Two beautiful women and two men are thrown into a cell in a filthy prison, wearing only their underwear.
　It is the party of the A-ranked and two-named adventurer, Ice Emperor Krista Niese Bran Richter.

　Galen is a warrior who serves as the party's vanguard, an adventurer from an orphanage. He had a talent for the sword. He lived his life as an adventurer with that alone, sending money to the orphanage, and was invited to join Krista's party by the Ice Emperor, or more accurately, by her best friend and schoolmate, Sasha, because of his personality.

　Sasha was a schoolmate of Krista's who attended the academy in the royal capital. He joined the party because he had fallen in love with Krista, who, despite being a nobleman, treated Sasha, a commoner, equally. She is a priestess to Aeros, the god of love, and is the party's healer.

　And finally, there is Al, the dog beastman. He is a veteran adventurer who uses his keen sense of smell and the five senses, which are the hallmarks of a beastman, to help the party as a scout. He became a friend of mine when I was asked to join the party in King's Landing, and he is a natural addition to the party. He is the oldest and most experienced, but because beastmen live longer than humans, Ren looks like a boy who is over forty, but he doesn't reach twenty.

　The team of adventurers was one of the best in the King's Capital, and even after they moved their base to the Free Trade City, they were still accomplishing as well as their abilities.
　Therefore, this nomination request was only an easily achievable level of difficulty, and no one was worried about it.
　After all, there are ten or fewer adventurers in the kingdom who have aliases.
　If it weren't for Duran, even three people other than Christa would have been able to eradicate the bandits. And if Krista used her magic with all her might, it would have been easy to freeze the entire cave.
　However, all of this was if they weren't there, and in fact, they were currently being held captive.

　The shackles and arm shackles processed from magical steel were not something that could be shaken off by force, even if they were B-rank adventurers. So the three of them, except for Krista, were bound by them alone.
　However, Krista was shackled with manacles and shackles that seemed to be twice as large as the usual, and she was restrained on top of the magic circle. I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it.
　As for Krista, you have to go that far to keep her restrained. If she exercised her body-enhancing magic, she would bend the magic steel with her bare hands, tear down the magic circle by force, and break the prison.

''Hey, Garen. Break it by force, your manacles.
　Sasha said to Galen for I don't know how many times now.

'So, this guy is pretty sturdy. It's too good for something a thief has. I think I could bend the clasp a little bit in half a month, but not right away!　Oh, I'm hungry....

He set you up.
　Al says calmly.

'You friggin' aristocrat, what's in it for the citizens--I'm sure you've been getting through to them behind the scenes!
　Sasha cursed the owner of the nomination request hatefully.
　But even if it was a trap, if it was a bandit, it could be crushed without a problem, that was the conclusion of the party. No one could blame them, and to blame them would be to deny themselves and their party.
　So those are just whining to yourself.

'I'm sorry, I didn't make the right assumptions,'
　A cold voice with no inflection sounded.
　The expressionlessness and cold tone that was the origin of the Ice Emperor. It's just because the emotions are pulled by the enormous magical power, a special property that also has an affinity for ice, and it's able to keep a cool head, but if you hear it for the first time, everyone will think that it's like ice. Krista has emotions like any other human being. But they rarely came to the surface.

''No, Krista's not bad!　And I was the one who said I was going to choose to kill the bandits.
　Sasha says without pause.

'Yeah, I didn't object to it either!
　Galen says as he shouts.

'We were on the utmost alert. Besides, no one would have expected that Duran would be in a place like this.
　Yes, it was all just a tragedy caused by an improbable coincidence.


　Galen was the second fastest to be taken down when the battle began.
　He came into contact, two seconds. His sword was played and his entire shield was cut down.
　That was the limit of a first-class realm, even for a B-class warrior.

'Ha, then I'm not much more useful. I didn't notice Duran's presence until he appeared in front of me in the habit of being a scout... that was definitely a bandit-type martial art (arts) that was also practiced.''
　Ren says as if he's in over his head.

''Oh no, I lost consciousness before I could activate my recovery magic, okay?　I'm the useless one.
　The topic of the three of them was terribly dark, partly due to the fact that they were caught.
　In the end, the only person who could fight Duran was Krista.

''Ha!''

　It's like a wake in a prison cell.
　The fate of Sasha and the others is fixed. They will be sold into slavery. Even if help arrives, it will be useless because Duran is there.
　There was already a sense of resignation in the prison.　
　Except for one person.

'Who is it?'
　It was Krista who raised her voice.
　She didn't hear a sound, she didn't smell it, and her five senses didn't respond in any way.
　But the voice spilled out of her mouth.
　It was only the instincts of a strong man reacting as a sixth sense. Hence, it reacted faster than Ren, who was a beastman.


''--Mmm, you're certainly here--and in a moderately intriguing outfit, too--do you want anyone, Aisha?''
　Nacht says sternly.
　That line is like a shopper browsing the merchandise.
　They were expecting reinforcements, but once again they became wary.

It's a good thing you're here, Nacht-sama. You should help her properly, Duran-san said he plans to release her later. Also, Nacht-sama must not look at many things.

Why, it's just a couple of girls. And the blue-haired one over there is quite beautiful, isn't he?　Besides, Duran told me to do what I wanted, remember?

'No quibbles, okay?　Ehehe, I (only) am enough for Nacht-sama!
　Aisha with slightly cold eyes stared at Nahat.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

"Ally, is it...?
　Sasha says anxiously.

'Well, well, let's put the joke aside. Are the captives slaves in a clean prison and the s*x slaves in the dirty one? For now, let's do something about this stench, or we can't even talk about it as it is - air creation.
　One of the traps, the wind magic used to deal with the vacuum room.
　It would push the dirty air away, but it would soon be contaminated again.

'I'm Aisha, Nacht-sama's squire. You are the captured adventurers, right? You can rest assured that we will have you out in no time.
　With that, Aisha was looking around for the keys to the prison and armoire that would be in there somewhere.

'We are the A-class adventurer party, the Ice Thorns. We came here to defeat the bandits and this is what we look like. It would be a shame if you could help us out.
　Sasha said on his behalf.

'It doesn't matter, what happened to that monster, what happened to Duran!
　It's not as if Nacht's group was unhappy with the sudden appearance of Nacht, but Galen barked from the side.
　It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with your friends. That's why Garen was also very wary of Nacht.

''Hmm, yeah, you're depressed right now, aren't you?　Well, I don't care how weak you are.
　Nacht asked, pecking away at the prison like an innocent child playing.

'Huh?'　Didn't you listen to me, we're a party of A-ranked adventurers!

Hey, Galen!　
　Sasha admonishes Galen.
　The fact is that the mysterious girl in front of me now, Nacht, has everything in her hands.
　I couldn't afford to make her uncomfortable.

''Hmm, I don't know how much of an A-class party it is, but if we lost to Duran and the like, it's still, how dull...''
　I didn't mean to be sarcastic; it just came out of my mouth because I really felt that way.
　After becoming Nacht, there wasn't an ounce of Japanese restraint like the Aikawa Toru of the past.
'Huh?　Are you licking your chops?　Are you trying to get yourself killed, aaah!

Hey, Galen!
　Although he was careful with his mouth, Sasha was also inwardly uncomfortable.
　Duran was the so-called exception, and Sasha had a solid track record as a B-class adventurer and as an A-ranked adventurer party. When that was denied, it was natural for him to feel anger in his heart.

''Ha, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Now, I'm sorry, but we'll deal with you guys later, first--
　Nacht looks not at the one the four are trapped in, but at the dead-eyed slave who seems to have let loose.
　A flash of his claws at the iron bars of the ragged prison, and another flash with the returning blade.
　That's all it took to cut the iron like butter.

''Huh!''
　Ignoring the voices of the three captives, they leisurely entered the prison.
　There were about ten women inside. They were all naked and their ages ranged from about ten years old to about forty.
　They all seemed to be dead men who had given up hope. In addition, their bodies didn't seem to be safe from the lacerations that were everywhere. Some of them had small souls in their arms.
　Some moved slightly, or said they had survived, but others, such as small children and strange women, were motionless.

Well, if you want to live, get out. "Well, get out of here if you want to live, or I'll send you to the other side without pain. I'm not a fan of the recovery system, but first - the healing wind. It's supposed to get you moving.
　There are potions for all of us, but it's a pain in the ass to take them out, so I activated the only recovery magic Nacht can handle, the wind system healing magic.

'Lies, my wounds--warm, up to my a**h*le, and the membrane won't come back, sorry.
　Some of the guys were able to recover in their own way, such as
　I took the clothes and underwear out of storage at random and handed them to them, and they looked happy to put them on.
　The problem is two people who haven't moved at all. A child and a woman of about twenty.

'Do you want to die?'

Uh-uh-uh-uh.
　The child does not. He's shaking his head in a small way.
　Is she just wary? Even the sight of Nacht, a beautiful girl, seemed to terrify the girl.
　She's still a girl about the age of over ten.
　Strangely, despite the fact that she was desperately moving her mouth and spitting out air, her voice was barely coming out. She was desperately trying to speak something, and still failing to do so.
　I'm sure the words, or more accurately, the screams, were lost naturally, knowing that at some point screaming would create violence just by uttering it.

'--All right, all right, look, it's all right now.
　Slowly, he strokes her head and gently picks her up.
　Nacht basically acts as a superior figure, but not without compassion.
　Even if he's half a dragon, the other half is a person.
　He wouldn't be willing to help his own kind, but he was willing to do it, if only within sight.

'Ugh, uh, yeah, uh,'
　The girl's intentions are emitted by her soul, as thoughts without words. Even if you don't desperately want to express your gratitude in words, Nahat will understand.

You have done a great job. You can leave the rest to your sister.
　He lifted the girl in his arms and carried her on his back in a white bear gown that was as soft and comfortable as it could be.

'Now, last one. What about you?
　In the corner of the prison, a woman leaned her back against the wall. Her body was like a shell.

''..........''
　There was no reply.
　No matter how the wound heals, it doesn't heal to the heart.
　There was no light in his eyes, no sense of intent. It was the color of his eyes, as if he was realizing something, and yet resigned.
　I'm sure it's already--.

　The world is a cruel place. The world is cruel. And in such an alternate world, there are plenty of them.
　If she wished to die, if she thought it was easier to do so - at least send her to peace as a dragon in control of her soul was Nacht's good deed.

'Are you done?'

..........
　The woman slowly closed her eyes.
　That would be the answer.

'Well then, at least give me a peaceful sleep - an eternal sleep (Fallen Hypno) oh?
　The activation of the magic was interrupted.
　It was the little girl at his back who had done it.
　It was a weak force that pulled her back.

"Ah, eh. Ah-me.

No?　But now--

Ke-t-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh.

You saved me, now I have to save you.

　Do they have memories of helping each other, even though it was painful for them to do so?
　This child might be able to move the woman's heart, which Nacht could not.
　Nahat lends a little bit of help to that little bit of hope.

'I see, well then, go for it -- soul magic -- soul identification (soul engagement).
　One magic is just a bridge.
　It is only a small thread of hope.
　A girl who was speechless and a woman who was mute, the two were connected by Nacht's magic.