the words you spat out."
Veronica grinned.
"You. Ever been a prison guard?"
"...No?"
"Then try it once. Cellblock 10. The worst cellblock. It's where they keep only the most vicious of the vicious criminals. The guards and even the other wardens are terrified of it. Seventeen guards have died managing it. Over a hundred injured in total."
"...No way."
"Yes. That very 'no way.'"
Veronica put a cigarette in her mouth. She conjured a flame at her fingertip and lit it.
"Manage that block alone for three months. I won't even ask you to rehabilitate them. Just feed them on time, keep the block clean, and see to the prisoners' needs. How about it?"
"D-Director...! No matter what, that's...!"
"Quiet. Monica."
Cigarette smoke scattered. Veronica tapped off the ash.
"That bastard is trying to break my 'principles' right now. He's trying to take a prisoner whose sentence hasn't ended, so he should at least stake his life to make it worth the trade. Right?"
I let my shoulders slump. If only Dimona's letter had been here, this would have ended much faster. It definitely would have been settled with a quick gamble, a bet, or a mock battle instead of managing Cellblock 10.
It got tangled. But honestly, I'm lucky it stopped at this much. Cellblock 10 is a place I've experienced several times before.
"Alright. Director Veronica. But I have a condition."
"You're in a position to set conditions?"
"Three months is too long. Let's make it one month."
"Are you messing with me right now..."
"Instead, I'll properly rehabilitate the prisoners in Cellblock 10. Make them obedient, I mean. How about it? I think that's worth making a deal over, don't you?"
Veronica's confident expression hardened. Her gaze, looking up at me sideways, was full of suspicion.
"...Just counting the guards who lost an arm trying to reform those bastards, you could build a small mountain."
"I'm breaking Director Veronica's important principles, so I should take on a risk worthy of that."
"Ho-oh...?"
"I-Inquisitor?! Do you know how absurd that sounds right now?! Those bastards are vicious prisoners beyond rehabilitation! Each one of them is locked up there because they're a hardened criminal who killed hundreds of people...!"
"Enough. Monica."
Veronica crushed out her cigarette. She exhaled the remaining smoke.
"Inquisitor Zahard, was it?"
"That's right."
"I like you. Fine. I'll give you one month. But if you don't reform those bastards to my satisfaction within that month..."
Director of the First Punishment Office, Veronica, drew her hand across her throat.
"Even if you're still alive by then, you'll die by my hand. For the crime of deceiving me."