A faint white veil seemed to cover Iver's eyes. When he could see the world clearly again, the surroundings had suddenly grown dim, and he could not make out a thing.
But he could clearly feel that someone had tied him up.
This was not a method of restraining prisoners with handcuffs, shackles, or other instruments of punishment. Instead, a tough rope thicker than an adult's arm had been wrapped around him, starting from his shoulders and winding downward until it reached his ankles. He had been bound up like a dumpling.
Iver felt a powerful force filling his body. This body was far stronger than his own. Yet corresponding to that strength, he was also extremely hungry, with a sense of weakness.
He needed food.
But when Iver tried, he found that brute force could not snap the rope—it seemed to possess a special elasticity, dispersing even the force generated when he tried to expand it outward.
At that moment, a deep, hoarse, magnetic, and rather charming voice rang out in Iver's mind.
He hurriedly stopped trying and focused on listening to the instance introduction, which would only appear once:
"You awoke with a headache, only to discover that you had forgotten your own name. But that was not important. Your few remaining memories still recalled why you had come here.
"This was already the second day since you had been imprisoned here. The nine of you were not familiar with one another. You had all fallen into a trap while searching for the Holy Lance, and been captured by the Giant Pankerde Couple as provisions for the winter. The only thing you had in common was that you were all powerful warriors.
"The Giant Couple had separated the nine of you among three storerooms. In one hour, they