Kimberly went to the warden’s office every day, but still couldn’t find the blueprint.
This self-proclaimed world-class spy had a critical flaw as a spy, which was that she couldn’t read characters.
Nevertheless, Kimberly diligently investigated and reported on Warden Blackberry’s activities, which proved to be quite useful.
“That fat guy will come to see Fuyu at the beginning of the week.”
Occasionally, the warden would come to inquire about Ms. Fuyu’s well-being, as If he remembered her.
During such times, I would always find myself unable to talk to Fuyu as usual, but so far, there hadn’t been any significant issues.
“Don’t worry, he hasn’t noticed the relationship between Barton and Ms. Fuyu. He’s too occupied with money-making and affairs with his secretary. It seems the warden has no place for a family, as he complains while indulging in his secretary’s bosom.”
“I don’t need to hear that kind of information…”
“But you know, the secretary’s eyes are so cold when he’s sucking on her bosom. It seems she receives a monthly allowance of 100,000 gils, but you just can’t buy love with money.”
Mrs. Abbott must be earning nearly five times my salary…
Even so, the business of being a mistress doesn’t seem like a happy one.
During Prince Akeem’s inspection, a large amount of opium was confiscated, but within the prison, a new drug is gaining popularity.
They call it “White Magic”.
As Professor Mephisto peered into a test tube in the infirmary, he grinned and lifted his head.
“It seems like they’ve refined opium to create this drug. My my, those underground gangs are the real deal, to actually create something like this.”
“Don’t look so pleased. Anyway, how is it compared to the previous version?”
“With the increased purity, it seems to have a stronger effect. We won’t know for sure until we try it…”
“Don’t say foolish things.”
Professor Mephisto was serious about it, which was bad.
This drug was confiscated from a certain prisoner, but it appears to be distributed by Pulppua’s group.
Yes, it’s that Elf who seems to be the true culprit behind Ketch’s murder.
They’ve rapidly expanded their influence recently, and it seems White Magic is behind it.
With such high purity, it likely comes with a higher degree of dependency.
“We should consider consulting the warden and conducting another inspection.”
“No, no, that won’t work. If we handle it carelessly, the guards’ families will be targeted.”
The scary thing about underground organizations was that they reached out their hands even outside the prison.
Nevertheless, I was an orphan with no one else to rely on, and Ms. Fuyu was the only one that mattered.
No matter who they were, I could at least find solace in knowing that Ms. Fuyu was off-limits.
But just because of that, I couldn’t join the efforts to destroy the organization. I was preoccupied with planning the prison break at the moment.
“Well, there’s no other choice. For now, I’ll submit this to the warden.”
As I lifted the test tube containing White Magic, Professor Mephisto looked up at me with a strained smile. “Could you leave a little bit of it? For research purposes…”
“No, that’s not possible. Professor, please take care of yourself a bit more.”
“That kindness of yours is nothing but torture…”
“It’s the whip of love, you know.”
It was said that physicians had unhealthy habits, and Professor Mephisto was the epitome of that.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Feeling uneasy, I glanced into the storage area under the stairs, where several prisoners were gathering. Among them stood the infamous Pulppua.
“What are you all doing here?” I asked.
“Huh? It’s none of the guards’ business,”
Pulppua retorted, staring me down as if he didn’t fear the prison guards at all. However, one of his companions quickly intervened.
“Hey, drop it. This guy is the Prison Wolf.”
Upon hearing my nickname, Pulppua’s eyes narrowed, and he gave me a scrutinizing look.
“Oh, so you’re the famous Wolf, huh? The one who took care of that Ketch guy?”
“I heard it was you who took care of him, not me…”
When confronted as the murderer of Ketch, Pulppua’s narrow eyes squinted even further, but it was a momentary reaction.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
There was no evidence anyway.
I had no intention of pursuing the truth here; it would be pointless even if I did. What bothered me more was what these guys were up to.
If they were secretly smoking opium cigars, I’d be able to tell by the smell, but there was no sign of that.
As I looked closely in the dim room, I noticed a cowering dwarf behind the four elves. The elves were tall, and the dwarf’s short stature made him hard to spot. Could he have been a victim of bullying?
“Alright, enough lingering around. Get back to your cells.”
The prisoners left in silence, but I stopped the dwarf, who seemed to be the last one to leave.
“Prisoner No. 638, stay here. I have something to discuss with you.”
The dwarf I called obediently followed, but Pulppua showed a slight resistance at first.
However, he seemed to give up after his companions stopped him…
Although everyone knew that intimidation and bribes wouldn’t work on me, Pulppua, being new here, didn’t seem to fully grasp the situation yet.
Once Pulppua and the others were out of sight, I focused my attention on the dwarf.
Number 638, whose name was Gantz and appeared to be around 30 years old, was a blacksmith who got imprisoned after a brawl in a tavern.
At first glance, Gantz didn’t seem to have any visible injuries, so it appeared he hadn’t been subjected to violence.
However, his complexion was strangely pale, and he was sweating profusely.
Perhaps he had been threatened in some way.
“Gantz, what happened?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, really…”
Gantz avoided my gaze and didn’t attempt to look at me.
“If you’re being threatened, it might be better to speak up. I might be able to help somehow.”
“That’s not it, sir. It’s just some casual small talk.”
It was evident that he was hiding something, but no matter how much I probed, he didn’t seem willing to confide.
“Can I go now? It’s almost time for assembly?”
“Sure.”
Gantz lowered his head and hurriedly left the equipment storage area.
As I watched his departing figure, Kimberly, who had been hiding in my collar, peered out.
“That guy is definitely lying.”
“Yeah.”
“Should I keep an eye on him?”
“It would be helpful if you could, but aren’t you preoccupied with the warden’s office?”
“Well, you know, I couldn’t find any documents, and the warden is a pervert. I’ve just had enough.”
Fairies are said to have fickle personalities. It seems she was already fed up with searching the warden’s office.
“What do you mean by a pervert?”
“That guy loves playing baby games.”
“Huh?”
“A grown man, shouting ‘Mommy, Mommy’ while doing those things. It’s so cringy and painful to watch.”
That was brutal…
I started to feel guilty about sending Kimberly to the warden’s office.
“On the other hand, monitoring that prisoner should be a piece of cake. Leave it to me,”
“Alright, I appreciate it. Thanks.”
“Hehe, just imagine we’re on a super-gigantic fortress ship and leave it to me!”
Kimberly vanished and followed after Prisoner No. 638.
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