The total amount is two hundred and thirty-four thousand rudra. This fortune was made through the bets she accepted from various people.
"Look, Pione, This is God's blessing. Of course it's also thanks to the tric-- ahem Techniques that I have."
"You were going to say tricks, as in cheating."
"No, I was going to say techniques."
"Cheating."
"Are you going to keep provoking me?"
Soara-San pinched my cheek.
No fair, I was just stating a fact.
I rubbed my aching cheeks and went back to checking my room.
It's a small, simple room hollowed out in a mud wall.
The only entrance and exit is a piece of cloth hanging on the wall, so there is almost no privacy.
In this room, Soara-San and I sleep together, and there are only two blankets to sleep on.
The other workers have similar accomodations.
"By the way, how are things going over there?"
"It's going well. Shall we take a look? Isabella-San."
"Yes."
The person who peeked her face through the cloth was the leader of the group.
Since that day, she had been defeated by Soara-san repeatedly, and finally gambled away her freedom.
As a result, she became a slave
In addition, the team leader, Isabella-San, had many slaves, so the number of slaves under Soara-San's control had increased to over 30.
She led the way to the bottom of the tunnel.
There, five women took turns digging into the ground to get out.
"As per Soara-sama's instructions, we have placed ancient writings and illusionary glyphs throughout the corridor, and several guards have been bribed to reduce their patrols. I believe the exit will be ready soon."
"Good. Keep working on it."
"Yes."
Wow, the escape plan that was so slow is advancing rapidly!
Had Soara-San planned this from the beginning?
The team leader has several slaves and is relatively close to the guards.
The bets were just a way to create this situation.
I think we can get out of here sooner rather than expected.
I turned to look at Soara-San, I had been curious about Isabella-San's words.
"What are these glyphs?"
"Don't they teach you about such things in the Dark Kingdom?"
"There is a specialist researching them, but I wasn't interested, so I don't know anything about it."
"You're nobility, you're supposed to know these things."
"Hanhefuhefuho!?"
Soara-San pinched my cheeks again.
Ouch.
"Glyphs are special symbols that contain a power of their own. The reason why the magic circle is activated by magic power is because you use this kind of writing."
Using something so powerful just to create illusions? I think that's a far-fetched thing to do.
"Soara-Sama, it's about time."
"Good, only the finishing touches are missing."
The finishing touches?
Soara-San attracted the attention of nearly a hundred people. She held out her hands and declared loudly.
"Tonight, we will escape from here. The time for liberation has finally come. It is no longer necessary to toil away in construction work. Let us return to our homes!"
The women began to talk among themselves.
They seemed perplexed at the enormous invitation to escape. One woman raised her hand.
"My husband is here, can you help him escape too!?"
"Don't worry, we have already made contact with the men and they are preparing to escape as well. As I said, we'll go tonight, when security is at its lowest."
At that moment, I realized that Soara-San is doing this to get as many people involved to serve as a distraction.
Surely only 30% of us will escape. Rudra's men are all high level and have powerful skills.
But there is no other choice. I don't want to die here.
I want to see Toru.
"This is a proposal I will not make again. We won't come back to help you either. So, you have to decide now; Will you come with us to escape and be with your loved ones, or will you stay and continue working for the Demon King?"
One person raises their hand.
And another.
And another one too.
One after another, they began to raise their hands, and the room is filled with dirt-stained hands.
"They won't manage to catch us! If you wish to get out of here, have a good meal and sleep with a good man, then show your resolve!"
"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Soara-Sama and Pione-Sama, we won't let you down! We'll use the strength we've amassed here to escape from this place!"
"Oooooooooooooooooooooooh!"
The leader of the group raises her fist.
All the women raised their fist in the air.
They're not waiting for me to do that too, are they?
The women exit one by one from the hidden hallway.
Once outside, they each plan to run in a different direction.
It's the only way to avoid the eyes of Rudra's men.
"Soara-Sama, they're all out now."
"Good, then it's our turn."
"Yes."
Soara-San, Isabella-San and I were the last ones out.
When I climbed out of the hole, I was met with an intense darkness. There was no moon in the sky.
I don't think the soldiers would notice what was going on.
I immediately used my disguise ring to darken our figures.
Actually, the escape plan required that the ring reach level 3.
When we were brought here, its level was still 2.
The Disguise Ring can disguise your status at level 1, disguise your appearance at level 2 and disguise the status or appearance from any opponent at level 3.
In this situation, you should be able to disguise your state and appearance, even if the opponent has the ability to see through you.
By the way, the disguise ring cannot be made invisible.
It would have been more convenient if you could.
The construction site of Rudra's castle is located in a deep forest. We ran incessantly to the west.
"Ha ha ha, it's time to start moving."
"It's been a long time, God, please save us."
"Hide, both of you."
At Isabella-San's words, Soara-San and I hid behind a tree.
Fwooosh
A wyvern flew overhead.
Looks like the search has already begun.
Even if we get caught, we won't be killed, but the security will become even more intense.
It will be impossible to escape a second time. This is the only chance we'll get.
"This way."
"You know the way?"
"I can smell the wind from my hometown on the other side."
"Are you of the beastkin race?"
"Fufu, it was all part of the plan, Pione. We needed a beast that could guide us through the forest without getting lost."
Isabella-San is from the leopard tribe.
She has a slender but toned body and long bangs that cover one eye.
Unlike me, she has a lot going for her, and she is very attractive. Her leopard ears and tail were also really cute.
When we get to a safe place, I wonder if I can touch her tail.
"Oh no, they're Laptones."
We lay down on the grass. There were two Aryus' in front of us.
They were wild monsters that inhabit these woods. These monsters have a keen sense of smell. They are known to hunt in packs.
We've run into them at a bad time.
"It seems that they have noticed us.... Pione-Sama, watch our backs."
"Soara-San, don't make any moves."
"Sorry, my level is too low."
My level is currently 85.
Isabella-San is 573.
Soare-San is 48.
Isabella-san's strength is extraordinary.
And even with such strength she can't take on Rudra. What kind of horrible place is this?
Isabella-san uses her sharp claws to claw and kill the two monsters in an instant.
Suddenly, another two jumped out of the bushes, stalking towards us from behind.
After all, it was a decoy.
Were they going to launch a surprise attack?
I picked up some rocks and shoved them into each of their mouths.
"Gau!?"
"Guga!"
Even if I have no weapons, I'll do my best. Don't underestimate a demon of nobility.
I hit them with all my might, and the two Laptones ran away with staggering steps.
Phew, that was close. I feel like my life has been cut short.
"Pione that was awesome. After all you're just a simple peo.... Warrior."
"You were going to say I was a pawn."
"It's your imagination."
"No it's not, you were going to say it."
"You are persistent."
"Hueeeh." That hurts. Don't pinch me. Look, you've dug your nails into me.
I'll tell Toru and Kaede later.
"I hope you're both all right."
"Yeah, that was close, luckily they ran away."
Isabella came back and we started running again.
I have to stay alive if I want to see you again. Toru.