65. The Hero Party Needs Training (3)
Dragging the weight I felt on my leg.
Feeling like I was exercising, I stood in front of Saten's door.
First, I should prepare before going in.
I looked down and muttered.
"Estia, let go now."
"No-!! Give me Holy Water-!! I said give it to me-!!"
"If you wanted to get Holy Water, all you had to do was answer the question correctly. It was a very simple task. But you got it wrong."
"Y-you could let it slide just once!! J-just once..."
"If I let it slide once, next time it becomes twice, then three times. Just let go already, Estia."
"Y-you're so mean... My Holy Water..."
Perhaps because I didn't budge even a single step.
Estia released the pant leg she'd been gripping with a sullen expression.
Just how desperate was she?
She'd grabbed so hard that handprints were clearly left on my pants.
*Still, she looks a bit pitiful...*
I should give her a chance to make up for it in another way.
Besides, the time was approaching when Estia would gradually lose her mind.
It was about time to administer Holy Water anyway.
I tried to lift Estia up from the floor where she lay repeatedly crying out "Holy Water! Holy Water!"
"Get up, Estia."
"No-! I won't get up until you give me Holy Water-!"
"In that case, I'll give you a chance to make up for it. If you succeed, I'll give you Holy Water."
"...Really?"
I'd give it to her even if she failed.
But it's better to keep that hidden.
Estia sprang up from her spot at the promise of Holy Water.
She wanted it so badly that saliva was already pooling in her mouth.
Estia's golden eyes sparkled as she asked.
"H-Holy Water...? R-really...?"
"Yes, I'll give you Holy Water. If you pass this mission, I'll give it to you."
"I-I don't know what it is but I'll do it! I'll do it! Holy Water! Give me Holy Water!"
...I could never let Estia sign a contract.
If I promised her one Holy Water, she'd probably even sign a waiver giving up her body.
Feeling a headache coming on, I presented her with today's mission.
"It's not difficult, Estia. It's just a simple task."
"Simple things are what I'm best at~! Tell me right now! For Holy Water-! I can do anything!!"
"Then that's fortunate. What you need to do is simple."
Go into the room.
And pray until Saten's lesson ends.
She could rest or not.
It would end between one to two hours, so it was a reasonably good prayer time.
The posture was free.
True faith comes from any posture, praying with the heart.
Of course, the probability of Estia failing was close to 70%, but it would be time to figure out what went wrong.
Using failure as a stepping stone for development.
"Estia, you can lie down and pray in the room, or roll around on the floor while praying."
"Wh-what, Uncle, that's too easy? Like eating rice cakes while lying down? The Saint is good at praying~!"
"It's rice cakes, not poison. And when I come back to find you, if you've shed even a single drop of Holy Water, I'll acknowledge your success."
"Anyway, it's all the same!! One drop, I understand!! I'll pray right away!! Holy Water, here I come!"
Crash-!!
Estia swiftly entered her room.
Praying quickly doesn't make Divine Power appear, but her will was sufficient, so it would work out somehow.
Thinking that, I knocked on Saten's door where she'd be waiting for her lesson.
Knock knock-
-Come in, Uncle.
Had she heard our conversation from outside?
Hearing Saten's voice confirming it was me, I opened Saten's door without hesitation.
There sat Saten in a chair with an expressionless face, looking at me.
And on Saten's lap...
"Meow-!"
A black cat.
BlackMeow was welcoming me.
*...At least it's alive.*
Fortunately, it hadn't died at Saten's hands.
I was truly relieved it hadn't become an experimental subject.
Looking at the creature that would be an important key to Saten's lesson.
I began the emotion lesson that Saten's future life and death depended on.
The emotion lesson.
A lesson both simple and difficult.
It would be hard for Saten to truly understand with her heart, but at least understanding with her head should be easy.
I planned to help Saten understand at least intellectually.
For that, BlackMeow had to be an important key.
I looked at the cat sitting on Saten's lap and said indifferently.
"Still, you two seem to get along well. The cat is even sitting on your lap."
"Yes, it follows me well. It's strange. Does it sense a threat to its life from me? It even acts cute."
"Hmm, I see..."
Well, they seem to be getting along.
Saten's expression while holding the cat wasn't bad either.
Though Saten had no expressions to begin with, she could express likes and dislikes subtly.
Judging by now, it was probably...
Closer to liking it.
I looked back and forth between the cat and Saten and asked her a question.
"Saten, how did you feel being with the cat?"
"Not much, it was annoying because it interfered with my reading. Can't you take it back, Uncle?"
"Meow-?"
Perhaps sensing its owner trying to abandon it, BlackMeow tilted its head.
Even if Saten said that with her mouth, she probably secretly liked BlackMeow.
Though Saten didn't seem to realize it, she was subtly stroking BlackMeow's black fur.
With very skilled hand movements.
She must have petted it often while in the room.
"Once an owner, always an owner. Since you agreed to keep it, you're responsible, Saten."
"...I never said I'd keep it."
"No, BlackMeow made the choice."
"What?"
Saten.
You were merely chosen.
You didn't become BlackMeow's owner first.
BlackMeow chose you as its owner.
Hearing my words, Saten whispered as if incredulous.
"That doesn't make sense. How can a mere cat choose its owner? You're the one who brought it, Uncle."
"Even if I brought it, if you hadn't been here, BlackMeow would have run away. And most importantly, it's not a mere cat."
Calling it a mere cat was inaccurate.
BlackMeow had twice as much mana as other stray cats.
It was much smarter than ordinary cats, with a wider range of capabilities.
So I could teach Saten.
Proper emotions.
I approached Saten and made eye contact with BlackMeow lying on her lap.
"This cat will teach you emotions, Saten. It's a special cat for you."
"Special...?"
"Now look, what emotion does BlackMeow seem to be feeling right now?"
"...I've never thought about it."
"Start thinking about it now."
At my words, Saten lowered her head to check BlackMeow's expression.
"Purr- purr-"
BlackMeow purring with a voice similar to an engine sound.
It had a comfortable expression like lying in bed.
Saten looked at it and gave her own answer.
"Hmm, emotion... To my eyes, BlackMeow looks like it's smiling. So it means it's happy."
"Happiness..."
Happiness.
Broadly speaking, happy would be correct too.
It had a smiling face and looked content.
However, calling this the correct answer made the range too broad.
If I had to be specific, BlackMeow's current emotion was...
"Comfort. BlackMeow is feeling comfortable rather than happy."
"This expression is a comfortable expression?"
"That's right, Saten. Look carefully."
Meow-!
I lifted up BlackMeow, who made a sharp cry.
So Saten could properly see BlackMeow's expression.
I pointed at BlackMeow's face with my finger and explained.
"Drooping eyes. And eyes that keep trying to close. It's proof of being in a comfortable state."
"Hmm, comfort. That makes some sense. If I follow along, is it an expression like this?"
"...That's quite far from it."
Saten closed her eyes to imitate a comfortable expression as much as possible, but perhaps because she didn't use those eye muscles, the area around her eyes trembled.
Since continuing to tremble her eyes might cause spasms, I told Saten to stop, then placed BlackMeow back on her lap.
"Well, anyway, to explain-"
"Watch BlackMeow, imitate its expressions. And learn what expression goes with what emotion. That's what you're saying, right?"
"...You already knew everything."
"Yes, I thought about why you gave me a cat, Uncle. Don't use it as an experimental subject, and raise it well... The only conclusion was 'imitate the cat's expressions.'"
Should I say she knows me well?
Or should I praise her for being smart?
*...Maybe both.*
Come to think of it, Hare and Saten talked about me behind my back.
Should I try using Luna's good information once?
"Saten, I have one question."
"What is it? I'd like to proceed with the lesson quickly."
"Answer this question, and we'll proceed with the lesson. By any chance, are you and Hare talking about me when you're alone?"
"..."
Saten fell silent for a moment.
She stopped answering briefly and turned her gaze to a nearby bookshelf.
*...What on earth did they talk about that makes Saten reluctant to answer?*
Saten, who seemed to have lost her words for a moment.
She turned her gaze back to me and answered as if nothing had happened.
"Not really, we just talked among ourselves because we were curious about you, Uncle."
"If you're curious, you could just ask me?"
"We didn't want to bother you."
...
There's definitely something.
Judging by how she's hiding her answer, there's something.
From the atmosphere, Saten would never answer.
*I guess I'll have to investigate her room during cleaning time...*
It was natural for her to hide things from me at this age.
At the age of puberty, everything would be sensitive.
However, there shouldn't be secrets in an unstable Hero Party.
A small hole could grow larger and swallow everything in an instant.
It was right to eliminate risk factors.
Saten woke me from such thoughts.
"Uncle."
"Uh, yes. Saten."
"Do you have more to say? I want to have the lesson quickly. The lesson time is set, you know."
"...Right, we should have the lesson."
Because lesson time was important.
I then explained to Saten in detail what other emotions existed and what emotions arose in what situations.
So that Saten, who had no emotions, could gradually realize emotions.
I continued the lesson with BlackMeow, opening the path for her.
And...
*What on earth did they talk about me behind my back...*
To think they gossiped about me when I wasn't there.
What was lacking about me?
Did I do something wrong?
That story kept echoing in my ears, making me concerned.