After finishing work, I started creating a new magic scroll in my room.
Next to me, Kimberly was munching on a piece of bread and frowning.
“And that’s how it is. Even the top royalty are despicable bastards. It’s only natural for this world to be a shitty world!” She angrily exclaimed.
“Hey, keep your voice down,”
It would be disastrous if someone overheard us badmouthing the royalty.
“Oh, what’s this? Barton, don’t you feel any desire to aid Fuyu after hearing everything? You’ve certainly grown colder ever since you climbed the ranks to become a high-ranking official!”
“Being a sixth-class official hardly qualifies as ‘high-ranking,’”
In reality, I was a lower-ranking official.
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your attitude, Barton.”
Just like Kimberly, I, too, felt anger towards the royalty and sympathy for the hero’s plight.
In fact, I was more than just indignant.
But what can I do?
Helping the hero means becoming a criminal in the eyes of the entire country.
I still didn’t have the resolve to do that.
This was wholly different from removing the latch on the small cage where Kimberly was confined.
However, it was quite surprising to discover that the hero had been involved in the mysterious death of the crown prince from four years ago.
According to the official statement, the crown prince had died from an illness.
“Barton, are you even listening?”
Kimberly continued to complain, fluttering around me.
Her incessant chatter made it impossible for me to concentrate on the magic scroll.
“I understand. In that case, Kimberly, why don’t you come up with an escape plan? As an authoritative figure of the fairy world, I’m sure you can come up with a perfect plan. I’ll leave it to you.”
“……Y-Yeah! Leave it to me. I’ll come up with an escape plan that will be talked about for centuries to come!”
Finally, things quieted down. I could finally focus on writing the magic scroll.
But before I knew it, my hand holding the pen stopped moving, and I found myself contemplating how to sneak the hero out of her cell.
Honestly, I wonder what I am even thinking…
In the early morning, I felt a slight movement near my chin, and to my surprise, Kimberly had snuggled inside the blanket.
It seemed that I had fallen asleep last night while contemplating the plan for the hero’s escape.
Autumn was coming to an end, and the leaves of the roadside trees had turned a vibrant shade of red, littering the roads.
This morning might be the coldest of the season so far.
Since today was the day I had to supervise the road paving work, I would need a coat in this chilly weather.
After finishing breakfast, we gathered the twenty prisoners and chained them together before loading them onto a wagon.
We were heading to the East End of Londia City to carry out the road paving work there.
The plan was to remove withered weeds, clear obstructive stones, and create the foundation of the cobblestone road using wooden mallets to compact the soil.
The actual process of laying the stones on the compacted soil would be handled by specialized contractors, while the prisoners were assigned to the preliminary stages of the work.
I disliked outdoor tasks like this because we had to be cautious about the prisoners trying to escape and ensure the smooth progress of the work.
With only Peter and me supervising twenty individuals, it brought more worries and responsibilities than usual.
However, for the prisoners, the labor might be difficult, but it was still better than being confined in the prison. Some of them even wore slightly brighter expressions.
The prison warden actively participated in this project, as he received payments from the contracting company.
When the prison gates swung open, five wagons carrying the prisoners set off.
With over a hundred prisoners emerging all at once, the passersby watched the wagons as if witnessing a parade.
Meanwhile, the prisoners themselves scanned the onlookers, their eyes wide, eagerly searching for familiar faces. If they spotted someone they knew, they would wave or even call out to them.
Leave a Reply