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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Hmm.
It was awkward.
This situation of a kidnapper and a kidnapped child sleeping together.
The awkwardness led to silence.
“…”
“…”
Luna was on the sofa.
I was on the floor.
We were both staring at the ceiling without saying anything.
We didn’t have much to talk about.
‘Even if we discussed her auditory hallucination symptoms, it’s not like we’d find an answer…’
As that awkward silence continued, Luna was the first to speak out of frustration.
“…Mister, are you asleep?”
“I’m not.”
“…Then, say something. It’s so quiet I can’t fall asleep.”
She couldn’t sleep because it was too quiet?
She was the opposite of me who fell asleep when it was quiet.
Well, let’s talk about that then.
“Luna, what do you think about moving?”
“Moving? You mean moving to a different place?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm, well… I’m fine with it. Moving makes you feel good, doesn’t it? It gives you a new feeling!”
Luna was speaking as if it sounded fun, but she didn’t seem to realize that we would be the ones moving.
Well, I could explain it to Luna in detail later.
As well as the contents of her family’s letter.
If I told her now, Luna would definitely make a fuss.
It was better to tell her later.
“By the way, when you’re with me, you really don’t hear the hallucinations?”
“Yes, I don’t know why, but when I’m near you, I don’t hear them. It’s strange, did you do something, Mister?!”
“…If you’re going to suspect me, first explain how one could possibly control auditory hallucinations.”
“Umm… Magic or something?”
Was everything unexplainable just chalked up to magic?
No matter how you looked at it, the Hero’s thinking was too childish.
Her actual age of 14 was young too.
It might be better to sleep than to keep talking.
“Just go to sleep. Talking more would be a waste of time.”
“Fine, I got it! I won’t talk to you again, Mister! Hmph! What do you mean I’m a waste of time..!”
Angered by the words “waste of time,” Luna turned her back to me.
The living room became quiet again, and I took out some whiskey from the refrigerator to help me sleep.
It was a refrigerator I had made myself, using ice magic to maintain the cold and magic stones for maintenance.
I grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured it straight down my throat.
Gulp- Gulp-
It burned painfully as if my throat was on fire, but it didn’t matter since this was how I could properly fall asleep.
When I turned my gaze to Luna, she was quietly watching me.
Even after I had emptied half the bottle of whiskey, Luna kept her eyes on me.
It was a bit uncomfortable.
“Do you have something to say?”
“…I was just wondering why you drink so much. You’ll die early at this rate.”
“Do you want me to die early?”
“Ah, no. That’s not it! Rather than dying early, you should be caught by the knighthood! You shouldn’t die early!”
“…I see.”
Rather than dying, I should be caught by the knighthood and repent for my crimes.
Is that what she meant?
Unlike Hare and Saten, Luna was actually kidnapped.
So she might think that way about me.
Not showing much reaction to Luna, as the intoxication started to kick in, I lay down on the bedding on the floor and closed my eyes.
About 10 minutes passed.
Luna, who had said she wouldn’t speak to me first, cautiously said,
“Mi-Mister.”
“…What is it?”
“Ca-Can you come with me to the bathroom… I-If I get too far away, I’ll hear the hallucinations again… I-It’s not because I like you or anything!”
“…”
Luna seemed to have been holding it in for a while, as she was squirming.
I had no choice but to follow Luna to the bathroom.
-Mi-Mister, are you in front of the door?! Don’t leave! Absolutely not! I-I’m really in pain here!
“Alright.”
-Make a sound every 5 seconds! I-I’m scared! If you could hear that voice just once-
“You’re noisy. Just hurry up and do your business.”
-…Okay. Co-Cover your ears!
While waiting for Luna in front of the door, the alcohol was making me increasingly drowsy.
And then, in the distance…
Creak-
“…?”
Hare was watching me with her red eyes through the crack in the door.
I didn’t know how long she had been there.
I was too tired and wanted to sleep quickly, so I didn’t say anything.
And when morning came…
“What’s this.”
For some reason, Hare was sleeping next to me.
She was lying between Luna and me, as if she had made herself a wall.
According to Hare, “I thought Luna might feel uneasy sleeping alone with Mister… so I slept next to Luna to help her…”
She said she slept next to us to help Luna, but her true intentions remained a mystery.
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For about 7 days, the preparations for moving progressed smoothly.
I looked for places that would be good, areas with few people around.
I focused on spaces where I could let the children roam freely without risk of being reported to others.
‘For now, the only suitable location is ‘Henesys’.’
Henesys.
A place with dungeons of the Demon Lords, and good for training the Hero’s party.
Although it was far from the capital, it was a fairly large city.
‘And to get to Henesys, we need to take the ‘Magic Train’…’
Could I manage to bring all 4 members of the Hero’s party?
Hare and Saten would be fine.
One would unconditionally follow my words, and the other just didn’t care.
They would move along well on their own.
‘The biggest problem is those two…’
Luna and Estia.
Luna said she heard hallucinations when not near me, so she might not try to escape for now.
Even so, there was still a risk of escape.
‘But the one with the highest risk of escape is Estia.’
Luna at least had some positive feelings towards me.
But Estia?
She probably had about 90% negative emotions.
Not drinking holy water, feeling anxious, if she saw a chance to escape.
She would definitely try to escape at that opportunity, and then she would go to the church and gather their holy knights.
“…That absolutely cannot happen.”
If Estia escaped and called the holy knights.
I would die, and the Hero’s party would be scattered, possibly failing to defeat the Demon Lords.
“That absolutely cannot be allowed to happen…”
“Mister, why are you talking to yourself?”
“…Luna, don’t come out for a moment, just stand in front of the door.”
Leaving Luna at the door, I had a private meeting with the girl who posed the highest risk – Estia.
Her condition didn’t look good at all.
“Yo-You kidnapper…! Bring me holy water right now…!!”
Estia demanded with haggard eyes.
Her silver hair was disheveled, giving her the appearance of a virgin ghost from a horror movie.
I grabbed Estia’s forehead as she lunged at me and said,
“Gr-Grr-!!”
“Do you want holy water that badly?”
“Of-Of course! Do you know how long I’ve been holding out?! I-I really feel like I’m going to die! Bi-Big brother! Hurry! Get me holy water! Right now!!”
Estia spoke with bloodshot eyes.
She lunged at me like a zombie, looking like she was on the verge of going insane.
I took out an object from my pocket and showed it to Estia.
Clink-
“What does this look like to you?”
It was a white liquid inside a glass bottle, a liquid that naturally emitted light.
Since it was made from Estia’s body, she would know it better.
She spoke with trembling lips, identifying the liquid.
“Ho-Ho-Ho-Holy water…?! Gi-Give it to me! That’s mine!!”
“Gyaah-!!”
Estia lunged at the holy water in my hand like a zombie.
“Holy water! Give me the holy water-!! It’s mine-!!”
“No. Wait a moment. I’ll give it to you if you listen to me quietly.”
“Give it to me! Right now! Give it to me!”
Flop- Flop-
Estia jumped desperately with her small body.
However, she couldn’t reach my hand.
Perhaps due to lack of exercise, her jump height gradually decreased.
“Gi-Give… haa… Give it to me…”
“I said I’d give it to you if you listened to me first.”
“Pleease… Give it to meee…”
She was not listening.
I stopped Estia’s body as she continued jumping.
Then, I fixed her body so she couldn’t jump anymore.
Now she was less distracted.
“Listen carefully, Estia. If you just listen to what I say, I’ll give you this holy water.”
“Yo-You think I’ll ea-easily listen to you, big brother? I-I won’t give in…! Gi-Give it to me…! Just give it to me…”
“…You’re not listening. If you won’t listen to me…”
I’ll throw away this holy water.
If I just loosen my fingers a little, the holy water will fall to the floor.
It will shatter with a crash sound.
Estia, who had declared she wouldn’t give in.
How would she react to the sound of the holy water breaking?
After pondering, Estia opened her mouth.
“I-I’m sorry… Please don’t break the holy water… I-I was wrong…”
“What happened to not giving in?”
“Sorry… I-I was just pretending to be tough… Hehe, so… Please give me the holy water, big brother… I feel like I’m going to die…”
“Y-You don’t need to lie on the floor, Estia.”
She lay on the floor and grabbed my pant leg.
Then, she started begging me to give it to her.
“Pl-Please… White liquid… I’m begging you…”
It felt like she would die right now if I didn’t give it to her.
What should I do with her…
I decided to say what I wanted to tell her.
“Estia, do you want this holy water right now?”
“Yes, give it to me… Big brother, give me the holy water…”
“I’ll give it to you. But there’s a condition.”
“Anything is fine… Just give it to me quickly…!”
“…We’re going to take a train to move to another place soon.”
“So…?”
“If you stay quiet on the train at that time, I’ll give you the holy water.”
The condition was that she didn’t try to escape.
It would be better to control Estia by holding the holy water hostage like this.
As if confirming my prediction, Estia shouted without much thought.
“O-Okay…! If-If you give me the holy water, it’s okay…! Absolutely okay…!!”
Estia nodded vigorously while drooling.
She looked just like the people I had seen in the drug-filled slums where I had gone to get the holy water.
Aside from wearing priestess clothes, Estia was no different from them.
“Anyway, remember this. Stay still on the train. That’s the condition for getting holy water, and if you follow my words well…”
I’ll give you one more.
At those words, Estia nodded with a bright expression.
“Big brother…! You were a good person after all…!! He-Hehe… Love holy water…”
…Was she imagining the joy of consuming holy water?
What a pitiful sight.
Thinking that further conversation would be pointless, I left the room.
Luna was standing there with an expression as if she was looking at trash.
“White liquid…? Yo-You want that…? Mi-Mister, what on earth…”
“…It’s about holy water. Don’t misunderstand, Luna.”
“Pe-Pervert! Don’t come near me! Ah, but don’t get too far away either! Anyway, pervert!”
What am I supposed to do?
Sigh…
The thought of having to take this Hero’s party on a train already gave me a headache.
And the most important issue was deciding when to move…
Since I hadn’t looked at the answer sheet today…
I could check the correct answers for both 1 and 2.
I checked both answers.
…
The future of option 1 was an absolute disaster.
During the rest period, the Sylvester Knighthood came to inspect our house.
It was impossible to hide all 4 children.
I was chased by the Sylvester Knighthood, and the Hero’s party was all scattered to different places.
It was a future that must not happen.
‘Then, option 2…’
The future of option 2…
On our way to Henesys, we briefly stopped at Arden Village.
It was Luna’s hometown, and she wanted to greet her parents.
‘Wh-What? Mister, suddenly the sky…’
The moment Luna and I arrived at her house.
Black clouds gathered, and the sky turned pitch black.
I tried to turn the page in my mind to check more of the answer sheet, but…
‘This is…’
The answer sheet had been reduced to ashes by a black fire.
I had encountered such an unobservable future once before.
‘Demon Lord.’
It was certainly that.
It was exactly the same as when a Demon Lord appeared in the past.
Which meant that in Arden Village.
A Demon Lord would appear in Luna’s hometown.
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