Published: March 21, 2026
"...You are?"
Lighting the torch brightened the view that had been too dark to see anything before.
On the other side of the iron cage towering before us, several women were huddled together, sharing body heat.
Not only beastmen, but elves and humans as well.
I only noticed just now, but apparently it's colder down here than on the surface.
Some of them had purple lips and were shivering.
If we don't get them out and warm them up quickly it'll be dangerous.
"...We'll talk later. Get out of here."
I casually slashed the cage with the "night blade god."
Even after freeing them, the women didn't move.
Their gazes were fixed on a single woman.
"I want to make this clear. Are you on our side?"
Among the beautiful women who were likely elves, one stood out despite being human. She asked in polite speech.
That was Amaryllis Cluster, who had been shouting with open hostility until a short while ago.
There were a few elves and beastmen, and it seemed everyone recognized her as their leader.
Even if she wasn't their formal leader, they trusted her enough to stake their futures on her.
"Yeah. For now you could say I'm an ally. ...I'm here under the orders of Elf race princess Amelia and Kingdom of Uruk princess Ria. If you can't trust those two, then stay here."
I had taken the liberty of using Amelia and Ria's names, but that should be fine.
Ria was no longer a princess, but I doubted these people knew that.
Anyway, getting out of here was the priority.
I could apologize later for deceiving them.
The air down here was bad on top of being cold.
As expected, the elf and beastmen women's complexions visibly improved.
Seeing that, Amaryllis nodded once.
"I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Please help us."
She performed a proper dogeza (kneeling bow). It reminded me of some overworked salaried worker I met in the Elf territory.
So that's it — judging by her dialect earlier, Amaryllis was from Yamato Country.
"Save your thanks until everyone's safely free. Help those who can't stand. The ones who can't move I'll carry with Yoru."
Yoru nodded and hopped down from my shoulder, growing larger.
There were a few gasps from the beastmen, but with their lives on the line they would have to bear it.
Of the people behind the iron bars, only a few elves could stand and walk.
The beastmen and Amaryllis, along with two humans, were buried in Yoru's fluffy body.
The beastmen who had been screaming at first were dozing thanks to Yoru's warm fur, and I couldn't help but smile wryly.
"...You're the last one, huh. Amaryllis Cluster."
Amaryllis, who had been helping others climb onto Yoru, shook her head at my outstretched hand and returned to the spot where she'd been sitting.
"No. I will remain here. I do not belong to live on the surface."
I sighed at the determination in her eyes.
There was something about them that reminded me of Amelia.
She seemed serious about staying and ending her life here.
"I prioritized my own life and created something outrageous. I must atone for it. ...You came to help those people, didn't you? Please forget about me."
Even if she said that, I don't have a convenient brain that can forget on command, nor do I have a forgetfulness skill.
For now I urged Yoru to take the other women to the surface.
Yoru nodded as if understanding and ran up the stairs.
I sat down in front of a relieved-looking Amaryllis.
The torchlight illuminated her not-so-healthy pale face.
I see. Not as striking as Amelia or Lord Lattice Nail, but she had fine features.
Still, her natural beauty had been worn down, so there wasn't much to admire.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do this because of what you said."
I had just pulled them up because they looked physically and mentally at their limit.
Earlier I had said "stay if you can't trust them," but I hadn't really meant to leave her behind.
Of course I intended to help Amaryllis too.
"...What do you mean? If you are an envoy of the Elf race princess and the Kingdom of Uruk princess, that means Gram's crimes were exposed to the world. It means what my medicine caused would be known. Otherwise no one could have gotten down here."