Trapped in the warehouse, we sat down for a moment, waiting for someone to pass by.
“I can’t believe they locked us in a warehouse…”
Emily is one thing, but sometimes Mary can be quite forceful too. Wasn’t there a softer, friendlier way?
“U-Um…”
At that moment, Diana, who was next to me, timidly spoke up.
We were currently sitting side by side on the floor, staring blankly at the warehouse door.
In that situation, Diana leaned in a bit closer and asked, “Ken, are you cold?”
“Cold…? Hmm… Now that you mention it, the floor does feel a bit chilly…”
When I was a guy, I would have just sat there without a care about the temperature, but somehow being a woman has made me more sensitive to it. Plus, since this is a warehouse, there’s no soft mattress—just a cold, hard cement floor.
So, the floor was definitely colder than the warehouse itself.
“Oh no! If you get cold, you’ll catch a cold!”
“Huh? No, this is fine…”
“What are you talking about? You’re underestimating Gelarius!”
Diana frowned seriously, speaking carefully as if warning me of danger.
“Getting sick in a place like this means you lose your strength to protect yourself… Do you understand what that means?”
“Wha-What do you mean?”
“You’ll get eaten.”
“…What?”
Eaten? Is there a monster in this prison that eats sick prisoners?
“Did you not see the group of giants? They’ll tear you apart!”
From her explanation, I understood what Diana was getting at. It all made sense—the giants and their gang who had eyed both me and Raphne like we were their next meal after we left the shower room yesterday.
“Yikes!!”
It’s just like those prison movies where pretty prisoners become the playthings of others. Thankfully, Raphne and I were strong enough to survive, but if I caught a cold and became weak…
“…No, it’s fine! Raphne will protect me.”
And Emily and Mary are here too. Surely, nothing like that will actually happen.
“But we need to prepare for the worst! Come on, move over here quickly.”
“Uh, what?”
“At times like this, we need to warm each other up with our body heat.”
For some reason, Diana blushed and looked at me with a rather pervy gaze as she moved closer.
Those eyes are scary…!
But her expression seemed normal, so maybe it was just my misunderstanding.
“Um, okay…”
So, Diana and I huddled closely together, looking out at the warehouse.
Wiggle, wiggle.
Even though we were just pressed against each other, it definitely felt warmer than before.
But then again, somehow it felt like Diana’s hand was slithering towards me like a worm.
I could feel a presence around my back.
“Um, uh…”
In the end, I couldn’t ignore that peculiar approach and cautiously turned to look at Diana.
At my voice, she jumped and looked around as if she got caught stealing.
“Ah, um, I was just thinking it’d be nice if it were a bit warmer…” Hahaha.
“Is, is that so? Hmm, if you’re cold, I don’t mind…”
“Yes! I’m freezing! It’s super cold!”
She seemed unusually animated by my response, but it looks like Diana really does get cold easily.
Eventually, she placed her hand on my shoulder and pressed herself against me tightly.
“Oof, her chest…”
Naturally, Diana’s chest gently brushed against my shoulder.
By the way, prison uniforms don’t include bras.
So both Raphne and I, and even Diana next to me, currently have a no-bra situation.
Thus, the feeling of Diana’s chest on my shoulder was transmitted without a single layer of fabric in between.
Because of that, my heart started racing, and the atmosphere felt awkward.
“Oh no, calm down. I’m a woman now! Plus, I have three fiancées!”
If I increase the numbers in my head, I might really meet my end socially or physically.
I need to keep my head clear and stop thinking foolishly.
“Rather, I should focus on Diana’s escape…”
It was a perfect opportunity prepared by Emily and Mary.
If I let this chance slip, I won’t be able to enact my plan to escape with her, so I decided to start the conversation.
“So… How much longer do you have until your release date, Diana?”
“Me? Hmm… It’s been three years since I came in….”
Her face flushed while she pondered my question, then she grinned and answered.
“About 50 years left.”
“Fifty years…!?”
“Yes, well, is it that surprising?”
“Not really, I mean… in fifty years…”
She’d come out as a total grandma. I couldn’t help but be astonished.
“Hahaha! Just being spared the death penalty is a blessing! Especially after committing palace terror!”
Unlike me, Diana was smiling cheerfully. She’s quite the optimistic person.
“Isn’t it stuffy in here, Diana?”
But I felt like I gained a hint for my plan from her recent response.
Fifty years of prison living.
At that point, she’d surely be tempted by the idea of escape.
“At first, it was stuffy, but now I’ve adapted and it’s okay.”
“…Huh?”
“All places where people live are pretty much the same. So now, it feels like home.”
Even though only three years had passed, Diana talked as if life outside was ancient history.
I could only be taken aback by her bright answer.
This wasn’t what I expected at all.
“Um…”
But I had to try.
I can’t just lounge around here for years waiting to take her out.
I needed to speed things up.
“I’m planning to escape from this place soon.”
I said that seriously to Diana, who was still leaning on my shoulder.
Diana looked even more shocked than I had been hearing about 50 years.
“Y-You thought of that just two days after coming here?”
“Ugh…!”
She questioned me incredulously.
It’s true that I seem like a rather trivial fellow!
But the actual reason for wanting to escape is to forge a magic sword!
“Anyway! There’s something I want to tell you, Diana!”
I decided to be brave and speak my mind without backing down.
It’s either all or nothing.
If it fails, I’ll just knock her out and carry her away!
Before forcing something, let’s try a peaceful approach through conversation.
“Diana, would you like to come out with me…?”
But having become a woman, I felt softer and was too shy to ask directly, mumbling and looking up at her like a bunny.
Though my image and thoughts drastically differ…
W-Well, I’ve made the offer at least.
The question now was whether my timid suggestion would persuade Diana to join me…
“Ugh…!”
Diana clutched her chest and shivered slightly.
Huh?
“…C-Cute.”
She muttered something and then, as if feeling better, her eyes sparkled as she firmly grabbed my hand.
“So you need my help?! For Ken?”
“Uh? Ah, yes, well… but you have no doubts at all?”
“Well, if I could help Ken, I’d do anything!”
Wow, that was easy.
In that case, was there really any need to get locked in this warehouse?
But easy is good too.
Better than having to dig up some sad backstory and triggering her trauma to join forces to escape the prison against all odds.
A straightforward method would be the best.
I nodded at Diana’s blushing face as she gasped for breath in excitement.
But she was really too close to me.
At that moment, as our escape alliance was formed, a ‘clank’ sound came from the warehouse door.
“Hey you two. What are you doing in there? Come out quickly.”
The voice that appeared through the door was Mary.
‘…So she was eavesdropping at the door.’
Mary looked at Diana and me with some sort of displeasure.
It was hard to gauge whether she was acting like a guard who just caught us slacking off or if she was genuinely uncomfortable with something.
“Ah, I’m sorry! The door suddenly locked!”
Diana quickly stood up and went over to Mary, just like it was second nature.
And of course, she didn’t forget to take the construction materials Emily instructed her to bring along.
“Hmm, I see. Then you, head to the shower room first.”
“Huh? Just me?”
“They need the materials urgently. I’ll take care of this suspicious prisoner.”
“Y-Yeah…”
Isn’t that a bit risky?
Mary was ridiculously abusing her power as a guard.
Sending a prisoner off alone after catching them slacking!
And just earlier, an unnamed guard had escorted us here.
Then again, we were going to escape later on anyway.
Thus, in a hurry, Diana grabbed her stuff and ran toward the shower room.
As she disappeared around the corner, Mary subtly sidled up to me, leaning her shoulder against mine.
I could feel her gentle shoulder and hear her slightly sulky voice.
“…You’re such a playboy.”
“…Huh?”
“Even as a woman, Ken can’t help himself.”
“I-I didn’t do anything!”
“…The lack of self-awareness makes it worse.”
Puffing her cheeks slightly, Mary held my arm tight and began to lead me away.
It seems I did something wrong after all.
*
Diana dashed toward the shower room carrying the construction materials, a smile plastered on her face.
“Ken needs me…! Ken needs me!”
Diana had fallen head over heels for Ken the moment she first saw him tied up as he was brought to prison alongside Raphne.
Initially, she felt despair over the prospect of being one of three fiancées.
Yet that burning passion in her heart didn’t just extinguish.
Instead, she was suffering from not being able to express that fiery love freely.
So she was only daring enough to engage in timid skinship under the pretense of the warehouse being cold.
‘…If the escape is successful…’
As she ran to the shower room, Diana thought.
Escaping from this prison is no easy task.
In this case, if Ken—who planned the escape—needed her help, it would certainly be a chance to repay a kindness.
‘If we succeed, I’ll ask Ken out on a date!’
Diana felt giddy with excitement, her orange ponytail flying behind her as a new goal came to life.
Escaping from this prison would be a feat grand enough to make even a date request seem trivial.
After helping him get out of here, she would boldly ask him out on a date.
What difference do three fiancées make?
She would become the fourth.
“Here’s the materials!”
In that uplifted mood, Diana quickly reached Emily with the supplies.
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