260,

The plan is going smoothly, with the three in the cell pretending to fight.

"..."

Cyclone initially thought that the acting skills of the three were excellent, which would lower the guard of the others and allow for a surprise attack when the door opens tomorrow.

But it wasn't until Cabellus raised his question that the world truly started spinning.

"Wait? Cyclone, my buddy, I think... there's a contradiction here, don't you think?"

"What?"

Cyclone, who had just shouted at the wall, turned to Cabellus.

The three began to whisper again.

"So, you're saying that the priest didn't come and sent guards to pick us up instead, just to perform in front of the villagers?"

"Yes."

"And you're saying that the guards don't know magic, so the priest used magic to seal this door?"

"Yes."

"Then... can guards who don't know magic open this door?"

"Yes..."

In that instant, Cyclone couldn't answer.

"..."

With a single statement, Cabellus shattered Cyclone's carefully thought-out plan.

Suddenly, a guard from the wall's iron window spoke a harsh truth.

"Hey! Do you want to die? Stop making noise!"

"Yeah, if you keep making noise, I'll inform the priest to come and unlock this door. And before tomorrow, I'll chop off your hands!"

The room fell silent. It became extremely quiet in the cell.

"So, Cabellus... should we stop fighting?"

"Of course, there's no point in fighting anymore..."

Cyclone's idealism had overlooked something.

Unlike the strategist Cyclone was familiar with, Cyclone himself was not a cunning planner, but just an ordinary person.

He wasn't the protagonist of some heroic story, who suddenly gained incredible abilities to change everything, nor could he calculate everything to his satisfaction, as if he had the halo of destiny.

His hand started trembling. It was only now that Cyclone realized it. He finally felt fear.

His own arrogance, which made him believe he could stay aloof and follow Cabellus, was the main cause of the current situation.

It shouldn't have been like this. I never thought it would end up like this...

The only defense after making a mistake is to deny it.

Cyclone's plan would not succeed because he had forgotten one crucial point – to open the sealed stone door, they needed a Water Priest who knows magic.

The people around Cyclone in the past few months were either physically strong or skilled magicians.

Cyclone had forgotten something so simple.

In this world, ordinary people are the majority.

Cyclone, Cabellus, and Mathews are just supporting characters in this world, the most common group.

Those guards indeed cannot open this door, and even if that Water Priest showed off in front of the villagers tomorrow, they would eventually come personally and lead him to the execution ground.

In other words, everything was calculated by him, not Cyclone.

Cyclone, holding a dagger, could at most exchange his life for the life of the frontmost guard, while the Water Priest, standing behind at least two guards, could kill him with just one move.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Cyclone finally realized how naive his plan was.

The truly innocent person was himself.

"Now what do we do?!"

"How should I know! Cyclone buddy is done for!"

Cabellus and Mathews stood separately in the corners of the prison, contemplating quietly.

And as Cyclone became aware of his own incompetence, a tear unknowingly rolled down his eyes.

Am I... going to die?

At that moment, sobbing could be heard.

"I-I'm sorry!!"

Realizing that someone else was speaking outside the window, Cyclone quickly wiped away his tears and looked up.

"I... I never thought it would come to this... things like burning at the stake... how did it come to this..."

It was Hilmirya, crying by the window.