Ch.9696. Before Epilogue – Imprisonment

“First, your name.”

“Plum.”

“Do you think that’s what I’m asking? I’m asking for your real name, your true name.”

“What…? Why should I tell you that?”

“It’s useful in many ways. Well, I already know it. Ha Yuri.”

“…?! How did you…?”

“Don’t underestimate Eden’s intelligence network. It would be better if you answered truthfully. If you lie, you might not like what happens next.”

“…Haa.”

“So then. Power structure within the Association? No need for that. I already know everything. The internal structure of the Association? I know it all. Some of the questions I ask won’t be because I’m actually curious, but to determine whether you’re telling the truth. If you lie? This time it won’t end with just a beating. Prepare to lose at least an arm or a leg. Oh, don’t worry. Eden’s artificial limb technology is remarkable, so fitting you with a prosthetic leg is nothing.”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

“Isn’t it to make things easier for both of us? For you and for me. It’s bothersome to verify whether something is true or not. And you don’t have to suffer unnecessarily. Ah, it would be better to drop that pathetic ‘I won’t talk for the sake of my comrades!’ nonsense. You know why? Because you’re the only one who loses.”

“Ha, you talk too much. I have nothing to say.”

“Yes. I’m sure you don’t. But I haven’t asked you anything yet, have I? Let’s say… if you lie or refuse to answer a question, you get hit once.”

“…Are you a psycho? You seem to enjoy hitting people. Are you some kind of pervert?”

“Do you think I hit because I enjoy it? It’s simply the fastest and most convenient way to teach an unruly beast.”

“You crazy bitch.”

“Well… seeing how you act despite remembering what happened earlier, perhaps you actually want that kind of pain.”

“No matter what you say or do, I won’t tell you anything.”

A harsh mechanical sound filled the room, and the chains connected to the handcuffs began to move.

“You must have been quite comfortable just lying there. Well, it is an inconvenient position for interrogation. Let’s start properly.”

“Ha, I don’t need this kind of consideration.”

“Consideration? If I were you, I would have talked earlier and made things easier for myself rather than suffering like an idiot. And I would have chosen to join our cause after understanding our mission.”

The chains pulled upward toward the ceiling, dragging her body to the center of the room.

Naturally, her bound body was treated like baggage, simply dragged and dumped on the floor without any care.

“Ugh…”

Bine pulled the handcuffs up toward the ceiling, forcibly making her stand, then dragged a chair over and sat down in front of her.

“Isn’t it better to be comfortable? Instead of this cold prison, we offer warm private rooms, timely vacations—a good workplace.”

“Bullshit. Who would join an evil organization like this?”

“Evil organization? We are a righteous group working to make the world more beautiful. If anything, you’re the evil ones.”

“I have no intention of joining a villain group, so get lost.”

“…Well, such thoughts can change anytime. Let me give you some time to realize that.”

With those final words, Bine simply left, leaving her alone.

The floor was colder than expected, and the room was so monotonous that it was impossible to even form thoughts.

Yuri tried to fall asleep by closing her eyes.

She loved sleep so much that she could doze off anywhere she could rest her head, so she thought she might be able to drift off.

However, the standing position not only prevented sleep but kept her mind wide awake. This clear consciousness made her focus on her physical condition.

With her arms suspended above, they ached, and her awkward standing position with the handcuffs set at an uncomfortable height meant she had to stand on tiptoe to relieve the pain in her arms, or give up the tiptoes to relieve her feet.

Being aware of this made it worse, and even when she tried to think of something else, her mind only emphasized her suffering body.

Time passes slowly in pain, and in a room with no windows and no changes, while bound.

Eventually, she wanted to give up the fight with herself.

Just as she stopped struggling to free herself from the handcuffs, and her mind was about to drift into the distant beyond…

“Ah, I see you’re still conscious?”

A small girl opened the door and entered.

Her heart and body wanted to beg for release right now.

But seeing what might be demanded in return, instead of saying that,

“Ha. Did you think I would give up this easily?”

“No. Well… I can guess, but since you said you’re fine. Shall we raise your arms a bit higher?”

The heavy sound of machinery operating filled the room.

She had been standing on tiptoe to prevent the weight from concentrating on the handcuffs.

Now, even on tiptoe, most of her body weight was supported by the handcuffs.

The height was adjusted so that she could only briefly relieve herself by standing on tiptoe.

“Well. You seem to need more time to think. My, what a difficult woman to interrogate. How nice it would be if you just answered prettily. I’m busy too, so I’ll be going now.”

Leaving her in that uncomfortable state, Bine quickly left again.

“Shit, haa… Did she really leave?”

She was already mentally strained.

In an empty room.

The only sounds were the magical girl’s breathing, groans, and the jingling of chains.

Beyond that, no sound, no light, no movement.

Not even knowing if time was passing, not even hearing footsteps outside.

In a perfectly isolated space, she continued to fight with herself.

She endured, and endured more.

Not knowing when Bine would return. Not knowing when someone would come to rescue her.

Not knowing how to move, time passed endlessly.

‘My arms hurt, it’s too painful.’

‘…I’m crazy, why did I agree to become a magical girl? I shouldn’t have believed that animal.’

‘No, I was careless and got caught by Bine.’

‘Bine, when will she come back?’

‘How much time has passed? 1 hour? 2 hours?’

‘…I just want to be comfortable.’

Though labeled an adult, her mind was still that of an immature young person.

She had various thoughts, but most were buried before they could even surface, overwhelmed by the physical pain being inflicted.

‘Why am I here like this?’

‘If I hadn’t become a magical girl, I wouldn’t have needed to endure this pain.’

‘…I’m starting to get hungry. It hurts, my legs hurt. Was my body always this heavy? Surely my magic…’

‘Ah, that’s right. I can’t use magic anymore.’

‘…Blanc, Citrus, Garnet, please. Help me.’

‘Get me out of this nightmare.’

‘Get me out, release me, I want to leave.’

A single phrase that brought her fading consciousness back to reality.

The familiar voice of the small girl.

The person who could end this situation.

“Wake up, shall we? Can’t you even recognize when someone has entered the room?”

Bine had returned.

“Ugh, urgh… Bine…”

“Yes, yes. You finally seem to have become a bit more docile. Shall I leave you alone longer?”

“Do whatever you want. I won’t give u—”

“Just to let you know. I just went to my room for a moment. I think I left you in that state for about 10 minutes. Was it difficult?”

10 minutes.

An absurd amount of time came from her lips.

Just 10 minutes.

How could that be?

It felt like she had been here for so long.

How?

“W-wait… 10 minutes…?”

“Well, Eden is quite large. Even for someone like me who can move around easily, the deepest underground prison is quite far away. I brought this file to investigate you.”

All that struggling had been for just 10 minutes.

Not 1 hour, not 2 hours. Just 10 minutes.

“Ah… aah…”

“Now, how about it? Oh, this time I brought a book to read, so I could enjoy my leisure time with your painful appearance as background music…”

“…Ah.”

Bine approached Yuri step by step.

“Or would you rather cooperate with the investigation, saving us both the trouble?”

“…”

Slowly, circling around Yuri.

“Well, if you cooperate with the investigation… I could at least offer you a chair. Of course… you would still need to be restrained.”

“…”

She laid out sweet temptations.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Let’s just make things easier for both of us, shall we?”

“We simply find it bothersome too. Do you think we don’t have spies in the Association?”

“Making contacts, doing all that work. We can get all the information. It’s just more troublesome.”

“Look at your red face. You want to rest, don’t you? By the way, if you miss this opportunity today, the next interrogation will start around noon tomorrow.”

“Well, I have missions to carry out outside too. Can you endure in that state all day long?”

All sweet temptations.

One by one, she offered exactly what Yuri, already pushed to the edge, wanted most.

“Now. If you just promise, we can make this easy. I don’t want to see blood either. I don’t want to raise my fist. I don’t want to use force.”

She broke her down from the inside.

While also describing the pain that would come if she rejected the sweet temptation.

“Is the area I hit earlier okay? I was trying to control my strength. I’ve recalculated the appropriate level based on the data. They say I can hit harder now.”

“And… if that’s not enough, we’ll eventually have to see blood, won’t we?”

And standing in front of Yuri.

“So, what do you say? Will you cooperate? I don’t want to torment someone as young as you either. Don’t you resent the world for placing such a heavy burden on you at such a young age?”

“As for me, well, the boss took care of everything, so I carry out my missions with ease, but that’s not the case for you, is it?”

“What will you do?”

In the end, she had no choice but to reach for the sweet fruit before her.

Even knowing that the fruit contained deadly poison.

Even knowing that the ivy vine had laid many traps.