Phil’s pupils dilate as he stares at the man’s pointing finger.
What the hell is this guy saying?
I’m bewildered by the reality suddenly thrust upon us. I know being exiled is no half-hearted punishment, but this just seems horrible…
“Tomorrow…morning?” Phil asks.
“Don’t worry, we’ll let you fill your belly at breakfast.”
“W-wait a minute… Can’t we postpone it just a little? I need to…train and m-mentally prepare myself…,” Phil sputters, terror in his eyes.
The man regards him with a terribly icy downward stare.
He isn’t going to treat us like human beings. In his eyes, Phil is trash.
“You’re a criminal—you don’t have a say. You were all tossed out. At least make yourselves useful by being lion food.”
His sharp words jab Phil’s eyes wide open… I can tell they’re rimmed with tears.
……This is rather harsh. I suppose this is an important trial I must pass to become a proper villainess. Will they write in my bio that I was almost a lion’s meal?
Well, good. Bring it on. I swear I’ll survive this.
The corners of my mouth perk upward as I stand proud.
It’s been several hours since the man shoved us in this cell and told us to stay put. It reeks just as bad as the last one. Reminds me of Roana.
The place is unsanitary and filled with despair. It’s basically impossible to embrace any hope, even if you’re ordered to.
Phil was put in a cell opposite the rest of us. Apparently, the star of the show was given special accommodations.
“You think he’s gonna die?” Mil mutters at the floor. Ruby has no reaction beside him.
It saddens me to think this, but he’s totally gonna die. A man that weak doesn’t stand a chance against a starved lion.
At some point in my training, I gained the ability to size up a person’s strength just by looking at them. Speed-reading is a cinch thanks to my special eyes, but I didn’t realize they were this sharp.
Old Man Will was surprised by my eye when he received it, but this is just how my eyes are, so I never considered how incredible they are.
Taking a brief glance around, I conclude that the strongest person here is the nameless baldy. There’s definitely more to him than meets the eye. I noticed he makes no sound when he walks—he moves like a trained fighter.
If my deductions are correct…he’s quite the accomplished assassin.
“I guess I’ll die eventually, too,” Mil squeaks meekly.
What a weak man. I understand how most people would give in at a time like this, but I’m a baddie. Times like these are when I bounce back the hardest.
“With that attitude, sure,” I say.
Mil’s eyebrow twitches.
“I’ll survive, but the rest of you will die here,” I add.
“You think you have a chance of surviving this fight?” Mil asks.
“I don’t think—I know. Surviving is the only choice I’ve got.”
“Ha! Oh, you young fool.” He snorts through his nose, glaring at me with animosity.
Good, good. Get angrier. The more you push me against a wall, the stronger I become.
“Then you should take his place,” Mil says softly and coldly. His voice turns the air in the cell to ice.
“I would take his place right now if I could,” I retort.
“Stop that… You need to survive.” Ruby finally speaks in a frail voice, staring hard at one small spot.
Oh, so you can talk. And you were listening to me while you were pretending to space out.
“Why do you say that? It’s my life. How I spend it doesn’t concern you.”
“I don’t want to see…any more…k-kids like you…die.”
“You seem to misunderstand—I have no intentions of dying whatsoever.”
Mil raises his voice. “Then tell me—how the hell do you expect to beat a lion when you can’t see?! And you’ve got no muscles on that little body of yours, either.”
“If you’ve got a winning strategy, I’d love to hear it.”
“Shut up! Quiet in there!” the guard stationed outside the cell barks at us. Mil shuts his mouth and quickly looks away from me, as if all the energy was knocked out of his muscles.
I decide to strike while the iron’s hot.
“Hey, guard, I’d like to speak with the guy who brought us in here.”
“Eh? Oh…you mean the administrator?” The guard shoots me a dubious glare. “What could you possibly want with him?”
“I want to be the one to fight the lion tomorrow.”
“Are you sick in the head, boy?”
“I’m perfectly sane, thanks. Now, stop wasting my time and bring me the administrator.”
“Don’t get cocky with me, brat.” The guard reaches through the bars and grabs me by my collar.
“Hey—what’s all the ruckus?”
From a bit away, I hear the man in glasses—the administrator.
Oh, what perfect timing! If I ask him directly, I just might get somewhere.
“Administrator…” The guard gruffly releases me. “Th-this brat demanded he be in the show tomorrow…”
Where’d all that spirit go, little buddy? Look at how meek you get in front of the administrator.
I hear the clomping of footsteps walking toward me.
“You mean this brat?” The administrator’s face twists when he sees me. “His Majesty will be in attendance tomorrow. We can’t have a kid fight.”
The king will be in the audience? Jackpot!
“I won’t lose the fight,” I assure them. I don’t care if they think it’s bravado; I have to put on a tough act.
“Oh…you sure talk big.” The man puts a hand to his chin and looks at me with slight interest. I feel like a piece of merchandise being appraised.
“That’s right…for a blind boy, you sure walk gracefully. How d’ya manage that?”
“I’ve adjusted. I sense the auras of people and things around me as I walk.”
“Well, that’s interesting. Hmm. Yeah, you just might make a great spectacle.”
That’s what I’m talking about!
My heart swelling with anticipation, I wait to hear what the man will say next.
“Okay, you can take the other guy’s place.”
Yay! A successful negotiation! Well…you can’t exactly call that a negotiation, but still.
“Hey, wait a minute. He’s still a kid.”
“He asked for it. You shut up,” the administrator admonishes the guard in a deep growl.
Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine. In fact, I’m as excited as can be. Can you blame me? I get to fight in an arena for the first time ever! That’s an experience most people never have. Of course my heart is dancing.
“Administrator, are you really sure about this?”
“Yeah. Just leave that Phil guy where he is. After this kid dies tomorrow, he’ll be next.”
“Yes, sir.” With that, the guard takes his key out and opens the cell door. I slowly walk out of the cell at his command.
“I look forward to tomorrow,” the administrator whispers in my ear, an unsettling smirk on his lips.
This guy really wants to see me torn limb from limb… That fact is being hammered into every cell in my body.
I suppose he wants a cocky boy like me to get his comeuppance… And I would be lying if I said the idea of fighting a lion doesn’t scare me. After all, I can’t use magic; otherwise, people would know I’m noble right away.
……But if I run away now, nothing will be resolved.
I vow to turn my fear and anxiety into strength.
After a night spent in a small cell alone, I wake to faint sunbeams streaming through the tiny window. I slowly pry my eye open.
……I’ve gotten mostly used to seeing through this piece of fabric. Maybe villainesses are naturally more adaptive than other archetypes. After all, I’ve been exiled for barely a day.
“If only I could use magic, then I would just become a lion for the fight,” I murmur to myself.
Well, it’s a waste of time musing over all the things I can’t do. I suppose the only things I can do right now are my exercises. I’d better stretch and do as much light warming up as I can before the fight.
I drop to the floor and begin my push-ups.
You know, I really have matured a lot, haven’t I? I was as weak as a baby the day my memories of my past life returned to me. Repetition really is important. The body remembers.
“Hey. Breakfast time.”
The administrator interrupts my morning workout by personally delivering my breakfast.