After Queen Sei ordered them to release me, her guards immediately drove me away. I could do nothing but obey, yet I still tried to plead with them over and over again."Get lost," Nyabu shouted."You're lucky Queen Sei ordered your release, otherwise you'd be one of those suffering inside the cells," she snapped harshly.She shoved me until I stumbled down the steps of the building's entrance. It was infuriating, but I couldn't act tough or pick a fight with this mean woman because she was surrounded by soldiers."I didn't do anything wrong. All I want to do is what's right here," I said.They wouldn't listen to me and just kept shooing me away as if I were a stray."You know, you'd be dead right now if it weren't for the leader's mercy, yet here you are, trying to put her in danger again."After pushing me outside, she warned me that if I kept causing trouble, Ataparag would face an even harsher punishment.It was true. Suwi's execution had been stopped because of Ataparag's help, w

After Ataparag brought me to her team's dorm and settled me into her unit, she had me read through the rules and regulations of ESKAPA alongside those of her team. Her unit was decent enough. Even though it was small, it had a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Because there were no dividing walls, I could watch her putter around the kitchen while I sat in the living room reading. She was busy cooking, dressed in comfortable loungewear paired with a pink apron that suited her surprisingly well. Seeing her act like a normal person, preparing a meal for us, made it impossible to believe her claim that she was a terrifying monster. I couldn't help stealing glances at her every now and then; she was undeniably clumsy, rushing around anxiously as she worked, which was strangely amusing to watch. Sure, her eye color was a bit weird, and she had those strange horns sprouting from her head, but honestly, she was genuinely pretty. A short while later, she finished up in the kitchen,

Since they were determined to have me join Eskapa, Ataparag brought me to Eskapa's main base located in Galica to submit the list of people they had invited and who wanted to join as members. As I recalled, Eskapa had a strict process where applicants had to pass three exams—something Xxv had previously gone through before Magdalena accepted her. Xxv had failed two of those exams back then, passing only the physical exam inside a game, but Magdalena simply forced her way in anyway. A few minutes passed as we walked down the hallway. People stared at me, and I had no idea how to react to being the center of attention. "Wait, why does it look like everyone is staring at me?" I whispered to Ataparag. "Ah... um... hehehe, probably still because of what happened yesterday, but don't be scared. The Queen already let you go, so no one is allowed to hurt you here," Ataparag reassured me. They were probably wondering why I was showing up here when I was associated with the soul-eater th

As we stepped out into the hallway, many of the soldiers we passed saluted Ataparag. Ataparag responded with a warm smile and a polite greeting. It was then I realized how deeply she was still respected as a leader and a general. Suddenly, it crossed my mind to ask her if it was true that she was a general in Sei's forces, since she hardly looked the type to throw herself into battle. "You know, it's still surprising to find out you're a general, especially given how un-general-like you look." "What do you mean I don't look like a general?" Ataparag asked, tilting her head. "Ah... please don't take it the wrong way. I'm not judging you, but from what I knew, a general in Sei's forces commands tens of thousands of troops. Yet you mentioned your team only has fifty members." "Ah... that?" A moment later, she explained that she was a general assigned to this specific town. Guarding the town isn't particularly difficult because other generals rotate through each area every single d

While we were on the upper section of the tower, someone suddenly came out of one of a doors and walked straight to the edge of the rooftop. Because we were so high up, the edges had no safety barriers whatsoever. The woman had a collar around her neck, a clear sign of being a slave. "Wait, what is she doing?" A few moments later, as the woman kept walking, Koko spoke up and informed me that this woman was a victim of cruel fate. "Her father died because of an unpaid debt, and her mother passed away from illness because they couldn't afford medicine." "They were used as collateral to pay off debts and remained slaves until they ended up with abusive masters. And because of the drugs injected into her younger sibling, the child went crazy and eventually died," Koko added. Koko seriously let me know that these kinds of bitter life stories were truly happening in this world and were not just figments of imagination. "In a few minutes, she is destined to die by suicide." "What? A