The Last Companion. The Saintess Loves Holy Water (3)
I used the coordinate teleportation spell. In an instant, Estia and I appeared in the yard of the house.
The house was completely dark except for Saten’s room. From the outside, it looked like everyone had already fallen asleep.
“Are they all sleeping? I guess that’s… a relief.”
“Hehe… heee… my head’s spinning… where are we…?”
“Teleportation spells are always like this. Just bear with it.”
“Bearing with things is the one thing I’m worst at…”
Sigh. When is this girl going to come back to her senses?
For now, I untied the rope around Estia. If I brought her in while she was still bound, the others might misunderstand. It was a perfectly reasonable decision.
“Alright, Estia. Let’s go inside.”
“Yesss~ O-oppaaa~ Give me the white liquid pleeease~”
“…Anyone who hears that will get the wrong idea. Don’t say things like that.”
“Okaaaay~”
Estia still didn’t seem to fully grasp the situation. I took her hand and led her into the house.
All the lights were off, so it should have been impossible to see, but not for me. Even in complete darkness, everything was visible. Holding Estia’s hand, I climbed the stairs.
“Take it slow.”
“Yesss…”
Step. Step.
Estia staggered, but with my help she slowly made her way up the stairs.
Come to think of it, this house only has three bedrooms.
Hare on the first floor. Saten and Runa on the second. I sleep in the living room.
…Maybe we need to move.
Living with five people here felt too cramped. There was no choice but to have her stay in Runa’s room for tonight. Since Estia might try to run away, it made sense to keep her in Runa’s room, which had a thorough locking system.
I undid the locks one by one and opened the door to Runa’s room.
Creak—
“Are you asleep, Runa?”
“Hmnnya— hnnnyam—”
“She’s asleep.”
It might be a little uncomfortable, but you’ll have to share the bed with her tonight.
“Alright, Estia. Climb onto the bed.”
“Bed… I like bedsss…”
I let Estia loose in Runa’s room, and that was when I realized my mistake.
I should have told her to climb onto the bed slowly.
Estia leaped toward the bed like a high-jump athlete.
“Yaaah~”
“Kyaaak—!! What the— what is this—!!”
“…Sorry, Runa. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“U-uncle…? At this hour of the night…! Are you planning to mess me up completely?!”
“As if.”
I have no interest in little girls.
I pointed my finger downward. There, Estia was rubbing her face into the blanket.
Runa screamed in shock.
“Kyaaaak—!! W-what is this girl?!”
“A new friend.”
“Friend my ass—!! You kidnapped her again, didn’t you?!”
I couldn’t deny it. I reluctantly nodded.
Runa sighed and looked down at Estia.
“Um, could you get off me first? What’s your name?”
“Estya…”
“Estya?”
“It’s Estia. And right now she’s in a weird state, so I don’t recommend trying to talk to her. Just sleep with her for tonight.”
“Really…? Okay, I understand.”
For someone who grew up with seven siblings, taking care of others must be second nature. I trusted Runa and turned to leave.
Oh, right. One more thing.
“Runa. Just in case, never drink anything Estia offers you.”
“Huh…? Why not?”
“It’s a drug.”
“What…?! W-what do you mean—”
“I’ve said what I needed to say.”
Bang—
I closed the door. It finally got quiet.
I pressed my ear against the door for a moment, just to listen.
"Youuu… wanna try this…? Open your mouth, ah~ I’ll make you feel so happy…"
"N-no! I don’t want it! I’m not drinking that! W-wait, why are you taking off your skirt?!"
"…I need to pee. Feels like it’s coming out."
"The bathroom’s over there—! What kind of nightmare is this while I’m trying to sleep! Aaaah—!!"
…What a mess.
Still, she’s the hero. She’ll probably handle it somehow. With that rather cold thought, I pulled my ear away from the door and turned to head back to the living room.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Hare was standing on the stairs leading down to the living room. Her red eyes glowed in the darkness, staring straight at me. The situation felt incredibly awkward.
Why am I the one feeling guilty in my own house…?
Anyway. I looked at Hare, who was silently watching me, and asked,
“Hare? What’s wrong?”
“Uncle… did you kidnap someone again today…?”
“‘Again’? I don’t kidnap people every day.”
Hare pouted her lips and continued staring at me from within the shadows. She was clearly expressing her displeasure as strongly as she could.
I walked over and gently stroked her head.
“What’s bothering you so much, Hare?”
“I only need Uncle… but Uncle seems to need other kids too… so I hate it…”
Hare trailed off, whispering as if making an excuse. If more children joined, the attention directed at her would naturally decrease. I could somewhat understand her position.
Still.
“It can’t be helped. To reach my goal, I have no choice but to kidnap them.”
“T-then… how long are you going to keep kidnapping people…?”
“This is the last one. No more children will be added after this.”
“R-really…?”
At the words ‘no more,’ Hare let out a sigh of relief. The sharpness in her eyes softened, and they began to sparkle again. It seemed her anger had mostly subsided.
“T-then… later, please talk with me…! I have so many questions…!”
“Oh, right. You still haven’t used your question ticket yet, have you?”
“Yes… I’ve been organizing them… hehe…”
The right to ask me anything, six times total. Hare had been preparing her questions.
She’s been studying hard, cleaning the house… Hare really is a good kid.
Impressive. With that thought, I reached out to stroke her head again—then suddenly remembered the feelings she harbored toward me and withdrew my hand.
Hare looked disappointed and asked,
“Why… won’t you praise me…?”
“It’s… getting late. Go back to bed, Hare. You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”
Good children go to bed early. I brushed it off vaguely and gently pushed her back. Hare let herself be guided toward her room. Before closing the door, she peeked her face out shyly and asked,
“Uncle.”
“Yes?”
“Is Hare… a good child…?”
Hare poked her face timidly through the gap in the door. I smiled at her and answered,
“Of course. You’re a good child. Studying hard and getting along with your friends—that’s what makes someone a good child.”
“…Yes, Uncle. Thank you… You should rest too.”
Hare gave a satisfied smile and gently closed the door.
If there was one truly good child in this house, it would probably be Hare. I found myself thinking that unconsciously.
If only she didn’t harbor those feelings toward me… it would be perfect.
I had a vague idea of the emotions Hare felt for me. But they weren’t good feelings. They were born from a child’s misunderstanding and the circumstances of that time. And the thief of the hero’s party should never have carried such emotions.
“I need to keep my distance.”
Sigh.
I took a bottle of alcohol from the refrigerator and lay down on the sofa. Someone’s warmth still lingered warmly on it, and the living room was spotless, without a speck of dust.
“I used to be the one who always made a mess, and she was the one who cleaned it up.”
At some point, I had become the one making messes, and someone else had started cleaning them.
I drank the alcohol. As the intoxication rose, sleep came for me. Feeling that languid pull, I thought about Hare.
I’ll have to watch her for a while…
I’m sorry to the good-natured Hare, but if she ever crosses the line, I’ll have to adjust the distance between us. With that thought, a deep wave of drowsiness pulled me under.
Hare lay in bed, recalling what had just happened.
“Hehe… Uncle said I’m a good child…”
I’m so happy. So glad I was born!
“Kyaaa—! I love it—!!”
Even if she didn’t sleep, with this feeling she felt like she could stay up all night. Praise from Uncle always made her feel good and gave her strength even when she had none.
Hare hugged her pillow tightly, imagining it was Uncle.
“S-someday… I’ll be able to hug Uncle like this, right…? No, wait… Uncle has to be the one hugging me…!”
To make Uncle happy enough to hug her… what should she do?
Just keep being a good child, right?
Hare vowed that in front of Uncle, she would always remain a good child.
But at the same time, an unpleasant memory surfaced.
“…Saten. That time, she made me look like a bad child.”
Someday, I will definitely get revenge…
Hare swore she would never forget this humiliation.
And then there was the newly kidnapped girl. If she stayed in this house, there would be five people living here.
If that happens, Uncle will have such a hard time…
Cooking for everyone would be difficult. Teaching all of us things would be difficult too.
But the most important thing is… the attention directed at me will disappear…
If Uncle starts focusing on other children, his interest in me will go to them… If I have to just watch that happen, my heart will hurt so much…
That was why Hare made up her mind.
“A good child… only needs to be good in front of Uncle, right…?”
When Uncle isn’t around, it’s okay to be a bad child, right?
Let’s reduce the number of people in the house. If they won’t leave, I’ll drive them out. If they want to leave, I’ll help them.
“That way… Uncle will only look at me, right…?”
Be a good child in front of Uncle.
Be a bad child behind his back.
Hare, feeling anxious as the number of people increased, bit into the skin of her fingers since she had no nails left to chew. More than ever before, she was completely serious.