***
In a typical Gag World, getting body-checked by a giant dog or a stranger meant vomiting blood and collapsing. I wasn't particularly flustered. I simply wiped my mouth and spoke calmly.
"You've... got some strength... Is it the meat in the soup? Haha..."
"Are you joking right now?!"
"B-brother, don't... don't die... Waaaaah!"
Noah had closed the distance, wiping my mouth with her sleeve. Nero clung to my waist, eyes brimming with tears. I waved a hand dismissively.
"No, it's nothing, really..."
"How is this 'nothing'!"
Noah snapped, her expression stern. I flinched.
"Uhh... I'll be fine soon. I'm really okay."
"You..."
Noah bit her lip, glaring. What? Did I do something wrong?
"Hic, waaaah..."
"Oh? Nero, Brother isn't dying. I'm really okay!"
€
While soothing the crying child, I pulled out the cookies I'd wrapped to eat on the stairs.
"Here, eat something sweet and calm down..."
Whoosh, crunch.
I thought a breeze had passed, but the cookie in my hand had vanished.
"Huh...?"
I turned to see a red-haired girl munching on the cookie, staring at me.
"Yummy."
"Uh... that's mine...?"
"Very yummy."
"Uhh... thanks?"
The girl, half my size, launched herself at me, latching onto my head.
"Ugh! W-wait!"
"Person who gives yummy things! M-master!"
"Wh-what? What master?"
"My m-master!"
Every time she spoke, crumbs rained onto my hair. I tried to peel her off by her waist, but she wouldn't budge. Nero and Noah tried to help, but she bared her teeth and growled, forcing them back.
"If you don't get off, it'll be hard to prepare lunch later..."
Swish!
She dropped off instantly.
"Stay here quietly. I'll bring you more meat soup later."
The girl nodded vigorously. Animal ears popped up on her head, and a red tail poked from beneath her skirt, sweeping the floor wildly.
'She liked the soup last time, but... she's more dramatic today.'
I chuckled, a strange sense of pride swelling in my chest, and slipped out of the prison.
Clank.
I locked the door and addressed the children inside.
"You never know what might happen, so don't come out. If you hear a loud noise, hide in the corner, okay? I'll try to block it..."
I trailed off, the image of Rania collapsing flashing through my mind. She'd been knocked out by a celestial body on the ceiling, but she should be awake by now.
The children stiffened at my distracted expression, but I didn't notice.
'Would she be quieter if I baked more cookies? No, I might get pounced on before that happens.'
With that thought, I climbed the stairs.
Creeeak.
I carefully opened the dungeon door and checked outside. Fortunately, Rania was nowhere to be seen.
"Did she leave?"
"What left?"
"Gah!"
At the voice right by my ear, I kicked the door and rolled forward.
"You ran away quite well, didn't you?"
"Th-that is..."
"Hmm, you ran away from me and this is all you got? Why? Did you hide something good here?"
Rania peered into the basement stairs. Odile wasn't wealthy, so the stairs were short; if you tilted your head just right, you could see the dungeon. I scrambled up and shoved Rania away.
"There's nothing here!"
"You were so scared earlier—is there something you want to protect that badly?"
I slammed the door shut.
"The only things in the basement are Odile's test subjects. She's away, so a riot could break out at any moment; I'm just being careful!"
I spun a plausible excuse to keep her from taking an interest in the children.
"Even with me here?"
"Are you going to stay here the whole time?"
"No."
Rania shrugged. I answered as if to say, "See?"
"I don't know when Odile will be back, but it's best not to provoke the test subjects until she returns."
"Is there such an interesting test subject that you have to be that careful?"
"No, it's not that..."
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Even if they're just ordinary test subjects... there aren't many I can handle."
"Hmm, I suppose."
She scanned me up and down and nodded. There were only children in the prison, but test subjects ranged from adults to children. She easily believed that I, looking at most thirteen, couldn't handle them.
"But... I don't think Odile is coming back..."
"Yes? Why?"
"I can tell because I'm a black mage too. Usually, a black mage doesn't leave a single thing in their laboratory."
"Th-that means..."
"It means you've all been abandoned! Hahaha! In a little while, you'll all be dragged off by slave traders!"
She laughed, "Kya-hahaha!", tears streaming as if it were a hilarious spectacle. I grabbed my head, knelt, and slammed my forehead into the floor.
"Th-that can't be!"
As I lay there in despair, a shadow fell over me. I looked up, eyes welling with tears, to see Rania crouching, twirling a lock of my hair with her finger.
"If you're scared, do you want to come with me? I'll treat you well."
"Eek!"
If I didn't know who she was, maybe. But Rania, who deserved the title of 'crazy bitch' even among the Four Heavenly Kings, was a different story. She might be interested in me now, but if I upset her, my limbs would be smashed to pieces.
'Do you know how hard it is to put that back together!'
If I wiggled my smashed body back together and appeared perfectly fine with a "Ta-da!", she would definitely find it even more interesting and use me as her personal punching bag. My stomach ached at the thought.
"I-it's fine. I am Odile's loyal servant, so..."
"That makes me even more interested."
A pitch-black shadow fell over her face.
Grab! She seized my shoulders and brought her face close.
"Wh-where, am, I, lacking, compared, to, Odile?"
"Hick?!"
Just as I was cringing, frozen in place...
Thump, thump.
A heavy knock echoed from the door. I smiled hopefully, tears streaming down like a waterfall as if I had been saved.
Creeeak.
Because of Odile's magic, the door that should have been firmly shut opened easily. I thought, tears still streaming down my face.
'You really did run away, Odile... even though I fed you such delicious food...'
While I felt betrayed, the door opened and a woman with short navy blue hair entered. The first thing I saw was the corset tightening under her chest.
It wasn't the kind of corset that cinched the waist like noble ladies in movies; it was designed to accentuate the waistline. My gaze wasn't exactly on the corset, though. It was directed at the magnificent chest accentuated by it.
"Wow..."
"Wow..."
I was mesmerized by such a beautiful and shocking scene. My gaze shifted to her lower body. The pants connected to the corset made her long legs look even longer and slimmer. Unlike me, who was constantly gasping in admiration, Rania wore a sullen expression, as if facing something bothersome.
"Ugh."
Rania let go of me as she stood up, and I flopped onto the floor. Rania walked past me and approached her.
"Mia, what are you doing here?"
"Haa... isn't that what I should be asking? Master."
Mia frowned, pushing up her large, round glasses—which covered half her face—with the tip of her index finger. The thin silver-rimmed glasses glinted.
"Master, you are one of the Four Heavenly Kings. If you leave your post so carelessly..."
"Ah, I don't know, I don't know! I only listen to the Demon King!"
"Haa..."
She sighed and tapped the floor with the wooden staff she held. It was at least as tall as me, shaped like a fierce, overgrown branch wrapping around a round, humming orb of dark red. It looked ominous.
"When are you planning to return?"
"Hmm, actually, the guy I was supposed to meet today ran away..."
"Then you should just go back now."
"That's the tricky part, isn't it?"
Rania pointed at me with her thumb.
"This kid says he has nowhere to go."
"...?"
The thought, 'What on earth is the problem?', floated across Mia's face. Soon, she let out a short exclamation, "Ah," and raised her staff.
"You mean he needs to be disposed of?"
Ominous, dark red flames flared up from the tip of her staff.