And just like that, Ai delivered the news without inducing any further suspense.

‘Tomorrow?’ I didn’t expect my trial to be so soon. I assumed I’d at least have a few days to mentally prepare myself… I didn’t know whether to be relieved or nervous.

I thought that as long as I could get out of the cell I would be fine, but the aspect of standing in front of the courtroom surrounded by the stares of those who hate ‘me’ was not looking any better.

“… Isn’t that too soon?” Be commented suddenly. I raised an eyebrow, surprised that they seemed uncertain about something for once.

“Is that a problem?” Ai glowered at them. “Did you start enjoying yourself here? I didn’t take you for the type to like this sort of place.”

“No… I just thought we would have more time to prepare, that’s all.”

The red-winged eyeball sighed. “I admit, it may be too soon for the human to handle it, but this might be for the best; we shouldn’t stop it from happening. After all, the sooner we get him out of here, the better we can conduct our investigations.”

It almost sounded like I was a suspect being taken into custody by the police, but honestly I couldn’t bring myself to care about that. As long as I was getting out of this dark basement for good, everything else could wait for later.

“I reckon you told the human about the plan?” Ai continued.

“Yes, he knows what will occur tomorrow. Is Ce ready to cause a mana explosion?”

“I had a talk with them… to make sure they don’t explode the whole building,” the eyeball muttered the last part at the end. I ended up empathizing with them, considering how they seemed to be the one making sure things went right.   

“I’ll talk to them again if you’re worried,” Be offered with a grin.

“No need, they know what will happen if they disobey orders.”

“Um…” I intervened in the conversation. “Is there anything I’m supposed to do…?” Surely, I must also have a role in the plan, considering it was my trial.

Be smiled gratefully. “There is something—“

“No. All you have to do is plead not guilty and let us and your lawyers do the work,” Ai finished. “Be vigilant of your surroundings and wait for Be to come and fetch you.”

I frowned. That did sound ideal but… “Wouldn’t it be better if I had a job? I’m not completely useless, y’know.”

I didn’t really want to sit around and wait for my impending doom, even if I had the eyeballs solving the issue for me. It seemed the best decision would be to observe them, considering how I didn’t trust them 100%; they were keeping an eye on me after all.

I could see the gears beginning to turn in Ai’s mind. “…Human, we simplified the plan structure in order for you to understand so you might have been fooled into thinking it’s easy, but the jobs we do are the complete opposite of that. So if anything were to happen to you while we are not present, you would not be able to protect yourself.”

“But we can be by their side, no?” Be interrupted. “Wouldn’t it be better if the human did that job? You want to complete the mission in the best way possible, and I think by having him, we’ll be able to do just that.”

“You cannot guarantee that,” the other eyeball frowned.

“Consider it as his first test,” Be added once more. The cautious eyeball stared at the both of us before clicking their tongue.

“Fine, we’ll have it your way,” Ai gave in, although not entirely satisfied with the decision. “But I will stick to the human the whole time.”

“Can one of you guys first explain what the job exactly entails?” I interrupted the little conversation that would probably lead to an argument later on. “It’s not breaking in or anything right…?”

The two eyeballs shared a look with each other. I let out an exasperated sigh.

“Does it count as ‘breaking in’ if you’re taking back what’s yours?” Be responded. Ai shook their head.

“I’m telling you, he won’t be able to do it—“

“I said I’m doing it!” I quickly answered before they could delve into another squabble. “So what is the job?”

Be excitedly flapped their wings. “To make the trial situation easier for you, we decided it would be best to retrieve the physical evidence stacked against you,” they said and paused. “Definitely not because we also want it for ourselves to use as leads to your weirdness.”

Ai glared at them. I frowned, understanding the full picture now.

“Anyways… we figured that it’s locked in one of the private rooms in this building, but…”

“The rooms unsurprisingly have a lot of mana infused in them, acting as energy to support a strong security system. It makes sure to protect confidential information,” Ai continued after sighing, “so if magic were to be detected in such a place, even just a miniscule…”

“A big bang! The room along with its contents will be destroyed!” Be exclaimed with dramatic effect.

I gaped. “There’s a fucking bomb inside that room?! How on earth was that even allowed?”

“The building is an unsupervised sanctuary. Many inspectors don’t venture here often because of its ugly reputation and rough handling of prisoners,” the yellow-winged eyeball shrugged. “Although, I find it surprising that evidence as important as yours would be kept in a place like this.”

“Don’t waste your time thinking too much of it,” Ai interjected. “It could’ve been either to help or hurt Raphael. There’s no clear purpose behind it.”

“Right! And now, onto your job…” Be grinned. “Since we cannot risk having our overly powerful mana interacting with the system, we’ll have a human such as yourself go in there and get it instead.”

“… you mean, in the bomb-infested room, right…?”

“Sounds easy, doesn’t it?—“ Ai slapped their wing on Be’s head, earning a squeak. “Hey! I was just trying to lighten the mood…”

“You’re making it worse, you fool,” the red-winged eyeball growled. They let out a sigh.

“Let’s not have the little thing attempt something like that from the start; they could barely withstand talking to a guard.” I frowned at the comment, my initial nervousness disappearing.

“I never said I wouldn’t do it!” I yelled, getting both of their attention. “It’s my stuff I’m getting… even though I don’t know exactly what it is.”

Ai sighed. “As far as I’ve been told, there should be a box with your name on it. Tomorrow, I’ll put the guards to sleep and we could sneak you to the place. Ce will be waiting for us there with the key.”

“We’ll be outside, so you could still talk to us if you’re unsure,” Be added.

I nodded. “Seems simple enough… though I wish I can just escape with your powers if you’re able to put everything asleep.”

Ai sighed. “Tsk, must we repeat ourselves? We cannot interfere in your escape until all possible roads are blocked and the only one that remains is the one that leads you to your death.”

“Wait… so what if I get sentenced to a hundred years in prison or something?”

“Then we shall just visit you often.”

I cringed. “That’s awful. I really can’t count on you guys.”

For the first time, I could see Ai crack a smile. “You should learn to rely on your powers, little thing.”

“Whatever… so is that all?”

“Yes,” the two replied at the same time. Be continued. “It’s time for dinner now, eat up dear human. We have a big day ahead of you tomorrow!”

A picnic-style dinner appeared before me as I jumped back in surprise. I looked at Be, knowing they had done this on purpose, but I couldn’t complain. At this point, I might be going into debt…

“Where’s the custard?” Ai suddenly asked. Be and I looked at them, a little shocked. “… What? It’s your favourite dessert, isn’t it?”

I couldn’t help but smile.

***

Like Ai said, an army of guards appeared the next day. The eyeballs turned invisible as soon as they heard the loud footsteps, and I assumed they would be following me.

The guards unlocked my door cell, each one with enough muscle to send me flying. I felt intimidated by all of them at once, but I tried to hold myself together as I followed their orders and left the dungeon that I knew I wouldn’t miss.

One of them pulled me close, roughly placing shackles on my wrists. I frowned, looking down at the soft hands of the young noble that I currently occupied; the thick metal cuffs looked out of place.

After the guard released my hands, I could feel my arms drop by the sudden heavy weight. I heard a few of them snicker at me. I didn’t have time to feel embarrassed because the two guards behind me started pushing me forward. “Stop wasting our time, scum.”

“He really thinks we have time to babysit him…” one of them grumbled under his breath. I shivered slightly but continued forward, not wanting to piss them off any further.

“He’s oddly tame.” I could hear some of the guards up front talk about me amongst themselves.

“Maybe he accepted his fate.”

“Don’t be fooled, he’s a slimy one,” another muttered with distain.

‘No, I just don’t want to get beat up!’ Is what I wanted to say but I stayed quiet.

It seemed like we had walked for hours until we finally reached the top of the stairs, leading us out of the basement. Surprisingly, I wasn’t panting heavily like I usually did when climbing the school stairs so I assumed this body had much more stamina than I did. That oddly felt comforting.

‘Those eyeballs were right, I really did need a lot of energy for today.’

“Hey pipsqueak, are you wondering what’s happening?” one of the less intimidating guards came next to me, looking like they wanted to start a conversation.

I stopped myself from frowning. “…No.”

“Ahaaa, should I let you know?” they grinned. I started getting a little uncomfortable. I opened my mouth to refuse but before I could, they leaned down to my level and whispered something in my ear.

“We’ll be chopping your head off.” After they pulled away, they continued to grin. I shivered, getting the sudden urge to cross my arms.

‘I should beware of the ones that look innocent.’ I made a mental note to myself before shaking my head and continuing to follow the prison guards. I distracted myself by looking around, observing how the doors at the higher levels seemed less rusty and more maintained. However, they looked like office doors to me minus the modern decor, completely blank and devoid of any hints that might tell you what each door was hiding.

I felt a nudge on my back when I started slowing down. “Stop daydreaming.”

“Sorry…” I mumbled and quickened my pace again. Eventually, we reached a narrow hallway that looked more private. A guard used a long key to open one of the doors at the end, and I was pushed inside. Two guards followed me as well while the rest stayed outside, locking the door behind them.

I looked around the room nervously; it was like an interrogation room. Luckily, one of the guards was kind enough to provide a short explanation.

“Sit down. You will be staying here until it is time for your trail,” he said and then walked over to me, unlocking the shackles from my wrists. “Please do not try anything.”

I took a seat once he was finished and placed my free hands on the table. It felt weird to be sitting on a chair for so long… I decided that it might be a good idea now to brainstorm possible ways of getting back home. I never had time when the eyeballs were keeping me busy every hour of the day.

Just as I was about to block all noise, I heard something heavy drop on the floor. Startled, I turned around my chair. The scene of two passed out guards greeted me and my eyes widened further.

“Hm… I wonder if Be was truly right about this…” the red-winged eyeball was now staring at me. “You seem way too nervous.”

I sighed. “It’s good to see you too.”

***

A/N: Guys, I learnt a lesson to always wear sunscreen when going to the beach, my face got sunburnt yesterday LMAO (I barely go out don't come for me) It was a great day though because my friends and I got to be silly together.