# 15. Third Companion. As always, the moment of choice arrives.
Cecilia Saten.
Surveying the banquet hall intently, she thinks to herself.
*Boring.*
People react like chimpanzee dolls clapping at sounds.
*To think I'm the same species as those things.*
Saten didn't like that fact.
*'Insects have their own way of living. Why do these insects act like insects despite being human?'*
They adorn themselves with useless, glittering trinkets.
Yet their rotten hearts remain unchanged.
No matter how much they dress up, their essence is the same—stupid insects.
"To think I must grace this occasion for such trash. What a bother, Knight Commander."
"...They're our precious source of funding. Saten. Don't use such harsh words. This is a public place."
Crack—
Saten's father, Lenen, looked at Saten with a gaze full of hatred.
A look that didn't seem fatherly—one of barely suppressed rage.
Though Saten was treated poorly within the family, her talent alone was recognized enough for her to live like a human being.
*'Anger is better than indifference, at least.'*
Having once drifted through the family like a ghost, receiving only indifference, Saten didn't find this situation entirely bad.
No matter how much they hated her, Saten felt nothing.
As long as they provided three meals a day, Saten had no complaints.
Lenen spoke to Saten with a hateful gaze.
"Saten. Soon I will introduce you. Watch your mouth. And show them your talent. Show them that you possess talent worthy of breaking tradition."
"Yes, I understand."
Saten nodded with an emotionless expression.
Displaying her talent was quite easy, and she was curious about how people would react when she showed it.
However, more than curiosity about displaying her talent,
something that piqued her curiosity even more appeared before her eyes.
*'What is that insect doing? Wearing a mask and using invisibility magic.'*
No, perhaps that man isn't an insect.
The term 'person' would be more accurate for that man.
Unlike others who act while reading the room, he was showing his own behavior among the crowd.
Saten saw a man approaching her through the darkness with the lights off.
Though he was using invisibility magic, Saten, deeply versed in magic, could notice it.
*'The masked man. What is he? Judging by how he's approaching me in that state, he's probably trying to kidnap me.'*
Hmm.
A man who rarely stimulates curiosity.
Saten fixed her gaze on the man approaching her through the crowd.
And watching him in his mask, she imagined the situation.
*'If I were to disappear from here, how would the family react?'*
Would they be angry, sad, or perhaps happy?
That's somewhat curious.
Now, different from the past treatment.
How would the family members react if I were gone?
Curiosity.
Saten fixed her gaze on the approaching man with curiosity.
He seemed surprised that she was looking at him, but soon silently approached Saten.
And finally, the masked man Lee Jun-woo stopped right in front of her.
Saten showed him a bewitching smile and whispered.
"You. Kidnap me."
With expressionless, pitch-black eyes, Saten told Lee Jun-woo.
It was a choice only she, not in her right mind, insane, could make.
*What on earth is this woman thinking?*
*Asking me to kidnap her.*
*She's not in her right mind.*
I left the banquet hall wearing my mask.
In my arms, I carried Saten, the Hero Party's mage, like a princess.
Inside, they seemed to have just grasped the situation, as I detected signs of frantic movement.
"...I'd better hurry."
"That's right. Please hurry, Mr. Kidnapper. At this rate, you might get caught, you know?"
Grin.
Saten showed a smile.
*'She's making that expression to a kidnapper. Can she not feel fear...?'*
A smile that felt no threat of death whatsoever.
Though her expression was smiling, there was something hollow about that smile.
More than that...
"Why did you ask me to kidnap you?"
"No particular reason. I was just curious about their reaction. Nothing more than that."
"How arrogant."
"People call talented people arrogant. Thanks for the compliment, Mr. Kidnapper. More importantly, I sense presences at the entrance. Can you get out?"
"..."
It seemed they had stationed guards at the entrance in case of emergencies.
They seemed to have sensed something happening inside, as they were on high alert and concentrating.
Their skill level appeared to be at the upper end of formal knights.
"If a pursuit team attaches to you, even you, Mr. Kidnapper, will have trouble. What will you do?"
"I'll hide my appearance like when I approached you."
"Ah, that Silence magic? I could see through it. The form is free, a simply described magic circle. It was quite impressive. Are you a mage, Mr. Kidnapper?"
"...You could say that."
I learned magic from 'her,' and I've studied quite a bit on my own.
Even if I'm not a top-tier mage, I'd be at least a skilled one.
With that, I activated Silence magic and approached the main gate guarded by the knights.
*'...These knights seem to have no magical aptitude.'*
Magic that makes the body transparent.
Knights who've reached a certain level can sense the presence of magic instinctively, but these guards weren't at that level.
Thanks to that, I could easily escape the banquet hall.
*'Should kidnapping be this easy?'*
There was no one with magical aptitude inside either, and the only person who saw through my magic was Saten in my arms...
*'...Wait.'*
Surely, that person was at the banquet hall...?
That person had reached a level where they could see through my magic.
As if my prediction was correct,
on the path home after passing through the knights,
a silver-white knight stood there.
It was my old comrade, Irina.
Damn it.
"You there, the one in the mask. Stop."
"..."
"To kidnap someone in front of everyone. You've got guts. Even though I, Irina, Knight Commander of Sylvester, am watching."
From afar, Irina glared at me with sharp eyes.
Those were the sharp eyes of a knight who'd been through thick and thin.
"If you have a mouth, how about using it?"
"..."
"Answering with silence, I see. So that's how you'll play it. I understand. Then I'll take that girl. For the crime of attempting to kidnap a noble lady, you'll pay with your life."
No, if I speak, she'll recognize me.
Irina can identify my voice instantly.
That's why I couldn't say anything.
Saten whispered to me.
"Speak up, Mr. Kidnapper. At this rate, that knight will kill you, you know?"
"...I can't speak."
"Hmm, then how about this? Since you've taken me hostage, threaten that knight by saying you'll kill me."
"..."
*Isn't she being too cooperative?*
*This woman.*
She was giving kidnapping consulting to me, the kidnapper.
As if frustrated by my hesitation, she began to act on her own.
Stab.
"Kyaa, kyaaah...!! Th-this man is trying to kill me...!!"
"Wait! Y-you kidnapper...! Stop your actions! Stabbing the lady with a dagger..! Y-you cowardly bastard...!!"
Perhaps because Irina was far away, she couldn't see it.
That Saten had pulled a dagger from my waist and stabbed her own shoulder.
With blood dripping, she grinned as if feeling no pain.
It was a self-inflicted act.
She was using me by creating a situation convenient for kidnapping.
"What are you doing? I've created this opportunity for you... You should use it, shouldn't you...?"
"...Damn it."
I had no choice but to point the dagger at Irina.
Then, expressing 'I'll stab if you come closer!' as much as possible with my body, I backed away.
At that sight, Irina raised both hands above her head and nodded.
"A-alright. I won't approach. But please spare the lady's life. Though she belongs to my rival knight order, she's still a citizen of the Empire. I ask that you spare her life."
Honest knight Irina.
She was looking at me with a tense expression.
*'Good thing I wore the mask.'*
In that state,
I backed away from Irina with the dagger at Saten's neck.
"...I'll let you go this time, but if we meet again in the Empire, I will definitely arrest you. Masked man."
"..."
*I hope we never meet again.*
Irina's figure, unable to identify me, grew smaller and smaller, and as I turned the corner, even her form disappeared.
Fleeing quickly from there, when I could no longer sense Irina's presence,
I shouted at Saten.
"Are you crazy? To do such a thing in your right mind..."
"Other people say I'm not in my right mind, but I think I am."
"...Should I just return you?"
*She might be a bad influence on Luna and Hare.*
Did my words bother Saten? She frowned for a moment and reached toward my face.
No impact occurred, but the mask covering my face had disappeared.
Saten, holding that mask in her hand, said to me.
"So this is what the kidnapper looks like. Unexpectedly neat and handsome."
"...Give back the mask."
"Here you go."
Saten obediently returned the mask.
*Then why did she take it in the first place...?*
Afterward, she explained her intention for taking the mask and tightened her grip on my neck.
Saten was coldly expressionless.
"I've memorized it."
"...What?"
"Your face. I can draw it, and I can show people my memory. So..."
If you don't want to be wanted in front of all the citizens,
You'll have to kill me.
Or kidnap me.
Saten, seemingly without fear of death,
was instead pressuring me, the kidnapper, with an ultimatum.
"The world's turned upside down..."
It was truly a bold and insane act.