46. The Encroaching Fog, Swept Away Emotions (2)
Clatter- Clatter-
In the kitchen, only the sound of dishes clinking echoed instead of conversation.
*How hungry must she have been.*
Well, she was starving.
Hare inhaled the soup without saying a word.
She must have been quite hungry, eating quickly as if someone might snatch it away.
That can't be good for her body.
"You'll get indigestion. Eat slowly."
Gulp-
"Y-yes, Mister."
She answered me with a faint smile.
Hare continued eating.
Though she was usually a child who didn't eat well.
Today, she was comparable to Luna, who was trying to become a pig.
"...I wish you'd eat like this normally, Hare."
"I-I'll try...!"
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"Y-yes, Mister...!"
Hare answered firmly like a knight swearing an oath.
Her voice was so loyal, I wondered if she'd actually die if I told her to.
However, given what Hare had done until now, I couldn't trust her words.
*It's too early to trust her. I'll need to watch a bit longer.*
There's no harm in being suspicious.
I approached Hare, who had finished most of her meal, holding a white handkerchief.
Perhaps she ate too quickly.
Soup was smeared all around her mouth.
"You should have eaten slowly, Hare. You got it all over your face."
"Th-thank you... M-Mister..."
Carelessly.
I wiped around Hare's mouth with the handkerchief and exchanged glances with her red eyes.
Rustle-
As soon as Hare met my eyes, she immediately lowered her gaze.
A blush rose on her cheeks.
"...Hare."
"Yes, Mister."
"Do you remember what I said that day?"
"...Yes. Y-you told me to withdraw my feelings."
"Have you thought about it?"
"..."
Hare closed her mouth.
Those feelings must be difficult to withdraw.
However, Hare must not harbor those feelings for me.
For her, who must leave someday, I must not become a 'burden.'
"No matter how much you think of me that way, I cannot accept it, Hare."
"..."
"Give up cleanly. That way I won't hurt you."
"..."
Hare, who had been quietly hanging her head.
She spoke while dripping tears into her empty bowl.
"M-Mister is mean... Y-you treat me so warmly... how can I not love you... *hic*, b-but... if Mister dislikes it..."
I won't show it.
Please give me time to sort out my feelings.
It's not something I can control, but I'll try.
Hare pleaded with me in a desperate tone, tears streaming down.
"I won't... do things Mister dislikes anymore... *hic*, please give me time, Mister... even if you tell me to sort it out suddenly, I can't..."
"...I'm sorry for bringing this up right after you ate, Hare. I'll give you time, so think about it."
"Y-yes... *hic*, I won't... bother Mister... I'm sorry... I'm fine..."
This time, Hare seemed truly changed.
She showed consideration for the other person's wishes first and didn't force her own thoughts.
Understanding.
She seemed to have gained a heart that understands others.
*...Still, I can't let my guard down.*
The person most unpredictable is Hare.
The fact that I needed to watch her carefully remained unchanged.
So...
I offered Hare, who looked so fragile she might collapse at any moment even after finishing a bowl of soup, another serving.
It was an action stemming from guilt.
"...Would you like another bowl?"
Hare, who had been shedding countless tears.
She forced a smile and answered.
"Yes... I like... the food Mister makes..."
It was something I hadn't seen in a long time.
Hare's bright expression.
After the day I reconciled with Hare.
I decided to move on to the next lesson.
"You've truly learned all the letters, right?"
"Y-yes...! Even if you test me... I can get them all right...!"
She's confident.
Well, she studied letters until her nose bled.
It would be strange if she hadn't learned them.
For now, I decided to proceed with Hare's next lessons in two parts.
"Hare, from now on your lessons will be divided into two."
"Y-yes...! I'm ready...!"
"...I haven't even told you what they are yet."
"Heh, hehe..."
Overflowing with confidence.
I'm curious how long that confidence will last.
I called Luna, who was lying on the grass resting.
"Luna, come here."
"Yesh, yesh. I shall move as ordered."
"...Answer properly. Do you want to run laps around the yard?"
"N-no! I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
Patter patter patter-
She really doesn't want to run laps around the yard.
Luna quickly ran to me.
Then she tilted her head curiously.
"So why did you call me?"
"I'm giving you a chance, Luna."
"Huh?"
"I'll give you a chance to attack together, not alone. Attack with Hare. If you win, I'll cancel the kidnapping."
"Wh-what...? I... attack Mister...?"
"Eh!? The two of us?!"
Nod-
I reached my hand into subspace.
It should be hidden in a corner somewhere.
That wooden dagger I received as a gift from Aina.
*'Hey disciple, it's a gift. Take it.'*
*'...? What's this, a wooden dagger?'*
*'I-it's a gift. If you want to stab me, use that. I don't like pain.'*
*'...You're not a child. Are you scared of blades?'*
*'Wh-what! Can't I be scared!?'*
Aina, who thought I would stab her because she tormented me so much.
She gave me a wooden dagger as a birthday present.
Though it was a strange gift for a birthday due to her poor social skills.
At the time, I never imagined Aina would give me anything, so I was rather grateful.
"Found it. Here Hare, I'll throw it so catch it."
"Y-yes...?! Wh-whoa...!"
Thud-
Nice catch.
Hare caught the wooden dagger I threw with both hands.
Then she looked at the wooden dagger curiously, paused, and asked.
"Jun. Your name is engraved on it...?"
"It was a gift. Use it carefully so it doesn't break."
Though I received it as a gift from Aina, I don't use it, so it's better for someone who needs it to have it.
It's also painful to just keep holding onto it.
"The only one in the world... a precious thing..."
Hare muttered that, then smiled happily.
"Th-thank you, Mister...! Since Mister gave it to me... I-I'll treasure it...!"
"...Yes, train hard with that. Your first lesson is dagger techniques. This is your weapon. Think that if you lose it in combat, you'll die. You must treasure it as much as your life."
"A-as much as... my life... I-I understand...! Thank you, Mister...!"
Leaving behind Hare's burdensome smile.
I positioned myself far away from them.
"I'll give you 3 minutes to discuss strategy. If your weapon just touches my body, I'll consider it your victory."
"St-strategy...? Wh-what should we do...?"
"Hare, just trust me! I'll take down Mister!"
"N-no...! You can't do that...!"
The two of them murmured and planned their strategy.
What kind of coordination will the Hero and Thief show?
I know they can't beat me.
But I was curious what they would show if they cooperated.
Including Hare, who has no knowledge of daggers at all.
*'I wonder what results they'll show...'*
With that curiosity.
When 3 minutes passed.
The two began running toward me.
Split into two directions.
An interesting method.
"A diversion. I thought you'd just fight, but you planned a strategy."
"Of course! We get along well!"
"..."
With Luna's one-sided opinion.
The two who split in different directions began attacking me with a time gap.
The first attack was Luna.
"Haaah-!"
Clang-!
Luna's wooden sword clashed with mine.
The one who fell back due to physical differences was Luna.
Surely, these two wouldn't use such a simple move.
*'Probably, the next attack will be...'*
From behind.
They're trying to distract my attention and aim for my exposed back.
As if my prediction was correct, I felt Hare's presence from behind.
To block her attack, I turned around to swing my wooden sword...
Or so I tried...
"Wait, Hare."
"Yes...?"
"Why are you just standing there holding the dagger?"
"I-I can't stab Mister... H-how could I stab you..."
"..."
Thud-
I pressed my forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
This is maddening.
*'Was making myself the practice opponent a mistake...?'*
Hare won't attack me.
I never even considered that option, so this situation was utterly bewildering.
Hare's trembling red eyes looking at me while gripping the dagger tightly in both hands.
Seeing that, I decided to assess the situation.
*'The coordinated attack with Luna was good. Moving in two directions, properly utilizing the numerical advantage. However, since Hare's opponent was me, it didn't become an effective attack.'*
In conclusion.
Regardless of Hare's dagger skills, the strategy itself was very good.
Luna, confirming the strategy failed, came running from afar and started shouting.
"You should have properly stabbed Mister! What are you doing, Hare! It was a chance to beat the kidnapper!"
"Sorry... I... I can't stab Mister... I-I'm sorry, Mister..."
"...You don't need to apologize to me."
More importantly.
"Who led this strategy?"
During those 3 minutes, excellent command was executed.
Not 100 points, but close to 90.
I wondered which of these two gave the orders.
The moment that question arose.
Their mouths opened and I heard an unexpected name.
"It wasn't me!"
"I-it wasn't me either..."
"...If neither of you did it, who did?"
"We were arguing when paper fell from the sky! L-look, here!"
Luna handed me a small note.
When I received and read it, familiar handwriting and red letters appeared before my eyes.
"...Saten."
You were watching us.
I turned my head to check the second-floor window.
A pair of eyes looking down at us from the dark room.
Expressionless Saten met my gaze, then closed the curtain as if her business was done.
*'...Is this revenge unsuited to experiments, or is she saying she's this excellent?'*
Saten wouldn't take revenge with just this much.
So it's probably the latter.
Then she gave the strategy to the kids to gain my favor...
I have no idea why.
*'More than that, perhaps because Saten has experience in the knight order, for an impromptu strategy, it wasn't bad.'*
Since there's no way the kids could beat me anyway.
It could be considered quite a high score.
For Hare's next lesson, it would be better to entrust party command to Saten.
*'First, to continue training, should I sort out this atmosphere?'*
I spoke to the two who were still chattering away.
"The sparring is over. Luna, you train with the wooden sword, and Hare, I'll oversee your dagger work."
"Eh...? Y-you won't watch me?"
"It's self-directed learning, Luna."
"...How annoying!!"
Stomp stomp-
Luna left, expressing her anger physically.
Luna glanced at us from the corner and began swinging her sword.
She'll calm down after dinner anyway, so I decided not to worry about it.
And before teaching dagger techniques to Hare, who was standing still, I asked.
"Hare, what do you think about daggers?"
"U-um... I like them..."
"...I'm not asking how much you like the wooden dagger."
"Oh, th-that...! They're easy to move with...! I can move quickly...!"
Correct.
I patted Hare's head.
Hare blushed as if embarrassed.
"Mobility. Daggers are easy to move with and have few restrictions on movement. You can do things others can't."
"Y-yes... B-but I have a question, Mister..."
"What is it?"
"Why are you teaching Luna and me weapons...? Attacks...?"
You're the Hero Party.
Rather than explaining it that way, an indirect explanation would be better.
No matter how much Hare trusts me, if I said the kids I kidnapped were the Hero Party active 100 years ago, she'd definitely treat me like a madman.
So.
"I'm going to send you to a dungeon."
"Wh-what...? You're sending us to a dungeon...? May I ask... why...?"
"To raise you strong."
"What...?"
"You must become strong. You must be able to prepare for all attacks. For that, Hare. Your next lesson is 'dungeon field trip.' There you'll learn what kinds of traps exist and how to disarm them."
Dungeon field trip.
I'm planning to take the Hero Party to a dungeon once.
It would be better to let them experience what they must fight against.
And at that moment.
As if questioning my words, Minerva's problem arrived.
[Must you really do the dungeon field trip? There seems to be a dangerous person in the dungeon...? Do you really have to go...?]
[1. Go on the dungeon field trip.]
[2. No, it's too early for a dungeon field trip. Don't go.]
I have 3 answer sheets left today.
I can check both problems.
I opened both answer sheets.
*'...Black flames on answer sheet 1. Is there a Demon King in the dungeon?'*
Hmm, should I read it?
...
In terms of results.
Choice 2 means nothing happens.
However.
Choice 1 results in the 'permanent extinction' of the Demon King of Lust and helps the Hero Party's future.
And there, I...
*'...Damn it. That cursed succubus.'*
I reunite with my deceased master, Aina.