Chapter 5: 28 People

How many minutes had passed since Jarvis, who had come to care for me, left to call someone?

It felt like only a few minutes, yet also like hours had gone by. In this underground prison, with no clock and only a small light across the corridor, my sense of time was distorted beyond recognition.

I don’t know exactly how long I’ve been stuck in this d*mn prison, but it felt like at least a year.

The prison was not a comfortable place, to say the least. The endless, sticky darkness filled my vision, and the squeaking of rats fueled my anxiety.

I’m not in any condition to move properly. If those rats decided to swarm and gnaw on me, I wouldn’t be able to resist.

‘…If you’re going to kill me, just do it quickly.’

Just as I was lamenting my situation and fueling my hatred for the tyrant…

The distinct click-clack of high heels echoed, accompanied by a light gradually approaching the prison.

What was that light? Judging by the footsteps, it wasn’t Jarvis.

Neither a knight nor a castle worker would wear such high heels, so the only person left was…

“This guy is the hero? (Experience Count: 1)”

It was a voice I heard for the first time, but the face illuminated by the small light was vividly etched in my memory.

The owner of that face, which would likely remain as a trauma for at least a decade, was one of the reasons I ended up in this prison.

The king’s daughter, Penny, shone a lantern on my face, pointing at me with one hand.

As I opened my eyes and looked beyond the bars, three people followed behind her.

A blue-haired young man whose physique was easily discernible even through his armor, a golden-haired woman who appeared to be a priestess judging by her attire, but whose demeanor was far from demure,

And a dark-haired mage, tall for a woman, but appearing short due to her hunched posture.

<Experience Count: 17>
<Experience Count: 4>
<Experience Count: 7>

The combined experience count of 28 from the three of them was an astounding display of promiscuity, shocking even for a country as open-minded as mine.

The man and the mage were one thing, but even a priestess serving God…wasn’t that a bit much?

But how could there not be a single virgin among three women?

I’m definitely not a pathetic man obsessed with virginity, but seeing even the priestess as a non-virgin made me strongly feel the need for a virgin quota.

“He looks weak, doesn’t he? (Experience Count: 1)”

Thinking I was still unconscious, the idiot princess sneered, pointing at me.

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment that a princess of a country was empty-headed but not…down there.

It would have been amusing to surprise her with a sarcastic remark, but it wasn’t the right time yet.

Biding my time for a better opportunity, I listened to their conversation.

“…Penny, even if he’s imprisoned, you shouldn’t say such disrespectful things to the hero. (Experience Count: 17)”

“Las is right. Princess, please maintain your decorum… (Experience Count: 4)”

“I don’t acknowledge him as a hero. (Experience Count: 1)”

When the young man and the priestess didn’t agree with her, Penny turned her head, ending the conversation.

That woman, I knew it from when she threatened me back at the temple, but she had a childish side despite not being a virgin.

Well, with a father like that, how could his daughter be normal? She must have grown up like this because of a lack of proper education under her foolish father.

“I, I understand how you feel, Princess… (Experience Count: 7)”

There was someone who agreed with the childish Penny. The gloomy woman, wearing a wide-brimmed hat like a witch from a fairy tale, nodded in agreement.

“If it weren’t for this guy, maybe Las… (Experience Count: 7)”

The gloomy, busty woman defied the unspoken law of virgins, glaring at me resentfully as a gloomy non-virgin who, like Snow White, had accepted seven men before marriage.

“Stop it. It’s…all in the past now. (Experience Count: 17)”

Despite his words, Las sighed and hung his head as if protesting the injustice.

Seeing his pathetic appearance, the woman who seemed to be a priestess placed a hand on his broad back and closed her eyes.

Seeing the dejected Las, perhaps feeling sorry for him, Penny glared at the bars—or rather, at me—with even sharper eyes.

At first, I thought she disliked me because I was an unreliable hero, but was there something else I didn’t know?

Whatever the reason, Penny, deeply sympathizing with the gloomy woman, raised her leg as if to kick the bars in frustration.

This was the perfect time to speak. Instinctively realizing this, I opened my eyes wide and shouted at Penny.

“Aagh!!”

“Kyaaah!! (Experience Count: 1)”

Startled by my spirited army yell, Penny lost her balance, falling backward and hitting her head against the wall.

Thud!! Along with a sound that made me wonder if the wall or her head had cracked, the lantern Penny was holding fell to the floor, plunging the corridor back into darkness.

“Hahahahaha!!!”

“Aaaaagh!!! (Experience Count: 1)”

Amidst the hearty laughter and pained groans, a snapping sound suddenly echoed, and light returned.

An artificial blue light, different from gaslight, similar to the color that had surrounded the knights’ swords, illuminated the corridor.

“Y-You were awake?! (Experience Count: 7)”

“Yeah, I was awake. Unless you’re here with food, could you turn the lights off again?”

Perhaps because I had been in the dark for a while, the light created by the gloomy mage irritated my eyes.

Embarrassed at being caught gossiping, the three remained silent, but Penny was different.

“Ow, that hurts!!! What are you doing, you crazy bastard!! (Experience Count: 1)”

“No matter how much hitting the wall hurts, it can’t be as painful as my wounded heart. Just bear with it. You’re not a child.”

“What?! You insolent…!! (Experience Count: 1)”

“Yeah, I’m a bit insolent. But I don’t gossip in front of unconscious people. Well, you did it in front of me, so it’s not really gossiping, is it?”

“…I apologize for that. It was dishonorable of me as a knight. (Experience Count: 17)”

“Apologies should come from the person who did wrong.”

Even though I directed my gaze at her, Penny remained silent, turning her head with a sullen expression.

“Whatever. A forced apology means nothing. I’m going back to sleep.”

“H-He’s calm. Considering what he did in that room…he should be executed. (Experience Count: 7)”

“Then execute me.”

If they asked if I wasn’t afraid of death, I’d say I wasn’t. I still desired to live.

However, if it was something beyond my control, something I couldn’t change no matter how hard I tried, then I didn’t care anymore.

Groveling and flattering wouldn’t change anything, and if I was going to die anyway, it would be less regrettable to die doing as I pleased.

“But I’m curious, what happens if I die? Does someone else become the hero?”

“They would have done that already!! (Experience Count: 1)”

“Princess… (Experience Count: 4)”

Calming the wild Penny, the woman who looked like a priestess sighed and spoke.

“Even if you die, another person won’t become the hero. There have been many heroes who tragically fell without completing the task of defeating the Demon King, but a new hero was never chosen. (Experience Count: 4)”

“Hmm, I see. Were there any heroes killed by humans? Or executed like me?”

“…No, there haven’t been any such cases. Why are you suddenly asking…? (Experience Count: 4)”

“Well, I was wondering if there’s divine punishment for killing a hero sent by God.”

“Huh? (Experience Count: 4)”

“Not ‘huh.’ I’m someone sent by God, right? A divine representative, so to speak. Shouldn’t there be divine punishment for killing me?”

The four exchanged indescribable looks, perhaps thinking that while it hadn’t happened before, it wasn’t impossible.

My words were logical, even if it had never happened before.

Divine punishment. Those words, dismissed as the ravings of a loser on Earth, transformed my status from a death row inmate to a ticking time bomb.

I just said it casually, but what if there really was divine punishment for killing me?

“Now that I think about it, just sitting here waiting for execution is too boring.”

“What? (Experience Count: 1)”

Creating space by hunching forward, I threw myself back with all my might, slamming the back of my head against the wall.

Thud!! It wasn’t as loud as when Penny hit her head, but it was loud enough to echo through the silent prison.

“W-What are you doing?!! (Experience Count: 1)”

“If there’s such a thing as divine punishment, does it matter whether the cause of death is suicide or execution? What matters is that you’re involved. Right?”

Thud!! At the dull thud that echoed again, the four panicked, banging on the bars.

“You crazy bastard!! Stop!! Stop it!! (Experience Count: 1)”

“The key!! No, Lunia!! Open the prison door with magic!! Hurry!!! (Experience Count: 17)”

“O-Okay!!! (Experience Count: 7)”

“…This guy is the hero? (Experience Count: 4)”

Hehe, my first suicide.