# 17. The Third Companion. As Always, the Moment of Choice Arrives (4)
"Mister...? Who's that next to you...?"
*Chill—*
Hare couldn't welcome Lee Jun-woo.
To be precise, she couldn't welcome that woman holding his hand.
Seeing Mister and that Saten holding hands together made Hare feel extremely unpleasant.
*I need to separate them.*
"F-first. Come inside, Mister. It's cold outside..."
"Right, Saten, you come in too."
So her name is Saten.
Lee Jun-woo and Saten took off their shoes and tried to enter the house.
At that moment.
*N-now's my chance...!*
*Shove—*
Hare naturally pushed aside Saten, who had been holding Mister's hand, and claimed the spot next to Lee Jun-woo.
Suddenly pushed away, Saten fell to the floor.
She let out a breath of disbelief.
It was a situation she'd never experienced before.
"...Huh?"
"M-Mister! How was the party today, was it fun...!?"
*O-operation success!*
*Mister didn't notice!*
Having claimed the spot next to Lee Jun-woo, Hare smiled victoriously and glared at Saten.
*The spot next to Mister isn't for you. This is my place.*
Coldly.
With a warning not to approach Mister.
If there was one thing Hare miscalculated, it was that Saten wasn't going to let this situation slide.
*Why did she push me?*
Emotionless Saten couldn't understand what this situation was about at all.
So she immediately asked Lee Jun-woo.
"Kidnapper-sir. That child pushed me. Why do you think she pushed me?"
"...Hare? Did you just push Saten?"
"N-no...? N-no. Well..."
*That, that evil girl...!*
*How dare she report me to Mister...!*
Hare hadn't gotten particularly angry even when she was reported for stealing.
Because that had been wrong behavior.
But now.
When Saten reported the pushing.
Hare was angry beyond what she could bear.
*What if Mister is disappointed in me...?*
That was the reason.
"Hare, did you really push Saten?"
"W-well..."
*No, I didn't do it.*
*She fell on her own.*
Hare wanted to lie like that to escape the situation.
But she had promised Mister.
Never to lie.
Hare had no choice but to lower her head.
"...S-sorry. I, I pushed her. Mister."
"Friends should get along well. What's the reason, Hare?"
"...Honestly, I don't like her."
A gorgeous dress.
Jewels adorning her entire body.
A noble appearance.
Saten shone no matter who looked at her.
Compared to that, Hare had:
Plain clothes.
No accessories at all.
A malnourished appearance.
Even for kind-hearted Hare, it was a structure that couldn't help but make feelings of inferiority well up.
"Why did you bring that girl, Mister...? Did you kidnap her again...? Why...? Aren't we enough...? I-I'll try harder, Mister... I-I'll study more too, so... you don't n-need to bring her..."
Hare was afraid her place would be taken.
Feeling like the girl would probably study better than her, worried Mister might abandon her, she appealed to Lee Jun-woo with the desperation of clutching at his pant leg.
"I-I'll work harder—"
"Hare. That's enough."
"Yes...?"
"I have no intention of sending Saten back. Hare is a good child, so you can get along well, right? Apologize directly to Saten, not to me."
But Lee Jun-woo's voice was firm.
He showed no sign of backing down, and Hare was crushed by that voice.
"Now, apologize. Hare. Pushing her first was wrong, wasn't it."
"...M-Mister."
"Hurry, Hare."
She felt hurt that Mister didn't take her side.
She knew she was in the wrong, but she couldn't help feeling hurt.
She had no choice but to approach Saten.
"..."
"In our family, the person who did wrong slaps their own cheek, you know? Go ahead and apologize."
"...I'm not going to slap my own cheek. Sorry for pushing you."
*Grind—*
Hare gritted her teeth and offered the apology first.
Saten found the apology method of not slapping one's own cheek strange, but decided to ignore it since she didn't want to waste time.
"Well done. Hare. If you've done wrong, that's how you apologize."
"Yes... T-then, I'll go to my room now. Mister."
Hare scurried to her room in humiliation.
Then she lay on her bed and buried her face in her pillow.
"I hate you, Mister... I-I waited for you. But you brought another girl... That was mean..."
*Still...*
*The worst one is that girl.*
*She made me look like a bad kid in front of Mister.*
"Saten."
*Grind—*
Hare decided she would never forget this day.
And someday she would get revenge.
Unlike usual, her vulnerable heart hardened.
The Hero Party's Thief was a greedy child.
I guided Saten to a room on the second floor.
The layout was identical to Luna's room.
"This is your room, Saten."
"Hmm, it's bigger than my room. Not bad."
"What?"
This 5-pyeong room is bigger?
How many rooms are in the Cecilia mansion?
However, looking at Saten, she didn't seem to be lying.
There was no reason to lie about her own room.
*She really must have had a bad past.*
I judged Saten's words to be true and tapped the desk as I spoke.
"For now, you'll stay in this room and learn magic from me. The duration is until I decide. You can't leave the house during that time. Is that okay so far?"
"Yes, it's no different from the family. I understand. But I have one question."
Her first question as a student?
Then as someone who's become a teacher, I should answer.
"Alright, what's your question?"
"Why did you try to kidnap me? If money was the goal, you wouldn't have given me a room like this. Kidnapper-sir—"
"...Call me Mister."
"Yes, Mister. Your actions have no reason. Why exactly did you try to kidnap me?"
A reason.
Saten didn't seem to be asking angrily, but genuinely curious.
A question to satisfy curiosity and knowledge.
I explained to such a student without lies.
"You will become an excellent mage later."
"Everyone who's met me has said such complimentary things. And they said I'd become not an excellent mage, but a great mage."
They say geniuses are arrogant.
Her arrogance pierces the sky.
"And there's one more reason."
"...What is it?"
"That is..."
*It's because you're the Hero Party's Mage.*
To say that, crazy Saten might think I'm the crazy one, so I decided not to say it out loud.
Instead, I decided to set one condition.
"That reason. If you get along well with your friends, I'll tell you."
"...That's pointless. But I'll give you high marks for touching my curiosity. That's quite effective."
I made it up roughly, but fortunately it worked.
Saten nodded with a thoughtful expression, saying she'd try.
However, I didn't think Saten would actually get along well as I said.
"Then, that's all we'll talk about today. It's late, so you can sleep now."
"It's only 1:30. What are you talking about? I still have a lot to say."
"1:30. That's late."
"...What? What do you mean? If it's 1:30, it's time to move—"
"If it's 1:30, it's late at night. The time when everyone falls asleep."
"..."
Saten stood still with an expression as if her common sense had been denied.
I wondered if I'd said something strange, but I felt no guilt at all.
Saten with a blank expression.
I closed the door and left to give Saten time to think alone.
Then, on my way back to the living room, I pondered.
"Cecilia Saten. That child..."
What kind of path had she walked while living?
Saten, child of a prestigious family.
However, all the behavior she showed was somehow...
Missing a screw.
A very important screw at that.
The next day.
Early morning.
While I was sleeping, I felt someone's gaze from above me.
I struggled to open my eyelids to check who it was.
Dreamy sanpaku eyes were greeting me.
"Saten, what's the matter so early in the morning..."
"You're awake. I woke you because I have something to say."
"...When someone else is sleeping, you don't need to wake them by staring like that. Just shake the sleeping person's body."
"Yes, I understand."
Did she really understand?
Only Saten would know that.
So why did Saten wake me at this early morning when blue light still lingered?
"What did you want to say, Saten..."
"Do you know why I asked you to kidnap me?"
"...Because you wanted to run away?"
"Half right, half wrong. Actually, I was curious."
"Did you have to tell me what you're curious about right now...?"
*I'm dying of sleepiness...*
Even more so because of the alcohol I drank before bed the night before.
Still, since I'm up anyway, should I at least listen?
"Alright, I'm very curious about what you're curious about. Tell me quickly..."
"Yes, well..."
Saten began whispering the content to me as if telling some secret.
Having heard her truth, I couldn't help but wake up with my eyes wide open.
The reason she asked to be kidnapped was that...?
"You're curious about how your family will react...?"
"Yes, I'm curious. What reaction will they show if I'm gone? I'm so curious about that."
So.
Mister, you have to help me.
Saten said that and held out a piece of paper in front of me.
It was a letter with messy handwriting.
The peculiar thing was that the writing was in red?
Like someone's blood.
No way!
"S-Saten. You right now...!"
I immediately grabbed Saten's hand.
Red blood smeared onto my hand.
Her hand was already covered in blood.
There were traces of self-harm on her palm.
*Saten...*
Even deliberately changing her handwriting.
She had written the letter with her own blood.
No matter how I thought about it, it was behavior beyond normal.
"There was no need to go this far..."
"There is a need. To see their reaction, I have to deceive them thoroughly. Mister, you just need to send this letter to the Cecilia family."
First, stopping the bleeding is priority.
I immediately wrapped a bandage around Saten's finger and checked the letter's contents.
—*If you want your daughter back, bring money. Whether I release her or not will be decided by your sincerity. If it doesn't meet the standard... your daughter will never return alive, Lennon.*
A letter threatening Head of Family Lennon of Cecilia.
A letter written in Saten's blood, demanding money and even threatening to kill the daughter depending on the standard.
Seeing my expression, confirming I'd finished reading, she smiled and said:
"What is my value in the family, and what reaction will the family show me? Will they regret it, be sad, find it bothersome? I want to see their reaction, Mister."
Saten's eyes were serious.
Eyes speaking the truth.
And looking into those black eyes, I was certain.
This child was severely beyond the bounds of normal.
*Saten. I need to see her past.*
As quickly as possible.
What kind of life Saten lived, and why she acts like this.
I had to know.
She was off track, far too off track.