I Kidnapped the Hero Party – Chapter 43

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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It was a morning no different from usual.

My normal daily routine of preparing meals for the children was going according to plan.

In such an ordinary daily life, dark clouds were brewing in my emotions.

“…A week in this state won’t be easy.”

Lightning struck at unexpected moments, and I had hurt Hare with these sensitive emotions that could rain down at any time.

She seemed to have composed herself well and gone into her room, but…

Judging by the firmly closed door, it looked like Hare would need more time.

“…She needs to eat regularly to grow.”

The dinner I had prepared for her yesterday was still untouched.

She hadn’t eaten a single bite.

It was probably because she had no appetite, or the food wouldn’t go down.

Regular eating habits were necessary for children’s growth, but I didn’t force Hare to eat.

Hare must be going through enough right now, and it was my fault for saying such harsh words.

I decided to respect her wishes.

“…Eat when you’re hungry, Hare. If you don’t like it because it’s cold, I’ll cook it again and bring it to you.”

Uttering words mixed with guilt, I cleared away the plate with last night’s food and put down a newly made breakfast in front of the door.

But as time passed and it became lunchtime, on my way to the yard for Luna’s training, I noticed the food still remained untouched.

‘She still hasn’t eaten.’

The food in front of her door was still in the same untouched state.

Judging by the presence I felt, it seemed she was awake.

No matter how hard it is, she should eat…

A feeling of worry started to creep up inside of me.

Meanwhile, Luna, completely unaware of my feelings, said while drooling.

“Mister! It looks like Hare left some food! Can, can I eat that…? I need a lot of energy for training, you know!”

“…”

You just finished eating.

You’re saying you’ll eat all of that and Hare’s leftovers too?

Come to think of it, it looks like you’ve gained some weight as your muscles have grown.

Should I adjust your diet?

At this rate, Luna might turn into a pig hero.

I walked towards the yard, leaving Luna with her eyes fixed on the food.

“He-hehe… This morning’s food was delicious… Right, Mist- Huh?”

“…”

“Mi-Mister! Where are you going! At least answer me! L-Let’s go together!”

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The yard here was larger than at the previous house, with all of the overgrown weeds removed, it was a nice yard with neat grass.

There was also a high wall so they couldn’t secretly run away.

In terms of security, this house might be better.

I spoke to Luna, who was standing still and looking at me.

“Luna.”

“Yes!”

Was it because we were having sword training after a long time?

Luna listened attentively to my words, her blue eyes shining.

Though she pretended not to hear my nagging, she seemed to concentrate because sword training was fun.

It was a very rare occurrence.

“Luna, I told you your swordsmanship was a sword for protection. You remember that, right?”

“Yes! I remember!”

“Then, when you saw your family’s death. How did you feel?”

“What?! Th-That’s!”

Luna frowned as if she didn’t want to remember, but in order to grow, she needed to recall it.

So that she would never experience that emotion and situation again.

Pain that didn’t kill made people grow and become stronger.

Luna answered in a sorrowful tone.

“I wished it wasn’t real… I felt incredibly sad and upset that I couldn’t protect them…”

“If that situation ever happens again, will you protect your family?”

“Yes! Absolutely! I’ll definitely protect them!”

“Then, imagine I’m that red-haired man and imagine your family is behind you.”

“Mister with red hair… My family behind me…”

Was she recalling her emotions from that time?

Luna, holding her wooden sword in the proper stance, had her eyes shining sharply.

Her will seemed determined to never let me pass.

I slowly approached Luna, holding a wooden sword.

“Think of me as the red-haired man who killed your family. I’m going to kill the family behind you with this sword.”

“You, you can’t do that! I’ll, I’ll stop you!”

“Alright, try to stop me.”

The look in her eyes was good.

Luna swung her sword at me as I approached.

Whoosh-

‘It’s sharper than before and there’s killing intent in it.’

Was she frustrated that she could only stand still last time?

Her movements suggested she had been training diligently in secret while I wasn’t watching.

Though her swordsmanship still lacked form, I could understand the intent behind her swings.

“It seems you’ve trained hard on your own.”

“Of course! Do you know how frustrated I was! I don’t want to… just wait helplessly like last time…!!”

She pushed me back when I tried to approach.

Not moving first, trying to protect her family behind her in a defensive manner.

Luna was using her own version of ‘protective swordsmanship’, employing a push-and-pull strategy.

Of course, there were gaps due to her not learning systematically, but it was very clear what kind of swordsmanship Luna wanted and what aspects needed to be corrected.

“Your defensive swordsmanship of pushing back the opponent and aiming for their momentary approach is excellent, but you didn’t consider the terrain.”

“Eh?”

“If there are people to protect, move backwards towards a wall. That way you only need to worry about attacks from one direction, making it easier to defend.”

The current Luna had too much open space around her, I circled around Luna like I was playing ring-around-the-rosy.

Luna also circled along with my movements to protect her family.

“Huff… Mi-Mister…! How long are you going to run around…!”

“The defender has more to worry about than the attacker, Luna. The attacker will always make the choices and wait for you to get tired.”

So next time, be sure to use the terrain appropriately for the situation.

Thud-

Luna collapsed on the ground, exhausted from following my movements.

She was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

“Haa… Mi-Mister… You’re so mean…! Haa… Ma-Making me run… until I’m exhausted…! You could have just told me…!”

“It’s better to experience it once than to explain it verbally.”

“Tch, you don’t give an inch…!”

“With your lack of skill, you can’t even win in a war of words. Work hard, Luna.”

“Aargh-!! So annoying-!!”

Luna rolled around on the grass like a child crying for a doll.

The dark clouds in my emotions were approaching their limit too, it was time to rest a bit.

I sat on the bench in the yard and said.

“Practice on your own how to defeat the me from just now. I’ll watch from here while resting.”

“Eh? You’re resting? That’s not like you, Mister! Are you getting old already?!”

“…Well, it seems your stamina is a bit lacking. 3 laps around the yard.”

“Ah! I was joking! Don’t really-”

“Start!”

Compared to the previous house, the yard was twice the size.

Luna ran hard, sweating.

Judging by her running speed, I could feel that Luna was growing.

Her swordsmanship had become sharper too.

It was time to start training one proper hero party member to be in charge of attacking.

More importantly.

‘Why is Saten staring at me?’

I had felt Saten’s gaze on me before, but today, her black eyes were particularly blatant.

It felt like she was observing me piece by piece, like a magic formula.

‘It’s too obvious to be just my imagination.’

What is it? Has there been some change?

Saten sometimes acted in ways I couldn’t understand, even though I could usually understand her.

I couldn’t explain it precisely, but…

‘Her gaze when looking at me has changed slightly.’

I could tell that changes were beginning to occur in Saten.

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In the late dawn when Mister had fallen asleep.

There was a girl walking softly through the dark corridor, a girl who was fasting and making efforts to fix herself in her room.

Hare.

She knocked on Saten’s door to study Mister.

Knock knock-

“Come in.”

Hare entered the room with an emaciated appearance, Saten smiled as she observed such a Hare.

“Hmm, did you have any results?”

“…Y-Yes. When I closed the door… and thought in my room… I understood exactly what my problems were that you told me…”

“You finally understood that. You really are a slow person.”

“…”

She had an arrogant gaze.

However, Hare couldn’t say anything.

It was actually true, and Hare was the one clinging on.

She was in a position where she was risking her life to fix herself for Mister.

‘I, I absolutely… can’t be abandoned by Mister… If I’m abandoned…’

I’ll die.

I will die.

I can’t imagine a future without Mister.

To Hare, who was standing on such a cliff’s edge, Saten asked leisurely.

“So, what were your problems?”

“…I-I’m selfish. If it’s for Mister… I shouldn’t have done things he dislikes… behind his back…”

“And?”

“I-I shouldn’t have shown… em-emotions that Mister dislikes…”

“Hmm, that’s wrong. It’s okay to show emotions.”

“Huh…?”

Is it wrong to show emotions?

Saten initially thought so.

In her family, servants were punished if they showed emotions, but after hearing Mister’s words, she changed her thinking.

‘Children grow by causing trouble. There will absolutely be no abandoning.’

He didn’t abandon them even if they caused trouble.

While Mister had parts that were strictly cold, he also had lenient parts.

Even today, he praised Luna while working her like a dog.

As a result of observing Mister, Saten came to realize.

“Mister won’t abandon you even if you show the emotion of ‘love’.”

“Re-Really…? Mi-Mister won’t abandon me…?”

“Yes, it’s almost certain. However, if you annoy Mister with that emotion, he might trample on your feelings.”

“Th-Then… what should I do…? To, to stay by Mister’s side…?”

“It’s simple.”

Don’t do things Mister would dislike.

Only do things Mister likes.

Follow Mister’s words better than anyone else.

And…

“You need to walk the line well so as not to get cut by Mister’s knife-like personality.”

Saten said this while cutting her wrist with a knife.

Drip drip-

The blood that dripped onto the floor made a red apple.

She showed the red apple in her hand to Hare and explained.

“Th-This is…?”

“It’s a model. If we say this is your love, Mister would cut it with a knife as soon as he receives it.”

Snip-

The red apple in Saten’s hand was split in half.

“Like this, if you give him an apple. It will get destroyed.”

“If-If I give an apple to Mister… I-I shouldn’t…?”

“If it’s for Mister’s sake, you shouldn’t give it. Mister doesn’t eat apples on his own.”

Because forcing an apple into his mouth is a selfish action.

It’s clear that Mister would dislike it.

So…

Saten cut her wrist once more to make an apple.

This time she handed the apple to Hare and said,

“You should receive an apple from Mister instead of giving it to him.”

“H-How…?”

“I don’t know that. But if you don’t do actions he dislikes. You’ll automatically get it. If you don’t give the apple until the end, you might have to forcibly take it.”

Like me, she meant.

All the things Saten had mentioned earlier were things she had done to survive in her family.

She was talking about her own experiences.

Hare murmured after hearing Saten’s words.

“Don’t do actions Mister dislikes… Act to re-receive an apple… Wh-What if Mister gives an apple to someone else…? What should I do then…? I, I don’t like that…”

“Why do you think there’s only one apple?”

“Huh…?”

“There could be 3 apples, or 4 apples. And that’s…”

You just need to get more apples than others.

More.

Even more.

“Mo-More… I should get the most… I, I shouldn’t do actions Mister dislikes… The same everywhere… Instead… You mean I should only choose actions that will get me praised…?”

“You finally understood, commoner.”

The frustrating feeling inside of her was finally subsiding.

Now that she’d given her the solution, she should receive something too, right?

“Now that you’ve received help from me, tell me. What exactly is this emotion called ‘love’.”

The genius magician Saten was curious about the emotion of love.

‘What kind of emotion is it that made my father, who loved my mother, abandon me.’

Saten, whose life had been twisted from the moment she was born desperately wanted to solve the moment of her beginning that she couldn’t solve even if she wanted to.

However, if there was one fact that Saten overlooked…

“When I see Mister, my heart pounds, and if Mister is gone, I want to die, and if Mister is with another woman, I feel extremely anxious, and I always want him to pat my head… that’s love…”

“Hmm, I see.”

It was that she didn’t realize love had weight.

Hare’s love was a love heavy enough to crush a person.

‘So that’s how to love…’

The intelligent Saten began to absorb Hare’s knowledge of love like a sponge.

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[Hare yandere evolution like pokemon frfr]