Like a Dog

"Gah, ngh..."

That punch seemed to knock Eris's very soul out of her body.

The racket stopped dead. Her eyes went wide, and she curled up convulsing on the stone platform, drool dripping from the corner of her mouth, unable to make a sound.

"Finally quiet."

Hilde drew back her fist and nodded in satisfaction.

Rudeus was instantly at a loss for words.

"Hey, do you remember we came here to save her?"

"What does it matter? Weren't you planning to let her suffer a little anyway?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Forget that little detail. For now, let's think of a way to get these chains off her."

Ignoring Eris, who was still twitching on the stone platform, Hilde's gaze fell on the shackles binding her wrists and ankles.

When she had searched the room earlier, she had not only looked at all those bizarre tools, but had also looked for a key.

But clearly, she had found nothing.

The shackles were made of iron. A sword probably would not cut through them easily.

"With that magic you used earlier?"

Hilde asked.

"Hmm... My magic isn't that precise."

Rudeus looked troubled. Rock Shell had decent aim, but its destructive power after impact was hard to control.

Still, it was not that big a problem. Instead of attacking the shackles, he could attack the chains connected to them. That would leave part of the shackles on her body, though, making it inconvenient to move.

But in the current situation, they could not afford to worry about that.

"I'll try."

Hilde tossed aside the iron rod in her hand and stepped forward.

She grabbed the shackle around Eris's ankle with both hands and pulled with force to either side.

"Ngh!"

Veins bulged on Hilde's forehead, and the lines of muscle stood out along her arms.

Rudeus's eyes widened.

He did not know if it was just his imagination, but it really looked like the shackle had opened a little.

"Hah—"

With a sharp shout from Hilde, the shackle finally sprang open with a clang.

"That's one down." Hilde wiped the sweat from her forehead, then turned her gaze to the other four shackles.

"Hilde is basically a gorilla."

Rudeus could not help swallowing. No matter how many times he saw it, it still felt absurd.

So this was what people called being born with superhuman strength.

"If you have time to stand there making snide comments, why don't you think about how we're going to leave in a moment?" Hilde said flatly.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Rudeus sighed.

After resting for a short while, Hilde continued working on the remaining shackles.

Though she spoke as if it were nothing, it was actually far from easy. After all, even for her, forcing open iron shackles with brute strength took everything she had.

And she did not have much stamina left to begin with.

If they ran into another fight afterward...

Hilde hesitated briefly, but in the end, she kept going.

There was nothing to worry about.

Even if she ran out of strength, Rudeus was still there, wasn't he?

After a tremendous effort, Hilde broke open two more shackles, leaving only the last one around a wrist.

Hilde was just about to repeat the process when she suddenly looked up on instinct and met the eyes of Eris, who was glaring at her viciously.

Eris, who had been silent since earlier, did not seem to understand the situation at all. She looked as if she wanted nothing more than to bite a chunk of flesh out of Hilde.

She was clearly still just a little girl, yet she gave off the impression of a wild beast.

If Rudeus had not said so, Hilde would never have believed this child was actually the young lady of the Boreas family.

"What are you looking at?" Hilde asked softly.

"I'll never let you get away with this."

Eris ground her teeth, her voice sounding as if it had been squeezed out through the gaps between them.

"Once we get out of here, I'll have Ghislaine cut you down."

"Ghislaine, huh..."

Hilde thought it over.

If it was that Black Wolf Sword King, Hilde was still nowhere near a match for her as she was now.

She really did have to keep working hard.

As that thought crossed her mind, she smoothly tore apart the last shackle.

And Eris, finally free at last, pressed her lips tight and rubbed her wrists. The next instant, she suddenly burst into motion, raising her fist and swinging it straight at Hilde.

Expressionless, Hilde caught her fist.

Thud—

Along with a dull sound, Eris was sent flying by Hilde's backhanded punch, smashing into the shelves on the wall and knocking them over, scattering all kinds of things across the floor.

"Hilde?"

Rudeus jumped in fright.

Hilde slowly walked over to Eris, who sat collapsed on the ground, grabbed her by the collar, and hauled her up.

Then, under the other girl's furious, startled glare, she said coldly, "Don't misunderstand, young lady."

"I was only asked by Rudeus to come rescue you."

"Since it was Rudeus's request, of course I'll do my best to get you out of here. But if you keep acting like you need a beating, I don't mind making you suffer a little before I rescue you."

"If you understand, then shut your mouth from now on and behave."

"..."

Eris trembled.

Crushed by the astonishing pressure in Hilde's eyes, she could not get a word out.

After a standoff that lasted nearly a minute, Eris pressed her lips tight and silently looked away.

"Impressive, Hilde."

Rudeus could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.

He pulled Hilde over and lowered his voice. "How did you do that?"

"Have you never raised a dog?"

"A dog? No..."

"No wonder."

In truth, Hilde could not remember whether she had ever raised a dog before, either.

She simply felt that the way Eris bared her teeth and snarled was very amusing.

Like a dog.

Then, for some reason, phrases like "feed at fixed times, fixed place, fixed amount; if it doesn't eat, take it away; if that still doesn't work, just smack it" surfaced in her mind.

"Right, this thing around her neck doesn't seem like an ordinary collar."

Hilde said.

Rudeus looked at it closely.

The collar around Eris's neck was not connected to any chain, so it did not affect her movements.

That said, the surface of the collar was carved with runes that resembled a magic circle, which made Rudeus wary of doing anything rash.

Although Rudeus's magic had already reached the Water Saint level, he was not well versed in magic circles.

Magic circles and magic were two completely separate systems.

While most magic could be reproduced through magic circles, doing so also required specialized knowledge.

Rudeus only knew the basics.

"Could it be the kind that explodes as soon as you take it off?"

Hilde rubbed her chin, making a guess.

"Like blowing a person's head into orange juice in an instant."

Eris, standing to the side, went deathly pale with fright. She bit her lip hard and said nothing.

Rudeus thought for a moment.

"Give me a little time. I'll see if I can destroy the magic array inside."

"Mm... no, that won't work. I don't think we have time."

Hilde suddenly whipped her head around and looked toward the sewer outside the door behind her.

With hearing far beyond that of an ordinary person, she keenly picked up the sound of chaotic footsteps approaching from the distance.

"Let's escape from here first."