Chapter 175 - Life Inside a Cage (2)

Five days have passed. I thought I would get free time to do whatever I wanted while recovering, but it was shattered on the second day. Piles of never ending books were brought to me by Luke, preparing me for the next round of exams ahead of time. I had no access to my supply of otaku goods since I couldn't meet the people in the neutral fraction in person.

This was no different from the other times I was confined inside his mansion. Except, this time I was confined to a room where the door was locked with spells. There was truly nothing to do inside here. I got up from my bed and began stretching out of boredom.

My eyes widened when I heard footsteps coming towards my door and quickly rushed into my bed. Luke only wanted me to lay down on the bed if I didn't have to get up. I thought 'heal' recovered everything so I wondered why the doctor recommended resting for some additional time. But, I would never get to know since Luke didn't let me look at the doctor's notes.

Luke entered the room with new books in his hands in his school uniform, "here are the new materials that were covered in class today."

I guessed school finally started. The day before, he wore his casual clothes while delivering the books. I did wonder why he didn't just transfer the files into my marble like in school, but I soon figured out he was simultaneously checking up on me after a few visits. However, I stayed silent since doing nothing was better than studying at school.

"Sure, add it to the pile of books," I gestured to the untouched books on the bookshelf.

I wondered if I should go back to sleep again after he left. The only good thing out of almost being burnt on the stake was I finally got the sleep I always wanted. I never did figure out what happened to the assignment. But, I hoped we received all the points or it would be hard to live through the rest of the year.

All my meals were delivered to my room by the servants. The untouched food on the cabinet beside me appeared as if it was carefully planned. I didn't have any appetite after I felt like I was stabbed in my stomach. I simply slept to get rid of my hunger. I knew it wasn't a good solution, but it was all I had.

As usual, I opened the windows and threw the food away by scraping it off the plates. It would become good compose for the garden. With my mana, I dug a hole and filled it with food and covered it back. The first few times were awful. I had exhausted myself to sleep as I failed to make a proper hole.

The garden was messed up like a fierce animal had passed by and multiple steep ditches were created. I panicked as I tried to recover the garden back to normal. Thankfully, after concentrating on moving objects to its rightful place, it returned some of its former glory.

Practicing really did make things perfect. I closed the windows and dizzily flopped onto my bed. I did hear that humans died without three or more days of food, but maybe that wasn't applicable to people who possessed mana. I didn't drink any water or other drinks as well since it would go to my stomach.

I closed my eyes and the next time I opened them, I heard Luke's light footsteps coming towards my door. The sound of clanking plates meant he was bringing another tray of food. This was pretty unusual since Luke usually came to bring me more study material. Did he figure out I haven't eaten in days?

I stayed in my bed, covering myself with my blanket as usual. I hoped my face didn't lose too much weight. That was the only thing I couldn't hide from him. Thankfully, when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my face appeared a bit slimmer in the morning. He knocked before coming inside like always.

"I don't need more books," I told him.

"This is your dinner," He placed the tray in front of me.

"Thanks, I'll eat them later," I nodded for him to quickly leave.

However, he stayed, unbudging as he pulled a chair to sit beside my bed. He stared at me to grab my fork like he was silently saying he wouldn't leave until he saw me eat. I knew it was a signal to quickly eat so he could go back to school.

I gulped at the large bowl of porridge looming on top of my lap. It appeared slimy and gross and the smell was pungent. That's why I usually threw the food away after I confirmed the servants left. I stared at the tray like I was shooting a laser beam to make it vanish into thin air.

"I knew it," Luke whispered.

He reached out to pull out my arm before I could respond. When he pulled up my sleeves, he saw my bony arm that appeared like it would break any moment. I gasped as even I didn't know my appearance became this fragile. I never took off my clothes, worrying to see what I have become.

"You're not eating, are you?"