# 26. You Want to Escape...? Should I Help You...? (2)
"...I think some explanation is needed, Hare."
I had my suspicions.
But I never thought something like this would be happening at home.
I recalled the past before I arrived here.
I had been on my way to Minerva's Library.
[L-Lee Jun-woo! Something big is about to happen! Won't you go home right now? What is Lee Jun-woo's choice?]
[1. Go home immediately.]
[2. Ignore it and head to the library.]
*What's this about?*
She told me to come, and now suddenly she's telling me to go home—what is she talking about?
However, judging from Minerva's urgent tone, it didn't seem like a joke.
If it were really a joke, she'd mix in casual speech in the question.
When presenting important questions, Minerva uses formal speech.
*...Then this must be important.*
First, I quickly turned my body around.
And checked the answer to question 1.
The future had captured the moment when Hare would help Estia escape.
However, Hare's expression as she watched Estia from below was far from normal.
In her hand was a button that would send an electric current.
*This is dangerous.*
If things went wrong, the Hero Party could fall apart.
Hare was about to press the switch that would send the current.
At that moment.
*Just like I saw in the future, exactly the same.*
Tap—
Present time.
In my hand was the current switch Hare was about to press, just like I'd seen in the future.
I didn't bother looking at the future of option 2, but if I had chosen 2 without knowing anything...
*Estia would have died 100%. And the Hero Party's Demon King subjugation would have ended in failure.*
A future that must never happen.
And Hare, who had tried to make it happen.
"N-no, mister, it's not like that..."
I had to scold her as she wore an expression full of regret.
But before that.
*...First, I need to stop Estia's escape.*
Even without the current flowing, if she fell wrong from there, she might die.
I made eye contact with Estia sitting atop the fence.
"D-don't come! Leave me alone! Y-you kidnapper! Aren't you afraid of the Goddess—"
"Be quiet, Estia."
"N-no! Don't grab me! Kyaaah—!!"
Noisy as a monkey.
I hoisted Estia, who had been trying to climb over the barbed wire, onto my shoulder.
She squealed loudly.
Carrying the noisy Estia, I approached Hare.
"...Hare."
"Y-yes... m-mister..."
Hare flinched excessively as if frightened.
She clasped both hands in front of her, taking a respectful posture, and tears were dripping onto the floor.
I spoke coldly to her.
"You were trying to do something interesting while I was away."
"N-no... it wasn't... for fun..."
"Don't make excuses, Hare. First..."
I need to put Estia down and have a talk with you alone.
When I said that, Hare's body trembled countless times.
It was a pitiful sight, but I didn't feel particularly sympathetic.
*...Wrong is wrong. Whether it succeeded or failed. The intent itself was bad.*
I wanted things to go peacefully.
But this way, the Hero Party won't function smoothly.
I had no choice but to give Hare a severe punishment.
"L-let go...! I need to go to the Church—!!"
"Just sleep for a bit, Estia."
"Eh—"
Thud—
My ears hurt.
After knocking Estia out, I immediately headed to Luna's room.
The door was unlocked, and the magic barrier that had been securing the door was also deactivated.
*...Saten?*
Saten definitely didn't help Estia out of pity.
It seemed that Hare, who appeared to be the mastermind of this incident, had manipulated Saten.
I didn't know what method she used, but I could ask Saten directly later.
For more detailed information...
"Sob, m-mister... I'm s-sorry... sob..."
I could ask Hare directly, who was following behind me.
Wiping tears with her hands, she barely managed to follow me.
She had shed so many tears I was worried she might get dehydrated.
First, I carried Estia into Luna's room.
Luna, who had been sitting in a chair, jumped up with wide eyes.
"Mister! What about Estia... Wh-what's wrong with her?"
"I knocked her out."
"What? Well, I guess from a kidnapper's perspective, an escape would be infuriating... I'll understand."
Luna tried to understand this incident from my perspective as a kidnapper.
Despite being a victim of kidnapping herself.
It was quite heroic behavior.
Anyway.
"Luna. Why didn't you try to escape?"
"Wh-what? Me?"
"Yes, you. Why didn't you try to escape when you had the chance?"
This was somewhat unexpected.
Luna must have been exhausted from following that difficult training.
If given the chance, she could have escaped with Estia.
*Why didn't she escape?*
As someone in the position of a kidnapper, I was curious why Luna didn't escape.
"W-well, you see..."
Luna scratched her head for a moment.
Then, blushing slightly, she answered.
"B-because there's money...? If I escape from here, the support for my family will disappear too. You know my family's address, so who knows what you might do..."
"Do I look like that kind of person to you?"
"N-no! I'm just saying! Anyway, absolutely! It's not because I like it here! Just, money! It's because of money! Got it? Don't misunderstand!"
Luna rattled off her words rapidly.
And I liked Luna's reason for not escaping.
*Because of money...*
More precisely, because of her family.
The fact that Luna didn't escape despite having the chance was very praiseworthy.
So I decided to give Hare a "punishment," but give Luna a "reward."
Right in front of the regretful Hare.
"Luna, well done."
"...What? Why are you praising me...? Is today the day the world ends...?"
I haven't praised Luna much, have I?
But now was the time to praise her.
Pat—
"Very well done. Despite having the chance, you didn't escape. In that spirit, I'll reduce the intensity of your training starting tomorrow."
"What?! R-really...?! Y-you're not lying...?!"
"Of course, starting tomorrow we'll begin sword training. And for your family..."
I'll provide an additional 500,000 Peri from now on.
At those words, Luna's blue eyes sparkled like sapphires.
She looked very pleased.
"R-really...?! Wh-what kind of day is today! You've changed, mister! Wow—!"
If Luna had a tail, wouldn't it be wagging furiously from side to side?
She was like an excited golden retriever.
In contrast, Hare wore an expression full of despair.
Joy and sorrow intertwined.
Hare's actions were seriously wrong, so to correct them, I had to give her a strong shock.
*The act of trying to kill someone. That can never be forgiven.*
Especially since it was Estia, who would become a future comrade.
I had to give Hare a strong shock so she would never do such a thing again.
*This should be enough.*
I stopped patting Luna's head and turned to leave the room.
Leaving Estia with Luna.
"When Estia wakes up, explain things well to her, Luna."
"Y-yes...! Thank you, mister...! Wait, is it right to thank you...? Anyway! Thank you!"
Luna bowed her head in thanks.
"Um, before you go, could you come here for a moment?"
Then, as if she had something to say, she signaled for me to come closer.
*...What does she want to say?*
I brought my ear close at Luna's request.
She whispered carefully in a small voice.
"Um... don't scold Hare too much... I think she did it because Estia looked pitiful... Hare is kind..."
"She is kind."
The girl is kind.
But it's a twisted kindness.
Luna seemed to be saying this because she didn't know Hare had tried to kill Estia.
Still, I had to scold Hare, so I vaguely answered "I understand" to Luna's words and left the room.
Slam—
The door closed.
Silence flowed between Hare and me.
"..."
I went down the stairs without saying anything.
Hare followed behind.
And as I headed toward Hare's room—
Thump—
Hare grabbed my ankle and began pleading.
"M-mister... I-I was wrong... I didn't mean to do that... I was in a bad mood—"
"So you're saying you tried to kill your friend because you were in a bad mood?"
"N-no... I... that child said she would report... I was trying to protect you, mister...!"
"Who's protecting whom? You protecting me? That's quite funny, Hare. It's presumptuous behavior."
Presumptuous behavior.
In the first place, it was Hare who helped Estia escape, and the biggest problem was that in the process of cleaning up the mess she made, she truly tried to lead someone to "death."
*The act of helping a friend escape itself is good behavior, but...*
The intent behind that action—Hare's was rotten to the core.
She absolutely did not try to save Estia because she felt sorry for her.
I looked down at Hare, who was lying on the floor grabbing my ankle.
"Sob, I'm sorry... I was wrong... please don't abandon... sob... me..."
She's crying and pleading.
Hare, whom I thought was kind, had attempted a sinister act behind the scenes.
How should I interpret this situation?
First, I decided to lift her from the floor.
I was sick of looking at her.
"Get up, Hare."
"S-sorry... Hare is a bad girl... Hare is a bad girl... I'm sorry..."
"...Sigh, forget the rest. I'll just ask one thing. I won't ask anything else and will hide this from the others, so just answer this."
Why did you try to make Estia escape?
At that question, Hare raised her head.
Then answered with honesty.
"...If one person left, your attention would come to me..."
"What does that mean?"
"W-with four people, attention goes to the other children... but if only I remain... your attention will only be on me... sob..."
Selfishness.
Jealousy.
Greed.
It seemed Hare had tried to make the others escape with such emotions.
The attempt to kill Estia in the process appeared to have been an impulsive action.
*Still, trying to kill a friend cannot be justified.*
I lifted Hare, who had been lying collapsed on the floor.
Not as a sign of forgiveness.
But to give her punishment.
"Hare. I think you know what you did wrong."
"...Y-yes, I was wrong—"
"The word 'wrong' isn't enough, Hare. It's appropriate that you receive direct punishment for this action."
"...M-mister? Why are you pushing me...?"
I pushed Hare's back, forcing her into her room.
Then I closed the door as if I would never open it again.
From behind the closed door came Hare's pitiful voice.
—M-mister...? Wh-what is this...?
"...Have some time to think in there. I'll bring you meals on time."
—Wh-what...? M-mister...? D-don't go... please don't leave me... I was wrong... I'm s-sorry...! P-please don't abandon me...! Mister, please...! Mister...!!
Leaving behind Hare's pleading voice, I locked her door with a key.
Bang bang— I heard the sound of her pounding on the door, but I deliberately ignored it.
Hare needed this kind of strong shock therapy.
*She'll be able to let go of her feelings for me. And she'll never try to betray her comrades again.*
Minerva seemed to agree with me, sending a response through a question.
[That's right, Jun-woo! A selfish, greedy, jealous, obsessive Thief needed a shock. An excellent choice! So how long will you set the period?]
[1. Confine her for 7 days.]
[2. That's too short. Confine her for 14 days.]
No need to think about it.
"The confinement is 14 days."
Hare needed time to think.
A lot of time.