Volume 1 - CH 2

Confinement - Day 2

Translated by Valentin

Edited by Valentin

I woke up.

I’m still not feeling well, but I’m feeling better than I did yesterday.

The stockings wrapped around my neck were gone.

It’s likely the girl took it with her.

Nonetheless, I ended up spending the whole morning yesterday unable to communicate with her.

What do I do?

Common sense dictates that being locked up is dangerous.

(Calm down. First, let’s take a moment to focus on the situation I’m in.)

I took another glance around the room.

I couldn’t find anything in the room except a cardboard box, an LCD tab on top of it, and the cracker futon I was sleeping on, as I had suspected.

The chain was tied to the choker around my neck, and the other end was fastened and fixed to a hook mounted in the wall.

I couldn’t see outside since the shutters were closed.

I crept up to the window, mindful about the length of the chain.

It’s no good. I knew it, but I couldn’t even reach my fingers out the window, much alone step outside.

The chain has to be about three or four times longer to reach the window.

Even if my fingers reached the window, the inner lock was solidly sealed with something transparent that looked like glue, and because I was chained to it anyhow, there was no way for me to escape.

(Still no luck, huh… Should I attempt shouting for help?)

That way, perhaps a neighbor or bystander will notice the anomaly.

(But, even if they did notice me, it would be faster for her to stab me than for the cops or neighbors to come rushing.)

It reminds me of the dull, rough knife she was holding in her white fish-like fingers.

Still, I had to find a way out.

That’s what a normal person would think. I suppose I should consider it…

(But, even if I could get out, what difference would it make?)

In any case, there’s nowhere I can go.

I’m hardly motivated to seek or gather stuff for the manga.

Then it doesn’t really matter if I’m chained.

Thinking about it makes me lose the urge to escape at once.

Tap tap tap.

(She’s coming.)

Footsteps echoing.

I made my way back to the cracker futon and sat down.

Clack.

The door opens.

“…”

The girl remained silent as usual.

In her right hand, she was holding a kitchen knife. Her left hand and chest held a rectangular silver tray she was holding.

There was also a random portion of yoghurt, jelly, and some type of supplement that I couldn’t figure out. There was also a spoon hooked.

The girl places the tray on the floor a short distance away from me.

She then slid the tray across the floor with a swish, bringing it close to me with her bare feet.

“Is this supposed to be my meal? ーーRight now, I don’t have much of an appetite…”

“Just eat it.”

I was reluctant, and she replied in a subdued tone.

Her voice sounded like a soothing piano.

“… I understand.”

I took out the spoon.

I wasn’t in the mood to care whether any of these were laced with poison

“…”

In silence, the girl exits the room once more.

I was thinking when I felt her gaze on me.

She didn’t blink as she stared at me through the doorway.

I’m not sure she’s concerned about whether or not I’m eating.

For such a shattered and sick body, it could be exactly the perfect menu.

I bring the item on the tray to my mouth quietly.

It tastes just how you’d expect it to.

It doesn’t appear to be poisoned.

(Maybe this spoon is genuine silverware. The trays aren’t the same as the ones that are commonly used to serve school meals.)

Unlike stainless steel, it has a softer feel.

These items, of course, do not belong to me.

I’ve thrown away everything my household owns, and I couldn’t afford to buy such expensive dishes to begin with.

That would imply that she had brought it from somewhere else.

(… Who the hell is this girl?)

I finished my meal without hesitation, thinking about these questions.

Her glance vanished at the same time.

I become an idle person as the door closes tightly again.

I lay there in a daze for the next few hours, looking at the ceiling, but I didn’t hear a single sound from her.

As expected, I became bored and glanced at the room, but I didn’t find anything new.

The only thing left was a cardboard box with an LCD tab perched on top, as if to say something.

I couldn’t bring myself to draw anything right now, no matter how much free time I had.

I laid down and closed my eyes.

I escaped into the realm of slumber, using my poor health as an excuse.