Collector’s Cage - Chapter 41 - VI.

`VI.`

Steady breathing sounds could be heard. Sensing that Froy had fallen asleep, Hermie cautiously raised her head. Then she stared blankly at his handsome profile.

Thinking this was the last time, she felt an inexplicable sense of regret.

‘Thank you. Take care.’

She had resented Froy for not letting her out of the cage, but that didn’t mean she denied he had been a kind and affectionate owner.

He greeted her every morning, chatted about trivial things, gazed at her with tender eyes to the point it tickled, and granted most of her requests.

If she had really been a fairy, she might have completely fallen for the immense affection he poured out. The love he gave was like a highly addictive d**g.

But unfortunately, Hermie was human.

So she couldn’t live on love alone. Ambition, desire, instinct, daily life, hope, happiness, etc.—she needed other things to fill her life.

Hermie slipped out of the nest.

Worried Froy might wake up, she left the bed.

It took a full hour to reach the window left open for ventilation. Before slipping out the window, she took one last look at Froy’s face and then turned her back.

Grasping the corner of a handkerchief, she boldly threw herself out the window. The handkerchief acted as a parachute, gently floating Hermie’s light body.

‘I made it!’

Hermie let out a small exclamation as she slowly descended. She had braced for death when she threw herself out, but she had truly succeeded in escaping. What a bold move. Praising herself, she began to run.

"I'm coming for you, you damn mage!"

After falling for a while, Hermie landed with a soft thud in a grassy patch along with the handkerchief.

She got a few scrapes from twigs, but this was a huge success. She carefully kept the handkerchief and refastened her sack-like clothes.

She recalled the layout of the mansion she’d seen during walks. The garden extended far to the right, so she ran to the left. After running for a while, she came upon a wall so high she couldn’t see the top.

“Phew.”

The escape had only just begun. Climbing the wall, which was like a cliff to Hermie, wouldn’t be easy. She walked along the base of the wall, looking for any mouse holes.

Inspecting the wall, she steeled her weakening resolve. She had prepared for difficulties like this.

Hermie first planned to return to the guild and find someone she knew. Then, with the guild’s help, she intended to file an official complaint with the Mage Tower.

Since there was a contract, Hermie had grounds for her complaint. That is, unless that damn mage had tampered with the contract.

***

Uncle Jen from the Pumpkin Flower Guild also rose early today and busily carried loads.

“Hey, be careful with that! Don’t break it!”

The workers belonging to the guild worked as hard as ever, just like yesterday. They would sweat buckets today, and tomorrow too.

But working hard doesn’t always bring good results.

“Jen! The guild master is calling for you.”

“Why?”

“‘Why,’ he says…”

A shadow fell over Jen’s face as he headed to the guild master. Everyone had worked like oxen as usual, but the Pumpkin Flower Guild had hit a financial crisis.

Something about funds being tied up, so they couldn’t stock goods anymore. If goods decreased, there was less need for people to carry loads. Casual laborers like Jen would be the first to be laid off.

The older you were, the more precarious your position became. Jen felt terribly wronged.

He had worked at the Pumpkin Flower Guild for 20 years. Not only was there no respect for seniority, but to be laid off just for being old…

Jen irritably flung open the guild master’s door. If they were going to fire him, he was determined to unleash a torrent of curses, consequences be damned.

“Oh, you’re here?”

But the moment he saw the guild master’s face, his rough temper subsided. The man had dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks were sunken, as if he hadn’t had a decent meal.

The guild master was originally big-built and imposing. For a person to deteriorate like that in an instant… Seeing the guild master’s deathly pale face made Jen truly realize how dire the Pumpkin Flower Guild’s situation was.