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Punishment Cell Tour
Back in my room alone, I gathered my thoughts. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
I have been trying all sorts of things earlier, but there is no sign that my body is becoming muscular. Then I remembered what Jusa had explained to me before.
Magic is a technique that was written on stone tablets that fell down on Chireem island around 1000 years ago. However, many of them were lost during the subsequent war between various countries. Therefore, a properly written magic book is extremely expensive.
Furthermore, when it comes to using the actual magic, there are all sorts of necessary clever solutions since humans have almost no mana. That’s why you need to be highly skilled, gather a group of people, take plenty of time for the ritual, or use catalysts like tools and reagents, otherwise it will not work. It is not as simple as casting a spell.
That’s right.
I had just stolen the Physical Enhancement Magic skill. But the memory of using it did not come along with it.
Thinking carefully, it was obviously a miscalculation on my part. I thought I could immediately use the skill if I just stole it, but that should not be the case. To put it simply, it is virtually impossible to cook delicious food with ingredients or recipes you have never tried, no matter how good you are at cooking. There had not been any issues on that part since I have only used insects as my experimental target.
In short, I’m currently in a very strange situation. I only have the experience in Physical Enhancement Magic from the skill itself, but not the knowledge. So, what should I do now? I stole the skill at such great pain, could it be that it has no meaning?
No, that is not the case. In other words, I can use it smoothly without practice if I have the knowledge. Even when chanting the same spell, the ordinary people will have to do it after practicing hundreds of time, while I can do it in one try. So what I need to do right now is to acquire the knowledge.
That means the answer is to ask Iric to teach me. And that is impossible. There is no reason for him to teach me knowledge about magic.
What other method is there? Spend a lot of money to but magic book? That is also a good idea, but it depends on luck whether you can find something that describes the correct method. So as expected, it is still best for Iric to disclose it.
……disclose it?
I see.
As far as I’m concerned, anything goes as long as I can learn it from him. Regardless of the other party’s reason, as long as he could meet my demands, that is all that matters.
This will be my last resort, but I have a weapon that can threaten them. Shall I use the power of Piercing Hand to erase an animal right in front of their eyes? ‘I can do the same thing to you, so you better tell me everything’, something like that?
However, there were problems with this method. If Iric discovers the secret of Piercing Hand. And if he talked about it everywhere.....so, should I just kill him here? Find out everything I needed to know and then took over his body and quickly disposed of it. Just like with Punos, if I cut off my soul from the physical body, the corpse would fall over on the spot.
……no, that’s not good.
I try thinking in Iric’s shoes. He is a criminal slave. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Being a criminal slave was the worst condition one could possibly imagine. Even if the life of a skilled slave - whose immediately usable skills were only valued in the moment - could not be said to be a bright one, they still had the chance to buy their freedom back, and there was also the possibility of being favored by the master. However, criminal slaves absolutely had no such opportunities. Not only that, even if they had certain skills, for example, in the end they had no social credibility at all and would not be assigned any important job.
And if one thought of where they would go, it would be the mine if it were a man. Or continuing to cut lumber deep in the mountains. Rigorous physical labor that anyone could do and was tough for anyone would be thrown at them. And because they were not treated with care, they would die in several months, but that is not a problem. Although there were not a lot of methods to use them if they were women, they could be trained to be a disposable prostitute if they were still young. Or, they may be bought by nobles with abnormal fetishes and tortured to death. A criminal slave’s master is free to kill their slaves whenever and wherever they want.
He was in that position right now. So, he would not feel threatened at all if someone were to say they would kill him. Not to mention his secret, the knowledge of Physical Enhancement Magic. If it were known that he was the one who tore off the guard’s arm and helped the bandits escape, becoming a slave would be the least of his problems.
I see. He would soon die after all, so perhaps that was the reason he had such an attitude. Suddenly kicking me.....huh?
That’s strange?
The 3 of them, I felt like they looked extremely calm. Indeed, there was no point in trying to take the mood of the slave trader taking over the responsibility of selling you.....so it was not strange for them to act violently or do anything they want. But still, could they become defiant like that? That was a bit too reckless, wasn't it? If they could spend their remaining years as criminal slaves with such an honorable character, why would they become bandits in the first place?
No, that was not the case. I see.....I think all the puzzle pieces are coming together.
Those 3 were planning on using the Physical Enhancement Magic to shake free from their restraints and escape.
Of course, I realized the possibility that Iric might run away the moment I checked his skill. But the 2 people standing next to him knew about his special skill.
So, this became a bargaining chip. ‘You guys are planning to escape, aren’t you? You'd better teach me the trick of using magic if you don’t want me to expose you.....’
Ah, but. Magic was not something that could be done with just one spell. Iric had certainly repeatedly trained himself in magic and had the knowledge about magic, but that alone may not be enough to tear off the iron chains. Should we gather a lot of people to perform a magic ritual or use magic tools?
The former was impossible to do. But what about the latter? If he was confident in escaping from this place, then naturally, he must be carrying the catalyst to do so.
……yosh, I’ve got it figured out.
There are only 5 days left until the auction, including today. So, maybe I might not get important information, but it is still worth a try.
Only, some things need to be overcome to do that.....
The room door opened with a bang.
「Ou, Noor. Are you alright? It’s meal time, y’know?」
It’s Wyst. He did not look to be that worried despite asking whether I am okay or not. Well, the violence from Myluc the other day was many times worse. A kick with one’s toes like that does not really hurt too much.
「Meal, huh…..」
「Hm? Yeah? It’s meal time?」
「Meal...right」
「Is something wrong?」
It was a bit forceful, but this was the only way.
「A, aah, it’s nothing. Meal time, right. Meal. Let’s eat.」
And after dinner.
In the darkened courtyard, Jusa rejected my suggestion. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「You don’t have to do something like that. What if you get kicked again?」
I asked that I want to take care of the 3 criminal slaves, and offered to bring their food first, but as expected, it was rejected.
Was it difficult from the point of view of a young boy slave who is about to be auctioned off? What if they suddenly went violent and I got something like a scar on my face? It would be good if it recovers someday, but it would truly be unbearable to look at if it leaves a lasting scar. Of course, I had no plan on making that sort of mistake this time.
「Besides, although I don’t think you would do something like this but....you also can’t do something to them if it’s because you want to pay them back for what was done to you before. Those people are indeed scums, but they are still criminal slaves entrusted to us by the country. It will be one thing if they escape but if you hurt them or kill them by mistake, we have to compensate them. Even Myluc will lose his reputation」
It was too obvious. What to do. Jusa was saying all that for my sake. Although there were circumstances, he was worried about me first.
What would be a good ground to persuade him, I wonder?
「That’s not what I mean」
I lowered my tone and looked down
「That’s.....I’m worried」
「Worried?」
Jusa raised his eyebrow and urged me to continue talking.
「Look, I, I’ve been here all this time. We went outside recently but that was only for a picnic so.....I’m actually scared if I can properly go outside and interact with people」
I tried acting as the weak kid, but Jusa just leaned back on his chair and started laughing.
「Ha! You? You’re saying that someone so mature, a 5-year-old kid who helps a merchant like a pro, would suddenly turn into a normal kid the moment he left this place? Isn’t that a funny joke?」
Guhh.
But, I can’t lose here.
「I know you may think like that, but that is, look, everyone has mostly been nice. And also, there are people who don’t want to get along with you or scary people in the outside world. And besides, I have always been doing nice jobs here......so, I want to practice if I can still talk properly in such a situation」
「Even adults can’t do that, y’know. A scum’s a scum, no matter where you g,o you can’t even have a proper conversation with them. That’s normal」
「That may be true, but.....」
I knew it, my reasonings were to weak.
But, I can’t retreat.
「Hmーm.....well, I don’t get what goes on in your head. I wonder if it’s a bad thing to be too smart? Won’t you die too young if you worry about everything all the time?」
Jusa said with a grin while getting up from his chair. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「But, if you say that much, then you can come with me 」
What to do now?
I won’t be able to talk carelessly if Jusa is coming with me. But at any rate, being able to enter the room makes a huge difference. Even if I can not take his knowledge of magic, there is still an opportunity to take their skills.
「Really? Thank you very much!」
I proceeded down the west hallway. Just below the toilet and garbage dump. Since it was prohibited to move between floors at night in this housing facility, there were restrooms on each floor. All the waste flows along the stone channels by the walls and ends up falling down to the first floor.
But the punishment cells installed here were toilets.
First, there was a large and heavy iron door in front of the punishment cell. There was a horizontal iron bar as a bolt on the outside, and it could not be opened from the inside by extending it from the door side to the wall side. To get inside from the outside, you have to push it open just like any other room, and you have to pull it if you want to go outside.
The inside was long and narrow. Both sides of the room were covered with a thick stone wall. And on the wall at the end of the room were 4 sturdy iron rings. These were then connected by the chains to the shackles fastened to the prisoner’s hand and feet. It was not very long, and unless you removed it, the prisoners would be unable to even touch the door. In fact, it was impossible to even lie down here.
So how do you do ‘it’, well, you could only sit on the crude western-style toilet installed at the end of the wall of the room. So whether asleep or awake, that was the prisoners’ usual spot. The waste was discharged directly from there. Just like a toilet. Incidentally, the toilet had no lid.
Based on this structure, the cold winter air would blow in, and the humid summer air would fill the room. Furthermore, there is always a foul smell in the air.
「But y’know, this is not something a kid should watch」
Jusa was complaining and kept dragging his feet while saying he would take me along. It’s understandable, but to me, it was pointless to think whether this was a bad teaching or not at this point. I had experienced killing a person a long time ago, let alone torture, but he did not know that.
The door opened with an unpleasant sound of metal scraping.
「I brought your meal」
I nervously stepped forward with the tray in my hand while saying that. It was dark inside the cell. There was technically a tiny window at the top of the cell, but it seemed like even a small bird could not sneak in through there. I probably would not be able to see anything if Jusa were not holding a lantern behind me.
「Seriously, oi!?」
The one who yelled that was Motus. A thug with a coarse-looking face.
「How can you eat in such a smelly place? Get us out of here」
「Don’t mess around」
Jusa spoke shortly and sharply.
「We might have considered it if you had a better attitude. No way we’ll let a guy who suddenly kicks a kid outside」
「Kehh, damn frog face」
I quietly approached but this guy tried to kick me again. But of course, this time I step back and avoid it.
「Oi」
Jusa’s expression changed. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Heh」
However, Motus smiled with contempt.
「Go ahead and try if you can. Oi, you understand, right? You’re going to sell me off and hand over the money to those idiots, acting as if they were the victims, right? My price will go down if I get injured, ya’know?」
「What....?
This composure. I knew it.....
Now, let’s check to make sure.
「So, umm, Motus-san, the meal.....」
「I don’t want it! Shitty brat! Get the fuck out of my face!」
I bowed, took the tray with me, and left.
「I told you, right?」
Jusa told me just as we left the first door.
「Those people, you can’t even talk to them」
「We still don’t know yet, there are still 2 of them」
This pretty much confirmed that things went just as I expected.
Motus said he did not need any food. But, they will be here for 4 days. And as expected, you will end up dead without eating food for a long time. What would they plan to do if they can not get the meal from next time on? Certainly, Myluc has the obligation to attend the auction, but even so, if it comes to allowing them to escape, then it would be better to kill them instead.
This meant, I think, they will be able to escape from here, perhaps even tonight.
The second door creaked open with *giigii*.
「I brought your meal……」
「Just leave it. Rather than that, do you have liquor?」
A woman’s voice interrupted before I could finish.
「You guys have some hobbies, don’t you? You threw me into this kind of place where shit just flows everywhere, huh? Look, I don’t even wear underwear. What a great service from you」
Hearing that, as expected, even I and Jusa looked away.
「So? Who is my partner tonight? Is it that frog over there? Or that brat? I’ll let you thrust it in so hurry up」
「He said, we brought your meal」
Jusa finally said in a subdued tone.
「Haa? I don’t need it, such a cheap porridge! Just flush down that kind of shit to the drainage between my crotch」
This woman too, huh?
Well, certainly you will not have an appetite in such a smelly place, and it’s not like I don’t understand but.....maybe that is not the reason. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Let’s go, Noor」
Jusa turned around, I followed behind him, and we left the room.
After pushing open the third door, a thin, listless man was lying there.
「I brought your meal」
「Me, al…? Aah, just leave it there」
Saying that, he slowly waved his hand, looking to be in a bad condition.
「Umm, are you feeling unwell?」
「Ahー……I’ve been jostled around in the carriage the whole time ,and I feel sick now that we’re in such a dirty place 」
Iric grumbled with a grimace.
「That’s because your attitude at the start was just too bad」
「Aah」
He grimaced at Jusa’s remark.
「Speaking of, you’re the kid from that time」
He stared at me for the first time. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Sorry. I was a little irritable」
「No, don’t worry about it」
We could establish a conversation for the first time. Although it’s just a small talk.
This, it might be possible.
「Um, Iric-san, are you perhaps a Celiphasian?」
「Hm? Ah, yeah, that’s right, I am」
We could somehow communicate with each other although his Fores language was not that good.
「I, I like history. Someday, I would like to try the famous noodle dish the Emperor Arden likes in the holy land of food in the western capital」
「Ah, oh, that, that’s indeed famous」
「I’ve never gone out of here. If it’s okay with you, just a bit, can you tell me about Seripasia?
」
I tried pleading with shining eyes.
Although no one would think my eyes are shining in a different way.
「A, yeahー...sure, that’s fine. Only.....」
Iric spoke in a hoarse voice while looking sluggish.
「I’m tired today. Tomorrow, I can tell you tomorrow. Right.....I’m not good in the morning so it’d be great if you could come a little later」
「Then, maybe during breakfast」
「Yeah, that’s fine」
An empty promise. He probably planned to do that, but it would surely not go his way.
「Then, you seem tired so I shouldn’t stay longer. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll call it a night」
「Ahー...what a well-behaved kid, truly a good kid. Good night, and see you tomorrow」
After the door was closed, I turned to Jusa with a satisfied smile on my face.
「There was someone we could talk to!」
「Ah……um, yeah, well」
「Tomorrow, I can deliver his breakfast, right?」
「Hmーm.....well, it’s fine, but don’t get too close, alright?」
This is great.
It’s fine, Iric can’t escape. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
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