Chapter 2
“Ahhh!”
Something grabbed my ankle.
At the same time, I dropped the bundle of branches I had been carrying.
The branches scattered across the ground with a loud crash.
Only then did my mind, which had practically run away in panic, come back.
A… a demon…?
It was hard to deny it.
Everything happening to me was already so unrealistic that I had no reason to believe otherwise.
Gathering my courage, I slowly turned around.
The moment I did, my eyes met the demon’s.
It looked as if he had been watching me the entire time.
For some reason…
…he also looked thoroughly displeased.
“You really do look exactly like them.”
“…Pardon?”
“So, why did you run?”
“Well…”
Isn’t this obviously a situation where anyone would run?
A half-naked man suddenly appears.
On top of that, he claims to be a demon who grants wishes.
In stories, demons like that always take your soul as payment.
Of course I’d be wary.
“Y-You’re scary.”
Instead of telling him what I really thought, I gave the kind of answer a child would.
The demon let out a mocking chuckle.
Then he made me an offer instead.
“Don’t you want to leave this place?”
His deep, smooth voice was strangely tempting.
“If that’s your wish, I can let you leave right now.”
“Leave… Exilium?”
“Yes.”
It was an offer that could make anyone’s eyes light up.
But to me…
…it was only painful confirmation that I could never return to my original world.
If you wanted to tempt me, you should’ve offered to send me back to my old world—not just outside the exile camp.
If he couldn’t do that…
…then there was no reason for me to give up this exile life, which was already far happier than my previous one.
Besides… what would happen to everyone else if I disappeared?
I might have been imprisoned because of guilt by association…
…but officially, I was still a criminal whose family had nearly assassinated the Imperial Princess.
If someone as dangerous as me suddenly vanished, the remaining prisoners would undoubtedly be treated even more harshly.
Especially with how the guards have been acting lately…
Over the past few days, their behavior had changed dramatically.
The guards, who had never cared about the prisoners before, had started picking fights over every little thing.
Yesterday, things had finally escalated.
One of the guards tried to assault a female prisoner.
She was serving a life sentence for killing her husband.
Her mind wasn’t stable anymore, so she couldn’t even resist properly.
Ian stepped in to protect her.
For that…
…the guard beat him mercilessly.
As a prisoner, Ian couldn’t even fight back.
He simply endured it.
Maybe… all of us should just…
But the words that actually came out of my mouth were different.
“Please give me some medicine for bruises.”
The instant I finished speaking—
Thud.
A small jar fell onto the ground at my feet.
I crouched down and opened it.
Inside was a sticky white ointment with an awful smell.
…I’m such a terrible person.
I had stayed silent because…
…I was afraid that if everyone escaped Exilium, they might never look my way again.
“Mix it with water and apply it to the injury.”
“The bruises will take time to fade, but the pain will disappear almost immediately.”
The demon brushed back his wet hair with one hand.
The scent of soap mixed with the warm steam drifted through the air.
Suddenly…
I felt ashamed.
Ashamed of my filthy appearance.
And even more ashamed that my morals were worse than a demon’s.
“What do you want as payment?”
“My life?”
“Your saliva.”
“…”
“…Don’t look so disgusted.”
The demon answered lazily.
“It’s simply how the system works.”
Then he casually dropped a bombshell.
“They’re all going to die.”
“…What?”
“They’ll all die.”
“You.”
“And every prisoner.”
“Not one of you will survive.”
* * *
The ointment the demon gave me really worked.
As soon as Ian mixed it with water and applied it to his bruises, he sighed in amazement.
“The pain’s completely gone.”
I shared the remaining ointment with the older prisoners whose aching joints had flared up from the hard labor.
“Where did you get something like this?”
“I found it.”
“…You didn’t steal it, did you?”
Ian looked as though he suspected I’d stolen it from the guards’ quarters.
“Ian.”
“I’m not capable of pulling off something like that.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
“Don’t give up on suspecting me so quickly.”
I pouted.
Ian smiled through his swollen face.
The medicine really was effective.
Before long, the swelling around his face had noticeably gone down.
The other prisoners happily reported that even their joint pain had disappeared.
The more grateful they were…
…the worse I felt.
This ointment…
…was what I’d chosen instead of asking the demon to help everyone escape.
Because of that decision…
…everyone here was going to die.
The kind people who knew nothing kept thanking me.
I couldn’t even force myself to smile back.
But…
Will everyone really die?
Honestly…
The demon’s warning had come so suddenly that I couldn’t fully believe it.
Yet, as though mocking my wishful thinking…
The atmosphere inside Exilium grew darker with each passing day.
The guards became increasingly violent.
Eventually…
Every adult prisoner except me had been beaten at least once.
The ointment the demon had given me was used up in no time.
After that…
The adults repeatedly warned me.
“Never go near the guards.”
“If they try to hurt you, run straight to us.”
“Ahhh!”
But I ignored their warnings.
I charged straight at a guard.
The guard was about to punch Livi, one of the prisoners.
I bit down hard on his arm.
“Agh! Aaaah!”
“Mmph!”
I clenched my jaw with everything I had.
As if I intended to tear off a piece of flesh.
“Y-You little psycho!”
Half-crazed with pain, the guard punched me square in the face.
I was thrown backward and rolled across the ground.
“Hevenia!”
Livi, who had been knocked down moments earlier, hurried over and helped me up.
“Y-You’re bleeding!”
Her trembling hands desperately tried to stop the blood pouring from my nose.
But I barely noticed the pain.
I only glared at the guard as though I wanted him dead.
Oddly enough…
The guard looked even more horrified than I was.
The other guards rushed over and dragged him away.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”
“You idiot! I told you not to go that far…!”
“Today’s labor is over!”
“Everyone return to the village!”
After shouting those orders, the guards practically fled back to the dormitory near the entrance of the settlement.
The moment they disappeared—
Livi shouted at me.
“Did you forget everything we told you?”
“We said never to go near the guards!”
“Look at you!”
“Your poor little nose is bleeding so much…”
“I’m okay.”
“It’s really not that ba—”
“Not that bad?!”
“And we’re not only worried about you!”
“Because of you, the adults almost started fighting the guards for real!”
Only then did I notice them.
The adult prisoners stood behind us, glaring furiously toward the guards.
Each of them tightly gripped a worn pickaxe.
…Wow.
They looked frightening.
Yet somehow…
…they also looked as dependable as magical girls.
Of course…
I received an endless lecture from every one of them.
Only after everything settled down did the pain finally hit me.
I frowned.
Ian clicked his tongue.
“You fearless little brat…”
“Why are you smiling?”
“I almost lost ten years off my life because of you.”
He gently pinched my reddened nose.
Even though the bleeding had already stopped, he carefully pressed it just in case.
Don’t look for a reason to help people.
The people of Exilium had silently endured every beating they suffered.
But the moment I was hurt…
They immediately stood up to the guards.
Even knowing how dangerous it was.
The old pickaxes they held…
…looked far cooler and more beautiful than the three-million-won magical wand I’d bought.
Maybe…
Maybe I can become someone like a magical girl too.
Like them.
Like the heroines I’d always admired…
…while believing I could never become one myself.
That tiny hope slowly pushed back the darkness and cowardice inside me.
Even if it isn’t today… hope will definitely save you.
* * *
The full moon hung high overhead, as if silently watching everything.
Exilium was a place where only humans could survive.
Not horses.
Not cows.
Not even small birds.
Every animal eventually died here.
Because of that…
The guards had to pull the supply wagons themselves.
“Why don’t we just make the prisoners do this…”
“And if they escape?”
“You going to take responsibility?”
The guards loaded pitch-black ore onto the wagons.
Their entire bodies were covered so they wouldn’t touch the ore directly.
It was the final shipment.
The very last ore the prisoners would ever mine.
As of today…
Exilium was being permanently shut down.
“Why is it being closed?”
“Orders from above.”
“They said there’s no longer any need to mine more ore.”
“‘Above’ meaning…”
“The Emperor, obviously.”
“Forget explaining it.”
“He only arrived here two months ago.”
“Damn, talk about lucky.”
“Unlike this bastard.”
“He’s going to be beaten half to death once we get back.”
“Shut the hell up.”
The guard who cursed had a purple bite mark on his arm.
The captain of the guards stared at him coldly.
“His Majesty’s orders are clear.”
“Eliminate every prisoner.”
“And bring Hevenia Clavis back to the Imperial Palace without so much as a scratch.”
“Remember.”
“There are other exile camps that still need labor.”
The guard’s face turned bright red.
But he couldn’t argue.
Because there had already been a precedent.
Several years ago…
A guard had beaten a prisoner.
For disobeying an imperial order, that guard had been sentenced to become a prisoner himself and sent to another exile camp.
The Emperor had even dispatched an Imperial physician to treat the injured prisoner.
“…Ridiculous.”
One of the guards muttered as they walked toward the prisoners’ village.
“They’re all just tools anyway.”
“Every one of them was falsely accused under the Emperor’s orders.”
“…What?”
The youngest guard’s eyes widened.
“Y-You mean…”
“They were framed…”
“…just to mine ore?”
No one answered him.
“B-But…”
“If they’re innocent…”
“Couldn’t we just leave them here?”
“They’ll starve to death once we leave anyway…”
“No.”
The second-oldest guard answered calmly.
A dagger rested in his hand.
Every other guard carried one too.
“There’s no longer any need for them to mine.”
“So it’s best to eliminate them all.”
“There’s no reason to leave future trouble behind.”
A violent wind swept through the primeval forest.
Branches and leaves crashed together.
The heavy sound pressed down upon Exilium.
Leaving the hesitant young guard behind…
The others entered the old cabins according to their plan.
Then—
Moments later—
“The prisoners are gone!”
The guards rushed out.
Under the moonlight…
Every face had gone deathly pale.
* * *
“The prisoners are gone!”
“Search!”
“Tear this entire exile camp apart!”
“They’ve kidnapped Clavis—!”
Tap.
A tiny finger poked a winged eyeball.
The guards’ voices instantly disappeared.
The floating eyeball…
Marked with an inverted five-pointed star…
Flapped its little wings…
…and slipped into Hevenia’s hair.
“You idiots.”
A smug grin spread across Hevenia’s face.
“I’m the one who kidnapped them.”
She turned around.
“Right?”
Standing behind her…
…were the prisoners, all wearing stiff, solemn expressions.
