Softness. Unbelievable, ridiculous softness pressed against every inch of my body. Cold sweat broke out across my collarbone as my eyes snapped open. Blinking through the heavy haze of sleep, I stared up at an impossibly high ceiling. Ornate gold carvings of mythical beasts stared back at me from the rafters. Where on earth was I? My mind raced, trying to piece together the last few hours. Only drafty stone walls and Aqua's obnoxious snoring usually greeted me in the mornings. This place was completely different. Heavy silk sheets clung to my limbs like wet vines, suffocating and impossibly expensive. Panicking, I tried to kick my legs free, but the fabric coiled tighter around my ankles. Desperately, I rolled to the side, hoping to drop onto the floor and find my bearings. Instead of hitting hard wood, my hands sank into something warm, soft, and distinctly alive. "Eek!" A high-pitched, incredibly feminine squeak echoed right beside my ear. Startled, I scrambled backward, but my foot caught in the silk, tossing me directly onto the source of the sound. My arms wrapped tightly around a soft waist, burying my face into a generous, lavender-scented chest. Warmth radiated from her, which was odd, considering who she was. "K-Kazuma-san?!" Wiz's voice trembled, her breath brushing against my hair as she stiffened beneath me. Lifting my head slowly, I stared directly into her wide, liquid-brown eyes. Her face was flushed a deep, brilliant crimson that put Megumin's crimson demon heritage to shame. Both of my hands were firmly planted on her waist, holding her close in a desperate, tangled embrace. This was bad. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Slowly, carefully, I tried to untangle myself, but the silk sheets seemed to have a mind of their own, tightening around us. We rolled together, our bodies pressing closer as the fabric squeezed us into a tight bundle. "Wait, wait! Wiz, don't move!" I gasped, my face pressing against her collarbone again. "I-I'm trying not to, Kazuma-san! But the sheets are pulling me!" Her hands gripped my shoulders, her fingers digging in with surprising strength. My face heated up. Is this how I die? No, wait. With a desperate grunt, I wriggled my arm free and shoved the heavy silk away from our faces. "Please tell me this is a dream," I groaned, resting my forehead against her shoulder for a brief, exhausting second. Wiz let out a soft, nervous whine. "I... I don't think it is, Kazuma-san. My back hurts a little, and undead don't usually feel phantom pains in dreams." I pushed myself up, using her shoulders as leverage. Looking around, the sheer scale of our predicament finally began to sink in. Every square inch of this room screamed luxury. Gold-leaf trim lined the walls, and heavy velvet drapes hung over large, arched windows. This wasn't my room in the mansion. Are we in some noble's house? Aqua must have gotten us into massive debt again. If she bought a luxury suite on my tab, I am going to feed her to the giant frogs myself. We were trapped in a bed that could easily fit ten people. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog. Using my basic detection skills, I scanned the room for immediate threats. "Wiz, do you remember what happened?" Struggling to sit up beside me, she smoothed down her rumpled purple dress. My eyes locked onto the way the fabric hugged her curves, and I quickly looked away, coughing into my hand. Wiz didn't seem to notice my inner turmoil. "Oh, let me think..." she murmured, tapping her chin with a pale finger. She looked adorable, which was highly distracting. Her brow furrowed in deep concentration. "We were in my shop. You came in to complain about the useless magic items I ordered." "Right. Because you bought a literal mountain of 'self-heating tea cozies' that explode if they get too hot." "They were a bargain, Kazuma-san! But then... oh! A strange man came in." "A man?" "Yes! He wore a dark cloak and carried a beautiful, glowing crystal box." "With your terrible business sense, you bought it, didn't you?" "He said it was a legendary relic of prosperity!" Wiz defended herself, her cheeks puffing out. "Step one of being a merchant, Wiz: do not buy suspicious glowing boxes from shady men in cloaks!" My head throbbed. Wiz looked down, her shoulders slumping in shame. "I'm sorry. He said it would bring true happiness to whoever opened it. I just wanted to make the shop successful." "And then?" "I opened it. There was a bright, blinding light, and... and then I woke up here with you." I sighed, rubbing my temples. We were in a classic fantasy trap. I stood up on the mattress, testing the weight. Wiz watched me, her eyes wide with worry. "Kazuma-san, please be careful. The magic in this room feels... incredibly dense." "I can feel it too. It's making my skin itch." I took a step toward the edge of the bed. Immediately, the mattress sank beneath my feet, feeling less like feathers and more like quicksand. "Woah!" My balance failed entirely. Wiz lunged forward, catching my arm before I could faceplant onto the floor. "I've got you!" Her grip was solid, pulling me back onto the plush surface. We tumbled backward together, landing in another tangled heap of limbs and silk. My face buried itself in her hair, breathing in the scent of lavender and old paper. Why did she have to be so soft? Why did she have to be an undead? If she were a normal girl, my life would be so much simpler. "Thanks," I muttered, scrambling back to a safe distance. "Of course! We are teammates, after all." She smiled warmly, completely oblivious to the dirty thoughts running through my teenage brain. I shook my head, refocusing. "We need to find a way out. My party is probably causing a riot in Axel by now." "Do you think they're looking for us?" "Aqua is probably trying to sell my personal belongings to buy high-grade booze. Megumin is probably blowing up random hills in frustration. Darkness... actually, I don't want to think about what Darkness is doing." Wiz giggled softly, though her eyes remained anxious. "They care about you a lot, Kazuma-san." "They care about my wallet," I corrected her, sliding to the edge of the bed. This time, I moved slowly, sliding my feet off the edge until my boots touched the polished wooden floor. Cold air bit at my ankles. Silence pressed in around us. I took a deep breath and stood up. Nothing happened. No traps triggered. No monsters spawned. "See? It's fine. Just a normal, ridiculously fancy room." Wiz looked relieved, slowly sliding off her side of the bed. Her long brown hair fell around her shoulders in soft waves. "Where do you think we are, Kazuma-san?" "Some pocket dimension, probably. Or a hidden chamber inside a dungeon near Axel." I walked toward the large, ornate wooden doors at the far end of the room. Gold carvings of twin serpents wrapped around the handles. I reached out, my fingers hovering inches from the cold metal. "Wait!" Wiz called out, her voice sharp with sudden panic. I froze. "What is it?" "Magic is shifting, Kazuma-san. It's reacting to you." I looked back at her. She was standing by the bed, her hands clasped tightly against her chest. Her eyes were fixed not on me, but on the bed itself. Silk sheets were moving. Slowly, they began to ripple like water, the deep purple fabric shifting and flowing on its own. A low, rhythmic pulse beat through the floorboards. It felt like a heartbeat. My stomach dropped. "This isn't just an enchanted room, is it?" I whispered. Wiz shook her head, her face pale. "No. The magic... it's ancient. And it's feeding on our presence." "Feeding on us? Like a leech?" "Not exactly. It feels like it's reading us. Our thoughts, our desires, our fears..." "I desire to get the hell out of here!" I yelled, grabbing the door handles. I pulled with all my might. Metal handles didn't budge. I planted my foot against the wooden door and yanked, using my physical strength. Nothing. "Damn it! Open up!" I drew my short sword, the blade catching the dim light of the room. With a sharp breath, I struck the gap between the doors. Spark! My blade bounced off an invisible force field, sending a painful vibration up my arm. I stumbled back, dropping the sword. "Ow, ow, ow! What kind of cheat magic is this?" Wiz rushed to my side, her cool hands wrapping around my stinging wrist. "Are you hurt? Let me see." "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just shocked." "You shouldn't attack it directly. The barrier is absorbing your physical impact." Gentle, clumsy shopkeeper was gone, replaced by the legendary Lich of the Devil King's generals. She raised her hand, a pale blue light gathering around her fingertips. "Let me try. I will use a high-tier dispelling spell." "Go for it. Blast this thing to pieces." Wiz closed her eyes, chanting in a low, resonant voice. "Release the shackles of magic, break the flow of mana... Sacred High dispel!" A burst of brilliant blue light erupted from her palm, slamming directly into the doors. Vibrations shook the floorboards. Dust fell from the gold-carved ceiling. I covered my eyes, shielding them from the glare. As the light faded, the doors remained perfectly intact. Not even a scratch marred the polished wood. Wiz gasped, stumbling back in disbelief. "It... it didn't work? My dispel was completely neutralized!" "How is that possible? You're a Lich! You have more mana than entire armies!" This barrier didn't just block my spell. It absorbed it. She looked back at the bed. Rippling on the sheets had grown more intense, glowing with a soft, inner light. "Our bed is the source," Wiz whispered, her voice trembling. "It's using our own magic and energy to reinforce the prison." I stared at the massive, luxurious piece of furniture. It looked incredibly inviting, yet terrifying. We were trapped in a golden cage, and the key was tied to our own minds. Cold dread settled deep in my chest. If we couldn't break out, and if the barrier kept absorbing our power... We would be stuck here forever. Just me and a beautiful, clumsy Lich, alone with a magical bed. Worse, the world outside was waiting for us to save it. --- Panic began to claw at my throat. My breath came in shallow, ragged spurts as I paced the perimeter of the room. "Wiz, think. Is there any spell in your entire arsenal that doesn't trigger this absorption?" "I... I don't know, Kazuma-san. Most of my spells are highly destructive. If I use my freeze magic, I might freeze the entire room, including us." "Yeah, let's avoid turning ourselves into popsicles." I ran my hand through my messy brown hair, feeling incredibly useless. My high luck stat felt like a complete joke right now. What kind of luck brings a guy to wake up in a luxury bed with a gorgeous girl, only for the bed to be a demonic prison? "Actually, Kazuma-san, look at the walls." Wiz pointed to the intricate gold patterns. Intricate gold patterns were slowly changing shape. Where before there were celestial bodies and serpents, now there were shifting silhouettes of people. I squinted, trying to make out the shapes. One silhouette looked remarkably like a girl holding a massive staff. Another looked like a crusader holding a shield. "Is that... Megumin and Darkness?" I muttered. "It looks like them," Wiz agreed, stepping closer. "Why would this room show them?" "Maybe it's pulling from our memories. The crystal box I opened... it was called the 'Sleeper's Sanctuary'. The merchant said it creates a space tailored to the deepest desires of those who enter." I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Tailored to our deepest desires? Wiz, my deepest desire is to live a lazy life of luxury, not to be trapped in a room with a hungry bed!" But Kazuma-san, look at the room. It is very luxurious, isn't it? And... and you're not alone." She blushed again, looking away. "Are you saying my subconscious wanted to be trapped here with you?" "No! I mean... maybe our combined desires created this? I wanted to escape the stress of the shop, and you wanted luxury..." "This is too much luxury! And too much stress!" I marched back to the bed and slapped the mattress. "Hey! Stupid bed! Let us out! I have a goddess to yell at and a giant cabbage harvest to prepare for!" Plush mattress didn't respond, other than to sink slightly under my hand, feeling incredibly warm. It felt like touching a feverish forehead. "This is creepy. It's too warm." "It's drawing on our mana to heat itself," Wiz explained, her voice dropping to a whisper. "If we stay here too long, it might drain us completely." "Then we break the windows!" I ran over to the massive arched windows, drawing my daggers. I hammered the hilt against the glass. Clang! The sound was dull, like striking solid iron. "Of course. Bulletproof fantasy glass. Why would anything be easy?" I slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor. Wiz walked over, her long dress rustling softly against the floorboards. She sat down next to me, her shoulder pressing lightly against mine. "I'm really sorry, Kazuma-san. This is all my fault. If I hadn't bought that box..." "Save it. We both know you have zero impulse control when it comes to weird items. I should have stopped you." "You did try to stop me. You yelled at me for ten minutes." "And yet, you still opened it." "I thought it would help us. I wanted to show everyone that I could be a useful merchant." Her voice cracked slightly, a rare hint of genuine sadness breaking through her usual cheerful facade. I looked at her. She was staring at her hands, her fingers trembling. Even though she was a powerful Lich, she carried so much guilt from her past. She just wanted to be normal, to have a shop, to help people. And here she was, trapped again because of her own mistakes. I let out a soft sigh, my anger melting away. "Look, Wiz. We'll get out. I'm the guy who defeated the mobile fortress Destroyer. I'm the guy who sneaks into high-security mansions just to steal panties... wait, forget that last part." Wiz let out a wet giggle, wiping her eyes. "Thank you, Kazuma-san. You really are very reliable." "Yeah, well. Don't get used to it. Once we're out, you're giving me a massive discount on high-grade potions." "Deal!" She smiled, the warmth returning to her face. Suddenly, the air grew noticeably colder. Gilded patterns on the walls began to glow with a sharp, violet light. Heavy pressure squeezed my lungs, making it hard to breathe. I scrambled to my feet, pulling Wiz up with me. "What's happening now?" A faint, ethereal hum resonates from the bedframe itself, and the ornate double doors shimmer with an impenetrable, purple-hued barrier, cutting off their escape and any chance of calling for help.

Chapter 1: A Silken Prison Awakens