I Kidnapped the Hero Party – Chapter 6

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘This child will kill me in the future…’

The match-selling girl with innocent eyes.

This girl would hold his head and laugh madly in the future?

That couldn’t be.

No, the answer sheet didn’t lie.

She would definitely kill me…

As Lee Jun-woo stood there blankly for a moment, the match-selling girl asked innocently.

“Um, Mr. Adventurer?”

“…”

“Mr. Adventureeer~? Are you alright~?”

“Huh? Oh, oh. I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.”

He barely managed to come to his senses upon hearing the match-selling girl’s voice.

As if nothing had happened, Lee Jun-woo asked the girl.

“How much did you say one pack of matches costs?”

“It’s 1000 peri each. I’ll specially give you two, Mr. Adventurer!”

Hmm.

1000 peri for one pack of matches.

What would he use this for?

No, rather than thinking about its use, buying it was the correct answer.

Lee Jun-woo handed over 1000 peri from his pocket.

“I’ll buy one.”

“Wow! You’re my first customer today! There’s not much time left, but you’ll be happy today!”

The girl smiled kindly with her eyes and began to circle around him, cheering him on.

Lee Jun-woo was bewildered by her energy, but he didn’t say anything and just quietly observed the situation.

‘…The Hero’s companion. I don’t know her profession, but she has a bright personality.’

Excessively bright, even.

Lee Jun-woo had seen many such bright children on the battlefield.

Children who were bright in everything, couldn’t say no, and always smiled.

Their ends were all unfortunate, and they all carried sad pasts.

‘That match-selling girl might be like that too.’

Lee Jun-woo stopped the girl circling around him and said.

“Hey, stop. It’s dizzying.”

“Oh, is… is that so? I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

The girl hung her head low like an extinguished match.

She seemed deflated.

“…There’s no need to apologize so deeply.”

“Is, is that so! Hehe!”

And again.

As if embarrassed, she scratched her head and smiled brightly.

It was somewhat of an odd situation.

Lee Jun-woo handed her another 1000 peri and said.

“I’ll buy one more pack.”

“What? No, there’s no need for that… One pack of matches would last for 6 months…”

“In exchange, I’d like you to answer my questions.”

He was buying information along with the matches.

Matches with a limited sales quantity per person.

If she wasn’t a fool, she wouldn’t let go of a customer like him who could buy multiple.

As he expected, the match-selling girl wasn’t a fool.

“I just need to answer, right…?”

“Yes. The questions will be simple too.”

“Th-Then. I’ll do it. Here you go…”

The match-selling girl handed over 3 packs with trembling hands.

Two from the first purchase and one from this purchase.

Lee Jun-woo stuffed the matches into his pocket and immediately began asking questions.

“How long have you been selling matches?”

“I didn’t originally sell matches… I started selling matches last week.”

Lee Jun-woo handed over another 1000 peri and asked.

“Then, what did you do before selling matches?”

“Huh? Oh, I sold food on the streets… with my grandmother…”

The girl answered as she received the 1000 peri.

‘Grandmother…’

That was good information.

Lee Jun-woo handed over another 1000 peri.

It was the last question.

“Then, lastly, I’d like to know your name.”

“What? Whaaat? Why would you want to know the name of someone like me…?”

The girl’s red eyes were clearly filled with wariness.

It would probably be a bit strange to tell her name to someone she just met.

But even with that wariness, she still reached out and took the 1000 peri.

“…My name is Hare. Yuriana Hare.”

“Hare…”

He memorized it.

Yuriana Hare.

Lee Jun-woo put two packs of matches in his pocket.

‘Since I have a 4-day period…’

Maybe he should end it here for today.

“I’ll make good use of the matches. Well then, goodbye.”

Lee Jun-woo turned around as if he was done.

Surprised by this, Hare grabbed his hand.

“Ah, th-that..! Um, excuse me..!”

“…?”

“Why isn’t anything happening…? No, that’s not it..! Can I ask… why you wanted to know my name…?”

The girl clutched Jun-woo’s hand tightly, saying incomprehensible things.

Feeling her gaze as if she was hoping for something, Lee Jun-woo answered lightly.

“Just because.”

“What…?”

“Just because. I just wanted to know your name.”

The match-selling girl let go of Lee Jun-woo’s hand after hearing that.

It seemed to be an unexpected answer, as the girl stood there with a blank expression after hearing it.

Lee Jun-woo left her there and walked towards his destination.

‘…It seems I spent quite a lot of money.’

There was no need to buy so many matches.

Should he give some back?

Feeling the weight of the many matches and thinking that quite some time must have passed, Lee Jun-woo decided to head home.

As he was doing so, a small accessory shop came into his view.

The shop owner saw Lee Jun-woo and greeted him cheerfully.

“Oh, mister! You’ve got a good eye! When it comes to accessories, our shop is the best! If you want good quality at a cheap price, our shop is the best!”

“…”

Lee Jun-woo didn’t answer and looked around at the street vendor’s accessories.

Among them, there was one item that caught his eye.

“How much is this red ribbon?”

“Are you perhaps buying it as a gift for your daughter?”

“…Something like that.”

She wasn’t his daughter, but.

A red ribbon that would suit the Hero well.

Long hair would be cumbersome during training, so having a ribbon would be good.

The shop owner glanced at Lee Jun-woo and said.

“Hmm, today it’s specially 30,000 peri! It’s usually 40,000, you know? Are you lucky today? Hahaha!”

“30,000 peri isn’t bad.”

It was expensive, but one should be fine for the Hero.

He reached into his pocket to pay.

He felt something heavy inside, and his wallet popped out.

“…”

Instead of a wallet containing money, it was a wallet containing matches.

Only match packs were in his pocket.

Thinking it couldn’t be, he searched all his pockets, but all that came out were matches.

At that moment, Lee Jun-woo realized.

“She was a thief. That match-selling girl.”

A thief.

The Hero’s new companion was a thief.

Lee Jun-woo hurriedly returned to where the match-selling girl had been, but…

The place was empty, and the match-selling girl was nowhere to be found.

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The match-selling girl.

Hare was walking through a dark alley.

The ‘Trash Heap’, the worst alley in the capital where those without money lived.

That foul-smelling place was her hometown.

“Hehe… I wonder how much I earned today…”

The matches didn’t matter.

What mattered was that man’s wallet.

Hare, with her innocent expression, opened Lee Jun-woo’s wallet.

Inside was an unimaginable amount of money.

“H-How much is all this…? Wh-What? Was that person rich…?”

He didn’t look rich, but his wallet was rich.

Inside was a wad of cash she had never seen before.

Hare gulped.

Along with that, guilt that felt like it was piercing her heart spread throughout her body.

It was too much money for a petty thief.

“B-But such a large amount is not okay… That person… was different from the others…”

That person…

He asked for her name, but didn’t ask her how much a night costed.

Just.

He was purely curious about me…

Hare checked the scent imprinted on the wallet.

It was a different scent from those men who reeked of strong perfume and threw suggestive glances.

‘Sell your soul if you must, but never sell your body, Hare. That’s selling both your body and soul. Even if you steal from others… feel as much pain as the person you stole from. The pain of the soul is the only way for thieves like us to atone…’

Recalling her grandmother’s words that she had never broken, Hare thought of Lee Jun-woo.

And she begun to steel her resolve.

“…That person. That man is different. I, I have to return this…”

He was a good person.

He looked at her heart, not her body.

For the first time in her life, someone was curious about her as a person.

She was the bad one…

Hare buried the wallet against her heart and turned around.

Convinced that if she went back to that place, that man would be there.

“Grandma, I’m sorry… I’ll, I’ll earn money again… Hare is a bad girl… This money needs to be returned-”

“Wait, Hare, did you just say money?”

“…!!”

From behind Hare as she was about to go back, a burly man’s voice was heard.

Hare hurriedly hid the wallet.

But she realized that ‘he’ had already seen it.

The thug of the Trash Heap.

Ness.

He slowly approached Hare.

“Hare. Looks like you’ve gotten some money?”

“N-No. It’s not my money…”

“Hmm, then whose money is that in your hand? Did you steal again?”

“…”

Hare was silent.

It was true that she had stolen it, but she was going to return it to him.

Hare hid the wallet in her bosom to protect it.

But Ness’s actions were merciless.

“Let me see, how much is in there!”

“S-Stop it..! I’m going to return it..!”

“Shut up! A thief like you returning something? Get lost to your sick grandmother!”

“Aaah-!”

Slap-!

Hare was slapped by him and fell to the ground.

Between the moonlight illuminating the alley, Ness’s figure coveting the wallet was visible.

Even Hare’s last hope was shattered by that thug.

“Wow?! You hit the jackpot today?! This should cover about 20% of the debt?! Wow, you did great, Hare!! Haha-!”

“…No. It’s not mine.”

“That’s right, it’s mine now. Because it’s in my hands. You really are smart, Hare. To think of robbing a rich person. If it weren’t for that old hag, you could have been adopted into a good place. With your looks and all…”

Grinning.

Ness looked down at the fallen Hare.

Her red hood had come off, and her cherry blossom-like hair, a mix of red and pink, fell on her shoulders.

Her appearance was as clean and beautiful as a white snow field.

Her delicate body was enough to awaken a man’s instincts.

Suspicious of that appearance, Ness approached Hare.

“It’s really strange, you know. With looks like yours, you should either be adopted or selling your body. It’s funny that you’re living honestly in the trash heap.”

“…It’s my life. Mind your own business.”

“When there’s an easy way to live comfortably… Don’t you think so, Hare?”

Using the alley’s shadows, Ness got closer and closer to Hare.

“I’ll finish it in one go. I’ll talk to the boss and have him write off all your debt. How about it? Why do you keep taking the long way around when there’s an easy path, Hare? Hm?”

“…No. I, I won’t live like that. I promised Grandma…”

“…Always, that damn grandmother this, grandmother that. She won’t live much longer. Aren’t you tired of using her as an excuse?”

Ness was a man lacking in patience.

Therefore, he could no longer hold back.

“I’m offering to do everything for you, so what’s the reason?! Huh?! Is it fun to step on a man’s pride like this?! Hare?”

“…You’re not the only one with pride, you know…? I have pride too..!”

“Oh really? Then I guess I’ll have to see.. Just how great that pride of yours is..!!”

As if to show that his pride was greater, Ness came even closer to Hare, close enough to touch her if he reached out.

Disgusted by this, Hare tried to move away from him as much as possible, moving backwards in her fallen state.

It was a pathetic sight, but Hare was moving to survive.

Then.

Bump.

“…?”

“What’s this, mister?”

Hare’s back bumped into someone.

She looked up, hoping it might be who she thought it was.

There stood the memorable man she had just met.

He spoke in a cold tone.

“I finally found you. My wallet. So you were the culprit.”

As if he never even considered the match-selling girl to be the culprit.

Lee Jun-woo’s icy gaze was directed at Ness.

“Give me back my wallet.”

At this sight, Hare witnessed the light of hope for the first time in her life.

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