The Punishment Hall (14)
The Punishment Hall (14)
In the awkward silence, I glanced over at Monica. The snow-fox Beastfolk perched on the edge of the bed was fidgeting with her fingers.
At this rate, we'd be up all night. I let out a sigh.
"Warden Monica. What brings you here?"
"Well... I mean..."
Monica deftly changed the subject.
"How is the management of Cellblock 10 going?"
"It hasn't even been two days yet."
"W-well, still... I thought that, as your senior, if there was anything I could advise you on, I'd offer it. The first time is hard for everyone, isn't it?"
"If Director Veronica finds out you helped me, she'll probably throw me in a cell."
"...That's a fair point."
I leaned my back against the wall.
"What is it you want to say?"
"...W-well, it's... nothing much..."
Monica lifted her head slightly.
"Inquisitor, how do you feel about your own profession?"
"I don't really think much of it."
"...You don't have any pride or sense of mission?"
"Not particularly."
Disbelief flickered through her eyes. So what? It's the truth.
"Seeing as you're bringing that up, it's a worry related to your job, right?"
"...Honestly, I'm satisfied with my job. Being a guard isn't something just anyone can do, you know? Rehabilitating people and turning them into useful members of society is an incredibly important role."
"Right?"
"But... it's just... these days, it seems like more and more people don't understand that sense of mission. Just today, for instance...!"
Once the dam broke, the complaints came pouring out. I let all the tension drain from my body.
So that's what this was. She was looking for someone to talk to.
The funny thing was, once I actually listened, it was entertaining. Hearing Monica's grumbling firsthand—something I'd only ever heard in the game—was deeply strange.
In-game, she was the type to bottle everything up and then explode all at once. I casually played along with her words.
"You're right. To become a guard, you need a baseline level of skill. If you're getting pushed around by prisoners in restraints, that's a problem."
"Exactly?! See, I'm not the weird one! It's the fault of those guys who never trained in the first place, and instead of admitting their own faults, they were talking behind my back in the bathroom...!"
Monica talked herself out. She took a deep breath, then let out a satisfied snort as if she finally felt refreshed.
"...Thank you. For listening."
"It's nothing."
"S-so, um... what I wanted to say is... maybe..."
Monica leaned her face in slightly.
"I feel like you and I really get along well... Could we talk again sometime?"
"You've got a lot bottled up, I see. If you're fine with me, sure."
"O-of course I won't talk your ear off! Just a little is enough. You need your personal time too, don't you, Inquisitor?"
"That's not wrong, but you don't need to worry about me that much."
Might as well score some points here. Raising her affection can't hurt.
And honestly, it was fun. It was raw, unfiltered talk.
"Listening to you is enjoyable, Monica."
".......!"
Monica beamed.
"Thank you! Inquisitor! For becoming my friend!"
"...The age gap makes that a little awkward."
"How old are you? At a glance, you look around my age... Ah, in human years, of course! Beastfolk live several times longer than humans, so... I mean in terms of physical age. I am somewhat older, but...! In human years, I'm still only in my mid-twenties...!"
"I'm sixteen."
"Huh?"
. . .
Rehabilitating the prisoners and earning Director Veronica's approval. But "rehabilitation" was just a word—in practice, it was nothing more than getting friendly with them.
If they didn't attack the guards and didn't cause trouble, that was rehabilitation. What else was there to it?
All I had to do was ease their reasons for hating humans!
I glanced over at Valkan.
The prisoners had reasons for attacking the guards. In Valkan's case, the reason was simple.
Self-loathing born from failing to protect anything. Spewing rage that had nowhere to go as indiscriminate killing intent.
In that case, I just needed to give that urge an outlet.
"Valkan."
"...What?"
I glanced around the cell. I rolled my shoulders.
I pulled a sword out of my Pocket. An ordinary live blade.
I tossed it down in front of him. I grabbed a sword for myself as well.
"You know how to use a sword, right? Don't draw it. I can see everything."
"...Why are you giving this to me?"
"We've got time to spare. What's the point of sitting still? Better to learn at least one more thing."
I raised my sword. I didn't put any Sacred Power into it.
Raw strength was enough.
"Care to humor me?"
"...Handing a weapon to a prisoner. Do you know what that means?"
"I know you're holding back with reason. You want to sink your teeth into me right now, don't you?"
"......"
"Go ahead. Let it all out, with everything you've got."
"What are you after?"
"You're so stiff. People tell you you're inflexible a lot, don't they?"
Valkan picked up the sword.
"Inflexible... you say."
His eyes turned red. Sharp fangs showed between his lips.
"What... do you know... to run your mouth like that?"
"Talking with your body is better than running your mouth, isn't it?"
I beckoned with my hand. I grinned.
"I'll give you three free moves. Deal?"
"Insolent—!"
The clash of metal rang out.
. . .
"...Young guard. What is this..."
"What does it look like?"
I lazily handed over a fishing rod. I'd had a small pond built by a contractor and stocked it with fish.
"It's fishing."
"This is not something one does in a prison."
"Hey now. I'm the administrator here, so who's going to complain?"
Rakkum reluctantly accepted the rod.
"Young guard. I cannot understand your thinking."
"Just go with it."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I want to get to know you. I was curious about Lizardfolk. But just talking is boring, right? This is content I put some thought into."
Rakkum was already rehabilitated, so to speak. He wasn't particularly hostile toward humans.
But even so, leaving him out entirely didn't sit quite right with me. I'd just treat this as break time.
A dependable adult who sacrificed himself for others isn't someone you meet every day.
Rakkum stared blankly at the rod. He cast the baited hook with a flick.
A fish bit immediately. Rakkum laughed as if dumbfounded.
"Well now..."
"Great bite, huh?"
"There is no sport in it. No tension. This is not what fishing is."
"What's it supposed to be like, then?"
"Have you never fished?"
"I've never really been interested. But hearing you talk about it makes me curious. I only prepared this because I'd heard Lizardfolk eat fish often... Is it really that different from real fishing?"
"...Hmm."
The Lizardfolk tore into the fish raw. He crunched through it, bones and all.
He swallowed. He raised his bloodied mouth and grinned.
"You wish me to teach you."
"Sounds good. I was curious about how Lizardfolk live."
"...Then I shall tell you. Young guard. Listen well. Lizardfolk are..."
Rakkum began to talk, warmly and at length. He closed his eyes as if reminiscing.
. . .
"How's the bubble wrap?"
"Boring. No. Pleasure. Yaaawn."
Tsubaki yawned. She rolled around on the bed.
But her hands were still moving busily. Contrary to her words of dissatisfaction, her body was honest.
Bubble wrap popped in rapid succession. I plopped down beside her.
"Tsubaki."
"Yeah."
"The Western Continent language. Want me to teach you?"
"......?!"
Because of the body I'd received, I could naturally use the language of the Western Continent. I could write it too, and I perfectly understood the principles behind how everything worked.
Teaching it was no problem at all.
Tsubaki slowly sat up. Her eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
"Of course. You're sick of just blurting out the words you know, right?"
"Yeah! Sick of it! Conversation! Complete sentences! Crave!"
"Good. I'll teach you properly. And that..."
I stared blankly at the bubble wrap popping in succession. The hand movements looked like she was suppressing withdrawal symptoms.
She wanted to pop humans. It was a desire she'd been born with.
A human born different from others.
And therefore, a person who could never be understood.
I had no intention of denying her existence. Besides, I could make substitutes for humans.
But that required Maya. Now that she was gone, bubble wrap was all I could give Tsubaki.
"Just hold on a little longer, and I'll give you something you can pop."
"Something to pop? Bubble wrap? More?"
"Something else besides that. That's just a stopgap. If you follow along well, I'll give it to you as a reward, so study hard. Got it?"
"...Yeah!"
Tsubaki nodded vigorously. Then she quietly asked.
"Tsubaki. Not scared?"
"I don't know how many times I've said this..."
I whipped out the notepad I'd brought.
"The most dangerous person here is me."
. . .
"...You came?"
The sinner Eve raised her head. I nodded. She sat demurely on the blanket and pointed to a chair, as if inviting conversation.
I sat down on it. Without saying a word, I listened to what she had to say.
['Sun God's Prayer' repels mental corruption.]
"Filling finite time brings nothing but pain."
"......"
"No matter how you struggle, it never ends. Precious things eventually vanish. Even pleasures that feel eternal last only an instant."
She talked. She tried to persuade me.
"Zahard. Life has no meaning at all. It's nothing but emptiness that will one day disappear."
"Maybe so."
"...Then what reason is there to stay alive? Why do you insist on remaining in this hell, leaving true salvation abandoned?"
Eve grabbed my hand. She pressed it to her own cheek.
"Let's go together. You and me. Alone, it might be frightening. Because no one knows what's over there. But when many gather, it's different. We'll be together beyond. We'll step forward together, and those who went before will welcome you. In an eternal paradise without pain."
Her whisper was like a serpent. Combined with her pretty face, she was openly seducing me.
Anyone watching would think she was a follower of Naga.
I opened my hand. I stroked her cheek.
"...Huh?"
"No. You're just pretty."
"Eh?"
Eve short-circuited. Don't try to climb up here!
I'm a step above you even at seduction!
"Eve. Then let me ask you in return. If life is full of pain, and if it's something you can't escape no matter how hard you struggle... then why do people keep living?"
"Because they're ignorant. That's why they need me. Only I can awaken the ignorant."
"Why do you think that?"
"I'm a teacher. An educator. I felt it when I taught children. Everyone needs a pioneer. There must always be someone who goes one step ahead and leads. Only then can people advance along the right path without trial and error."
A woman who styled herself a teacher. I let out a short laugh.
"Fine. You might be right. Life may be full of pain, and we may have to flee from it to escape."
"You understood what I meant!"
"It's not a difficult concept."
"Exactly! So, Zahard! Before it's too late...!"
I slammed down cooking utensils with a thud.
"But cooking is different! It's full of incredibly difficult things!"
"Huh."
Cookbooks I'd brought in my Pocket tumbled out.
"You said you liked cookbooks, didn't you? I bought some ingredients from outside Tantalos. All the cooking equipment is in here too!"
"...Huh? Huh?"
"Zahard's cooking lecture is now open. I'm accepting exactly one student. Would you like to enroll?"
"No. Um. That's. Ah..."
"Come on. Don't play coy. I know you're happy about it."
I gave a light wink.
"I told you back then. That I'd show you what you don't know, not just tell you. But getting to that point takes a little time, you know? Sitting still is honestly boring, so let's put the knowledge I've learned so far into practice."
"What... in the world are you saying... No, I don't understand...?"
"What's there to understand?"
I grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She rose to her feet with something like a whimper.
"Ah—?!"
"Knowledge shines brighter when you use it than when you keep it in your head."
Eve looked up at me with a bewildered face.
I pressed a pot into her hands.
"Let's do it. Before you get scared and run away, let's start by chopping the ingredients. Who knows? Maybe something will change once you start cooking."
. . .
I opened the door. Waiting beyond the iron bars was the Demon of Love.
A woman worn down by human malice. I reached out toward her brilliantly shining white hair.
I slowly stroked her head. Amar quietly opened her closed eyes.
"...Sex?"
"It's not that."
"Why not? I don't get it. Zahard. Why won't you pounce on me? I like lewd things. I'm the best in the world at shaking my hips."
"That's something people who love each other do."
"You don't love me?"
Something rippled behind her back. I shook my head at the menacingly swaying magical power.
"It's too early to bring up love. I don't know anything about you."
"You can love without knowing anything. I've always been loved that way."
"Can you be sure that's love, and not lust?"
"I can. It's love."
"Is that so? But my love is different."
Amar tilted her head.
"What's different?"
"My love starts with spending time together."
I sat down behind her. I pressed my back against hers.
Warmth bloomed. I closed my eyes and said nothing. She had been subtly rubbing her body against me, but she stopped.
"...Hm."
Amar murmured from behind my back.
"I don't get it. Why aren't you doing anything? Is this okay?"
"It's okay."
I nodded.
"It's okay even if we do nothing."
"......."
Amar didn't answer.
She just leaned her back against mine, quietly, as I'd told her to.
. . .
Dimona raised her head in her office. She set down the letter Maya had brought.
"...Hm."
She kept her words to herself. She thought long and hard.
She hadn't simply been taking hits, either. There was something she'd been pursuing in secret.
Using the Group 2 inquisitors, who were far less conspicuous than Group 1, to track Dwayne's movements.
The results had been accumulating, and now they were forming a larger picture. The clues she'd barely managed to grasp also contained shocking information.
She was not incompetent. On the contrary, she was highly capable. Once she pierced through one thread, the larger picture came dimly into view, and she could clearly see what the other side was after.
"...Thank you, Maya. This makes it certain. Not long ago, a large number of paladins slipped out of the church headquarters under the pretext of a mission. It was the paladin order under Dwayne's command."
"What should Maya do?"
"Just one favor."
If the other side was scheming, she would counter in kind. Dimona moved every piece she could use.
"Maya. Please look after Cardinal Arpina."
"...Huh?"
"If my judgment is correct, she is in an extremely dangerous situation right now. And the only person who can help her is someone with apostle-level combat power."
Dimona stared steadily at Maya.
"You... are strong, aren't you? I know. That you haven't lost all your power."
"......"
"Of course, I have no intention of making an issue of it. Zahard guaranteed your safety. I trust him. He's not the type to say things carelessly."
Dimona spread out the documents. She skimmed through them in one go.
"I can't just keep taking hits... Shall we start moving soon?"
Divine Judge Dimona began to move beneath the surface.
Quietly, in a place even Archbishop Dwayne couldn't notice.