Kriing!
A bell rang, and the sound of the warden's metal bat colliding with the prison cells echoed through the hall.
"Wake up, you filthy bastards! It's a wonderful day… don't make it worse for either of us."
The criminals quickly got up from their beds and stood straight as the warden passed by. The metal bat in his hand reminded them of the beating they would receive if they failed to meet his expectations or upset his mood.
Henry heard the sound of the bell as well as the warden's bat, and he also noticed the commotion happening in the other cells as the inmates quickly got up.
Seeing the warden approaching their direction, Henry jumped down from the top bunk and stood up just as the warden arrived in front of their cell.
"Hmm, what's with that guy? Can't he hear the bell or the sound of my arrival?" the warden asked, noticing Auran still lying in bed.
"He's suffering from a mental condition. Would it be possible for him to receive any treatment?" Henry explained. "He wasn't originally like this—only recently has he seemed unable to grasp anything that's happening."
The warden listened closely to Henry's explanation before scoffing.
"Any treatment? Pfft! That's not a benefit a criminal has. If he had a mental condition, he should've gotten it treated before ending up in jail. In here, criminals have nothing but work and sleep. Oh right… there's also a meal."
At the end, another bell rang, announcing it was time for the criminals' breakfast. One by one, the inmates were escorted out from their cells. It took almost an hour before it was finally Henry's and Auran's turn to go to the breakfast area.
After a meal consisting of a tasteless soup and a bun, the two of them were thrown into another part of the prison, where most of the criminals were forced to do labor.
For Henry and Auran, their task was mining. The area they were in was surrounded by large walls, and the interior was nothing but earth. Digging into the earth were mining halls, which the prisoners entered and exited in turns.
Once a group of criminals went inside, another group would wait outside until the previous team came out. The turns are divided by the criminals themselves, and the openings of the mines were not large enough to hold more than one group at a time.
"Go in."
Henry received a mining tool in his hand from an officer, and Auran also received a similar item.
After the officer pushed the two of them to the area where a large number of criminals were waiting, all staring at the mines until their turns.
"Oh, sorry, sorry, my apologies."
Henry, a man of nobility and respect, had never been in a place like this, and the criminals were not people he could tolerate. They were sweaty, smelly, and had no proper manners at all.
They walked all the way home like they owned the place, without bothering to make way for anyone in the path. Because of their hurry, Henry felt he had to apologize more than he ever had in his life as he made his way until he came to the front of the criminals' row, looking at the mining area.
There were a few lines in the ground ahead, and it seemed to have been undergoing mining for a long time, judging by how significantly lower the ground was compared to the area Henry was standing on.
From the mines that dove into the earth, prisoners would come out dragging carts of mining material, which to an ordinary eye looked like just shining rocks.
But Henry, as an experienced magician, knew what these were.
"Tentagan, one of the substances used to create artificial items. Considering how widely they mine this material, this nation seems to be manufacturing artificial items." While pondering, Henry remembered the item the officer held the day he and Auran were arrested.
"Maybe this whole nation depends on artificial items for power."
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Breaking his thoughts, Henry noticed a commotion had appeared from the crowd.
Looking back, he saw a man—a muscular and large figure compared to others around—shouting at another figure who had bumped into him. What was special was that the man was not human; he resembled an octopus, with all of his tentacles arranged like human limbs.
But what caught Henry's attention most at the moment was Auran, who was the figure that had bumped into the inhuman man.
Even while the inhuman figure was blaming him, Auran showed no sign of wanting to acknowledge his fault and stood whole, gazing into the man's eyes with unconfused calm, which managed to irritate the inhuman man even more.
He stretched his large hand, grabbed Auran from his head, and lifted him up from the ground easily.
"Listen here punk, you think it's funny to bump into others and act like you don't hear anything?"
He asked, but Auran continued to ignore his words.
"It's Octo, he's usually a chill guy. Who's the one that made him angry?"
"Whoever it is, once Octo gets angry, he'll at least break a few bones before calming down."
From what nearby prisoners discussed, Henry learned the name of this inhuman man and also the danger of the situation.
"Aren't guards supposed to keep the prisoners under control?"
He looked around to see if any guards were nearby; if they saw the commotion. But all around, he saw not a single guard in the mining area, except at the gate that led in.
Even from there, the guards observed the commotion happening and showed no sign of interfering to stop it.
"That's it, I'm gonna teach you a lesson now, kid!"
Octo clenched his fist after being constantly ignored by Auran and punched at him with his fisted hand.
"Stop!"
Henry rushed in without delay. He, who was kind even to ruthless murderers, would not abandon his friend in a dire moment.
Rushing in, Henry jumped to hold the inhuman man's hand, but he underestimated the strength the inhuman figure possessed and overestimated his own strength.
As a result, the punch aimed at Auran landed on Henry, sending him a few feet away in the air.