# 56. Sick Mister! Let's Take Care of Mister! (2)
*Splash- Splash-*
Failed creations rolled around on the floor, and a musty smell permeated the room.
Saten and Hare decided to sit on the edge of the eyeball-less bed and have a conversation there.
Hare covered her nose with her hand against the stench and spoke in a trembling voice.
"S-Saten... Th-then... these eyes... are they a-all made by y-you...?"
"Yes, I made them with my blood."
"Th-then your wrists..."
"Of course, to draw blood. Wrists don't kill you even if you cut them with a blade, and they're areas where a lot of blood flows."
Saten's wrists were wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.
Hare felt a kind of fear toward Saten, who spoke of this so casually.
Without paying attention to that, Saten continued speaking.
"I used my blood to make Mister's eyes. I wanted to give them back to him."
"...C-can you really make them just by trying...? What about the size and such—"
"When Mister came home and lost consciousness, I secretly approached him and measured his eye dimensions. 3.06cm wide, 1.89cm tall. Not a single error."
"I-I see. You actually..."
*Shiver—*
At the voice full of certainty, goosebumps rose all over Hare's body.
*'N-no matter what, measuring the size of his eyes and... trying to make Mister's eyes is... a l-little wrong...'*
If she were giving her own eyes, that would be one thing...
But trying to remake Mister's eyes so he'd never lose them again isn't normal...!
To Hare, it seemed like Saten wanted to reverse that day's events as if they never happened.
Saten didn't stop there and posed a question to Hare.
"So, Hare. Why is it that even when I accurately make Mister's eyes and form the cells inside, they return to the beginning?"
"Uh, huh...?! A-are you talking to m-me...?"
"Yes, who else is here besides you? That's Mister's 'eye,' not his 'ear.' I'm asking you."
"O-okay...! I-I'll answer...! B-but I don't know anything about magic...! I d-don't know why Mister's eyes turn out like that...!!"
"...I'm sorry. It's natural you wouldn't know even if I asked. I was foolish to ask."
"..."
*I received an apology, so why do I feel bad...?*
*B-but it's a bit scary to say anything, so I should stay quiet...*
Hare decided to keep her mouth shut.
However, at that moment, Saten began muttering to herself as if something had occurred to her.
The content was enough to invoke fear in Hare.
"The reason the experiment failed is probably because I used my blood. But using my blood imbued with my magic power is the most efficient... Do I need more test subjects...?"
"Uh, uhh...? Wh-what do you mean..."
"Hmm... Hare?"
*Flinch—*
Sensing an uneasy atmosphere, Hare glanced sideways at the exit, thinking of escape.
Completely unaware of Hare's feelings, Saten asked with 100% pure curiosity.
"Would you like to be my test subject? I'll temporarily remove one of your eyes, analyze it, and try making an eyeball from your blood. If I do that, couldn't Mister's eyes come back?"
"Uh, uhh...?"
*Y-you want me to be a test subject...?*
*You want me to give you my eye...?*
*Even if Mister's eyes come back...! That's absolutely not okay...!*
"E-even if Mister's eyes come back, no!! M-Mister will hate me if I'm not pretty...! I-I always have to look pretty for Mister...!"
*If I'm missing one eye, I'll be ugly...*
At her adolescent age, Hare, who had begun caring about her appearance, refused Saten's words.
But contrary to Hare's refusal, Saten's will was firm.
"It's okay. I'll remake one eye for you."
Saten said this while reaching her hand toward Hare's red eyes.
Hare screamed in horror.
"N-no...! G-get your hand away...! I-if you fail... m-my eye won't come back...!"
"It's okay. If the experiment fails, the probability of the next experiment succeeding increases. Even if you fail, Luna and Estia will help, so Mister's eyes can come back."
"H-hiiik...!"
*Sh-she's crazy...!*
*This isn't sane...!*
Saten's hand, reeking of blood, gradually approached her eyes.
*'N-no... I d-don't want my eyes...'*
Frightened by the sight, Hare cried out tearfully.
It was a statement that pierced to the essence of why Saten was making Mister's eyes.
"Y-you're trying to fill... the guilt you feel toward Mister...! B-by experimenting with my eyes...! I-if you're going to do it, use your own eyes...!!"
"...What do you mean?"
"N-not my red eyes...! Use your black eyes...!"
"No, not that. The first thing you said."
"...?"
With an expressionless face, Saten asked her to repeat what she'd said.
Hare tilted her head.
"Y-you feel sorry toward Mister...?"
"...I feel sorry toward Mister?"
"W-wasn't that it...? I-I thought you weren't approaching Mister because of guilt... If you keep not approaching him, that's good for me though..."
"..."
Sorry.
Guilt.
Hearing those words, Saten withdrew her outstretched hand.
Then, to confirm once more, she asked.
"You're saying the reason I tried to make Mister's eyes was because I felt sorry?"
"While Mister's eyes were disappearing, you couldn't do anything... so you feel sorry...? Th-that's how I felt..."
"..."
While Mister fought that woman, Saten hadn't participated in the battle.
It wasn't a fight she could join in the first place, and if she'd clumsily interfered, she could have hindered Mister.
But...
"Because of my judgment, I came to feel guilt toward Mister?"
"S-so because you felt sorry... you tried to make Mister's eyes... right...?"
"..."
Saten couldn't understand this situation.
Though it was an emotion she felt, the relationship had already become distant like strangers.
She couldn't be certain of the identity of the emotion she was feeling, nor could she believe Hare's words.
Perhaps that's why.
"Hare."
"U-uh..."
"Leave. Right now."
"Huh...?"
*Bang?!!*
Saten kicked out Hare, who was interfering with her concentration.
Hare was actually glad to escape from there.
With Hare gone, silence flowed through Saten's room once more.
Saten picked up one of the failed creations rolling on the floor and met its gaze.
"Staying still was right. If I'd interfered in that fight, I wouldn't have been any help."
But...
"Because of that, I came to harbor feelings of guilt toward Mister. And those feelings made me move."
*How curious, yet the feeling is strange.*
*What exactly are emotions?*
Saten thought this as she crushed the failed creation with her finger and sat back at her desk.
Then she muttered softly about a thought that came to mind.
"I really do need a test subject after all."
Saten muttered this and immersed herself once more in the work of creating Mister's eyes.
The result was still a failure.
Minerva's Library.
It was a familiar space since I came here often, but today this place looked different.
Looking with one eye closed, the library seemed asymmetrical...
"Just how did you design this, Minerva?"
"How did I design it?!! More importantly, the library isn't the problem, Jun-woo!!"
*Thwack thwack—*
Minerva mercilessly pounded my back.
Despite her small stature, her palm was quite harsh.
"That hurts, Minerva."
"Then should I hit you so it doesn't hurt?! Jun-woo needs to be hit! You need to come to your senses!"
"About what?"
"You could have just caught the Demon King later!! Knowing full well your eyes would disappear, you crawled into the dungeon?! You've completely lost your mind!!"
*...The problem was caused by you though.*
*Though you had no choice but to cause it due to the Goddess's duty.*
Unlike me, who was satisfied with the results, Minerva seemed displeased with the outcome.
"Then what should I have done there?"
"If you hadn't gone to tour the dungeon! Nothing would have happened! With male adventurers dying continuously, the dungeon was going to be closed anyway! Is it because you're Korean that you're so damn impatient?!"
"..."
*She's not wrong.*
Minerva was certainly saying all the right things.
However, just as correct words aren't always right, I believed my choice was the true answer.
"The Hero Party grows when facing a Demon King. In that regard, this is definitely the right answer, Minerva."
"Y-you idiot! Even if the Hero Party defeats the Demon King, your eyes won't come back, you know?! Shouldn't you think about the future?!"
"..."
The future.
It's certainly an important word.
Just not for me.
*'Once revenge is over, it doesn't really matter.'*
Though it hasn't appeared yet in the "Lee Jun-woo's Future Series" that Minerva always reads, I've already decided my own future.
Kill that porter who became Envy, the Demon King of Envy.
After all the Demon Kings threatening Minerva are dead, I planned to end my own life.
So this eye didn't particularly matter.
"Are you listening, Jun-woo?! Why aren't you answering and just standing there?!"
"...I was thinking for a moment."
"Think better! Think about your body, you fool!"
"...Yeah, got it."
"Don't answer half-heartedly!"
I placed my hand on the head of the shouting Minerva with a *pat—*
Then I went and sat on the library sofa.
Minerva's anger still wasn't fully resolved.
"Take care of your body—"
"Enough, you'll lose your voice, Minerva. More importantly, why did you tell me to come after this was over?"
"Oh, that! I wanted to see you in person, and I had something to say... Anyway! Just take this!"
*Thunk—*
A strange circular object landed in my hand.
"What is this?"
"Can't you tell by looking? It's Jun-woo's new eye. More precisely, I guess you could call it my eye?"
*Hmm.*
A new eye.
Minerva wouldn't have given me something strange.
Without any suspicion, I removed my eyepatch and put on the eyeball she gave me.
*'It hurts a little.'*
More than that...
"Minerva."
"Yeah?"
"I can't see with this. Is it the right one?"
"O-of course! There's no way I'd give you something weird! Look carefully! This is how you use it!"
Saying this, Minerva closed one of her eyes.
Her green eye began to glow, and my left eye started glowing along with it.
"What is this?"
"Shared vision! My eye can now see Jun-woo's view! How's that, amazing?!"
"..."
*I can't see though?*
Minerva seemed to be viewing through my eye...
But nothing was reflected in my left eye.
Don't tell me...
"Are you planning to monitor me?"
"M-monitor?! It's a bit uncomfortable looking down from above...! To see the situation accurately! I tried to see from J-Jun-woo's perspective—"
"..."
"Ah, aah—!! Don't put the eyepatch on!!"
Forbidden.
I needed the prosthetic eye, so I'd continue using it, but there was no need for Minerva's surveillance to intensify.
"M-my new viewpoint... first-person is more realistic than third-person..."
Minerva muttered regretfully.
Being monitored was extremely annoying, so no matter how disappointed she was, I had no intention of removing the eyepatch.
More than that, there was one thing I wanted to ask.
"Minerva, what happens to the Hero Party's future? No matter how much it's nourishment for growth, I'm a bit curious about their mental state."
"Right... you're curious about their mental state...? Okay, I'll read it for you..."
Minerva walked toward the bookshelf in a sullen state, grumbling.
Then she pulled out a book from there and began reading, and having read through the book in an instant, Minerva smiled.
*Why is she laughing?*
"Why are you laughing, Minerva?"
"Oh, it's nothing. The situation is just a bit funny. Jun-woo's story is always interesting. Though losing your eyes this time crossed the line a bit."
"...That aside, I asked why you laughed."
"Luna needs time... Hare is okay... Estia is shocked... Saten is... hmm, this is a bit hard to explain in words... it's something I didn't quite expect... I'd like Jun-woo to experience it directly..."
Minerva wore a mischievous smile.
She smiled at me and made a suggestion.
"Jun-woo, after you leave the library today, check the alley next door."
"The alley next door?"
"Yeah, there'll be a black cat there."
*And give that black cat...*
*To Saten.*
*It'll be a good friend.*
*'...'*
Minerva's words were quite meaningful, but...
Since I'd promised to give her a gift someday, I nodded.