Chapter 229: No Regrets
There was no regret for hurting someone.
"...Has something gone wrong with me?"
"Not at all!!"
"Albe—"
Before he knew it, Albe was already beside him and pulling him into a tight embrace.
"It’s totally fine! There’s nothing wrong with you, Qiong Xing. Those people tried to hurt Rui and Yue, you know? There’s no way anyone could forgive that! Honestly, they should be grateful it was only an arm that got broken. It’d be weirder if you apologized for that."
Not wrong? Normal?
Only then did Qiong Xing truly realize that this world was not Earth.
It wasn’t about daily life.
It was about how, in this world, there were so many ways to hurt others.
And even so, while there were those who protected nations, there were no true enforcers to control individuals.
If this had been in his previous life, then Qiong Xing would have felt regret now.
Even if it was self-defense, he might have been punished for hurting someone.
But this was a different world.
A world where protecting himself, protecting his children and protecting his family was his own responsibility.
And sometimes, it could only be done that way.
"...Is it still okay for me to proudly say I’m their mother?"
"Of course it is."
"Yeah, you’re a wonderful mother."
"You did great. Really, you did so well."
From the bottom of his heart, Qiong Xing felt grateful that he had met them.
...
Valerina is a guild staff member.
The other day, a certain group of adventurers had their registrations revoked.
It was entirely their own fault.
These idiots brought it upon themselves.
Apparently, they had originally been adventurers in another country and came here on a whim.
While going about their usual business of taking on requests at the guild, they ran into Qiong Xing.
Somehow, they misunderstood the rumors that he was close to the guild master and assumed he was receiving special treatment behind the scenes.
Idiots. Complete idiots.
To begin with, the rumor that he was "close" to the guild master was simply because the
guild master and vice-guild master happened to like him.
They had never given him any special treatment as an adventurer.
Even though Qiong Xing doesn’t take a mission frequently, he steadily completed requests and his personality was good.
Whenever he came by, he always greeted everyone with a smile.
Even the rough and rowdy adventurers who were supposed to be a tough crowd couldn’t possibly pick a fight when he looked at them with sparkling eyes and said things like, "That’s amazing," or "You’re so cool."
Instead, they’d end up happily telling him their heroic stories.
Because of his politeness, he was also popular among the female adventurers.
Just the other day, someone muttered that they wished they had a younger brother like him.
And it’s understandable.
There was also that time when someone asked him how to appear more feminine and why they would ask that to Qiong Xing who is a man was beyond comprehension...
"Hmm, let’s see. I think you’re already quite feminine as you are, but if it still bothers you, why not start with appearances?"
Valerina had wondered inwardly, How can he even answer that?
"Start with appearances?"
"Well, for example... how about this?"
After he that, he then took out a red ribbon from his bag.
After asking for permission to touch her hair, he smoothly wove the ribbon into her hair and braiding it.
Seriously, how is he even doing that?
For another woman who had her hair tied high at the back, he skillfully turned it into a neat bun and finished it off by decorating it with a cute ribbon.
Again, how is he doing this?
"Wow, that’s amazing! So cute~"
"And it won’t get in the way during adventuring either, this is great!"
The women were overjoyed.
Not only did they thank him, but they also ended up enthusiastically patting and ruffling his head.
He was kind to the staff as well.
Whether taking on a request or completing one, he never forgot to greet them and always saying "Thank you," "Please take care of me," and "Good work," with a smile.
He was healing, in the best sense of the word.
Even if it was work, the staff were still human.
Compared to men who yelled at them to hurry up, someone kind and adorable like Qiong Xing was obviously better.
Even the guild master and vice-guild master doted on him so much that it made people wonder if they were actually related by blood.
The first time Valerina heard him call them "grandpa" and "grandma," she was so shocked that she fell out of her chair.
By now, she has been used to it.
She had also been surprised when, during some strange outburst before, Qiong Xing had scolded the vice-guild master.
But when that same vice-guild master later came holding his hand and apologizing, Valerina couldn’t help but think, "Wait... who is this old man?"
So he could apologize properly.
Anyway, getting back on topic, those idiotic former adventurers had actually targeted Qiong Xing’s children.
When Valerina heard that, their first thought was, "Huh? Why don’t they just die?"
No... Honestly, she still felt that way.
Those people had picked a fight based on their own misunderstanding and when they realized they couldn’t win, they tried to go after children.
How stupid could they be... no, not stupid, but trash.
They were trash.
When Valerina heard that Qiong Xing had broken one of their arms, she was surprised, but at the same time, she couldn’t help thinking, Was that really enough?
After all, his life had been threatened and even his children had been put in danger.
If they had been killed, no one would have had the right to complain.
"That kid is too kind. He was hurt because he didn’t feel any regret after injuring someone."
When the vice-guild master said that, Valerina replied, "Wait, then does that mean I’m completely heartless for thinking ’well, it was their own fault, so wouldn’t it have been fine even if they were killed?’"