Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6: With the Iron Bars in Between
“Dear, oh dear.”
It really, really doesn’t do to treat all this like a game.
The girl in similar circ.u.mstances to mine that I would normally have saved first thing ended up being left forgotten up to now. I think the sun’s already about to set.
Throwing on the robe, boots, and sling bag that I had retrieved from Jyagul’s room, I run towards the jail. With ragged breath, I arrive in front of her jail cell and call out to her.
“Excuse me, are you alright?”
“IYAAAAHHHHH!”
The girl screams at the top of her lungs.
“Eh? No, it’s fine. I’m not a suspicious person at all!”
“Nooo don’t come near me! You monster!”
“Nn?”
Her words, as well as line of vision, seems to be going through me and aiming towards my back. While turning around, I finally understand. Fearfully, I lay eyes on……
“Guruo?”
♥♦♣♠
“...... Ummm, I’m really, really sorry about that. Can you please believe me? I am not an ally of the bandits nor the anki, and I have no intention whatsoever to harm you.”
“......”
I am frantically trying to talk to the girl, who has retreated as far into the jail cell and shrunk her body as much as she can.
It was a complete mistake on my part, letting her see my bodyguard ogre standing behind me. Of course, I’ve already chased him away, but now she is on maximum wariness against me.
Now that I’m looking at her properly, I notice that rather than a girl, she’s more of a young girl. It’s really hard to tell the age of Caucasians based on their faces, but I’m guessing mid-teens? She has short chestnut-colored hair and looks like an active person, but currently she is pretty much snarling at me.
“I’m not lying, that really was a follower that I had created with my spellcraft. There is absolutely zero danger.”
“...... Doesn’t the fact that you create anki mean that you are allies with them?”
As I had suspected, ‘anki’ is a concept unique to this world. The term most likely refers to ogres and the like, but judging from the bandits’ and this girl’s reactions, they are quite feared. Furthermore, based on Jyagul’s words, the [spellcraft] that I use seems to be distinctly different from the [magic] that he was talking about. His Ice Arrow or whatever not being negated by the [Invincible] barrier might very well have been due to this.
“As I’ve been saying, I’ve only just arrived from a country far, far away….. I am a wizard, and I use magic different from whatever is used around here……”
“...... I don’t believe you.”
“In the first place, if I’m an ally of the bandits, then I wouldn’t be thrown into a cell and be beaten, would I? You saw it too, didn’t you?”
“That’s……”
The situation being as chaotic as it is, I can understand her disbelief upon suddenly being told by a strange guy that she’s being saved. In the first place, it’s not like she’s completely ignoring my words, so it seems like there might be some headway if I persevere patiently. But……
There’s a big ‘but.’
Would it have been much easier to gain her trust if I’m not an uncle in his forties, but rather the silver-haired handsome young man that Gio Margils had been on the character sheet? ......Wait no, I have his abilities, do I not? If I use [Charm], this conversation could go much smoother……
“DORYAHHH!”
“GYAH! What are you doing?!”
Disgust with myself bubbles up for having entertained a thought worthy of being considered an all-time low. Thus, I am banging my head against the iron bars with all my strength. Naturally, my efforts are rewarded with intense pain, but that’s irrelevant. [Charm] only works on single targets, but it is a spell that makes the target obey whatever I say. In other words, it makes a puppet out of the other person’s very heart. Controlling someone by manipulating their heart…… there is very little that can match this in selfishness and cruelty. The fact that this option even came up in my mind shows how pathetic I am. As I have to keep telling myself, this is not a game, but reality.
“Just because! She wouldn’t listen! To my words! I’m such a fool!!”
(T/N: Imo this just makes him sound off his rocker rather than convey his remorse lol.)
I understand from the fact that I am displaying such disgraceful behavior in front of a girl that I do not know that I am not in a right state of mind.
However, the wicked thought that had just crossed my mind is something that must be excised immediately. If not, I will become a despicable person who drowns in his own power and wrecks havoc on the lives of others for the sake of his own desires—the fear of this is what is currently moving me.
“Wait a-, really please stop doing that! You are bleeding, there’s blood!!”
“Hahh…… hahh…… y-, yes you’re right…… uguh!”
Obviously, on top of my forehead splitting open, the fresh blood spurting out got into my eyes, and I almost faint in agony.
“Mou! What are you doing, really!”
“No, truly, I’m very sorry…… eh?”
I am about to wipe my blood-covered face with the sleeve of my robe, but my uplifted hand is wrapped in some soft cloth—a handkerchief.
“Please suppress the wound with this.”
As I reflexively bring the handkerchief to my forehead while raising my face, I see that the young girl has come right next to the iron bars. She must have handed me the handkerchief by reaching through.
“Th-, thank you…… uu……”
Completely forgetting about the potions in my sling bag, I say my thanks and sink to the floor.
“............”
“............”
Her face is scrunched up in a scowl as she looks down on me. Her lips are making a perfect へ character. Exasperated though she might be, this actually helped to thin the fear that she had been holding. At the very least, she is not mad at me. This is a chance.
“I’m sorry for showing you something so unsightly.”
“Y-, yea, well……”
“I won’t tell you to believe me. But in exchange, would you be willing to listen to my story?”
“Unnn……”
The young girl crosses her arms, thinks hard about it, then plops herself down on the other side of the iron bars.
“Alright. Lemme hear it.”
♥♦♣♠
The young girl’s facial expression is still a bit stiff, but it seems that she’s at least feeling like lending me an ear. She is quietly waiting for me to start. While wiping my forehead with the borrowed handkerchief, I also somehow end up sitting in seiza. Ah, which reminds me.
“Umm, thank you for this handkerchief. I’ll wash it before returning it to you.”
“Oh, um, no need……”
“Before I start talking, please excuse me for a bit.”
I stick my hand into the sling bag left at my side and take out a bra.s.s bottle. It also comes with a cup attached on a chain.