Volume 9: Tangle-Tan Chapter 4

Released:

The Clave Trading Company’s delivery wagon pulled up three days later, as per schedule.

Interestingly enough, laundry soap was a recurring item on the delivery list. 

This was due to the greed of Warden Blackberry, who ran a laundry side business using prisoners.

Since labor costs were nonexistent, it seemed like quite a profitable endeavor.

This circumstance, however, created an opening for unscrupulous individuals like Pulppua to exploit.

I feigned being ill and took the day off from work.

Naturally, my intention was to closely observe Pulppua and secure the Tangle-Tan file.

The supplies destined for Alban Prison underwent passage through two heavily guarded gates before finally reaching the delivery area.

Upon being offloaded from the wagon, the cargo was then transported by the hands of the prisoners themselves.

The responsibility of overseeing the laundry operation and conveying the laundry soap fell to Pulppua’s group.

My colleague Event was supposed to be overseeing things, but it seemed he was well bribed as he hardly conducted any checks.

Rumors circulated that he had recently become entangled with a young elf lover.

Presumably, this woman had ties to Pulppua and held influence over him.

After Event and his subordinate, Roan, left the laundry room, two burly men emerged, positioning themselves to block the entrance.

These guys must be the lookouts.

Without a doubt, they had been instructed to obstruct anyone else, be it other prisoners or guards, who might approach.

I adopted an air of nonchalance and strolled down the corridor.

The body-strengthening magic scroll had already been activated.

The lookout who recognized me let out a loud cough.

“What’s wrong? Caught a cold?”

Although I knew he had signaled the others inside, I feigned ignorance and inquired.

“Well, you know, it’s been getting colder lately…”

The man muttered some feeble excuse.

“Hmm…”

While casually twirling the baton, I entered the laundry room, giving off the appearance of a routine patrol.

The humidity was still as stifling as ever, casting a dimness throughout the room.

Inside, along with Pulppua, were three other prisoners.

That makes a total of six of them…

It’s a bit more than I anticipated, but I have no choice.

If I miss this opportunity, apprehending them will become increasingly difficult.

Finding the Tangle-Tan file will also become a daunting task.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Mister Wolf. A patrol today, I presume?” Pulppua approached, his demeanor tense.

“Yeah, what are you all up to? There shouldn’t be any laundry tasks scheduled for today,” I inquired.

“We received a delivery of powdered soap, so we were just bringing it in. Until a moment ago, Mister Event was overseeing,” Pulppua explained.

“I see. Seems like the work is already done.”

“Yeah, we’re all done.”

Upon inspecting the stacked bags of powdered soap, I noticed that one of the bags had its opening tampered with, causing a small amount of its contents to spill onto the floor.

In the dimly lit room, the contrast between the white powder and the black floor made the spillage quite conspicuous.

Had Pulppua and his underlings already collected whatever they’d brought in?

I took a deep breath.

“Everyone, turn around and put your hands on the wall!”

“What are you talking about?” Pulppua’s face betrayed a hint of anxiety.

“Your behavior seems rather suspicious. I’m going to conduct a body search now. Just as I said, put your hands on the wall.” 

His subordinates seemed unsure of what to do, but Pulppua was the only one who never took his gaze off me.

“What do you mean by that? What have we done?” 

“You know exactly what I mean. You’ve concealed White Magic within those bags of powdered soap, intending to bring them into Alban Prison, haven’t you?”

I chose not to dwell on the matter of the file.

“Tch, block the exit!”

As if prompted by Pulppua’s command, the two lookouts stationed there shut the door.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Of course, we’re going to silence you. Everyone, take care of him!”

Although Pulppua gave the order with confidence, there were no prisoners rushing to attack.

“What’s the matter? It’s just one person. Whether he’s a prison wolf or whatever, if the six of us beat him down, he won’t stand a chance. Get him!”

As the prisoners exchanged glances and nodded at each other, they surged forward. I bent down and activated the flash magic scroll I had prepared in advance.

“Ugh!?”

“My eyes…”

In an instant, their eyes were overwhelmed by the flash.

A bright white light, brighter than the midday sun, spread throughout the room, searing the eyes of the prisoners around from all directions.

Although it was a non-lethal type of magic, its power was intense, rendering the prisoners immobilized like puppets on strings.

With swift strides, I struck Pulppua and his underlings with the baton, incapacitating them one by one.

As I searched their pockets and belongings, I found the bag of White Magic on one of Pulppua’s subordinates, and Pulppua himself had the tangle-tan file.

With everything I needed in my possession, I sounded the alarm without hesitation.

The sound of the whistle echoed within the prison, causing guards and subordinates to come running.

“What’s happening!?”

The one who called out was Matthew.

“I was about to be attacked. These guys had these things.”

What I pointed to was the White Magic placed on the table.

There must have been around a kilogram of it.

Of course, the tangle-tan file was tucked away in my pocket.

“Looks like your sentence might be extended, Pulppua.”

“…”

Even though I addressed him, Pulppua only glared at me with frustration, not saying a word as he was led away.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

The next morning, I nervously carried Ms. Fuyu’s breakfast.

I had given her the tangle-tan file last night.

She had said she would try it out right away, so maybe the cuffs had worn down a bit by now.

As I walked deeper in, filled with anticipation, I found a sweaty Ms. Fuyu smiling.

“Huh? Do you have a fever?”

Ms. Fuyu’s bangs were sticking to her forehead.

I had never seen her in this state before.

But she waved her left hand gently, denying it.

And, there was no magic seal cuff on that left hand.

“No way…”

“Yeah, I worked hard all night, and I managed to remove it here, Mr. Wolf.”

Ms. Fuyu seemed incredibly proud. 

Despite being in a prison in the middle of winter, her cheeks, flushed with heat, radiated a rosy hue.

“Didn’t you get any sleep?”

“That’s right. After all, I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“But… What if you harm your health?”

“I won’t. Besides, I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to. I’m too excited, and my eyes are wide awake.”

“But still――”

“I’ll fully remove the magic seal cuff, escape from here, and embrace Mr. Wolf. Will Mr. Wolf embrace me in return?”

I struggled to meet Ms. Fuyu’s earnest gaze and found myself at a loss for words. I, too, wanted to embrace her right now.

“I share the same sentiment.”

“Knowing that makes me feel relieved.”

With those words, Ms. Fuyu took up the tangle-tan file again and resumed her work.

“However!”

I inadvertently let out a loud exclamation.

“…What?”

“Please have your breakfast.”

“O-okay…”

“Soon, I’ll be able to create a replica of the magic seal cuffs. Once that’s done, we’ll be ready to execute the escape plan. Please take care not to weaken your strength. Wipe off your sweat so you won’t catch a cold or anything.”

“Got it…”

She had been confined for so long. I suppose it’s natural to feel a little excited.

However, with Ms. Fuyu, I could imagine her working nonstop for three days and nights without sleep, which was a frightening thought.

Both Ms. Fuyu and I, along with Kimberley, had to approach the prison break in the best possible condition.

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