I lowkey only just realized this but I kinda didn’t mention that I’d already uploaded the front illustrations and prologue in the original announcement post. Please start from the beginning.
Hiro-chan had been killed.
We were thrown into a panic by the state of affairs in this blood-soaked lounge, our trembling screams and stifled breaths backdropping the only moving thing in this room — the warden. It was currently clearing away her corpse.
“Ngh…!” Suddenly, the delinquent-esque girl with a face mask on made a dash for the entrance. The warden responded immediately, sickle glinting in the light as it began to give chase. We all screamed once more and covered our eyes, and then —
“Stop right there!” A noble voice rang out, drawing everyone’s attention to a certain girl. She unsheathed the rapier at her waist, stepping in between the delinquent and the warden. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on her! I won’t allow any more tragedies on my watch!” The warden paid her no mind, swinging its scythe down in a wide arc. However, it sliced through air as the girl with the rapier deftly leapt backwards to avoid it. Her intense gaze remained fixed on the warden.
“She hasn’t broken any rules. You have no reason to cut her down.”
“…”
The warden said nothing. It might have not even understood. It simply stopped swinging and hauled Hiro-chan’s corpse out from the room. Once it had finally disappeared from our sight, the tension in the room eased ever-so-slightly. Yet, the cloying, metallic stench of blood still permeated the space and assaulted our noses. As we remained there, the rapier girl stepped out of the silence into the center of the room to speak up.
“Since we’re all strangers, I’ll do the honors and start the introductions. My name is Hasumi Leia. Please check your pockets, everyone. It seems we’ve all been given phones.” Just like she said, I checked my pocket to find a phone with a brand-new cover. It certainly wasn’t the one I used to have, but it gave rise to a spark of hope. Perhaps I’d be able to contact the outside world.
“Unfortunately, there’s no signal.” She continued speaking, dashing that hope in an instant. “However, there’s an app called ‘Witchpedia’ that contains information about each of us, including our names and faces. We should be able to see each others’ entries as well.” Sure enough, I found her entry on the “Witchpedia” app myself. She was so breathtakingly beautiful that it was impossible to look away, and her name was just as she said: Prisoner 662, Hasumi Leia-chan. I thought it was incredible how her first instinct in a situation like this was to jump to protect someone. I, on the other hand, still couldn’t even stop my legs from shaking.
“Hey, real quick? I feel like I’ve seen you on TV before.” The girl with the cat-ear headphones, who had been vomiting just a moment ago, stumbled over to Leia.
“I’m signed to a talent agency, so I’m involved in all sorts of work. My primary focus is on my career as a stage actress, but I do appear on TV quite often.” Some of us mumbled in surprise at her casual admission. It was my first time ever seeing a celebrity in real life, although this was hardly the time nor place to be getting excited.
Well-aware of our current situation, Leia-chan lightly coughed and gathered a composed expression. “Hear me out, everyone! It seems like we’re all being forced to live together here. We have no way of knowing how long this will last, so we should just comply for now. We may have only just met, but I want to do my best to protect you all. Behaving… rashly — like we saw earlier with Nikaido Hiro-kun — or, let’s see… Shito Alisa-kun, right? Running off like you did just now could endanger us all. I’d like to ask that you refrain from acting on your own in the future.”
The delinquent girl — Prisoner 666, Shito Alisa-chan — clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction and glared back at her.
“…Fuck off! I never asked for your protection! And I don’t give a shit about this witch and prisoner crap! I don’t want to spend another second in here. I’m getting out!” She left the lounge with another click of the tongue, to which Leia simply shrugged.
“It seems like the Witchpedia also functions as a rulebook of sorts. We should try to live our lives in accordance with these rules. You should all make yourselves familiar with them. …You will all work with me, won’t you?”
“…I don’t want to.” I stepped forward, legs and voice both still trembling. I was on the verge of collapsing. But as pathetic as I was, I couldn’t accept this. “I don’t want to go along with the people that murdered Hiro-chan! I’ll never forgive them!” I fiercely declared, my eyes stained with tears. Leia gazed at me in surprise.
“I see. And you are… Sakuraba Ema-kun, correct? It seems like you knew Hiro-kun. I understand how you must be feeling… and I understand that you have no intention of complying with them. I won’t force you to. Still, for the moment, I’d like for us to maintain the peace to the best of our abilities. I believe it’s best to avoid as many risks as possible while we organize our next course of action.” At that moment, another girl eagerly raised her hand.
“Indeed, indeed! I’m in complete agreement with Ema-san!” My eyes widened in surprise. This was the girl dressed like a detective, the one who had reacted with delight at the mention of a murder case earlier. I checked the Witchpedia to see that she was Prisoner 667, Tachibana Sherry-chan. “I’m Tachibana Sherry. On principle, I follow the scent of whatever I find the most interesting! And Ema-san, you’ve got the scent of something absolutely fascinating!”
“Scent…?”
“Wherever there’s a mystery, so too shall I be! This Great Detective is at your service!” Sherry-chan proceeded to take my hands, energetically shaking them up and down as I just stood there in bewilderment. And before I knew it, two other girls had joined with us. One of them moved closer, kneeling down in front of me.
“Um, uh, what…?!”
“Ema-san, um… um, um, um… Yo-You’re injured…” Her comment finally made me notice that my knee was blotted over with blood. It’d been from when Hiro-chan had shoved me on the ground. But that didn’t matter to me. She’d suffered something much more horrible. She was murdered. The girl kneeling in front of me in a white outfit seemed like she was on the verge of tears. She held a hand over my knee as if to soothe it, only for something unbelievable to happen.
“Huh?”
I wasn’t the only one to gasp in surprise. A gentle light emitted from her outstretched hand, and my bloody scrape vanished right before my eyes.
“Does it still hurt? Are you okay now?”
“O-oh, yeah. Thanks, um…”
“I-I‘m Hikami Meruru…” I looked at the Witchpedia to confirm. There she was — Prisoner 670, Hikami Meruru-chan. I’d just witnessed a miracle that healed my injury, standing there dumbfounded. On the other hand, the second girl who’d approached me seemed quite unsurprised despite being the one who had screamed in terror when Hiro-chan’s head had been sent flying.
“I shall take your side as well. I detest those sorts of bossy folk. My name is Tono Hanna. Pleased to make your acquaintan… Pleased to make your acquaintantence?” This refined, ladylike girl was Prisoner 668, Tono Hanna-chan.
I’d suddenly found these three girls gathered by me. Leaving aside Alisa-chan, who had already left, we found ourselves in opposition with those who agreed with Leia-chan.
“It looks like we’ve been split in two!” Sherry-chan said in a playful tone, to which Leia-chan responded with a disappointed shrug.
“…It appears so. I still believe it would be for the best if we were all on the same page, but there’s nothing we can do about a difference of opinions. In any case, let’s back downstairs for now. The rules here say it’s time for us to be back in our cells.” At that, Leia-chan’s group followed her out of the lounge, leaving just the four of us: Sherry-chan, Hanna-chan, Meruru-chan, and me. Sherry-chan immediately turned to me with a sparkle in her eyes.
“So? So? What should we do now? How about we try to kill the warden together?”
“W-we can’t do that. It’ll just kill us like it killed Hiro-chan.” I got the feeling that she was a bit eccentric. Even while I was in so much pain and distress that I could barely even stand, she was still smiling and bursting with energy. I was grateful for that, though. It helped me feel a little better. Plus, I now had three people backing me — a much appreciated change of pace compared to how alone I was before I was even brought here.
“…For now, we should head back down too. And we should probably give the rules a good look.”
“That’s probably for the best.” Sherry-chan seemed to agree, and we did just that. Upon returning to the cells, I noticed that there were plates with prisoner numbers in front of each cell. Each one had a bunk bed, suggesting that they were meant to have two occupants each. I walked through the hallway, seeing now-familiar girls in each one. When I finally stood before my cell, I found the number 658 on the door. Being reduced to a number wasn’t exactly a great feeling, but I no longer had the energy to take offense at it.
The moment I stumbled inside, my phone vibrated and made a noise. It seemed like the notification sound was an owl’s hooting. I checked to see that it was a notice from Gokucho. I opened the messaging app and found a message from him alongside a cutesy, cartoonish icon.
“Free time is now over. All prisoners, return to your cells immediately. Those who violate the rules will face solitary confinement, so… I would greatly appreciate it if there were no unnecessary additions to my workload…”
It looked like any notices from Gokucho would also be received through our phones. Some time after I sat down on the bed, some sort of time limit had been reached and all the doors audibly locked.
I was alone. I’d woken up in the same room as Hiro-chan, but she had been murdered.
“Hiro-chan…”
I tried biting my lip to stop the tears, but they wouldn’t stop coming. I wiped my face with my sleeve, trying to shake off my emotions by taking a look around the cell. It was about six tatami mats worth of space and came with a sink, toilet, and desk — the bare minimum, essentially. Because there was a bunk bed instead of two separate beds, it didn’t feel too cramped. Compared to my living situation before this, though, it was nothing but awful. What I hated the most was how anybody could see inside. The gaps between the iron bars of the cell walls were too small for anybody to fit in between them. The corridor itself was quite wide, likely to give the massive warden enough space to move around.
This dim, sunless underground cell made it easy to lose one’s sense of time. I checked my phone to see that it was just after 3:00 PM and decided to take a closer look at the rules in the Witchpedia. I found that we were required to remain in our assigned cells outside of our designated free time. The warden was constantly on patrol, and being caught meant two days of solitary. Other infractions would also be met with similar punishment.
“Solitary confinement…” The term itself made me shudder in fear. There were also rules regarding the witch trials that Gokucho had mentioned.
– When a prisoner is subjected to intense stress, their witch factor grows stronger and accelerates their transformation into a witch.
– Those who become witches are overcome with an uncontrollable urge to kill.
– Should a murder take place, the prisoners shall convene and hold a witch trial.
– The prisoners shall debate on the incident and take a vote to identify the witch. An execution will then be immediately carried out.
“But there’s no way any of us would actually murder anybody else…” I muttered. Even if Hiro-chan had snapped and went berserk, they all seemed like ordinary girls my age. I couldn’t even begin to imagine them killing each other. I shook my head and refocused my attention on the Witchpedia.
– Those who have completely become witches gain a body that is not easily killed.
– Those who have completely become witches will see dramatic enhancements to their existing magic.
– They will, however, eventually lose their human form and become a Hollow.
…Witches.
I thought back to the healing powers that Meruru-chan had used earlier. It hadn’t looked like she’d used any special tricks or objects, but in the world I’d lived in up until now, magic didn’t exist. I didn’t possess any strange powers like that either, nor had I ever experienced anything that’d hint toward the possibility. The only “special” thing about me was my talent for getting people to hate me.
…But this was no time to dwell on such self-deprecating thoughts. I collapsed onto the hard bed.
“Mom… Dad… Are you worried about me…?” As I murmured those words, the corners of my eyes suddenly grew warm. Hiro-chan had been murdered, and I was locked away in this awful place.
“Ngh…” Even though I’d made mistakes in middle school, I’d resolved to make a ton of friends in high school — resolved to not worry Mom and Dad any more. But when I thought about them, I couldn’t hold it back anymore.
“Ah… sniff…” The tears began to overflow, and there was no end in sight.
I was snapped out of my drowsy stupor from a notification on my phone. I hurriedly got up and checked to see a new notice from Gokucho.
“Time for dinner, everyone. Please assemble in the cafeteria posthaste.”
As soon as I finished reading the message, a series of metallic clicks echoed from down the corridor. It was probably all the cell doors being unlocked.
“Dinner…” My stomach was growling. Right. I hadn’t eaten at all since I woke up this morning. I’d need some food if I wanted to get my thoughts together. I climbed out of bed, checked where I was headed in the Witchpedia map, and stepped forward — only to be brought to an immediate halt. There was someone lingering in the cell nearby.
“Hmm hmm hmm~♪” I looked to see a girl happily in the middle of spraying colorful paint over the floor. According to the Witchpedia, it was Prisoner 661, Jougasaki Noah-chan. She was sitting flat on the ground with her back turned away from the cell door.
“Um, hey. Aren’t you gonna go eat?” I softly called to her through the iron bars. She turned to me and held up her spray can, as if to show it off.
“Not gonna eat today. Still not done painting.” She had been there in the lounge and witnessed the warden’s violence, but I hadn’t gotten the impression that she was this carefree. But maybe I just hadn’t been paying enough attention. Thinking back on it, she had been moseying around and humming to herself the whole time, so I supposed she really was the sort of person that moved to her own rhythm. Plus, it wasn’t like I knew any of these girls besides Hiro-chan. Curious to know her better, I leaned forward.
“What’re you making?”
“Hm… Gimme one sec.” She stood up and moved to the side so I could get a better view of the floor.
“What in the…?!” I reflexively gasped at the sight. The image on the ground was an impossible thing, its form writhing and shifting. What should have been nothing more than colors from a can of spray paint turned into a colorful, uncannily realistic snake and began to slither across the ground. “H-H-How?!”
Noah-chan tilted her head, making a quizzical smile.
“Umm, so… My paintings all move on their own. Not just paint, all fluids too. But I didn’t want a snake. Gotta start over now.” She sat back on the ground as I stared dazedly at her. It was like when Meruru-chan healed me with a glow of her hand. Between her and Noah-chan, I had no choice but to accept that magic was real. I continued watching her back for a little bit, but it was clear that she was completely focused on her work and had no intention of going up to eat. I sighed in resignation and went on my way — but just as I began walking again, a furious shout reverberated through the corridor.
“Let go! Shit! I said hands off, freak!” The voice was accompanied by the warden, effortlessly carrying a girl in its arm. It was Shito Alisa-chan, the girl who had tried to run off earlier. “Fuck off! Why me?!” She continued to yell in a show defiance, but she wasn’t trying to fight against the warden’s grasp at all. Deep down, she was probably absolutely terrified. …I held my breath, unable to move at all. The nightmarish scene of just a few hours before flickered through my mind, cold sweat trickling down my back.
The warden disappeared down the corridor with her tucked under its arm. Just the thought of where it might be taking her shook my heart to the core.
I finally opened the door to the cafeteria to be met with the indistinct sound of activity and the smell of food. The room was quite spacious with several neatly-arranged tables, each standing apart like islands. Everyone else had already sat down and started eating.
“Umm…” I was still shaken by what I’d witnessed, but as I swung my gaze around, I heard someone call out to me.
“Heeeyyy! Ema-saaannn! Over here!” Sherry-chan, the girl dressed like a detective, was waving enthusiastically at me. Her innocent cheer lifted my mood a little, and I pulled up a chair to sit with her, as well as Hanna-chan and Meruru-chan — the same three girls who had taken my side earlier. They’d already set out a tray for me.
“We’re eating buffet-style, so I went ahead and got you some food too!”
“Ah, thanks.” I managed to scrounge together a word of gratitude, but my expression was in disagreement. Reason being, the “food” on the plate was some muddy, viscous substance — completely unidentifiable. The only word I could think to describe it was “grotesque”. Everyone else had pretty much the same stuff on their own trays. I looked to the buffet counter and saw a medley of similar, unidentifiable substances. But there was one thing on my tray that brought me some relief — an apple. At least that looked edible.
“It might look weird, but it’s actually pretty good!” Sherry-chan urged me to try what she’d served up on my tray, so I warily took my first spoonful.
“Blegh…” It tasted as disgusting as it looked. I sighed and put my spoon down. Leia-chan was eating with her group at a table nearby. When I made eye contact with her, she returned my gaze with a sweet smile. I instantly blushed and hastily looked away. Perhaps noticing what had just taken place, Hanna-chan leaned in close to my face.
“That girl… I’m certain she’s using magic.”
“Magic…?” My expression stiffened in alarm.
“Using magic to seduce other girls… She thinks that just because she’s a celebrity, she can get away with surrounding herself with women! Oh, the conceit!” It seemed like Hanna-chan wasn’t very fond of her. Even while fuming with anger, she was wolfing down her mysterious food. Despite her refined appearance, her table manners were quite crude.
“But speaking of magic, yours is quite impressive, Meruru-san! And in the first place, I’m still shocked that magic actually exists!” Sherry-chan exclaimed.
“Oh… Um um um um… I-it’s not really…” The girl next to me shrank into herself, her face flushing crimson as she hung her head. “I can’t do very much… I only managed to stop Ema-san’s bleeding…” I suddenly stood up.
“S-so, uh, you’re all talking about magic like it’s normal, but… does that mean everyone here can use it? I don’t think I can…”
“I’m in the same boat. I’d never even heard of magic before this, and I certainly can’t use any.” Sherry-chan and I exchanged glances.
“…Hm. So both you and Sherry-san are completely in the dark.” Hanna-chan set her spoon down and let out a deep sigh.
“There exist children who possess what we call a witch factor, and those with said factor gain the ability to wield a mysterious power. That power is what we call ‘magic’. It’s quite likely that such is the case for you two as well. You simply haven’t realized it yet.”
“Huuhh? I can’t do anything out of the ordinary. But if I had to say that there was something that I’m especially good at…” Sherry-chan reached for the apple in front of her. And then, with a single hand, she effortlessly crushed it to bits. Even without putting any strength into her fingers, the apple exploded and splattered juice all over the table.
“Oh… Um…”
“I’d say I’m a little stronger than average.” Hanna-chan and I just stared in silence, dumbfounded.
“In what world is that ‘a little’, you gorilla woman?!” Hanna-chan retorted.
“Aw, you’re so mean. Isn’t this pretty normal?”
“No, that’s your magic!”
Sherry-chan silently stared back at us for a moment before breaking out into a bashful smile.
“Oh, I see… Wow, so I can use magic. Oh gosh, now I’m all embarrassed!”
“It’s honestly quite hard to believe that you hadn’t realized until now…”
“So, what about you, Hanna-san?” Sherry-san’s question made her break into a smug expression. She stood up.
“Well, if you insist. If you’re truly this eager to know, I suppose I can show you.” She moved to the center of the cafeteria and spread out her arms. “Witness the magic of yours truly!” Her body gently floated upward. It was only by about ten centimeters, but she was completely off the floor. Sherry-chan clapped in amazement.
“Wow, wow! that’s incredible!” The floating girl flared her nostrils, her cheeks flushed with pride.
“I can even move around!” In reality, her demonstration consisted only of some slight oscillation from side to side. It was met only with Sherry-chan’s applause, and she very quickly ran out of breath and returned to the ground.
“…And that is the kind of magic I possess. I suppose we’re all akin to witches in training.” Between Meruru-chan’s healing, Noah-chan’s fluid manipulation, Sherry-chan’s super strength, and Hanna-chan’s levitation, none of them were particularly of immense power — but it was all magic nonetheless. Did that mean I had magic of my own? No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.
“When I realized I had this mysterious power, I began investigating into all sorts of things. This prison and our witch factors are topics that I’ve come across in urban legends. That because anyone who has magic has the potential to become a witch, we are imprisoned at the age of fifteen.” Hanna-chan explained.
“I had no idea about any of this… Maybe I was brought here by mistake?”
“It’s certainly possible. In the first place, I have no idea when we were screened.” She bit her nails, face scrunched in frustration. “I’ve always kept this power hidden because I was terrified of being captured and sent here. …And now despite all that, it’s happened anyway, and in a place like this. …Oh, what is to become of us?”
Her murmurs weighed heavily on my heart.
According to the rules, we had a long period of free time after dinner. However, I wanted to get some rest and headed back down by myself. Before inside my cell, I briefly glanced next door — and gasped. It was bright red. To be precise, the entire room had been painted red. The walls, the floor, the bed, the desk — all of it. And within was Noah-chan, sitting right on the ground.
“No-Noah-chan?!” As soon as I grasped onto the iron bars, the suffocating the stench of spray paint made me wince.
“Hm? You look stressed. Something happen?” She turned around with a puzzled look.
“W-well, I was just wondering… how did the room end up like this?”
“My paintings weren’t turning into what I wanted, so I felt like erasing everything. And then this happened.”
“Right. Your paintings — the fluids, rather — move on their own, right? So you didn’t mean for this to happen, Noah-chan?” She sheepishly nodded. Just then, I heard footsteps approaching. When I saw the owner of those quiet, stealthy footsteps, I checked the Witchpedia for her entry. Prisoner 660, Natsume An-An-chan. She seemed like a quiet girl, with lengthy bangs obscuring one of her eyes.
“Um… Natsume An-An-chan, right?”
“…”
She didn’t say anything, simply gazing at me with impatience.
“Er… is there something on my face?” Again, no reply. She tried to open the sketchbook she was carrying, but fumbled and dropped it on the ground. When I bent down to pick it up, she slapped my hand away.
“Oh, uh, sorry…” She picked it back up and started writing on it with her pen. Then, she flipped it around to show what she’d written to me.
“Move. You’re in my way.”
“Uh, move…? O-oh! You’re Noah-chan’s roommate. Sorry, I didn’t realize!” I was standing in between her and the cell door. I glanced at the prisoner numbers on the door’s plaque and immediately stepped aside. She softly sighed and moved to the door, peering into the cell. And then —
She brought both hands to her mouth to muffle a scream. The sight of her room washed over in a vivid, solid red was enough to leave her in shock.
“Oh, An-An-chan. Welcome back.” Noah-chan innocently beamed at her. An-An-chan, on the other hand, turned deathly pale and collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
“Woah, are you okay?!” I instinctively reached my hand out to help, but it was swatted away once again. At least she was conscious. Drawn by the commotion, Sherry-chan and Leia-chan came running over.
“Ema-san, is something the matter?!”
“What exactly happened here?!”
“I think An-An-chan was so shocked at the state of her room that she got dizzy…”
“The room…? How did this even happen…? No, never mind that. I saw that there was an infirmary on the map, so I’ll take her there. Ema-san, Sherry-san, I’m sorry to lay this on you two, but can you handle the situation here?”
“S-sure.” With that, Leia-chan effortlessly scooped An-An-chan up in her arms and briskly took off. I was left dumbfounded at how impressively swiftly and precisely she had responded to this.
“Wow… Leia-san really is as reliable as she seems.” The equally-impressed Sherry-san was watching her leave as well. Then, we turned back to Noah-chan. She was awkwardly pressing her fingertips together.
“Did I surprise her?”
“Y-yeah. I think so.”
“I’m sorry…” She was completely crestfallen. She seemed like a sweet and honest girl.
“It’s not your fault. I mean, you didn’t intend for the room to turn out like this, right?” Leia-chan had trusted us to resolve things here, so I had to step up and figure it out. That being said, I had no idea where to start with a room that was so completely stained with red. Then, Sherry-chan stepped forward.
“Heh heh heh… This is just the situation that calls for a Great Detective! Leave this to me!”
“Wait, can you really do something about this?”
“Of course! An-An-san collapsed from the sight of this room painted completely in red… it’s terrifying, when you think about it… It brings back memories of the violence we witnessed earlier…” She wasn’t wrong. The sight of vivid red blood splattered all over the lounge was still seared into my retinas. Perhaps An-An-chan had also found herself recalling the sight of Hiro-chan’s severed head.
“Basically, you just need to paint things that aren’t scary!” Her brilliant conclusion brought back the light in Noah-chan’s eyes.
“Okay! I’m gonna paint stuff that’s not scary!”
“Yes, that’s a wonderful idea!”
“I’m gonna fill the room up with paintings that make An-An-chan happy! And paintings that don’t scare anybody else too! I’m gonna make paintings that everyone loves!”
“Wonderful! Please do!” Motivated by Sherry-chan’s words, she sat back down and went back to spraying colors while humming a tune. She layered vibrant colors over the redness, forming adorable animals, flowers, and butterflies in an unfathomably short amount of time.
“I see… so Jougasaki Noah-san’s magic allows her to manipulate fluids.” Sherry-chan mused, observing the scene with interest. I wasn’t sure if this was the best way to go about it. That being said, it was certainly better than having the room bathed in red, so I watched along for a while.
“Balloon…” Sherry-chan suddenly whispered.
“Balloon?”
“You don’t know about Balloon, Ema-san? That’s the name of a world-famous street artist! The rumor was that nobody knew their true identity or had ever even seen them, but… I think it was her all along! Wow, wow, just wow! Noah-san, you’re Balloon, right?!” She turned around to meet the question with a bashful look.
“Yep, that’s me. Hehe… It’s kinda embarrassing…”
“So Noah-chan’s a world-famous artist… Wait, doesn’t that mean that us being brought here should be all over the news?! I mean, Leia-chan’s a celebrity too! The public wouldn’t just be silent about celebrities suddenly going missing! I bet the police are already looking for us!”
Sherry-chan tilted her head at me.
“You really think so? I get the feeling that this whole prison is a state-run operation. Remember what Gokucho said? That we were flagged during a nationwide screening. If so, it’s unlikely that the police would intervene. Rather, it’s more probable that they’re partially responsible for our kidnapping. We could all already even be legally deceased.” Her stone-cold logic made me shudder.
“That’s just… That can’t be true! We can’t just sit around doing nothing! We have to let the people out there know that Hiro-chan was murdered! We have to get out of here!”
“Hmm. You’re talking about a prison break, right?”
“A prison break… Y-yeah. I think we were brought here by mistake. Let’s figure out out to break out, Sherry-chan!”
“I see… If you’re the one asking, that makes me really want to help! At your service, Ema-san!” Having decided on our road forward, we joined hands in celebration.
All the while, the inside of Noah-chan’s cell had been completely transformed into something like a colorful toy box.
We immediately began using our free time to explore the rest of the prison. Aside from the row of cells that we were to sleep in, there were various other passageways extending through the basement area. We discovered an incinerator room, and even further beyond it was an especially ominous location. The lighting here was even dimmer than in the cells, and within that faint light stood a row of massive doors. I knew on sight that this was the solitary block. Each iron door was secured with secured with a padlock. I couldn’t open them, of course, and the only way to see inside was a small slit for viewing.
“Hmm. This looks like where they put prisoners who break the rules.”
“Y-yeah…” I shuddered in fright at the horrors one might be subjected to here. Just then, I heard a muffled voice coming out from behind one of these very doors.
“Gh… This is bullshit… Let me out! Aaargghh!!!” It sounded like a beast full of rage and agony. In other words, Shito Alisa-chan — the girl who had been caught by the warden earlier.
“Alisa-chan… a little while ago, I saw her getting caught by the guard, probably for being outside when it wasn’t free time…”
“Oh, she’s my roommate. That explains why I haven’t seen her. Let’s go find her!” We moved from door to door, leaning in to peer through each slit. Eventually…
“Alisa-chan!” We found the cell where she was being held. She was bound to a crucifix against the wall, breathing heavy and limp with exhaustion. At the very least, I was relieved to see that she wasn’t visibly injured. She looked up at us with an intense gaze.
“Huh…? Who the hell…”
“Are you okay? Did they do anything awful to you?”
She returned Sherry-chan’s question with a glare.
“None of your damn business…” Her tone was unreceptive, but her expression began to sour. “…But word of advice. When I tried to get as far away from the mansion as I could, there were swarms of those monster owls on lookout all over. The warden came at me as soon as I got spotted. A prison break isn’t gonna be easy. There was a wall, too, and I tried to burn it down, but that didn’t work either. Some weird power snuffed out the flames… Shit. What the hell is even happening?”
“You tried to burn down the wall…?” I was a little taken aback by such an extreme course of action, but then I thought a little deeper about what she’d just told us. It was bad news for our prison break plan.
“Hm… Well, this is a jail, after all. They wouldn’t let us escape that easily. Escaping was always going to be a tall task.” Sherry-chan said, calmly reasoning through the new information.
“…Did you assholes come here just to make fun of me?! Hurry up and get lost!” It looked like we had fanned the flames on her anger, and Alisa-chan was now lashing out. We hurriedly made our retreat.
As we continued to look around, we stopped by the infirmary on the ground floor because we were worried about An-An-chan. When I gently opened the door, a soft, pleasant scent tickled my nose. The room was lined with beds covered in pure-white sheets, and there was also a kitchenette with a stove to boil water. There was a large skylight on the roof that allowed in healthy amounts of daylight. It was gentle and welcoming, a far cry from the oppressive atmosphere we’d just emerged from. Lying down on one of those beds was the person we’d been looking for, with Leia-chan and Meruru-chan by her side.
“Oh, Ema-san, Sherry-san…!” Meruru-chan softly exclaimed, noticing our arrival. We quietly approached as to not disturb the resting patient.
“How’s she doing?” I asked.
“She has a high fever… For now, I think she should get some rest in here.”
“Meruru-kun just so happened to be in the infirmary. She’s been a great help. There’s a lot of greenery out in the courtyard, so she picked out some herbs and brewed some tea. I’ve calmed down quite a bit, thanks to her.” Leia-chan said, causing Meruru-chan to bashfully gaze downward. That explained the soothing scent. I felt like if I relaxed too much, I could forget all about what I was doing and just stay in here forever. But An-An-chan was in poor shape and currently asleep, so making any noise was out of the question. Just as I was about to tell Sherry-chan that we ought to get going, I heard a distinctive flapping from above. I looked up to see Gokucho, who had come in from the open doorway.
“Oh dear, what a crowd… What brings you all to the infirmary?” Leia-san stepped in front of us, as if to shield us from him.
“We’ve been following the rules. We haven’t done anything against them. We’re just looking after An-An-kun since she hasn’t been feeling well.”
“I see. Indeed, prisoners who fall ill are free to rest here overnight. It’s written in the rules. Keep it up, everyone. This is a very nice place, so please enjoy your time here.”
Enjoy. Both Leia-chan and I tensed up at that word, but…
“Oh, lucky me! You’re just who I wanted to see!” Sherry-chan’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity. “Can I ask you some questions, Gokucho-san?! This building looks ancient. When was it built? What happened to the previous prisoners? And what exactly is this prison complex?!”
“Sh-Sherry-chan, keep it down!” When I pointed over at the bed, Sherry-chan sheepishly scratched her head.
“Sorry, I just got a bit excited. Quiet in the infirmary, right?” Fortunately, she was still asleep, so we turned back to Gokucho.
“…Goodness. Well, I suppose it would be a pity to keep you in the dark about everything. I’m quite busy, but… I can shed some light on a few things. This prison has been here for five-hundred years.”
“Five-hundred?!”
“No wonder it’s so worn down…”
“Back then, this wasn’t a place for locking up witches. Rather, it was a mansion where witches lived out ordinary lives — a wonderful, harmonious gathering of witches, with the Great Witch at the center of them all.” Gokucho’s voice carried a tone of wistful nostalgia. “But at some point, a different race of beings — humans — came to this island. The witches welcomed them in, inviting them into these very halls for tea parties in the courtyard.”
“Then how did it turn into a prison?” Sherry-chan asked, her voice lower now.
“That would be because the Great Witch… Ah, dearie me. I shouldn’t say too much. I’ll be taking my leave now.” With renewed flaps, he soared off.
The Great Witch… that title tugged at my chest, but I didn’t want it to get any rowdier in here. We left An-An-chan’s care to Meruru-chan and Leia-chan, making our way out of the infirmary as well.
We still had some free time left and decided to go outside. We had to watch the clock, so we decided to only look around the immediate vicinity of the mansion grounds. Stepping out the front entrance, we looked back at the building. It towered over us, its form oppressively looming over us. It had an eeriness to it, as if it might swallow me whole. Yet, the fresh air outside filled my chest with a sense of liberation. The sun had already set and it was hard to see, but the mansion stood atop a hill. As we peered out, we saw dense forests and flower gardens. It felt like there were insects and small animals everywhere. We saw hardly any signs of man-made structures — we were surrounded by nature. A flock of large birds took flight in the distance. They were probably the watch-owls that Alisa-chan had mentioned.
“Owls aren’t usually the type to fly in flocks, but… It seems like these ones are an exception.” Sherry-chan mused. “It’s probably pretty common for girls to try escaping into the forest, so I bet that’s where they’re concentrated…” Sensing that it would be best to avoid approaching the forest for now, we decided to head around to the back of the prison. We didn’t get far before running into a tall stone wall. Alisa-chan had mentioned this too. It went up far enough that I had to crane my neck to see the top.
“Do you think we could contact the outside world if we got to the other side of this?”
“Possibly. But it’s incredibly tall, and what Alisa-san said about a ‘weird power’ concerns me too…”
“…I’m gonna try climbing it. Look, there’s some footholds here and there.” Deciding to just try something out for now, I put my foot on a crack and hoisted myself up. However, I could only get as far as my own height. “Ugh, ngh…!” My fingers slipped, sending me straight to the ground. The only thing I had to show for this was a sore backside.
“No good, huh?”
“And what in the world are you two up to?” We turned at the sound of a familiar voice to see Hanna-chan exasperatedly standing there. “You have absolutely no idea who or what could be watching.” I instinctively glanced toward the trees nearby, suddenly noticing a figure flashing by in the shade. It vanished almost immediately, but I could tell it was the girl with dark eyes and a massive gun strapped to her back. I was the only one that had noticed, though; the other two were engrossed in conversation.
“Hanna-san, what have you been up to?”
“I was also searching for a way to get out.”
“And did you find one?!” I approached her, leaning forward. She recoiled back a bit.
Oh no.
We’d barely just met, and now I’d gone and misjudged the proper distance between us. I was always like this. Back in middle school, too…
“Oh, um. My apologies, Ema-san… I’m just a bit tired…”
“…Yeah. We’re almost out of time, so we should head back.” I responded. We were all completely exhausted after everything that’d happened today. I shook off the uneasiness in my chest, telling myself to not let these little things get to me.
“By the way, I was unable to find any suitable escape routes. Not that I had the chance to see everything, but I believe the entire area is enclosed by a high wall,” Hanna-chan explained.
“Hmm. And on top of that, there’s watch-owls patrolling all over the forest… The security here is much tighter than I thought,” Sherry-chan added.
“Oh, also, there’s one thing in particular that I’ve realized. This is an island. You can just barely make out the scent of the ocean… and when I pressed my ear against the wall, I could hear the sound of waves.” Prompted by Hanna-chan’s statement, I pressed my ear against the wall. Sure enough, I could faintly hear crashing water.
“Come to think of it, Gokucho mentioned we were on an island earlier…”
“So this really is a remote island! They probably drugged us and brought us here by helicopter!”
“No…” Despair began to spread through my heart. Even if we managed to get over the wall, if we were greeted by nothing but ocean, then we really had no way to escape.
“Quickly… I have to escape as quickly as possible, or…” Hanna-chan whispered. She’d said she was tired, and she looked quite pale.
“Hanna-chan, are you feeling okay…?”
“Of course I’m not okay!”
I flinched.
“After what happened, is there even any way I possibly could be?! And that hideous creature has been keeping watch over everyone all this time, and when… when I imagine us all turning into horrifying monsters just like that—”
And then, her expression broke down. She was on the verge of tears. All we could do was head back to our cells, spirits heavy with sorrow.
The three of us, along with Meruru-chan, continued to use our free time to explore the prison and the area outside, desperately searching for a way out. Yet, three days in captivity passed and we still had nothing to show for it. Although there were still a few perplexing elements to the rules, we were starting to get used to life here.
It was now time for breakfast, and the four of us sat together like usual. Jougasaki Noah-chan was nowhere to be seen. She hadn’t come out to eat yesterday or the day before that, either. I’d tried calling out to her a few times out of concern, but she always gave me vague responses, as if she’d shut herself away inside her paintings. However, her roommate — Natsume An-An-chan — had made it to breakfast. She still seemed under the weather, but it was nice to see that she was feeling well enough to be out and about.
The buffet counter was lined with a colorful — well, more like dull — selection of mysterious foods. The only goal here was to sate my hunger, so I just randomly scooped some stuff onto my plate.
“Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting…! Damn it all.” I couldn’t help but giggle as I watched Hanna-chan shovel down her food, despite her grumbling. Suddenly, I heard a loud voice ring out from a nearby table.
“No, I’m for real! She told me herself! She’s that famous artist, Balloon!” The source of the commotion was the girl with the cat-ear headphones — Prisoner 669, Sawatari Coco-chan. Over the last couple days, I’d managed to get familiar with the names and faces of the other girls imprisoned here.
“Oh, look like they’re talking about it over there too. Balloon’s a household name, after all.” Sherry-chan said, munching away in delight.
“Balloon…? What’s that?” Meruru-chan tilted her head quizzically. It seemed like everyone had become aware of what Noah-chan had been painting in the room over the past few days. Her colorful spray-paint art was different every day, bringing a glimmer of light to our weary hearts. But…
Hanna-chan’s spoon slipped from her hand, her eyes wide with shock.
“Balloon is imprisoned here too? That’s ridiculous! Who exactly is it?!”
“Jougasaki Noah-san.”
“What?! Unbelievable! Not a day goes by without that name being discussed online!” It seemed like up until just now, only Sherry-chan and I were aware that Noah-chan was Balloon. The cafeteria was now abuzz with talk of the artist. Nobody had ever witnessed her at work, leaving her true identity shrouded in mystery. Among her pieces were a entire building, transformed into a canvas overnight; station stairs regularly bustling with commuters, suddenly adorned with a vibrant mural at the crack of dawn; and a massive painting that had suddenly appeared on the bottom of a floating bridge. The fact that this had all been done without anybody noticing was nothing short of a miracle. That was precisely why she had gained such a devoted following, especially among the younger generations. They spoke of her like she was an urban legend.
Suddenly, the sound of a plate crashing onto the floor rang out amidst the lively chatter, instantly grinding the atmosphere to a halt. One lone figure stood up: Shito Alisa-chan. It’d been a while since I’d last seen her, making me realize that she’d been finally released from solitary confinement today. She had been sitting alone, eating far away from the occupied tables. She looked like the most exhausted of us all, with dark circles under her eyes and hollow cheeks. And yet, her eyes still gleamed with a piercing light.
“I’ve had enough. Is gossip the only thing you’re good for? …Maybe I should just kill all of you annoying bastards to shut you up forever!”
We all fell silent, and I audibly gulped. Normally, we’d just treat this like it was the emotional outburst of a troubled girl. But given the present circumstances, that statement was not to be taken lightly. Even as we emptily went through the motions of our prescribed daily routine, there was one thing always at the back of all our minds — something Gokucho had told us, something clearly outlined in the Witchpedia.
– When a prisoner is subjected to intense stress, their witch factor grows stronger and accelerates their transformation into a witch.
– Those who become witches are overcome with an uncontrollable urge to kill.
Leia stood up as well, responding calmly. “Alisa-kun, I believe you’ve been taken by some quite precarious thoughts. It’s clear that you’ve been through a lot. If you’re comfortable with it, I’m here to listen. I’d be grateful if you could open up to us about your troubles.”
“Shut it, honor student. I’ll do what I want, how I want.” After spitting out a retort, Alisa-chan left the cafeteria. The rest of us had been rendered speechless. The lively atmosphere from moments ago had disappeared, leaving silence in its wake. I noticed the spoon in Hanna-chan’s hand trembling ever so slightly. We were all terrified of the possibility that somebody might do something they couldn’t come back from… and I was no exception.
There was a darkness lurking within this prison.
“Oh, Ema-san, Hanna-san, Meruru-san, take a look at your phones.” The four of us had finished breakfast and were now walking down a hallway. Prompted by Sherry-chan, I took out my phone. We all had different cases, making them easy to distinguish. Between this and our clothes, it felt like this prison was meticulously detailed about the strangest things. When the screen flickered on, a notification lit up and the messaging app automatically opened up. There was small red blinking text reading “LIVE” in the top right corner of the screen. The video being displayed was pretty laggy at first, but eventually, Leia-chan’s face appeared and filled up the whole screen.
I had already been aware that we were all able to livestream on our phones because that cat-ears girl, Sawatari Coco-chan, had been using the function every day. I’d take a quick look whenever I got the notification, but it was hard to get excited about content that only we prisoners could watch. I had no idea why this feature even existed, and the small blinking “LIVE” text gave me the uncanny feeling that I was being watched. Because of that, I never kept her streams open for very long, if at all.
“ — and to foster a sense of camaraderie, I’d like to begin regularly streaming as well.”
This was the first time I’d seen Leia-chan streaming. It looked like she was in the lounge, and her voice was both composed and compelling. We all stopped in our tracks to keep watching.
“We all need to stay strong. Don’t do anything rash or impulsive. Our only choice right now may be to comply, but we will never truly yield. We’re all going to survive, and we’re all going to get out of here. We’re going to be okay. I’ll make sure of that, I promise.”
Her words struck true in my heart. It was the same earlier with Alisa-chan during breakfast. The air of unease had shaken us all, forcing us to face the reality of why we were all here and what laid in our futures — and Leia-chan had read the room immediately and taken charge.
“She’s incredible,” I blurted out as I watched her passionate speech.
“Hmph. This is hardly worth my time,” Hanna-chan scoffed. Even so, her eyes remained glued to the screen.
“Hmm.” Sherry-chan deftly snatched the phone out of Hanna-chan’s hands. “Hanna-san, I think you might actually be fond of her. Getting all worked up like this…”
“Give that back, you gorilla woman!” Sherry-chan quickly flaunted the phone before dashing off, with Hanna-chan chasing after her.
“Hehehe! Catch me if you caaan!” The sounds of laughter and footsteps echoed through the hallways. Meruru-chan and I smiled at each other.
“I think I understand how Hanna-san feels… Leia-san is incredibly beautiful.”
“Yeah… Do you think she can use charm magic…?”
“You might be right…”
We couldn’t take our eyes off our phones, our cheeks flushed with rapture.
I used the rest of the day trying to pilfer the warden’s keyring, but my plan failed and I wasted most of my free hours running away from it instead. When I’d made it back to my cell it was already time for dinner, but I didn’t have the energy to drag myself out of bed.
“Ema-san, are you alright?” Meruru-chan had come to check on me, probably because she was worried that I hadn’t come up to eat. She stared intently at me, brows furrowed in concern.
“O-oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
“…There’s some dirt on your cheek.” She reached out to gently wiped it off with a handkerchief. As I bashfully lowered my gaze, she walked back out of my cell to a bucket off to the side of the hallway. It was likely originally there to be used for cleaning, but we all were currently using it as a trash can. Just as she was about to toss the handkerchief away, she tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s this?” My curiosity also piqued, I went to take a look. The bucket was packed full of carefully disassembled parts that appeared to be the remains of some sort of device. We decided to take the parts out to figure out what it was; there were so many smaller bits and pieces that we had to split the load back to my cell.
“Ema-san, let’s not keep everyone waiting. Shall we have dinner first?”
“Sure. Oh, wait. One moment.” I paused as a thought crossed my mind. I peered into Noah-chan’s room to find the usual sight — walls covered from top to bottom in spray paint art.
“Noah-chan, wanna come eat with us today?” Her eyes lit up the moment she noticed us.
“Ema-chan, Meruru-chan… I’m okay. Everyone’s so nice.”
“Everyone?”
“Mhm. They all come over to say hi and bring me snacks. My magic surprised everyone at first, but… there’s tons of weird things here, you know?” She giggled. “Nobody’s scared of my magic. Makes me happy, hehe.” Her cheerful smile brought out my own as well.
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“Yep. I wanna say thank you to everyone, so I’m gonna make even more paintings to make everyone even happier!” The form-shifting art that Noah-chan created became a tiny source of everyday comfort for us all. Plus, not only was she not skipping any meals, she also seemed generally quite lively. We decided to leave her to her own devices and head to the stairs. As we did, another thought crossed my mind.
“…By the way, has she patched things up with An-An-chan?”
“I’m not certain… She felt well enough to go back to her cell last night, but her health took a turn for the worse again earlier. She’s resting in the infirmary at the moment.”
“I see… that makes me worry.”
“…Me too.” I thought back to when I saw her this morning, and how she still had some difficulty staying steady on her feet. Noah-chan was far from a bad girl, but her art was a poor match for An-An-chan. I wanted to help solve this somehow, but I had no idea where to start. The only thing that stood out in my mind was a lingering unease.
After dinner, the usual quartet assembled in the shower room on the first floor. There was a row of lockers on the side, each marked with our respective prisoner numbers. Inside were a set of spare undergarments and clothes, neatly folded and arranged.
“Why must we keep throwing these away…? Ugh, what a waste of perfectly wearable clothes!” Hanna-chan groaned in disappointment, the clothes she’d taken off earlier in her hands. According to the rules, we had to throw away our clothes in the trash chute in here every single day. They went right to the incinerator in the basement floor, where they were promptly burned. Brand-new replacements were provided to us in these lockers each day as well. It was one of those odd, incomprehensible rules that left me wondering if we were being cared for or if we were being treated like lepers. Either way, I was still grateful for being permitted to shower regularly.
“Maybe it’s because we’re all potential witches. The fact that they’re burning it all feels a little… discriminatory.” I lazily nodded at Sherry-san’s musings. “Or maybe they just don’t want to deal with laundry! I don’t think they’re strict enough to check whether we actually tossed them every day, so if you don’t want to, I think you could just keep them!”
“Ugh… I certainly would prefer that, but I’d also prefer not having to find out what they might do to me if I’m found to be breaking the rules… so I have no choice in the matter, damn it all!” Hanna-chan reluctantly shoved her used clothes into the chute.
“Um, H-Hanna-chan, I don’t think you should be leaning in like that… you could fall in…!”
“Have no fear! I can float!” That brought out a little laughter from all of us. Today had been as rough as the rest, but our little group made things a bit easier. I was so glad that they were with me.
After a quick shower, we stepped back out into the hallway warm and refreshed.
“They could have at least provided separate sleepwear!” Hanna-chan continued to grumble.
“A-At least we still get a change of clothes. Even if they’re the exact same each time.”
“Maybe it’s Gokucho-san’s fashion sense at work,” Sherry-chan mused.
“Hmph. I suppose he isn’t tasteless.”
“It sounds like you like it.”
“N-N-N-N-No?! How could I possibly enjoy wearing this?!”
These lighthearted exchanges over topics like our thoughts on these clothes and complaints about particularly trivial things warmed my heart. I’d wanted so badly to have ordinary moments like this in my life, just strolling along and chatting with friends. Of course, the truth was that we were prisoners, and this was our prison. Even so… for just an instant, I felt like I could forget all about that.
“Got a moment?”
A lower voice suddenly came from behind, startling me a little. I turned to see Prisoner 665, Kurobe Nanoka-chan. She was a girl with dark eyes, and I didn’t know if it was real, but she always had that gun strapped to her back. I thought back to how I saw her skulking around in the shadows of the trees that one time. She always kept to herself and didn’t seem to have formed any connections with any of us. I hadn’t expected her to be the one starting a conversation.
“What’s on your mind? Did something happen?” Sherry-chan stepped forward with a breezy response.
“The crossbow that was being displayed in the lounge is missing. I think someone took it.”
“What?”
“That’s… isn’t that a massive emergency?!”
It was impossible for anybody to have missed the sight of it by now. I myself had taken a closer a look at it while exploring a couple days ago. It was menacing and eerily intricate, although it shouldn’t have been loaded, since it was just a decoration. …But what if it was a real crossbow? What if someone had gotten their hands on a weapon? The thought of that possibility incessantly nagged at my mind.
“W-we should go check!” We hurried to the lounge.
It was plain to see the moment we entered. The crossbow was gone.
“It’s really missing… But when…?”
“It was there during the day yesterday. So probably last night. Also… there’s one more thing missing. My hair ribbon. Maybe I just dropped it somewhere, but I’ve already looked everywhere I could have lost it and came up with nothing… one of us is a thief. Unforgivable.” Nanoka-chan spoke softly, but one of her hands had clenched into a fist and trembled ever so slightly. Maybe all that composure was just a desperate attempt to push down her emotions. She abruptly turned around and silently left the lounge.
“I hope she’s doing okay. I’m worried…” Meruru-chan’s voice shook.
“…Her behavior is cause for concern, I believe.” Hanna-chan also pressed her lips into a troubled expression. Feeling uneasy, we all followed Nanoka-chan up to the second floor and saw her entering the rec room. We hurried inside as well to find a commotion already underway.
“Why the hell are you getting all in my face out of nowhere and calling me a thief?! You picking a fight?!” Alisa-chan shouted, shoving at a chessboard in anger. The sound of chess pieces clattering to the ground reverberated through the tense atmosphere.
“I’m not picking anything. You seem exactly like the sort of person that would be responsible.”
“Oh yeah? What about that gun?! Where’d that even come from?! If anybody here’s suspicious, it’s you!” Alisa-chan grabbed her by the collar.
“Hang on, you two! Calm down!”
“Shut up and stay out!”
“You’re all talk. I don’t think you have it in you for a real confrontation.”
“You bitch…!”
Even though I’d tried to step in, the hostility was still at full force.
“Um, um um um…” Meruru-chan’s voice had gone up a whole octave, and Hanna-chan was also in a panic. I wasn’t faring any better, totally frozen in place as I witnessed this volatile exchange.
Hiro-chan would have known exactly what to do. But she was gone forever.
Even so, I’d been at her side watching her for so long that I could imagine exactly how she would act in times like these. I had to be brave, like she was. It was the only way I’d be able to help anyone.
I took a deep breath, steeling my nerves. Then, I confidently put a hand over Alisa-chan’s raised fist.
“If you two get into a fight, you might be labeled troublemakers and get thrown in solitary. So please, just stop.” I didn’t know whether it was because my words had gotten through to her or if the sudden physical contact had snapped her out of her rage, but she brought her fist down. Then, the both of them stepped away, as if trying to get some distance from me.
“My, my. You’re surprisingly spirited, Ema-chan.” There was one other girl in the rec room. She had been sitting on the sofa with an amused smile, playing the bystander this whole time: Prisoner 664, Houshou Margo-chan. Her beguiling presence made itself known as she stood up.
“What ever could you possibly mean by ‘thief’? Surely you aren’t implying that us prisoners truly have anything to our names. Personally, I’d pay it no mind if someone were to make off with a belonging or two.”
“Houshou Margo… I’m aware you take all sorts of things into your room. I wouldn’t be surprised if you stole my ribbon.”
“Your ribbon? I’m afraid not. Although, if it were lovely enough, I’d be tempted to make it mine.”
“Give it back. Now.”
“Wasn’t me. Probably. Heehee.”
“Give it.”
These roommates didn’t seem like they were on the best of terms. You could cut the hostile tension between them with a knife.
“What’s our move, Ema-san? I could just punch them until they stop.”
“I already said no violence, Sherry-chan… Everyone, let’s just talk it out!”
I realized now how difficult it really was to live together with girls my own age. By the time I’d finally made it back to the underground floor, I was totally beat. Sherry-chan beelined to her cell, which was the closest to the entrance.
“Just quick showers won’t do. I want a nice, long soak in a bathtub… Haah…” Meruru-chan was helping a yawning, half-asleep Hanna-chan to bed.
“I think I’ll be able to sleep well tonight. Goodnight, everyone…” I’d just about reached my door after wishing the two goodnight when someone came running down the hallway and crashed right into me. It was Alisa-chan. I felt a little awkward because of what had just happened in the rec room.
“Tch… you again. What’re you doing? Don’t just stand there!” She clicked her tongue again before moving past to her own cell.
“She’s the one who crashed into us! So uncouth!” Hanna-chan fumed.
“Are you two alright?” Suddenly, another voice called out, and I looked to see yet another girl coming from further down the hallway. It was Leia-chan. Everyone’s gazes swung to her. Then suddenly, Hanna-chan responded with a hint of thorniness in her voice.
“I-I have no need for your sympathies, thank you very much!”
“…Have I done anything to make you dislike me? I’d rather we get along, so that puts me in a bit of a bind.” She put on a disappointed smile, but this wasn’t enough to deter her. “Oh, by the way, I’m planning to stream again later tonight. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d love for you to watch.”
“Hmph. Streaming in the morning and again in the evening? Do you even know how to sit still?”
“Coco-kun invited me to stream with her after seeing me this morning. I think it’ll be a nice, lively show. All I hope for is to bring some joy to everyone.”
“H-Hmph. Well, I suppose there’s no harm in doing you the favor of a quick look. L-let’s be off, Meruru-san!”
“Oh, okay…!” Hanna-chan firmly took her hand and scurried off to her own room, stealing a few momentary glances at Leia-chan on her way over. Meruru-chan simply gave a small wave from over her shoulder, and I waved back. And so, I was left standing here with Leia-chan.
“Ah, also, I stopped by the infirmary today, and it seems like I took An-An-kun’s phone by accident.” Saying this, she rummaged through her pockets and fished out a phone. I could definitely recognize that it was An-An-chan’s. “I’d be in your debt if you could hand it back to her for me. The stream’s supposed to start in a moment, so… Sorry in advance.”
“No, that’s totally fine!” As I took the phone from her, I summoned the courage to say a little more. “Um, I thought the way you spoke up this morning was really impressive. So if there’s anything that I can help you with, just let me know.” Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly returned to a gentle smile.
“It makes me very happy to hear that from you, Ema-kun. Thank you.”
Even though our goals were different and we’d split into different groups, it wasn’t too late. It was obviously better if we could all stand united. I hurried to the infirmary, tightly clutched the phone she’d entrusted me with.
“Excuse me…” I gently pushed the door open as I stepped inside. It felt as if the quiet of night itself had been infused into the room itself, making me instinctively lower my voice to a whisper. As I approached her bed, I noticed something moving under the covers.
“Sorry, did I wake you up, An-An-chan?”
“State your business.”
She still wasn’t speaking, instead communicating through her sketchbook.
“Um, so, you know how Leia-chan came to see you earlier today? Well, she told me she accidentally took your phone, so she asked me to bring it back to you. Here you go.” As she took it from my outstretched hand, she gazed intently at me, as if there was something she wanted to say. But still, no words. An awkward silence settled in. Having finished what I came here to do, I glanced at the door in preparation to head back out when suddenly, a piercing ring sounded from her phone. The voice that followed was a very energetic Sawatari Coco-chan.
“Oh, right! The stream! I was going to watch that too.” I hurried to get my own phone out, but An-An-chan gently held hers out toward me. It was so unexpected that I froze for a moment — I’d intended on getting back to my cell before watching. However, this felt like a good opportunity to get closer to her.
Thanks. I’ll watch it here with you.” I cautiously sat on the edge of her bed and focused my attention on the screen. There were three girls in frame: Hasumi Leia-chan, Sawatari Coco-chan, plus one other — Prisoner 663, Saeki Miria-chan. The three were particular standouts among the prisoners, each radiating a sunny and stylish aura.
“Wassup! It’s your girl, Coco-tan!” She came punching out the gate with a peppy greeting.
“U-um, I’m Saeki Miria… wassup…? Nice to meet you…? Um, haha… D-did I do it right?” Miria-chan was the most stunningly stylish of them all, but she sounded quite nervous. She probably wasn’t used to being on stream.
“And guess what?! Today, we’re finally collabing with the one and only Hasumi Leia!”
“Haha! You’re full of energy tonight, Coco-kun.”
“Gosh, why’d you even invite me…? I’m just an old man…” Miria-chan mumbled.
“You’re just here for the vibes! ‘Cause you’re a nobody!”
“A nobody…”
“And what’s even with this ‘old man’ bit?! You are CLEARLY a gyaru!”
“Well, no, it’s because I’m an old man… I’m not really familiar with this sort of thing, so please don’t talk to me so much…”
“Then why are you even here?!”
“Calm down, Coco-kun.”
“But this energy is what rakes in the views! Come on, Leia! Your turn for introductions!”
“O-Oh… Right. Then once again, I’m…” There wasn’t a single boring moment during their cheerful stream. It was just like Leia-chan said it would be — a source of joy within the walls of this prison. As the stream continued, Coco-chan was seized by her entertainer spirit and tried to get Leia-chan to do a little trick.
“Okay, so! I’m going to throw this apple up in the air, and Leia is gonna stab it with her rapier!”
“Huh?! Wait, you didn’t tell me about this.”
“Come on, just do it! The crowd’s gonna love it!”
“But as far as crowds go, this isn’t exactly…” Miria-chan tried to interject, but…
“Shut up, loser!”
I silently cheered Miria-chan on as Leia proceeded to successfully catch the apple right on the tip of her rapier as it flew through the air. Before I knew it, both An-An-chan and I were completely engrossed in what was happening, eyes glued to the screen. And at that very moment…
“Attention, all. It is almost bedtime. The curfew will soon be in effect, so please return to your rooms immediately.”
A message from Gokucho sprung in to kill the mood, accompanied by a notification sound in the form of an owl’s hoot. Leia-chan shrugged.
“It looks like we’re out of time for today. Goodnight, all!”
“See ya next stream! And don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!”
“I think the staff might appreciate having an apple to eat, so I’ll just keep this nice and safe…” With Miria-chan’s last words, the three of them waved and the stream cut off.
“…Oh! I’ve got to get back!” I scrambled to my feet and quickly bowed to An-An-chan. “Thank you for letting me watch with you! Goodnight!” Not wanting to break any rules, I swiftly left the infirmary.
As I got back to my cell, I flopped right onto the bed. Soon after, the sound of locks clicking into place echoed through the cell block.
“Barely made it…” I wondered if Leia-chan and the others had managed to get back in time. Today had been incredibly eventful. As soon as I closed my eyes, fatigue took hold of me and I drifted right off into a deep sleep.
Maybe it was because I’d slept so well, but I’d woken up much earlier than usual. My body felt light and my mind was clear and calm. I stretched a little and stepped out into the hallway. The air was chilly, yet comfortable. It seemed like everyone was still asleep — but just as I started to go for a morning walk, I saw someone coming my way from down the hall. It was An-An-chan. Her brows slightly furrowed as she noticed my presence.
“Good morning, An-An-chan! You’re up early today! How do you feel?” I cheerfully called out to her, but she didn’t bother replying. She walked right past me, as if I didn’t even exist, heading to her room. I wanted to believe she was starting to open up to me, but… I supposed it wasn’t so simple. I hung my head in dejection, and just as I did —
“Ah… Ah… Ah…”
“Hm?” An unfamiliar voice was coming from behind me. I turned to see An-An-chan frozen in front of her cell. The voice was hers. And that voice…
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Rang out in a soul-rending cry that made my heart clench in fear. I rushed over in a panic, and the moment I laid my eyes inside the cell next door, time completely stopped.
“Noah-chan…?”
My own voice trembled feebly, as if it was shaking free from reality itself. Noah-chan, the prodigal artist who never stopped drawing, was completely still. It was as if she was asleep within those pure-white walls.
But she wasn’t.
Her skin no longer carried the color of a living human. It was as cold and stiff as porcelain, so delicate it could break with barely a touch. Accompanying her in death were countless butterflies painted in blood, strewn across the floor as if they were in flight.
Portaits from left to right, descending: Ema, Hiro, An-An, Leia, Miria, Margo, Nanoka, Alisa, Sherry, Hanna, Coco, Meruru. The additional text below each portrait contains their prisoner number, name, and magic (if known).
The map pictured on the bottom depicts the layout of the cells. From left to right: Meruru, Coco and Hanna, Leia and Miria, Noah and An-An, Ema and Hiro, Margo and Nanoka, Sherry and Alisa.
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