CH 1.5

The underground dungeon of Syness Castle, where the twin demons Meru and Kiru took Takashi, was quite large and held one man and one woman other than him. The woman was in a maid outfit and sat in a corner, frightened and weeping. Probably a maidservant at the castle. On the other hand, the man sporting a haircut like those portraits in the music room approached Takashi with a frown.

"Hey. Hand over that food."

"Ah, yes..." Takashi handed over the bread to the man.

The man snatched it up and glared at Takashi as he bit into the bread. He grumbled, "Tsk. Why is this brat the only one who gets preferential treatment?"

Within a one-meter radius of Takashi were things that appeared to be a portable latrine, spare clothes, and of course, bread and other food as well. Meru and Kiru had prepared those for him.

[Suzuky, I'll give you this--! Eat it when you get hungry--!]

[If you feel like peeing or pooping, I've made arrangements. Here they are, alright?]

With those words, the twins left. What were those gals really thinking? He didn't understand. Perhaps they were teasing him.

Takashi let out a heavy sigh. Rather than outrage toward the goddess who had so carelessly reincarnated him in the wrong place, his anxiety about the future far outweighed his anger.

"Ahh... I wonder what will happen to me from now on..."

Before long, a full-body skeleton soldier appeared in front of the cell. It unlocked the door, entered, and grabbed the man who took the bread from Takashi by the scruff of the neck.

"Eek!?"

"Kakaka. Torture starts with you."

"Tor--torture!? This must be a mistake!! Wha-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa!!"

The cage was locked again. Takashi looked outside the cell and saw the man taken into a small room a few meters away.

(W--What's going on!?)

Takashi's hair stood on its end as a masked monster with an eerie appearance entered his field of sight. The masked monster bound the man to a chair with a rope. The man's screams echoed all the way from over there.

"Sa--save me, please!! I'll pay you whatever you want!!"

"..."

"I'm a nobleman...! I know! I'll prepare for you a substitute human!"

"..."

Did it not understand human language? The masked creature silently slid its hand inside its black robe and pulled out a writhing insect like a centipede. The bug was inserted into the man's ear even though he tried to avoid it by shaking his head.

"Gya-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-a!"

The man's screams made the masked creature laugh in a low, muffled voice that seemed out of this world. The masked creature then silently inserted one bug after another into the man's nose and mouth. The man kept screaming, blood dripping from his eyes and mouth, and then he stopped moving.

(W-Will we have to go through that too after him!?)

"Eeeek...!"

Behind him, the woman in a maid outfit moaned while covering her ears. If the woman had not been nearby, Takashi might have cried pathetically too. He could barely keep his sanity in front of the masked creature's torture because someone else was nearby.

The skeleton soldier left, dragging the motionless man with him, but soon after returned and walked to the cell where Takashi lay. It then unlocked the door and took the woman's hand.

"Kakaka. You're next"

"Noo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ou!!"

The woman cried out. Takashi's eyes met with the woman getting dragged by the skeleton soldier. Unable to stand still, Takashi mustered up all his courage and stood before the skeleton soldier.

"Ho--hold up for a bit! Take me first!" Takashi said, his voice shaky. Even so, he could not abandon the woman sobbing pitifully.

"Eh. Y--you? I can, but I wanted to take you last..." The skeleton soldier replied as it scratched its cheek with its fleshless finger.

It paced around and fidgeted, as if hesitating, but before long, it made up its mind and grabbed Takashi's arm. It then spoke, "I understand. Don't think poorly of me. This is my job."