# 60. Sick Mister! Let's Take Care of Mister! (6)
"Alright! Let's go to the market! Just follow me!"
"K-kids? What's this necklace around my neck? I'm not a dog, you know?"
"Quiet. Estia, your name from today onwards is Dog-stia."
Led by Luna's confident voice, the noisy children set off toward the market with spirited steps.
With the children gone, the house felt utterly desolate.
I lay in bed, quietly staring at the ceiling.
"Finally, some peace and quiet..."
Those noisy brats.
It had been a while since I'd had time to myself.
Before I kidnapped them, I'd lived alone in a house filled with this kind of silence.
It really had been a long time since the house was this quiet.
"Tsk, once the Hero Party fully grows up and leaves, I'll be able to enjoy this happiness all the time... Minerva?"
[What is it, Jun-woo. Do you have something to say?]
[1. Yes.]
[2. No.]
"Number 1. I have something to say. Actually, I want to ask a question. When exactly will the Hero Party leave this place?"
More precisely, when would the children finish growing and become capable of defeating the Demon King?
I wanted to know that through Minerva.
There's a difference between seeing the end and not seeing it.
However, Minerva, who sent me another question, didn't seem inclined to answer.
[That's a difficult question to answer. There are mountains of undetermined futures piled up, and the latest edition of the 'Lee Jun-woo's Future' series hasn't been published yet. So...]
[1. You have a cold, so just lie down quietly! You idiot!]
[2. Just lie down quietly while the kids buy ingredients! You fool!]
"...Both options say the same thing. Number 1."
Anyway.
So to summarize what Minerva was saying, the Hero Party's future was still unclear?
They'd reached the grand conclusion of defeating the Demon King, but the various events within that hadn't been determined yet—that would be the easy way to understand it.
Among those would be Saten's death as well.
As expected, the more I thought about the future, the more complicated my head became.
"...Damn it, it's just making my head hurt more..."
Had I thought about something unnecessarily complicated?
Feeling my hot body and the cold sweat flowing down my cheeks, my eyes gradually closed.
As my consciousness grew increasingly hazy, I spoke my last words to Minerva before falling asleep.
"...Minerva. I have one last request."
[A request? What request?]
[1. What is it?]
[2. What's that?]
"I'll be sleeping anyway, so nothing will happen to me. So use your ability to monitor the Hero Party. If something dangerous happens, you can help them a little."
It was a very simple errand—just go to the market and buy food ingredients, but...
When I recalled the Hero Party's cooking, I couldn't trust them.
I was so anxious I wouldn't be able to rest properly.
So if Minerva monitored the Hero Party, I could at least sleep a bit more comfortably.
Minerva answered my request, but in a somewhat curt tone.
[Jun-woo sleeping is so entertaining though! But fine. I'll keep watch...]
[1. Just watch.]
[2. But even if something happens, I won't help. I can't trust the Hero Party, but the sinner is with them, so it'll be fine. That one is on our side anyway.]
"Yeah, thanks. Minerva."
Then now I...
I could sleep a bit more comfortably...
Since Minerva was watching from afar.
Putting my worries aside, I slowly closed my eyes.
It was my first sleep in a while, falling asleep in quiet air, but...
"...It's too quiet."
For some reason, I felt a bit of emptiness.
In the middle of the bustling market.
Luna, wearing a hood, looked up at the sky and shouted.
"There's an owl on that roof! It's huge!"
"C-can you eat owls...?"
"It would make good experimental material."
"Kids? Forget that owl, can you please take off this chain around my neck?!"
Of course, their impressions of seeing that owl were vastly different.
Saten controlled Estia's leash, who posed a flight risk.
She guided Estia and gestured toward a shop visible in the distance.
"That's it. Mr. Mapamu's vegetable shop. What do we need to buy there, Hare?"
"V-vegetables..."
"That's not what I mean. What kind of vegetables do we need to buy? What does the note say? Can't you read?"
"N-no! I c-can read...! C-carrots and... green onions...! That's what it says..."
Carrots and green onions.
Having input the ingredients into her head, Saten walked toward the vegetable shop with heavy steps.
Then, facing the shop owner Mapamu, she declared confidently.
"Carrots and green onions, please."
A tone without a shred of doubt.
The vegetable shop owner Mapamu answered indifferently.
"Hmm? Carrots and green onions? How many?"
"..."
How many...?
Blocked by a high wall from the start, Saten's pupils trembled slightly as she turned around and asked.
"...How many carrots and green onions should we buy? Wasn't that written down?"
Hare buried her eyes in the note, checking the writing.
However, it only said to buy carrots and green onions—no matter where she looked, the quantity wasn't written.
"There's nothing like that...? Wh-what should we do...? I-I don't know how many to buy either..."
"That's a really unhelpful answer. Next, Luna? What do you think?"
"Hmm..."
Luna thought for a moment.
Then, as if she'd had a brilliant idea, she answered with a flash of inspiration.
"There are five of us eating! So shouldn't we buy five of each?!"
"..."
Five carrots.
Five green onions.
For the porridge Jun-woo was trying to make for five people, one carrot and one green onion each would be sufficient.
The children thought it might be too much, but...
*It's persuasive though...?*
To the children who knew nothing, Luna's words had terrifying persuasiveness.
"I-I used to pick up and eat carrot scraps...! B-but Mister... used a lot of ingredients when cooking...! I-I think that's right...!"
"I agree too. One piece of meat per person. I didn't eat properly, but in my family, one serving was a lot."
"L-look, there's skewers... they look delicious... hehe..."
Excluding Estia's invalid vote, three people.
In favor!
At those voices, Mapamu smiled heartily.
"You kids! Planning a big feast today, are you! Hahaha! Take care now!!"
In the end, the Hero Party had generously filled Mapamu's wallet.
Not knowing that something had gone wrong, they left for their next destination with satisfied smiles.
"Where's next! Where?!"
"N-next is... Ms. Pam's seafood shop... for abalone..."
"We're buying everything! Let's go! Let's go!"
Mister has lots of money anyway!
This is fun!
Luna.
And the Hero Party following her.
They completed their errands one by one, moving forward.
However...
"Children wearing hoods. One has a leash...? A slave...? Anyway, that one might be among those kids..."
*Step- step-*
A suspicious shadow crumpling paper with drawings of Saten and Estia, following them.
The footsteps were blatantly pursuing them.
"I-it's heavy... Did Mister always carry heavy things like this...!?"
"Next time, I-I'm going to follow Mister too..."
Heavy.
Incredibly heavy!
Having purchased all the food ingredients and completed their errand, the Hero Party just needed to return home to finish their mission.
With bundles filling both hands, the Hero Party began walking toward home.
Among them, Estia, wearing a leash and giving off a slave-like atmosphere, shouted in an exhausted tone.
"Hey...! But...! Where's home...! Is this the right direction...?"
"Eh, I don't know! I'm just going forward!"
"If you don't know, why are you in front!"
"B-because I thought we'd find it if we went forward! Hehe!"
Luna declared boldly.
Hare pushed past Luna and stepped forward.
"Move... I-I know the way... Mister taught me how to draw maps in my head..."
"As expected, Hare! Actually, I didn't know at all, but I believed in you!"
At Luna's absurd behavior, Estia felt the urge to pee holy water.
"...I'm definitely going to escape from here and live in holy water forever... hehehe..."
"That's impossible. Mister will never let you go."
"Sh-shut up! Don't crush my dreams! Why do you guys even like your kidnapper!"
Estia couldn't understand this situation.
No, you were kidnapped, so why do you like your kidnapper!
He cooks well, educates you, doesn't experiment on you, lets you sleep, so why would you like such a kidnapper...
"Wait! Now that I think about it, except for not giving me holy water, it seems kind of nice...!"
It might actually be good...!
Estia walked while deep in thought.
The food ingredients filling both hands were heavy, but not unbearably so.
Thus the Hero Party drew closer and closer to completing their mission.
And at that moment.
"...Wait, stop walking and take off your hoods."
The stiff tone of a female knight blocked their path from ahead.
Tall, hiding her appearance with a hood, but emanating an aura of physical training—a stranger.
Luna recalled past memories and shouted.
"Don't tell me you're trying to kidnap us!?"
A deserted alley.
A person who suddenly appeared.
Luna, with kidnapping PTSD surfacing, stiffened.
However, for some reason, Luna felt she'd heard that stranger's voice somewhere before.
*Where did I hear it...?*
It definitely wasn't that long ago...?
As that question swirled in her head, the strange woman made the sound of dress shoes as she slowly approached the Hero Party.
She called out the names of the kidnapped children.
"Cecilia Saten, and Estia."
Saten and Estia.
The names of children on the kidnapping list.
Hearing that, Estia finally realized her salvation had arrived.
Estia removed her hood and shouted happily.
"That's right! I'm Estia!! Estia, who will become the Church's Saint!! Save me right now!!"
"Y-you coward...! A-after all of Mister's kindness...!"
"Shut up! I'm returning to the embrace of holy water...!!"
Estia, who wanted to return to the embrace of holy water, not the Goddess.
Estia reached out toward the woman, asking to be saved, but...
*Smack-!*
"Put your hand down. You can't escape unless Mister allows it."
"Ugh, ugh-!! More importantly, hurry up and take off this leash-!!"
"Be quiet. More than that..."
Hare.
You know what to do next, right?
Saten and Hare exchanged glances.
Having conducted Mister Study sessions, there were things they understood without speaking, so they knew what action to take in this situation.
"Then, our destination is home."
"R-right...!"
The Hero Party facing a stranger.
Saten held Estia's leash.
Hare held Luna's hand.
Thinking the same thing, they split into two directions and began to run.
However...
"Why! Why is that person chasing us!! There are wanted kids over there-!!"
"I-I don't know...! Th-that person is really fast...!"
Just like Mister!!
For some reason, the stranger wasn't chasing the wanted Saten and Estia.
She was chasing Hero Luna and Thief Hare.
It was a completely incomprehensible situation.