I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 251: Observation

“Ah? Lord? What brings you here?”

“Yuria, you’re here. You don’t have work today. Just observe for now.”

“Eh?!”

Yuria blurted out before she realized what she had said.

It was already surprising that Lord himself had come to the headquarters, but now she was being told she didn’t have work today?

What is this sudden talk, she thought, and her expression became blank.

“No work? But today is supposed to be my workday.”

“I just changed your work schedule. You’re off today, and instead, you’ll observe with me.”

“Ah...?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll still get paid for today. Think of it as a paid day off and enjoy it.”

“...?”

It was a completely confusing decision. It wasn’t as if the entire team was off. Yuria was the only one being told to take the day off and observe. She couldn’t make sense of the order.

“Ah, I understand...”

But there was no way she could refuse. Despite her confusion, Yuria decided to accept the command.

“But what is this for?”

“...”

“Lord?”

“...”

No matter how much she asked, Aslan just remained silent. He didn’t seem to have any intention of explaining anytime soon.

Since it was Aslan Vermont’s order, she assumed there must be a reason, but... not telling her anything about canceling her work was hard to understand. If it turned out to be nothing important later, she’d be upset.

Thinking this, Yuria decided to swallow her thoughts for now.

“So, what exactly does observing mean?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. You’ll watch my team work.”

“Just watch? I won’t be on standby for backup or anything?”

“Yep. You’ll just watch.”

“...”

Yuria muttered inwardly about what kind of thinking this was as she followed Aslan.

“By the way, Lord...”

“Speak.”

“Our team may have trouble completing the mission without me.”

“Do you really think so? Let’s watch and see.”

“...?”

Aslan smirked, as if to say, “Let’s wait and see,” and Yuria tilted her head. What on earth is he planning?

Soon, the work began. Yuria’s team set off, and she and Aslan took a separate carriage, following behind.

By now, her team should be performing their mission, tense and focused, but here she was, comfortably riding in a carriage observing them. It was a strange feeling.

‘Today’s mission was a patrol.’

Today, the team was tasked with patrolling a dangerous area. It was a zone where monsters frequently appeared, and although it was designated as a dangerous area by the state, the number of monsters had drastically decreased since Vermont Security took control.

It wasn’t an extremely dangerous mission, but still, occasionally, very rarely, monsters did appear, so they couldn’t relax too much.

“Relax and observe. Why are you pressing your face against the window, rolling your eyes so hard?”

“But normally, I’m the one in charge of the patrol mission’s vigilance...”

“Vigilance, you say? Then what happens if there’s a problem? How do you report it?”

“I handle that too.”

“And how about responding to the problem?”

“That too...”

“Now I see. It looks like you’re doing everything yourself. There’s no need to pay the others in your team.”

“N-no! They work hard too!”

Yuria quickly waved her hands in panic.

“Then why are you doing all the work?”

“Because... I’m the fastest and most reliable at handling things...”

The team was made up of four people, but in reality, Yuria handled almost everything.

It made sense, though. She was the fastest and strongest, with the keenest senses. So, she’d detect the danger first, report it to the higher-ups, and then handle the response herself.

It was the fastest and least damaging way to do it... or so she thought.

“So, you’re saying you don’t trust your team because their level isn’t as high as yours?”

“N-no! I fully trust my team...”

At first, Yuria had spoken out in protest, but her voice gradually became quieter. Although she wanted to say she trusted her team, she couldn’t do so confidently, because doubt had started creeping into her own mind.

Did she really trust her team?

‘Am I just pretending to trust them, but in reality, I don’t trust them and take over everything myself because I’m scared?’

That thought hit her, and her shoulders drooped.

“Ah...?!”

At that moment, a strange scream echoed throughout the entire mountain.

“Monsters...!”

The sound of monsters. Of all times for monsters to appear, it had to be while she was observing and not on duty herself!

Yuria began pacing anxiously, looking out the windows on both sides of the carriage, trying to locate where the monsters were.

The view was extremely limited from inside the carriage.

Yuria was about to throw open the door and run out when Aslan grabbed her wrist firmly.

“Lord!? The monsters are appearing...!”

“I know. My senses may be duller than yours, but I’m not deaf enough to miss that noise.”

“It’s an emergency! I have to go out quickly!”

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“An emergency is only when there’s no qualified personnel to handle it. Right now, the patrol team of combatants is already out.”

“But...”

“You think your team can’t handle things without you?”

“...”

Yuria closed her mouth and couldn’t respond. She wanted to deny it, but the truth was undeniable.

Until now, she had been the one monitoring, reporting, and handling the monsters. Without her, the team was probably not used to dealing with things on their own.

“Now look. Watch how your team handles things without you.”

At that moment, a monster emerged from the bushes, and the team, already in position, worked together seamlessly, driving the monster into a corner.

The coordination was flawless.

And the teamwork was perfect.

Without a single hitch, the team successfully brought down a monster twice their size in no time.

Yuria watched, stunned, and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry...”

“...”

“I’ve realized now. I think I’ve been acting arrogant...”

“It seems like you misunderstood something. The reason I had you observe and canceled your work wasn’t to scold you.”

“...?”

Aslan placed his large hand on Yuria’s head.

Yuria cautiously raised her head.

She had expected Aslan to be upset, but instead, he had a faint smile on his face.

Yuria tilted her head.

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“It looked like your shoulders were too heavy. You try to carry everything by yourself. You try to take responsibility for everything, even the fighting and getting hurt. It’s frustrating to see you acting like there’s no one else who can do it except you.”

“...”

“Your team can function without you. That’s true not only for the team, but also at school. Don’t keep thinking you have to struggle on your own. You have plenty of teammates and friends who have your back now.”

“...”

Without saying anything more, Aslan kept ruffling Yuria’s head.

In a world where everything had gone off course from the original story, he seemed to comfort the protagonist who couldn’t adapt on her own.

Unlike the original story, where everything was about protecting, fighting, and losing, Yuria now had exceptional teammates, schoolmates, and companions.

They weren’t people Yuria had to protect anymore.

He had wanted her to realize that, and it seemed to have worked.

“I understand now...”

Yuria muttered quietly.

Aslan smiled and removed his hand.

“Exactly... I’ve unconsciously treated everyone but myself as unreliable. Thanks to you, I realized that. Now, I believe I can trust my teammates to have my back.”

“Good. That’s the answer I wanted.”

“Before, I was trapped in the obsession of thinking I had to handle both offense and defense. But now, I think I don’t need to. I’ll leave defense to my teammates, and I can just dive into the enemy lines and rampage without worrying!”

“...That’s also what I wanted to hear... Wait...?”

“From now on, I’ll focus solely on offense!”

Looking down at Yuria, her eyes shining brightly, Aslan felt something was off.

Why is the conclusion going in that direction...?

It was a bit different from what he had expected, but in any case, the intended result had been achieved, so he decided it was for the best.