Eugene pointed to a large burn on one side of his face, covering it completely, and continued to chatter incessantly.

“…..”

Had the Firebird attacked him, but he couldn’t kill it due to a barrier?

It seemed so pitiful that he insisted he could have killed the Firebird if he hadn’t been blocked by a barrier while suffering burns from the attack.

Eugene, on the other hand, couldn’t understand me. He wondered how I could react like this even after hearing his story.

Then, realizing I couldn’t hear, he sighed and asked, “So, you couldn’t hear my story because you’re deaf?”

Of course, that was a misconception. I had read his lips, but I simply hadn’t responded due to a lack of interest.

Either way, with such vivid memories of Eugene, I should have recognized him immediately, but his face had changed.

Before regressing, the Eugene I saw had a large burn mark covering one side of his face; now, however, his face was smooth.

Moreover, unlike back then when he held a fairly high rank, he now dealt with children in a humble role. It was difficult to believe they were the same person even after hearing the name.

‘But his ignorant personality remains consistent.’

In any case, now that I had remembered Eugene’s identity, I had to leave this place.

Eugene used to work at the Risolante Auction House before rising to prominence.

As far as I knew, people coming to the Risolante Auction House included not only perverts but also gamblers, magicians, and various other unsavory professions.

They were mainly looking for children to be sold as gladiators or magical test subjects.

I wasn’t worried about being sold as a gladiator since I was a fragile girl, both in appearance and reality, but the chances of being sold for other purposes were high.

‘I hate both options.’

I would prefer to starve to death on the streets!

After shivering once, I reviewed the escape plan I had devised based on the information Lux had provided yesterday

Thanks to Lux, I knew about the escape route, but being trapped, it was impossible for me to reach there alone.

‘I have to get out of this iron cage, and avoid Eugene’s eyes.’

Therefore, I decided to seek external help through Lux.

I felt sorry for relying on Lux and giving him dangerous tasks, but…

‘This seems to be the only way.’

I tore apart the bread that Eugene had distributed.

– Bread! Smell of bread, tsk!

At the familiar sound, I looked around nervously. Lux was running towards me.

– Bread, tsk!

“I’ll give you some. Just a moment.”

As soon as I dropped the torn piece of bread on the ground, Lux jumped onto it.

– I like bread, tsk!

“Eat well.”

Although it was tough, I couldn’t eat it. Lux, however, quickly devoured the bread and sprawled.

– Full. Eating after moving is always delicious, tsk.

Observing Lux happily wagging its tail, I asked cautiously.

“How did things go?”

– Everyone cooperated, tsk!

“Really?”

– Yes, tsk!

“That’s fantastic!”

I sincerely felt relieved. External help was absolutely necessary.

I tasked Lux with seeking help from other animals in the vicinity to dig up the roots of ‘Kishian,’ a plant with toxic roots, and mixing them into the monitors’ food.

Kishian, often dismissed as a common and unattractive weed, had roots with strong toxicity. Although described as potent, the poison it carried wasn’t lethal to humans. However, it caused severe abdominal pain and induced diarrhea.

The problem was that the abdominal pain was extremely severe, to the point where one might worry about dying.

As for how I knew this fact…

‘I didn’t want to know either.’

Back in the orphanage, there were days when I had to endure hunger. The director, busy inflating her own importance, didn’t care about the children and wielded the distribution of meals like a weapon.

That particular day was one of those days.

While suffering from hunger, I spotted a potato.

Actually, it wasn’t a potato but the roots of Kishian, mixed in as Sister Marie followed the director’s orders to clear the weeds in front of the orphanage.

Unaware of this, driven by my hungry heart, I secretly took the roots of Kishian and ate them.

The result was…

Back then, it was challenging; I even got scolded by Sister Marie, which was heartbreaking. But now, I am grateful for that experience because I can use it like this.

– Dig up the roots of Kishian and put them in the food for the human men! Then, Sister Rat will bring the key, and we’ll escape! That’s right, tsk?

“Yes, it’s right.”

I nodded. Inwardly, I wanted to pat Lux on the head and commend him, but with my hands tied, I had to resist that urge.

As Lux said, my plan was like this.

After observing all day yesterday, it seemed like Eugene and other monitors, unlike us, were having proper meals. I decided to take advantage of the lapse in surveillance due to their abdominal pain to carry out the escape.

Regarding the role of stealing the key assigned to ‘Sister Rat,’ I was concerned about how a rat, even if as big as Lux, could carry the key. But…

Unlike me, Lux confidently reassured me not to worry.

– It’s okay! Sister is as big as the two of me combined! She can bring it, tsk!

He said confidently.

‘I decided to believe that Sister Rat being twice the size of Lux would be enough.’

Once I received the key from Sister Rat, I would open the door, escape through the hole, and be free!

…That was the plan I had devised, but deep down, I knew.

It was somewhat hasty, and the likelihood of failure was higher.

‘If only I had more time,’ I thought.

Then, I could have crafted a more meticulous plan.

‘But for now, this is the only way.’

According to Eugene’s words, the auction was scheduled for tomorrow.

Considering the nature of auctions, it was likely to start at night, so I had to escape before then.

“By the way, Lux, about that Sister Rat, she agreed to cooperate, right?”

– Of course, tsk.

“Wasn’t it difficult to convince her?” I asked.

“On the contrary, she loved it, tsk” Lux replied.

“Loved it? Helping me?”

– Yes! She was amazed at the brilliant plan. She said she usually suffered a lot from these humans around here, tsk.

Well, the likelihood of humans treating animals well is relatively low, even for a child.

– So when everyone heard our plan, they were all thrilled at the chance to give these humans a hard time, tsk!

Lux added.

– Then I’ll go dig up the Kishian. If I manage to dig it up by tomorrow morning, can we mix it into the lunch, right, tsk?

“Yes. It might be tough, but please convey my thanks as much as possible.”

– Trust us, tsk!

Watching Lux move away, I leaned against the wall.

Please, they have to do well.

* * *

Contrary to my worries, Lux and the animal friends really did well. Beyond my expectations.

After lunch, I glanced at Eugene, who had maintained a grim expression for a while.

“Uh….”

Before long, he clenched his stomach and stood up.

– Puff! That man is going out again!

It was just as the booming voice echoed above my head.

This was the third time Eugene hurriedly left like that.

Tap―.

‘One, two, three….’

After the door closed, I counted silently.

To escape, I needed to know when Eugene would leave his post. Since I didn’t have a watch, I had to count manually.

– The other humans outside must be doing the same, right? Jackpot! Uhaha!

Amid the echoing laughter, I continued counting, lifting my head.

I noticed a sky squirrel hiding on the obscure wall above.

It was the ‘Sister Rat’ Lux had encountered the day before, described as a sky squirrel twice the size of Lux.

I thought it was just a mouse like Lux, but experiencing a sky squirrel finding me was an entirely different feeling.

Despite my worries about being unable to communicate with other animals besides Lux, I discovered that I could indeed converse with the sky squirrel.

– Are you that human?

“Uh, yes?”

Suddenly, the sky squirrel climbed onto my shoulder and began speaking, momentarily surprising me.

– Hmm? I’m not sure if this is working for communication. Can you understand what I’m saying?

“Yes, I can understand.”

– Wow!

The sky squirrel exclaimed loudly, swaying its tail.

– You really understand me? Communication with humans?

– I told you so, tsk.

– Amazing! How is this possible!

As surprised as I was, the sky squirrel was equally amazed, but that was it.

We had a more significant matter at hand – ‘escape.’

After a short conversation, the sky squirrel moved to assist with the plan I had devised. The current situation was one aspect of that assistance.

– Sister, you look excited, tsk.

– Well, wouldn’t I be?

The round, black eyes blinking made the sky squirrel irresistibly cute, but…

– To witness what humans go through! I should have added more Kishian! They would have suffered even more!

Perhaps the cuteness doesn’t extend to the inside.

– By the way, you mentioned Ani, right?

With a turning gaze, my body trembled involuntarily.

However, the sky squirrel, paying no attention to my reaction, asked consecutively.

– When should I steal the key?

As it looked at the table with a bunch of keys, it fluttered its tail between its front and back legs.

As if it could fly away at any moment.

– Now? Can I go now? Let’s escape quickly!

“Not yet. Just wait a little longer,” I responded.

– Ugh, I want to fly quickly! My wings are itching!

Despite the grumbling of the sky squirrel, I persevered in counting.

‘Damn it, how did he cook it? Was it prepared with spoiled meat?’ I wondered. ‘…723, 724. About 12 minutes or so?’

Considering the interruption from the sky squirrel and the moments I didn’t count, the total might have been even higher.

‘The time Eugene takes to leave his post is gradually increasing.’

I felt relieved seeing Eugene return, realizing that things were progressing well.

The fact that the Kishian roots were eaten was evidence of that.

Surely, the abdominal pain would become more frequent, and the duration of his suffering would lengthen.

‘The ropes should be enough at this point.’

I inspected the ropes that Lux had nibbled over two days. They were in a weakened state, easy to tear with a little force.

“Next time he leaves his post, let’s proceed with the plan. I’m counting on you.”

– Finally!

The sky squirrel screamed in delight at my words. Lux also made a shallow tsk! sound, indicating happiness.

I held my breath, waiting for Eugene to leave once more.

Before long, he clenched his stomach and stood up once more.

– Looks like he’s going out, tsk!

– Should I steal it?

Although both Lux and the sky squirrel spoke simultaneously, I asked them to wait for a moment.

Tap―.

Eugene went completely outside, and the door closed.

“Now.”

As I silently spoke to the sky squirrel, it dropped from the wall and gracefully flew through the iron bars.

Swiftly reaching the vicinity of the table, the sky squirrel climbed up the table leg and fiddled with the key bundle hanging on the edge.

Clank!

At the unexpectedly loud sound, some of the children looked up.

“A squirrel…?”

Among them were children observing the actions of the sky squirrel. It was the sight of the squirrel putting its head through the loop of the keys, climbing onto the desk, and leaping off again.

– Success!

– As expected of Sister! Awesome, tsk!

The sky squirrel swiftly infiltrated through the iron bars, landing inside the cage.

Receiving the collective gaze of the children trapped here, much like myself.

“We need to get out quickly.”

Seeing hope in the faces of some children, I bit my lip.

I felt sorry for the other kids stuck here, but escaping had to be a solo act.

Drawing attention would only make the security tighter.

I applied force to the weakened rope, causing it to unravel and easily come apart.

– Take this!

“Thank you.”

I grabbed the key bundle the sky squirrel had around its neck.

There were quite a few keys hanging on the ring, but finding the one for my cage wasn’t difficult.

Thanks to Lux, I had observed which key Eugene used over the past two days.

Reaching through the iron bars, I struggled to insert the key at the end.

‘Now, if I just turn it…’

Click.

‘Done!’

I gave it a slight push, and the iron-bar door opened. I really pulled it off!

“Move!”

“Ah!”

Before I could comprehend the situation, I toppled over like a knocked-over doll.