I Kidnapped the Hero Party – Chapter 67

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Deep cleaning.

It was a simple task with the magic that turned dust into nothing.

But I couldn’t take care of the Hero’s party forever.

So this time, I decided to teach the children how to clean.

“Everyone, go to the storage room and bring a broom, a dustpan, and a duster. We’ll divide the tasks and clean the mansion.”

“Okay~”

Pitter-patter-

The children headed towards the storage room, their footsteps light and cheerful.

“…This is bothersome. Magic would suffice. It’s inefficient.”

Except for Saten, who disliked inefficient cleaning methods.

Even so, Saten couldn’t refuse a direct order, so she slowly made her way to the storage room.

Despite their occasional strange behavior, the Hero’s party generally obeyed my commands.

After giving the order, I waited patiently. Soon, they emerged, their arms full of cleaning tools.

“U-Uwaah!! S-So heavy! Help me!!”

“You can do it, Luna. You’ll make a great pack mule.”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous! I’m the Hero!!”

So she had finally accepted that she was the Hero.

Luna was sweating profusely, carrying the cleaning tools, while Saten, beside her, made strange comments that were either encouragement or gaslighting.

She had incredible strength, perhaps due to her trained body.

It was almost superhuman.

“I-I’m the Hero! I won’t collapse even if it’s heavy! See, Mister! I’m amazing! Praise me!”

“…Yes, Luna, your physical abilities are commendable.”

“Of course! I’m a hundred! No, a thousand times better than you, who won’t even teach me swordsmanship!”

Was she still holding a grudge from yesterday’s training?

Luna’s arms trembled as she diligently carried the cleaning tools.

But as they say, a fool’s body suffers when their mind is dull.

Rattle- Rattle-

“Huh…? A-A cart…?”

“M-Mister…! I brought it first…!”

Hare had found a cart in the storage room and loaded it with cleaning tools.

For some reason, Estia was also inside the cart…

But the sight was so bizarre that I didn’t bother asking why.

Hare approached me and looked up, as if asking for praise.

“Look around carefully…! And find the best solution…! Just like you said, Mister…! And I found a cart in the storage room…! D-Did I do well, Mister…?”

“…”

She did well.

She found a cart in the storage room and quickly moved the cleaning tools.

But it seemed like her goal was to receive praise from me…

Since she did well, I couldn’t not praise her.

I patted Hare’s head.

“Yes, you applied what you learned well. You did a great job, Hare.”

“He, hehe… Th-Thank you, Mister…”

Hare looked bashful, seemingly savoring the praise.

I wasn’t sure if she had given up on her feelings for me, as I had told her, but since she wasn’t showing any obvious signs, I decided to leave it be.

Then, Luna, her face flushed, appeared next to the praised Hare and said,

“Haa… Mister…! I-I brought a lot of cleaning tools too…!!”

Clatter-

Luna placed the numerous cleaning tools she was holding onto the ground.

She looked at me expectantly.

“I-I did well too! N-Not that I want any praise or anything! I’m just saying!”

“…You don’t want any praise?”

“No! That’s not what I meant! I-I’m just saying!”

She wasn’t being honest, but she was too honest.

Luna’s intentions were obvious.

But since she worked hard, I stopped teasing her and patted her head.

“Yes, you did well too, Luna. Your method was barbaric, but the result wasn’t bad.”

“W-Well, this much is nothing to me!”

“…”

Luna puffed out her chest, acting proud.

Hare glared at Luna’s smug face for a moment, but didn’t do anything.

Hare had learned a lot, so she wouldn’t resort to any bad behavior.

‘It’s time to start cleaning, but before that…’

I took Estia, who was dozing off in the cart, out.

“U-Ugh…”

I placed Estia, who seemed to be still under the influence of holy water, upright.

Then, I looked at the Hero’s party and said,

“Now that we have the cleaning tools, let’s start the deep cleaning of the mansion. Luna, you’re on broom duty, Hare, you’re on window duty, Saten, you’re on dustpan duty, and Estia… you’ll go around and help the others.”

I assigned them cleaning tools that suited their individual situations.

This way, they could develop their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses.

Deep cleaning was also a training method I learned from Aina.

‘Jun.’

‘Yes, Master.’

‘This is mental training. Clean the house.’

‘…Alone? This entire mansion?’

‘I feed you, I let you sleep, and I teach you magic. You have to earn your keep, right?’

‘…I’m the one cooking, I barely get any sleep because you’re always drunk and causing a ruckus, and I’m practically forcing myself to learn magic.’

‘Just do as your master says~! Don’t talk back~!!’

Based on my experience of cleaning…

It wasn’t a bad training method.

She kept talking to me the entire time, so I didn’t have time to get bored.

It wasn’t pleasant at the time, but looking back, it was a vivid memory that had become a cherished experience.

I believed it was a necessary process for the Hero’s party, who would face a difficult journey ahead.

“Alright, everyone, move to your assigned positions and start cleaning. Work in pairs and do your best, and I’ll give you a special ‘reward.’ Do you understand?”

“R-Reward! Holy water! The reward must be holy water!”

“I-If it’s holy water, I don’t need it…”

“…Estia, if you want holy water, I’ll give it to you as a reward. But I won’t give it to everyone. I’ll give you each what you want.”

But before that…

“You should put away some of these cleaning tools.”

They were too enthusiastic.

The amount of cleaning tools they brought was too much for five people.

The children diligently carried out their assigned tasks.

“We have to sweep up all the trash! I’m probably the best at this since I’ve done it a lot at home!”

Luna diligently swept the floor with a broom.

Her determination to not leave a single speck of dust was evident.

However, Saten, who was in charge of the dustpan, Luna’s partner, lacked motivation.

“Saten! Come here and hold the dustpan!”

“I’m not interested.”

“A dustpan is for collecting dust! Come here now!”

“I’ve never done it before, and I don’t want to. That’s a commoner’s job, not mine.”

“Y-You… classist!! You’re discriminating against social classes!!”

Saten, devoid of emotions, acted solely out of curiosity.

If she wasn’t interested, she wouldn’t act, and she wouldn’t feel the need to do anything.

Perhaps that’s why, even though Luna had diligently gathered the trash, Saten didn’t move an inch.

Luna shouted at Saten,

“Come here now! We have to clean!”

“No. Why should I?”

“B-Because…! Mister told us to!”

Flinch-

Saten’s ears perked up at the mention of Mister, and she asked Luna,

“Hmm, do we have to do everything Mister tells us to?”

“Not everything… b-but… if it’s something we can do… shouldn’t we…?”

“Then, Luna, would you die if Mister told you to?”

“Huh…?”

“It’s something you can do. Taking your own life is possible, isn’t it? Is it impossible? Whether you use a rope or a sword, it’s possible.”

“Huh…?”

Isn’t that… impossible?

The two had very different standards.

The difference in their upbringings created a gap in their opinions that wasn’t easily bridged.

Saten, after observing Luna’s reaction, nonchalantly turned her attention back to her book.

“Luna, just like you can’t take your own life, there are things I can’t do. Do you understand?”

“…You’re saying you can’t hold a dustpan?”

“Yes, that’s right. I can’t do it.”

A high-ranking noble shouldn’t do a commoner’s job.

They had to maintain their elegance and dignity.

If they didn’t want to be ‘punished,’ they couldn’t lose their composure.

“I want to receive Mister’s ‘reward,’ but I guess I’ll have to give up this time.”

“If you don’t do it, I won’t get a reward either! Saten! Let’s clean quickly!”

“…”

Saten didn’t respond and continued reading her book.

Luna was frustrated.

“I want a reward…! I don’t really care about the reward Mister gives… but…! I still want a reward…!!”

How…

How can I convince Saten…!?

Luna and Saten were supposed to work together as a pair.

Luna, stuck with a terrible partner, felt like her head was about to explode.

“…It seems Luna and Saten haven’t made any progress.”

After checking on them…

Luna was diligently cleaning, but Saten showed no motivation.

It seemed like Saten’s pride as a noble was preventing her from cleaning.

“Persuasion is also part of the process. As the Hero of the Hero’s party, you should be able to persuade your party members.”

If they really couldn’t do it, I would have to step in.

But for now, I would observe.

With those thoughts in mind, I entered Luna’s room to check on the children’s rooms.

Creak-

“She’s keeping it relatively clean.”

There was some dust, but no house was completely dust-free.

There didn’t seem to be any problems with Luna’s room.

“A letter to her family on the desk… and a drawing…?”

What did she draw?

The drawing piqued my curiosity.

Luna’s artistic talent seemed nonexistent, but even a poorly drawn picture still captured a person’s features, so I could recognize it at a glance.

“She drew me? I’m not that ugly.”

More importantly…

Why was there a mark on my face in the drawing, as if I had been hit with a wooden sword?

Remembering Luna’s loud training noises from last night…

I put the drawing of my face in my pocket.

“She drew my face and then hit it. She’s got guts, Luna.”

‘Well, this is confiscated.’

There were no problems with Luna’s room, except for the drawing of my face.

I quietly left the room, trying not to make a sound.

The next room was right next door.

Hare’s room.

Creak-

“It’s cleaner than I expected.”

Had she developed a habit of keeping things clean?

I was worried for a moment since Hare’s house, when I first met her, was like a garbage dump…

But thankfully, Hare seemed to be making an effort to keep her room clean.

I inspected the room to make sure there were no issues.

There wasn’t anything strange at first glance…

But then, something caught my eye.

It was on the bed.

It was something that shouldn’t be there.

“…Why is this here? I’m missing one… but why…?”

I had intended to keep my visit to the children’s rooms a secret.

I wasn’t planning on revealing that I had even entered their rooms.

But the moment I saw my belongings on the bed…

“Why did you steal my underwear, Hare?”

I had to ask her about this.

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