Saint's Prison - Chapter 50

Moonlit Crown

“…Hey, Ando-kun. I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, but can I ask you to handle a transfer case?”

I stop typing on my computer and turn around at the voice from behind. A woman with neatly tied-up black hair, wearing a pantsuit, looks at me apologetically.

“Ah, Shibuya-san, it’s no problem.”

I nod to her casually.

My colleague, Shibuya-san, brightens with relief. She’s a beautiful woman, so her expression alone adds a sparkle to the room.

“Thank you! It’s really helpful. I’m currently working on urgent hospital transfer arrangements and can’t spare my hands.”

“I just finished my report on visiting private practice physicians, so I’m free now.”

My workplace is the community liaison office of an acute care hospital. In a nutshell, the community liaison office is like a sales department for the hospital.

However, our work covers a wide range of tasks, including arranging hospital admissions and appointments, visiting private practice physicians, and more. It’s a busy but rewarding job.

I receive the medical information sheet and skim through it.

It’s a transfer to a convalescent hospital due to being outside the scope of acute care.

Back pain… It should be fine with rest and observation. I see, he’s elderly and living alone, so he can’t go home.

Having said that, what am I doing now? I’m forming an intimate relationship with a minor, a girl much younger than me. I would be arrested immediately if I were there.

I don’t regret it, but…

I feel a slight self-loathing while sensing the sweet smell from the girl sleeping next to me.

…Maybe I should cool my head a bit.

I carefully crawl out of bed, making sure not to wake Amal. I fumble around for my clothes and put them on, then check on Amal.

She’s breathing adorably in her sleep. She must be in a deep sleep from exhaustion since we were so intense and did it so many times tonight.

After confirming that, I slip out of the room.

I walk down the pitch-black corridor.

The sound of footsteps echoes. The silence makes the sound linger in the ears.

After walking for a while, I reach the silent corridor. I sit down with my back against a pillar.

Looking up at the sky, I see a big, round full moon gently sprinkling its light. It’s a magnificent full moon tonight.

―How long has it been since then?

Suddenly, I feel a presence and take my eyes off the sky.

Someone is standing right in the middle of the corridor.

My heart skips a beat.

I didn’t notice at all.

I didn’t hear footsteps in the hallway, nor did I feel any presence until just a moment ago. It’s as if she suddenly appeared…

The moonlight illuminates her.

Silver hair, shining like a crown under the moonlight. Her skin is as white as translucent porcelain. And those striking red eyes. Her appearance is so fantastical that it doesn’t seem to belong to this world.

“…Amal, what’s going on?”

She doesn’t answer me.

She slowly approaches me.

I hear dissonant sounds.

The closer she gets, the louder the sound becomes.

“Amal…?”

“Yes, Andy-sama.”

Her raspy voice is heard.

There’s no doubt that it’s Amal’s voice.

―But, is it really?

“You, exactly…”

Amal smiles for the first time. She smiles as if she’s crying.

“Andy-sama, I am Amalthea. …I’m nothing more than that.”

“Right, that’s it…”

I mutter as if to reassure myself.

Feeling a vague sense of unease, I pull on her hand and hug her tightly, as if to confirm her existence.