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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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After Irina left…
Five days had passed.
I had finally recovered from my cold.
“To think I had a cold for five whole days… It’s my first time since becoming an adventurer.”
During my days as an adventurer, I rarely got sick, even when I was drenched in cold rain, probably because my immune system had become stronger.
My body naturally became tougher due to the harsh conditions I lived in.
‘And… there was that one time I got sick when I was weak… when I was Aina’s student.’
While training under Aina, I once came down with a severe case of the flu.
I was bedridden, and Aina had even taken care of me.
‘Jun, who told you to get sick? I told you to only listen to your master, right?’
‘I didn’t want to get sick… You idiot…’
‘D-Did you… just call your master an idiot?! I even made this medicine for you!’
‘That looks like poison…’
‘Open your mouth! Here comes the medicine!’
‘Gaaaaah…’
Aina forced her homemade medicine down my throat.
It tasted awful, but it was effective. I recovered in just two days.
I was curious about what she used to make such a potent medicine…
‘It’s better not to know. I’m serious.’
‘…’
Seeing Aina’s serious expression, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
Perhaps ignorance was bliss, as they say.
Recalling that memory with Aina…
I opened the door, my body now fully recovered.
Hare was waiting for me at the door.
“You’re awake, Mister…! You’re out earlier than yesterday…! A-Are you feeling better…!?”
“…I’m fine. I think my cold is gone now.”
“Th-That’s a relief, Mister…!”
Whew-
Hare let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
But how did she know I was out earlier than usual today?
Wait…
‘Does that mean… she remembers what time I usually come out…?’
A chill ran down my spine as I looked at Hare.
Hare tilted her head, as if wondering what was wrong.
“I-Is something wrong…?”
“…It’s nothing. I’m going to the kitchen, so you can go ahead.”
“Ah, okay, Mister…! I-I’ll go chop some vegetables…!”
Scamper-
Hare ran towards the kitchen.
She was fast and agile, perhaps because she was a rogue.
It was impressive how she ran so well with those short legs.
Watching Hare disappear down the hallway, I thought to myself,
“I understand she’s worried about me, but she doesn’t need to remember what time I come out and wait for me at the door…”
Hmm…
Well, she did listen to my words…
But there was something…
“Unsettling about this. I feel like I’m being stalked.”
Like my every move was being watched and recorded.
A cold chill seemed to surround me.
Flinch-
I felt a gaze from the other end of the hallway.
Black eyes staring at me, a black cat perched on her shoulder.
Saten was watching me.
“Saten? What are you doing there?”
“…”
Saten stared at me, her expression blank.
She observed me for a moment, her gaze intense, then walked upstairs without a word.
What was going on?
Just then, the door to the next room opened, and Luna emerged, yawning as she woke up.
I asked her about the situation, genuinely curious.
“Yawn… I’m so sleepy…”
“Luna.”
“H-Hieeek…! W-Who is it?!”
“It’s me.”
“Wh-What? It’s just Mister! You look better today! Not that it matters to me! Anyway, you scared me!!”
“Alright. But I have a question, Luna.”
“W-What is it?”
“What would you think if someone remembered your every move and acted accordingly?”
“A stalker! They’re a stalker! A criminal, just like you!”
“…I’m talking about Hare.”
“Huh?”
Luna’s drowsiness instantly vanished.
As if realizing something, she started making excuses, her face flushed.
“I-I’m not saying Hare is a stalker! I-It’s just… you know… the situation! And Saten isn’t a stalker either-”
“…I only mentioned Hare. I didn’t say anything about Saten.”
“Oops-!!”
Luna covered her mouth in surprise.
She shouted at me to forget what she said and ran away…
But I had already heard it.
It was like swallowing food and then trying to spit it back out.
‘That was good information, Luna. You’re really bad at lying. A true Hero indeed.’
More importantly…
Were Hare and Saten talking about me behind my back?
‘Hmm…’
If those two were talking about me, their shared interest might lead them to become friends.
No matter how incompatible people were, they could become close if they had similar interests.
Whether it would have a positive or negative effect, I would find out later.
‘Minerva hasn’t said anything, so…’
I would keep an eye on them for now.
It was fine for now, but if they crossed the line, I would have to intervene.
Making that decision, I headed towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
The Hero’s party needed to eat three nutritious meals a day to grow and be strong enough to defeat the Demon Lords.
After breakfast and lunch…
Luna and Hare gathered in the yard.
My body had recovered, so it was time to resume their training.
As I was about to begin… Estia, who was sitting nearby with a grumpy expression, asked,
“Apostle Brother.”
“Why are you calling me that?”
“Why did you bring me out here…? D-Don’t tell me… you’re going to make me train too…!”
“Estia, you have no talent for physical activities. I’m not going to make you train. Go sit on that chair and read the Bible.”
I had brought Estia out for a walk.
Since she was always confined to her room, she needed some fresh air.
Sunlight was known to have a positive effect on addicts.
“So go and read the Bible.”
“No! Why should I?! I’m not reading it!”
“40 pages. If you read it properly, I’ll give you holy water.”
“Okay! I’ll read it! I’ll definitely read it!”
Estia didn’t need to be disciplined.
I just needed to give her a goal and reward her once she achieved it.
And the reward had to be something she valued more than gold.
However, Estia’s concentration was poor due to her holy water addiction, so the probability of her failing was high.
‘…Studying the Bible would correct her distorted religious knowledge.’
As I thought about her unique training method…
Estia, the Saintess, ran towards a chair in the yard to read the Bible.
I turned my attention to the two children who were waiting for me.
“It’s time to teach you.”
“B-Before that! Hold on, Mister!”
What was it now?
Luna stopped me, as if she had something to say.
“H-How dare you… interrupt Mister…!”
Hare glared at Luna…
But I didn’t mind.
“Do you have something to say, Luna?”
“Yes! I do! I know it’s a bad time to ask since you’re injured… but a promise is a promise!”
Once a week!
A spar!
Please spar with me!
Luna shouted at me, her blue eyes shining.
Now that I thought about it, we did make that promise.
I looked at Luna’s confident expression and asked,
“Do you really think you can defeat me… just because I’m missing an eye?”
“O-Of course not! I would never think that!”
“Really? Are you sure you’re not lying?”
“…I thought about it… just a little.”
I see.
To think she thought she could defeat me with her current skills…
It was an amusing thought.
“Luna.”
“Yes?”
“This time, I’ll close both eyes. Come at me.”
“D-Don’t underestimate me!! I’ll show you… the skills I’ve honed!!”
Luna declared, drawing her wooden sword.
I hoped she would show me those skills, but…
Unfortunately, she wasn’t ready yet.
I closed my eyes and shouted,
“Come at me.”
“H-Here I come! Don’t regret this! Hyaaa-!!”
Her approaching footsteps were heavy.
Her momentum was different from before.
Had she been training diligently while I was sick?
It seemed her claim of practicing wasn’t a bluff.
“Still… you’re just a child. Sparring is a waste of time. Go back to your training.”
“Huh?”
I swung my wooden sword towards Luna’s head.
“Ow-!”
Thud-
Luna collapsed to the ground, clutching her head.
I had controlled my strength, so there wouldn’t be any lasting damage.
At worst, she would have a small bump.
Luna, lying on the ground, shouted in frustration,
“N-No fair-!! You’re killing my brain cells! I told you not to hit my head!!”
“You still have brain cells left to kill? That’s news to me.”
“S-So annoying!! Why did I even bother nursing you back to health?! You idiot! You’re so mean!”
Chuckle-
It’s been a while.
Since I last saw Luna’s angry face.
Perhaps because they hadn’t been able to train for a while…
Seeing Luna’s frustrated face was quite amusing.
Although the person involved didn’t seem to find it funny.
As I chuckled at Luna…
Someone tugged at my sleeve.
Hare looked at me with pleading eyes.
“M-Mister… Let’s train… I-I want to train…”
“Right. We need to train quickly before it gets too late.”
We still had Saten’s lesson today.
We couldn’t waste any more time.
I reached out towards Luna, who was rubbing her head.
“Luna, get up now. It’s time to train.”
“…Hmph, I can get up on my own!”
Luna slapped my hand away and stood up.
She seemed genuinely offended.
‘…I should cook meat for dinner tonight.’
Luna would forgive me if I served meat for dinner.
I gently patted Luna’s head and looked at the children, one by one.
Before we started training, I had to choose the type of training we would do.
I checked Minerva’s message that had appeared in my mind.
Unease, jealousy, stimulation.
It wasn’t a good parenting method…
But it was effective for improving their skills.
A double-edged sword.
‘Luna and Hare…’
I had to choose one of them.
‘It would be wise to check the answer sheet first.’
Looking at the two children, who were anticipating the training session…
I opened the answer sheet, which held the key to my decision.
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picking favorites lmao