TFR 417

Joshua's Blunder [Part 1]

The hell that seemed to go on forever suddenly came to an end. Joanna and her subordinates felt dazed in the darkness after repeatedly going in and out of consciousness. Then, in that state, they spotted a faint light. It was the light coming through the skylight, which felt pretty nostalgic to them at this point. The carriage had been moved from the pitch-dark hell to a bright place before they realized it.

ker-chack...

Before they could even feel a sense of relief, the carriage door swung open.

"EEK!"

Joanna and the magicians shrank back in reflex. Believing that those monsters living inside that hell had come to attack them again, they screamed without care for shame or honor. They didn't dare to see that in this bright place.

"Oh, good morning. Did you sleep well?"

What they heard was a human's voice. Not russstle... or rustle rustle... or rustle! but a human's voice. Moreover, that voice sounded familiar.

The one who opened the door was the boy with freckles. He was the person responsible for leaving Joanna and her men in the very depths of the abyss of fear. On the other hand, he was also the person they most desperately wanted to meet while they were in hell. They couldn't think of anyone besides him if someone were to rescue them from that place.

"Ah... ah..."

They couldn't speak well because their whole bodies were shaking. What was incredible was that they were currently filled with the feeling of happiness. Joanna and the magicians felt so much joy that they wanted to cheer because the one on the other side of the door was not those things.

'That hell is over.

Has anything ever made me feel this happy before?'

They couldn't find any words other than gratitude in their hearts.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, great to see that everyone is looking well."

...that stayed true no matter how devilish the comment the freckled boy made.

In reality, it was only one night. To be more precise, the hospitality of the tailless whip scorpions lasted only for a few hours.

Joshua, who had been working until now without sleep or rest, also looked tired, but these prisoners, who were only "entertained" by warmhearted hosts, appeared even more exhausted.

In just a few hours, Joanna, who had been exuding an air of omnipotence until earlier, lost all her composure. Before they received a "warm reception," Joanna still believed without doubt that even if they were captured with their magic blocked, it would still be fine because the Imperial Army coming from the borderland would come to rescue them. However, those things in hell were not something the Imperial Army could handle. Joanna was already convinced of the Empire's defeat.

The country the Empire tried to invade was home to the one creature one must never lay one's hands on.

"Could we have a brief conversation before someone from the Royal Castle arrives to pick you up?"

The freckled boy asked such a dispirited Joanna in a low voice.

"Huh? The Royal Castle...?"

The boy said that to her so leisurely, even though the Royal Castle should have been burned down with the artillery the night before. Not only that, but the fact that a mere son of a merchant tried to obtain information before the people of the Royal Castle was weird, no matter how much Joanna tried to think about it. 

'Is he saying that he wants me to let him hear about the Empire's invasion plan first before the King, the Prime Minister, and the Knight Order Commander?

Is this boy perhaps planning to become king?

He's smiling with such a harmless face, but... how black-hearted...'

However,

"...ask me anything," replied Joanna. 'Yes, I can only answer. I have no choice but to obey whatever this boy wants.

Going there... going to that place again is the last thing I want.'

Joanna no longer harbored any sense of loyalty to the Empire. There was only the joy of being alive in the present and the fear of whether this boy would put her back in there again.