"Ughhh!!" Laos groaned as he fell to the ground from Petal's punch.
"Man, you're so weak!" Petal said as he helped him up.
Suddenly, while Laos was holding onto Petal's hand to stand up, he pulled his fist back with force and tried to punch Petal's face. But the cat-eared man dodged it with ease, causing Laos to spin from the force of his punch and fall again after Petal kicked him in the back. Then, Petal stomped on his back with a strong step and said with closed eyes and an amused smile:
"You can't fool me."
"You're terrible. You can't use your hands properly, and you don't even know magic," Evol commented as he bit into a red apple.
"Shut up! I'm still training!" Laos protested, getting up and brushing off the dirt and twigs from his clothes.
"But you couldn't land a single punch on Petal. How do you expect to escape the palace?!" Evol replied, taking a huge bite, devouring half of the apple at once.
"With you guys! The five of us will work together and escape!" Laos declared enthusiastically.
"Never happening. Camellia and I aren't escaping," said the dragon-horned man in a low voice.
"So that leaves just the three of us?" Maris said as she handed Laos a cup of water.
"I'm not out of patience yet, so we can wait until I learn magic before we escape," Laos added before taking a sip from the cup.
"So, you're willing to wait an entire month?" Camellia asked.
"A moooonth??!!!" Laos screamed.
"To unleash magic and attack with it, you'll need at least a month," Camellia answered flatly.
"Brooo!! No way! There's no way I'm waiting a whole month!!" Laos retorted.
"Then just keep training in martial arts until then," Camellia added before sitting down with Maris to read a book under the shade of a tree.
"I'm gonna rest for a bit," Laos muttered as he walked toward the tree's shade.
I can't give up. I have more than a week to escape—I can't stay here any longer, or I'll go insane. Fuck, even that terrifying nightmare came back to me last night… Fuuuck, I hate life in this palace!
Ugh, and I can't learn magic fast enough. I've read a lot of books thanks to Lunariss' Blessing, which lets me understand all the languages of this world. But even with that, it hasn't helped me at all—or rather, it hasn't helped me with anything in this palace… Wait, wait, why don't I become the princess' translator?!
"Hey, hey! I've got an idea! Since I have Lunariss' Blessing, which allows people from different worlds to understand all languages of Staria, should I suggest to Tiana that I become her translator for diplomatic trips?!" I asked, thinking about how brilliant this idea was.
"Hah, too bad Tiana is forbidden from leaving the kingdom," Camellia replied.
"Fuck!" I muttered, resting my head back against the tree.
Life here is really tough. Ugh, there's Gaziel, and that mage Beltum might still be around, and the guards too… Escaping from here is impossible. But I've watched so many youtube videos about criminals escaping from prison. Some of them got caught again, and I'd call them idiots, thinking their escape was so obvious… Well, this is my chance!
I'll wait until Tiana leaves the palace again—then we'll escape. I'm in a state of hyper-focus, the kind I haven't had in a long time. But I need to train—I need to get stronger… I've lost hope in learning magic, but there's still hope in my hands. Even if I suck at fighting, even in my past life, I was a coward… But that doesn't matter now!
"Petal, come here!" I called out, raising my fists.
Petal approached, bouncing lightly on his feet—fuck, this monkey bastard. I hate his arrogance. I'll wait for him to attack… The monkey kept bouncing around, and suddenly, he lunged at me with a punch. Oh! I quickly lowered my body and dodged it, then grabbed his waist tightly. At this moment, I pushed with all my strength and slammed him to the ground. Take that, you fucking monkey!
As I tried to get up and punch him, he curled his legs in and kicked my chest, pushing himself away. Ha! That's hilarious… That's your plan? Fine, I'm not letting you go! I held onto him tightly, but suddenly, he started punching my face. Ughhh! That hurts! I let go immediately and stumbled back… Fuck you, one-eyed bastard!
"And that's how you plan to fight Gaziel?" he asked as he gracefully got up.
Then, I rushed at him with my fist, but he caught it. So, I kicked him hard in the stomach—he thought I was an idiot and dropped his guard. Look at this dumb monkey! He staggered back with a few backflips, then, holding his stomach, he muttered:
"Yooo, that was great! You're improving."
But the moment he finished that sentence, in the blink of an eye, he sprinted at me with terrifying speed and delivered a punch so strong that I forgot how to stand. My legs gave out instantly, and I collapsed to the ground, clutching my ears with both hands. Fuck you, Monkeeeeyyyy!
"Aaaahhhhhh!!!" I screamed.
Maris quickly rushed over and cast a healing spell, easing the pain until it completely disappeared. God, has this monkey gone insane or what?!
"What are you doing?!" Maris shouted.
"Yeah, yeah, I went overboard, but he kicked me in the stomach, and it hurt," Petal replied, clenching his fist—seems like he hurt himself from punching me too hard. Serves him right.
"I'm done. I'm not training anymore," I grumbled.
"Evol, can you explain how to release magic from your heart?" I asked, thinking about going back to learning magic.
"I have no idea myself. I was able to do it when I was six years old, so I can't really explain it," Evol answered, staring at Camellia's book like a little kid peeking at your phone on the bus.
I lifted my gaze and looked around, taking in the beauty of the garden—the trees, the birds, and the clear sky. Spring is truly beautiful in this world. I really love this view. Then, I lay down on the damp grass, stretching my body as I thought about my uncertain future.
Will I escape? Or will I become a powerful hero? Or will they catch me and execute me?...
"By the way, do you guys think that if I die, I'll return to my world?" I asked as I stared at the sky, the shadow of the tree shielding me from the sun's rays.
"I don't know, but listen, to release magic from your body, I think you need to truly feel it, not just for a moment before suddenly standing up and screaming," Camellia replied.
"Camellia, it seems like you're interested in making me learn magic," I remarked.
"I'm not interested. I just don't want you to drop dead in front of my father in an instant," she replied while flipping through the pages of her book.
I suddenly remembered Camellia's story—she's absolutely terrified of her father, so much so that she refused to escape. God, that's just depressing. It seems like all the servants here are suffering. There's an enormous injustice in this place. Do they need a leader to rally them and start a revolution? Should I seize this opportunity? Just imagine it: Laos Martin, Leader of the Revolutionaries. And Sabrina would help me too… My god, this is ridiculous. I'm getting lost in all these scenarios. Well, unfortunately, that's just my personality—I spend too much time in my imagination instead of facing reality. But I think living in this palace has changed me a little… No, not just a little. It has changed me a lot.
Speaking of Sabrina, she told me that Tiana was the one who refused to grant me a promotion. But Tiana says it was Gaziel. That whore Tiana is obviously lying. But why? Why does she hate me so much? My god, if I could just obtain power, I swear I'd tear her pussy. That bitch is lying and saying it was Gaziel!! Fuck, if only I could speak out. But I have to keep my conversations with Sabrina a secret, or I'll die. Not to mention, she's clearly an ally… and also an enemy of this kingdom. Just who is Sabrina?
"Let's start planning our escape," Petal said.
"Good idea!" Maris added.
"Alright, when are you planning to escape?" Evol asked as he averted his gaze from Camellia's book. My god, what is that book even about?
"What are you reading, Camellia?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
"Arthur and Elaine, and how they met on the continent of Bardel," Camellia answered.
"King Arthur?" I asked. Damn, is Staria one of the worlds from British mythology?!
"King Arthur?! No, Arthur is the leader of this kingdom's knights and the strongest swordsman in it," she replied.
"The strongest swordsman?! Stronger than your father too?!" I asked in disbelief.
"Of course. He's the second strongest person in the kingdom after the court mage, Velmhor," Camellia added.
Oof, that actually got me excited. I suddenly felt a surge of motivation to learn magic. Do these things boost dopamine or what? Every time I discover a new person in this world, I feel a bit of excitement. It has happened multiple times—with Sabrina, Tiana, Gaziel, and even Beltum.
"I asked, when are you going to escape?" Evol repeated.
"Yo, Evol, why don't you escape with us? You have good fire magic. You'd be extremely useful!" I said, staring into his eyes.
"Impossible. Do you want me to become a combat slave again?" he replied.
"No, no! I promise, once we escape, we'll become adventurers. You're a mage, Petal is a thief, Maris is a healer, and I… I… I'll be the party's strategist! Just think about it. We'll form an amazing party, delve into dungeons and ruins, collect goblin ears, hand them to the guild, and earn money. Then we'll return to the tavern and drink together. Camellia can even come with us!" I said, imagining this wonderful life—only for it to vanish like a fleeting mirage when I looked at their gloomy faces. GOD... am I the optimistic one here now? I've really changed.
"My goddess, you're good at this. Are there adventurer guilds in your previous world?!" Petal asked.
"No, but there are plenty of stories about them," I replied.
"We've suffered enough, Laos. We're not taking any more risks. We can live just fine in this palace," Evol responded.
"Yeah, we're not struggling like you are, so we have no reason to escape," Camellia added.
"Alright, looks like if we succeed, we won't be seeing you two again," I said, trying to stir their emotions.
"It's fine. It'll just be the three of us," Petal said, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"That is… if we succeed. I think we're all going to die," I replied.
"Yeah, we'll never make it out alive," Maris added.
"Speak for yourselves. I will make it out and see the outside world again," Petal said with a grin and closed eyes.
"Alright, so what's the plan?" Camellia asked.
"I don't know, but the most important thing is waiting for the princess to leave the palace again," I said.
"She won't leave. It's impossible. Her path was intercepted by spies from another kingdom. How do you expect her to go out again?" Evol replied.
"Ahh! Spies from another kingdom?" Sounds like Sabrina has something to do with this.
"Yes. So waiting for Tiana to leave is out of the question," Camellia muttered.
After that, we sat down and started brainstorming an escape plan. We all thought and shared our ideas. The atmosphere was warm as we talked, and for the first time in a social setting like this, I felt truly happy. I was cheerful. I didn't think about any of my problems. All I did was talk to these people—people who would help me achieve my goal. Thank you, all of you… Yes, yes, I've changed so much.
"Laos, why are you smiling alone?" Maris asked.
◆ ◆ ◆
Inside a quiet room, a woman stood with long black hair and a tall, sharp-ended hat. She appeared to be speaking to an owl perched by the window in front of her. The owl was white and beautiful, tilting its head with each sentence Sabrina uttered, as if carefully listening to every word.
"They dropped a sword!! I can't believe it, they're really idiots!" Sabrina muttered with an annoyed expression.
"Everything is going fine until these ridiculous obstacles appear... I know, I know it's not a big deal, but why would they leave such an obvious clue on the battlefield and then run away?!!"
Sabrina continued to rant angrily about what had happened, while the beautiful owl kept watching in silence. She spoke in a low voice as if afraid someone might overhear her, yet she kept talking and talking about this problem.
"Neerlly, go scold them!" Sabrina ordered. After that, the owl, adorned with a golden necklace and piercing blue eyes, took off.
Sabrina then stepped toward the window and gazed at Laos sitting with his companions. She lit a pipe using her magic, then let a faint smile creep onto her face. This was Sabrina—the witch, one of the figures in this palace, and someone who, it seemed, had many secrets up her sleeve.