# 11. The Abducted Girl and the Kidnapped Girl (2)
Turning back time,
two hours after Lee Jun-woo abducted Hare.
The thugs were cleaning up the corpse of the boss Jun-woo had killed.
"Damn it, to think the boss died so easily..."
"He said he was a knight. Said he learned swordsmanship! Fuck. What are we supposed to do now?"
"What do you mean? The boss position's empty. We should take it."
The five thugs wiped the blood from the floor while discussing who would become the new owner of the Garbage Dump.
Strangely enough, they all thought they should become the 'boss.'
Among them, the thug with the best fighting skills shouted.
"Ahem, then shall we decide fairly by fighting ability? How about it? Not bad, right?"
"I agree. To become the owner of the Garbage Dump, you need to be strong."
"Th-then, I agree too!"
With the consent of three—a majority—the new owner would be decided by fighting.
Those who had been wiping up blood with rags began glaring at each other.
They knew that making a rash move would get them beaten up by the group.
Just as everyone was watching for someone else to fight first,
a frivolous male voice began to echo.
"What's this? Are these guys fighting? More importantly, the girl isn't here? Tsk, this is troublesome."
White hood pulled over, an appearance similar to a clergyman.
The man with the frivolous voice pushed his way between the thugs.
Then he asked the thug who was best at fighting.
"Hey kid. Didn't a girl come here?"
"K-kid? You bastard. You want to die?"
The instantly enraged thug tried to swing his fist.
However, someone was grabbing his fist from behind.
Immediately, a serious male voice was heard.
"...A pointless action. Suu. These idiots don't need conversation."
"Just stay still, Hugo. I was trying to have some fun for once~"
"What? You called us idiots—"
Crack—!
The thug who was punched flew and was embedded in the wall.
The face of the thug who had been confident in fighting became unrecognizable.
From just one punch.
"Tsk, Hugo. It's no fun if you kill them like this. Thin and long. Don't you know what I mean?"
"I don't. Heavy and short is most convenient."
"..."
Wh-what are those men?
The thugs couldn't dare open their mouths in the overwhelming atmosphere.
In that terrifying atmosphere, the frivolous man began pulling out a book from his chest.
A black book leaking an ominous aura.
One of the thugs knew the name of that book.
"Grimoire..."
"Oh, what? You know this? Alright, I choose you. Come here."
The thug approached the frivolous man with his body hunched up.
Under the hood, an ominous smile hung on his lips.
"Good, you came. If you answer properly, you can live, okay? You tell me. A girl came here, right?"
"Sh-she did! Just earlier! She came!"
"Hmm, really? But why does my Grimoire still say the girl is here?"
"...What?"
"'Our' Demon King's 'guidance' can't be wrong. As a believer, I can't doubt the Demon King... so the answer is clear. You're lying, aren't you?"
An ominous smile spread across his face, and from the frivolous man's Grimoire, a thin and long, black 'rapier' began to emerge.
He looked at the terrified thugs and shouted as if amused.
"Then, shall we find out who's lying?"
The future changed by Lee Jun-woo.
The Grimoire, unaware of this, began torturing the thugs by stabbing them with the long rapier.
Thin and long.
The pain was brief, but the torture time was long.
Because they didn't die easily.
"Th-that girl isn't here...! She ran away somewhere else—!"
"The Demon King can't be lying. You trash. Tell me right now."
Where is the Hero Party?
The Grimoires who follow the Demon Kings.
They too were searching for the Hero Party.
As time passed,
the Hero's training continued.
"Training's over, Hero. Good work."
"Good work! Huff— What! P-please spare me..."
...Did I push her to the limit too much today?
Training that increased in intensity each day.
Luna wiggled her fingers as if unable to move her body.
"I'm, I'm dying... Dying at the young age of 14..."
"You absolutely won't die from that much."
"How would you know, mister... I'm telling you I'm dying..."
Luna muttered in a crawling voice.
Unable to watch her lying in the yard any longer, I began to take action.
"Wh-whoa. I'm flying through the air..."
"Stay quiet. I'll carry you to your room."
Piggyback.
I put Luna on my back and decided to carry her to her room.
*Today's training was tough, so I'll give her time to recover with a delicious dinner.*
Thinking that, just as I was about to climb the stairs,
Hare's voice came from behind.
"Mister. What are you doing? Why are you carrying Lu— ...that girl on your back?"
"The Hero's exhausted, so I have no choice but to carry her."
I couldn't see her expression, but
I answered Hare's voice gently.
But as if she didn't like that sight, Luna whispered in my ear.
"...But mister, why do you speak stiffly to me and gently to Hare?"
"That's because..."
Because you're the Hero.
I'm sorry to Luna, but a Hero is someone who bears a burden.
They must save people, defeat the Demon King, and save the world.
If I show gentleness to such a Hero...
*I might hold her back.*
I might be the one who hinders the Hero's growth.
A Hero is someone who overcomes limits through hardship.
She needed the stick rather than the carrot.
"Huh..? Why aren't you gentle with me..?"
The Hero's question asked once more.
I glossed over it.
"Because Hare is good."
"Geez, I'm not good...?"
"It's a different kind of goodness."
Saying that, I opened the Hero's door and placed her on the bed.
She must have been quite exhausted, because as soon as I laid her down, she immediately fell asleep.
Her face looked quite stupid.
"...Going to sleep without washing."
The bed got dirty, so I'll have to do laundry tomorrow.
Leaving the sleeping Hero behind, I decided to leave the room.
I saw Hare peeking from the doorway.
What's she doing?
"What are you doing, Hare?"
"...Mister."
Hare hiding by the door, watching me.
She hesitated before asking.
"Am I a good child?"
"...?"
"Even though I stole your wallet, am I still a good child...?"
Hare asked with anxious eyes.
Is she still holding onto that incident?
As I left the room, I patted Hare's head.
Hare flinched for a moment but quickly adapted to the touch.
"Hare."
"Yes."
"I already forgave you. You should forget about that too. Just don't do it next time."
It was a struggle to survive, so I had forgiven her long ago.
And.
*I'll take all of that child's sins. Please, forgive the child...*
Hare's grandmother, whom I met that day, had said that too.
I had no reason to hate Hare.
"So forget it. That's all you need to do."
"...I can't do that. It was my fault. I need to atone."
"Atone... If that's what you think, then how about making one promise with me instead?"
"A promise...?"
A promise.
A promise to relieve Hare's guilt.
I held out my pinky finger and said.
"Never lie to me again from now on. If you make that promise, I think my heart will be at ease."
"...I promise. From now on, I'll never lie to you, mister. I promise!"
Now there were no obstacles like forgiveness or sin between Hare and me.
Hare hooked her pinky finger with a determined expression.
Her expression looked much lighter, and she showed a bright smile.
*Thief. Juliana Hare.*
Seeing her childlike bright smile, I decided to think about how to educate her.
Late evening.
After preparing dinner for the children, I headed to the entrance to go out.
At that moment, Hare's voice was heard.
"...Mister, where are you going?"
"I have an appointment, so I'm going out for a bit."
"...When will you come back?"
"I'll be back soon. Rest comfortably."
I patted the head of Hare, who had an anxious expression, and headed outside.
The location was Minerva's Library.
Now that I had abducted Hare,
I needed to have a conversation with Minerva.
*What I'm doing is the right thing... right?*
When I entered the library, as if she had been waiting,
Minerva welcomed me at the entrance.
"Welcome, Jun-woo! You kidnapped well again this time?"
"...Were you watching?"
"Of course, I'm always watching Jun-woo!"
That's a bit unpleasant.
When I gave Minerva a contemptuous look, she waved her hands as if flustered.
"N-no. That's not it. I just mean it like that. I'm not always watching!"
"..."
"Really! I'm a Goddess! You can't trust my words?!"
"..."
She is... a Goddess though.
Minerva shouting something.
I passed her and headed to the interior of the library.
"No! Really! Just a teeny tiny bit! I watch!"
"Okay. I got it, so stop chattering."
"Ch-chattering?! What kind of language is that to a Goddess—"
"Anyway."
Thud.
I sat on the sofa and looked at Minerva.
I had something I needed to confirm with her.
"Minerva. I kidnapped the Thief. Her name is Juliana Hare. She's the second Hero Party member after the Hero."
"I know. I told you to kidnap her. I know very well!"
"...Minerva, is it right to keep kidnapping Hero Party members like this?"
"Right..."
Minerva seemed to ponder about 'rightness.'
For a Goddess, 'rightness' was quite an important matter,
so that contemplation lasted quite a while.
"Hmm, if it's right, then it is right. Even if it's not right for that person, it's right for this world."
"...Really? So it is the right thing for now...?"
"For now."
Minerva firmly said it was the right thing.
Right for the world.
*Then*
It might be better to move up the timing a bit.
I asked Minerva.
"Minerva."
"Yeah."
"Where's the next Hero Party member?"
Quickly gathering the Hero Party members in one place.
To make them into one perfect team.
Because only then can I survive too.
*What's left is the Mage and the Saint.*
The Goddess Minerva would tell me the location of those who are somewhere.
I just need to receive their locations and kidnap them.
It was a very simple and easy task.