Escape (1)
“Do you honestly believe the nation would ever tolerate something like this?”
Her face burned crimson, features twisted in disgust, laying her raw emotions bare before Wilhelm.
“I know. I know this is wrong.”
Yet Wilhelm only wore a bitter smile as he pulled out a second set of documents from inside his coat and handed them to Dana.
“I was a hero once myself. I can still tell the difference between right and wrong as a human being.”
“Then why—!”
“Because the justice that protects people and the justice that leads them are two entirely different things.”
Read it. At those words, Dana carefully unsealed the envelope Wilhelm had given her.
“This is…!”
“That page lists the exact amount of mana she produces in a single day. Someone of your level should understand exactly how much that quantity is worth.”
“…”
She did understand. Dana had studied how obscenely rich the Middle Eastern oil states had been before the mana industry took off.
Even so, the promise of a little extra cash wasn’t enough to shake her convictions.
“The next page covers the political leverage she represents. You may not swim in those waters yet, but I trust you’re not completely ignorant of them.”
“…”
Just as Wilhelm said, Dana wasn’t clueless about politics. A seat among the 5 Greats meant representing the nation’s military power; she met high officials constantly whether she wanted to or not, and she had absorbed enough political common sense to keep up.
In that sense, the second page was enough to send a small ripple through her heart.
It stated that Plea’s very existence could upend the global mana-energy market itself, and that forcibly triggering her ability into a rampage would unleash destructive power on a scale that made nuclear weapons look like firecrackers.
Still, it didn’t break her. There was a tremor, yes, but her beliefs refused to accept the idea of shoving one child into an abyss of misery for the greater happiness of the many.
“And on the final page… yes. It contains the reason she came here.”
Wilhelm’s face when he spoke of that last page looked more helpless and regretful than she had ever seen it.
When Dana opened it, she understood exactly why.
It was information so viciously, unbearably horrific that she almost wished she had never learned it.
After reading all three documents, Dana compromised with the world’s malice. She bent her convictions just enough to accept Wilhelm’s contract, then volunteered to become the girl’s teacher—if only to offer her a sliver of comfort.
That was the story of the past.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Dana let out a bitter laugh.
“It’s all hypocrisy in the end…”
Even while calling herself Plea’s teacher, Dana had prioritized Wilhelm’s contract. She had performed a few minor alterations on the girl’s body. Nothing dramatic—just stretching a five-year sentence into seven—but to Dana it was a shameful scar. Proof that the hero who was supposed to crush evil had instead compromised with it.
A humiliating wound she would carry for the rest of her life: the hero who couldn’t save one girl had shaken hands with the very malice she was meant to destroy.
Dana rose from her seat, etching that scar deeper into her heart. She still had one week left of playing the role of teacher.
They say people can share the same dream yet interpret it completely differently.
While Dana clutched her chest in agony for failing to save Plea, the girl in question was burrowed beneath the warm blankets of her private room, quietly weaving a plan that no one else in the world knew about.
It’s almost the final stage…
Just a little longer and the chance to escape this wretched research institute would arrive. But it was only a chance. One small mistake and the opportunity would vanish like smoke.
Of course she had prepared a Plan B, but… that was the absolute last resort. She would avoid using it if at all possible.
I clenched my fist tight with determination, then let my mana-extraction-weary body fall asleep.
And exactly one week later, the final day of Dana’s ability-control class arrived.
“Hello.”
“Plea! You’re here!”
When I greeted her, Dana answered with a bright, sunny smile. Seeing her look so innocent, completely unaware of what I was about to do, a pang of guilt pricked at me.
Still, I kept my poker face firmly in place and smiled right back at her.
“Shall we begin class?”
“Yes!”
The lesson was the same as always. Basic physical training followed by the usual struggle to gather mana for a fireball. As usual, the mana refused to collect and simply scattered.
Since I had expected nothing less, I wasn’t particularly disappointed. I kept training without a single complaint until the session ended.
When the time came, Dana finally called for a stop.
“Plea, shall we wrap up here for today?”
“Already?”
It was a good twenty minutes earlier than usual… Was she eager to leave early because it was the last day?
When I tilted my head, she flashed a bright grin, told me to wait, and disappeared into the storage room. She returned carrying a large bundle stuffed with something.
“What’s that?”
She unfolded the cloth with theatrical flair.
“Tada!”
“Snacks and soda?”
The bundle was packed with towering stacks of cookies, chips, and convenience-store carbonated drinks.
“Today’s the last class, so we’re having a snack party! We can’t skip it like we did the opening party on the first day, got it? This is mandatory!”
Dana hugged the snacks like they were precious treasures. The opening party I had refused was almost seven years ago, yet she still remembered. She really knew how to hold a grudge.
That aside, I had no intention of turning down a closing party. I had rejected the first one only because I wanted to grow stronger as fast as possible; it wasn’t that I was desperately clinging to something I shouldn’t.
Besides, training another thirty minutes wouldn’t suddenly skyrocket my control anyway.
“Sounds good!”
And honestly, I was craving snacks after so long.
Looks like you two are having quite the time.
“Director?”
Dana swallowed the mouthful of snacks she had been chewing and asked again.
If you’re wondering why I’m watching, it’s because nearly an hour has passed since class ended and Plea still hasn’t come out.
“It’s already been that long?”
Dana wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth and hurriedly checked her wristwatch. She had been so absorbed in our conversation that she hadn’t noticed the time. Only now did she realize class had ended over an hour ago.
She startled, glanced around, then looked at me with apologetic eyes.
“Sorry. I wanted to play with you a little longer, but time’s up…”
“It’s okay. I had a lot of fun too, you know?”
I wasn’t lying. Every story she told was genuinely interesting. When you were one of the 5 Greats, the demons you subjugated and the missions you undertook were practically heroic epics. Listening to her was like reading a first-rate short novel.
“No… I’m sorry. Really, I’m so sorry…”
For some reason Dana’s eyes suddenly filled with tears that began rolling down her cheeks.
Wait, why was she crying all of a sudden? I hadn’t done anything wrong to her. Completely lost, I looked toward the director’s speaker for help. Surely an old man with his years of experience would know how to comfort her.
Apparently the director had spent his age in the wrong place.
Oh my, so this is how one of the 5 Greats cries? How pathetic.
“Director! Why are you provoking her?!”
Little one, how often do you think you’ll get to see one of the 5 Greats bawling like this? Take a good look while you can. You won’t see a sight like this again in your lifetime.
Dana began sobbing even harder. I quickly pulled her into a tight hug and shot the speaker a sharp glare.
…And yet she still thinks she’s the good guy.
Leaving the grumbling director behind, I held Dana gently until her tears finally stopped.
“Feeling a little better now?”
“Yeah…”
Embarrassed that she had cried in my arms, Dana hid her flushed face and stood up.
“Sorry… I should get going.”
She staggered slightly as she turned to leave. Her contract was over, so she no longer had any reason to stay at the institute. But I was different.
I reached out and lightly caught her ankle.
“Plea…?”
She looked back at me, confused. I ignored her and stared straight at the speaker.
“Director.”
What is it, Plea? Dana needs to leave for the day now…
“You have violated the contract under the Ten Commandments.”
I delivered the line with a soft smile.
The director clearly had no idea what I was talking about and asked for clarification, but I stayed silent. I didn’t need to explain.
Damn it, what the hell is this…! Why is the Ten Commandments contract—!
Just from his voice I could tell how shaken he was. And I welcomed his panic with open arms.
Because I had finally seized the chance to escape this cursed cage.