Chapter: 330
The Bald Slave attempted to resist in his own way, but ultimately had no choice but to stand before Davis, pushed by the other slaves.
Davis then spoke to the bald man.
“Did you say this thief stole your coin?”
“I… uh, that is… I’ve never had any coins stolen…!”
If this continued, he would have no choice but to hit Evangeline with a stick.
Having helped Evangeline first, perhaps some internal bond had formed.
The Bald Slave appeared to want to deny that he was the one at fault.
But at that moment, Davis took coins from his pocket and floated them in mid-air, glancing over them before nodding at the man and saying.
“Hmm, that’s definitely true. So, the coin you lost is one, right?”
“Uh…? No, how…”
What he had given to Evangeline was clearly one coin.
It might have been a coincidence, but Davis spoke with such certainty that the slave’s face turned pale as he asked.
Davis then pointed to one of the floating coins and replied.
“If you look closely, there’s a small number written here, right? I also have the memory of who received which coin, being a mage and all. This is number 818, the coin you received a few days ago. Anyway, don’t even think about coming out to hit someone just because you want that coin. The right to punish belongs to the victim.”
Since it was practically impossible to deny, the bald man’s expression hardened.
“Oh, and if you don’t come out, I’ll consider you an accessory to the crime and punish you, so keep that in mind.”
At those words, some slaves turned pale.
They were all people who had done favors for Evangeline for one reason or another.
As a result, they found themselves in a position where they had to hit Evangeline.
It was a horribly coercive situation where the one striking would inevitably feel pain too.
But there was no escaping it.
The Bald Slave grasped the stick handed to him by Davis.
“Alright, it’s one coin, so hit him once.”
The Bald Slave stood with the stick, facing the squirming sack.
He hesitated, trembling, and barely tapped the sack with the stick.
That alone made him look distressed, but Davis said.
“Again.”
“…Huh?”
“Can’t you hear? Hit again. You can’t just tap lightly like that when punishing. Again.”
At Davis’s insistence, the Bald Slave gripped the stick once more.
His eyes squeezed shut, and with a bit more strength, the stick came down towards the sack.
A small sound echoed as something hit something else.
Immediately after striking the sack, the Bald Slave sat down, trembling.
The stick slipped from his quivering hand.
But even that displeased Davis, who spoke up.
“Again.”
“Uh, uh…”
“Put more strength into it and hit properly. If you continue like this, I’ll consider you an accomplice defending a criminal. There’s no second chance, so it would be wise to behave.”
At Davis’s deadly warning, the Bald Slave quivered and lifted the stick again.
He gripped it tightly with both hands and raised it high.
And under Davis’s steady gaze…
“Ugh, aah…! Waaaaah!!!”
The slave lost his senses and slammed the stick down on the sack with all his might.
A thud echoed that should never have been made when hitting a sack with a person inside.
“Huh…?”
Realizing what he had done, the slave stood there, dazed, dropped the stick, and looked at his hand.
He was holding a black coin.
“Well done. The next person should come out now, so get back to your spot.”
The coin given like a trophy.
The Bald Slave gripped it tightly and bolted away.
To Beatrice, it looked as if he were fleeing.
From the touch that shouldn’t be felt in his hand and the dark substance spilling from the sack.
“Ugg, ughwaaaa…!”
However, he ultimately couldn’t escape entirely, as he ran to a corner and vomited.
Davis watched him for a moment before murmuring to the slaves.
“Next, come out.”
Moments later, a female slave who had received a drawing from Evangeline stepped forward with a stick.
“Ahh… aah…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!”
She kept apologizing as she brought the stick down on the sack.
“Damn it… damn it…! I’m not at fault… I’m not at fault…!”
Next came another slave, endlessly rationalizing and hitting the sack with the stick.
None of them were without pain, but then again, none refrained from striking either.
Those who had previously given what they had to help others were now doing whatever it took to survive.
“Kid, it’ll hurt but there’s no choice… if we resist Davis, we’ll all die… so it can’t be helped…”
The old man muttered next to Beatrice.
He bit his lip so hard that blood dripped, repeating how there was no choice.
Beatrice understood through the old man’s words that this was indeed an unavoidable situation.
The old man wasn’t one to speak wrongly.
It wasn’t that people were bad, causing such events to occur.
He was the type who would willingly sacrifice himself to save Evangeline if he could.
But even that kind-hearted old man had no choice but to follow Davis’s orders.
Because not just his life, but the lives of others depended on it.
Thus, the old man reluctantly gripped the stick for the sake of others.
Thud, thud.
Since he had given many coins to Evangeline, the old man had to strike repeatedly with the stick.
After striking ten times in succession, the old man placed the stick down with a sorrowful expression.
After the old man’s turn ended, there were three coins left with Davis.
“Then what’s left… oh, I see. It’s you.”
As Davis smirked, Beatrice felt the ropes binding her and the cloth covering her mouth vanish.
When Beatrice rose, Davis extended the stick towards her and said.
“Alright, you’re the last one.”
At those words, Beatrice asked.
“What happens if I don’t?”
Davis replied.
“Don’t get cocky. Well, you’d die.”
“Then just kill me.”
“If I do, everyone else will die too. Will you keep that brazen attitude?”
At Davis’s words, Beatrice felt the gazes of the other slaves on her.
Those gazes seemed to speak.
It’s unavoidable.
Before unreasonable power, it’s only natural to submit obediently.
Even so, Beatrice wanted to refuse, but several slaves wouldn’t allow her that.
They forcibly opened Beatrice’s hand and made her grip the stick.
Holding her arm and lifting it, they made her strike down on the already motionless sack.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The three strikes enforced upon her without regard for her will.
In this moment, Beatrice became a victim forced to bend to unreasonable power.
She felt profoundly that this was how the world worked while simultaneously thinking.
If the world operates like this.
How terribly boring and unexciting it is.
—
With that horrific experience, Beatrice was able to secure the lives of all the slaves and three coins.
Later, Beatrice helped clean up with the other slaves.
Since there wasn’t a separate grave in the mine, the sack that had once been Evangeline would be discarded into the abyss like the other slaves who had died here.
A place where sunlight would never reach for eternity.
Beatrice felt a buzz in her ears.
The sound of white paper that wanted to embrace the sun tearing against the absurdity of the world.
The sound that proved there were no miracles in the world.
—
The slaves in the Underground Mine regained their routine.
They worked until mealtime, ate, rested when the work was done, and followed the monotonous cycle of life.
However, Beatrice couldn’t adapt to that restored routine at all.
It felt as if all interest in everything had vanished.
“…”
Perhaps bored with the dull world.
It felt as if the entire world had turned monochrome.
“…It’s boring.”
The crushing boredom brought about a sense of apathy toward everything.
So Beatrice decided not to participate in work any longer.
Naturally, a bit of a commotion arose.
Because the rule of the mine was that if you didn’t work, you wouldn’t get food, meaning not working was effectively a death sentence.
The old man urged Beatrice, saying she should at least try to survive.
But Beatrice’s resolve was firm.
Being forced to do something she didn’t want more terrifying than living in this boring world.
Thus, Beatrice wanted to no longer be interfered with by anyone.
And then she gained the ability to not be bothered by anyone.
The ability to conceal her appearance, block sounds, or erase touches became exceedingly convenient.
Beatrice could now evade the slaves who sought her out right in front of her.
She could ignore the loud noises they made.
And above all, she could erase things from the world that didn’t sit right with her.
“──!!!”
“…Get out of my way.”
For instance, that Davis who tried to block her way out of the cave.
Beatrice erased Davis from existence and walked out of the cave.
Outside the cave, Beatrice was greeted by the sunlight that Evangeline longed to see.
And upon seeing the sun, Beatrice let out a giggle.
She tried to mimic Evangeline’s laugh, which always came when she was happy.
“…”
Yet, even though she finally saw the sun, she felt an astonishing lack of emotion and couldn’t even mimic it properly.
Thus, Beatrice stomped her feet apathetically.
As she did, the existence of the Underground Mine behind her was entirely erased.
With this, would the sunlight that Evangeline wished to see reach her a little, buried down there?
Now, she no longer cared.
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