Chapter 3: Escape from the Cage

“Let me out! Get me out of here!”

Morning broke after I was thrown into the cell.

I had been yelling all night, but no one bothered to respond.

For some reason, no matter how long I screamed, my voice never grew hoarse and I didn’t feel sleepy at all. It seems I can keep making a racket indefinitely.

Maybe it’s thanks to that cheat ability of mine which keeps me in perfect health until I eventually kick the bucket. But honestly, being in such flawless condition for so long is starting to freak me out.

Damn, this is too convenient.

“You think it’s okay to lock me up in a place like this?! The Japanese human rights groups won’t let this slide!”

Silence.

As expected, no one reacted.

I was already tired of yelling, so maybe it was time to figure out a way to escape.

Just then—

“Hey, you in the next cell! How much longer are you going to make such a racket?! Because of you, I couldn’t get a wink of sleep!!”

I heard a female voice from the cell next door.

Wait, there’s someone in the neighboring cell?

I hadn’t noticed at all, since I was completely enclosed by stone walls.

“Oh, hello, nice to meet you. I’m Segawa—I just moved in yesterday.”

“Oh, how very polite— No! I don’t need your pleasantries! This is solitary confinement, you know!?”

I already knew that, but after screaming endlessly with no one to talk to, I was starved for some human interaction. I just wanted someone to converse with for a change.

“You’ve been yelling non-stop ever since you were locked up! It’s driving me insane! Because of you, I’m completely sleep-deprived… What am I supposed to do if my skin starts to suffer because of this?!”

I mean, if you’re a prisoner in solitary confinement, worrying about your skin seems pointless…

“If you want to sleep soundly, then let me out of here.”

“Why are you acting all high and mighty, you criminal?”

Criminal? I haven’t done anything wrong.

I was only thrown in here because that arrogant king couldn’t handle it when I fought back after almost being killed.

“I’m innocent. That damn king tried to kill me, and when I resisted, they locked me up. I’m just an ordinary citizen.”

“Ordinary citizen? If you managed to survive an assassination attempt by the king, then you’re far from ordinary.”

“I’m just a bit tougher than most people, that’s all.”

“Seriously, even though you’re the one who summoned me, you’re trying to kill me just because I was a little rude….”

The people in this world really have a few screws loose.

“Wait a minute—you’re just an ordinary citizen, not some noble who met the king yesterday… Could it be that you’re a hero?”

“Nope.”

The neighbor assumed I was a hero, but I immediately denied it.

I’m not particularly strong… and I have zero sense of justice. There’s practically no aptitude for being a hero.

Besides, that mysterious person never once mentioned sending me to another world as a hero. It must be your misunderstanding.

“No, it definitely is. Yesterday, the entire castle was in an uproar over the hero summoning ritual. I see, so you’re that one…”

The neighbor ignored my words as if they were natural, arbitrarily concluding that I was a hero.

“But then, why is a hero like you locked up in a solitary cell?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

“Hmm, well, whatever. – Alright! I’ve changed my mind! I’ll get you out of here.”

Wait—get me out? You’re also locked up in a solitary cell.
How on earth can someone who can’t even get out on their own possibly help me escape?

“Oh, that reaction. You don’t really believe it, do you? Heh heh heh, there’s no way I’m just an ordinary prisoner!”

A prisoner is a prisoner—there’s no hierarchy.

Clack

I heard a sound like a key turning in a lock. After a moment, a girl appeared in front of my cell.

“No way!?”

“Hey there, hero. How is it? Aren’t I much prettier than you imagined?”

I wonder how she managed to escape from the cell. No matter how hard I pounded on the bars, nothing happened.
I have endless questions about her standing right in front of me.

Judging by her voice, there’s no doubt that this girl is the same neighbor I was talking to earlier.
Indeed, she is cuter than I imagined—naturally so.
Though her face retains a hint of youthful charm, its perfectly sculpted features are almost doll-like.
Even though she had been in solitary confinement, for some reason her well-kept wolf-cut hair only adds to her beauty.

“About a 90, I guess.”

“Huh? Scoring a girl like that? Doesn’t a hero have any delicacy?”

“Well, I’m not a hero.”

“Yeah, yeah. Say what you want. So, how about it? Are you willing to leave this place with me?”

It would be great to get out of here, but why are you coming along too?

“As a condition for getting you out of here, there’s just one thing I, the hero, must demand.”

A condition, huh.
So it wasn’t one of those sweet deals where you’d help me for free.

“Take me along on your adventure! If you swallow this, you’ll be free at last as a hero!”

…I haven’t said a word about going on an adventure.
How can she be so sure I’ll be adventuring? Even if I get out, I’ll just end up a NEET.

“I’m not planning on going on an adventure.”

“Fine by me, either way! I’ll be satisfied just to be by a hero’s side!”

Well then… I guess that’s alright.
I feel sorry for her, who completely believes I’m a hero, but I’m destined to become a NEET eventually.
Surely if I live a self-indulgent NEET life, she’ll eventually get tired of me and vanish.

“Oh, can I also put forward a condition?”

“…You’re awfully cocky for someone who’s getting help, hero. Fine then! I have a big heart. Now, speak up.”

I put on a serious expression and said to her:

“Would you be my maid?”