Light illuminated him, and consciousness returned. An unfamiliar room—he couldn't immediately tell where he was, but the events of the previous day came back to him in an instant.
This was—Prison Island. And he was Klye Andrich, currently on a tour of the facility.
Last night, after Jack and the others had obtained food—strangely cooperative, likely because Jin had asked them to—he'd eaten in the bare room they'd prepared and lain down.
He'd half expected Jin to come for him partway through, but before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep.
He stretched broadly and sat up. Despite having slept on a hard floor without a bed, his body didn't ache at all.
More than that—it was a strange thing, but he felt as though he'd been wrapped in something soft.
If strange things were the topic, this room itself was peculiar. There were no lighting fixtures, yet it wasn't dark. A small sphere of light floated near the ceiling, serving as its source.
The light resembled the magical illumination Lucia often conjured when they explored the Treasure Hall as a Party.
The lighting inside the prison he'd toured yesterday had been, surprisingly, mostly oil lamps—dim and lending the place a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere. But apparently, separate lighting had been provided inside this room.
He had no idea how it worked… but it was fitting for the most cutting-edge prison around.
Well, he'd now experienced life on Prison Island firsthand, and he figured today would wrap up his tour. What should he do now? Just wait here at the entrance?
His stomach was starting to rumble. Yesterday he'd eaten solid rations—ones that tasted reasonably palatable, at that—but eating that sort of thing every day, even once, sounded downright miserable.
He eased the door open.
The instant he peered outside, his eyes met those of Jack and Grand, who had been waiting right outside.
"!? Uh, um… good morning?"
"G-good morning… Ms. Thousand Transformations."
"………A fine day to you once more, Your Excellency."
"………Did something happen? You both look terrible."
For a moment, words failed him. To put it mildly, the two of them looked like they were on the verge of death.
There was no color whatsoever in their faces, and their entire bodies were drenched in sweat. Their lips were purple, and they seemed thoroughly gaunt.
"Heh heh… well, well, we were simply frozen solid for a bit, is all. Of course, we understand full well that the fact it ended there is thanks to you, Ms. Thousand Transformations."
"Ah, yes…"
Frozen solid? They'd been frozen solid? And the fact it ended there was thanks to him? None of that made any sense.
He despised thieves, but he wasn't so heartless as to feel nothing when someone he recognized by face looked like they might die.
"That woman is quite the mage , though. But even trapped in the ice, we could still make out what she was doing."
He had no idea what had transpired, but something clearly had. Well, this was inside the prison, and they'd been picking fights with everyone around them to secure food—anything could have happened.
If the enemy was a criminal, then so were his allies. He intended to leave immediately, so they could do as they pleased.
All he asked was that they stop dragging him into things that had nothing to do with him.
"Y-Your Excellency, by the way—you did say you had no connection to the Serpent, correct?"
Grand asked, his voice trembling.
"Y-yeah, I mean, not really. My companions apparently had some run-ins, but—"
"!? Th-that is—!?"
Somehow, yeah, well… sorry about that?
But they probably didn't remember his face, so if anyone came after them, it was really Jack's fault for throwing around his name.
"More importantly, you both look freezing! Get near the fire or something—"
The moment he said that, a section of the wall exploded and burst into roaring flames.
"!?"
Molten metal dripped from the floor, walls, and ceiling while fire blazed with a tremendous roar. The intense heat and light illuminated the haggard faces of Jack and Grand.
Huh? Why had it just exploded? Why was there fire? Why?
At the very least, it wasn't an attack. The only people in this room were Jack, Grand, and himself.
A-anyway— "………Does that at least warm you up?"
"………Data. My data—"
Muttering through a strained expression, Grand crept closer to the fire to warm himself.
Well, if they'd been frozen solid, they probably couldn't think straight until they warmed up.
Yeah, that's right… this might also be a brand-new heating device, for all he knew.
"W-wait! This could be used for cooking too!"
"………True. Though we'd need to secure water first—"
Come to think of it, water was scarce too. Apparently some fearsome people controlled the cooking area. That was why yesterday's meals had been solid rations.
You really come to appreciate the conveniences of civilization.
The moment he sighed, rain began falling directly on top of Jack.
Indoors. A pinpoint rain cloud had formed right above Jack's head.
"……………………Ah, thank you very much."
"………Strange things really do happen, don't they?"
All Klye could manage in response was a dry, hollow remark.
It wasn't him. He hadn't done anything, and he couldn't. So then—who was behind this?
That's right—it was undoubtedly Lucia. This was magic. She was surely watching from somewhere and providing magical support.
And she was going way overboard. Even if she wanted to provide water and fire, there had to have been a more subtle approach.
………Well, Lucia did rather despise criminals and the like.
"I-I'll just cook something up then. Heh heh, with water and fire, you can make just about anything."
"Data… yes, this is excellent data for us. The Serpent has been repelled, and on this Prison Island, no one would dare provoke Ms. Thousand Transformations, who can wield magic to this extent. This is valuable intelligence, Jack! Ha ha ha… Your Excellency, leave this to Grand! I'll produce a powerful organization so mighty that serpents and foxes alike will be trivial!"
"J-just, you know, keep it reasonable."
This was bad. He needed to get outside quickly, or things were going to get troublesome.
That's right… the entrance. He'd head to the prison entrance. If he could find Jin, she would surely let him out.