Midnight in the Ode Castle dungeon...
The gloomy stone walls were damp and dimly lit. Tanya was imprisoned in the back, in a large cell with no windows or beds—just a row of iron bars separating her from freedom. Fortunately, no one else was in the cell with her.
In the distance, she could hear the growl of an animal, low and gravely... or was it a sob? Was someone being tortured? Either way, it was certainly not pleasant to listen to.
“Alrighty...” Tanya put a hand to the cold floor and pushed herself to her feet.
In order to smuggle herself into the prison where Laplace was being held, she had essentially turned herself in. She’d been hoping she might acquire a new lead during the interrogation or something, but no dice.
She glanced around surreptitiously. The prison guard was conspicuously absent. She was alone.
“Man, security around here is pretty lax...”
Clearing her throat, she began to focus.
Mana circuits, engage!
Sure enough, her mana began to flow. As a Magi-Knight, her mana circuits were inherently more streamlined than the average adventurer’s, which made casting magic that much easier.
Earth Magic, engage!
Normally, casting would require her to recite an incantation, draw a magic circle, or use a staff for mana support... but right now that function was served by the golden ring on her finger, which held all the power of her Not-Excalibur. Thanks in part to Tanya’s impeccable mana control; being a Magi-Knight made everything easier.
Her go-to strategy was to use Wind Magic to heighten her speed, since it came in handy in a variety of situations—but when she needed a power boost, Earth Magic was the answer. She put both hands on the bars of her cell.
“Grah!”
And with a playful little crnnkk sound, the iron bars parted like curtains. Tanya smirked. Being a Magi-Knight certainly had its perks.
“Now then... Time to go find Laplace.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Keeping her eyes peeled for the first sign of guards, Tanya walked through the dungeon until she arrived at the solitary confinement block.
“Yikes...”
She could hardly believe what she was seeing. It was too painful to look at, and yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“Waaahhh! I’m really sorry, okay?! Please, I’m begging you, just go!!!”
“Non, non! I’m the Great Sorceress, remember? If they find out you let me escape, you’ll be in deep trouble.”
“Nnngghh... Well, I can’t get any sleep if you keep singing at the top of your lungs all night long! It’s been three days! I need to sleep or I’m gonna die!”
The prison guard was nearly in tears, and yet a certain someone’s voice was as chipper as ever. Oh, the ignominy!
“Hah hah hah! Mon dieu, this feels great!”
...Yeah, that’s her, alright. Not exactly rocket science.
“Laplace!” Tanya shouted, unable to stop herself.
The guard flinched as he lay sobbing on the floor. “Gaahh! Wh-Who is it this time?! Where’d you come from?! Someone... Help me...!”
“...Tanya?”
Their eyes met... and the very next moment, Laplace snapped her fingers.
“Mm... mmggppphh?!” the guard grunted, his voice muffled. Tanya recognized it as the same spell Laplace had used on her arch-nemesis Ryan during the Sparring Tournament—a spell that sealed away a person’s ability to speak.
“Are you okay, Lapl—what the?!” As she dashed down the hall to the cell, Tanya came to an abrupt stop. “Seriously?!”
A plush double bed. A stylish lamp in the shape of a bugle. A classy clawfoot sofa. A porcelain tea set. It was plainly obvious that none of these things were meant to be here. Her “prison cell” looked more like a hotel room, for crying out loud.
“The heck is going on in here?!”
“Hmmm? Are you referring to my exceptionally good taste?”
“...You’re really something, you know that?”
No wonder the poor prison guard’s crying, Tanya thought, shooting him a sympathetic look as he continued to grunt on the floor. But this sympathy was short-lived.
“Excusez-moi, Tanya, but I think I deserve a little credit for letting him off so easily. You know what he said to me the day I arrived?”
“What?”
“Get a load of this! ‘Been a while since we’ve had such a pretty inmate. I’ll treat you real good, geheheh.’ Can you believe that?”
“...What?”
I regret ever feeling sorry for you.
Judging from his choice of words, he regularly forced himself on female prisoners when the opportunity arose. Maybe all the prison guards did.
Ah, I see now. So this man is scum incarnate.
“Screw you... If you actually cared about treating them right, you’d leave them the hell alone!”
Tanya shook with rage. What if some other woman had been imprisoned instead? Or what if Laplace had been unable to use her mana for whatever reason? He would’ve...
The mere thought made all the hair on her body stand on end.
“Treat you good,” my ass! You only care about your own pleasure! Fuck off and die!
And in that flood of emotion—
“Hnn!”
—Tanya threw a kick straight to his groin.
“Gyaahh!” the creepy guard shouted before promptly passing out.
“Good grief, what a monster. I’m not just ‘pretty,’ I’m STUNNING! Get it right!”
“Wh... That’s what you’re angry about?!”
It felt like ages since the last time they’d joked around like this. Here they were in a prison cell, and Laplace was still smiling her usual ditzy smile... Now, at last, it was time for Tanya to pour her heart out.
“Laplace, how could you go and disappear on us like that?!” she demanded, her tone angry and accusatory.
At this point, she didn’t care if anyone overheard them. The dam had burst.
“Why?! Why didn’t you say anything to me?! This ring... it meant so much to me! And the barbecue was so much fun! So how could you just... just vanish without a word to anyone?!”
Silence fell over the cold stone dungeon as they gazed at each other through the bars. Then, after a breath:
“Can’t you trust us...? Can’t you at least trust me?”
“I’m sorry,” Laplace whispered, a pained smile on her face. “You’re right. It’s just... well... This is my payback, you see.”
“Payback for what?”
“Tanya... Can I tell you a little story?”
“You can tell me anything.”
“Thanks. Well, come on in. I’ll unlock the door for you.” She gestured for Tanya to step inside.
“Wh... You can unlock the door?!” Tanya asked before she could stop herself.
“Hah hah hah! But of course! Everything’s a piece of cake when you’re a Great Sorceress!” She snapped her fingers, and the cell door swung open just like that.
...Upon further inspection, Tanya realized that the door had been modified so that it locked from the inside.
“I should have known...”
Meanwhile, the creepy prison guard lay unconscious on the floor.
I hope your fucking dick falls off.