#006. The Rehabilitation Party is Too Nice (2)

#006. The Rehabilitation Party is Too Nice (2)

Gorgo was an axe warrior who’d escaped the filthy back alleys with nothing but a single axe in his grasp.

For a man so slender, wielding a bladed weapon to scrape out a living was anything but easy.

“Haha, look at him, getting swung around by his own axe.”

“Bet he gets swung around well in bed, too, eh?”

The rough women of the adventurer’s guild would slap Gorgo’s backside and treat him like less than dirt beneath their boots.

In the adventurer’s guild on nights when Theresa wasn’t around, rent boys in thin veils that barely concealed their flesh would sidle up to the female adventurers, fawning.

“Hey, sis. Wanna have a good time?”

“I’ll treat you well. I’m good, I am.”

Watching the rent boys shamelessly hawk themselves with lewd expressions, Gorgo felt his face burn.

That kind of life.

That kind of existence.

He’d grown up seeing it, sick of it, even in the grime of the alleys.

Friends who’d dreamed of adventure as children, clutching twigs like swords, were snatched away by their parents year after year, sold to brothels to pay for family hospital bills, or seduced by the easy money, and then they, too, fell into the life of a rent boy.

“Hey, Gorgo. No way a guy like you could get into a decent party. Ditch that worthless axe and sell your body.”

“I hear the sporty types last longer and do more… I’m a little tempted, actually.”

The s*xual harassment grew more intense by the day, culminating in the betrayal of party members he’d trusted.

“Strip. Unless you wanna die.”

The edge of the flooded forest.

A forest where the trees grew so thick it looked like an ocean.

Where no eyes could reach.

A female rogue pressed her blade to Gorgo’s throat.

He’d trusted them, especially with a mage in the party.

The male mage, caught with him, had already been overpowered by the female swordsman, the party leader, and dragged off long ago.

Yellowed teeth.

A thick, unkempt beard.

Cheeks wider than a pig’s.

Eyes gleaming with lust.

Taking advantage of the rogue’s carelessness, Gorgo snatched her dagger and killed her.

He hadn’t even considered trying to save the mage.

The swordsman was stronger than him.

Killing a party member was a grave offense.

He gave up on defending himself and became a wanted man in the city and the guild.

He crossed several cities, abandoning his hometown completely.

Unfamiliar climate.

Unfamiliar environment.

He’d lost all his possessions and his identity, forced to build everything from scratch.

Finding a party he could trust was the hardest thing of all.

“Look at him over there. Those clothes are practically see-through.”

“What is this. Is she trying to flirt?”

“You simpleton. That’s Southern attire.”

“Damn, it’s hot.”

The sticky gazes of the unattractive women followed him even to this new guild in this unfamiliar city.

Even in this village, smaller and less crowded, it was the same.

In the end, he had to become strong.

But no woman desired a strong man.

Skilled parties flatly rejected him.

“Sorry. We don’t take men.”

“We already have one. You know? Two men just end up fighting and the party falls apart.”

“Skill? If we need the same position, we’d rather take a woman. Why use a man? Unless you’re willing to work for free until you level up. If you want to do unpaid service until you’re high enough leveled, we might consider it.”

“Or there’s another way.”

The woman implied s*xual labor with an insulting gesture.

“If you become our exclusive party member and work hard, we’ll raise you well. That’s how most Rank 3 male adventurers climb up with a party. If you don’t like it, go do it with other guys.”

Gorgor welled up with tears of indignation, but he would never sell his pride.

Not like the male adventurer in the old, torn fairytale book that had tumbled down into the damp, shaded alleyways.

Because the only inheritance his widowed mother, crippled from an arm injury that forced her retirement, had given him before she withered and died was this axe.

“Nanny.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll be in charge of that class from today.”

Miraculously, he had joined a party that didn’t s*xually exploit him.

His assumption that a mother of two wouldn’t do that was correct, but he was also inwardly uneasy.

Because he wasn’t a axe warrior, but the party’s nanny and pack mule.

‘It can’t be helped. Even I can’t picture myself fighting alongside Theresa-nim.’

Strength beyond measure.

Theresa’s strength defied common sense and understanding.

He had no idea why she had hired someone like him as a party member.

This kind of role.

This kind of seat.

Anyone could replace it.

Or was that it?

Was he chosen *because* it was that kind of seat?

But then, Theresa had even turned down a male priest.

The most in-demand party member in the adventurer world, without the slightest hesitation.

“Gorgor played along with Anna’s antics. He didn’t complain during the tough marches. He can carry a lot of luggage, and he didn’t do anything bad. He even took rocks for us.”

“What if I’m not such a good person?”

The children were good too.

Enough to comfort him when he was feeling down.

What was he, then, spouting such awful things?

“What if I’m a bad person who has committed sins you don’t know about, in places you don’t know about? What if I’m just hiding my true colors right now?”

Haunted by the unavoidable murder.

Terrified of the pursuers the bounty on his head would inevitably attract.

And yet, unable to bring himself to leave the party of his own accord.

‘I suppose I have to go, don’t I?’

I don’t want to hurt the kids.

It wouldn’t be right to Teresa-nim, who took me in.

Even if I die, I should meet my end alone, with dignity, someday.

It’s alright.

I’m used to being alone, aren’t I?

Ever since I wandered those back alleys.

Whether I belonged to a party or not.

Just a male adventurer who didn’t know his place.

I’d always been alone, hadn’t I?

In the instant he resolved himself to a lonely death, a small warmth touched Gorgo’s hand.

Radiant.

Yes, radiant.

Eyes as beautiful as countless stars rising in the night sky.

A powerful will.

And eyes brimming with heartfelt desire looked up at him.

“Gorgo is our party’s proud member.”

With that one sentence, all his worries and solitude vanished.

He felt a comfort that soothed his very soul.

Call it cowardly if you will.

He found himself thinking it.

That he wanted to stay as this child’s guardian for just a little longer.

But now, the time to regret that decision had come at last.

“Southern attire. A lumberjack’s axe. 165cm tall. Effeminate pretty boy. No doubt about it. That’s Gorgo.”

“Whew. Looks like we’re getting paid handsomely?”

“Jackpot. Maybe we shouldn’t hand him over to the guild, just put a leash on him and keep him.”

On the road back to the village after completing a request.

Three women appeared on the hilltop.

Two bore the marks of 3rd-class adventurers.

One bore the mark of a 4th-class adventurer.

Gorgo set down his luggage and sent the kids behind him.

“I’m sorry, Teresa-nim. Those…those are adventurers from another city, tracking me.”

The 3rd-class adventurers issued their threats.

“Don’t regret it later when we let you live, now go.”

“You better value the lives of those kids.”

They were a different caliber from those girls in the alley who hadn’t even had proper equipment.

The two 3rd-class adventurers were armed in a way that made him uneasy.

One clutched several snares and a net, a long spear gripped tight – Changsu, the hunter and driver of men.

The other, a professional thief, subtly revealed the flash of a keen dagger or a throwing star from beneath a large cloak.

Even the 4th-tier adventurer at the rear, an arbalist clad in armor, could pierce a monster’s thick hide and inflict real harm.

A trio of adventurers, movements coordinated.

Clearly, a difficult prospect.

Even with such a thorny challenge before her, Teresa tilted her head, eyes hardening with menace.

“Did you lunatics choke on your morning gruel? Who do you think you’re barking at? Gorgo is the nanny to my children.”

“That one’s a wanted criminal. Killed a party member from our guild. Don’t spill blood protecting some untrustworthy trash. Just leave peacefully.”

Gorgo lowered his head under Teresa’s gaze.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I am mortified that I could not tell you beforehand. I do not wish to burden you further.”

“You idiot.”

“I am sorry. Ian and Anna are good children. Anyone could be their nanny, but I refuse to be a worthless excuse for one. I am fine…please, just go.”

“He’s saying it himself, isn’t he? Get lost.”

The arbalist, leader of the trio, threatened.

“The Reapers of Bohen. Our party never relinquishes prey it’s set its sights on. This is your final warning. Don’t do something irreversible for the sake of a mere murderer. Back down, quietly.”

Teresa turned to Ian.

“He’s your nanny. Your decision.”

“I trust Gorgo.”

“Did you hear that? You’re still Ian’s nanny.”

Gorgo was struggling to contain the tears welling up with emotion.

“Enough with the….”

*Get out of here.*

Before the arbalist could finish his sentence, a stone – one that could burst a killer monkey’s skull – slammed into the arbalist’s helmet.

The hunter and thief launched snares and throwing daggers, focusing their assault on Teresa.

“Don’t get in the way.”

Teresa casually evaded the barrage, issuing instructions.

“Protect the children. That’s your role.”

“…!”

Gorgo realized.

Because *he* was there, Teresa was free to move as she needed.

It wasn’t just Ian.

Teresa trusted him, too.

She recognized him as a party member, not a mere trinket.

“The net!”

Right on cue, a net flew out the moment Teresa backed away to avoid the cloud of poison that erupted at her feet.

“The spear!”

As Teresa struggled in the net, impale her.

The thief and hunter’s plan was flawless.

Until Teresa, holding her breath, charged straight forward and snapped the hunter’s arm and neck.

“Oh, don’t! If you come closer, I’ll kill the children…!”

He was wrong.

That woman was a monster.

He couldn’t fathom why he was even in the same party as someone like Gorgo.

Take a child hostage.

And then run.

A man like him.

Someone so easily frightened, he ran after killing a single one of them.

Yes, with his pretty face, he probably sold his body to a married woman for protection.

He could break through someone like that in an instant.

“Get lost!”

“Ugh!”

Throwing daggers flying quickly.

Gorgo managed to deflect two volleys of the continuous throws with the flat of his axe, but he couldn’t ignore the dagger aimed at the child, passing behind him, and reached out to block it.

“Get lost, get lost, get lost!”

The bandit’s dagger pierced Gorgo’s torso three times in a row, Gorgo not even having the strength to lift his axe.

Passing the collapsing Gorgo, the hand reaching for the child abruptly halted.

Even after enduring so much, Gorgo, with sheer grit and malice, grabbed the bandit’s body.

“You son of a b*tch!”

He was about to take a life with his dagger.

When Theresa’s second child, Anna, threw a grasshopper.

“Take this!”

“aaargh, damn it!”

The dagger sliced the grasshopper instead of Gorgo’s neck.

Yes, one hostage was enough.

Enraged, he gripped his dagger, re-adjusting it into a throwing position, murderous intent rising.

Theresa’s first child, Ian, threw a small pouch.

Reflexively slashing the pouch open, the bandit deeply regretted it.

*Schwoosh!*

Fairy Lilac, crushed and mixed with water to create a lubricant.

The slippery liquid drenched his hand.

*Crack!*

Taking advantage of the bandit’s confusion, Gorgo, with all his remaining strength, twisted the bandit’s neck.

All the assailants had fallen.

But Gorgo had fallen too.

“Go. Go back to your mother. Spoils… a lot. You’ll live well.”

A fallen comrade.

Gathering sack.

Spoils.

He couldn’t take all three.

One had to be sacrificed.

“Ian.”

“Yes.”

“Take the gathering sack. I’ll handle the spoils.”

Ian stared blankly up at Teresa.

As her lips parted, Teresa’s own lips opened too.

““You are a mother who cherishes children more than anyone.””

“…!”

“You foolish one. The nanny protects the child. Why would the child protect the nanny?”

Ian remained unmoving.

Instead of rebuking Ian, Teresa clicked her tongue.

No one could dissuade that stubbornness.

Just like long ago, when no one—not family, not parents—could stop the girl in love.

He didn’t need to inherit things like that.

If she couldn’t dissuade him, there was nothing for it.

“Tch.”

Teresa upended the gathering sack.

The gathering materials, painstakingly collected over several days, were now mixed with blood.

“Empty out all the spoils and pack them in. This is the cost to heal this half-dead fool.”

Teresa’s family lost the chance to obtain a proper house by selling the spoils.

But no one regretted it.

Because they had gained a loyal nanny and party member they could trust with their backs.