#087 Baby Amber is going to take a nap
“Are you really not a witch!? Oh my god….”
Pearl couldn’t hide her astonishment and excitement as she looked at me and began to ask me questions.
“What kind of attribute wizard are you? Based on what I said before, it’s definitely electricity?”
“Yes, that’s true, but… “
“So, is something like Chain Lightning or Thunder Storm possible? “It’s really awesome, a kid who can use magic is coming in!”
“It’s true that you can use magic, but…”
After wondering how to explain this to Pearl, she finally said this.
“It won’t help at all.”
“… What do you mean, that? ‘How can you not help when you can use magic?’
“So, I can’t even use basic magic properly.”
Pearl looked like she couldn’t believe what I said.
“What!? “Basic magic is usually learned in childhood, right?”
“I couldn’t read at the time, so I didn’t have a chance to read it. I’m busy working as a maid for a noble house….”
When I somehow learned how to write, I was already far behind others.
Pearl listened to everything I said and then she sighed.
“… Ha, I was excited because I thought I finally had a chance to escape.”
I felt a bit sorry for somehow putting unnecessary expectations on Pearl.
Pearl no longer asked about magic, but asked other questions.
“By the way, if Amber isn’t a witch, why did she come in here?”
“There are some circumstances. “I was caught instead of my friend.”
“What a great friendship…! “Have you thought about a way to get out again?”
“There is one insider among the association officials. “He decided to get it out somehow.”
“What?”
After hearing what I said, Pearl burst out laughing and said.
“Puhahahaha… ! “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“Why are you smiling?”
“Then why bother putting you in danger? “If that person valued you, wouldn’t he have found another way?”
“That’s because they said there was no other way… “
When I answered, Pearl shrugged her shoulders and said,
“Amber. The people in the association are all the same. “A dog of power.”
“… Emerald is not that kind of person. Pearl.”
“You never know. Maybe he was planning on putting you in from the beginning, rather than being your friend.”
“… “
“Or is this an experiment to see how people who are not witches will react when they are placed in a quarantine facility?”
At that time, all the lights went out and the director’s booming voice was heard.
“It’s bedtime! “Everyone, lie down!”
When my vision suddenly became dark, I whispered in panic.
“What’s going on…?” ? “Why did you suddenly turn off the light?”
“It’s nap time.”
“Nap time… ? “It’s still broad daylight and I have to sleep?”
“Here, we sleep three times a day. “I don’t know why.”
“Three times… “
“You didn’t take the pills you gave us earlier, right? “That’s a sleeping pill.”
It was shocking. They deliberately gave him sleeping pills at every meal to make him sleep.
“Maybe we can stay awake even if the other kids are asleep. Let’s talk about it when everyone falls asleep. “For now, just pretend to sleep.”
“… Okay.”
I had no choice but to lie down and pretend to sleep.
As she closed her eyes, Pearl’s words stuck in her mind.
‘What if what Pearl says is true…? ? If Emerald betrayed me… ?’
I deceived Emerald, but she also has a history of deceiving me.
Anxious feelings began to creep in, but I desperately denied it.
Emerald said she must believe in herself. She didn’t look like she was lying, at least based on her facial expression at the time.
‘Anyway, since I’m here, I have no choice but to trust Emerald.’
She shook off useless thoughts and gently closed her heavy eyelids.
***
“Amber, Amber!”
“… Hmm?”
I opened my eyes when I felt someone shaking my body, and saw Pearl with a puzzled expression on her face.
She was leaning her body towards me with her gray hair hanging down.
“You didn’t take sleeping pills, right? “I want to sleep with her snoring…”
He said he wasn’t going to sleep, but he seemed to have dozed off.
“Sorry. “It’s a lot more comfortable here than I thought.”
He feeds me every meal without being told to do anything, and lets me sleep three times a day.
I felt like a baby being cared for.
“You can’t get used to this feeling. “The goal is to make us as lazy as possible.”
“… That’s why I don’t ask you to do anything.”
“I don’t have time to exercise other than 10 minutes a day. “They are planning to turn people into sloths.”
I’m sure if you stay in a place like this for a few years, you won’t even have any questions.
“By the way, I have something to show you. Follow me.”
The place where Pearl took me by her hand was a dark hallway with all the lights off.
“Can I come out like this as I please?”
“It doesn’t matter as long as you don’t get caught. Besides, the hallways are dark so you won’t get caught.”
It was so dark that it felt like it was underground without a single ray of sunlight.
Perhaps because there was no visibility, it felt like only Pearl’s and my footsteps echoed particularly loudly.
As we followed her to the end of the hallway, Pearl patted something on her back and said,
“This is it. Amber.”
“What is this?”
“An exit connected to the ground.”
When I touched her hand, I felt the sensation of cold iron.
“Is this connected to the outside?”
“Yes. “It’s a passage leading outside, but unlike other places, there’s no one guarding it.”
Pearl fumbled with her iron door several times and spoke in a sad voice.
“It would be nice if we could at least see how the lock is structured… “
Because there was no light, it was difficult to determine what was in front of her eyes.
‘Shall we find out?’
I tried to create light using the only pseudo-magic I could do.
As she clenched her fists, light emanated from my entire body, illuminating the end of the hallway.
“This is awesome, Amber! “You said you can’t use magic?”
“Huh? Strictly speaking, it’s not magic… “
“Thanks to you, I can investigate. “It’s totally awesome!”
Pearl was happy and she lightly kissed my cheek.
“… !”
When I backed away in embarrassment from the sudden cheek kiss, she tilted her head and asked.
“What’s wrong? “It’s just an expression of gratitude, right?”
“Ah, expressing gratitude… ?”
“It’s strange. “Wherever I was, everyone was like that.”
I don’t know what culture she came from, but she seemed to come from a fairly open place.
We began to examine the lock on the iron door in earnest.
“It’s thorough. “It’s double locked.”
In addition to the numbered lock, there was also a lock that required a key.
“Pearl, do officials come here often?”
“No. Just about twice a day. “There is a delivery person who brings food ingredients to the galley.”
Anyway, it seemed like it would take a huge amount of time just to specify this password.
“How many digits are there? “It’s very complicated.”
As Pearl was grumbling next to me and randomly combining passwords, I heard a clanking sound from the other side of the iron door.
“Pearl, did you just hear that? A clanking sound… “
When I looked at Pearl while saying that, she whispered with a clear expression of embarrassment.
“A big problem has occurred. Hide, Amber!”
“Where!?”
We heard the sound of the locks being unlocked one by one from the other side of the iron gate, and we quickly looked for a place to hide.
With her skill, Pearl dived into her trash can placed in her hallway.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘Trash can… ?’
She may be used to this type of situation, but she didn’t seem to have any aversion to hiding in a trash can.
“Amber, you hide behind the flower pot over there! Hurry!”
“A flowerpot!?”
There was a flower pot just barely big enough to cover a person in the place Pearl pointed to, so I hid behind it and waited with bated breath.
Soon, all the locks on the iron door were unlocked, and the person on the other side appeared.
‘Is that person a delivery person…?’
The sight of someone covering their face with something reminded me of a spacesuit.
Wearing a bizarre outfit that didn’t reveal any skin, he turned on his flashlight, shined it here and there in his hallway, and started moving with a cart filled with food ingredients.
‘Don’t look here…’ Please don’t look here… ‘
The sound of the cart’s clattering wheels echoed loudly in the hallway.
I was so scared that I closed my eyes tightly, hid behind a flower pot, and prayed that they wouldn’t see me and pass by.
At that time, the sound of the cart stopped unnaturally.
‘Did he go…? ?’
When I opened my eyes, I made eye contact with the mysterious delivery man.
“… !”
He moved his flashlight to shine on me, as if checking my face.
“… Town!”
Just as I was about to reflexively scream in surprise, the delivery man raised his index finger and gestured for me to be quiet.
‘What, are you telling me to be quiet?’ ?’
The delivery man took out what looked like chocolate from the cart and handed it to me.
It was an ordinary square-shaped, neatly packaged chocolate.
‘… ?’
Even though I couldn’t help but be suspicious of his strange behavior, I accepted the chocolate for now.
Then, the delivery man silently dragged the cart and disappeared down the hallway as if nothing had happened.
‘He’s a strange person…’
Even when he saw me outside, he didn’t even try to catch me, but instead just gave me a snack and left.
As the sound of the cart went away, the trash can lid popped off and Pearl’s head popped out.
“Amber, are you okay?”
“Yes. For now… “
“Thank goodness. “That person usually comes a little later, but he came early today.”
When the delivery man shined a flashlight in my face, I felt my heart sink.
Pearl dusted herself off and she said to me.
“Let’s go back to our seats, Amber. “I think I’ll be in trouble if I run into the delivery guy again.”
“Yes.”
***
I returned to my bed, took a breather, and slowly looked at the chocolate that the delivery man had just handed me.
And, I was able to find one strange thing.
‘There are traces of this being opened, right?’
I wonder if he gave me something to eat… ?
No, I don’t think that’s the case…
As I slowly peeled off the wrapping paper following the open trace, the white paper sandwiched in between fell out.
‘Paper?’
I turned it over and checked the contents.
[Tomorrow at 1pm, hallway in front of the food warehouse]
‘… !’
There was a message left there whose intention was clear to anyone who could see it.
—-
(Digression)
20 Types of emoticons have been finally selected!
I think I’ll be done with just the order and the parts that need to be modified.
20 Felt like fewer than I thought, so I think I’ll add the emoticons I couldn’t put in at another opportunity!!
We will continue to receive opinions until final completion, so we will actively reflect any opinions on modifications or replacements!
