# 1. Today, I Kidnapped the Hero. Or Maybe Yesterday (1)
"You've been kidnapped."
After coldly spitting out those words, I thought to myself.
How did things get so twisted?
Why did I kidnap someone who'll become the Hero in the future?
This was messed up—seriously messed up.
Like a tangled ball of yarn that won't come undone...
It had gotten knotted up in the blink of an eye...
*Where exactly did things go wrong?*
I decided to trace back the flow of events.
*It started after I finished a job and got paid.*
Lee Jun-woo.
A Korean.
Ten years after falling into this other world, I'd been living as an unremarkable adventurer.
I always had to risk my life for work, but it was the most suitable profession for an outsider like me.
"Adventurer Jun! Congratulations on completing your mission! You made it back safely today too!"
"Skip the pleasantries. Where's my money?"
"Yes, your success fee of 2 million Peri. Here you go! Please use our Adventurer's Guild again next time!"
The Guild receptionist handed me a hefty pouch.
It was the intellectual, glasses-wearing receptionist lady who always helped me out.
I gave her a light bow before leaving the Adventurer's Guild.
"2 million Peri isn't bad for the difficulty of that mission."
If this other world had one advantage, it was that the currency and system were similar to South Korea's.
No need for pointless calculations.
*Right, I was thinking exactly that as I walked down the street with light steps.*
The moment those light steps started going wrong.
That's when it all began.
Grrrrrr—!
"Is it already time for the train to arrive?"
The sound of the Magic Train stopping—powered by resonating Mana Stones.
Capital Grancia, where I currently lived, was well-developed and had magic-powered trains.
I was walking past the train station, heading toward my home.
"I completed today's mission and I've got money, so maybe I'll drink some expensive liquor..."
What should I drink tonight?
Whiskey?
Vodka?
Or pork with beer?
I was having the kind of happy dilemma where any choice would be good.
Then, in the middle of all that, my damned ability suddenly activated.
[Sudden Quest! Congratulations! You have discovered someone who will become the Hero in the future! So, what is your choice?]
[1. Ignore the Hero.]
[2. Kidnap the Hero.]
"Huh?"
In novels, people who fall into other worlds are given "cheat" abilities.
Literally game-breaking powers that let them do whatever they want.
But not me.
My ability was just... choices.
"I solved the Math Workbook how many times back in the day, and now I have to solve problems here too?"
An ability befitting a Korean.
If exam papers have "five multiple choices," I have "two choices."
Pick one of two options.
Usually one is the correct answer, but sometimes both are correct, and sometimes both are wrong.
Oh, and three times a day.
An "answer key" exists too.
"But well, I don't even need to check the answer key. The correct answer is definitely number 1."
Why would I kidnap the Hero?
I'm not crazy.
Still, I'm a bit curious about what the Hero looks like.
"Let's see, the Hero is... ah, there."
The Hero was coming out of the train station, descending a small staircase.
Long golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, fluttering in the wind.
In those blue eyes was still the innocent world of a child.
Judging by her appearance, she hadn't even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet...
Golden hair and blue eyes.
To think this girl who resembled Alice in Wonderland would be the future Hero.
As if telling me not to doubt it, a sign reading "Hero" floated above the girl's head.
"Hmm, the Hero... Well, she'll defeat the Demon King later. Nothing to do with me, just a lowly adventurer."
It had nothing to do with me.
Did it really have nothing to do with me?
If I hadn't checked the answer key, maybe it really would have had nothing to do with me.
"Still, I've only used it twice today, so I should check the answer key."
The answer key I could only check three times a day.
I conjured it up in my mind.
...
A thick book rustled open, pages flipping rapidly.
Those pages turned as if they knew their destination.
Eventually, they stopped at one page.
"I can see it. The future..."
Before my eyes, one "future" appeared.
The future if I chose "Ignore the Hero."
The train station engulfed in flames.
Not just the train station—Capital Grancia was consumed by fire.
*What is this? Just because I ignored the Hero, the capital ends up like this?*
A scene close to annihilation.
Citizens' corpses crawled along the ground, and red currents swirled in the sky.
And in the distance, I saw the Hero descending the stairs.
She looked 180 degrees different from moments ago.
The Hero's blue eyes flashed, but they held emptiness.
A depth similar to the deep sea.
Unlike before, her mature face gazed at me.
And then...
*Huh?*
My view, which had been facing her, was now directed at the ground.
My neck had been cut before I even noticed.
The answer key showed me that future and then closed its pages as if that was the end.
Thud—
...
I muttered to myself in dismay.
"Number 1 is wrong...? Ignoring the Hero is wrong...?"
Seriously.
Seriously?
If I ignore the Hero, I die in the future?
I tried to check the answer key again in my mind.
But I only had three chances per day.
The opportunity to check the answer key had already slipped through my fingers.
"Number 2 could be wrong too. This is fucked."
If the "question maker" went crazy for a moment, both could be wrong answers.
*Do I choose number 1, which is definitely wrong, or number 2, which might be correct?*
...The answer seemed decided.
I had no choice.
To avoid dying, I had no choice.
Option number 2.
"Kidnap the Hero."
I clicked that option with my hand.
Kidnapping (誘拐).
To lure and abduct.
The word choice wasn't quite right, but I (forcefully) lured and (forcefully) abducted her, so it wasn't entirely wrong.
*I never dreamed I'd kidnap a child...*
After clicking the option with my hand, the moment the Hero entered a secluded alley.
I covered her mouth.
Since the Hero was still young, she didn't even have the strength to resist, and after 10 seconds, her body went limp.
I felt guilty, but.
It was for my own survival, so I had no choice.
Even if you call it rationalization, I have nothing to say.
"You've grasped the entire situation of what happened, right?"
"No, I still don't understand..."
"Do you need me to explain again? If so—"
"N-no! I understand everything! I was kidnapped because I'm the Hero!"
Right, that's the spirit.
I nodded in satisfaction.
At that, the Hero looked around anxiously.
Soon, she seemed to realize she couldn't escape.
"Um..."
"If you have something to say, speak."
"You said you kidnapped me because I'm the Hero... So, what are you going to do with me now...?"
I looked at the Hero through the sunlight reflected in the window.
Her blue eyes welled up with tears.
Her delicate body with pale skin trembled slightly.
She clutched her skirt anxiously.
*She speaks boldly, but inside she's trembling...*
Most people would barely be able to speak to me, their kidnapper, by now.
"If you keep your wits about you even in a tiger's den, you'll survive."
That's easier said than done—few people actually keep their wits when they enter that den.
However, the Hero before me was suppressing her emotions as much as possible and maintaining a firm mental state.
"What are you going to do with me...? Will you raise me like livestock, less than human...?"
"Livestock... I won't do anything like that."
Hmm.
To check the Hero's condition, I looked her up and down.
There were no injuries from the subduing process.
I decided to answer her honestly.
"I."
"..."
"To you."
"..."
"Won't do anything."
"...What?"
"I won't do anything to you. That's it."
The Hero's anxious eyes widened.
Is it that surprising that I won't do anything?
I couldn't find any reaction from the Hero other than surprise.
"If you don't understand, I'll say it again. I won't do anything to you."
"..."
Still no response?
I pulled over a chair from a nearby desk.
Then I sat down lightly.
I was giving the Hero's brain time to process.
"Uh, um, well..."
"Do you understand now?"
"Th-then... if you're not going to do anything to me... why did you kidnap me?"
At the Hero's question, my eyes automatically blinked.
Because I was quite flustered.
What am I going to do after kidnapping her?
"Good question."
"...What?"
"I don't know either."
"...Whaat?"
I kidnapped the Hero as the choice told me to.
But what I should do now.
I hadn't thought about that at all.
"...Is there anything you want to do?"
"Let me leave—"
"Except that. For now, you have to stay locked up here for a while."
"U-um. Then..."
"I'll grant anything except escape."
Anything except escape.
A promise born from guilt.
Upon hearing those words, the Hero immediately shouted at me, as if she'd been holding something in her heart.
"Then, um, can I send a letter?"
"A letter...?"
"Yes, I promised to send a letter to my family in the countryside... but I got kidnapped by a strange person, haha..."
"Hmm..."
A letter.
Letters are dangerous.
She could send a rescue signal to someone.
Like "I've been kidnapped. Please save me."
However, the Hero didn't seem like she'd use such an obvious trick.
She seemed to be asking out of genuine concern for her family.
Heartfelt feelings about family show on the surface.
"Is it... possible?"
"On one condition."
"What condition? I absolutely won't write a letter asking for help...!"
"So you were thinking about it. Well, anyone would. The condition is that I have the right to review the letter you send. If that's acceptable, then it's possible."
"B-but...!"
Review.
At that word, an atmosphere of despair flowed around the Hero.
Like when you write a diary at school and have to have it reviewed by your teacher—having your personal story reviewed doesn't feel good.
The Hero seemed to feel the same way.
"P-please don't read it too carefully..."
The Hero made a small request to me in a thoroughly dejected tone.
How cute.
I could feel the innocence of a young child.
"I'll try my best."
"Y-yes... Thank you..."
Thanking a kidnapper seems a bit odd.
Well, since she's thanking me, I should accept it.
I pressed the light switch in the dark single room.
Click—
"Aah! It's bright...!"
"You'll get used to it in a bit. I'll bring up the letter paper with your meal."
There was nothing more to say now.
I decided to leave the room so the Hero could be alone.
And I needed to meet the "question maker."
"Well then, rest up."
"W-wait...! Um...!"
Does she have more to say?
I nodded at the Hero as if telling her to speak.
She hesitated for a moment, then made a request.
"C-could you also include some money when you send the letter...?"
"Money?"
"Yes, the reason I came up to the capital was to get a job and send money to my family... Hehe... We don't have money at home..."
"Asking a kidnapper to include money in a letter."
"I-if you can't, that's okay...!"
"I can do that much."
To think of her family even after being kidnapped.
A Hero who thinks of others before herself.
I'm certain.
That woman is definitely the Hero.
I spoke once more to the Hero standing there dazed.
"Rest comfortably."
Bang—
I closed the door to the single room and turned the key to lock it.
Then I used magic to seal the door.
Finally, I fastened the latch and it was done.
Leaving behind the Hero's room secured with quadruple locks, I headed to the entrance.
As I descended the stairs, I mulled over the Hero's behavior from earlier.
"To think of her parents even after being kidnapped—is caring for others a Hero's trait?"
But.
"She's a filial daughter."
As someone with Confucian blood flowing through me.
I found the Hero's behavior a little.
Just a little pleasing.
"I want to see my family too, after so long."
When did I last see them?
Ten years ago?
I can't even remember.
I recalled memories of my family as I prepared to go out.