Chapter 136: The Underground Prison
I squatted down in front of the Raven, who was sprawled out on the ground with its wings spread wide, shaking its feet in a rather ridiculous manner. Its pale eyelids were fluttering rapidly, giving it the look of a bird rolling its eyes—quite a comical sight…
This silly bird, is it okay?
I picked it up.
Throughout the whole process, my peripheral vision never wavered from monitoring the three people nearby.
The man sitting in the center stood up. “Miss Silvya, I’m Daniel… uh, an unambitious doctor… well, a doctor. Or should I say, a missionary? A priest? Anyway, I’m just a minor character, tasked with waiting here for your arrival… um… Are you hungry, Miss? Would you like something to eat?”
“What kind of opening line is that…” Another man, sitting on the left, stood up too. “Daniel, don’t ask such unnutritious questions. It makes us seem rude. For a beautiful and powerful Pope Knight, our welcoming ceremony should be more formal, at least show some gentlemanly etiquette…”
He turned to the woman sitting on the right. “By the way, Olivia, can I borrow the flower decoration on your head?”
“Buzz off.”
With her arms crossed, the woman merely gave a faint scowl from her chair, completely ignoring him.
“What’s the big deal, so stingy…”
“……”
These three people…
I turned to face them, frowning while holding the Goat Cheese.
The man who had introduced himself as Daniel had walked right up to me again.
He looked to be in his late twenties, with a square face—not tall, not short, just an ordinary guy with a small nose and small eyes. He was the kind of person you could lose in a crowd without a second thought.
Daniel smiled at me and repeated his earlier question: “Miss Silvya, are you hungry? Want some food?”
“Daniel, move aside!”
Before he finished speaking, another man, who had a rather boisterous demeanor, stepped up from behind him, holding a fabric flower with red and yellow frills. He knelt before me on one knee, and, after taking a gentle sniff of the flower, held it above his head, puffing out his chest and striking a pose like he was facing the sea, looking as extra as ever.
“My beautiful lady, kneeling before you is none other than the future most renowned bard of the Western Continent—Karl Bruse, destined to make his mark in history! I’m delighted to meet you, Miss. Your beauty compels me to sing a song in praise of my fervent heart, would you please listen to me… Miss, could you please stop playing with your bird and let me speak?”
“……”
I took a deep breath.
The Goat Cheese in my arms seemed to regain some energy, flapping its wings and climbing up to my shoulder. It tilted its head and said to Karl, “Fool—”
“…That bird dared to insult me?!” Karl exclaimed, pointing at the Goat Cheese with his fabric flower, incredulous.
“Ugh, ugh—”
The Goat Cheese turned its head, making gagging noises.
“Son of a—”
Karl stood up, ready to yell… no, he meant to yell at the bird. Meanwhile, the plain-looking man who had been pushed aside interjected again, blocking Karl’s angry face. He asked me flatly, “Miss Silvya, let me take you to get something to eat.”
“Hmph.”
Under the flickering firelight, the woman still sitting on the chair tilted her head down and let out a cold huff.
“Uh, you guys…”
“But speaking of which, this bird is indeed a little strange… Miss Silvya, may I take a look at it?” The plain-looking man spoke up again.
“Hmm…”
What exactly are these three up to?
“Pepé! Pepé—”
I certainly didn’t want to, but before I could verbally refuse, the Goat Cheese flapped its wings and soared into the air, rapidly circling around the small stone chamber. I could almost detect a hint of panic in its raspy cries… the silly bird clearly understood what was being said and was refusing to let the man take it—ah, it’s going to crash into the wall—
Thud!
Perhaps still a bit dizzy, the Goat Cheese was flying along when it tilted to one side and crashed right into the wall, then gently floated down. The man named Karl immediately clapped his hands and shouted, “Haha, deserved it!” The plain-looking man’s eyes lit up, and he started to step that way. The woman remained seated, ignoring the little spectacle, still showing no intention of leaving.
My frown deepened.
“Hey…”
I called out to the man approaching the Goat Cheese, who stopped in his tracks and looked back at me, his face wearing a puzzled expression. “Are you the ones sent by the Pope to meet me?”
I felt uncertain about this matter.
The reason being… these three just seem so strange.
The woman sitting over there might be a bit better, but these two men in front of me… they gave off an eccentric vibe, talking nonsense upon first meeting. What kind of situation is this? Could it be that the clowns found their way here ahead of time—
“Oh! Speaking of which, it almost slipped my mind. Suddenly, that man Karl exclaimed, “Miss Silvya… oh, what a mouthful of a name! From now on, I’ll just call you ‘Sweetheart,’ simple and sweet. So, sweetheart, perhaps you haven’t fully grasped the situation here? Let’s leave this place, either outside or to my room—whatever suits you, I’ll explain everything slowly…”
As he spoke, he reached out to wrap his arm around my shoulder.
“……”
Whoosh—
Thud!
“Ouch! My nose bridge…”
A solid punch landed right on his face. He let out a scream, crouching down while clutching his nose, the fabric flower slipping from his hand. The woman sitting to the side appeared to raise an eyebrow, her gaze turning icy.
“Ow ow ow! Sweetheart, why’d you hit me…”
Crimson bl**d dripped down between his fingers, and he looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, a picture of grievance.
Ah, this is just…
“Sorry. I’m here to deal with the clown situation. I’m not in the mood nor have the time for a leisurely chat with you.”
With that, I turned to the plain-looking man. “By the way, you mentioned there’s something to eat?”
…………
After stepping out of the stone chamber, we entered a much larger stone room.
It seemed like we were in a cave atop a mountain or perhaps an underground site. The space outside was vast, with countless tunnels made of blue bricks, and all of the walls had no windows. The only sources of light were the numerous torches burning in the walls, illuminating the area.
“Sniff sniff…”
I gently inhaled, catching a whiff of dampness and rot.
“This place is actually an underground prison of the Church located in the northern part of Silgaya,” the plain-looking man beside me said as he guided me toward a nearby passageway. “You’ve probably heard of the notorious reputation of this underground prison before, but usually, people refer to the prisons established by various parishes, where the prisoners are generally robbers, bandits, unclean folks, or petty thieves. This place is different.”
“Those imprisoned here are truly vicious characters, monstrous and merciless, yet horrifically strong—like war criminals responsible for slaughter, certain renegade Pope Knights, or nuns and clerics who’ve abandoned their faith but possess extraordinary talents… Generally, it’s those kinds of people.”
An underground prison…
This is what Carlos was talking about…
The large stone room outside was empty, and I followed the plain-looking man closely, taking small steps as I wandered forward. Faintly, I could hear strange, eerie… sounds coming from the depths of a dark passage. The noises were a mix of howls and moans, the suffering voices faintly echoing in the stone room, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Gah—”
That feeling was interrupted by the Goat Cheese’s cries.
I stretched out my hand and let the circling Raven land back on my palm before placing it on my shoulder. Behind me, the woman named Olivia coldly told Karl, “Give me back the headband, stop playing.”
“Alright, alright… ah, it got a bit dirty, is that okay?”
“It’s not okay.”
“Then what will you do about it…”
Amidst their tedious and trivial banter, the plain-looking man spoke again, “As for us… well, whether you call us doctors or bards, at the end of the day, our main job is to capture those deeply sinful people, to k*ll or imprison them here, uh, you know, to do things like extracting confessions or torturing them.”
“Oh…”
So, these people are exactly the ones Carlos initially used to scare me—the ones who would torture people in the underground prison?
I’ve kept this in mind all along, hmph.
Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but look closely at the man’s face.
…Thick lips, a flat nose, rough skin, dull eyes; upon closer inspection, there were even a few freckles on his face—he really was the type to blend into the background. He carried an air of honesty and sincerity, and judging just from his appearance, you’d never think to associate him with someone who takes a “violence begets violence” approach and regularly engages in shady dealings.
And as for the other two behind him, there was no way to connect them to such behavior either.
What a…
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
I understood the purpose of people like them, so I wouldn’t say anything childish. Angel had emphasized that this place is a secret organization of the Church; not to mention the public, even most bishops and archbishops don’t know about its existence, and even if they did, they wouldn’t know the specifics.
And honestly, I didn’t want to know any more than that.
Because the more you know about places like this, the more it burdens you.
I quickly changed the subject, “So, the Pope sent you to cooperate with my actions?”
“Uh-huh… that’s not incorrect,” the plain-looking man replied.
As we turned around a brick wall and entered the passageway, the sound of flames crackling filled the air. He paused a moment, then continued, “Actually, before you arrived—specifically, around noon today—the Pope has already been here. The reason being, not long ago, we… uh, to be specific, I and Olivia discovered the clowns’ whereabouts and had a brief encounter with them. I killed two, and the rest fled…”
