The Punishment Hall (15)
The Punishment Hall (15)
His body burned. Valkan let out a ragged breath.
His outstretched foot twisted. Trying to dodge the sword, he ended up planting his nose into the floor instead.
"Pfft."
"Don't laugh!"
He shot to his feet like a blaze. This damn body. It had broken down too badly and was a complete mess.
He had rested too long. He needed to spring up like lightning and produce a thunderous roar, but even when he thrust his sword, what came out was weaker than the flutter of a hummingbird's wings.
It hadn't been like this before.
A guard knight serving a single young lady... I had been the hope of the lower-ranked warriors... why...!
"Feeling wronged?"
"If this were back then, the likes of you...!"
"Don't cling to the past. Look at me instead. You should catch the person right in front of you. What's the point of blaming a body that can't even go back?"
Zahard twirled his sword. That infuriating corner of his mouth curled upward once again.
"Well... how about I spot you five moves?"
"Y-you son of a bitch!"
"I'm not the son of a bitch here."
"Shut up!"
Valkan stomped the ground once more. He surrendered his body to the surging thunder.
For some reason, looking at him made his anger boil over. A corner of his chest blazed.
The feeling of pouring everything out with all his strength.
Was it because he had raised his sword? His body felt a little lighter than before. Amid the surging thunder, Zahard raised his sword.
"...Whoa."
Valkan moved.
Thunder erupted.
. . .
"The prison nearly broke apart."
"Come on. It wasn't that bad. You're exaggerating."
"I am not exaggerating."
What did they do every day in the neighboring cell?
Rakkum deftly baited the hook. Fishing in the pool that refilled every morning had become a hobby.
You could call it a luxurious hobby. Who could possibly enjoy fishing in prison?
Let's see. What story would he tell today...
"......"
The Lizardfolk Rakkum suddenly found himself reflecting on his own musings.
...Well now.
When had it seeped in?
"What are you thinking about?"
"Young guard."
Rakkum gave the quivering rod a slight tug. A fish leaped out.
"Why... why do you treat me—us—so well?"
"Why do I treat you well? Hmm..."
Zahard hugged his fishing rod. He yawned as if sleepy.
"I've never treated you well."
"......?"
"I just treat you like a person. What's the big deal? I've got plenty of money. I can do this much without batting an eye, you know?"
"There is no benefit to you."
"Come on. There's plenty. I get to spend a month here comfortably, and that's all benefit."
"A month?"
"Yes. A month. After a month, I get kicked out of here. Well... strictly speaking, I leave on my own two feet."
Ten days had already passed since he first saw him. Hm. A month, huh.
Rakkum turned his gaze back to his fishing rod.
"...A shame."
"What is?"
"That only a month remains to enjoy fishing."
"Well, I suppose you could look at it that way..."
Zahard poked him in the side with his elbow.
"You don't think I won't come back once I leave, do you?"
"Young guard. Once you leave, you will not return. I know this. The Punishment Office is not a place like home."
"Well... true, right? I won't exactly deny it. It's a boring place. There's nothing around Tantalos."
Zahard shrugged.
"It's a dull place. There's no reason to come back."
"I am not blaming you. I would have done the same."
"Oh? You're surprisingly honest."
"A warrior does not lie."
"Right. You were a warrior, Rakkum. But I'm also... not really the type to lie to someone I like."
Ripples spread across the water's surface. Zahard reeled in a fish.
"It's a boring place, but I'll drop by sometimes."
"Why?"
"Why do you think? Aren't we friends? This prison is the only place where I can just zone out and shoot the breeze, you know?"
"......."
"And it's actually kind of fun. This fishing thing."
His scales shifted with a soft rustle. Rakkum caught the reeled-in fish with a light snap of his hand.
Friend.
He muttered the word inwardly as he shoved the fish into his mouth. Raw was indeed better than cooked. Emotions were probably like that too.
Natural things were better than manufactured ones. The more time you spent together, the deeper the heart inevitably grew.
Only a month.
Someone might say that. But what did time matter?
What mattered most was how much your hearts connected.
"...Friend, huh."
Rakkum grinned. Zahard followed with a chuckle.
"Enough with the sentimental stuff. Tell me more about the fish. You really think eating it raw is best? It just tastes like plain meat, doesn't it?"
"The juices overflow. Young guard, you are young."
"If you really think about it, I'm not that young, you know?"
"You lack life's bitterness."
"Oh yeah?!"
. . .
"Causative verbs..."
Tsubaki frowned. She prided herself on being reasonably smart.
But once she actually started studying, her stiffened brain didn't cooperate properly. Like a rusted gear grinding and jerking into motion, it kept stalling midway.
"Surrender."
"Oh yeah? It hasn't even been thirty minutes."
"Tsubaki. Give up."
She was impulsive. Tsubaki knew her own temperament well. She latched onto things easily, and gave up just as easily.
The only thing she liked was explosions. And even that was simply acting on pleasure.
If she didn't like something, she ran away. No one had ever taught her how to endure in the first place. She had had no parents from birth, and the people who had reached out to her had only ever tried to violate her.
Tsubaki flung herself onto the bed. Someone plopped down on top of her back.
"Oof?!"
"You're really not going to do it?"
"Heavy. Heavy. Heavy. Help. Help. Help."
"This much won't kill you. Think of it as punishment."
She heard the sound of a page turning. Tsubaki rubbed her cheek against the blanket.
"Hard. Tsubaki. This far."
"You said the same thing yesterday. But you still managed it, didn't you?"
"Forced. Brain explosion."
"Ooh. That was a fancy word. See? Studying pays off, doesn't it?"
"...Heh."
Tsubaki's lips twitched.
"Tsubaki. Amazing?"
"Amazing. No joke. I've never seen anyone learn this fast."
"...Really?"
"Why would I lie? If I didn't teach you, I'd have it easier."
Zahard stood up. He flopped down beside Tsubaki.
Their eyes met. For some reason embarrassed, Tsubaki half-covered her face with the blanket.
"Want to stop?"
"......"
He asked for her opinion. There was no fear in his eyes. No discomfort, no dread.
He was just looking at her. Even knowing what she was, even knowing what her desires were, he kept no distance.
Tsubaki mumbled something. She shook her head slightly.
Zahard chuckled.
"There. First sit up. Grip the pen."
"Head. Smoke. Puff puff."
"There's no reward without pain. There. From here again."
She scratched at the paper with the pen. Tsubaki hummed a tune under her breath.
There was someone who accepted her even when she piled on complaints and threw tantrums. Someone who treated her as a person, not a monster.
Her uneven mood lifted in an instant. Tsubaki raised her pen and wrote out a sentence.
"Thank... you... for... teaching... me...?"
"Heh. As expected of Tsubaki! The greatest genius of this era!"
"Hehehe."
. . .
"So here... I mean..."
Eve's eyes spun in circles. Instead of the sauce she was supposed to pour, she poured in soy sauce.
"Ahhhh?!"
She only realized after she had dumped it in. Trembling, Eve glanced back at Zahard.
He grinned.
"Taste test."
"Uugh..."
It tasted awful. How many failures had this been? Eve's shoulders slumped.
She couldn't understand why she was doing this. Why had things suddenly turned out this way?
"It's bad, right?"
"Ugh."
"Don't cry. Well? Say it clearly."
"It's salty."
Salty. Her tongue felt like it was going numb.
"That's what happens when you put in that much soy sauce."
Zahard rummaged through the seasonings laid out. After tasting a little, he shook in a bit of this and that.
It wasn't in the recipe. Eve pouted.
It would definitely taste worse. Why was he doing something like that?
"Here. Try it."
"...There's too much seasoning. Sweet and salty and bitter... was your original goal to torture me?"
"No? I'm planning to keep hounding you until a proper dish comes out."
"Wh-why?"
"There's a reason for everything, so just eat this."
Eve squeezed her eyes shut. She tasted the food he handed over.
Bitter and unbearably salty...
"...Huh?"
It's good?
"Why—why does this taste good?"
"The moment you think it's too late is actually the earliest moment. Even in a situation with no answer, there's a way to turn it around."
"What does that..."
"It's good, right?"
"...Yes."
Zahard nodded.
"Then let's go back to the basics. Make it again according to the recipe."
"A-again?!"
"Hey. I'm even doing the dishes. You got a problem?"
"I-I don't understand why we're doing this..."
"Didn't you say the kids you taught said your food was bad?"
"W-well, that's true, but..."
"Think about it. Okay? Say Eve went to the afterlife and ran right into them. Honestly, wouldn't you want to treat them to a delicious meal for once?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Just imagine it. A hypothetical. If you're going to meet them and laugh and chat anyway, it feels better with good food, doesn't it?"
"......"
He wasn't wrong. Eve gave a small nod. But even so, she still couldn't understand why she was doing this.
"I'm not going to die right now... so I don't know why I'm learning this."
"It's fun. The process itself, and the result too."
"It's not fun. Are you trying to persuade me?"
"No? I'm just teaching you to cook. I need to raise my proficiency too while I'm at it."
Zahard washed the pot cleanly. He kindled a Sacred Flame and lightly heated oil in the pan.
"Stop grumbling and peel the onions. If you ruin half of them like last time, you're in trouble."
"......"
Eve pouted. She obediently picked up an onion.
Her hands moved a little more skillfully than before.
. . .
After listening to Amar chatter away as usual and then clocking out, I found Monica waiting in my room.
She was lounging on the bed in loose clothes, even eating snacks. Watching her slurp down a drink was pretty funny.
She's acting like she owns the place. Like it's her house.
Well, I didn't particularly feel like blaming her. Monica was diligent and hardworking, but because she was always tense, a bit of ditziness lingered in her. She was probably releasing the stress from that outside of work hours.
But why was she doing it here?
"Later, I'm going to sleep here."
"Is that okay?"
"Aren't you scared of me? I'm a man too."
"Because Zahard doesn't look at me with lecherous eyes!"
"What about women?"
"Women are worse. They just grope. Here and there. Especially here..."
Monica lifted her chest with a soft bounce.
"...I'm a man too, you know?"
"Do you want to touch?"
"Big Sis, what are you doing?"
"I used to hate being called big sis once I got older, but I like hearing it from Zahard."
She rolled around openly on the bed. She had gotten pretty comfortable, and now she chattered without pause.
"So today, right? I went around the nearby cities for a bit on patrol, and there was something fun, you know?"
"What was it?"
"It's an object supposedly made using light magic... Ta-da."
Monica pulled something out from inside her chest.
...A Polaroid camera?
It's a disposable camera. They had these here too?
"If you take a picture like this... a photo comes out, apparently?"
"How did you get something only the Magic Towers could make..."
"Actually, photography is my hobby."
Click.
Monica lifted the photo that popped out of the camera. Faint colored inks slowly settled into place.
"...Wow. You're photogenic too. Zahard. Come here! Let's take one together!"
"Hm."
Wait. Let me think for a second.
If I had that, it might help with the Amar-taming operation.
"Can't you give that to me?"
"This?"
"I think I'll have a use for it. I'll pay you."
Monica, who had been deliberating, smiled brightly.
"I don't need money. I have plenty to begin with. It's a new model, so I just bought one to try. So rather than money..."
She stealthily grabbed my leg and climbed on top.
"I'd like to receive something else?"