I Was Just a Losing Jail Guard, but When I Was Kind to the Captured Heroines, the Game’s Story Fell Apart. - Chapter 05: The Losing Jail Guard Prepares a Gift

Chapter 05: The Losing Jail Guard Prepares a Gift

“So yeah, I’m back to being a jail guard starting today.”

“…Why are you telling me that?”

“Well, we were cell neighbors for a night, after all.”

The next day.

When I arrived at work, I let Katiana know that my execution had been canceled.

She acted like she didn’t care, but I could tell she seemed a bit relieved.

Yesterday, she even laughed while talking to me, so I’m going to believe her opinion of me is improving.

Thinking that way helps keep my motivation up.

“It’s good you avoided execution, but why are you back in a cell?”

“Well, I dunno… being inside a cell is kind of relaxing. It’s a nice, enclosed space, and I like that sort of thing.”

After spending a whole day in a cell yesterday, I realized something.

When I’m in a cell, random thoughts disappear, and I can really focus.

So from now on, whenever I need to think things through, I’ll probably hang out in a cell.

But right now, even after thinking hard, I couldn’t find any answers. So I decided to ask my next-door neighbor for advice.

“…Hey, Miss Katiana, how do you think I can become friends with someone who hates me?”

“What’s this all of a sudden? Why are you asking me?”

“Uh, you know, it’s like… life advice? That kind of thing.”

“…I’m not sure what you mean, but let’s see.”

Even so, Katiana listened to my problem and seriously considered it.

“How about crossing swords with them?”

“You mean… fight them?”

“Yes. That’s how I gained my friends. You should try the same.”

That’s… not helpful.

I mean, the person I need to befriend is Lucifelle —the Demon Lord.

If I fight her, I’m done for. My life is on the line here.

When I slapped Lucifelle, she was too shocked to react, but…

In a real fight, she could probably kill me with one punch. That’s how powerful the Demon Lord is.

“Anything else? She’s ridiculously strong.”

“…”

She’s got nothing.

I guess that makes sense. In the game, Katiana was always a bit of a battle maniac, so this advice tracks.

Just then, my senior, who had apparently been listening, stood in front of the cell with a serene, monk-like expression.

“Lugus, the key is to care about the other person.”

“…Care about them?”

“Yes. Respect their thoughts and feelings, and when they’re wrong, help them see the right path. Strength doesn’t matter. What’s important is being equals. That’s the first step to becoming friends.”

Wow, my senior just dropped some serious wisdom like he’s an actual saint.

But being equals, huh?

“Thanks, Senior. I think that gave me a clue. And thanks to you too, Miss Katiana.”

I bowed to my monk-like senior and thanked Katiana as well.

Katiana blinked in surprise.

“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t give you any useful advice.”

“Nah, you seriously thought about it, and that means a lot.”

“…Hmph.”

Katiana’s cheeks turned slightly red. She was definitely embarrassed.

“Respecting the other person, huh…”

“Is something wrong?”

“Just thinking it sounds hard.”

“?”

My senior tilted his head, puzzled by my muttering.

I knew about Lucifelle from my game knowledge.

I played Prison Heroine a lot, so I was pretty familiar with the heroines.

But that’s just knowledge.

I didn’t know Lucifelle well enough to truly respect her feelings.

I couldn’t just become her friend because Marisela asked me to.

I needed to understand Lucifelle’s interests and preferences.

“…Maybe I should get her a gift?”

Lucifelle is a collector. She loves powerful weapons and armor.

If I’m going to give her something, it should be along those lines.

But there’s no way a low-ranking demon like me could get my hands on weapons or armor that would impress the Demon Lord.

“Hmm, what should I do… No, don’t get stuck in that mindset. There’s got to be another way.”

I decided to throw away everything I knew from the game.

If I did that, maybe I’d see something I hadn’t noticed before.

“…Oh! That’s it, I totally forgot.”

I realized I’d been missing something pretty important.

Yes, Lucifelle is the most powerful demon of them all.

But she’s still just a teenage girl.

“Kukuku, I just came up with a brilliant idea.”

“Hey, Lugus… you’re making a really creepy face.”

Katiana looked at me with obvious concern.

How rude. I was just trying to figure out how to befriend Lucifelle.

Lucifelle is strong.

She also has a great figure, with a big chest, a confident way of talking, and an arrogant personality that lets her act purely on emotion.

But in the end, she’s just a kid.

“Kids can always be won over with sweets. Kukuku.”

Especially since demons usually eat food that tastes like dark matter.

In other words, their taste buds are terrible.

Maybe something as simple as a sugar candy, like a bekko ame lollipop, could do the trick.

I’m pretty sure there was some sugar in the castle’s kitchen.

Not to brag, but in my past life, I was pretty good with my hands. I used to make little candy sculptures when I was bored.

Let’s see if I can make something Lucifelle would like.

A few days later

At the meeting arranged by Lady Marisela, I came face-to-face with Lucifelle.

At first, she looked obviously annoyed at me, but that didn’t last long.

“W-What is this!?”

“It’s a candy sculpture made of bekko ame, depicting ‘God◯la vs. King Gi◯ra.’”

“T-This is amazing!! I don’t quite get it, but it’s amazing!!”

She loved it. Mission accomplished.

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[Author’s Note]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “There are always people with these weird, random talents, right?”

L: “Really?”

If you thought, “Her opinion of him is going up bit by bit!” or “I want to see that God◯la vs. King Gi◯ra candy sculpture!”, or related to the afterword, please leave a comment, bookmark, ★ rating, or a review! Thanks!