Chapter 660 – Warning
“… What is this?”
When I handed her the white, square object, Nora asked.
“In my hometown, there is a custom of eating white food like this when you are released from prison. I remembered that, so I bought it.”
Originally, I wanted to prepare tofu, but there was no such thing as tofu in Karazu, so I bought white bread.
“Was there a city with such a custom? Thank you?”
Nora tilted her head but accepted my gift.
On the planet Zephyria, there were numerous underground cities with diverse cultures, and there was no way she would know the customs of all those cities.
“Why did this suddenly happen?”
Although it felt a bit like an afterthought, she asked to know the exact reason why Nora was captured by her military.
It’s just my guess that Nora was captured because of Sunni’s work.
In the meantime, in order to avoid unnecessary suspicion, I did not conduct any investigation into this incident and stayed quiet as if I were a dead rat, so I did not know the exact reason.
There may be circumstances different from what I expected.
“That’s…”
Nora started talking about what happened that day.
The first night of the magic stone convoy to Pantheran.
Out of nowhere, military troops stormed into the lodgings. And it is said that he was taken away without knowing why, imprisoned, and interrogated.
“… I think something happened on the Panteran side. It looks like they caught us and interrogated us to catch the culprit who did it… Looking at the uproar like this, it’s not unusual. You can see it, right?”
Nora’s story wasn’t much different from what I expected.
As expected, Sunni’s work was the starting point.
But the reason Sunni did such a thing was because of my instructions.
She felt a little guilty because she felt like she had harmed Nora unnecessarily.
“… I see. Are you okay? You weren’t tortured or anything?”
Nora’s face looks fine at first.
Still, I could feel the fatigue in her eyes that I couldn’t hide.
“Torture? Are you talking about the kind of physical torture that is shown in movies?”
“Well… Of course.”
“There is a much easier and more reliable way, so there is no need to go through that kind of torture.”
“A sure way?”
“If you touch your mind just a little, a series of statements will come out, so why do you do such useless things? Such torture is just a device for the dramatic direction of the movie.”
“Is that so? Then, were you again subjected to the same interrogation you received before coming to Karaz?”
“The intensity of mental interference was much higher than that. I was a little more tired because I was trying to protect my mind so as not to be detected, but it wasn’t serious. If you get enough sleep, you will recover quickly. You don’t have to worry.”〈 Br〉
Nora suddenly asked with a meaningful look in her eyes.
“But I don’t think you came simply to ask how I was?”
“That’s right. I want to talk about that alone.”
“Only… Two…?”
Standing behind Nora were her henchmen Evat and Peters. After thinking for a moment, Nora spoke to the two people behind her.
“Evat, Peters. Please leave the parlor for a moment.”
The two people are shocked by Nora’s instructions.
In particular, Evat’s eyes are quite impure.
“Mistress… That’s…”
“It’s okay. Please leave.”
Nora’s firm words eventually led the two to leave.
The reason I excluded them was because I judged that Nora and I were not close enough to completely reveal her true feelings.
Evatt and Peters don’t know that Nora has precognitive powers.
If Nora really trusted and relied on them, wouldn’t she have also told them about her precognitive abilities?
“If you want to ask me to participate in the convoy, you can just tell me? They said they will be escorting Maseok as normal starting next week?”
I don’t know what their intention is for restarting the magic stone convoy, but that’s not important right now.
“I’m not asking you to take me to the magic stone convoy.”
“Really? Then, what is it?”
“I plan to escape from Karaz.”
When I asked Nora if she was close enough to tell me about my escape, she was a bit vague.
However, I was concerned about the wisdom she spoke of.
She was skeptical at first, but in the end things were going as she had predicted.
And seeing that I kept my mouth shut even though I knew I was not a Zephyrian, I decided that I was a trustworthy person.
“… Huh? Escape? It’s sudden.”
“If I escape from Karaz, something like this might happen again, so I came to warn you in advance.”
“Do you know that? They say that not a single prisoner has escaped in the history of Karaz. But you’re talking as if the escape will be successful?”
“Because you will succeed.”
Nora thought about something in her confident words, and then she opened her eyes and asked, as if she had realized something.
“Huh? Surely… Do you know anything about what happened in Pantheran?”
“Well…?”
I answered vaguely.
Still, wouldn’t that have been a sufficient answer for Nora?
Nora must have felt something, but she closed her mouth again and quietly lost herself in her thoughts.
“Do you know Rebellion’s residence?”
I understand that Rebellion also left her inmate dormitory and set up a separate hideout.
They were quite capable among the inmates, so it wouldn’t have been that difficult.
I have never visited.
There was nothing to see.
However, Nora, who was secretly collecting information on Karaz, seemed likely to know Rebellion’s location.
“Rebellion? Are you going to tell them too?”
“Because we’re close enough to say goodbye before we leave.”
“… Then, I’ll attach someone to you.”
“Thank you for that.”
*
*
*
“This is Rebellion’s residence.”
The guide said, pointing to an ordinary two-story building.
“Then let’s go.”
“Good job.”
The guide greeted me curtly and left.
To be honest, I was a little worried about talking to the humans of Rebellion.
Do I need to inform them of my escape?
These are people who are at a subtle distance.
Still, if I ignored it, Kaura caught my eye.
She is a good person.
Even when I came to Karaz, he continued to take care of me. Considering the bond we’ve had so far, it seemed like the right choice to give advice.
-Thump.
I knocked on the front door.
Soon a man revealed his face. It was a cloud.
“What’s going on?”
Cloud asked bluntly at my visit.
“I came to talk about something important. What about Cowra and Claire?”
I asked, looking around the house behind Cloud.
“They are resting. If it’s important, you can talk to me.”
It was difficult from the beginning.
I didn’t think I would be welcomed, but now that the cloud is coming out like this, I feel like I want to go back.
I thought about just going back, but I thought about Cowra and held on.
“I don’t want to tell you. I trust Cowra and Claire more than you. If I can’t see their faces, I’ll just go back.”
Cloud’s eyebrows twitch at my firm attitude. He pursed his lips as if he wanted to say something, but eventually spoke with a small sigh.
“… Wait.”
Cloud gathered all the members of Rebellion. Claire, Cowra… And the big guy… What was his name… Well, that’s not important.
It looks like Cowra and Claire were sleeping because their faces were a little frizzy.
Nora’s story comes to mind.
Did you say that you had to get enough sleep for a while because you were undergoing intense interrogation that strongly interfered with your mind?
“Okay, I did as you said. What’s important to talk about?”
Cloud said, giving off an air that he wouldn’t leave you alone if you said something useless.
I didn’t want to talk to him, but it was a meaningless thought since the four people in Rebellion had a close relationship, unlike Nora’s group.
I told them that I was planning to escape from Karaz.
“What? Are you planning to escape from Karaz?! Are you out of your mind?!”
Kaura said as if she was dumbfounded after hearing my story. Besides Kaura, her people also look no different from her.
“That’s right. It’s reckless.”
“It’s ridiculous. We have no intention of taking that risk.”
Cloud even had a strange illusion.
“I’m not asking you to help me.”
“Then, what is it?”
“Well… If you really want to say it, do you mean to prepare?”
“What preparation?”
“If I succeed in escaping, there is a high possibility that the military will not leave the Karaz prisoners alone. I may face even more interrogation than this time.”
“… Is that really the price? That’s all that’s important to talk about?”
Cloud paid no heed to my warning. It means I don’t think about my chances of success at all.
It’s not that I don’t understand that reaction.
Actually, this is a normal reaction.
However, I had no intention of persuading him.
“Okay, that’s it.”
“Tsk! I wasted my time.”
Cloud clicked his tongue and spoke in disapproval.
*
*
*
〈Everyone in the neighborhood is talking about it. Are you okay? 〉
Cosmos showed little concern to me when I came out of Rebellion’s hideout.
“What do you think? What can they do if they know?”
〈 That’s right.〉
For the first time, we agreed.
In any case, even if someone who knows about my escape plan were to report it to the military, their level of response would be Karaz inmate Bark, not Archvillain Uno.
