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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Jun.”
“Yeah.”
“How does it feel to be dragged home, tied up by your disciples?”
“…”
His body was currently being dragged home, bound by ropes, courtesy of Luna and Hare. He couldn’t answer her question about how he felt.
It wasn’t actually him being dragged, but Greed, the Demon Lord of Avarice.
Luna and Hare, exhausted, grumbled as they hauled Greed along.
“Mister, you’re heavier than I thought! Is it because of your muscles?”
“No, Mister isn’t heavy… It’s all because of this Demon Lord…”
Greed was being dragged along the ground. His vision had returned, so he was clearly conscious.
But for some reason, Greed remained completely still.
‘…He must be planning an escape.’
The ropes binding him weren’t ordinary. They wouldn’t simply come undone.
He was wasting his time.
As they dragged him home, night fell as usual. The two girls stopped, looking for a place to rest for the night.
“Is this place okay?! Mister probably rested here too, right?”
“…There are no creatures around, and there’s water nearby. Probably.”
“Okay! Let’s sleep here tonight!”
Luna immediately set down her bag and began preparing their camp.
She winced, her face contorted in pain from their prolonged battle. But her determination to bring him home kept her going.
Minerva, observing the scene, placed her hands on his shoulders and chuckled.
“How well did you train them? They’re holding up remarkably well.”
“…Of course, they’re the Hero’s party. They have to be this resilient to defeat the Demon Lords.”
“That’s true.”
Minerva nodded in agreement.
But then, as if dissatisfied, she tightened her grip on his shoulders.
“Yes, they have to be this strong to defeat the Demon Lords. But they don’t really understand why they have to defeat them. At best, only Luna and Estia fully grasp the meaning. The others don’t.”
“…”
She was right.
Luna understood the threat to her family and the chaos engulfing the world.
Estia had also witnessed the suffering of the people firsthand.
But Hare and Saten didn’t truly understand.
“Hare is just following your desire to kill the Demon Lords. Saten doesn’t really care. She just wants to learn magic and understand emotions. Jun, do you think this is right?”
“…I think it’s necessary.”
Not right, but necessary.
The best course of action in this situation.
The best way to prepare the Hero’s party for the future, for the time after he was gone.
Minerva, seemingly understanding his intentions, sighed and released her grip on his shoulders.
“I can’t argue with you anymore. You stubborn idiot!! You’re just a thickheaded rock! A blockhead! Just defeat the Demon Lords and get out of here!”
What was with her?
Minerva yelled and vanished from the mental space.
Did Goddesses experience puberty too?
Her mood swings had been particularly dramatic lately.
While he was conversing with Minerva, Luna and Hare seemed to have finished preparing for the night.
“The tents are ready! Hare! How’s Mister?”
“…I stopped the bleeding with bandages. He might have scars. But Estia can heal them.”
“R-Right? Estia is a Saint! S-She can heal wounds, right?!”
“…I don’t really know. But if he has scars, I’ll hate Luna.”
“That’s ridiculous! We attacked together!”
“I don’t care… I’ll curse you… I’ll always remember Luna whenever I see Mister’s scars…”
“Eek!”
Luna recoiled from Hare, her face pale. He, too, found it difficult to adapt to Hare in this state.
‘I wonder if they’ll make it home safely like this.’
As if anticipating his concern, Hare lifted his body and carried him towards a tent.
“Let’s put Mister in the tent and tie him up. He seems unconscious.”
“Really? Okay!”
Hare carefully placed his body inside the tent, as if handling a newborn baby. She gently laid him down, then muttered with a chilling tone.
“You dare wear Mister’s body…? If it wasn’t Mister’s body, I would have tortured you to death with my daggers… I would have stabbed you so deep you could never approach Mister again… It’s such a shame…”
Her eyes glowed red in the darkness, filled with murderous intent. She clenched her fists, suppressing her emotions. She was a far cry from the Hare he knew.
‘Is this Hare’s true nature?’
He felt Hare’s killing intent for the first time.
That killing intent was directed at Greed, not him.
He felt a pang of regret.
‘Hmm, it would be better to conceal her killing intent…’
That was a point to work on.
He would have to teach her how to mask her killing intent during their next training session.
Hare, exuding her raw, untamed killing intent, turned and left the tent.
“…Even if you wear Mister’s body. You’re not Mister.”
She left those parting words.
His body was now alone in the tent.
But strangely, the Demon Lord of Avarice made no move.
He couldn’t understand what Greed was thinking.
“Are you back? How’s Mister? Is he still unconscious?!”
“Yes, he’s unconscious. And Luna, don’t call ‘that’ Mister.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s not Mister. That’s… just Mister’s body. The shell isn’t Mister. Understand…?”
“O-Okay!”
Greed remained still in the tent, simply listening to their conversation from the next tent.
He made no attempt to escape.
He didn’t understand why, but…
Greed, eavesdropping on the Hero’s party, seemed…
“Hee hee… we fought really well at the end! Right? Mister will definitely praise us, right? I did so well!”
“…It might be hard to get praised after taking two days, but he’ll probably still praise us, right? I want to be praised by Mister again.”
“Me too! I want to be praised!”
…pathetic and somewhat sad.
-I’ve had it because I wanted it… but has anyone ever truly wanted me…
With that final, melancholic whisper, Greed remained silent until they reached home.
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In a dark room, lit by a single candle, a young girl with black hair whispered.
“Mister is late. Why is he so late?”
Thud-
Saten closed the book and checked the calendar hanging on the wall. It had been two days longer than expected.
“How should I interpret this situation?”
Saten stroked the black cat lying on the desk. It calmed her nerves, but only momentarily. The anxiety returned.
“I can’t even focus on my book like this. Why am I like this, Kitty?”
-Meow?
The cat, not understanding her words, tilted its head. Saten felt a pang of self-deprecation.
“Sigh, what am I saying to a cat? It wouldn’t understand. I must be losing my mind.”
Her wrists…
And her mind…
Without Mister, she was a mess.
“When will he return…?”
-Meow!
Suddenly, the cat jumped off the desk and slipped through the slightly open door. Saten frowned.
“Kitty? Where are you going? You’re my pet. You can’t just run away. If you do that, no treats for you today.”
Saten stood up abruptly to catch the cat. The light outside the room was blinding, but she quickly spotted Kitty.
“The stairs are dangerous. Where are you going? This won’t do. If I catch you, you’ll be my next experiment subject.”
Muttering to herself, Saten chased after Kitty.
Perhaps disturbed by the commotion, Estia opened her door and peeked out.
“Saten, what are you doing! You’re being noisy! Can’t you see the Saint is studying!?”
“Does a Saint study drawings?”
“W-What!? How did you-?”
“You’re being noisy. I have to find Kitty. You’re in the way.”
Ignoring Estia, who was engrossed in her “drawing studies,” Saten followed Kitty down the stairs.
“A cat… daring to bother me…”
This was all Estia’s fault.
Because Mister wasn’t there, she had been drinking holy water.
And being noisy at night.
That’s why Kitty ran away.
“It must have escaped because of the noise next door.”
Saten reached the first floor and looked down the hallway. Kitty was running towards the front door.
Saten quickened her pace.
‘I should have exercised more.’
Breathing heavily, Saten chased after the cat and finally caught it at the front door.
-M-Meow!!
“I-I finally caught you. You cat. Sigh… No treats for you today. And if you run away again, you’ll be my next experiment subject. Understand?”
-M-Meow…
“As expected, a pet should be loyal to its owner.”
Saten held the subdued Kitty and smiled in satisfaction.
As she turned to return to her dark, quiet room…
Creak-
The door opened, revealing the person she had been waiting for. A flicker of joy crossed her face.
“Mister.”
“Oh, Saten? Did you come to greet us? Kitty’s here too!”
“…Move aside, Saten. I have to take Mister.”
“Take Mister?”
Did that mean…
Mister couldn’t walk on his own?
Her joy was short-lived. Saten’s eyes narrowed as she looked past the two girls, focusing on Mister.
“…Mister?”
He had bandages on his chest.
His body was tightly bound with ropes.
And most importantly, he didn’t look well.
‘Ah.’
In that instant, Saten knew.
These two had restrained Mister.
And injured him.
“…Kitty, go back to my room.”
-Meow?
“I have something to do.”
What if he left and never returned?
What if he abandoned her?
Or worse, what if he sold her to her family?
Saten had endured agonizing days, battling her own inner turmoil while waiting for Mister.
And now…
The Mister she had been waiting for…
Had returned injured and restrained because of Luna and Hare.
It was no wonder that Saten, with her unstable emotions, was struggling to maintain her composure.
“You’ve gone too far. Doing this to Mister.”
She hadn’t wanted to cut this area because it was dangerous.
Saten rarely cut her artery because of the excessive bleeding.
But seeing Mister injured and restrained, she couldn’t hold back.
“You deserve to be punished.”
“S-Saten, why are you doing this?! Wait! Let’s talk!”
“You’re wrong, Luna. You can’t reason with a crazy person.”
“T-Then what should I do? I like talking!”
“…You have to knock some sense into them.”
“Ehhh…”
They had brought back the Demon Lord.
And this was how they were treated?
“Sigh, the life of a Hero… no one appreciates us!”
Resigned, Luna drew her Holy Sword.
Having finally returned home, Luna and Hare were forced to face Saten’s… enthusiastic welcome.
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