The Kidnapped Girl and the Abducted Girl (2)
Two hours after Lee Junwoo had kidnapped Hare, the gangsters were busy cleaning up the corpse of the boss he had killed.
“Damn it, how could the boss die so easily…”
“He called himself a knight. Said he trained in swordsmanship! Fuck. What the hell are we supposed to do now?”
“What do you mean, what? The boss seat’s empty. We’ll just have to take it.”
The five gangsters wiped the blood off the floor while arguing over who would become the new master of the Trash Can. Strangely enough, every single one of them believed they deserved to be the boss. Among them, the thug with the best fighting skills raised his voice.
“Ahem. Then how about we settle it fairly with a fight? What do you say? Not bad, right?”
“I’m in. If you want to rule the Trash Can, you need to be strong.”
“Th-then I’m in too!”
With three votes in favor, the new boss would be decided by combat. The men who had been mopping up the blood began glaring at one another. They all knew that jumping in too early would get them ganged up on. The moment they were all watching each other, waiting for someone to make the first move, a frivolous male voice rang out.
“What’s this? They’re fighting? More importantly, the girl isn’t here? Tsk, this is inconvenient.”
A man wearing a white hood that made him look like a priest pushed his way through the gangsters. He approached the one with the best fighting skills and asked,
“Hey, kid. Didn’t a little girl come through here?”
“K-kid? This bastard… you want to die?”
The thug, instantly furious, swung his fist. But someone behind him caught it mid-air. Immediately afterward, a heavy, serious male voice spoke.
“…It’s pointless. Swoo. There’s no need to talk with these pathetic fools.”
“Just wait a second, Hugo. I wanted to have a little fun for the first time in a while~”
“What? You called us pathetic—?”
Crunch!
The thug who took the punch flew straight into the wall. The face of the man who had been confident in his fighting ability was now unrecognizable. All from a single punch.
“Tsk, Hugo. Killing them like that isn’t any fun. Slowly and painfully. Don’t you get it?”
“I don’t. Heavy and short is the most convenient.”
“…”
Just who are these men?
The overwhelming aura left the gangsters unable to speak recklessly. In that terrifying atmosphere, the frivolous man reached into his robe and pulled out a book. It was pitch black, radiating a sinister energy. One of the gangsters recognized its name.
A black tome leaking ominous power. The scripture of the demon kings.
“Grimoire…”
“Oh? You actually know what this is? Good. I’ve decided. You. Come here.”
The gangster shrank in on himself and approached the frivolous man. Beneath the hood, a sinister smile played across his lips.
“There we go. Good boy. Answer properly and you might live. Let’s hear it. A little girl came through here, didn’t she?”
“Y-yes! Just a little while ago! She was here!”
“Hmm, is that so? Then why does my Grimoire still say the girl is here?”
“…Pardon?”
“There’s no way ‘our’ Demon King’s ‘instructions’ could be wrong. As a believer, I can’t possibly doubt the Demon King… so the answer is obvious. You’re lying, aren’t you?”
The sinister smile stretched wider. From the man’s Grimoire, a long, slender black rapier began to emerge. He looked at the terrified gangsters with clear amusement and shouted,
“Then let’s find out who’s really lying, shall we?”
The future had already been changed by Lee Junwoo. Unaware of this, the Grimoire members began stabbing the gangsters with the thin rapier, torturing them. Slowly and painfully. The pain itself was brief, but the torture lasted a long time. They made sure their victims wouldn’t die easily.
“Th-the girl isn’t here anymore…! She ran off somewhere—!”
“The Demon King doesn’t lie, you trash. Speak.”
They were searching for the hero party. The Grimoire—followers of the Demon Kings—were also hunting for the hero party.
As time passed, the hero’s training continued.
“Training’s over, Hero. You worked hard.”
“Worked hard?! Haaah— what the—! P-please spare me…”
…Did I push her too far today?
The training grew more intense with each passing day. Runa lay on the ground, barely able to move her fingers.
“I-I’m going to die… I’m only fourteen and I’m going to die…”
“You won’t die from something like this.”
“What would you know, Uncle… I’m telling you I’m dying…”
Runa muttered in a voice as weak as a dying insect. I couldn’t stand watching her sprawled out in the yard anymore, so I took action.
“Whoa, whoa. I’m flying through the sky…”
“Stay quiet. I’ll carry you to your room.”
I hoisted her onto my back in a piggyback hold and decided to take her inside. Today’s training was particularly brutal. I’ll give her a good meal and some time to recover.
Just as I was about to climb the stairs, Hare’s voice came from behind me.
“Uncle. What are you doing? Why are you carrying Runa— …that girl on your back?”
“The hero is exhausted, so I have no choice but to carry her.”
I couldn’t see her expression, but I answered Hare’s voice gently. Apparently that displeased her, because Runa whispered into my ear.
“…But Uncle, why do you speak so stiffly to me and so kindly to Hare?”
“That’s because…”
You are the hero.
I felt sorry for Runa, but the hero was someone who carried a heavy burden. She had to save people, defeat the Demon Kings, and save the world. If I showed her too much kindness…
I might end up holding her back.
Becoming the one who hindered the hero’s growth was the last thing I wanted. A hero grew by overcoming hardship and breaking through limits. What she needed wasn’t a carrot, but a whip.
“Mmm…? Why won’t you be kind to me…?”
When the hero asked again, I brushed it off vaguely.
“Because Hare is a good girl.”
“But I’m a good girl too…”
“It’s a different kind of good.”
With that, I opened the door to the hero’s room and laid her on the bed. She must have been truly exhausted; the moment her head touched the pillow, she fell fast asleep. Her face looked incredibly foolish.
“…You’re going to sleep without washing up.”
The bed would get dirty. I’d have to do laundry tomorrow. Leaving the sleeping hero behind, I stepped out of the room. Hare was peeking at me from the doorway.
What is she doing?
“What is it, Hare?”
“…Uncle.”
Hare, half-hidden behind the door and watching me, fidgeted with her lips before asking,
“Am I… a good girl?”
“…?”
“Even though I stole your wallet… am I still a good girl…?”
She looked up at me with anxious eyes. So she was still carrying that incident in her heart. As I left the room, I reached out and stroked her hair. Hare flinched for a moment, but quickly relaxed into my touch.
“Hare.”
“Yes.”
“I already forgave you a long time ago. You should forget about it too. Just don’t do it again.”
It had been a desperate struggle to survive. I had forgiven her long ago. And besides—
I will take all of this child’s sins upon myself. So please, forgive her…
That was what Hare’s grandmother had said the day we met. I had no reason to hate Hare.
“So just forget about it. That’s all you need to do.”
“…I can’t do that. It was my fault. I have to atone.”
“Atone… If that’s how you feel, then how about making a promise with me instead?”
“A promise…?”
A promise to ease her guilt. I held out my pinky finger.
“From now on, never lie to me. If you make that promise, I think my heart will feel much lighter.”
“…I promise. From now on, I will never lie to you, Uncle. I promise!”
Now there were no more obstacles like forgiveness or sin between Hare and me. With a look of firm determination, Hare hooked her pinky around mine. Her expression seemed much lighter, and she broke into a bright smile.
The Thief, Yuriana Hare.
Watching that childlike, radiant smile, I decided I would think carefully about how to raise her.
Late that evening, after I had fed the children dinner, I headed to the entrance to go out. At that moment, Hare’s voice called after me.
“…Uncle, where are you going?”
“I have an appointment, so I’m stepping out for a bit.”
“…When will you be back?”
“I’ll be back soon. Rest comfortably.”
I stroked the anxious-looking Hare’s head one more time before stepping outside. My destination was Minerva’s Library. Now that I had kidnapped Hare, I needed to speak with Minerva.
Is what I’m doing truly the right thing…?
When I entered the library, Minerva was waiting for me as if she had known I was coming. She greeted me at the entrance.
“Welcome, Junwoo! You did a splendid job kidnapping again, I see?”
“…You were watching?”
“Of course! I’m always watching you, Junwoo!”
That was a little disturbing. When I sent her a look of clear disdain, Minerva waved her hands in a fluster.
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant! It’s just a figure of speech. I don’t watch you all the time!”
“…”
“It’s true! I’m a goddess! You don’t believe me?!”
“…”
Well… she was a goddess. Minerva kept shouting, but I walked past her deeper into the library.
“No! Seriously! Only sometimes! Just a liiittle bit!”
“I get it. I get it, so stop yapping.”
“Y-yapping?! What kind of way is that to speak to a goddess—!”
“Anyway.”
I dropped onto the sofa and looked at Minerva. There was something I needed to confirm with her.
“Minerva. I kidnapped the Thief. Her name is Yuriana Hare. She’s the second member of the hero party after the hero herself.”
“I know. I was the one who told you to kidnap her. I know veeery well!”
“…Minerva, is it truly right to keep kidnapping the hero party members like this?”
“Is it right, huh…”
Minerva seemed to be pondering the concept of ‘righteousness.’ Since ‘righteousness’ was an extremely important matter to a goddess, her contemplation lasted quite a while.
“Hmm. If we’re talking about whether it’s right, then yes, it is. It may not be right for those individuals, but it is right for this world.”
“…Is that so? So it’s the right thing to do, then?”
“For now, yes.”
Minerva declared firmly that it was the right thing. Right for the world.
In that case, it might be better to speed up the timeline a little. I asked Minerva,
“Minerva.”
“Yeah?”
“Where is the next hero party member?”
I would gather the hero party members in one place as quickly as possible. I had to turn them into a perfect team. Only then could I survive.
All that’s left are the magician and the saintess.
Minerva, the goddess, would tell me where they were. All I had to do was go get them and kidnap them. It was a simple, straightforward task.