The Kidnapped Girl and the Abducted Girl (3)
After Lee Junwoo left the house, Hare lay quietly in her room.
“He said he’d be back soon. When is he coming…?”
She bolted upright from the bed and checked the clock. Only ten minutes had passed.
“…Time really crawls.”
Why won’t it move faster? Stupid clock! Hare glared at the innocent timepiece, blaming it for her boredom.
Lonely and restless, she left the room to find something to do.
“I’ve never been to the study before…”
The study was packed with books in a way that felt almost magical. Shelves stuffed floor to ceiling, volumes crammed into every inch. Hare pulled one out at random.
“Hmm, how do you even read this…? Um…”
She frowned hard, staring at the letters until her eyes ached. No matter how long she looked, the words refused to make sense. Having never attended school, Hare couldn’t read even the most basic characters.
“Uncle must have read all of these… I want to read them too. Would he hate a girl who can’t even read…?”
Her shoulders drooped as she scolded herself for being so useless. The study isn’t for someone like me. With that thought, Hare slipped back out.
She checked the clock again.
“Only twelve minutes… When is he coming back?”
Tick. Tick. Hare stared blankly at the moving hands. The second hand swept around at its usual steady pace. She puffed her cheeks and blew on it, but time refused to hurry. With nothing else to do, she decided to explore the upper floor—the domain of that cheeky girl.
“There was another room next to hers…”
Luna. The girl who trained with Uncle every single day. The arrogant one who still complained and never seemed satisfied. Hare stopped in front of Luna’s door. Multiple locks gleamed on the frame.
“So Uncle really did kidnap her… He even locked her up.”
Still, I like him. Even if he’s a criminal, it’s fine. I’ve done plenty of crimes myself.
Curious about what Luna might be doing, Hare pressed her ear to the door.
“…”
“Uncle isn’t a psycho. He’s a good person. She’s saying weird things again…”
Hare flinched at Luna’s sharp reaction but refused to back away.
“U-Uncle isn’t a psycho… He has emotions…!”
“He’s not a machine! Let me tell you what happened with me…”
Hare launched into a passionate defense of Uncle’s character, recounting every kindness he had shown her. Buying her matches. Saving her from Ness. Helping her with Kyle. Taking care of the grandmother situation. When she finished, she realized the only memories she had were ones of being helped.
“See! Uncle is definitely not a bad person!”
“S-Sweet?”
“…Someone precious.”
Am I Uncle’s precious person?
“Wooow…”
Hare’s mind instantly transformed into a flower garden. A beautiful, untouchable paradise. She floated there with a blissful smile until Luna’s voice doused her with cold water.
“I… don’t really know either. Maybe Uncle has his reasons?”
“Outcast…”
The word pierced Hare’s heart. She had been called the same thing back in her neighborhood. Even though Luna had badmouthed Uncle, the girl clearly carried her own loneliness. Kind-hearted Hare spoke softly.
“…Don’t call yourself that. I-I’ll talk with you. But if you insult Uncle, the conversation ends.”
Luna’s excited voice rang out, followed by the sound of light, happy footsteps from inside the room.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that… Hare began to regret it. Still, Uncle had told them to get along. She would try.
And so, in front of the room where the hero was imprisoned, the hero and the thief formed a delicate, budding friendship.
After talking with Luna until her energy was drained, Hare waited for Lee Junwoo in front of the clock. The moment the hour hand reached one, the front door creaked open. Junwoo stepped inside. Hare greeted him with a bright smile.
“Y-You’re back, Uncle…?”
“…Yeah.”
His reply was weak. Had something happened? Hare approached cautiously. The sharp smell of alcohol stung her nose.
“…Did you drink?”
“A little. Yeah, I drank.”
“It doesn’t look like just a little…”
He smells as drunk as the people who sleep in alleys. With her small frame, Hare did her best to support him, guiding him to the living room sofa.
Thump.
“D-Don’t fall off while you sleep! There are glass bottles on the floor! Understand?!”
“…”
“Uncle…?”
He didn’t answer. His eyes were already closed; he had fallen asleep. After speaking with Minerva, he had apparently drunk heavily at a tavern. Hare watched him with worried eyes and gently pulled a blanket over him.
“You’ll be uncomfortable sleeping like this… It would be better if you slept in your room…”
There were empty rooms, yet here he was. Hare stared at his sleeping face. Mid-to-late twenties. A beard covered much of his face, but she suspected that if he shaved, he would be quite handsome.
“Maybe he’s more like an older brother than an uncle…?”
It would be nice if he were an older brother. It would feel a little closer. As she studied his face, her gaze drifted across the living room.
“…”
What a mess. I’ll clean this up tomorrow for sure. I want to be helpful to Uncle. Hare clenched her small fist tightly.
Her eyes then fell on the desk. A small picture frame stood there.
“Why is the frame on the desk…?”
Aren’t frames supposed to hang on walls? She picked it up carefully. Inside the photo, two men and three women smiled warmly together. A younger Uncle was among them. He looked especially close to the woman standing beside him—
Clack.
“Ah, Uncle. You’re awake…?”
“Hare. Go to your room and sleep. It’s bedtime.”
“…Yes.”
At his sudden words, Hare left the living room and returned to her own. For some reason, Uncle’s expression had looked terribly sad.
Who was that woman…?
Her heart ached with sudden curiosity about Uncle’s past.
“Today’s training is over. Good work, Luna.”
“…”
What, is she dead? No answer came from the collapsed girl. I hoisted her onto my back and laid her gently on the bed. Even though she screamed that she hated it, Luna always followed through with training. It was admirable.
“You’re doing well, Luna.”
“Zzz…”
I stroked her hair as she slept, then left the room.
As always, Hare had been watching from the doorway. She puffed out her cheeks and muttered.
“…It’s not that different from me. Luna lied.”
“About what?”
“N-Nothing. Hehe.”
Hare laughed it off. Not understanding what she meant, I simply patted her head.
It’s about time to start educating Hare too…
First, let’s run a little test.
“Hare.”
“Y-Yes!!”
“You’ve been watching Luna’s training every day. Would you like to train as well?”
“…!!”
Her eyes sparkled. She must have felt left out watching Luna train alone. It really was time for Hare to grow.
“Follow me, Hare. Today we’ll do a simple test.”
“A test. Understood…! I-I’ll do my best!”
Good enthusiasm. I led her to the space prepared for her test—a room overflowing with knowledge. The study. For the time being, this was where Hare would receive her education.
“S-Study…”
“Hare, can you try reading this?”
“Uh, um… That is… W-Wait a moment…! I can read…”
“If you can’t read it, just say so. I won’t be disappointed over something like this.”
“…I can’t read it.”
“Not at all?”
“…No. Not at all.”
Hare’s shoulders slumped dejectedly. I reached out and gently lifted them again.
“It’s perfectly normal not to know things at the beginning. You simply grow step by step. Always carry yourself with confidence.”
A thief must always be confident—to light the path, detect traps, and make decisive choices for the party. For that, character and knowledge were essential. Right now, those were the basics Hare needed.
To put it harshly, she lacks even the fundamentals…
But fundamentals could be taught. I pulled a book from the shelf. It was the Basic Vocabulary Dictionary that Minerva had given me when I first learned to read in this world.
“Hare, starting today you’ll study this book with me. Are you disappointed that it’s different from Luna’s training?”
“N-No. I’m happy just being with you, Uncle…”
Hare lowered her head shyly. Having grown up starved of affection, simply spending time with someone like me must have felt precious to her. I stroked her hair.
“Studying can be boring, but please follow along. Can you do that?”
“Yes! I can…! B-But… Luna said she trains because of a ‘reward’… Don’t I get one…?”
“…You call that a reward?”
From Luna’s perspective, I suppose it was. I answered lightly.
“If you study well, I’ll give you a reward too. How does that sound?”
“G-Good…! Can it be whatever reward I want…?”
When I nodded, her eyes burned with determination. She really liked rewards. I asked her,
“What kind of reward do you want that you’re willing to work so hard?”
“T-That is…”
Hare hesitated, then hid her face behind the dictionary and answered in a tiny voice.
“I wanted to ask you about the things I’m curious about, Uncle…”
“…I see. So that’s it.”
She was still a child, after all. Full of curiosity. I understood. In the end, we settled on a system where she would take a test once a week. If she scored 100 points, I would answer one of her questions as a reward.
And Hare’s attitude while studying that day was—
“Hare, let’s stop for today—”
“J-Just ten more minutes! I have to get a hundred points!”
It seemed like she was pushing herself too hard, but the sight of her studying on her own was genuinely heartwarming.