29. Hero Luna's Awakening (2)
What does it feel like when talent and effort combine?
Does confidence well up that you can do anything, and does everything in the world seem easy?
As someone who's merely mediocre, I can't truly empathize with that feeling.
But I was witnessing firsthand what tremendous talent combined with effort looked like.
"Haaah-!!"
Thwack-
Luna's swordsmanship was gradually finding its place.
Her wooden sword thrust toward my side.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that thrust resembled that of a knight who had honed their thrusting technique for ten years.
At least in terms of form.
"Still, you're weak, Luna. Your strength is lacking, and you have no technique."
"Wh-what! How did you dodge that-"
"Anticipate the dodge and continue your actions. Otherwise, your mind goes blank."
"Ack-!"
Clang-!
Still, if she's grown this much, in a few years she'll be shoulder to shoulder with upper-tier adventurers.
Luna rolled around the yard like a ball, clutching the top of her head.
I approached her and spoke quietly.
For feedback.
"Your form today wasn't bad. Your fighting skills were terrible, though."
"Ow- my head... Geez, why are you hitting a growing child on the head! If my brain cells die, will you take responsibility!?"
"You have few brain cells to begin with, so it doesn't matter. If 10% of 100 disappears, that's 10, but if 10% of 10 disappears, that's only 1, so it's fine."
"Wh-what did you say! Are you done talking! Apologize to my brain cells!"
Grrr-
Luna charging at me was like a fierce golden retriever.
Though she was just a puppy.
No matter how much Luna growled, to my eyes she still felt like a growing puppy.
It meant she still had much to learn.
"Work hard, Luna."
"I am working hard! I told you! I'll beat you soon!"
"With that skill and talent, it'll probably take more than ten years."
"Ahhh-!! So frustrating-!!"
I didn't mean it.
Luna's talent was so outstanding that I had to instill humility in her so she wouldn't be buried in that talent.
If I didn't, she would make critical mistakes in real combat.
"Luna."
"...What. Why are you calling talentless Luna?"
"You have no talent. So if you face an opponent in real combat, never let your guard down. You, who have no talent, must never let your guard down. Under-"
"I got it-! Geez, I got it! I'll never let my guard down. Happy?"
Luna seemed sulky about being told she had no talent.
She was pouting her lips like a duck.
The yellow color made her look similar to a duck too.
More precisely...
"You look more like a chick."
"Wh-what! What about me! I keep hearing strange sounds in my ears too! Why are you also making a fuss about me!"
"Hmm?"
Strange sounds?
She didn't drink Estia's holy water, did she?
As far as I knew, that holy water also had hallucinogenic and auditory hallucination effects.
Estia couldn't fill her divine power alone, and she wouldn't share it with others, so there's no way Luna drank it.
*She probably just misheard something, like the voice of the confined Hare.*
It was probably that kind of mistake.
*Speaking of which, I need to feed Estia holy water soon...*
If I suddenly stopped supplying holy water to a holy water addict, side effects and withdrawal symptoms would keep appearing.
If done wrong, she could lose her mind.
Whether I raid a church or a drug dealer.
The thought crossed my mind that I needed to do one of the two soon.
Meanwhile, Luna asked me.
"Mister. I have a question. I'm really seriously curious about this."
"What are you curious about?"
"When are you going to release Hare who's been glaring at us from that window? Her eyes are kind of scary...? She doesn't look well either."
Luna pointed with her finger at Hare in the distance.
Hare was wistfully placing her hand on the window with sad eyes.
Hare's red eyes, bloodshot from crying so much, were staring directly at me.
Luna seemed to pity Hare.
"Hare is pitiful. What she did trying to help Estia escape was wrong, but it's already been five days. In that small room without any conversation! How about forgiving her now and letting her out, Mister?"
"Releasing Hare isn't for me to decide. It's for Hare to decide."
"Huh?"
Lightly ignoring Luna's gaze that seemed to say 'What's wrong with this crazy person,'
I walked toward the house without saying anything.
*I don't hear her voice asking to be let out anymore. It's about time to check.*
Luna urgently asked me as I walked away without a word.
"Mister! Where are you going!?"
"Home. I'll listen to your opinion this once."
"Eh...? Is your death day approaching...? Why are you listening to my opinion...?"
"...Luna, 30 laps around the yard."
"Can-cancel! Please pretend you didn't hear that!"
"No such thing."
Ignoring Luna's screams, I headed toward Hare's room.
To see if Hare had properly realized her mistake by now.
Whether she had reflected and repented for her sins.
With the mindset of a prison guard reviewing a criminal's parole.
I decided to open the door and face her.
Day 1 of confinement.
I only shed tears of sadness.
I never dreamed he would hate it so much.
"I-I'm sorry... I, I was wrong... Please don't abandon me, Mister..."
I cried out to him to let me out, shouting at the top of my lungs that I was wrong.
I considered it my fault for not being cunning and meticulous.
Perhaps that's why.
He didn't open the door.
Day 2.
Through the window, I could see Mister and Luna.
They looked happy.
Training in swordsmanship, they seemed to be sharing emotions.
Their bodies were close, and he even held Luna in his arms.
"A-are you trying to steal Mister, Luna...? While, while I'm gone...?"
For a moment, I harbored the ugly thought that it would be nice if I could eliminate Luna too.
Luna, who had been kind to me.
But irrepressible jealousy welled up toward her.
And I hated myself so much for being confined because of that reason.
"How bad of a child have I become... *sob*, Mister... I'm sorry... I, I'm such a bad child..."
That day too, I spent the day shedding tears, not wanting to do anything.
I spent time hugging a pillow on the bed, imagining it was him.
Day 3.
I pounded on the door that wouldn't open and scratched at it with my fingertips.
It hurt so much.
But he didn't answer.
*Wh-when will I be able to get out...? Wh-what if he never looks at me again...?*
The feeling of falling into a lake of unknown depth.
I became afraid of myself gradually sinking.
It would be better to die.
I'd rather just die.
The reason I live is because of him.
"L-let me out... Please... I, I was wrong... Mister..."
That day I called for him the entire time.
I tasted blood in my throat, and at times my voice wouldn't even come out properly.
*Why... Why won't you look at me, Mister...*
Still, he didn't open the door.
And I began to seriously contemplate what my mistake was.
Day 4.
I realized he wouldn't open the door.
I decided to give up on calling for him.
It was the moment I truly began my time of reflection.
"My, my mistake... My mistake was doing something he hates..."
The act of helping someone escape.
The act of trying to kill a friend.
That must be my mistake.
Because it's the behavior of a bad child.
"Th-then... My mistake was becoming a bad child..."
In front of him.
My mistake was doing something he hates.
I properly realized what my mistake was.
"If I was really going to be a bad child... I shouldn't have been caught by him... Meticulously, systematically. I shouldn't act impulsively..."
Let's never think about killing a friend.
Because he hates it.
If I'm absolutely confident he won't catch me.
"Then it's okay to do it..."
Because it's fine if I'm not caught.
Because it's fine if he doesn't know.
Because I just need to cunningly deceive him.
On the bed, I was able to realize my mistake 100%.
And day 5.
Creak-
Light coming through the door.
The door opened.
And he, whom I had been desperately waiting for, revealed himself.
The kid's condition is terrible.
Hare's state didn't look good at all.
Dark circles under her eyes.
Disheveled pink hair.
Bloodshot red eyes.
She hadn't eaten properly, so her already thin body had lost more weight, and Hare's fingertips were covered in wounds.
Such a mess of a Hare looked at me as if delighted.
"Mister... You came... I missed you so much..."
"...Hare, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine... I'm happy to see you..."
Hare answered with a smile.
She didn't look well, but unlike at first, she appeared much calmer.
*The confinement definitely had an effect.*
Just as I had achieved rapid growth when I was confined for 30 days, Hare was showing a matured appearance different from before in a short period.
On the surface.
*I'll have to dig deeper to know the reality.*
Did Hare understand her mistake?
If she didn't, I'd have no choice but to start confinement again.
That's what the reflection time was for.
I asked Hare, who was forcing a smile, seriously.
"...Hare. While you were in this room, how did you feel?"
"I hated it so much... N-not being able to see you, not being able to hear your voice, it was so painful... Not knowing when I could leave made it worse..."
"...Then, did you realize anything during that time?"
Hare nodded her head vigorously at those words.
As if she had accurately grasped her mistake, tears rolled down her cheeks.
With a metallic sound and a pitiful tone, she began to confess her mistake.
"I, I was wrong... No matter how much I hated it, I shouldn't have thought about killing a friend... I, I shouldn't have... Helping with the escape was bad too... I'm such a bad child for having such thoughts... *sob*, I'm sorry..."
"Who are you sorry to?"
"..."
Hare stopped answering for a moment.
And then.
Grin-
She smiled again and answered.
"I'm sorry to you too, Mister, but Estia. I'm most sorry to that child. I almost took her life."
"..."
Excellent.
If this is the level of reflection, wouldn't it be okay to let her out of the room?
The Hare I saw now had the perfect attitude of someone reflecting.
She perfectly understood who she should apologize to and why she should apologize.
If her current behavior was acting, there would be no objection to her receiving a Best Actress award in Korea.
*Minerva isn't saying anything particular about releasing her either...*
She seems to have reflected properly.
I can end the confinement now.
Hare kneeling.
I approached her and extended my hand.
"Well done. If you did wrong, you just need to reflect and apologize. Knowing exactly what you did wrong. That's what's important. You endured well for five days, Hare."
"...N-no. Mister... I was the one who did wrong... I just received punishment... B-but... but still..."
Actually, it was so hard.
Being alone was so lonely, and I was scared you would abandon me.
So...
"Just once. Could you hold me...? I, I had such a hard time, Mister... I, I was so afraid of being abandoned..."
"..."
Drip- drip-
Hare shed tears and stretched out both arms, asking me to hold her.
*That solitary room was hard for you to handle. Especially you, with your weak heart.*
Still, since she came back having realized her mistake, it would be okay to do this much as a reward instead of punishment.
Though Hare had feelings for me that she shouldn't have, for Hare who must have had a hard time until now.
I warmly embraced her.
"Y-you won't... *sob*, abandon me, right... Mister? *Sob*..."
"If you're not the one leaving, I have no intention of abandoning you, Hare. I promised your grandmother, didn't I? That I'd take responsibility."
"*Sob*, *sob*... I-I'm sorry... *sob*... And thank you..."
Hare, held in my arms, poured out tears as if aggrieved.
Whether she had missed me during that time, she gripped the clothes on my back with both hands as if she would never let go.
Hare melted away the sorrowful emotions from her time in confinement in my embrace.
Right now, she was unmistakably the image of a young child.