I Kidnapped The Hero Party – Chapter 55

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
After returning home…

I arrived in my room and immediately collapsed onto the bed, losing consciousness.

The reason?

Excessive bleeding and mana exhaustion.

The blood that flowed from my eye and the excessive use of mana were to blame.

‘…It seems the children took care of me while I was unconscious.’

When I touched the area around my eye, all the blood was gone.

They hadn’t changed my clothes, just removed my outer garments.

I changed into my pajamas and, feeling a bit dizzy from the strange sensation, walked towards the mirror.

“With my eye like this… I’ll need some time to adjust.”

Having lost one eye, my senses weren’t quite right.

I needed to rest and allow myself time to adapt, intense movements were out of the question for now.

With those thoughts in mind, I looked in the mirror.

“…It’s unsightly.”

On the left side…

Where my black eye should have been, there was now an empty socket.

It was a ghastly sight, enough to make a crying child stop in their tracks.

‘My left eye. At least it’s something.’

Just like there were right-handed and left-handed people, there was also a dominant eye, called the “master eye.”

My master eye was my right eye, so the fact that I lost my left eye was a small blessing.

“It’s still inconvenient, but I’m glad I saw in Minerva’s answer sheet that my left eye would definitely disappear…”

If another vital part of my body had vanished, I would never have used that magic.

But my left eye… It was a price I was willing to pay to eliminate the Demon Lord.

Muttering those petty complaints…

I put on a black leather eyepatch over my left eye.

It wasn’t an artifact, just an ordinary eyepatch.

“…I should look for a good eyepatch. More importantly, I need to wear it whenever I’m around the children.”

The sight of a deep, empty socket in my eye would probably disgust them.

So I had to make sure to wear the eyepatch whenever the children were around.

After putting on the eyepatch…

I tried to open the door and head to the kitchen, intending to prepare the children’s meals as usual.

Creak-

There, standing in front of the door, was a child waiting for me.

“…Hare?”

“M-Mister…! Y-You’re awake…? G-Good morning…!”

Had she not slept at all?

Hare greeted me with sleepy eyes, dark circles under them.

‘Did she have trouble sleeping…?’

As that question crossed my mind, Hare took my hand and spoke cautiously, as if trying to support me.

“I-It must be hard to walk…! M-Mister…! I-I’ll take you to the kitchen…! Y-You’re a patient now…”

“…”

Heave-ho- Heave-ho-

Was she treating me like a patient just because I was missing an eye?

…To be honest, I was a patient.

But to be treated like a frail old man who couldn’t walk properly…

Hare’s intentions were good, but…

‘It makes me feel like a burden to the Hero’s party.’

My pride was hurt, so I let go of Hare’s hand.

Thud-

“Ah…”

Hare let out a sigh.

I said in a nonchalant tone,

“It’s okay, Hare. I can walk on my own. Look, I can walk on my own.”

“Y-Yes…”

Dejected-

Hare hung her head like an abandoned puppy.

‘…Was I too harsh?’

As that thought crossed my mind, Hare followed me, anxiously watching me in case I stumbled.

And at that moment…

Thud-

“Ow.”

“M-Mister…!! A-Are you okay…!?”

…Was there always a wall here?

Because my left eye was gone, my vision was limited, and I had missed the wall for a moment.

“H-How… Y-You couldn’t even… a-avoid a wall… Sob…”

Hare’s eyes welled up with tears, seeing my pathetic state.

“Sob… Mister… You were so strong… I-It’s because we’re weak, right…? I-If we were stronger, you wouldn’t have lost your eye… Sob…”

“…Don’t blame yourself, Hare.”

“B-But… I-If we weren’t a burden… and could have been helpful to you… M-Maybe things would have been different… I-I think…”

Helpful.

Hare was blaming herself for standing there helplessly during that situation.

With a shocking declaration…

“I-If only I could give you my eye… I-I would gladly…”

“…Never think like that. Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn’t accept it.”

Therefore…

You…

“Just eat your food and grow up. You’re still young.”

I wouldn’t accept that kind of help.

Help that involved sacrificing others for one’s own gain was a miserable form of help.

The ideal form of help was one where both parties were on equal footing and mutually benefited.

Understanding my words, Hare replied with a determined voice.

It was a voice filled with conviction that I had never heard from her before.

“Y-Yes, Mister…! I-I’ll grow quickly…! S-So that I can stand by your side…! I-I’ll get stronger…!”

Yes.

Eat well and grow up.

She would definitely grow up strong, just like in the future I saw in the answer sheet.

I patted Hare’s head.

‘She’s gotten taller… Her face isn’t as childish anymore… As for her chest… it doesn’t seem to have grown much.’

To be precise, she had a fox-like figure.

Her physique was slender, well-suited for a rogue.

Based on the answer sheet, Hare had grown quite well.

At least outwardly.

‘I don’t know if she’s matured mentally…’

Well, if things continued like this, she would be able to contribute to the Hero’s party.

I touched my flushed forehead and asked Hare,

“By the way, Hare, do you know what the other children are doing right now?”

“Uh… Estia is… locked in her room… Sh-She suddenly demanded holy water, and said she’d go on a hunger strike if I didn’t give it to her… But then she started yelling for food after 10 minutes… L-Luna and Saten… haven’t left their rooms…”

“…They haven’t left their rooms?”

“Yes… I’m the only one who came out to help you…”

For a moment, I wondered if Hare had locked the other children in their rooms.

But Hare wouldn’t do such a thing, especially in this mansion where we were short-handed.

I dismissed that suspicion.

‘Saten has been acting strange since that day… And Luna must be stressed out from what happened.’

I had no idea what Saten was thinking and Luna had killed a creature that resembled a human for the first time.

The shock must have been considerable.

I wanted to check on Luna and Saten right away to see how they were doing, but…

What was with this problem?

Minerva’s vague problems, where the answers were ambiguous, kept popping up in the air.

It seemed like going to the library was a priority but I had to take care of the children’s meals first.

‘To check on the children… I need to save as much time as possible…’

I entered the kitchen and said to Hare,

“Hare.”

“Y-Yes…! M-Mister…!”

“Can you help me with cooking? It’ll be a bit overwhelming for me to do it alone.”

“Y-Yes…!! O-Of course…! I’d be happy to help you, Mister…!”

Hehe-

With a happy smile, Hare helped me with today’s meal.

We were making stew, mixing various vegetables and meat with spices.

“I’ll prepare the stew sauce, Hare, so you can chop the vegetables.”

“Y-Yes…!”

Getting the right proportions for the stew sauce was crucial, even a slight deviation could make it too salty, sour, or sweet.

The balance had to be perfect, so I had to be precise with the measurements.

That’s why I entrusted Hare with the relatively easier task of chopping vegetables, but…

“Sob… Sob… M-Mister… Because of your e-eye… you can’t even use a knife properly… s-so you’re letting me… c-chop the vegetables… Sob…”

Hare sniffled and muttered as she chopped the vegetables.

It seemed she had a huge misunderstanding.

‘I can still chop vegetables even with one eye missing, Hare.’

No, getting the right proportions is the hardest part, Hare.

I asked her to help because I was short on time…

I tried to explain to Hare to clear up the misunderstanding, but…

“N-No… Sob… I-I’m not crying because of you… Sob… I-It’s because the onions… are spicy…”

“…”

I only lost one eye, my body was perfectly fine.

Seeing Hare trying to change the subject, blaming the onions while chopping potatoes…

I decided to give up on explaining myself.

“Hare, I need to go out for a bit. Keep an eye on the house.”

“Y-Yes…! Mister…! Trust me…!”

‘Mister trusted me!’

She was worried about Mister being alone with one eye…

But if she waited patiently for Mister to come back, he’d definitely praise her…!

“Come back safely, Mister…”

Slam-

The door closed.

Silence filled the house.

It was usually a bustling place, but everyone seemed to be shaken by the events in the dungeon.

Of course, Hare was also deeply affected.

“I’m sad too, but… M-Mister must be having a harder time…”

Mister was suffering…

So she had to help him…

Hare suppressed her sad feelings and resolved to help Mister.

But without Mister around, it was hard to keep those emotions bottled up.

“…If only I could have been helpful to Mister… his eye wouldn’t be like that…”

She wasn’t helpful to Mister…

So…

She’d focus even harder in her lessons.

She’d become strong so Mister didn’t get hurt.

She’d protect him.

“To do that, I have to listen to Mister’s words carefully…!”

Scamper-

Reaching that conclusion, Hare ran to the kitchen and filled a plate with the stew Mister had made.

To keep her promise to Mister…

‘I’m short on time, so you can eat first. It would be good if you could take some food to the other children.’

In the past, she would have hidden it all in her room.

‘But I’m different now…!’

“I won’t do anything Mister hates anymore…!”

Saying those words, Hare picked up the plate and headed towards the other’s rooms.

The first room she visited…

Knock, knock-

“Saten, I’m coming in…? I brought you the food Mister made…”

There was no response, but…

Hare opened Saten’s door.

A strange smell, one she had never encountered before, filled the room.

“Ugh…!! W-What is that smell…?! It’s worse than my old house…”

It was worse than the slums.

What was Saten doing in there without even answering her…?

“Gulp-!”

Hare held her breath and entered the room.

At the end of the room…

Saten sat at her desk, doing something.

Hare, sensing something was amiss, spoke to Saten in a scared voice.

“Wh-What are you doing… Saten… Why aren’t you answering…? I-I brought you the food Mister made… I-I’ll leave it here…?”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering me, really! Fine…! I’ll just bring it to you…!?”

I’ll just bring it to the desk…!

Hare took a step towards Saten, who was sitting at the desk.

But at that moment…

Squish-

“Huh…? Eh…?”

She stepped on something on the floor…

There was a popping sound, followed by a sticky sensation.

Gulp-

‘It’s nothing. It’s nothing. It’s nothing.’

Chanting that mantra to herself, Hare looked down to see what she had stepped on.

There, on the floor…

Countless eyeballs stared back at her.

Hare screamed in horror.

“Uh…? A-Aaah…!!”

W-What is this…!!

Crash-

Goosebumps erupted all over her body, and she even dropped the plate of food she was holding.

The sound seemed to alert Saten, who turned her head to look at Hare.

Hare shouted at Saten,

“W-What is this, Saten…!! E-Eyes… H-Hic…! W-What are all these…!!”

“They’re failures.”

“W-What does that even mean…!”

“I tried to create Mister’s eye, but it didn’t work. They have no life force and melt after an hour. I wonder if it’s because I used my own blood…?”

Squish- Squish-

Saying those words, Saten stepped on the failed experiments on the floor and walked towards Hare.

Seeing that, Hare realized…

‘S-Saten is crazy… She’s definitely crazy…’

‘I have to tell Mister…’

That Saten is doing weird experiments…!

Hare started backing away, trying to leave Saten’s room.

But…

Thud-

Saten placed her hands on Hare’s shoulders, blocking her exit.

“L-Let go of me…! I-I’m leaving…!”

“Hare.”

“Stay still.”

Saten stared at Hare with her black eyes, her gaze piercing.

Her expression was blank, but her eyes sent chills down Hare’s spine.

She wasn’t normal.

Saten spoke to Hare in an emotionless tone,

“Hare, let’s have a little chat, shall we? About why Mister’s eye is like that. About why I’m uncomfortable looking at him and why I want to create a new eye for him and fix it.”

“I want to know why I want to create Mister’s eye so badly.”

Guilt and regret.

Saten wasn’t completely devoid of emotions.

The answer to the minuscule emotions that drove her…

“What is this feeling, Hare?”

Saten simply wanted to understand her own emotions.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇