#005. The Rehabilitation Party is Too Kind (1)

#005. The Rehabilitation Party is Too Kind (1)

The Adventurer’s Guild receptionist wore a crestfallen expression as she saw Theresa approaching the counter.

The usual refusal of a Rank 3 request, the fear of a grab at the collar – these preemptive anxieties plagued her as always.

“Settlement.”

But today, the atmosphere clinging to her was different.

While her bounty’s worth was tallied, she sat on the waiting bench, arms crossed, staring intently, almost drilling holes into the heads of her children.

And if anyone dared to pass nearby, a murderous glare would shoot out, warning them away.

“U-um, I’m just going to get some water.”

“Go.”

“T-thank you…?”

The adventurer, clutching his cup toward the magically purified water cooler, looked pitiable beneath her oppressive gaze.

That much was typical of the rough, arrogant Teresa. But this constant glaring at other adventurers felt…different.

Usually, such glares meant disapproval, pure and simple.

But now, there was a hint of restlessness about it.

A clear display of discomfort in the oppressive atmosphere.

A year’s worth of experience whispered to the receptionist.

*That’s how people looking for party members act.*

Inwardly, she was skeptical.

*No way.*

*Teresa the maternal?*

*The one who treasures her kids so much she doesn’t trust any unscrupulous adventurers and roams the hunting grounds alone with her children, that solitary fiend?*

“Hey. Come take a look at this.”

The appraiser, clad in white cotton gloves, sorted through a sack overflowing with spoils, verifying the quantities of requested proofs, calculating the value of additional trophies, and now he called the receptionist over.

Weapons of various sizes.

Crudely crafted equipment.

Not a good sign.

“Gear from humanoid monsters?”

“No sign of it being modified for smaller hands. It’s from people.”

“Don’t tell me… Teresa?”

“A woman with two kids. She wouldn’t invite trouble, putting herself at such a disadvantage.”

The appraiser, with cold but precise eyes, assessed the situation she’d faced.

“She was ambushed and survived. That’s all.”

“I see…”

“It’s a matter concerning an adventurer you handle. Be aware of it.”

“Thank you.”

Hearing the information from the appraiser, Teresa’s appearance shifted in her eyes.

Even the strongest person is overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Protecting herself is difficult enough, protecting children is even harder.

The kids are uninjured.

The receptionist could imagine how much Teresa must have pushed herself.

Now, she had no choice but to consider it.

The presence of party members to protect her children.

“The settlement is twenty-five silver coins, forty copper.”

“Low.”

“Rank two requests always are.”

“Rank up.”

“You know how it is?”

Teresa’s gaze drifted towards the receptionist’s throat.

The receptionist desperately maintained a courteous smile, hands rising to shield the exposed skin above his chest.

“Boobies!”

“Anna. You shouldn’t say things like that.”

Ian, gently chiding his younger sister.

The receptionist found the boy’s soft-spoken reprimand, cleaner and better dressed than the girl pointing at his chest, even more mortifying.

As his hands slid lower, covering a bit more than just his throat, Teresa’s gaze intensified.

*You little punk, are you doing that because of my kids?*

Under her suspicious stare, the receptionist broke out in a cold sweat, quickly changing the subject.

“If you’d like to find party members, you can choose directly from the matching table, or we can arrange it for you. For the sake of the children, perhaps it’s time to consider a party…”

“Not the leader.”

“Yes, you cannot relinquish the leader position… pardon? A party, you are seeking a party member?”

“Just one.”

The receptionist, greatly relieved by Teresa’s glance towards her children, breathed a sigh.

“You can advertise for your party with a notice on the bulletin board, but you must specify that children will be accompanying you. It can be grounds for disbandment if discovered later. However, there’s an additional fee, so using the matching table would be preferable.”

What sort of party member would motherly Teresa choose?

The adventurers within the guild watched with rapt attention.

Teresa’s skill was evident from the size of the sack she had brought in today.

Even with two children, practically baggage, she could single-handedly perform the work of four, if not more.

Wherever she went, her skill would never be lacking.

*‘Looks like it’s going to be like this.’*

Despite the high regard, no one actually approached Teresa.

The receptionist managed a wry smile.

Parties were, after all, forged by people.

And when people gathered, politics and hierarchy were unavoidable.

Teresa had an obvious weakness, known to all.

The children.

Ian and Anna.

Bright kids, but undoubtedly a burden.

Without a word, the adventurers conspired.

Lower the distribution share.

Be the one to bend first.

*You* are desperate.

Only after acknowledging that fact would they consider joining her party.

Exploiting Teresa’s difficult circumstances.

Cowardly, perhaps, but one couldn’t fault her for it.

Forced alliances rarely bore fruit.

‘Still, I hope things don’t come to that, if possible.’

Because if a forcefully recruited member treated the children carelessly, it was plain to see how Teresa would react.

Frequent discord amongst party members and a few fatal accidents, and their adventurer’s license would be revoked.

And the receptionist could clearly envision how Teresa would then wield her power.

Murder. Plunder. Robbery.

A descent into a life of crime.

Becoming a highway robber, only to be vanquished by a high-level adventurer, would be tragic enough, but even more unfortunate would be if a criminal guild, having noted her abilities, took an interest.

The children’s futures would be tainted by the underworld.

Judging by Teresa’s skill, the likelihood of that was quite high.

Did she even realize she stood at such a crossroads?

From a distance, the gazes of the watching adventurers only seemed to further irritate Teresa’s expression.

Finally, one man mustered his courage and approached.

“How about me?”

“No.”

The handsome rogue, who had approached with a friendly smile, was rejected outright.

Everyone nodded in agreement, having wisely steered clear, as rogues occasionally made surprise career changes to banditry or kidnapping.

No matter how impressive their gear, how strong they seemed, a rogue was simply untrustworthy.

With the rogue having broken the ice, others took heart.

“Isn’t that a priest?”

“Crazy. Even with two kids, the priest is approaching parties first. Can you believe it?”

“He must be confident in his strength, then.”

“Damn, I’m jealous.”

Envy radiated from all sides.

“Healing priest. I am confident in my ability to care for children.”

“No.”

Even the male priest, staff in hand, was turned down.

The receptionist inwardly screamed.

‘Why did you turn him down?!’

Priests were a rare profession.

Priests without parties were even rarer.

Instead of diligently improving their skills by treating patients in safe towns, they often left because they resented being forced to tithe to the temple.

As such, most priests were quite haughty.

They wouldn’t even consider joining a mediocre party.

Amongst the adventurers, who were always meticulous with distribution ratios, the most fastidious class had come crawling.

This meant he was willing to make certain concessions.

Yet she openly rejected the priest, making one wonder if she had any intention of forming a party at all.

Those who had nothing to lose lost interest entirely.

“Accepted.”

All heads snapped back in unison.

“Who’s the punk?”

“What is this? A Level 2 warrior.”

“A nobody?”

“They didn’t pick him based on looks, surely.”

“What did they even see in him?”

“He’s even a *man*.”

“What can some weakling man do?”

“That thing in place of a priest?”

The newcomer was equally bewildered.

“I’m honored to be able to join Theresa of Motherhood. I’m Gorgo, and as Theresa-nim’s first party member, please tell me what I need to do!”

Before he could even state his class and role, Gorgo had been haphazardly recruited. He was both elated and flustered to be in a party with such a powerful person.

*Surely they’re not going to use me as bait?*

Some parties did operate that way.

Parties where the weak latched onto the strong, but in moments of crisis, were expected to throw themselves into danger in their stead.

The survival rate was, of course, abysmal.

The adventurers who knew Theresa’s usual demeanor, remembering her nearly assaulting the receptionist, clicked their tongues, recognizing the situation at a glance.

“Gonna use him as bait?”

Theresa, hearing the eldest’s blunt question, raised her fist to slam it into his head, but hesitated.

*Tch.*

She clicked her tongue roughly and said curtly,

“Nanny.”

“Excuse me?”

“From today on, that’s the class you’ll be in charge of.”

That was the reason warrior Gorgo had been recruited into the party.

“A Rank 3 request.”

“Ah, yes… You only have two party members… Technically, it’s possible to undertake it, but…”

The receptionist’s eyes spun.

*Is this for real?*

There were only two party members, sure, but…

Nanny?

*What kind of job is that?*

*How is that any different from being alone?*

“Are you in the rear guard?”

“I guess…?”

Even Gorgo himself was unsure of what to fill in on the party member application, answering with a hesitant voice.

“What’s a nanny?”

“Someone who takes care of us.”

At the eldest’s words to the younger, Gorgo became a man with his head bowed in shame.

“Accept it!”

Teresa’s younger daughter, Anna, thrust a grasshopper she’d found somewhere in his face.

Hesitantly accepting it, the grasshopper bounded from Gorgo’s hand and hopped away.

Anna’s expression soured.

“Babysitter no good!”

A look of pity, heavy with foreboding, crossed the receptionist’s face as she gazed at Gorgo’s seemingly bleak future.

“Excuse me, I was wondering…”

*Thwack.*

The dagger Teresa threw embedded itself deeply in the table.

The blade was almost completely swallowed.

“Listen here. I hate men who betray me. I want to tear them in two right then and there.”

“?!”

“You came first, fledgling. You wouldn’t dare betray me, would you?”

Before Teresa’s show of force as she retrieved the dagger, tremors ran through both Gorgo’s and the receptionist’s pupils.

Gorgo’s attempt to leave the party failed miserably before it even left his lips.

* * *

Mom had recruited a party member.

It seemed like she chose him to protect us, but even during the first rank 3 quest we took to test our teamwork, Mom did all the work herself.

The sight of a Killer Monkey being struck by a rock and falling from the trees, where it had been nimbly leaping between them, was a spectacle in itself; later, they were dropping after being hit by flying splinters of wood.

When I deflected a falling rock with one I threw myself, the Killer Monkey blinked dumbly, looking just as perplexed as Gorgo.

“Annoying b*stards. Gotta get them all at once.”

Eventually, she released a Killer Monkey that had been crippled after having its tail cut off, letting it return to its habitat. After it left, she set the whole place ablaze – an act of barbarism, really.

The scene of the Killer Monkeys screaming and scrambling out of the trees to escape, only to be slaughtered indiscriminately, left Gorgo standing next to me, blank-faced.

“Your mom is something else.”

“Yes.”

“What snacks did you bring?”

“Dried fish.”

“Wanna trade?”

“Just one.”

Throughout the hunt, Gorgo watched over Anna and me, until eventually, he was just trading snacks and hauling a sack full of collected materials.

Naturally, his face was vacant and his expression screamed existential dread.

He didn’t even get a chance to draw the sword at his hip once.

All he did was shield us from the occasional flying rock.

“A party member…not so bad.”

“I don’t remember doing anything… was I helpful to Teresa-nim at all?”

“You can carry more loot.”

“……”

Gorgo had gone from being our party’s babysitter to its pack mule.

“Say,”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t there anyone, *anyone* at all, you could trade me for?”

Gorgor felt a keen disappointment in his role with Theresa’s party.

“Just watching the child, carrying baggage. Anyone could do that. That male priest who passed through before me would be better, surely. For the sake of your party, too.”

“I don’t think so.”

Gorgor looked utterly astonished at my words.

Children, they say, are more honest than adults.

They cannot conceal their desires.

They cry at an ugly face, cling to the side of the handsome.

They favor those who aid their parents, despise those who hinder.

Yet I showed no aversion.

Not simple comfort, either.

A steadfast gaze, so like Theresa’s own.

I held my own criteria for judgment.

“Gorgor played along with Anna’s games. He did not complain during the harsh marches. He can carry much baggage, and does no wrong. He even took a stone meant for us.”

“What if I am not such a good man?”

A shadow momentarily crossed Gorgor’s face.

“What if, where you cannot see, I commit sins you cannot know? What if I only hide my true nature now?”

I gazed into the guilt-ridden depths of Gorgor’s eyes.

They were like a starless, inky night sky.

Like the corpse of the old woman in the alley, unmoving.

Like the remnants of slumbering stars.

Eyes that lived, yet were as good as dead.

They were, once, the eyes he himself had possessed.

A home where no one welcomed.

An existence where loneliness and deeper loneliness were repeated.

He who had lost all hope for life and fled into games.

As he, in those old days, had been.

Gorgor was a lonely, solitary man.

Therefore, this was akin to helping myself.

“…!”

I am a brainwasher.

A manipulator, a deceiver who twists and controls the hearts of men.

Using this wicked power, I will…

[Brainwash Activated]

[Designated Target – Gorgor]

[Command – Gorgor is our proud party member.]

I took Gorgor’s hand.

He stared blankly down at my hand.

In the darkness that consumed his eyes, a small star flickered to life.

“…Thank you.”

Gorgor grasped my hand in return.