Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Life in Confinement (1)
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The next day.
I'd spent the entire early morning swinging my newly acquired swords until my body was utterly spent.
I dragged myself to work with my already gloomy eyes looking even more haggard.
The musty office and grumpy vice warden were waiting for me anyway.
But when I opened the door, I was met with an unexpected sight.
A comforting aroma of coffee and neatly organized reports on the desk.
They even perfectly covered the prison's vulnerabilities in preparation for a surprise inspection by the princess's forces.
"Smells nice."
Clea, the blue-haired woman who'd arrived before me.
Today, she'd taken off her monocle and was meticulously cleaning a teacup.
"It's coffee imported from the East. They say it has a unique floral scent."
"Sure does. Pretty high-end stuff."
In the real world, this would cost a million won per kilo—the finest grade.
This world might be full of gloom and horror, but I had to give it points for little joys like this.
"Yes. Consider it a special treat since the warden's been performing so well lately."
"No wonder there wasn't any in the break room."
"Keep up the good work, and I'll make sure to have more ready."
"Feels like the office hierarchy just flipped."
Clea shrugged.
She pointed to the reports she'd prepared right after arriving.
"But I'm still handling all the grunt work, aren't I?"
Our vice warden might come off as prickly, but she was thoughtful in her own way.
Even the rough-looking guards followed her lead pretty well.
She'd mapped out the surprise inspection routes that would've taken days to prepare.
Something about the prison having fifteen dog holes...
"We found something odd during the repairs, though."
"What?"
"One of the dog holes had bloodstains. Like someone had scrambled over in a hurry and gotten hurt."
"Meaning there was an intruder last night."
I sipped the coffee as I read the location of the hole.
The moment I checked where it led...
"Guess I'll have to check it out myself."
I set aside even this modest slice of daily bliss I'd been enjoying.
"We've patched it up, but it's good to verify personally. I'll guide you."
"No need. I'll go alone."
Clea noticed my eyes sharpening with focus.
"You're heading to the second basement level connected to that hole."
"Yeah. Time to meet Prisoner Number Three, who's locked away down there."
Prisoner Number Three.
Myoran, the woman who had plunged the continent into eternal night.
Hardly anyone in this empire even knew of her.
Her name had an Eastern flair, after all—she'd come from beyond the mountain ranges.
She was called the Witch of the Moon during the cataclysm, but having played this game, I knew better.
She wasn't a spellcaster. She was more like a martial artist from the pugilistic world.
When her father, the head of their sect, was murdered, Myoran swallowed her clan's treasure—the Moonstone—and fled west.
She scraped by taking assassination contracts from Tutton Grand Duke, the crown prince's confidant.
True to his shady nature, the duke treated her harshly.
He'd pretend to pay her well while throwing her into reckless missions.
Hell, he even sold her out to the Martial Alliance that had chased her from the East all the way to the West over the Moonstone.
Betrayed in a foreign land, she snapped in rage at the world.
After that, it was straightforward.
Transformed into the Moon Spirit, she brought eternal night to the continent.
She was strong enough already, but swallowing the Moonstone—the source of yin energy—created insane synergy.
Even I, back in my Dark Lord days, couldn't have stopped her.
"I'll be off, then."
"I'll at least walk you to the dog hole."
Unlike before, Clea followed me all the way to the entrance.
Seemed like I'd earned a sliver of her trust.
A welcome change amid the tension.
On the way to the back of the prison, I asked her—the most objective person I knew.
"How's Prisoner Number Three doing these days?"
"No idea. We sealed off the second basement level two weeks ago."
"So she's just been left down there all this time?"
"No choice. The saintess could at least be interviewed, but Myoran? Impossible."
We reached the rear and checked the sturdy barrier.
Pushing aside the thick underbrush revealed a dog hole dug deliberately.
It was caked in dark red bloodstains from someone fleeing in haste.
No doubt they'd gone to the second basement and come back with horrific wounds.
"The saintess would read intruders' memories and spare anyone worth keeping alive. But Myoran? She attacks first, asks questions never."
Yeah, figures.
If Anje saw all humans as uncontrollable and wanted to puppet them...
Myoran saw every human as an enemy out to kill her.
Assassins from the East could show up any moment.
And even Tutton Grand Duke—the one she'd trusted—had abandoned her to rot in prison.
So she barricaded herself in her cell, trembling in fear.
The traces of those assassins who'd dug this hole proved it all.
Though it looked like they'd gotten the tables turned and fled...
We couldn't just leave her like this.
"Hand over the key to the second basement?"
Clea handed it over without hesitation.
Her expression serious and impassive, she said,
"If anything happens, get out immediately. I'll keep the entrance door open and wait."
"Thanks. Appreciate it."
I squeezed through the dog hole.
The assassins must've been pretty burly—I slipped in easily.
"Ngh...!!"
The tunnel connected to a steep decline.
I slid down like a playground chute and finally tumbled out.
Into the sealed second basement corridor.
"..."
Everything was bricked and barred.
True to three weeks of abandonment, all lights were out.
But maybe because I'd tapped into my Dark Lord powers via the Confession Magic recently...
One more of my past playthrough's passives had unlocked.
Thanks to it, I could make out shapes in the dark pretty well.
I lit a candle to make a lantern.
Bloodstains everywhere—a gruesome scene unfolded.
Bodies of assassins who'd approached her and died.
Left to rot for days, the stench was overpowering.
I was already missing Clea's coffee.
'Like a dungeon from a horror game.'
Myoran's cell was at the farthest end of the second basement.
The bloodstains leading there were the freshest.
A voice echoed in my head.
A low, calm, chilling whisper.
"...!!"
I whipped around.
Just flickering lantern light and old bloodstains. No one around me.
The lantern flames started snuffing out one by one.
The moment the corridor plunged back into darkness...
Something horrific stirred in the shadows.
Green eyes writhed in the dark.
I realized they were the dead assassins, reanimated.
They charged from all sides.
But this was like the secret technique I'd used in the Confession Magic.
Even without my full Dark Lord power here...
I could dodge and make it to the cell.
Air tore behind my neck.
I ducked and dove forward.
"Urgh...!!"
The vibrating blood scent on the floor made my head spin.
But the corpses' pursuit from behind came first.
Judging by the sound's volume, they were right on me.
The moment an assassin stomped heavily...
I gauged where its knee should be and kicked hard.
Krunch!!
A living assassin wouldn't have buckled.
But being a corpse, the knee joint snapped cleanly.
'What kind of prison warden am I, seriously...!!'
That got me to the cell door.
The handle was already broken from past intruders.
"Stop. I'm not an assassin here to kill you."
I shouted, panting heavily.
"I'm Derek Minster, warden of Berryhill Prison. Here as the head honcho to interview a prisoner!!"
Only then did the menacing corpses halt abruptly.
They'd already raised longswords and axes behind me.
One word later, and I'd be bisected.
"...The warden? He should've been dead by now."
The cell was as dark as the corridor.
A single small candle by the door didn't reach the far wall.
"Lucky you. If that last candle had gone out, I'd have come out and slaughtered you all."
Candle wax stains under the lantern.
Dried meat scraps by the wall.
All nearly depleted.
A little later, and the starving monster would've rampaged in a bloodbath.
"You made it here in one piece, so you're no frail corrupt official, huh?"
Footsteps approached from the dark.
Then she slowly revealed herself.
Black cheongsam hugging her pale legs caught my eye.
Along with her braided black hair and refined features.
The one major Eastern character in this world, true to form.
But now wasn't the time to admire.
What struck me wasn't her delicate beauty...
It was those jade eyes, far more decadent than mine.
If I didn't give a good reason, she'd draw the longsword at her waist.
From what I knew, Moonstone-swallowing Myoran matched the Imperial Knight Commander in swordsmanship.
"That's why I'm here. As the new warden, I want to improve your conditions."
Hey, I'd already talked down two prisoners.
"I don't know what went down with the last warden, but I'm different. I'll treat you like a human being deserves."
Her black hair framed jade eyes that gleamed faintly.
She approached slowly and looked up at me impassively.
"Same line as the last warden?"
Oh.
Damn it, the previous warden had used the exact same pitch.
"He showed up not long after saying that. Carrying tasty food."
Myoran snuffed out the last candle with a finger.
The cell went dark.
Overwhelming force shoved me back hard.
I crashed into a nearby chair.
"Then he dropped his pants right in front of me."
Purple yin energy poured from her, illuminating the cell.
"Our warden isn't that depraved, right?"
The black-haired woman loomed close, seated in the chair.
She'd already snatched the dagger from my belt.
"Why bring such a dangerous toy if not?"
Thud!!
Myoran slammed the invite dagger between my legs.
Then rested her face on my thigh, looking up pitifully.
"I don't trust sloppy thugs like you even more."
Her pale fingers toyed delicately with the dagger hilt.
She could yank it out and carve me up any second.
"So I'll keep you locked here and pick you apart bit by bit."
Myoran smiled slyly with those seductive eyes.
True to her human distrust, she was dragging me into her mire.
But.
I already knew the brutal loneliness tormenting her.
The pain of being in a strange land, trusting no one, unable to share your secrets.
She had her Eastern homeland; I had my previous world.
She had the Moonstone she couldn't show anyone; I had my regressor secret.
"Fine. Let's hang out. I'll stick around and prove it."
I mirrored her jade eyes with my own gloomy smirk.
But.
"...?"
Myoran tilted her head at my ready agreement.
Then glared with even more disgust than for the previous warden.
"Ew, gross."
She yanked her hand off the dagger.
Her desire to kill me was gone.
"..."
Now I wore the face of someone who'd seen it all.
Treated like the corrupt officials who'd groped her.
"Hey, if you don't believe me, tie my arms up or something?"
Too indignant, I held out both hands demonstratively.
That instant.
"No way... You into that kind of thing too?"
Myoran reverted to a nineteen-year-old's expression and backed away.
I'd dodged death, but it stung in a weird way.