* * *
Someone who would immediately grab me and check how bad my injuries were if I showed up covered in blood!
Of course, that’s not because of any romantic feelings—he’s just a really good person…?
Ugh, if only he were a little less kind!
If he weren’t this good, I wouldn’t have fallen for him!
But that’s exactly why I love him!
My emotions were in absolute chaos.
But the conclusion was clear—I missed him.
I wanted to make up with him right now.
“If you’re that worried, why don’t you come too?”
“I’m not worried. I’m just stating common sense—”
Oh, his face turned red.
“Worried? Me?”
Vasco pointed at himself, sounding genuinely surprised.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t used to being worried about—he just didn’t see the point.
By adventurer standards, he was already fully healed.
We’d used up every half-baked potion in this town and even a high-grade one I had bought myself.
On top of that, he had gone to a healer.
If he wasn’t healed, something would be wrong.
Of course, his body had gone through a lot, so resting would be good for his condition.
But it’s not like we’re going into battle.
This is nothing.
Wow. Arthur’s really showing his feelings.
“I said I’m not worried.”
Arthur emphasized his words.
But coming from someone usually so stiff and expressionless, putting emotion into his voice only made him look more suspicious.
“Right? So what’s there to worry about?”
And Vasco actually agreed.
What an oblivious idiot.
“Anyway, everyone’s still recovering, so no one’s taking on new requests yet. Just rest while we’re gone. We’ll be quick.”
“Are you really going to do this?”
“Why do you keep asking? I said I’ll be quick.”
Arthur let out a sigh, then silently looked off into the distance.
He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
He looked deeply conflicted.
“You’re coming, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
A win for me.
Arthur had already agreed to gather information on Gaspar, meaning he no longer owed me anything.
But his reluctance made it clear—he didn’t like how his uncontrollable feelings for someone were pushing him into this.
He probably thought I had asked Vasco for help just to drag him in.
He was absolutely right.
No matter what the task is, two people are better than one, and three are better than two.
It allows for better division of labor.
Especially for priests, who have broad connections due to how easily temples exchange information.
But for Batista not to know that “Bati” was actually Batista?
That just means they had no interest in him once he was sent away.
Sure, Batista was a quiet kid, but wasn’t everyone way too indifferent?
No wonder the guy never even considered returning in ten years.
No, now’s not the time to be thinking about this.
Anyway, this is all for the sake of saving humanity, so just consider it a good deed and endure it.
This is the will of the gods.
Of course, I couldn’t say it like that.
Still, Arthur was a diligent priest who followed through on his promises.
He quickly gathered the information I needed.
“I looked into it.”
Arthur handed over the documents as if he were tossing them away.
What I had asked for was the prison where that convict was being held and his physical description.
“That was fast.”
Brawls at gambling dens weren’t exactly rare occurrences.
I had expected it to take a while to sift through everything.
“There was already an ongoing investigation on Gaspar. I sorted through the relevant information.”
Even if he said it like that, I doubted there were only a few incidents caused by a gambling addict like Gaspar.
See?
This is why he’s useful.
I made the right call bringing him in.
“Where is he?”
As I checked the documents, Vasco suddenly leaned in.
I turned the paper slightly to make it easier for him to read.
“Hiskers.”
“Ugh.”
“What?”
“That place is cursed. I’ve never set foot in it because of that.”
“Are there any prisons that aren’t cursed?”
They cram people into filthy cells, barely feed them, and let them waste away until they die.
If there’s any place bound to be haunted by lingering resentment, it’s a prison.
“It’s complicated.”
But I understood what Vasco was getting at.
Hiskers was an unusual prison.
Most prisons were built by the state to exploit free labor under the guise of punishment.
They needed people to do backbreaking work that even commoners refused to take on, so they forced prisoners into it.
By the time they were exhausted from laboring all day, they wouldn’t even have the energy to attempt escape.
That’s why most prisons were poorly built—just a few guards were enough to keep a bunch of exhausted prisoners under control.
But Hiskers was a castle.
A massive, intricate fortress that used to be home to nobles.
And yet, it had become a prison because it was cursed.
No one knew who originally owned it, but according to rumors, some noble coveted the grand estate and framed its owner, leading to his unjust execution.
Supposedly, the lingering resentment of that wrongful death caused every subsequent owner to meet an untimely end.
No one knew if the curse was real, but when every noble who took over the castle kept dying, people started avoiding it altogether.
Eventually, they repurposed it—to house the most dangerous criminals.
Of course, by now, the once-grand castle was nothing but a decrepit ruin.
There was nothing elegant or luxurious about it anymore.
But as a noble’s estate, it had a labyrinth of hidden passageways.
Worse, if you entered the wrong way, you’d trigger traps.
Anyone treating it like a normal prison might just end up as an inmate themselves.
No wonder Vasco was reluctant.
“If you don’t want to go, no one’s forcing you.”
Oh, come on.
We already agreed to work together, and now he’s backing out? That’s low.
“It’s fine.”
I cut Arthur off before he could finish speaking.
“I’ve been there plenty of times.”
I knew exactly which secret passages to use to stay out of sight and how to disable the traps.
“Plenty of times?”
Arthur gave me a look of disbelief.
“What the hell have you been up to?”
Even Vasco sounded disgusted.
What’s with those looks?
I was just an adventurer who never turned down a well-paying job.
Since most adventurers avoided that place, the commission fee skyrocketed.
If I could do it, why wouldn’t I?
“Anyway, just trust me. I’ll make sure you don’t get a single scratch.”
I said it with complete confidence.
“You’re so damn smug about it.”
“Just admit that you feel inferior to me. It’s hurting your pride, huh?”
“That’s exactly why you’re so damn irritating!”
Vasco swung his fist, cutting through the air with a sharp whoosh.
Naturally, I dodged.
Even when I promised to keep him safe, he threw a fit.
When he aimed a second punch, I caught his wrist instead.
Normally, I’d let him vent a little, but I was seriously short on time.
Vasco struggled to pull his hand free before eventually kicking me in frustration.
He was the one who threw the first punch!
“Sorry, but we don’t have time to waste. Let’s go over the plan right away.”
“…Alright.”
At my serious attitude, Vasco withdrew his hand.
It seemed he finally realized how sincere I was about this.
“What’s the plan?”
“First, Arthur, the priest, will visit Hiskers under the pretense of wanting to rehabilitate criminals.”
“So you were planning to drag me into this from the start.”
As if that needed to be asked.
* * *
