# 30. Hero Luna's Awakening (3)
Hare had completely changed after coming out of the confinement room.
In a very positive direction.
"U-Uncle. I finished cleaning... D-did I do well...?"
"...Yes, you did well, Hare."
"Hehe..."
Originally, when I saw the cleaned living room, I would just think 'Ah, Hare cleaned it.'
But Hare, who had reflected in the room, now even reported to me after cleaning.
Probably to receive praise. That's how her behavior seemed.
*'But that's not the most surprising part.'*
Before entering the room, Hare had disliked the other children.
She glared at the other children except Luna, wanting to drive them out and keeping them in check.
But what about Hare now?
"U-Uncle. I'll go give them their food. This plate is for Cecilia, right?"
"Oh, yes. Go ahead."
She took actions for the other kids on her own initiative.
She woke up early in the morning to help prepare food, and as if she properly understood my words to get along well, I couldn't find any negative emotions like jealousy or greed.
Especially toward Estia, who had committed a wrongdoing, she treated her with particular care.
"Estia eats a lot these days... Please take some from my plate, Uncle. I'm fine with eating just a little."
Grin—
Hare smiled with a pure smile like when I first saw her.
As more children gradually increased, her expression had grown darker.
But the current Hare had a bright expression as if she had found her original self.
*'The thinking room is surprisingly effective.'*
Seeing Hare change like that in such a short time, the thinking room's effect seemed certain.
It felt like something I could use again next time.
That's the feeling I had.
"...If Estia can't control her withdrawal symptoms, it might be okay to confine her in the room."
"What...? Uncle, what did you say...? Y-you're going to confine me again...?"
"Oh, no, Hare. I'm not talking about you, but someone else."
At the word 'confinement,' Hare's eyes momentarily lost their vitality, then regained it after hearing my explanation.
Did she really not want to enter that room again that badly?
I had been in the thinking room many times.
But apparently, Hare absolutely did not want to go back there.
"By the way, why isn't Luna coming down?"
The training time had already passed by 0 minutes and 37 seconds.
Normally, Luna would either come out 1 minute early or be late by only 10 seconds.
However, today was an exception—Luna hadn't come out of her room.
I spoke to Hare, who was standing still and looking at me with bright eyes.
"Hare. Could you go up and call Luna for me?"
"Luna? Y-yes! I'll go call her!"
Patter patter—
Hare climbed the stairs with her small height of less than 150cm.
*'She was tall and slender in the future, so she'll grow later.'*
I hoped Hare could perform well as the thief of the Hero Party.
I hoped she could eliminate all the Demon Kings.
I watched her climb the stairs and prayed earnestly in my heart.
*'...Still.'*
That one among the Demon Kings.
That one who took Aina's life.
I hoped I could kill him.
This time I prayed for myself.
"...How dare she steal Uncle's time. Luna is a bad child."
Hare headed toward Luna's room, releasing the anger she had been holding back.
In front of Uncle, she had to be a good child no matter what.
When other kids were around, it didn't matter if she became a bad child, so Hare could do as she pleased.
"I just need to not get caught by Uncle... Carefully and cunningly..."
Hare, who had reflected in a strange direction.
She entered Luna's room, which Uncle had left open.
Before her eyes, a strange situation was unfolding.
Hare muttered in a surprised tone.
"Wh-what...? What's this situation...?"
There, an indescribably bizarre situation was taking place.
Luna was lying face down on the bed, covering her ears.
And beside her, Estia was chattering away about something.
If compared to animals, it was like a hamster tormenting a golden retriever.
Hare asked the two people who didn't seem to be in their right minds.
"U-um...? Uncle said Luna should come down... What's going on...? Why is Luna covering her ears like that...?"
"It's, it's a revelation from the Goddess. The Goddess will save us!! Luna! What is the Goddess saying?!"
"Wh-what is she talking about...?"
Hare ignored Estia's words and shifted her gaze to Luna on the bed.
Luna was covering her ears with a pained expression and shouting.
"Be quiet—!! Don't talk to me—!!"
Who!
Who keeps talking to me!
Luna shouted in agony.
Estia was beside her saying strange things like 'If it's auditory hallucinations, do you like holy water too?!'
Hare couldn't understand this chaotic situation at all.
"With two noisy kids here, it's even noisier..."
"You're an addict like me too! Luna! To meet a comrade here! I'm so glad!"
"Be, be quiet—!"
Luna covering her ears.
She currently couldn't hear Estia's words at all.
It was because of someone's voice rising from within her heart.
—Please... wake up, Hero.
"I am awake! Stop! Stop waking me up—!"
—Bear the... 'burden,' Hero.
"Wh-what is that...!"
A voice echoing in her heart.
And in her head, something surrounded by fog kept flickering.
It kept appearing and disappearing like a hallucination.
"Fog... I can't see well... A sword...? Is it a sword...?"
It seems like there's a golden sword behind the fog...
Something almost within reach.
The shape of a sword kept appearing in Luna's mind, and a chilling voice was heard.
Among those voices were screams, and it rang in Luna's head to the point where it was becoming hard to endure.
*'I, I can't listen to this anymore...'*
Ah, my eyes are gradually closing...
The moment she felt like she was about to lose consciousness.
"Luna? What are you doing there?"
"Uncle? Huh? I can't hear the voice anymore? What?"
Lee Jun-woo went up, thinking something might have happened to Luna who was coming down late.
As soon as he arrived, the voice that had been audible easily subsided.
Luna removed her hands from her ears and looked at Lee Jun-woo with surprised eyes.
"Wh-what? Why did the voice stop...?"
The voice stopped when Uncle came?
Wh-what? What's this situation?
Lee Jun-woo asked Luna, who was standing still on the bed.
"What were you doing that made you late, Luna?"
"Oh, well, that is. I heard a strange voice, so I was resting for a moment—"
"Resting...? It's been 6 minutes and 54 seconds past our agreed training time. You didn't keep your promise."
"Oh, when I said resting! I didn't mean it that way—"
"Since you're 6 minutes late, let's start after you run 6 laps around the yard."
"Huh...?"
This is absurd!
This is tyranny!
But Luna didn't have enough courage to say that.
"I'll run 6 laps..."
She had no choice but to be dragged by Lee Jun-woo and run around the yard.
Hare envied Luna being dragged away, and Estia watched with eyes that didn't seem to understand.
And most importantly, strangely enough, when Luna was with Lee Jun-woo, that strange voice no longer came to her.
*'...What was that creepy voice? It doesn't even come when I'm with Uncle...'*
Luna asked herself, but she had no idea at all.
*'Well, I'll find out if I ask Uncle later.'*
Uncle knows almost everything.
The kidnapped Luna was relying on Lee Jun-woo without even realizing it.
I finished Luna's training.
And completed the last scheduled item—Cecilia's lesson.
The emotion lessons were progressing smoothly.
"Cecilia, you know all the types of emotions now, right?"
"Joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—broadly divided into four types, with subdivisions within them, right? I understood everything."
Cecilia spoke arrogantly and confidently.
However, rarely, her expression didn't look very confident.
When talking about magic, Cecilia's head had never come down from above, but now it was slightly lowered.
It was a new side of the arrogant and haughty Cecilia I'd never seen before.
"Are you not confident about emotions, Cecilia?"
"No, it's not that I'm not confident, it's a matter of probability. The probability of me regaining emotions is too low."
"Viewing your own probability as low is what we call lacking confidence."
"..."
Cecilia closed her mouth.
Because it was true, she didn't even answer.
She was expressionless, but behind it was a clear sign of irritation.
*'...Did I provoke her too much?'*
Even if she has no emotions, she can still feel annoyed and bored.
Cecilia, a bomb that could explode at any moment.
I decided to quickly wrap up the lesson.
"Anyway, today's lesson is over. If you have questions, feel free to ask. If not, I'll be going now."
"...I have a question. Did a letter arrive from the family?"
"I'm going to check today."
"Hmm, I see. I'm curious about their reaction to the hand I sent. And please send one more letter here."
Flutter—
Cecilia handed over a piece of letter paper.
This time too, it was written in blood, and the content was too much for me to speak of.
If anything, it had evolved even further.
I asked Cecilia in a tone of disbelief.
"...Are you seriously planning to send this, Cecilia?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
Problem.
There are many problems.
Cecilia had written the letter in her own blood, and its content was digging into her family's hearts.
If I were in the family's position, wouldn't my mental state have shattered into pieces?
It was that severe.
"...False content that you were sold to a brothel. You're saying this is okay...?"
"Yes, it's fine. Rather, I'm curious. What will the family's reaction be this time?"
Will they try to search every brothel?
Or will they give up looking for me and ignore it while living their lives?
While ignoring the rumor that the eldest daughter of the prestigious Cecilia family is in a brothel.
Cecilia said this and showed a faint smile.
I could glimpse a fragment of the emotion hidden behind her smile-mixed expressionless mask.
*'...Does she want revenge on the family that abused her?'*
Cecilia.
Behind her mask, the spark of vengeance was sprouting small.
It was the scent of a kindred spirit.
In the same way as before, I used a beggar to send a letter to the Cecilia family.
"Pl-please call on me again next time, my lord...!!"
"Yes, go. And I have one thing to ask—who handles holy water around here?"
"H-holy water, you say? Th-that's generally distributed by the Church if you make a donation... but recently the price has risen considerably because they say the amount of holy water is insufficient..."
"The price doesn't matter. Is there a supplier other than the Church?"
"Th-there is... I, I'll make some inquiries! I'll let you know next time we meet!"
"...Alright, I put in a little more today. Now go."
"Th-thank you...!!"
Patter patter—
The beggar took the money and disappeared into the distance.
He'll probably drink today.
A beggar living in dependence on alcohol, having lost the will to live.
His only pleasure in life would be the drink before bed.
Just like me.
"...Two letters. One is a reply from the Cecilia family. One is from Luna's family."
A reply about Cecilia's fake hand.
I wonder what their reaction was.
I immediately returned home, lay down on the sofa, and checked the letters.
The Cecilia family's reaction was formidable.
—Do you think we'd be intimidated by a mere hand? You're mistaken, masked man. I heard you recently kidnapped a cleric too—how dare a Grimoire bastard like you think of negotiating with the Cecilia family? There's no compromise. 5 million peri is the end.
Hardline.
Did Cecilia anticipate this reaction?
Even before checking the reply, she had thrown an even stronger move at the Cecilia family.
I didn't know what ending Cecilia wanted for the Cecilia family.
But I could intuit that the end would certainly not be good.
"There's no particular magic treatment either... Nothing to review. Next is Luna's family letter."
The content Luna sent last time was a letter filled with happiness, asking about her family's well-being and saying she was doing well.
So Luna's family's reply would probably be similar.
Thinking there wouldn't be much content to review, I tried to read Luna's family letter.
However, the reading time didn't even take 10 seconds.
Because there were too few words contained in it.
"...This is."
The letter contained only one dry sentence.
It asked about Luna's well-being, but in the worst form that Luna would least want from her family.
It was written in the form of worry.
—Luna, where are you right now?