The dark and eerie underground prison.

As we descended the stairs, Cazerose and I felt a strange sensation.

“You know, this is the first time I’ve been here since we came to Bohemia, right?”

“Yes, back then, Mr. Santana and I were accused of being spies for the church, and it was quite a troublesome situation.”

“Right. And it was because of those guys over there that it happened.”

“When you think about it, this is quite a peculiar situation.”

In a way, it is indeed a curious event.

With such thoughts, we arrived at the front of the underground prison with Polena.

Right after, Nune and Tine came into view.

At the same time, the two sitting on the floor began to crawl frantically toward the bars, and the soldiers guarding the prison immediately readied their spears, alert for any potential trouble.

And it wasn’t just the soldiers who felt that way; we felt the same.

“Even though there’s a magic barrier here, our opponent is an aura user. Even if they can’t break the bars, just in case…”

“Does their dramatic reaction mean they hold a grudge against us? To be fair, we’ve certainly tangled up their lives…”

Though we were the ones who were wronged, the other side had sufficient reasons to dislike us.

Keeping that in mind, we instinctively began to consider what reckless thing these two might do.

However.

Our reactions fell flat in light of the actions of the two.

“S-Santana…!”

“C-Cazerose!”

They called our names in desperation.

Then, they began to shout at us earnestly, almost begging.

“We… we made a mistake! We didn’t recognize your value and made a huge blunder…”

“C-Cazerose! I’m really sorry! W-We couldn’t help it back then… it was all Archbishop Maxim’s coercion! We seriously don’t harbor any ill feelings toward you! We just wanted to survive!”

Even without being prompted, they were fervently bowing their heads, spilling excuses about their actions.

Seeing that they clearly understood the predicament they were in, Cazerose and I couldn’t help but smirk internally.

“Honestly, I thought they might have a bit of pride left even in this situation…”

“It seems they have no intention of standing their ground at all…”

The two demonstrated a perfect display of desperation, begging for their lives.

Seeing their attitude, Cazerose and I felt a bit deflated, simultaneously wondering what to do with these two.

*

Before us stood the two.

Now, facing us, who possessed power far beyond their reach, Nune and Tine frantically began to apologize and plead.

At that moment, any ounce of pride they had left was completely absent from their minds.

All they could think about was how desperately they needed to cling onto the lifeline before them.

Even if it meant the rope around their necks was what would hang them.

“Please… please forgive us just this once… we were wrong.”

“We’ll do anything you ask! So please… just spare our lives!”

Those two were going wild, trying anything to survive.

Then…

As they looked on, Santana spoke in a calm voice.

“…You want to live, right?”

At those words, the two nodded eagerly.

With a gentle smile, Santana continued to address them.

“Alright, I’ll spare your lives. Just answer my questions truthfully, and I’ll let you live.”

“W-Whatever you want to ask!”

“I-I’ll answer everything without a lie! So please…!”

Though they originally lacked resolve, facing someone who knew them so well left them with no capacity to keep secrets.

And thus, Santana began to ask her calm questions.

*

The questions Santana posed to Nune and Tine were, of course, related to the military they belonged to.

They disclosed everything they knew about the enemy’s movements, troop sizes, the conditions within their army, and even the makeup of their command structure.

Nune and Tine spilled all the information they had without hesitation.

If either of them had even the slightest bit of loyalty or camaraderie left, they might have considered feeding false information to aid their side, but unfortunately, they lacked the intellect to devise such a plan and had no sense of loyalty remaining.

Before being dragged here, they were constantly dissatisfied with their treatment.

They had no reason to risk themselves for those who had wronged them; their best bet was to share everything they knew to secure their lives.

“Those guys made us like this. If the higher-ups had treated us even a little bit better, we wouldn’t have ended up drinking ourselves to oblivion and getting caught.”

“It’s not our fault—it’s all their fault. We owe them no loyalty…”

As a result, Nune and Tine laid everything bare.

Once the so-called information gathering wrapped up without any issues, Santana addressed the two in a calm tone.

“Good. Since you told the truth, I’ll keep my promise and spare your lives.”

“Ah…”

“Th-Thank you! Thank you!”

Overjoyed at having escaped death, Nune and Tine bowed repeatedly.

Right after, Santana and Cazerose turned and left without another thought.

At that moment…

“Wait! Just a moment!”

“So… what happens to us now?”

They questioned urgently.

To which Santana replied in a nonchalant tone.

“What do you mean what happens? You’ll just rot there for a while. I said I’d spare your lives. I never said I’d do anything else, did I? Unless… you want to be hanged right now…”

“N-No! No, thank you! Um… thank you!”

“This is more than enough! Thank you, Mr. Santana!”

Nune and Tine bowed their heads obediently without daring to ask to be released.

Then, they felt the strength draining from their bodies and collapsed onto the damp floor of the underground prison.

Fortunately, this meant they wouldn’t have to worry about dying for a while.

However… before they could feel joy about that, they realized.

Their lives had completely plunged into despair.

“There’s deeper than the bottom… right?”

“Seems like I’ve hit rock bottom… from being poorly treated as foot soldiers to now being prisoners in an underground dungeon…”

In an utterly dark and narrow space with not a hint of light.

The realization that they had to live on here might have been more torturous than death itself.

“If only… if only we hadn’t been so greedy in front of us… would things be better now?”

“If we had helped Santana back then… wouldn’t we have been able to avoid this ending?”

Regretting the past and lamenting their foolishness, the two began to spiral into the depths of despair within the darkness.