Chapter 465
Honestly, I've never liked time-limited quests.
Too many bad memories. Forget one and the quest disappears. Then other events chain-react and vanish too.
I'll never forget it. Missing a flag, then the event never happening.
Then starting over from scratch.
Sorry to compare, but I really wish they wouldn't put kids' lives on the line like that.
"Even you seemed tense this time."
"Yeah. This one was exhausting."
Knowing real kids' lives were at stake? That gets to you. And I can't just walk away once I know. That's the problem.
So seeing them safe, seeing them smile over there, it's a relief.
Genuinely glad we pulled it off.
If there'd been a troublesome Named character or something worse, this could've gone sideways.
Game terms? S-rank result. But if there'd been a real fight, it could've dropped to A or below.
"You said it was urgent, so I rushed over. But when I got here, you looked fine. I thought you weren't worried. Turns out you just weren't showing it. Responsibility of leadership."
"If I look worried, everyone panics. Can't just say 'this is bad' out loud."
No tough enemies, but if we'd found them later. Or if it had been raining. Other things happening. Could've missed it entirely.
Call it luck.
"Of course. Remember your track record? Every time you've said 'this might be bad,' it was."
"I'm an honest guy."
"I'll call it risk management. It worked this time."
If we'd been unlucky, those kids would be gone.
"Technically, we're not done yet."
"Aftermath."
"Right. We need to figure out what to do with the kids. Question the Church survivors. Clean up the evidence. Lots of work."
"Do it openly, it'd be quick."
"Don't want that. Keep it quiet."
"Then you'll need the temple's help."
What I just described was the operation. In a game, the aftermath handles itself. Here? You do it yourself.
"Seven kidnapped kids. Thirteen orphans. Three adults brought here for debt."
Do this wrong, and it comes back to bite you later. Half-ass it, and you'll pay for it eventually.
So we need to erase any trace of who did this. Judeus and the others showed up, so we've got the manpower. They're searching the mountain now. To bury this, we need to silence every witness.
The look on their faces when I gave those orders... I owe them.
If this was just me chasing some quest for my own reasons, they'd be right to be angry.
They're not complaining because we're saving kids. That's a good reason. And they've got their own history with this kind of thing.
They want to complain. They don't. They just work.
But working that hard means they're overworked.
I pulled Claudia off her investigation too. Sorry about that.
They all understand. They take it seriously. I owe them.
"The kidnapped kids should go back to their families. But can we make it look like the temple found them?"
"Better that way. We should also check on the parents. If they sold their kids, sending them back might be worse."
"...Judeus won't be happy."
"I'll help ask. And the temple will help too. The Church and the temple are sworn enemies. This won't change that."
"Maybe I'll bring some sweets when I go thank them. We're dumping this on them because we know going public would cause trouble."
So we push through. Not at full sprint, but we work.
"Most people would want credit for this."
"You think I should?"
"No. There's no benefit for you."
"I'm not a noble chasing fame. And right now, more attention would just hurt."
I keep giving orders. Watching Amina and Nell tend to the kids. The older girl act is working. The kids are calming down.
Hot soup. Rest. That helps.
"Makes my job easier too. People chasing glory don't think. They just act."
"There's a lot of those."
"Too many."
Once they're settled, we just need to go home. Second Sister's got a problem, though. A little girl's gripping her sleeve. Holding the fixed teddy bear tight.
She was kidnapped. She's got parents. Claudia will make sure the temple takes her home. Unless the parents are the problem. We'll be careful.
But that girl's attached to Second Sister. That's going to be a problem when they separate.
"Anyway. The Church survivors go to the temple?"
"Yes. We're also surrounding their people in the nearby town. They can take them all at once. Share the information we got."
"Works for me."
Imagining the scene when they part, I focus on cleanup. The Entertainers patched up the survivors. Tied them up. Getting them ready to move. The dead? Magic-capable Entertainers burn them. Cremation. Then burial.
In Japan, that'd be illegal. Here? It's considered proper.
"Hey, Liberta. Cleanup's done."
"Thanks. Tell the Entertainers they're getting a bonus."
"Give us time off."
"Don't say that with a straight face."
"We've got money. No time to spend it. My mom asked me when I'm giving her a grandkid. Straight face."
Judeus walked up. Intense. Serious. Asking for time off.
Yeah. Can't push them more.
"I want to get married. Go on dates. Be romantic. So this bonus? You're hosting a mixer."
"If I host, I'll get stabbed in the back."
"Then find us girls. A matchmaking party. You MC."
"...That might work."
Behind him, the other Entertainers were nodding. Garden Guards are mostly married. The Entertainers? All single.
Old enough to be married. Just no time to find anyone.
Introduce them to someone? Shop girls. Garden Guard families. Maybe.
A few, maybe. Not all.
I glanced at Claudia.
Temple people, then.
Linking情報 handlers with outsiders is risky. Temple people might be safe.
"...If temple personnel are okay, I can introduce you. The temple wants connections too."
"There you go."
She smiled. A little wry. She understood. She'd help.
I don't think the temple would send bad people. If this were a corrupt religion, maybe. This world's temple is trustworthy.
"You hear that? After this, mixer with nuns!!"
"OOOOOH!"
"Don't get naked."
"There are children here. If you do anything inappropriate, I won't introduce you."
"Sir!?"
A few started to undress. Claudia's words brought them back.
"One more push. Then time off. Then mixer."
"Got it! Let's go!!"
"YEAH!"
They ran back into the forest. Gone.
"So. The temple takes the rescued kids and the Church survivors. What's left are the orphans and..."
"Those women. They were brought here because of debt."
"What do we do?"
"The temple can take them. They're not exactly upstanding citizens, compared to who we've taken in. They can do service work there."
People with nowhere to go. The orphans, street kids. Hard eyes. World-weary.
The ones who survived on their own? Calm. They know not to show weakness.
The other three are adults. Financially ruined. Messed up.
Petra's one of them. That's surprising. In FBO, she's a serious gambling addict. But she actually cares about the kids. That's something.
The other two are men. Decent build. Didn't care about the kids at all. Just themselves. You can guess why they're in debt. I don't want them in Freihait.
"So take the men. Please. I don't want them in Freihait."
"Understood."
Temple takes them. Done.
"Petra. I'll talk to her."
"Good idea."
We'll decide after.