[Nathan POV]
'Damn, why is she here of all the sins?'
If he didn't recognize Rowan, he could definitely recognize Lilith, one of the seven deadly sins that would appear in the future; she was the sin of Lust.
He figured out her identity instantly because of the hair. It was pink, after all, and even in a fantasy world, that was quite rare among humans, since the other races had more features like that.
'She wants to escape, right?'
Nathan was sure that she would. After all, everyone wanted to leave this place.
"Is your stomach good, idiot?"
"Oh… I'm fine, thanks, Rowan."
"Just don't die on me." Rowan said before turning his face towards one of the cave's walls and drifting straight to sleep.
"…"
Even if he didn't show it, the current Rowan wasn't anything like the sin of Pride that would appear later in the novel. Even if he had this tough guy act, he did care about other people in his own way.
'At least I'm not alone.'
Adrian's presence in this world gave Nathan great comfort. He now had an ally, someone with the same goal, and even if they had only known each other for a day, a friend. He would talk to him tomorrow and also bring Garon in to talk, maybe even find Lilith and talk to her. But for now, he decided to sleep.
[Adrian POV]
"Good morning, Adrian."
"Hey, Osfold, feeling better?"
"Well, someone has to create weapons around here."
"…"
The boy didn't ask Osfold for his help yet, and it seemed like it would take some time before the guards opened the doors and led everyone to work in the mine, so he took his chance to get him on their side.
"Hey, Osfold, you wanna escape, right?"
"You are asking that? Of course!"
"Then help us. Make weapons of lower quality and hide them."
Adrian's plan was simple: make lower-quality weapons by so-called mistake and leave them in the blacksmith, saying you would melt them and reuse the iron tomorrow. It was quite a simple plan. He didn't know if it would work, but the guards didn't seem like the smartest tools in the shed.
"… A revolt, you say."
"Yes, it's our only chance."
"Anyone helping you?"
"One guy today, we're gonna get more."
"I will speak with the others in the blacksmith, but be careful."
"Yeah, you never know who listens." Adrian nodded, as it seemed that the old man was on his side.
thud thud thud
Shortly after, the same metallic sound hitting the iron doors was heard, but today all the doors opened instantly. Adrian rushed outside to take a good look at the corridor and saw that each door had a lever, but there was also a lever near the door that led to the mine, so if one of them got out somehow, he could free everyone instantly.
"Hey, slow down, will ya?" Osfold's voice came from behind.
"Yeah, sorry."
"Yo, good morning." A hand reached Adrian's shoulder as he saw Nathan and Rowan behind him.
"Morning."
"So you are the two."
"Adrian, did you?" Nathan asked if Osfold was on their side, and Adrian simply nodded, and the crowd started moving towards the mine.
It didn't take long before everyone arrived, and Osfold said goodbye to the boys, then went to the blacksmith to carry out the plan to create lower-quality weapons and leave them there. The three—Nathan, Adrian, and Rowan—got their pickaxes and started working. Before Adrian even started mining, his gaze landed on a nearby stone, where the pink-haired girl from yesterday seemed to be working near them.
'But why? We didn't see her around these days.'
Adrian dismissed the thought; maybe a guard ordered her to move here.
"Yo, bro."
"Yeah, Nathan."
"Tonight I'm gonna help Rowan awaken his pride."
"Tf does that mean?"
"The sins have powers similar to aura, but different."
"Just do your thing." Adrian didn't know much about his friend's knowledge, but maybe after they left this place, he could catch up.
"So she is your target." Nathan said, pointing towards the pink-haired girl.
"Her? I'm supposed to win her over?"
"Yeah, cuz I'm scared."
"Why?"
"I won't jinx it, but in the future, she is terrifying."
"… Wow, great." Adrian glanced at Nathan, who moved towards Rowan and started working.
Without much room to protest, Adrian just moved near the pink-haired girl and started mining. She acknowledged his presence with a nod, but didn't say anything, so Adrian was the first to break the silence.
"I'm Adrian, what about you?"
"Lilith."
Her voice was empty, devoid of emotion. Adrian got a better look at her eyes, and they seemed emotionless as well.
"Lilith… do you like this place?"
"Are you mocking me?"
"No, no, forgive me, it was stupid." Adrian figured out that his question really sounded dumb, but he didn't want to ask straight away if she wanted to escape.
"So?"
"Do you want to leave this place?"
"You and those idiots got a plan?" Lilith asked while stealing a glance at Nathan and Rowan.
"Yeah… the old guy at the blacksmith."
"He is making weapons for us?"
"You bet."
"Well, don't make one for me." The girl said as a pink thread appeared on Adrian's pickaxe handle, then threw it to the ground.
"Huh?…"
Unlike Nathan, who was glancing towards them, Adrian was shocked upon seeing powers like that for the first time.
"I'm not really powerless… well, tomorrow, same place."
"Y-yeah."
Leaving his shocked state, he quickly went back to Nathan and Rowan.
Nathan instantly grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him like a happy child who had just gotten a new toy from his parents. You could practically see sparks in his eyes.
"Bro bro bro!! We are saved."
"S-stop!" Adrian tried to calm Nathan's rant.
"She already got powers!"
"Those threads?"
"Man, those threads can cut your hand instantly."
"… Damn." Adrian was quite terrified that such a cute-looking girl could rip your hand off instantly.
"Hahaha!"
Looking at Nathan, he really seemed like a madman. Rowan quickly noticed his friend's crazy attitude, dropped his pickaxe, and walked over.
"So you went crazy in the end."
"Rowan, we are going home!" Nathan said cheerfully as he tried to hug Rowan, but only a punch to the stomach welcomed him.
"H-hey…" Nathan said, clutching his stomach with both hands.
"You are Adrian, right? The madman told me about you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you, Rowan."
The two shook hands, and Adrian wondered whether he should also tell Rowan about the plan or whether Nathan had already done it.
"By the way, I figured you two out."
"Huh?"
"What?"
The two asked with troubled expressions.
"Yo, we are not gay," Nathan said.
"… I'm talking about you trying to escape. I overheard you." Rowan said while punching Nathan on the head.
"So? What are your thoughts on it?"
"Could work. Count me in."
"Well, that was easy, right, Nathan?"
"Yeah… Rowan, you seem too nice. It's suspicious."
"Another one was killed yesterday." Rowan said with an angry expression.
"…"
"It was a woman whose hair fell into a soup, and a guard ate it."
"What? For such a thing?" Nathan asked, surprised.
"We have to move soon." Adrian didn't want any more victims. He made up his mind—they had to escape.
His gaze drifted towards the blacksmith, where he saw Osfold working while a guard scolded him, but they couldn't really hurt him. His old age meant even a simple beating could leave him unable to work.
"Sly old man." Adrian grinned.
The work continued as they agreed to finalize the plan for tomorrow and prepare for the escape attempt, with Nathan helping Rowan awaken his powers that night and Adrian telling Osfold what he needed to do tomorrow.
"Line up!" As usual, a guard gathered them and led them back to their cells.
"See you tomorrow." Nathan said, and Rowan just nodded.
Entering the cell, both Adrian and Osfold took a seat inside the darkness. The guards didn't let much light in, maybe as a form of torture to make them slowly dehumanize themselves.
"I made some more for tomorrow."
"That's good, we got another ally, a strong one."
"That girl? I briefly saw you talk to her." Osfold said, as if he had noticed it from afar.
"Yeah, she got powers."
"Hooh… incredible." Osfold scratched his beard.
"Tomorrow, before the day ends, you need to confront a guard."
"Why?"
"He will probably try to hit. It could trigger a response."
"It could."
Adrian's plan was to tell Rowan and Nathan that Osfold, an old man, would be abused by the guards, and Rowan would rush in and strike with his power. Nathan and Osfold would hurry to the blacksmith and arm the people, beginning the escape.
"I got it… Then tomorrow is it?"
"It is."
The two went to sleep, as tomorrow would be a hard day—a day that would decide their future in this world. He only hoped that everything would go as planned, but it never does.