This was the fabled dungeon where no prisoner ever left alive?
Was... was that some sort of trap?
Maybe an illusion caused by the warden's god grade soul artifact?
Could it be that those happy people were brainwashed or something?
If the warden had the ability to restrict someone's cultivation level, maybe he could influence their minds too?
Or maybe Viria didn't understand what was going on?
Maybe the prisoners who were on their best behavior had easier jobs and were the staff manning the stalls and attractions for the tourists...?
The young man gulped down his saliva and anxiously followed the helpful man while the other two were standing behind him on both of his sides, making sure that he will not try to make a break for it.
Viria was getting more and more confused, no matter how many people they passed, they were only greeted by curious looks and occasional friendly smiles.
Neither the passersbys nor the shopkeepers were wearing shackles or any other marking indicating them being prisoners.
Honestly, no matter how Viria looked at all of that, the place they were walking through looked like an exceptionally happy town that was almost big enough to be called a full-fledged city.
Well, not exactly.
There was something that suggested others being prisoners – everyone was wearing some sort of variation of the prison clothes that Viria himself got handed before even entering the courtroom back in the Tetradon magistrate.
The style varied from person to person as if everyone altered their own clothes by themselves, but the original set was definitely the gray prison clothes...
"Ah! Bossac! Do you want a mole-rabbit roast? Freshly fried!"
One of the stall owners called out, waving an appetizing-looking roast the size of a large turkey.
"Thank you, Chux, but first I need to get the new inmate to lord Warden."
To Viria's surprise, the helpful man was the one to slow down his tempo and respond to the stall owner with a friendly smile.
"Oh? A new face! He doesn't look like a bad guy though... which floor is he sentenced to?"
Chux the stall owner raised his brows and glanced over to Viria and realized that he indeed was bound by sturdy ropes.
"According to his sentence – third floor. But lord Warden said that he got a hunch that it should be the first one."
The helpful man, who turned out to be called Bossac responded with a soft shrug.
"I see. So either a mistrial or false accusation."
Chux nodded in understanding, and then he did something that made Viria flinch.
He turned to him and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Do not worry, young friend! You are in good hands now, lord Warden is never wrong! After you're done talking to him, come to grab roast from my stall – the first one is on the house, but from tomorrow you will have to work for your share!"
Chux cheered him up and declared, winking encouragingly.
After that, the four of them left and Chux waved them goodbye.
"..."
Bossac discreetly glanced over his shoulder and smirked at the utterly confused young man, but did not say anything and simply led him the rest of the way.
In the very middle of the city, there was a splendid villa-like structure that Bossac, Viria, and the other two men entered.
All the corridors were dark and empty with the exception of a single one leading towards a big, intimidating door on the second floor.
Making sure that Viria is still there, Bossac raised his hand and knocked on the door slowly but firmly, without a specific rhythm.
"My lord. We have arrived."
"Just in time. Come in."
He called out and got an immediate response from someone from the inside.
Bossac opened the door and motioned only at Viria to enter – which the young man did after a second of hesitation.
Walking through felt like passing through some sort of very thin film, but the young man wasn't sure whether that was real or just a part of his imagination.
To keep up the surprises coming, after Viria passed Bossac, the man closed the door behind him without even entering, causing the young man to be stunned once again.
"Young Viria. I was expecting you. Feel free to sit down. I bet the way here was tiring."
"...?!"
Once someone spoke to him, Viria flinched and turned in that direction, just to be met with the sight of a calm-looking middle-aged man with a trustworthy steel beard sitting behind a large sturdy desk that was definitely picked because of its functionality and not the esthetic qualities – although that last part could depend on the personal tastes of the person responsible for the interior design.
"...am I actually still unconscious and just dreaming...?"
Viria hesitated and asked, anxiously looking around as if he expected the world to just vanish in front of his eyes.
"Hmm? Oh, no, no, no. Nothing like that. Come sit down so we could have a talk."
"..."
The man smiled reassuringly and motioned at the comfortable-looking chair in front of the desk, making Viria feel extremely lost.
In the end, the young man ended up approaching the desk and taking the offered sit, trying to make himself comfortable despite the ropes still bounding him.
"Pardon me for not offering to take those off, but some measure of security is still required. No matter how much I try, I still make mistakes in judgment."
"???"
The man said and his smile turned apologetic, making Viria tilt his head and stare at the man in utter disbelief.
That couldn't be right!
"As you may expect, I am the current warden of this place. Yarezu Vindras. And you, young man, are Viria Messedion. The older of two sons of the Messedion family ruled over the Seventeeth Imperial city of the Tetradon magistrate. The cultivation level is in the low-low stage... your soul weapon is... trash grade prison shiv (tin) / status - broken...? Curious..."
Just as the young man was thinking that a small gate that looked oddly like a stylized tablet from Viria's precious life, appeared in the man's life as he introduced himself, and then he immediately began reading the information that appeared in the translucent glow filling the small gate's inner space.