DOTD Chapter 15

Without mana, I feel like a useless body that couldn’t do anything.

 

But I did not give up my escape so easily. It’s not in my nature to give up on something so easily.

 

There’s a mistake many people make.

 

‘If you don’t succeed, it’s only because you didn’t try until the end.’

 

Just like the many attempts I made to escape from my dark villain friends, if I don’t give up, I always find a way.

 

But was my escape a success? Could this be considered a success?

 

“Well…”

 

The thought suddenly hit me. I shook my head to disperse the unhelpful thoughts.

 

Then I kept trying different ways to escape.

 

Calling for help from outside the room. This didn’t work because everyone was wary of whatever Yzmel said.

 

Making a loud noise and then holding my breath and feigning unconscious when someone comes.

 

This almost worked, but the wizard who thought I was dead and went to call for help didn’t come back.

 

A sigh escaped me at the string of failures.

 

The last thing I wanted to do was try this again.

 

Looking down at my wrists, the restraints wrapped tightly around them.

 

Was my only option really to smash my wrists and the restraints together to escape?

 

The pain was still fresh in my mind, even though it was already healed, and I frowned.

 

‘I didn’t succeed, it was the last thing I did, finally, in the end, uh, whatever…’

 

I felt as if my resolve, which had existed only a few minutes earlier, was about to crumble.

 

If I hit the corner of the bedside table with enough force, I might be able to crack the restraints, and then I could try to force mana into it like I did earlier.

 

But then it would really, really hurt.

 

“Do I really have to break my wrist again?” I muttered to myself in disbelief.

 

Reaching my hand toward the nightstand to gauge the distance, a bird of unknown origin perches on my finger.

 

“Huh?”

 

It was a small bird made of translucent fire. It wasn’t an ordinary bird, but there was something about it that I knew immediately.

 

“A fire spirit?”

 

Even though I had never actually seen a fire spirit before, I recognized it strangely.

 

The bird looked at me with round eyes and tilted its tiny head to one side.

 

“Hello. Where are you from?”

 

It flapped its tiny wings as if pleased with my greeting and flew off in the direction of the door.

 

At that moment, the door, which had been firmly closed, swung open and a man walked in.

 

The man grabbed the bird with both hands as it flew toward him.

 

“Where the hell do you think you’re going!”

 

The spirit’s bashing his sprite was a face I recognized, and one I thought I would never see here.

 

The blue-haired, lanky man’s eyes widened when he spotted me.

 

“Bella?”

 

“Rowan!”

 

Putting aside why and how he’d gotten here, I was so glad to see him.

 

…Should I be so happy to see him?

 

It stung a little, since I’d already vowed in my mind to keep my distance from them, but I couldn’t help but be glad for anyone who could help me in my current situation.

 

“Why are you here?”

 

“I came to rescue you when I saw you being taken by the Magic Tower, and then Pia took off flying, so I went after her…”

 

Rowan seemed surprised to find himself here. Or more accurately, he seemed surprised that the spirit had found me.

 

The bird stood proudly on Rowan’s hand, puffing out its chest and showing off its tiny body before flying back to perch on my shoulder.

 

Somehow, Pia seemed to like me very much.

 

Rowan looked back and forth between me and the spirit and gave me an ethereal look.

 

“You are so…”

 

Where have I heard that nuance before?

 

“Why, do you have a lot of questions for me too, Rowan?”

 

I asked the same question I’d asked Yzmel, and Rowan let out a small sigh.

 

“Honestly, there’s more than a few suspicious things.”

 

…I’ve heard that one before.

 

Somehow, since waking up, I feel like I’ve been accused of being a suspicious person, even though I’ve spent my entire life priding myself on being normal.

 

There was no time to clear up that misconception right now.

 

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to break my wrists.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

I held up my wrist, which was still connected to the bed.

 

Metal clanked against metal.

 

“There’s no way to get this off.”

 

Rowan frowned, realizing at once what I was thinking.

 

“Did you really think it would work that cluelessly?”

 

With a serious look on his face, Rowan searched the room for a key and unlocked the restraints.

 

“Yes,” I replied, turning to stretch my briefly free body.

 

“It worked, though it did hurt a little.”

 

“What?”

 

Rowan, who’d been tossing the keys and restraints into the corner of the bed, spoke up.

 

“Are you crazy?”

 

“What wouldn’t you do when you’re about to die?”

 

Grabbing my wrists, Rowan pulled back the cloth around them and looked them over.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ve already taken care of it.”

 

Rowan let go of my wrist gently and sighed.

 

“Somehow you remind me of Evan in your recklessness.”

 

He looked at me, pressing his temples together as if in pain.

 

“Don’t be reckless. I mean, I don’t care, but Evan will be sad.”

 

I shrugged, “That’s unlikely, we’ve only just met.”

 

“…I suddenly feel sorry for Evan.”

 

“Why?”

 

“…Never mind, I don’t think it’s something I should talk about.”

 

Rowan furrowed his brows in frustration.

 

Pia looked back and forth between us and shook her head.

 

“Okay. We’ll talk about it later, but first, let’s get out of here.”

 

There’s really not a minute for this. I got a get the hell out of here.

I tugged Rowan, who was muttering something about Evan being pitiful, out of the room.

 

🦋

 

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

 

Evan flinched at the voice from behind him and barely stopped his hand from going to his sword.

 

A robed, dark auburn-haired mage stepped to his side.

 

Evan tried to put on an easy smile, to pretend he wasn’t suspicious, but failed miserably.

 

The corners of his mouth twitched with embarrassment as he studied Fletcher’s complexion.

 

The wizard’s eyes were unreadable behind his glasses. 

 

Evan wasn’t usually one to be overly wary of others, but the circumstances of the situation forced him to be alert.

 

As Evan rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, Fletcher asked him again.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked.

 

“Fighting a monster… and I got lost.”

 

Okay, that was a good answer. Just pretend to take a wrong turn and wander back out of the wizard’s sight.

 

Evan formulated a plan, and while he didn’t have the smile of innocence, he did have the troubled smile of a lost man.

 

If he couldn’t get away, he was willing to fight.

 

But what Evan didn’t realize was that he and Fletcher had a vastly different amount of information.

 

Fletcher already had a good idea of who Evan was and why he was here.

 

“I see.”

 

Fletcher nodded, his expression hidden behind the hand that adjusted his glasses, a sly grin tugging at his face like a conniving man.

 

Fletcher’s expression changed in an instant, softening the tense atmosphere, and he turned to Evan.

 

“So, are you injured? There’s a treatment room inside, just a few steps this way.”

 

The good news was that whatever Fletcher’s intentions, what he was about to do would serve Evan’s purpose.

 

Evan, confused by Fletcher’s sudden change in demeanor, opens his mouth to respond.

 

“The…”

 

“Ah, you said there was a captured mage there, by the way. From the looks of it, it doesn’t appear to be seriously injured, so I’d suggest we don’t go that way for now. There should be a way out the other side.”

 

Before Evan could reply, Fletcher smirked, giving him information he hadn’t even asked for.

 

Evan’s eyes widened at the information Fletcher had thrown at him, not even realizing the strangeness of his demeanor.

 

‘A captured mage?’ 

 

It was possible that the mage in the treatment room wasn’t Bella, but for now, he had to grasp at straws.

 

Besides, Evan’s instincts were telling him that if he went there, he would find her.

 

Evan’s impatience at the prospect of seeing her soon grew, but he tried to hide it and replied graciously.

 

“I see, thanks for letting me know.”

 

“Yes, of course. Take care of yourself.”