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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Breakfast began in an unusually quiet atmosphere. The Hero’s party seemed preoccupied, picking at their food. I was certain of one thing.
‘Something happened last night.’
And Estia was at fault.
She had wronged Luna, Hare, and Saten.
That was the most likely scenario. Unable to bear the weight of their gazes, Estia snapped,
“Stop staring! Let me eat!”
Luna remained silent, but the others responded.
“…That’s not what you said, Estia.”
“I wasn’t staring. You’re being self-conscious.”
“Eek!”
Estia stabbed her fork into her meat, venting her frustration. Someone in the wrong should be acting more subdued, but Estia acted as if she had done nothing wrong.
‘I don’t know who’s at fault, but…’
I needed to hear everyone’s side of the story. I couldn’t have any of them feeling unjustly accused. I would reserve judgment.
After they finished eating, I cleared the table and asked,
“Luna, was breakfast okay?”
“…Yes, it was delicious.”
“You didn’t eat much.”
“I-I’m on a diet.”
Luna avoided my gaze.
‘A diet… an interesting excuse for someone who loves to eat.’
If someone suddenly starts avoiding you, there are two possibilities. Either you wronged them, or they wronged you. I wasn’t sure which applied to Luna, but… we had time.
“Luna.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Tell everyone to gather in the dining room. Don’t go back to your rooms.”
“W-Why?”
“We need to talk.”
About why they were all in my room last night.
And why they were treating Estia like a traitor.
“O-Okay, Mister…”
Luna, her expression gloomy, nervously swallowed and went to gather the others. I watched her go.
‘Hmm…’
Judging by her demeanor, Luna seemed to be the one in the wrong.
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Estia sat in the center, flanked by Luna, Hare, and Saten. It felt like a courtroom, even though I had never been in one. I cleared my throat and spoke in a low, serious voice.
“I believe you all know why you’re here. Any questions?”
“…”
None.
I continued,
“Last night, when I woke up, you were all in my room. Just to confirm, you were there to restore my memories, correct?”
Estia raised her hand.
“Yes, Estia?”
“Brother is right! We gathered to restore Brother’s memories! Or… are we…?”
Estia looked at the others. Luna lowered her head, but Hare and Saten didn’t. It seemed they disagreed.
‘…Time to apply some pressure.’
I placed my hands on the table, my voice hardening.
“I know most of what happened, so there’s no point in lying. Let me ask again. You’re treating Estia like a traitor, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a traitor!”
“…That’s how you’re being treated.”
Estia vehemently denied it. Saten calmly raised her hand.
“Estia is a traitor, Mister.”
“Why?”
“Because she betrayed us.”
“Explain in detail.”
“How about this?”
Saten made a small cut on her wrist and used the blood to create four miniature apples.
“Ugh… gross…”
Estia gagged, but Saten continued, unfazed,
“Four apples, grown in the wild, made a pact. We promised to be buried in the same place, grow together, and become a magnificent apple tree. We shared the same goal. But…”
Saten touched one of the apples, and it instantly turned black and started to rot.
“One apple betrayed the others and went to a farm where humans would take care of it. It broke its promise for its own comfort. You said promises are important, Mister.”
Nod, nod-
Hare nodded in agreement. She had promised not to lie to me, and she had kept her promise remarkably well. I looked at Saten’s dark eyes.
“So, Saten, what are you trying to say?”
“We made a promise, like the apples. The rotten apple that went its own way… is a traitor. I believe she deserves to be punished.”
“Hmm…”
Punishment.
Saten had used the apples as a metaphor for the Hero’s party. Her story was logical and persuasive. But there was one flaw.
“Saten.”
“Yes, Mister.”
“Stop using metaphors and tell me the truth.”
Saten was usually direct. But when she was hiding something or didn’t want to talk about something, she would use metaphors and twist her words. I had noticed this during our lessons.
“Tell me what you’re hiding, Saten.”
“I’m only telling the truth.”
“Are you sure you’re not omitting anything?”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Estia. Ask her.”
“M-Me?”
Estia pointed at herself, trembling. I decided not to follow Saten’s suggestion.
“No, I’ll hear it from you directly.”
“…Fine, if that’s what you want.”
“Hare.”
“Y-Yes!”
Hare raised her hand enthusiastically, as if she had done nothing wrong.
“Hare, can you explain why Estia is a traitor?”
“Yes…! I’ll explain…! Just trust me, Mister…!”
Hare, seemingly pleased to be asked, began her explanation in an excited tone, as if she was on stage.
“We… entered Mister’s memories…!”
“And we saw Mister’s master…! And found the key…!”
“And… I was happy to see young Mister…!”
“And… we tried to erase your memories so you could be happy…!”
…What? I couldn’t ignore that.
I stopped Hare.
“A-And… it was hard carrying all the staffs by myself…”
“Hare, wait a moment.”
“Yes…?”
“You tried to erase my memories? What do you mean?”
Hare blinked and tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand my question.
“To… make you happy, of course…”
“You erased my memories for my happiness?”
“Yes… if we erase your sad memories… you’ll be happy because you won’t remember the past…!”
Hare finished her explanation and leaned closer, as if expecting praise.
‘I’m speechless…’
Did she really think she was doing the right thing? I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even be angry.
I felt… empty. I gently pushed Hare away.
“Hare.”
“Yes…”
“Were your memories with your grandmother happy or sad? Were your memories of living in that junkyard sad?”
“N-No! T-They were happy memories! Even though it was sad, I was happy with my grandmother!”
“I feel the same way.”
“What…?”
“It ended sadly, but when I look back, there are more happy memories.”
“Ah…”
Hare seemed to realize something.
“I-I… I thought Sister Aina was… hurting Mister… s-so I tried to erase her… for Mister’s happiness…”
“I didn’t want that.”
“…!!”
Realizing her mistake, Hare immediately apologized.
“I-I’m sorry…! Mister…! I-I was wrong…! I-I almost hurt you…!”
Hare continued to apologize, bowing her head. When you make a mistake out of ignorance, you apologize, reflect, and try not to repeat it.
But what bothered me the most…
‘Did the other children see Aina as a source of pain for me?’
I didn’t know exactly what memories the Hero’s party had seen, but… the fact that they thought Aina was hurting me… stung.
“…So that’s why you called Estia a traitor.”
“Y-Yes… Estia said we should restore your memories… so we called her a traitor… sob… I’m sorry… sob… p-please don’t abandon me…”
Hare cried, thinking I would punish her. But since she had apologized and reflected on her actions, I had no intention of punishing her.
“…Estia.”
“Yes?”
“You did well. You stood up for what you believed in, even when the others disagreed. You’ve grown a lot.”
“He… hehe…”
Estia blushed and giggled, embarrassed by the praise. She had grown tremendously. I turned to Luna, who had been silent.
“Luna.”
“Yes…”
Luna avoided my gaze. She seemed to have known she was wrong from the beginning. But she had still tried to manipulate the situation for her own benefit.
“A mistake made knowingly… and a mistake made unknowingly… carry different weights.”
Luna and Saten knew what they were doing was wrong. It was different from Hare’s case.
Normally, I would punish them, but…
“Luna, Saten.”
“Yes…”
“Yes.”
“I won’t punish you.”
“…What?”
“Why not? If we made a mistake, you should punish us-“
I decided not to. Perhaps because my memories were returning, and Aina felt closer now, I didn’t want to punish them. I stood up and left the dining room.
“I won’t punish you, so do as you wish. Don’t worry about it.”
Perhaps the other children had been too affected by seeing Aina.
My head hurt.
And…
“…They’re too greedy.”
I was disappointed in the Hero’s party today.
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[Your Text Here]
“I’m not angry I’m disappointed”