The Approaching Mist, the Sweeping Emotions (2)
The clatter of dishes echoed through the kitchen instead of conversation. ‘Just how hungry was she?’ Well, I had starved her quite a bit. Hare devoured her soup without a word. She must have been starving; she ate so quickly it looked like she was afraid someone might snatch it away. That kind of eating wasn’t good for her body.
“You’ll get indigestion. Eat slowly, dear.”
Gulp. “Y-yes, yes, Mister.”
With a faint smile directed at me, Hare continued shoveling food into her mouth. She usually didn’t have much of an appetite, but today she was eating as much as Luna, who was practically trying to turn into a pig.
“…It would be nice if you ate like this all the time, Hare.”
“I-I’ll… try…!”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Y-yes, yes, Mister…!”
Hare answered with the steadfast resolve of a knight swearing an oath on her life. Her voice was so loyal I half-wondered if she would actually die if I told her to. But given everything Hare had done before, I couldn’t fully trust those words.
‘It’s still too early to trust her. I need to watch a little longer.’
There was no harm in being suspicious. After Hare had finished most of her meal, I approached her with a white handkerchief. She must have eaten too fast—soup was smeared all around her mouth.
“I told you to eat slowly, Hare. Look at your face, it’s covered.”
“Th-thank you… M-Mister…”
She really was hopeless. I gently wiped the soup from around her mouth with the handkerchief and met her red eyes. Swish. The moment our gazes connected, Hare immediately looked down. A blush had risen to her cheeks.
“…Hare.”
“Yes, Mister.”
“Do you remember what I said that day?”
“…Yes. I-I remember. You told me to let go of my feelings.”
“Have you thought about it at all?”
“…”
Hare closed her mouth. That emotion was probably not something easy to discard. But she must not harbor those feelings toward me. To her, who would one day have to leave, I could not become a burden.
“No matter how you feel about me, I cannot accept it, Hare.”
“…”
“Let go of those feelings cleanly. That way, you won’t get hurt.”
“…”
Hare kept her head bowed in silence. Then, staring at her empty bowl, she began to cry. Drip. Drip.
“M-Mister, you’re so mean… You were so warm to me… How could I not fall in love with you… Hic. B-but… if you hate it, Mister…”
I won’t show it. Please give me time to sort out my feelings. It’s not something I can control on command, but I’ll try. Hare wept openly, pleading with me in a desperate voice.
“I won’t do anything you dislike anymore, Mister… Hic. Just give me some time… Even if you tell me to organize it all at once, I can’t do that…”
“…I’m sorry for bringing this up right after you ate, Hare. I’ll give you time. Think it over.”
“Y-yes… Hic. I won’t bother you, Mister… I’m sorry… I’m fine…”
This time, Hare really did seem different. She was considering the other person’s feelings first and wasn’t forcing her own thoughts on me. It looked like she had learned to understand others.
‘…Still, I can’t let my guard down yet.’
The person who had deviated the most from my expectations was Hare. The need to watch her closely had not changed. So… even though she looked like she might collapse at any moment after finishing her bowl of soup, I offered her another out of guilt.
“…Would you like another bowl?”
Hare, who had been shedding countless tears, forced a smile and answered.
“Yes… I like the food you made for me, Mister…”
It had been a long time since I had seen Hare’s bright expression.
After reconciling with Hare that day, I decided to move on to the next lesson.
“You really have learned all the letters, right?”
“Y-yes…! I could pass a test… I’d get everything right…!”
She sounded confident. Well, she had studied until her nose bled, so it would be strange if she hadn’t learned them. For now, I planned to split Hare’s next lessons into two subjects.
“Hare, from now on your classes will be divided into two.”
“Y-yes…! I’m ready…!”
“…I haven’t even told you what they are yet.”
“Hehe, hehehe…”
Her confidence was overflowing. I was curious how long it would last. I called out to Luna, who was lying on the grass taking a nap.
“Luna, come here.”
“Nyee, nyee. I shall move as ordered.”
“…Answer properly. Do you want to run laps in the yard?”
“N-no! I’m sorry! I was wrong!”
Tap tap tap— She really didn’t want to run in the yard. Luna sprinted over to me. Then she tilted her head curiously.
“So why did you call me?”
“I’ll give you a chance, Luna.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll give you the opportunity to attack me with two people instead of one. Team up with Hare. If you win, I’ll cancel the kidnapping.”
“Y-yes…? Y-you want me… to attack you, Mister…?”
“Eh!? The two of us!?”
I nodded. I reached into my subspace. It should be tucked away in the corner somewhere. The wooden dagger that Aina had given me as a gift.
‘Hey, disciple. It’s a present. Take it.’
‘…? What is this? A wooden dagger?’
‘I-it’s a present. If you want to stab me, use that. I don’t like pain, you know.’
‘…You’re not a child. Are you scared of bladed weapons?’
‘W-what!? Is it wrong to be scared!?’
Aina, who had nagged me so much that she thought I might actually stab her, had given me a wooden dagger for my birthday. It was a strange gift considering her poor social skills, but at the time I never imagined she would do something like that for me, so I had been genuinely grateful.
“Found it. Here, Hare. I’m throwing it, so catch.”
“Y-yes…?! U-uwah…!”
Tap. Nice catch. Hare caught the wooden dagger I tossed with both hands. She examined it curiously for a moment, then froze and asked,
“Jun… Mister’s name is engraved on it…?”
“It was a gift. Use it carefully so it doesn’t break.”
Even though Aina had given it to me, I wasn’t using it, so it was better for someone who needed it to have it. Keeping it around only made my chest hurt.
“The one and only… precious item in the world…”
Hare muttered to herself, then smiled happily.
“Th-thank you, Mister…! Since you gave it to me… I-I’ll treasure it…!”
“…Yes. Train hard with it. Your first lesson is dagger techniques. This is your weapon. Think of it as something you must never lose in battle. Treat it as dearly as your own life.”
“A-as precious… as my life… I-I understand…! Thank you, Mister…!”
Leaving behind Hare’s burdensome smile, I moved far away from them and took up a position.
“I’ll give you three minutes to discuss strategy. If any weapon so much as touches my body, I’ll consider it your victory.”
“S-strategy…? W-what should we do…?”
“Hare, just trust me! I’ll take Mister down!”
“N-no…! You can’t do that…!”
The two of them whispered frantically as they planned. I wondered what kind of combination the hero and the thief would show me. I already knew they couldn’t beat me, but I was curious what they would look like working together. Especially since Hare knew absolutely nothing about daggers.
‘I wonder what kind of result they’ll show me…’
With that curiosity in mind, three minutes passed. The two girls began running toward me, splitting into two directions. An interesting tactic.
“A pincer attack. I thought you’d only know how to fight head-on, but it seems you came up with a plan.”
“Of course! We get along really well!”
“…”
Along with Luna’s one-sided declaration, the two girls who had split apart began attacking me with timed intervals. The first strike came from Luna.
“Haaap—!”
Clang—! Luna’s wooden sword collided with mine. Due to the physical difference, Luna was the one pushed back. Of course, the two of them wouldn’t have relied on such a simple move.
‘The next attack will probably be from…’
Behind me. They were trying to distract my attention and aim for my exposed back. As if to prove my prediction correct, I sensed Hare’s presence behind me. To block her attack, I turned and swung my wooden sword—
“Wait, Hare.”
“Yes…?”
“Why are you just standing there holding the dagger?”
“I-I can’t stab you, Mister… H-how could I possibly stab you…?”
“…”
I pressed a hand to my forehead. This was driving me crazy.
‘Was using myself as the practice opponent a mistake…?’
Hare refused to attack me. That possibility had never even crossed my mind, so the situation left me utterly bewildered. Hare gripped the dagger tightly in both hands, her red eyes trembling as she stared at me. I decided to sort out the situation.
‘The coordinated attack with Luna was good. Splitting into two directions and properly utilizing the difference in numbers. However, because the opponent was me, it didn’t result in an effective strike.’
In conclusion, regardless of Hare’s actual dagger skills, the strategy itself had been excellent. Luna, realizing the plan had failed, came running from afar while shouting.
“You should have stabbed him properly! What are you doing, Hare! That was our chance to defeat the kidnapper!”
“I’m sorry… I-I… couldn’t stab Mister… I-I’m sorry, Mister…”
“…You don’t need to apologize to me.”
More importantly.
“Who came up with this plan?”
In just three minutes, they had executed excellent leadership. Not a perfect 100 points, but close to 90. I wondered which of the two had come up with it. The moment that question arose, both girls opened their mouths and spoke an unexpected name.
“It wasn’t me!”
“I-it wasn’t me either…”
“…If neither of you did it, then who?”
“We were arguing when a piece of paper fell from the sky! L-look!”
Luna handed me a small note. When I took it and read it, I saw familiar handwriting and red letters before my eyes.
Use the numbers to your advantage. Split left and right. Distract with the frontal assault and strike from behind. The target will not expect an attack from the girl who loves him.
“…Saten.”
She had been watching us. I turned my head and looked at the second-floor window. A pair of eyes gazed down at us from the dark room. The expressionless Saten met my gaze, then closed the curtain as if her business was finished.
‘…Is this revenge that doesn’t suit her experiment, or is she saying I’m that outstanding?’
Saten wouldn’t take revenge over something this small. It was probably the latter. In that case, she had given the children this plan to earn my favor… but I had no idea why.
‘More importantly, she must have learned it from her time in the knight order. For an impromptu plan, it wasn’t bad at all.’
Since there was no way the children could actually defeat me anyway, it was still a very high score. In Hare’s next lesson, it might be better to leave party command to Saten.
‘For now, if we’re going to continue training, I should clear up this atmosphere first.’
I spoke to the two girls who were still chattering away.
“The spar is over. Luna, you train with the wooden sword. Hare, I’ll teach you dagger techniques myself.”
“Eh…? You’re not going to watch me?”
“It’s self-directed learning, Luna.”
“…This is so annoying!!”
Thump. Thump. Luna stomped away, clearly expressing her anger with her whole body. She began swinging her sword in the corner while occasionally glancing at us. She would probably calm down by dinner anyway, so I decided not to worry about it.
Before teaching the quietly standing Hare dagger techniques, I asked her a question.
“Hare, what do you think about daggers?”
“U-um… I like them…”
“…I’m not asking how much you like the wooden dagger.”
“Ah, th-that’s…! They’re easy to move with…! I can move quickly…!”
Correct answer. I patted Hare’s head. She blushed shyly.
“Mobility. Daggers are easy to maneuver and have few restrictions on movement. You can do things other people can’t.”
“Y-yes… B-but I have a question, Mister…”
“What is it?”
“Why are you teaching us weapons… and how to attack…?”
It would be better to explain indirectly rather than say, You are the hero party. No matter how much Hare trusted me, if she learned that the hero party from a hundred years ago were the children I had kidnapped, she would definitely think I was crazy.
So.
“I’m going to send you into a dungeon.”
“Y-yes…? Us? Into a dungeon…? M-may I ask why…?”
“To make you stronger.”
“Huh…?”
“You all need to become strong. You must be prepared for every kind of attack. For that reason, Hare, your next lesson is ‘Dungeon Observation.’ You will learn what kinds of traps exist there and how to disarm them.”
Dungeon observation. I planned to take the hero party on a trip to a dungeon. It would be better to let them experience the enemies they would have to fight.
And at that moment, as if questioning my words, a message from Minerva arrived.
Do we really have to do the dungeon observation? It feels like there’s a dangerous person in the dungeon…? Is it absolutely necessary…?
[1. Proceed with the dungeon observation.]
[2. No, it’s too early for dungeon observation. Do not go.]
Since today’s Answer Sheet still had three uses left, I could check both options. I opened both answer sheets.
‘…Black flames on choice 1. Is the Demon King in the dungeon?’
Hmm, let’s read them first.
…In terms of results alone, choice 2 resulted in nothing happening. However, choice 1 led to the ‘permanent annihilation’ of the Demon King of Lust and would help the hero party’s future. And there…
‘…Damn it. That filthy succubus.’
I would meet my death and reunite with my master, Aina.