"Eight days,"
Lavinia silently tallied the time, measuring the hours spent in the dungeon from noon to night since she first sampled Allen's soup. It had been approximately eight days since her arrival.
Aside from contemplating her predicament alongside Allen, Lavinia wrestled with pressing concerns. Foremost among them was the certainty that Queen Orc, sooner or later, would seek her demise. It could be tomorrow, and it could be the day after tomorrow, which meant she had to make a plan to escape now.
Moreover, the uncertainty outside the dungeon door weighed on her. What awaited her beyond its confines was a mystery. There was the unsettling possibility that Queen Orc perpetually lingered just beyond, making an escape attempt a perilous gamble. The risk was too great, she needed to devise a concrete strategy to get out of there.
Waiting for help from outside is useless. Human loss was common in dungeons, and death could strike at any time, even at the most inconvenient time for dungeon explorers. So it is impossible to wait for someone from outside to help since no one would want to risk helping someone who might not live or die.
In her contemplative moments, Lavinia reasoned: 'Most likely, Queen Orc only chained my thighs and my hands because she was sure I wouldn't run away in this condition. However, with my god's blessing, angel's help, I could regenerate any severe injury, including broken body parts. I shouldn't use my god's blessing until the right time, or she would know I can heal my leg,'
Interrupting her musings, the somewhat human or maybe orc boy, Allen, came with the bowl of soup.
Allen handed over his soup, saying,
"Tvis iscouur souj," he declared, offering the sustenance.
"Tqanlsou," Lavinia responded, accepting the bowl.
Tqanlsou is gratitude/gratefulness; Xekiyious is tasty/palatable/good (food); and iscour is yours/your thing.
In their daily four-hour exchanges, Lavinia had committed about a hundred phrases to memory.
While it was uncommon for humans to comprehend the language of monsters, Lavinia found herself grasping fragments of Allen's speech during their conversations. In contrast, Queen Orc's utterances remained unintelligible. That means Lavinia can hear his voice clearly because Allen is human.
As they savored their meal, the tranquility was shattered by the abrupt slamming open of the room door.
-BAM!
Queen Orc entered, visibly fatigued and wounded. A trace of blood on her wooden bludgeon indicated a recent skirmish with another dungeon explorer.
"Matqer!" Allen exclaimed upon seeing Queen Orc's condition. Rushing towards her. But suddenly, when he finally get close to her…
-SLAP
Queen Orc's right hand delivered a forceful slap, sending Allen flying over 2 meters backwards.
"VET AFAD WROMME!" Queen Orc yelled in anger.
Seeing that, Lavinia immediately moved her body slightly forward, worried about Allen.
But no worries, Allen didn't appear to be in pain. He instantly gets up and runs to the tree.
According to Lavinia's common sense, an adult human would have suffered broken bones from such a blow, yet Allen seemed strangely unscathed.
Queen Orc then fixed a stern gaze on Lavinia, who promptly averted her eyes.
Shortly after, Allen emerged from the tree, carrying a dirty cloth and a bucket filled with water. He approached Queen Orc with haste, tending to her wounds.
With monster language, Allen inquired if Queen Orc had exerted all her strength, noting a slowdown in her regeneration.
"Notqinv!" she replied angrily.
Queen Orc seized Allen's hand and inspected his cheek, where a small amount of blood seeped from her earlier slap.
"Imwine" Allen assured her he was okay.
Queen Orc took the cloth from Allen and used it to wipe the blood from his cheek.
Observing this, Lavinia quickly formulated a plan to escape.
"Matqer means mother; Imwine means I am okay. No doubt, Queen Orc treats Allen as her own son! She has strong feelings for him. Her previous statement about 'human, learn, world' implies she wants me to teach Allen about the human world! Queen Orc values her child more than herself!"
'I don't care the reason why this kid is in a dungeon, and I don't care why Queen Orc has this big affection toward a human. But with that information, Allen… I do apologize… I will utilize your body to escape!'
As the Queen's Orcs had asked, Lavinia diligently commenced teaching Allen about the outside world, with a primary focus on human common sense and ethics. Her lessons centered on how humans engage in daily conversation and navigate social interactions. Recognizing the importance of language in Allen's integration into human society, Lavinia shifted her focus to teaching him human language, often using it in their conversations to enhance his vocabulary.
Two months… The only reason Lavinia keeps teaching Allen is that she wants to make Queen Orc postpone her execution. Lavinia understood that if Queen Orc perceived her as useless, her fate would be sealed. Simultaneously, she sought to foster complete trust from Allen.
Upon completing two months of teaching, Lavinia meticulously prepared for her escape. She observed the routines of Queen Orc and Allen, discerning when Queen Orc was in the room and when she ventured beyond the door. Lavinia identified her opportune moment to flee: after Allen and Queen Orc concluded their sparring sessions, which occurred once every 10 days.
Finally, today, after sparring with Queen Orc…
In the aftermath of their sparring session with Queen Orc, Allen, drenched in sweat, wearily approached the pool of water near where Lavinia sat. Allen used it to splash his body and then laid it down.
"Jo switte in protte, kinne jo hjoed studearje?" Lavinia asked Allen if he was able to study or not because he was sweating a lot.
Allen, while lying down, panting, lifted his head and said
"Hmmm…Sorry, hjoed kin ik net." Allen answered that he was too tired to study.
Having dedicated more than two months to teaching Allen, Lavinia had successfully imparted the nuances of the Anglo-Wildenhall language, the primary tongue spoken in the Wildenhall kingdom.
And then, after two months of talking to Lavinia, Allen asked her about something that had bothered him for a long time.
"Miss Lavinia… H-How did you end up getting caught by mother?" Allen asked tentatively.
"…"
Lavinia paused, and then she smiled, but her face looked sad.
"Sorry, Allen. I don't want to talk about it."
Allen was actually more interested in that and wanted to ask more, but the look on Lavinia's face discouraged him. When Lavinia realized this, she immediately tried to change the subject.
"Allen, you once told me you grew up with your mother, right? Do you remember why and how you got here?"
Allen stood up, lifted his body, sat cross-legged, and used his hand to sustain his body.
"Hmm… Not really. It feels like I've been here since the beginning."
Concerned, Lavinia probed, "Did your mother truly do nothing to you? It could be that you were stolen from your real mother."
Allen tilted his head, looking confused.
"I don't really understand what you mean by 'steal,' but my mother is my mother, nothing else. For me, she is my only mother." his sincerity evident in the smile he wore.
Lavinia bowed her head as she heard that. She had a particular emotion in her heart, comparable to jealousy and near to hatred. When she realized that maybe the reason Queen Orc killed Lavinia's friends was simply that she still wanted to be with Allen for a longer period of time.
And, after witnessing the Queen Orcs' bond with Allen for two months, Lavinia's hatred and animosity faded. Lavinia hated Queen Orc so much, and she wanted to keep hating her more.
'This is not fair… My comrades have all died, leaving me alone, but that d*mn orc is having fun with her kid here!" Lavinia reflected.
Then she tried to pour her heart out to Allen.
"You must be lonely, right?!! Your mother must treat you badly! When you're sad and crying, your mother didn't make you feel better, did she?!! I know it! I KNOW!!! She might think of you as a pet!!!"
Allen didn't say anything, silent, and the atmosphere became heavy. Lavinia realized her words were too harsh, and she was soo immature to yell such sensitive things at a kid.
Moments later, Allen responded.
"I don't really understand what Miss Lavinia is talking about… But I do know that miss talks badly about mother…"
Despite the potentially hurtful nature of Lavinia's words, Allen's demeanor showed no signs of anger. His eyes remained sincere and innocent, indicating that he didn't take her words to heart.
"I love mother. Mother often goes for a job, and I'm not allowed to follow her. She sometimes comes home bleeding all over her body. I know mother did something outside that she never wanted to tell me. No matter what mother's problem is, I love her because I feel warm when she is around and cold when she's not."
Allen, moved by his emotions, approached Lavinia and directed his fist in front of her face.
"I hate cold and I felt warm with her. That's why I love mother and want to always be with her. So don't trying to badmouth my mother again!"
There was no anger in his eyes. Allen just wanted to convey how much he loves Queen Orc as his mother.
Lavinia is a priestess and often listens to people's confessions in church. So she understands people's feelings very well from what they say. Lavinia knew that Allen's affection for Queen Orc was real. And to get that kind of affection, Queen Orc definitely took care of Allen as best as she could.
Overwhelmed by a flood of emotions, Lavinia found herself once again crying, her tears flowing like those of a child separated from her mother.
"Elyaas, Mildaa, Algaar, Murieel!!! I am sorry!!! I am sorry!!! I am really sorry!!! I am sorry being the only one who lived!!!" she exclaimed, releasing the pent-up sadness that had long been locked inside her heart. The innocent face of Allen served as a poignant reminder of the friends she had lost.
"I-I-IMSORC!!!" Allen immediately raised his hand, subconsciously apologizing in monster language.
Overwhelmed by guilt, Allen believed he was the cause of Lavinia's tears. Lavinia, on the other hand, cried not because of Allen but because she realized the extent of her own shortcomings. As she observed the relationship between Queen Orc and Allen every day, her anger toward Queen Orc gradually waned. Now, she found herself apologizing to her friend for almost losing her desire for revenge.
"I'm sorry for making you cry. I promise I won't do that again. Please don't hate me," Allan said sadly, his gaze fixed on the ground. The sincere apology reflected his concern for Lavinia's feelings.
Lavinia's tears ceased upon hearing Allen's apology, but she now grappled with a sense of humiliation for displaying such vulnerability in front of him. As a result, the mood became unpleasant, and both of them found the atmosphere too awkward to continue the conversation.
"I….I am…" Allen broke the silence, his face flushing like a tomato, and a few tears welled up in his eyes. Unable to bear looking at Lavinia's face at that moment, he turned his head.
"Ever since Miss Lavinia came, I've never felt cold again, s-so I don't want Miss Lavinia to hate me."
He had previously unintentionally told Lavinia how he felt about his mother to her, which made Lavinia cry; Allen now feared that his honesty might lead to her hating him and refusing to speak with him.
Lavinia, moved by Allen's sincere attempt to console her, responded by grabbing his hand and hugging him tightly.
"!!!"
"I won't hate you," Lavinia reassured Allen, continuing to hug him while gently stroking his head.
Allen's face, nestled into Lavinia's chest, grew even more flushed, reddening to the ears. He experienced a strange sensation inside him—his body was warm, his heart raced, and a comforting feeling washed over him, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
'so warmth,' he wanted to express, but the embrace restrained his words.
He felt a different kind of warmth than when he was with his mother. Perhaps because his mother never treated him so gently. His mother did nothing more than accompany him to sleep and keep him warm. But Lavinia's touch brought a gentleness that he had never experienced before. The soothing strokes of her hand on his head created a unique sense of warmth that Allen found both unfamiliar and comforting.
After a while, Allen, feeling embarrassed from the constant stroking of his head, lifted his head and gently held Lavinia's wrist. With a serious expression, he addressed her,
"Miss Lavinia, maybe this sounds harsh to you because you don't like living here, but I want to say this…"
He continued
"Those days of training every day alone and speaking to myself are finally done! It's because of you! My time with you was very fun and never boring! I know you hate mother, and I'm not going to question why, but I'm sorry; I almost feel pleased that she caught you! I've never felt anything like this before, but it's really warm. I want to feel this warmth for the rest of my life. I'll tell Mom to remove this chain! So… I want you to be here with me!!! Forever!!!"
Allen's face remained flushed, and his hands were sweaty. He felt a deep sense of embarrassment for expressing something so personal, yet he was also terrified that his words might inadvertently offend Lavinia
Lavinia was shocked as Allen stated these things while holding her hand. But this is different shocking…
"So…sorry, could you speak slower? I don't really understand monster language yet."
Allen's face flushed once again. He felt inadequate in expressing himself in human language, resorting to monster language instead. On the one hand, Allen hopes Lavinia understands; on the other, he hopes she doesn't. So when Lavinia said she didn't get it, Allen was relieved because he was too embarrassed to tell her properly. He was also afraid that she would be angry with what he said.
"I-i-it doesn't matter!!! Just forget it!!! HAHAHA!!!" Allen laughed nervously, attempting to brush off the awkwardness that lingered in the air.