Fuyu Sagara’s memories of her homeland were hazy, yet she could still recall fragments of her past.
It had been sixteen years since she was born as the princess of the governor of Asuka, a country that protects the west, and she had been raised from a young age to believe that she was the guardian of a different world and would eventually be summoned there.
She had no complaints about that, as she had been taught that it was the duty and destiny of a samurai princess.
Despite the challenges that came with her upbringing, Fuyu had grown to believe that her true calling was to rid the world of demons and free people from their suffering.
Thus, she had dedicated her entire life to training for battle and never once engaged in frivolous activities like playing with children her own age or enjoying popular music.
In essence, her home had been devoid of warmth, a place meant for a child destined to be summoned to another world upon reaching adulthood.
As per the agreement with the gods, it was the duty of Asuka to offer the samurai princess as a summoned hero in another world, and in doing so, the country would receive divine protection.
Naturally, she had never experienced love.
Suddenly, a faint sound interrupted Fuyo’s contemplations.
One of the abilities bestowed upon the hero, “presence detection” had been sealed, but prolonged imprisonment had sharpened her senses.
Although she could not yet see them, she knew that two individuals were approaching. Based on their footsteps, she recognized one as Warden Blackberry, but the other did not seem to be the usual woman who always seemed to accompany him, Abbott.
“Allow me to introduce him. He is the new guard who will be taking care of your daily needs from today onwards,” Blackberry announced, bringing in the new guard.
However, Fuyo feigned disinterest and remained motionless.
Although she could no longer use most of her offensive abilities, she was still able to use appraisal magic. So, she decided to appraise the new guard, who introduced himself as Barton Wolf.
Name: Barton Wolf
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Weapons Proficiency : Spear, sword
Usable magic: None
Combat Rating: B+
Special skills: Scroll master. By writing magical incantations using special ink on paper or other materials, he can create various magic scrolls.
Personality rating: A
Faith rank: B-
Criminal record: None
Additional notes: Born as the illegitimate child of a noble. Basically a good person but has a slightly strong sense of curiosity. He acquired the skills of a butler. His hobby is reading. He is fluent in the celestial language. He is a virgin.
After looking at Barton’s appraisal, Fuyu breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
This new guard seemed like a decent person.
The previous three were all individuals with devilish pasts, and even the warden Blackberry, who had no criminal record, was a lecherous person who treated his secretary as a lover.
That secretary, who was called Abbot, was originally the wife of a certain prisoner, but when she came to visit her husband, she caught the warden’s eye and became his lover.
Apparently, it was because she was tired of poverty.
While everyone has their own circumstances, it was an unacceptable behavior for Fuyu, who values chastity.
For the past ten days since the third guard who tried to humiliate her was killed, the warden Blackberry and his secretary Abbot had been taking care of her, but it seemed that this situation would finally come to an end.
Fuyu felt that she could finally lead a peaceful prison life.
♢♢♢♢♢♢♢
Five hectic days went by, and I gradually got used to my job as a prison guard.
Although I had a special mission to monitor the former hero, I was not exempt from my other duties, and my busy days continued.
Amidst such a life, I also learned how to accept bribes and maneuver around the prison. Even though I called them bribes, they were not much, ranging from 200 to 2000 gils, earned by doing things like writing letters or running errands for the prisoners.
I heard that some guards apparently make much more by resorting to shady means, like extracting significant sums of money from the prisoners’ relatives. However, I have not sunk that low.
At most, I procure liquor and tobacco and sell them slightly above market price. In rare cases, I even fulfilled unusual requests, such as bringing ore to a dwarf prisoner.
It seemed like he found comfort in touching minerals.
Initially, I had no idea where to find such ore. But after some searching, I managed to procure a beautiful crystal of yellow copper ore, which delighted the dwarf beyond measure.
Although the profits from such transactions were meager, they seemed to add up to about 20,000 gils a month, which was a significant amount for a sixth-class official like me.
It made me feel like I was getting my hands dirty, but my salary alone wasn’t enough to cover basic necessities.
The current season was autumn, which was the most pleasant time of the year to spend in the prison. However, winter was approaching, and the stone building I lived in would undoubtedly be freezing.
While a straw mattress was provided for the bed, I had to supply my own blankets. It would cost me at least 30,000 gil to buy two decent blankets.
I realized that if I focused solely on justice without taking any bribes, I could end up getting pneumonia from the cold and dying.
But as miserable as my situation was, I couldn’t allow myself to indulge in self-pity.
Drawing the line between justice and self-preservation was difficult, but I did my best to avoid becoming a heinous criminal by adhering to my own set of rules.
In such an abnormal situation, I found myself looking forward to seeing Fuyu Sagara without even realizing it.
In this dump-like place, she seemed like an exceptional and pure presence.
“Good morning. I brought your breakfast.”
I tried to get the attention of the hero, but as usual, there came no response.
It had been five days since I started taking care of her, but I still hadn’t heard her voice. She sat on the bed with her knees folded, gazing straight ahead, just like always.
She never touched the meal in front of her when I was around.
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