NOVEL NEXT chapter 5
5. I was just imprisoned, and now I’m being invited to join a group?!
I’m taken aback by how suddenly she makes this offer.
—
A stagnant mood mixed in, and I felt my heart racing, whether from excitement or surprise.
“Why do you want me to join you so badly?”
I spoke in a lowered voice, unable to calm my racing heart.
The woman kept her scrutinizing gaze fixed on me.
She paused the conversation.
*Snap!*
“Well! We can talk later! It’s almost noon, so we’re being taken to the cafeteria. Let’s continue our discussion there!”
Suddenly, the woman clapped her hands and changed the subject.
I felt a bit skeptical about not reaching a conclusion and was about to ask more, but—
*Grrr…*
“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything since this morning…”
I seemed to be quite hungry, unable to lift my face in embarrassment. The woman looked at me and laughed heartily.
Before long, a guard arrived, taking a few of us out of our cells and leading us to the cafeteria.
I was taken along as well.
We passed through the solitary confinement path and walked down a desolate, mine-like corridor, eventually arriving at a cafeteria that still echoed with a bit of commotion.
Amid the clattering sounds of eating, voices of conversation filled the air from all directions.
The guard had us line up for the cafeteria and then returned to his rounds.
After waiting in line for a while, it was my turn, but it seemed that the food wasn’t prepared by people; it was being served to the prisoners by a magical device that cooked automatically.
I was a bit surprised by the meal; considering it was a prison, I expected something worse, but it was relatively decent, with a staple, a soup, and a main dish.
Rice, corn soup, and some kind of fish paste.
Not bad at all.
As I sat down at an empty table and quietly ate,
“Hey! You skinny brat over there! Hand over your food!!”
A rough-looking, burly man was ordering a thin man around.
The thin man shrank back, silently enduring the theft of his food. In situations like this, my body instinctively wanted to act.
“Hey, you over there,”
I called out to the rough man.
He clicked his tongue and looked my way.
From the surroundings, I felt various emotions—gazes that scrutinized me, and others that glared.
—
—
“What the hell do you want?”
The man slowly turned around and approached, his glaring eyes still fixed on me, making me look up slightly due to the height difference.
I let out a laugh through my nose and said,
“Can’t you even eat properly without begging from others? Is your crime theft or something?”
As soon as I said that, the man lunged at me without a second thought.
I instinctively dodged and landed a blow to his side.
He seemed unprepared for the counterattack,
letting out a pained groan.
“Ugh, oow.”
The man knelt down, sweating profusely.
I stood before him, glaring, and asked,
“Want to continue?”
Though slightly intimidated by my words, the man
managed to rise on his trembling knees.
“Hey, hey? Your knees are shaking! Are you a newborn orc?”
I laughed as I said this.
Irritated by my words, the man swung his fist wildly.
I easily dodged it and kicked his knee.
He collapsed violently, unable to stay on his feet.
As I approached the thin man, who stood frozen in confusion, I called out,
“Are you okay?”
I asked him.
With a hint of fear, he began to speak in a shaky voice,
“Y-yeah, you saved me.”
Seeing that, I felt a bit relieved and continued,
“My name is Elg. Nice to meet you.”
Before the thin man could say his name, the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers.
“Not bad!” “Well done!”
“He was annoying!” “Good job, newcomer!”
—
—
Startled by the commotion, I felt it was not much different from a tavern as I asked for the name once more.
“What’s your name?”
The thin man, slightly trembling, replied,
“Wide… Wide.”
We shook hands, and as we turned to return to our seats,
“To have such a ruckus on the first day is impressive; I almost want to learn from your audacity.”
With a hint of sarcasm, the guard appeared and clamped handcuffs around my wrists.
“You seem to find even cell number three a bit too mild, huh?”
I felt my face pale as I became aware of what I had done.
From afar, I could hear a woman’s laughter ringing out.
The guard paid no mind to such things.
“You’re being moved to the punishment cell. Hurry up and move.”
I was being sent to the punishment cell on my first day of imprisonment!?