Right after declaring so, he moved to the cell bars, stuck his head into it and shouted.

「Guard-san! Guard-san, please listen~~! I have something very important to tell you~~!」

Tanaka began to shout in a pathetic voice. This was truly the culmination of patheticness. Slightly taken aback by Tanaka, who continued to embody the ideal patheticness, Toby said sarcastically.

「What in the world are you doing? Could it be, are you trying to lure the guards here and snatch the key? I doubt that’s ever going to work. There’s no way they’d bother bringing the key on them all the time, after all.」

「If I have to add, I’ve never seen guards patrolling here before. Human’s power is deprived here, after all. The ones that come here are none other than the monsters that are employed to bring us food.」

Yashichi calmly explained about the circumstances in the prison.

「… C, come on. It’s just a joke, you know, a joke. I was just trying to lighten up the mood.」

As expected of the very attentive man, Tanaka. His kindness and mental strength as he didn’t forget to care for others even in such a critical situation. Truly the man among men. For sure he wasn’t just making up some random excuse to protect his paltry pride.

「Huh? I can’t pull out my head out….」

「… Just what the hell are you trying to do?」

With his head stuck, Tanaka grabbed the bars and braced himself in a slightly flustered manner. 「Nmo!」

Along with such a cool yell, the cell bars themselves were uprooted altogether as a thunderous roar echoed through the prison. Toby was taken aback.

「Hou. That’s quite a novel way to use your head. However…, I never thought that there was such an escape method.」

There, the handsome hero Yashichi was still as calm as ever. Wanting to escape the cell himself, he imitated Tanaka and stuck his head into the bars. Noticing such a Yashichi, Toby gave him a retort at once.

「Wait, wait, wait! Things are definitely not right here! There are so many things to retort about that I’m not even sure where to start!」「… Hmm, this is indeed not going well. Where did I go wrong? … My friend, is there some sorts of trick to it?」

This hero. He was handsome both on the outside and inside and his power was also undoubtable, however unfortunately he was quite an airhead

「Leave it to me, big bro. I’ve grasped the trick!」

Pulling his head out of the bars, Tanaka then stuck it into Yashichi’s cell bars. 「Foah!」

Another thunderous roar echoed along with his cool yell.

「As expected of the man I acknowledged. You’re good.」

「I’m tired… Where in the world did I take the wrong turn…?」

Standing in front of Tanaka — whose head was adorned with cell bars, and face adorned with a smug look — Yashichi and Toby expressed their respective thoughts.

◇ ◇ ◇

Tanaka and the others rushed their way through the stairs that stretched between the rows of cells.

「Just wow, the stairs keep continuing like there’s no end to it. Why did they bother building something this huge if they aren’t even using it that much?!」

「Hmm, my body still feels somewhat heavy. As expected we can’t completely escape the influence of the weakening before we get out of the prison, huh.」

「You guys are too energetic! Let’s go a little slower!」The three of them continued to rush up through the long stretching stairs, leaking their own thoughts. The view of the stairs that had been going on for so long that they were getting tired of looking at it eventually came to an end, and what awaited them there was a long, eerie passage with its mouth open. The three of them carefully made their way through the labyrinth-like stretching passage. They kept walking to the point they no longer knew how far they had traveled. Eventually, they arrived in front of a gigantic door.

「The first trial…, I guess.」

Tanaka and Toby tensed up at Yashichi’s murmur. 「Don’t get cold feet here, Toby. We have big bro, the strongest hero, with us, after all.」

「I’m not terrified or anything! Rather, aren’t you just putting on air by relying on other’s power?! You’re the one who’s terrified, aren’t you?!」

「As, as if I’ll ever be terrified by something like this! I’ve only ever been electrified when I’m in front of beautiful women. Or is that it? Have you finally gone crazy, and gotten electrified and aroused by a door now? You pervert!」

「What the hell are you even talking about?! Heck, you’re trembling like crazy there, aren’t you?! You’re obviously the one who’s terrified!」

Watching Tanaka and Toby who began to quarrel, Yashichi floated a smile.

「Such vigor even in such a situation. How reliable.」

He was as airheaded as ever. Showing no hesitation whatsoever, Yashichi put his hand on the door. The door opened with a heavy echo. What laid beyond it was a much larger space than they had imagined. In the middle of the room, which made them forget that they were underground, there was someone radiating tremendous pressure.

「–Well, well, how bold of you to attempt an escape. However, as long as this warden Muchisuki-sama is here, you can never go any further than this point.」 A large man, who had been sitting imposingly on a huge chair, stood up and walked towards Tanaka and the others. A well-trained body that was easy to tell even from above his clothes. He was without a doubt a powerful character.

「… Let me take care of this one.」

And then, unusually showing an assertive stance toward a fight, Tanaka stepped forward. This was definitely due to his blood as the rightful heir of Karate being stirred. Against such a large man, the warden, it could be said to be the prearranged stage for a martial artist such as himself. Truly a man who was well-versed in wabi-sabi.

「Gufufufu, what an outstandingly weak-looking person who has stepped up there.」

Warden Muchisuki showed a relaxed expression on his face as he looked at the stepping forward Tanaka. He clearly didn’t think of Tanaka as a threat in the least. Tanaka was instantly overwhelmed by such an attitude of his. He was assailed by the strongest pressure he’d ever felt yet.

(Does he like to whip others? Or does he like to be whipped by others? Or perhaps both? … What I’m sure of is that he is a formidable enemy with distinct attributes. For the normal me, he is a terrifying opponent who knows of the unknown world… However, in this kind of event, it was prearranged that the further we go the stronger the opponent would be. In that case, no matter how unreasonable it may be, I have to have my fight here…. I’m going to push the more formidable enemies that await us ahead to the other two at all costs!)

Such a firm determination. Even as he was well aware of how disadvantageous the battle would be, Tanaka chose to step forward. If it had been the Tanaka of the past, he would surely have devoted himself to running away from the scene. However, we could see a tangible growth in Tanaka as he braced himself to face the crisis with an eye on the big battle to come. The scheme of taking care of the trivial matters and resolutely avoiding the important ones. Tanaka’s growth as a little man knew no bounds.