Moving Preparations! The Insufferable Saintess (3)
After Estia drank the Holy Water, the voice that had whimpered, “I don’t like being alone…” gradually faded away.
“Heh… heuugh… heee…”
Drool dripped steadily from her lips. Estia lay completely still, letting out only soft, pleasure-soaked breaths.
“Estia.”
“Heh… heee… huuuhuhu…”
She must have felt good; every now and then a little laugh slipped out. One bottle of Holy Water was enough to rob her of her senses and leave her limp like a doll.
She lay cradled in my arms, as lifeless as a marionette whose strings had been cut. Her golden eyes were hazy and unfocused, her whole body slack.
“Heh… hehehe… eu… hehehe…”
“One bottle causes symptoms this severe? The actual potency of the Holy Water isn’t that high…”
If the amount she had drunk today had been ordinary street drugs, it would have been close to a lethal dose. Yet Estia showed no signs of dying, nor any obvious physical abnormalities.
“Then the most dangerous effect must be its addictiveness.”
Addictiveness. The body craves it constantly. If denied, pain follows. Substances with such strong addiction cannot be quit through willpower alone. The more one consumes, the more the mind is slowly scraped away.
“A powerfully addictive substance that grants harmless happiness…”
Even my future self had been unable to overcome it. There was no doubt the addiction was truly lethal.
More importantly—
“I’ve stayed with you long enough now. Wouldn’t you rather sleep in the bed, Estia?”
“Ehehe… heuugh…?”
Was that an answer?
Sleeping in the bed would surely be far more comfortable than being held in someone’s arms. I carried her carefully and laid her down on the mattress.
“Ah… aauut… heee…”
Even the slightest movement seemed to send pleasure through her. Estia let out a delighted little sound.
To think the Saintess of the Hero Party would end up like this. The future really did look bleak.
I gently removed the hood she was wearing.
“This should make it easier for you to breathe.”
“Heh… hehehe… euhehehe…”
“…I’ll take that as a thank you.”
In this state, she probably wouldn’t remember anything even if she woke up, just like last time.
It was time to start looking for a house in Henencia where we could live. I turned to leave the room.
But—
“…Estia?”
“Uu… uuu… heuu…”
“…Let go, dear. I’m busy.”
Had her unconscious mind taken over? Estia had grabbed my hand and refused to release it. She clutched it with desperate strength, as if she never wanted to let go.
Though she couldn’t hear me, I whispered softly.
“Let go of my hand and sleep comfortably, Estia.”
“Euu…”
I had no choice. I carefully pried her fingers away and gently placed her hand on her own chest. A slightly more peaceful breath escaped her lips. She had finally lost consciousness and fallen into a deep sleep.
“Sleep well, Estia.”
“…”
If possible, I hoped she would have only good dreams.
Leaving behind that quiet wish, I slipped out of the room.
Waiting for me in the hallway was the girl who had been watching me through the crack in the door the entire time.
Hare.
I spoke to her as if nothing had happened.
“…Hare, is there something you want to say?”
“Mister, I saw everything.”
“…From where to where?”
“From the beginning to the end.”
…I really hoped she hadn’t misunderstood.
Hare’s expression was far from normal. The usual liveliness in her eyes was gone, replaced by dull, murky red that stared straight at me. If I had to describe it, she looked like a rose just before it withered.
With eyes full of despair, she asked,
“Mister… Hare is a good girl, right…?”
“…Of course you are. You are indeed a good girl, Hare.”
If, after seeing that scene, she didn’t develop any twisted feelings toward Estia, then yes—she could remain a good girl.
Hare nodded at my answer and continued. Her next words sent a chill down my spine.
“A good girl. Hare wants to stay a good girl, Mister…”
“…I see. I hope you remain a good girl.”
“If Mister likes it, then Hare likes it too… So… to stay a good girl… I have to pretend I didn’t see what just happened, right…?”
“Pretend you didn’t see?”
There was no need to pretend anything. Estia had simply been in pain, and I had only held her to comfort her. Of course, if Hare stopped seeing us as ‘Mister and child’ and started seeing us as ‘man and woman,’ the story would be different.
Just in case, I explained.
“Hare, this is important. What you saw was a misunderstanding. Estia was hurting, so I simply held her to comfort her.”
“…I understand, Mister. So… that’s what I’m supposed to say, right…?”
No. That’s not what I meant.
“That’s not it, Hare. Really, Estia was in pain—”
“Ah, I get it, Mister… Hare understands everything now… So… you don’t have to say any more.”
Her tone had turned icy, as if she no longer wanted to hear another word. She looked like she had retreated into her own little world. Without giving me any chance to clear up the misunderstanding, Hare turned and ran toward her room.
She left only one sentence behind.
“Mister. If… if you need someone to hold… please hold Hare instead of Estia… I-I’ve never done it before, but… I’ve seen a lot, so I’m prepared…”
“Hare! It was a completely normal hug! You’re misunderstanding—”
Bang!
Hare slammed the door and hid inside her room.
I could guess how she had misinterpreted it. But wasn’t it a bit much to not even give me time to explain?
‘Come to think of it, this is the first time Hare has ever cut me off.’
She must have been that shocked. Given the feelings she already harbored toward me, seeing that scene would naturally be traumatic.
Still, it didn’t really matter.
‘If Hare truly repents, she won’t do anything. But if she only pretends to understand while secretly planning to harm Estia…’
This was the perfect opportunity to see Hare’s true heart. I could find out whether she was a ‘good girl’ or a ‘bad girl.’
If she turned out to be a bad girl… giving her time alone to think might not be such a bad idea after all.
The next day, Estia woke to the sound of commotion.
“Uuu… my head hurts… Where am I this time…?”
What was going on? Why was she lying here?
She looked around. An unfamiliar room. An unfamiliar bed. It was impeccably clean and well-maintained.
Startled by the strange surroundings, Estia cried out.
“D-don’t tell me! Kidnapped again?! I’ve been kidnapped again?!”
More importantly, her body felt strangely refreshed. It was as if she had drunk Holy Water!
Estia got out of bed and headed for the door. Just outside stood a girl she had seen somewhere before.
“Your name was… Hare, right?”
“…”
Why was she here?
Hare said nothing. She simply leaned against the wall with her eyes closed.
“What… what is this? At least I don’t think I’ve been kidnapped again… Is she sleeping? Standing up doesn’t look very comfortable though.”
Well, it wasn’t her problem. She could do whatever she wanted.
Estia tried to leave so she could ask Mister what had happened. One step. Two steps. Three steps.
The moment she passed in front of Hare—
Thud—
“A-aaaack—!!”
Crash!
Estia tumbled to the floor with a loud noise. It felt like something had tripped her.
“W-what? What did I trip on…?!”
There shouldn’t have been anything to trip over! There were no objects nearby that could have caused her to fall. If anything had been in the way, it would have to be… Hare’s leg.
“Y-you…!! Hare! You just tripped me, didn’t you?!”
“…”
“Apologize! You bad child! The Goddess will not overlook your sin! You will definitely pay for this!”
“…”
Would she really?
Hare slowly opened her previously closed eyes. Hidden within them were anger and jealousy. But unlike before, the emotions were calm and tightly controlled.
Hare tilted her head and asked,
“You’re saying I tripped you…?”
“Y-yes! The Goddess saw everything!”
“…It’s fine.”
“…What?”
“It doesn’t matter if that Goddess saw…”
Hare looked down at the much shorter Estia with a cold, hate-filled expression. For a moment, Estia felt genuine fear.
“As long as Mister didn’t see it… that’s enough for me…”
“Y-you…! I thought you were a good kid when I first met you…!!”
“Hare is a good girl…”
Just not to you.
You flirt with Mister, try to steal him away from me. You are my enemy.
Hare pressed the small object she had been holding against Estia’s throat.
“You committed the first sin yesterday… I didn’t want to get this angry either…”
“Yesterday? What sin did I—?! U-uaaah…? A-a knife…?”
“So. Don’t tell Mister about what happened today…”
Hare wanted to remain a good girl. Could Estia help her with that?
While thinking in her room about how to keep Mister from finding out, Hare had come up with the idea of ‘silencing through threats.’ Today was the day she would put that plan into action.
‘I’ll make sure you can never cling to Mister again…’
The moment she woke up that morning, Hare had taken a kitchen knife from the pantry and waited in front of Estia’s room. Though it was her first time using it in real life, she threatened Estia with surprising skill.
And at that threat…
‘K-knife… n-no… s-scary…’
Estia had no choice but to submit. Trembling with fear, she gave a tiny nod.
Only then did Hare smile in satisfaction and walk away.
Estia collapsed on the spot, staring blankly as Hare left.
—Everyone, pack your things. I’ve found a house. We’re moving.
Even when Mister’s voice rang out, she couldn’t pull herself together.
“Th-this…!! What sin did I even commit?! I didn’t do anything…?! What is this?! You heathen! The Goddess will never forgive you! You bad child!”
Having no memory of the previous day, the current situation felt unbearably unfair.
However.
‘So. Don’t tell Mister about today…’
The sight of Hare pressing a knife to her throat had been too terrifying. Estia decided to keep the incident locked deep inside her heart.
Estia was, after all, a coward.
The day before, I had wandered around Henencia looking for a suitable house. From places with good surrounding commerce but too small for five people, to houses that were unclean but the perfect size for our group.
‘Please take me with you! I-I don’t want to hear hallucinations!’
I had taken Runa—who hated being separated from me—along as I searched the city.
‘Mister—! I want to eat that!’
‘That one too—!’
‘This one too!’
…It cost quite a lot of money, so I probably wouldn’t take her next time. Still, it seemed Runa had enjoyed exploring the city of Henencia in her own way.
And so, after much searching, we chose our new home. The maintenance was poor, which made the price very cheap.
Runa looked at the house we had seen yesterday and whispered,
“…Mister. Out of all the houses we saw yesterday, this one is the worst.”
“It’ll be fine once we clean it up.”
“B-but the grass is overgrown like this! And the mansion looks completely rundown?!”
“It’ll be fine once we fix it.”
“Aaaargh—!!”
Runa screamed. From the reactions of the others, it seemed she was the only one opposed.
“Waaah… Mister and a mansion…”
Hare looked delighted.
“…”
Saten was silently reading a book.
“O-oppa! W-what are you looking at!”
“Oppa…?”
“Ah, n-no, that’s not what I meant…”
Estia seemed completely out of it. She looked as though she was frightened by something. It also appeared she didn’t clearly remember what had happened yesterday.
“Anyway, we will be living here starting today. It’s a wonderful place with six rooms and a large yard.”
“Wait a minute—!!”
Did she have some complaint? Runa shouted in protest.
“Then who’s going to clear away all this thick grass?!”
“You can do it, Runa.”
“Eh…?”
I had things to do. It would be good for Runa to pull weeds as part of her physical training. And while I was away, the one most likely to try escaping was Estia… so having Hare watch her would serve as a form of reflection.
“I’ll be gone for a little while. Hare, please keep a good eye on Estia.”
“Yes!”
It seemed Hare had organized her thoughts well since yesterday. Her answer was full of confidence and carried no negative emotion.
‘She didn’t seem to understand that it was a misunderstanding… but perhaps she resolved it in her own way.’
Estia’s reaction was a bit awkward, but before we officially moved in, I needed to learn more about her past. I had to visit the library for a while.
I explained this to the children.
“I’ll fix up the house after I return, so you all can rest in the yard for now. And Runa.”
“Eh?”
“Since you haven’t done physical training for a while, do it diligently. Pull out every last blade of grass before I come back. Can you do that?”
“I can’t! How am I supposed to do all of this?! If you leave, I’ll start hearing hallucinations again!”
Of course she couldn’t. That was exactly why I was telling her to pull that much.
To help Runa focus on her training, I added,
“If even a single blade of grass is still visible when I return, I will increase the intensity of your training.”
“P-psychopath! I take back thinking you were nice! Mister, you’re completely evil! This is too much!”
“…”
What was she saying now?
I left behind Runa’s shouting voice and thought about Estia.
‘It may not be a complete cure, but I should at least be able to alleviate it somewhat.’
To examine her past and find a solution, I set off to meet Minerva after a long time.