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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…”
After Lee Jun-woo left…
Saten remained alone in the cleaning area.
“Why would Mister do something so undignified…?”
Even though Mister wasn’t a noble…
He was more dignified than anyone she knew.
Why would he do such a thing?
Saten looked at the floor where the broom had swept.
It was spotless.
“My chest feels tight.”
Saten’s mistake was not cleaning.
Status didn’t matter in this mansion, so she was expected to clean regardless.
But she couldn’t.
She felt invisible eyes judging her, and it felt like she would be punished if she cleaned.
Saten looked at the scattered cleaning tools.
“A simple task of bending over and sweeping up dust. But I can’t do that, unlike Mister.”
Saten’s body might have escaped the Secilia family, but her mind was still trapped.
She had been caged for so long…
She couldn’t fly even though the door was open.
Saten picked up the dustpan from the floor, maintaining her elegant posture, her back straight.
“…Picking up dust isn’t dirty. It’s about making things clean. That’s what Mister was trying to say, right?”
Saten understood what Lee Jun-woo was trying to convey.
But understanding and acting on it were two different things.
As she stood there, staring at the dustpan…
Luna cautiously approached.
“You, the one with a grip strength comparable to a man. What do you want?”
“I-I’m not a man! I’m a girl! And my name is Luna!”
What is she talking about?!
Luna shouted angrily at the absurd statement.
Saten looked at Luna with wary eyes.
Her scalp still throbbed from where Luna had pulled her hair.
“Are you here to fight again? I didn’t use magic last time. I won’t go easy on you this time.”
“Th-That’s not it! I’m not here to fight! M-Mister told me to come…”
“Hmm, Mister sent you? I doubt he would just send you without a reason.”
Startled-
‘Why is she so perceptive?!’
When it came to situations that didn’t involve emotions…
Saten was the most perceptive among the Hero’s party.
Luna was momentarily flustered, but she quickly composed herself and said,
“Ahem, well, you see, the reason Mister sent me…”
“The reason?”
“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry for using violence first!”
Bow-
Luna bowed her head in apology.
Her movement was so fast that it was hard to follow with the naked eye, surprising Saten.
“I’m not apologizing just because Mister told me to!! I-I really am sorry! I’m sorry for hitting you!”
“…So Mister told us to make up.”
“Th-That’s part of it, but! I’m genuinely sorry!”
If you fought, then make up.
Luna, who had talked to Mister after arriving at the dining room…
Recalled what he had said.
‘Saten won’t apologize to you first.’
‘What?! Why won’t she apologize?!’
‘Because she doesn’t think she did anything wrong. And she won’t be angry at you either.’
‘Huh? Why not?! I hit her, so she should be angry!’
‘It’s not something to be angry about. She won’t be angry.’
‘Huh…’
Apologize first.
Then Saten will respond to you.
Remembering Mister’s words, Luna looked up at Saten.
Her expression was blank, her thoughts unreadable.
Luna asked cautiously,
“You’re… not angry, are you?”
“Should I be angry?”
“S-So it’s true!”
Anyway…
Luna had apologized.
Thankfully, Saten knew the process of reconciliation and apologized to Luna.
“Then I’m sorry too. It seems I was in the wrong.”
“Y-Yes! We made up! Let’s be friends from now on!”
Luna held out her hand to Saten, as a gesture of reconciliation.
Saten stared at her hand and changed the subject.
“So, is that all?”
“Huh… My hand…? The handshake…?”
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“N-No! Forget the handshake! Mister asked me to tell you something!”
“Tell me something?”
What did Mister want to tell me?
A glimmer of hope flickered in Saten’s heart.
Luna relayed Mister’s message.
“Mister said… ‘You failed this time, Saten. But take this as an opportunity. Think about what ‘dignity’ and ‘decorum’ truly mean. Forget everything you learned about noble etiquette. Dignity isn’t something others define, it’s something you define for yourself. And if you stray from the right path, I’ll guide you back.’ That’s what he said!”
Luna imitated Lee Jun-woo’s stiff tone as she relayed his message.
Then, as the smell of food from the dining room wafted into the hallway, she ran towards it as if possessed.
“Saten, come quickly before the food is all gone!”
Scamper-
She acted as if they had never fought.
Foolish, yet refreshingly straightforward.
Luna, who held no grudges, disappeared into the dining room.
Saten looked at the clean floor again.
This time, her perspective was different.
“Dignity is something I define for myself… Cleaning something dirty is Mister’s dignity…”
Hmm.
I should reconsider my definition of dignity.
It won’t be easy.
But Mister said he would guide me back if I strayed from the right path.
“It’s a shame that he found my experiment journal, but… I feel at ease for some reason.”
Saten slowly…
Took a step outside the cage that had imprisoned her.
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A meal after a hard day’s work tasted better than usual.
Even the most bland food tasted delicious after putting in a lot of effort.
As if to prove that point…
The children, who had diligently cleaned the mansion, were devouring their food in the dining room.
“Wh-What?! It tastes even better today?!”
“Y-Yeah… I-I’ve never tasted anything like this before…”
“Brother! What is this! What did you make it with? It’s not as good as holy water, but it’s delicious!”
It’s the taste of sweat from cleaning.
But I kept those thoughts to myself, knowing it would undermine my authority as a guardian.
I explained the food to the children.
“It’s meat. And very good meat, at that.”
Meat carefully selected and purchased from the butcher shop.
It was Minotaur meat, from the 15th floor of the dungeon.
It was quite expensive, and the taste varied greatly depending on how it was cooked.
‘This must be their first time tasting it.’
It warmed my heart to see them enjoying their meal.
They would be hunting Minotaurs themselves in the future.
I should share the recipe with them next time.
As I was thinking about that, Luna, her mouth full of meat, raised her hand and asked,
“Mister! Where’s Saten?!”
“I don’t know.”
“C-Could it be… M-Mister…?”
Subtly…
Hare looked at me with a horrified expression.
I had no idea what she was imagining, but her eyes were wide with fear.
“C-Could it be… Mister… you turned Saten into… meat…!”
“W-What?! This meat is that black girl, Saten?! Ugh…!”
“…It’s Minotaur meat. You can eat it without worry.”
“Th-That’s a shame…”
What’s a shame, Hare?
Just as I was about to ask Hare what she meant…
The dining room door opened and Saten entered, her expression blank.
Speak of the devil.
Saten walked over to a chair and sat down quietly.
“S-Saten… I-It looks like you got beaten up somewhere, Mister…!”
“Y-Yeah! Saten must have gotten beat up somewhere!”
“…Ahem.”
Luna, who was relatively unharmed, kept her mouth shut.
I placed a plate of Minotaur meat in front of Saten.
“Saten, you didn’t get your reward, but eat a lot.”
“Thank you. It’s okay, I don’t need a reward. I think I already received it.”
“I see.”
Was my advice helpful?
Saten was expressionless, but she seemed to be lost in thought.
I didn’t want to interrupt her train of thought, so I turned my attention to the other children.
Their eyes were sparkling, their attention focused on me.
“Mister! What’s our reward!”
“R-Reward… I-I like everything you give me…”
“I want holy water! Definitely holy water! Give me holy water!”
“Hold on, everyone, calm down. I’ll explain everything.”
Reward.
I calmed the excited children…
And decided to explain their rewards in a calm atmosphere.
“I’m sure you all have something you want in your hearts.”
“Yes, I do!”
“M-Me too…!”
“Me too! Me too!”
There had been a lot of incidents…
But they had worked hard and grown.
So it wouldn’t hurt to give them a present each.
I’ll be generous.
“Tell me one thing you each want, and I’ll grant it.”
“I want! I want a box of holy water! And let me out of here!”
“…One thing. And I’ll only grant it if it’s within reason.”
A bottle of holy water would suffice for Estia.
Next was Luna.
“Training! Please train with me! All day long!”
She had a simple wish, perhaps because she was the Hero.
Luna, the training maniac.
This was a reward I could grant.
And finally, Hare.
Hare hesitated, her wish seemingly a shy one.
“M-Mister…! I-I…! I-I want to… with Mister…!”
“With me?”
Subtly…
Hare glanced at me and changed her wish.
“I-I want to…! G-Go somewhere… with all of us…!”
“A picnic…”
A picnic.
Hare wanted a picnic as her reward.
If she had asked to go somewhere just the two of us, I wouldn’t have been able to grant it…
But a picnic with everyone…
“That’s a wonderful wish, Hare.”
Hare, who was considerate of the other children…
It was a commendable act.
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[Your Text Here]
LOL Picnic, yeahhh that’s definitely what she wants XD