I broke out in a furious cold sweat. The sweat-soaked fabric clung to my back.

What do I do? I can't get him out either. I'm not actually an instructor—I'm a prisoner brought here for forced labor.

And Captain AB had just taken a keen interest in the vampire. I'd used my position as AB's only ally in the bottomless pit to tease and even half-blackmail the captain. If the vampire escaped, Captain AB might try to kill me.

I had to talk my way into stopping the vampire from escaping somehow. But how? If I agreed, I had no way to get him out. If I refused, she'd fly off on her own. What could I do?

Think. Think! The one way out of this predicament.

Ah.

Right.

That's it.

Sacrifice the horse, not the general.

"Please wait a moment. Getting him out of here is easier than turning over my left hand."

For the record, as of today, I'd decided never to turn my hand over, even if someone beat me to death. So it wasn't a lie.

I raised a finger on the left hand I'd vowed not to turn over.

"But there is one prerequisite. And it hasn't been met yet."

"What is it?"

"Finlay's willingness to leave this place."

The vampire looked puzzled.

"What a foolish question. Surely he wishes to return?"

"Then why haven't you gone back, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka?"

"I have lived so very long, and there is little for me to do outside..."

"Couldn't the same logic apply to Finlay? His reason for leaving would depend on his own wishes. Provided you don't force him, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka."

If she wanted to, the vampire could order Finlay to die on the spot. He might feel a little regret over the life he had yet to live, but he would obey the Progenitor's command. The blood sustaining his life, all his power, originated with her.

Paradoxically, that was what had led the Progenitor to distance herself from other vampires.

Afraid her words might cloud his judgment, the vampire pressed her lips shut and stepped back. She would not interfere with Finlay's decision.

Once I'd confirmed that, I addressed him.

"Now, Finlay. Listen carefully. You have two choices."

I held up two fingers on my left hand, as though offering him a tremendous opportunity.

"If we get you out, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka will remain here. You will never achieve the purpose that brought you here."

Then I folded one finger down. Only one remained.

Every gaze gathered on that lone upright finger. A visual aid. It lent weight to the single option that finger would indicate.

Slowly folding it down, I continued.

"But if you decide to stay, you will have the opportunity to remain with Trainee Tyrkanzyaka. By serving the great Progenitor, you leave open the possibility that she might consider hearing you out. It will be precious time you could never gain by returning to the surface now."

Then, with that finger folded all the way down, I clenched my fist and declared forcefully,

"This is an opportunity. Think carefully. Will you seize your chance here, or go back to the surface?"

Finlay had voluntarily entered the bottomless pit for the sole purpose of persuading the Progenitor. Naturally, his desire to escape was limited while that purpose remained unfulfilled.

Until a moment ago, he'd intended to return if only because the Progenitor had ordered it. But now that she had consciously withdrawn her influence, Finlay considered the matter rationally.

'He's right. There is nothing to gain by going back anyway. But here, there is something to gain—and something I must do. Attend the Progenitor, who has been left all alone! Someday, moved by my devotion, she may grant my request!'

He was dreaming of a glorious future: becoming the Progenitor's trusted servant, returning to the surface with her, and earning glory through the greatest contribution of all.

That dream had already half gone up in smoke, but Finlay made his decision, determined to grasp what little hope remained.

"O Progenitor."

Guessing his decision, the vampire answered.

"Finlay. Do you truly intend to remain here?"

"If you permit it, I shall."

If she refused, he would return to the surface immediately. A mere thrall, not even an Elder, could never reject the great Progenitor's command.

That was precisely why she respected her thralls' judgment as much as possible. She pitied the way they lost even their free will in her presence.

"Follow your own wishes."

"Thank you! I, your unworthy Finlay, shall remain in this bottomless pit and serve your will!"

After gazing down at the kneeling Finlay for a moment, the vampire turned her eyes toward me.

"... But if his wishes change, please ensure he can be sent back up at any time."

Time to push back a little. I couldn't let her think I was a pushover.

"You certainly know how to order people around. Is this a hotel? Or am I your errand boy? You keep asking me to do things. Give it a rest."

I couldn't readily agree. The moment I did, I'd be exposed as nothing more than a forced laborer.

I had to keep them from wanting to leave, if possible, and keep them from actually leaving. I'd answered that way prepared to lose some of the vampire's affection.

Then—

"You bastard!"

Finlay sprang to his feet and shouted, pointing at me with the veins bulging in his neck.

"Huh?"

"How dare a mere human refuse the Progenitor's request!"

"Look, never mind the 'mere human' business."

"I will not forgive your disrespect toward the Progenitor. I care not how powerful you are. I care not if my body is reduced to a handful of blood. To uphold her authority, I challenge you to a due—!"

Wait.

He meant it. He believed I was incredibly powerful, yet he was challenging me to uphold the Progenitor's authority, even at the cost of his life.

The problem was that I was such a weakling I couldn't even predict whether I'd win against this thrall of a thrall of a thrall of the Progenitor.

Damn it, how could he throw his life away so easily? This was the problem with vampires! What now? If they found out how weak I was...!

"Enough, Finlay."

At the vampire's stern command, Finlay immediately stopped speaking, turned a clean 180 degrees, and dropped to his knees.

Was he insane? While I stood dumbfounded, the vampire addressed me in a much gentler tone.

"I have asked too much of you. Even you are not this place's king."

"Oh, no. Well."

"Once more, I ask your understanding. Please consider that request withdrawn."

"All right, then."

"Yes. Thank you."

Something about this rubbed me the wrong way. I looked at the source of that peculiar discomfort.

This vampire, Finlay—he wasn't particularly afraid of death, was he?

To vampires, the Progenitor was a combination of god and mother. Of course, plenty of people didn't give a shit about either, but apparently Finlay wasn't one of them. Thinking of him as a fanatic made his behavior understandable.

Hmm. Nothing good could come of keeping someone like that around.

"Wait. I have something to say too."

As I pondered that, the Regressor cut in with perfect timing. She fixed Finlay with a sharp gaze and demanded,

"How exactly did you get here? You couldn't possibly have come by ordinary means."

As she spoke, her eyes turned orange.

The second of the Seven-Colored Eyes: the Vermilion Eye, the eye that looked down upon all.

Known as the King's Eye, it could discern everything within its field of vision in minute detail, detecting suspicious signs in another person's body or objects concealed in their pockets.

As the Regressor went so far as to use her power to unearth something, someone stepped in front of her.

"Shei."

"Hm?"

It was the vampire, not Finlay, who intervened.

"Let us end the questioning here. Much has already been said. He has committed no crime, so what reason is there to question him further? Especially for you, a fellow trainee."

"Huh? Wait, Tyrkanzyaka. This is impor—"

"Important, surely. But hardly urgent. Tomorrow will bring another day just like today. Can it not wait a day? Besides, there is no rule obliging Finlay to answer your questions."

"B-but..."

"Or will you disregard my wishes again?"

"N-no! Tyrkanzyaka! I—!"

"Good. Then I shall see you tomorrow. I have questions for Finlay myself."

"Y-yes! All right!"

With that final assent, the Regressor nodded hastily and backed off. The vampire rested her parasol on her shoulder again, while Finlay gazed up at her with boundless admiration.

'As expected, the Progenitor commands the highest standing even in a place like this! How proud I am to be a noble of the night!'

Oh dear, Regressor. Completely cowed. The vampire's last scolding must have hit her hard.

Still, thanks. You've given me an unexpected windfall.

The Regressor hadn't heard his answer, but I could read the one that surfaced in Finlay's mind. I'd take that answer for myself.

'That red-haired mage who gave me the information clearly said the Progenitor was asleep. But when I arrived, she was already awake. They must have awakened her. I do not know how they managed it, but it is fortunate. I have been spared the rudeness of disturbing her slumber.'

Oh? A red-haired mage. Quite a distinctive description. What was this?

'He gave me a bracelet, saying how I used that information was my own affair. He said I could reach Tantalus by putting on this parachute and dropping into the bottomless pit. Though the jolt when it opened tore it from my grasp on the way down.'

Ah. So that was why he'd hit the ground without a parachute. Good. The remains should still be there. I'd go collect them later.

'I had my doubts, but he was right. In that case, what else he said must be true as well.'

Just let me finish reading this thought first.

'He introduced himself as an escapee from Tantalus.'

Huh? Wait. An escapee?

This was more important than I'd expected. Tantalus's escaped prisoners. If I could find even a clue to how they'd escaped, I could put this miserable life behind me!

Keeping him alive had paid off. Delighted, I dug through his thoughts, searching for a clue to escape within his memories.

And then—

'He did say there was no longer any way to escape Tantalus, and that if I went down, I would have no choice but to wait for the Military State to release me... Still, I have no regrets. If I remain at the Progenitor's side, my chance will come eventually!'

Ah.

A dud.