# 72. Hero Party! Let's Go on a Picnic (1)
All the children received the appropriate rewards they desired.
*Training all day! The best!*
Luna received the reward of being able to train all day.
*A picnic with Ahjussi... I like it...!*
Hare got a picnic for a change of pace.
*Heh, hehe... Holy Water... all mine...!*
Estia received a bottle of Holy Water.
Each spoke their desires without hesitation, and as a result, the Hero Party—except for the mage Saten—was able to obtain happy rewards.
After stating their rewards and enjoying a delicious meal, Hare, who had requested to go on a picnic with the children, entered her room.
Her face wasn't particularly happy.
"Going out to play with Ahjussi is nice, but..."
Creak—
"I'm not alone..."
At first, Hare had been planning a trip far away, just the two of them—her and Ahjussi.
*Ahjussi said he'd give us rewards...! He'll definitely grant it...!*
However, memories of "that day" came to mind, preventing her from proceeding readily.
If she suggested going just the two of them, he would surely be cold again, telling her to sort out her feelings.
So Hare changed her plan to avoid suspicion.
She decided to include the other children.
That was why Hare wasn't in a good mood.
"I wanted to go just the two of us, without interruptions..."
It's disappointing.
Still, she could go somewhere together with Ahjussi.
She'd have to be satisfied with that.
Hare clenched her fists to shake off the negative emotions.
"I just need to enjoy myself when we go...! Then it'll be fine...!"
Clench—
If you're greedy, you lose more.
Hare had grown through failure.
With determination to enjoy herself, she lay down on her bed.
There, a treasure Hare cherished and kept hidden existed.
"Hehe... Ahjussi's scent..."
With this, her heart felt at ease.
Hare hugged it tightly to her chest, savoring the faint scent that clung to it.
It felt like the hole in her heart that she felt when alone was being filled.
With a warm feeling, Hare closed her eyes and murmured.
"I like you, Ahjussi... Thank you for becoming my family... I'll work harder from now on, Ahjussi... I'll never disappoint you..."
Slowly falling asleep, Hare drifted off with Ahjussi's scent.
In that moment, the smell of the back alleys—that hellish past—didn't come to mind.
"Together... Ahjussi... forever..."
Hare absolutely didn't want to return to that place.
I decided to fulfill their wishes in order.
I only had one body and couldn't grant multiple wishes at once.
The children needed an order.
"Decide the order among yourselves. Use majority rule to be fair."
At those words, Estia objected with an aggrieved voice.
"I don't need an order! Just give me the Holy Water! Just hand over the Holy Water!"
"Hand over...? Use respectful speech to Ahjussi, Estia..."
"No way, I only respect the Goddess! So Oppa, give me the Holy Water!"
Estia held out her hand with a confident expression.
She was so full of herself that wind seemed ready to blow from her widened nostrils.
However, I couldn't give Estia the Holy Water.
"Estia, you must take the Holy Water only in front of me. So you also need an order. Decide quickly."
"Th-that can't be! I, I need the Holy Water now...!"
Estia trembled like an addict.
Were withdrawal symptoms already setting in?
If she'd reached the trembling stage, she had at most five days.
Still, there was time.
"Just decide the order, Estia."
"Anyone willing to let me go first?! No, let me go now! I'll share Holy Water with you later when I escape from here!!"
"Stop talking nonsense and decide the order."
"Ugh, uugh..."
She finally gave up.
Estia made groaning sounds and returned between Luna and Hare.
Estia asked once more if anyone would yield, but they were also in a hurry and didn't give in.
"Fairly! We'll decide the order fairly!"
"R-right...! Ahjussi likes fairness...!"
...Hare knows me well.
As Hare said, I'm someone who likes fairness.
*Though I can't treat Luna the Hero fairly...*
Separate from practice, I try to think about treating them fairly, at least in my mind.
Discrimination or mistreatment of children in their youth becomes great pain that remains as deep wounds even into adulthood.
I try to treat the children fairly, except for Luna who bears the burden.
As I briefly pondered this and turned my gaze to the children, they seemed to have decided on a method.
They glared at each other and shouted the game's starting call.
"If you don't throw, you lose! One, two, three!"
Rock, paper, scissors!
Thwack—!
Hands thrust out with shouts.
Someone gasped.
Someone sighed.
Amid the mixed emotions, Estia let out a scream.
"This is invalid! Invalid! This doesn't make any sense—!!"
"Hmph, who told you to throw rock while threatening with a sword?! Estia loses! Estia's last! Our victory, Hare!"
"R-rude Estia...! Use respectful speech to Ahjussi next time...!"
Estia threw rock.
Luna and Hare threw paper.
Unlike the two enjoying their victory, Estia trembled her fist in denial of reality.
"My fist can pierce even paper—! Th-this isn't reality—! I, I'm a Saint—!!"
"Hare, let's quickly decide our order!"
"R-right...!"
Wise.
Luna and Hare wisely didn't feed Estia.
Thus began the order decision between the two.
In the tension of not knowing what the other would throw, Hare glanced around and shouted.
"I-if you don't throw, you lose...! R-rock...!"
"Paper!"
"Sci-scissors...!"
Flash—!
They thrust their hands forward with all their might.
The order decision filled with their full strength.
The children's expressions were so grave it was more tense than conquering a dungeon.
*Who won?*
I approached the two to check properly.
A space where victor and vanquished coexisted.
Looking down, the result of the order was displayed.
"Hare, you won."
"Y-yes...! Ahjussi...! I won...! Hehe...!"
Luna threw paper.
Hare threw scissors.
The victor of the order decision was Hare.
As I expected, Hare would...
"F-first...! I'll receive my reward first, Ahjussi...!"
She chose number one in the order.
Given Hare's personality—impatient and liking fast things—it was an expected result.
"Luna, what number are you?"
"I'm obviously number two! There's nothing good about being delayed!"
Following that, Luna chose number two.
Naturally pushed back, Estia...
"N-no! Holy Water—!! M-my Holy Water—!!"
Could only wail in a grief-stricken voice.
Thus decided, the Hero Party's autumn picnic.
The location...
*I should ask Minerva about good places.*
Since I don't know tourist spots well, Minerva would be perfect for that.
Hoping nothing would happen on the picnic, I quietly watched the Hero Party with their mixed emotions.
*Still, they play well together.*
The Hero Party's friendship seemed better than I thought.
The library I visited after a long time hadn't changed.
At most, several more books had been added?
I greeted Meowng with my eyes and walked toward the back where Minerva was.
Minerva was lying on the bed.
"...Minerva."
"Zzzzz—"
"Minerva."
"Mmnya— Hmm..."
What time is it now, and she's sleeping?
Even after years, I still couldn't understand Minerva's lifestyle pattern.
I shook the body of Minerva, who was sleeping wearing her pointed hat.
"Hey, Minerva. Wake up."
"Mmnya... Hmm...? What, Jun-woo... When did you get here...?"
"Just now."
"You should've said something when you arrived... Yawn..."
...I did say something.
Minerva stretched widely and got up from the bed.
Then with sleepy eyes, she asked me.
"So... why did you come here...? Mmnya hmm..."
"I wanted to know about a place. A place to take the Hero Party on a picnic."
"Ah, you mean that...? The reward the Thief mentioned... Wait just a moment..."
Shuffle— Shuffle—
Still sleepy, Minerva approached the bookshelf with zombie-like movements.
"...When she's sleepy, she's not noisy, so it feels a bit better."
"What did you say, Jun-woo...?"
"No, nothing."
"Hmm, really...?"
Glare—
Minerva sent a suspicious look, then turned her gaze back to the bookshelf.
"It should be here somewhere... Ah, found it...! Take a look at this and decide... I'm going back to sleep... I'm sleepy..."
Yawn—
Minerva yawned as if truly sleepy and lay back down on the bed.
On the desk was just one book Minerva had placed there.
There wasn't much explanation.
"The title is... The Future of the Hero Party's Picnic...?"
Had Minerva already read most of the futures and selected them?
Then that would also explain why she was so sleepy.
She said using the Goddess's power always made her drowsy.
"...You're asleep so you won't hear, but thank you, Minerva."
Grateful for Minerva's gift, I read the first page.
"The first future is..."
A tourist site in the Dungeon City Henencia called "Ruins That Lost Time."
Ruins said to have been made by people from 1,000 years ago, judged to have been created to worship the goddesses.
However, for some reason, the architectural style from 1,000 years ago was similar to now.
"What, this isn't about the future, it's a guidebook?"
There's a lot of useless information.
Skipping through such information, I focused on checking what future would unfold when visiting the tourist site.
In the paragraph written at the very bottom was a future I hadn't expected.
—Lee Jun-woo injured, Luna awakened, Hare traumatized. Reason: Grimoire group. They monopolize the tourist site for "money." This place is not recommended.
The Grimoire was monopolizing the tourist site.
And there, we would meet them.
In summary, that's the future that would unfold.
Hmm.
*...The Grimoire guys aren't a threat to me. If I got injured...*
It would be from protecting the Hero Party.
For now, "Ruins That Lost Time" is canceled.
I turned to the next page.
—Luna injured. Estia escaped. Saten excessive bleeding. Reason: Grimoire group of Wrath. They're looking for children for experimental materials, and the Hero Party became targets. This place is not recommended.
...Damn it.
Was Grimoire deployed at every tourist site?
I turned the next page, and the next, but Grimoire consistently appeared at the tourist sites.
A miraculous 100% attendance rate.
"...At this rate, we can't go to any tourist site."
The picnic—does it have to be canceled like this?
I could picture Hare's disappointed expression.
*She must have been looking forward to it...*
The danger level was too high, so there was no choice but to cancel the picnic.
Thinking this, I closed the book and thought about returning home.
However, there was one hope.
The last page.
Another future unfolded there.
—No injuries, no deaths. The process should be fine if the great Lady Minerva helps. This is the best option. However, there's someone who knows Jun-woo there.
"Someone who knows me...?"
Aside from one unsettling detail, the tourist site written on the last page seemed the best.
"Fortunately, I won't have to see Hare's disappointed expression."
The Hero Party's picnic.
Decided.
Departure time...
"Tomorrow."
Since delayed rewards are frustrating, the Hero Party would depart tomorrow.
Right away.