I Kidnapped the Hero Party – Chapter 1

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“You’ve been kidnapped.”

After uttering those chilling words, he thought to himself, ‘How did things get so twisted?’

Why did he kidnap the person destined to become the Hero?

Even if things had gone off track, this was extremely twisted.

Like a tangled skein of thread that couldn’t be unraveled…

It had become entangled in the blink of an eye…

‘Where did it start going wrong?’

He decided to retrace the flow of his thoughts.

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‘It began after completing the mission and receiving the money.’

Lee Jun-woo.

This was his Korean identity.

Ten years after being transported into this world, he adapted and lived as an unremarkable adventurer.

He always had to risk my life working, but it was the most suitable job for a foreigner like him.

“Adventurer Jun! Congratulations on successfully completing the mission! You’ve returned safely today as well!”

“Enough with the greetings, what about the money?”

“Yes, here is the 2 million peri reward for success! Please be sure to use our Adventurers’ Guild again next time!”

The Adventurers’ Guild receptionist handed over a thick pouch.

It was the always helpful, intellectual receptionist lady wearing glasses.

He gave her a light nod before leaving the Adventurers’ Guild.

“2 million peri isn’t bad for the difficulty of the mission.”

If there was one positive thing about this other world, it would be that the currency and system were similar to South Korea’s.

There was no need for unnecessary calculations.

‘Right, I was definitely thinking that as I walked down the street with a light step.’

It marked the moment where his lighthearted steps had begun to twist.

Chug-chug-chug-!

“Is it already time for the train to arrive?”

The stopping sound of the ‘Mana Train’ that moved via the resonance of magic stones.

The capital city of Gransia, where he currently was, was well-developed and had mana trains that moved using magic.

He was walking past the train station to head to the house where I lived.

“I completed today’s mission and have money, should I drink some expensive alcohol…”

What alcohol would best fit tonight?

Whiskey?

Vodka?

Or pork with beer?

He was having the happy dilemma of being able to choose anything.

In the midst of that, my ability suddenly manifested, dammit.

“Huh?”

In novels, people who fell into different worlds were often given ‘cheat’ abilities.

Literally, the kind of cheat abilities that allowed them to do whatever they wanted with the world.

However, he was different.

My ability was just a selection.

“I solved the Essentials of Mathematics so many times in the past. Do I have to solve problems here too?”

It was an ability befitting of a citizen of Korea.

If a test paper had ‘five choices,’ he had ‘two choices.’

He had to choose one of the two options.

Usually one was the correct answer, but there were cases where both were correct, and cases where both were wrong.

By the way, an answer sheet also existed three times a day.

“But, there’s no need to look at the answer sheet. The correct answer is definitely 1.”

As if he would kidnap the Hero.

He wasn’t crazy.

Still, he was a bit curious about the Hero’s face.

“Let’s see, the Hero is… Ah, there.”

The Hero came out of the train station and descended a small set of stairs.

Her long, golden hair fluttered in the wind, illuminated by the sunlight.

Her blue eyes still radiated a child-like innocence.

Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be a child who hadn’t even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet…

Golden hair and blue eyes.

To think that a girl who resembled Alice in Wonderland would be the future Hero.

As if telling him not to doubt it, a sign saying ‘Hero’ floated above the girl’s head.

“Hmm, the Hero… Well, she’ll defeat the Demon Lord’s later. It’s unrelated to me, a mere adventurer.”

It was a matter unrelated to him.

…Was it truly an unrelated matter?

If I hadn’t looked at the answer sheet. It might have been a truly unrelated matter.

“Still, I’ve only used it twice today, so I should check the answer sheet a bit.”

The answer sheet that could only be viewed three times a day.

He envisioned the answer sheet in his mind.

…

A thick book opened with a rustle, and the pages flipped rapidly.

Those pages flipped as if knowing their destination.

Eventually, it stopped on a page.

“I see it. The future…”

And before my eyes, a single ‘future’ appeared.

A future where I had chosen ‘Ignore the Hero.’

A scorched train station.

Not only the train station, but the capital city of Gransia were also razed by flames.

‘What is this? Just because I ignored the Hero, the capital turns out like this?’

This was the epitome of destruction.

The bodies of civilians were sprawled on the ground, and an ominous red current swirled in the sky.

And in the distance, the Hero descending the stairs could be seen.

Her appearance had lost all traces of that child-like innocence.

The Hero’s blue eyes were sunken and murky, and her cold gaze was filled with emptiness.

They contained a depth reminiscent of the deep sea.

Her mature face, unlike before, was watching him.

And…

‘Huh?’

His gaze that had been facing the Hero was now directed toward the ground.

The Hero had slashed at his neck without a trace of hesitation.

And the answer sheet showed the future closed its pages as that marked the end.

Thud-

…

He muttered in vain.

“Choice 1 is the wrong answer…? Ignoring the Hero is the wrong answer…?”

Seriously.

Seriously?

Ignoring the Hero led to death?

He tried to recall the answer sheet in his mind again to double-check.

However, he was limited to three uses a day…

The chance to check the answer sheet had already slipped out of his hands.

“Choice 2 could also be the wrong answer, this is fucked up.”

If the ‘question maker’ temporarily lost their sense, there was a possibility that both choices were wrong.

‘Do I choose 1, which is definitely wrong, or do I choose 2, which has a possibility of being correct…’

…There was only one answer.

There was no choice.

He had no choice but to, in order to not die.

Choice 2

“Kidnap the Hero.”

He clicked that choice with his hand.

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Kidnap (誘拐).

To lure and entice.

The choice of words wasn’t to his liking, but he (forcefully) lured and (forcefully) enticed, so it wasn’t incorrect.

‘I never dreamed that I would kidnap a child…’

After pressing the choice with my hand, the moment the Hero entered a secluded alley.

He covered her mouth.

The Hero was still young, so she didn’t even have the strength to resist, and after 10 seconds, her body went limp.

Guilt welled up inside him.

But it was an action for his life, so there was no choice.

Even if someone cursed him for making excuses, he had nothing to say.

“Have you finished grasping the situation and what happened?”

“No, I still don’t understand…”

“Do you need me to explain it again? Then-”

“Ah, no! I understood everything! I was kidnapped because I’m the Hero!”

Right, that was how it should be.

He nodded his head in satisfaction.

Seeing that, the Hero looked around anxiously.

Soon, she seemed to realize that she couldn’t escape.

“Um…”

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“You said you kidnapped me because I’m the Hero… Then, what are you going to do with me now..?”

He looked at the Hero through the sunlight reflected in the window.

Her clear blue eyes were glistening with tears.

Her fair skinned slender body was slightly trembling.

And she was grabbing the hem of her skirt with her hands due to anxiety.

‘Her words are bold, but she’s trembling inside…’

Most people probably wouldn’t have been able to properly exchange words with him, the kidnapper, by now.

They said that if you entered a tiger’s den, you’d survive if you kept your wits about you.

But that was easier said than done, and there were few people who could actually keep their wits about them after entering.

Yet, the Hero before his eyes right now was suppressing her emotions as much as possible and maintaining a firm mind.

“What are you going to do with me…? Are you going to keep me like livestock, less than human…?”

“Livestock… I won’t do such a thing.”

Hmm.

To check the Hero’s condition, he looked her up and down.

There were no injuries from the process of subduing her.

He decided to answer her honestly.

“I.”

“…”

“To you.”

“…”

“I won’t do anything.”

“…What?”

“I won’t do anything to you. That’s it.”

The Hero’s previously anxious eyes widened.

Was it that surprising that I wouldn’t do anything?

He couldn’t find any reaction from the Hero other than surprise.

“I won’t do anything to you. If you didn’t understand, I’ll say it again.”

“…”

There was still no reaction.

He pulled a chair from the nearby desk.

Then, he sat down lightly.

It was to give the Hero’s brain time to process.

“Uh, that, that’s..”

“Do you understand now?”

“Then, then… If you’re not going to do anything to me… Why did you kidnap me?”

His eyes automatically blinked at the Hero’s question.

He was greatly perplexed.

What was he supposed to do after kidnapping her?

“Right.”

“…What?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“…Whaat?”

He kidnapped the Hero as the choice dictated.

However, what to do and how to do it,

He hadn’t thought about it at all.

“…Is there anything you want to do?”

“Let me out of here-”

“Aside from that. For now, you have to be confined here for a while.”

“Uh, hmm. Then…”

“I’ll grant you anything except escape.”

Anything except escape.

A promise born from guilt.

Upon hearing those words, the Hero immediately shouted at him as if she had something she wanted to say.

“Then, um. Could I possibly send a letter?”

“A letter…?”

“Yes, I was supposed to send a letter to my family in the countryside… I got kidnapped by a strange person, haha..”

“Hmm…”

A letter.

Anyhow, a letter was dangerous.

She could send a distress signal to someone.

Like, ‘I’ve been kidnapped. Please help me.’

However, the Hero didn’t seem like the type to use such obvious tactics.

She seemed to have genuinely made the request out of concern for her family.

It was a desperate request made out of genuine concern for her family.

“Is it… possible?”

“If there’s a condition.”

“What condition? I absolutely won’t write a letter asking for help..!”

“So you were thinking about it. Well, anyone would. The condition is the right to review the letter you’ll send.”

“That, that’s..!”

Review.

At that word, an atmosphere of frustration flowed around the Hero.

Like the unpleasant feeling of having your personal stories reviewed when writing a diary at school and having it reviewed by the teacher.

The Hero also seemed to feel that way.

“Ple, please don’t look too closely..”

The Hero made a small request to me in a deeply gloomy voice.

How cute.

It felt like the innocence of a young child was being conveyed.

“I’ll try my best.”

“Yes, yes.. Thank you..”

Thanking a kidnapper didn’t really suit her.

Well, since she thanked him, he would accept it for now.

He pressed the switch of the fluorescent light in the dark studio apartment.

Click-

“Aah! My eyes..!”

“You’ll adjust in a bit. I’ll send up the letter paper along with your meal.”

Now there was nothing more to say.

He decided to leave the room so the Hero could be alone.

And he also had to meet the ‘question maker.’

“Then, rest here.”

“Wai, wait..! Um..!”

Did she have something more to say?

He nodded his head at the Hero, signaling her to speak.

She hesitated for a moment, then made a request to me.

“Wh, when I send the letter, could you also include a little money..?”

“Money?”

“Yes, the reason I came up to the capital was to get a job and send money to my family… Hehe… There’s no money at home..”

“Asking for money in a letter from your kidnapper..”

“I, if you can’t, it’s okay..!”

“I’ll do that much for you.”

Thinking of her family even after being kidnapped.

A Hero who puts others before herself.

He declared,

that this woman was definitely the Hero.

I spoke to the Hero who was standing there blankly once more.

“Rest comfortably.”

Bang-

He closed the door of the studio apartment and turned the key to lock the door.

Then, he used magic to secure the gap in the door.

Finally, he put a padlock and it was done.

Leaving behind the Hero’s room with quadruple security, he headed to the front door.

As he descended the stairs, he pondered the Hero’s actions from earlier.

“To think of her parents even after being kidnapped, is caring for others a characteristic of a Hero?”

However.

“A filial daughter.”

He, who had the blood of Confucianism flowing in me.

The Hero’s actions were a little.

Just a tiny bit to his liking.

“I miss my family too after a long time.”

When was the last time he saw them?

10 years ago?

He couldn’t even remember.

He prepared to go out while recalling memories of his family.

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