Chapter 18

“Stay quiet in there.”

With those words, I was shoved into a somewhat spacious prison cell.

I wasn’t wearing any shackles for now, but I was still uneasy. Regardless, I decided to take it easy until Ril arrived.

“A newcomer, huh? What were you caught for?”

A voice called out from the cell across from mine.

Looking over, I saw a Dwarf who appeared to be quite strong. I had some time to kill, so I figured I’d engage with my senior for a bit—even though I planned to break out immediately.

“The crime of not selling my leather to the King.”

“He caught someone for a reason like that again?”

He sighed as he muttered those words.

“What was your crime, Senior?”

“Treason. And all I did was advise the King to stop what he was doing.”

“The King has quite a short temper, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah. I only intended to stop him from going into the Great Forest for a large-scale monster hunt.”

So that’s why he wanted my leather so badly. He wanted to strengthen his army’s power, even by just a little. In a roundabout way, it felt like I’d actually protected the peace of the forest.

“Did he have some kind of objective for that?”

“None. He was just boasting about hunting a hundred of them to collect materials.”

I knew it; I was right not to trust him. I’d gotten a bad vibe from that guy.

“I heard he’d been ruling for a hundred years, so I thought he’d be a more impressive person. It’s a shame.”

“I’m sorry. I apologize on Lord Dowal’s behalf.”

“No, you don’t need to apologize for someone like that.”

“That man is a fake.”

Say what?

“That is his younger brother, Lord Dolf.”

Huh!? The King’s younger brother!!

“He is a tyrant. He is governing poorly while usurping Lord Dowal’s name.”

“Where is the real one?”

“In the special solitary cell in the back. A room of iron with a door of iron… and what’s more, a curse has been placed on him so that he cannot use his strength.”

Well, that’s certainly secure. If that’s the case, then that must be the person Grandfather was talking about. For my sake as well, it would be best to break that guy out.

“Senior, what happens if we break that person out?”

“Before that, is it even possible to escape?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. This is just a ‘what if’ scenario. Could he go straight to reclaiming the throne?”

“It won’t be that simple, but it might lead to something close to it.”

Hmm, I guess it really won’t be that easy. Human society is such a pain… Crap, I’m thinking exactly like a monster now.

“At any rate, I suppose all I can do is the jailbreak and acting as a guard afterward. I don’t really understand politics.”

“…Why go that far? Do you have some kind of objective?”

“I have one, but I’ll keep it to myself for now.”

“Ryu, are you okay?”

Oh, she’s here. I can make my move now.

“Welcome back, Ril. We have a bit of work to do.”

“Work?”

“We’re going to rescue the real King. We’ll deliver a fist of justice to the fake king who deceived me. Also, Ril, once we get out of here, return to your original size. I want to surprise them a bit.”

“Eh—it’s cramped in here, so I don’t want to.”

“Then just in front of the fake king.”

“If it’s that big room, then fine. More importantly, let’s get out of here.”

“True.”

For starters, getting out of here came first.

Thinking that, I kicked the cell door down. It was easy to break using “Physical Ability Enhancement.”

“I’m going to break your cell too, Senior, so please step back a bit.”

Though surprised, he moved to the corner. I immediately set to work breaking it.

“By the way, Senior, what is your profession?”

“I am a ‘Knight.’ What is yours?”

He looked genuinely bewildered.

“I’m a ‘Tamer,’” I said with a laugh.