Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Underground Prison □

The underground prison of the Demon King’s Castle, where sinners are confined, was located outside the castle walls.

It was one of the four corner towers that connected the castle walls surrounding the Demon King’s Castle. Its entrance was guarded around the clock by Death Knights, who, being Undead, felt no fatigue.

As we approached the prison following Camilla who was walking ahead, the Death Knights guarding the entrance noticed us and placed their hands on their Zweihänders sheathed at their sides.

It seemed to be a warning that they would attack if we came any closer.

Camilla glanced at the Death Knights and then looked at me and said,

“As you can see, unauthorized persons are not allowed into the underground prison.”

“Then whose permission do we need?”

“People recognized by the Death Knights as superiors, for example, the Demon King or…”

“Caldlasth! Camilla! You’re back!”

“…someone like Barnett over there could give permission.”

Just as they say, “If you talk about tigers, they will come,” Barnett appeared with impeccable timing, fully armed as usual, holding her bucket helmet in her right hand.

I shook her hand and asked what she had been doing.

Barnett tapped her armor with her gauntlet and replied confidently,

“I’m the Demon King’s personal guard captain, so I’ve been patrolling to prevent unwelcome intruders from entering the castle.”

This guy is incredibly diligent.

Usually, someone at the rank of personal guard captain would just sit at their desk shuffling papers and leave patrols to others, wouldn’t they?

As I marveled at this, Camilla beside me rolled her eyes and said,

“The Demon King almost got assassinated just a week ago. It’s only natural that the captain of the guards should handle even menial tasks after failing to do her job.”

“Whaaaat! You shouldn’t have said that!”

Ah, that’s right.

Even though it was just a few days ago, it feels like it happened ages ago, and I’d forgotten.

Considering my position as one of the main culprits behind the assassination attempt, I looked at Barnett with renewed interest.

“You pulled off such a blunder, yet somehow you didn’t get your head chopped off. If it were me, I would’ve already lopped off your head… oh, wait, it’s already gone.”

Upon reflection, Dullahans are immune to decapitation.

There’s nothing to be done about that.

“That’s too harsh! I was already worried about it!”

At that, Barnett, who had previously acted so mature, suddenly hunched her shoulders and pretended to cry.

It’s honestly unsettling seeing the Dullahan known as the ‘Death Fairy’ act like this.

There’s probably no tougher opponent than a Dullahan on the battlefield.

Anyway, since I couldn’t keep exchanging jokes with Barnett forever, I cut straight to the chase.

“Barnett, I need to visit the underground prison now.”

At this, Barnett stopped pretending to cry and asked curiously,

“To visit? What for?”

“I just met with the Demon King, and he ordered me to interrogate the group of heroes imprisoned in the underground dungeon.”

“Oh~ In that case, I should definitely help.”

Saying this, Barnett gestured for the Death Knights guarding the tower entrance leading to the underground prison to step aside.

The Death Knights, who had earlier threatened us like feral dogs, now meekly obeyed her command like lambs and moved out of the way.

She showed us the bunch of keys hanging from her waist and urged us to hurry.

I blinked twice.

“You were on patrol. Aren’t you coming with us?”

“The third basement level, where the heroes are held, is where serious criminals sentenced to death or life imprisonment are kept. A warden must always accompany anyone going down there. Since all the wardens have likely finished their shifts by now, I’ll take their place.”

That explanation made sense; there was no arguing with it.

As I was about to enter the dungeon entrance following Barnett, Camilla grabbed my collar from behind and asked,

“Was I kicked out of my room because of this task?”

She hadn’t heard the last conversation between the Demon King and me.

So when I immediately suggested going to the underground prison after leaving the office, she naturally became suspicious.

Actually, the Demon King never mentioned anything about an interrogation, but there was no need to tell Camilla the truth.

“Hmm… It’s confidential.”

I responded vaguely, which is essentially a reasonable lie.

[[#]]Underground Prison.

The image people typically conjure up when thinking of an underground prison is dirty, sticky, and gloomy space.

Unlike modern times, there was no legal obligation to guarantee prisoners’ human rights, so the basement, devoid of sunlight, truly wasn’t fit for human habitation.

The first floor, accessible by a short staircase at the entrance, consisted of several cells lined along a long corridor.

Each cell was approximately 10 pyeong (about 33 square meters) in size, with its sole entrance being an iron door. Other than a small barred window and a food slot at the bottom, everything else was completely sealed, making it impossible for even an ant to escape.

Glancing through the bars as we passed, I saw prisoners dressed in rags leaning against the walls sleeping or gathered together playing card games.

With about ten people crammed into each room, it surprisingly resembled a modern penitentiary.

According to Barnett, those guilty of minor offenses around the Demon King’s Castle and corrupt officials caught taking bribes or favors were locked up here on the first floor.

After walking past dozens of cells for about ten minutes, we finally reached the stairs leading down to the second floor.

“From here onward is the second tier.”

While descending the steep staircase, Barnett explained the type of prisoners kept on the second floor.

“In contrast to the relatively minor offenders on the first floor, the prisoners here are serious criminals—murderers, assailants, plunderers… you get the idea. Also, when kingdom soldiers are captured as prisoners of war, they’re brought here to solitary confinement on the second tier. Humans put in the communal cells on the first floor tend to be quickly beaten to death by other inmates.”

Unlike the first floor where prisoners lived communally, the second floor housed serious offenders, so all the rooms were single cells.

However, each room was only about three pyeong (around 10 square meters), barely enough for a robust man to stretch his legs.

Structurally, there weren’t many differences from the first-floor cells.

As we walked while observing our surroundings, we soon arrived at the end of the corridor.

Compared to the first floor, the tunnels leading to the second floor seemed much longer.

Barnett, who was ahead, knocked on the stone wall at the dead end.

“And from here onward is the third tier. The hero you want to meet is also locked up here.”

Soon after, the wall Barnett had knocked on receded, revealing a hidden staircase behind it.

Turning around to look at us, Barnett said,

“Personally, I call this place ‘Eternal Hell.’ Once you enter, you can never leave until death.”

Her words struck me as particularly meaningful.

[[#]]Unlike the stairs connecting the first and second floors, the spiral staircase leading to the third floor was quite long.

We must have descended another 10 meters underground.

By the time we finally spotted the exit leading to the third tier, I had gradually lost my sense of direction due to the prolonged walk.

Following the light, we arrived at a wide corridor lined with closely spaced torches.

Barnett, who was leading the way, raised her right arm and pointed toward the end of the corridor.

“The hero is detained there.”

Beside me, Camilla swallowed nervously.

From the perspective of the demon tribe, the hero was undoubtedly their sworn enemy.

Until recently, she herself had been part of the hero’s party and knew firsthand the resentment and hatred directed at them by the demons.

Unlike the upper floors where iron doors and walls separated the corridors from the cells, the third-floor prison was more like a police station’s holding area, with only iron bars separating the corridors from the cells.

As we approached the cell containing the hero, a familiar face came into view.

“You! Caldlasth! You bastard! What nerve do you have to show your face here!”

Despite being imprisoned for nearly a week, the blonde female warrior still brimmed with energy, berating me. Nearby, a sage with blue hair sat drawing patterns on the floor, wearing an expression of total resignation. Meanwhile, the cleric who believed in the Goddess of Courage faced the wall, praying with her back turned.

I casually waved at the gorilla-like strong warrior and headed towards the last cell at the end of the corridor.

When Barnett stopped walking, she pointed to the side.

“This is where the hero is imprisoned.”

Hearing her words, I naturally turned my head.

“Ah.”

There, sitting on the floor with shackles on all four limbs, was the hero, looking battered after a few days out of sight.