The Hero Runa's Awakening (5)
The situation was awkward. A kidnapper and his kidnapped child sleeping in the same house. The silence that followed was so thick it felt suffocating.
“…”
“…”
Runa lay on the sofa. I lay on the floor. We both stared at the ceiling without saying a word. There was nothing in particular for us to talk about.
If I brought up her auditory hallucinations, it wouldn’t lead anywhere anyway…
That awkward silence dragged on. Eventually, Runa was the first to break it, her voice laced with frustration.
“…Mister, are you asleep?”
“No.”
“…Then say something. It’s too quiet. I can’t sleep like this.”
Too quiet to sleep? That was the complete opposite of me. Silence usually helped me drift off. Fine. I might as well bring it up.
“Runa, what do you think about moving?”
“Moving? Like, changing houses and going somewhere else?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm… I think it sounds nice? Moving always feels exciting! It’s like a fresh start!”
Runa spoke as if the idea amused her, but she clearly hadn’t realized that we would be the ones doing the moving. Well, I could explain it to her properly later. Along with the contents of that letter from her family.
If I told her now, she would absolutely freak out. It was better for my health to wait.
“By the way, when you’re with me… you really don’t hear the hallucinations?”
“Yeah. I don’t know why, but when I’m near you, they stop. It’s weird. Did you do something to me?!”
“…If you’re going to suspect me, at least explain how I could possibly control auditory hallucinations first.”
“Hmm… Magic?”
So anything that couldn’t be explained with words was just magic? No matter how I looked at it, the hero’s thinking was far too childish. Her actual age was only fourteen, so it made sense. Maybe it would be better to just sleep instead of trying to have a conversation.
“Just go to sleep. Talking any more would be a waste of time.”
“Tch, fine! I won’t talk to you ever again! Hmph! What do you mean, waste of time…!”
Angry at my choice of words, Runa turned her back to me. The living room fell silent once more. I got up, pulled a bottle of whiskey from the refrigerator I had built myself—maintained with ice magic and powered by magic stones—and drank straight from it.
Gulp. Gulp.
It burned like fire down my throat. But if this was what it took to fall asleep properly, then so be it. When I glanced toward Runa, she was quietly watching me. Even after I emptied half the bottle, her gaze never wavered.
It was a little uncomfortable.
“Do you have something to say?”
“…I was just wondering why you drink so much. You’ll die young at this rate.”
“Do you want me to die young?”
“Ah, no! That’s not it! You need to get caught by the knights instead of dying early! You can’t die yet!”
“…I see.”
So rather than dying, it would be better if I were captured by the knights and forced to reflect on my crimes. That was what she meant. Since Runa had been genuinely kidnapped—unlike Hare and Saten—it made sense that she might feel that way about me.
I didn’t respond. As the alcohol began to take effect, I lay down on the futon on the floor and closed my eyes.
About ten minutes later, Runa—who had sworn she wouldn’t speak to me first—spoke up cautiously.
“U-um, mister.”
“…What is it?”
“I… I need to go to the bathroom. C-can you come with me? If I go too far, the hallucinations come back… I-it’s not because I like you or anything!”
“…”
Runa was squirming, clearly having held it in for a while. With no other choice, I followed her to the bathroom.
- Ah, mister! You're right outside the door, right?! Don't go anywhere! I'm serious! It really hurts!
“I know.”
- Shout every five seconds! I'm scared! If you ever heard that voice—
“Shut up. Just finish your business.”
- …Yes. And cover your ears! Please!
While waiting outside the door for Runa, the alcohol gradually made me drowsy. Then, from far away…
Creak—
“…?”
Hare was watching me through a crack in the door, her red eyes glowing faintly. I had no idea how long she had been there, but I was too tired and too eager to sleep to say anything. And when morning came…
“What the hell.”
For some reason, Hare was sleeping right next to me. She lay between Runa and me like a human wall. According to her, “I was worried about leaving Luna alone with you, mister… so I slept next to her to protect her…”
She claimed she had done it to help Runa, but her true intentions remained a complete mystery.
For the next seven days, the preparations for our move went smoothly. I searched for a good location—somewhere remote, where I could let the girls roam freely without fear of them being reported to the authorities.
In the end, the only place that fits is Henencia.
Henencia. A city with dungeons belonging to the Demon Kings, an ideal place to train a hero party. It was far from the capital but still a fairly large city.
To get there, we’ll have to ride the magic train…
Could I really take four members of the hero party with me? Hare and Saten would be fine. One followed my every word without question, and the other simply didn’t care. They would behave themselves.
The real problems are those two…
Runa and Estia. Runa claimed the hallucinations returned when she wasn’t near me, so she probably wouldn’t try to run away for now. Still, the risk of escape existed.
But the one with the highest risk of escape is Estia.
Runa at least held some positive feelings toward me. But Estia? Negative emotions likely made up about ninety percent of her opinion. If she saw even the slightest chance to escape while suffering from withdrawal, she would take it without hesitation. Then she would run straight to the church and summon their holy knights.
“…That absolutely cannot happen.”
If Estia escaped and brought the holy knights, I would die, the hero party would be scattered, and the subjugation of the Demon King might fail.
“That can never be allowed…”
“Mister, why are you talking to yourself?”
“…Runa, stay outside the door for a moment. Don’t come in.”
Leaving Runa at the doorway, I entered the room alone with the most dangerous girl of all—Estia. Her condition was visibly terrible at first glance.
“Y-you kidnapper…! Bring me Holy Water right now…!!”
Estia demanded it with hollow, sunken eyes. Her silver hair was a wild mess, making her look like a ghost straight out of a horror story. I grabbed her forehead as she lunged at me.
“G-gaaah—!!”
“Do you really want Holy Water that badly?”
“O-of course I do! Do you know how long I’ve held back?! I feel like I’m going to die! O-oppa! Hurry! Get me Holy Water! Right now!!”
Estia’s bloodshot eyes burned with desperation. She lunged at me like a zombie, clearly on the verge of losing her mind. I pulled something from my pocket and showed it to her.
Clink—
“What does this look like to you?”
A white liquid inside a glass bottle. A liquid that naturally emitted light. Since it had been made from her own body, she would recognize it better than anyone. Her lips trembled as she identified it.
“H-h-h-holy water…?! G-give it to me! That’s mine!!”
“Kyaaaak—!!”
Estia charged at the Holy Water in my hand like a zombie.
“Holy Water! Give me my Holy Water—!! It’s mine—!!”
“No. Wait a moment. If you listen quietly to what I have to say, I’ll give it to you.”
“Give it! Right now! Give it to me!”
Flail. Flail.
Estia jumped with all her small body’s strength. But she couldn’t reach my hand. Whether from lack of exercise or exhaustion, her jumps grew weaker and weaker.
“Haa… give it…”
“I said I’d give it to you after you listen to me.”
“P-please… give it toooo me…”
She wasn’t listening at all. I stopped her from jumping any further and held her body in place so she couldn’t move. Only then did she seem a little more focused.
“Listen carefully, Estia. If you obey me properly from now on, I will give you this Holy Water.”
“Y-you think I’ll e-easily listen to you, oppa? I-I won’t submit…! J-just give it…! Just give it tooo me…”
“…This isn’t working. If you refuse to listen to me…”
I will drop this Holy Water. With just a slight loosening of my fingers, it would fall to the floor and shatter with a loud crash. Estia had declared she would never submit. I wondered how she would react to the threat of her precious Holy Water breaking.
After a long moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth.
“I-I’m sorry… Please don’t break the Holy Water… I was w-wrong…”
“What happened to not submitting?”
“Sorry… I-I was just trying to act tough… Hehe, so please… give me the Holy Water, oppa… I feel like I’m gonna die…”
“You don’t need to lie on the floor, Estia.”
She had collapsed onto the ground and was now clutching my pant leg, begging desperately.
“P-please… white liquid… I beg you…”
She looked like she would die on the spot if I didn’t hand it over. What was I supposed to do with her…?
I decided to say what I had come to say.
“Estia, do you want this Holy Water right now?”
“Yes, give it… oppa, give me Holy Water…”
“I will. But there’s a condition.”
“Anything is fine… just give it quickly…!”
“…We will soon board a train and move to another place.”
“And…?”
“If you stay quiet and behave on the train, I will give you the Holy Water.”
The condition, of course, was that she must not attempt to escape. It seemed better to control her by holding the Holy Water hostage like this. As if my prediction had been correct, Estia shouted without a second thought.
“O-okay…! If you give me Holy Water, then okay…! Absolutely okay…!!”
Estia nodded her head violently, drool dripping from her mouth. She looked exactly like the addicts I had seen in the drug district of the Trash Can when I went to obtain Holy Water. Other than the priestess robes, there was no real difference between her and them.
“Anyway, keep that in mind. Stay quiet on the train. That is the condition for receiving Holy Water. And if you follow my words well…”
I’ll give you one more bottle. At those words, Estia’s face brightened and she nodded eagerly.
“Oppa…! You really are a good person…!! Hehe… Holy Water is so good…”
…She was probably imagining the pleasure of drinking it. What a pitiful sight. Since conversation no longer seemed possible, I left the room.
Runa was standing outside with a look of utter disgust, as if she were staring at garbage.
“White liquid…? You’re asking for that…? Mister, what the hell are you…”
“…It’s about Holy Water. Don’t misunderstand, Runa.”
“P-pervert! Don’t come near me! W-wait, don’t back away either! Anyway, you pervert!”
What exactly did she want me to do? Sigh… The thought of taking this entire hero party on a train already made my head hurt.
And the most important question was deciding when exactly we should move…
[Choice]
If you're worried about the schedule, how about this? It doesn't seem bad.
1. Rest for about a week before leaving.
2. Depart immediately tomorrow.
I hadn’t used the Answer Sheet even once today… so I could check both options. I confirmed the outcomes for choices one and two.
…The future of choice one was an absolute disaster. During the week of rest, the Sylvester Knights would come to our house for an inspection. There was no way to hide four children. I would be chased by the Sylvester Knights, and the hero party would be torn apart and sent in different directions. It was a future that could not be allowed to happen.
Next is choice two…
The future of choice two was… while traveling to Henencia, we would stop briefly at Aden Village. It was Runa’s hometown, and she wanted to greet her parents.
‘W-what is this? Mister, the sky suddenly…’
The moment Runa and I arrived at her house, black clouds gathered and the sky turned pitch black. I tried to flip through the pages of the Answer Sheet to see more, but…
This is…
The Answer Sheet had been burned to ashes by pitch-black flames. I had encountered this kind of unobservable future once before.
The Demon King.
It was exactly the same as when a Demon King had appeared in the past. In other words, a Demon King was going to appear in Aden Village—Runa’s hometown.