A New Goal
The footsteps drew nearer, slow but relentless. Which meant right now I was desperately looking for somewhere to hide. The prison facility was so wide open, though, that there wasn't a single decent spot to conceal myself.
In the end I slipped into the cell holding the wolf monster that had charged me earlier. The iron bars were spaced wide enough that squeezing between them was easy. But the instant I invaded its territory, the wolf monster rattled its chains again and fixed me with a hard stare.
"What are you looking at, you son of a bitch?"
When I pretended to headbutt it, the wolf monster immediately looked away. It seemed it didn't want to fight anymore. I moved as deep into the cell as possible so it wouldn't spot me, then held my breath and waited. Before long, someone stepped into the prison.
At that person's arrival every monster froze. Even the occasional cries that had echoed through the halls fell completely silent. Under the faint light, the figure was unmistakable.
It was the Academy President.
His face fat quivered with every ragged breath. Sweat poured down his face like a waterfall. I couldn't believe he looked half-dead after walking such a short distance.
The Academy President took several deep breaths, then muttered in a voice that sounded almost excited.
"Right. What shall I choose today?"
The number floating above his head ticked up by one as he closed his eyes. The moment he opened them again he headed straight for the cell containing the black wolf monster—the exact cell I was hiding in—and reached for the door.
There must have been an access switch on the cell door. Just as he pressed it—
I didn't notice any switch earlier…
It wasn't just my problem. The wolf monster's face was twisted in terror; it whimpered and fidgeted helplessly. I quietly picked up a few pebbles from the floor and hurled them with all my strength into the cell across the corridor.
Clatter—!
Clang!
Most of the stones rolled across the opposite cell's floor; a few struck the iron bars. Luckily none of them hit the bars on my side. The Academy President, drawn by the noise, paused as he was about to open the door, then glanced over his shoulder.
"…Well. Sometimes a change of pace is nice."
He closed the door to my cell and waddled toward the opposite one. Then he opened that door and forced his massive body through the narrow gap.
Crisis averted.
The moment I felt a flicker of relief, I sensed a gaze on me. It was the wolf monster. Its eyes were wide as it stared at me in silence.
I whispered to it.
"Ah… guess it can't be helped. Temporary alliance, just this once."
Apparently it understood. The wolf monster obediently flattened itself to the floor. Then it shifted its huge body little by little, doing its best to hide me from view.
But the sounds that soon came from the opposite cell should never have been heard.
"Something so sad happened. Cutie finally left my arms."
Whine?
"Will you comfort me?"
Grrrrrr!!!
"You will? As expected, I can always count on you."
KYAAAAA!!!
Next came the sound of buttons popping and clothes hitting the floor, followed by several wet stroking noises. At the same time the Academy President's voice slowly filled the cell.
"Heh heh heh… you like this too, don't you? I know everything."
KYAAAAAAAAA!!!
At first it sounded like droplets falling. Then the droplets became a thin stream pouring from above. After a brief silence, wet squelching noises began to leak from the cell. The squelching gradually sped up, turning into rhythmic slapping sounds.
I doubted my ears at first, but the noises that followed proved I wasn't imagining it.
"Huff… huff… tell me the truth!! You like this too, right?!"
KKYYYYYEEEEEEEK!!!!
Yes. It was the sound of flesh slapping against flesh.
Goddamn it, that fucking insane pervert President.
I clamped my hands over my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. Even though I couldn't see the opposite cell, the nightmare played out vividly in my mind as I prayed for this hell to end quickly.
Then the Academy President's booming voice echoed through the entire prison.
"Give birth!!! To my child!!!"
GRAAAAAHHH!!!!!
Ugh… sorry, little buddy.
Silence returned. In that quiet the only sound was the Academy President. After finishing his business he waddled out, huffing and puffing, then adjusted his clothes while looking around at every cell.
"Take care, my sweeties. I'll come visit again soon."
With those words he turned his massive body and shuffled away. From far off I heard him grumbling.
"Next time I really should build a shower room here…"
Once enough time had passed that I was sure he wouldn't return, the nausea hit me like a truck. I couldn't hold it back. I staggered to the corner and dry-heaved.
"Urrrrghhh."
The lunch I'd eaten had already been digested; all that came up was the sour taste of stomach acid. Meanwhile the wolf monster's gaze toward me had changed. There was pity in its eyes. And desperation.
I forced myself to ignore that look, left the cell, and tried to head back. As if on cue, the monsters began to cry sorrowfully. Their mournful howls merged into a single dirge that stopped me in my tracks.
In the end I turned around and shouted loud enough for the whole prison to hear.
"I'll definitely come back for you someday! Wait for me! Just wait!"
Then I sprinted toward the secret passage exit.
This secret passage led to a place where human malice had coagulated. It was the path to the hideous space created by that bastard President. That's right—this was the breeding pen where he kept his sex slaves locked away. I had no choice but to flee as if my life depended on it.
The one who greeted me after I burst out of the secret passage was the Lizard Beastman. She noticed my arrival and turned her gaze toward me. I approached her and spoke.
"You knew?"
"…Yes."
"Then why didn't you do anything?"
"……My family is being held hostage."
The Lizard Beastman simply let out a long sigh. The sound overlapped in my mind with the sorrowful cries I'd heard from the breeding pen earlier.
"At first the President committed his crimes against the secretaries."
"Oh. So you were a victim too. Shit."
"But his perversions grew worse and worse until he created a place like that."
"……Are you going to report my intrusion to him today?"
"No. I will not report it. Instead—"
"Instead?"
The Lizard Beastman looked at me with determined eyes and said,
"Shin-woo, I'm begging you. Will you put an end to this insane academy?"
"The Academy is a national institution… that would be an act of terrorism."
"Rotten parts must be cut away. If you just close the lid, it will only fester."
"But I don't have any real power… I'm just a regular student…"
At that moment the Lizard Beastman held out her fist. Her eyes burned with fierce longing.
"Shin-woo… please destroy the Academy for everyone's sake."
Aah. Fire Punch, so this is what it felt like.
I clenched my own fist tightly and bumped it against hers.
"I'll… become the protagonist."
It was the moment a new objective was set.
I would demolish the Academy. And I would save everyone.
The Lizard Beastman's work was thorough. She had hidden the shoes we'd reported wearing and the clothes we'd scattered, and she'd even sprayed deodorizer just in case. She erased every trace so perfectly that not even the slightest hint of someone using the bathroom remained. The President's pathetic brain would never notice an intruder.
"Shin-woo, I have to meet Dad tomorrow so I can't come. Just so you know."
"Husband! I also have to focus on coins tomorrow, so I can't come!"
"Young master. This lady has somewhere to be tomorrow as well."
After the Lizard Beastman finished speaking, I took the rest of the group and we began descending the mountain. Of course I glossed over what had been inside the secret passage. The human instinct of 'This kind of fucked-up shit shouldn't exist. But if I've seen it, no one else gets to look away' squirmed inside my heart. Still, I couldn't drag the novel's heroines down into misery with me. Misery was something I could bear alone.
It took longer than expected. By the time we completely left the mountain it was already dark. We split up appropriately and returned to our respective dorms.
The moment I arrived at the dorm, Piece spoke to me carefully.
Well, there is one guy who already ruined it with his dick.
I skipped dinner, washed up, and immediately lay down in bed. After what I'd witnessed earlier, I had zero appetite. Just as I closed my eyes to sleep, Piece spoke again.
"They can be considered evil. But it's fine."
I'm already used to playing the villain.