Chapter 8: The Rehabilation is too kind(1)
Choosing a nanny over a house made life tough.
Five gold coins.
The iron sword, earned through filial duty, showed why easy money slips away fast.
“The wandering lamb seeks the Lord’s aid, and the Lord has decreed three gold coins to guide the poor lamb to the righteous path.”
The priest was a temple-robbing bandit.
It was easy to see why Mother scowled at the thought of male priests.
Gorgo had been stabbed three times in the abdomen.
A throwing dagger in his arm, too.
The ambush site was far enough from the village.
Guards or village adventurers would be a hassle if they showed up.
The blood he lost matched the distance traveled.
Honestly, it wasn’t surprising that a gravely injured Gorgo could be revived for three gold coins.
After leaving Gorgo at the temple, we headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild.
“The penalty for failing the quest is thirty silvers.”
“No choice, then.”
“But giving up all those gathered materials to save a comrade? Honestly, that’s moving. Truly, Teresa of Motherhood. Your maternal love extends to your party members too!”
Mother glared fiercely.
The receptionist, sweating profusely, didn’t retract her words.
She knew the nobility of Mother’s decision.
Burning three gold coins for a mere party member.
That’s not something done for just anyone.
A childhood friend promised in marriage.
A best friend of twenty years.
A love transcending status.
Only bonds like that justify such an act.
Her reputation in the guild soared.
“Is that what they call a tsundere?”
“She’s got the skills to drag kids around.”
“Jealous. My party leader just ogles butts…”
One decisive action brought more trust than a hundred words or promises.
“Let’s go.”
“Wait. I have a request.”
Mother sighed in relief, thinking the remaining money, though not enough for a house, could secure an inn room.
But to fully resolve the issue, a bit more spending was needed.
“The bounty on Gorgo is unfair. I want the guild to advocate for our adventurer and clear his bounty.”
“You… since when did you talk so well?”
Mother and even the receptionist were shocked.
I hadn’t spoken up much because it wasn’t necessary, but if no one else would say it, I had to step up.
Being noticed is scary.
But Gorgo dying is scarier.
I still remember.
Gorgo reaching out to protect us.
Clinging fiercely to stop the thief despite being stabbed.
He was an excellent nanny.
If the person he protected wasn’t worthy, his sacrifice would be too pitiful.
So I’ll prove it.
Your sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
It was worth it.
“Drafting an official protest in the guild’s name and requesting a bounty review. How much?”
Title: Let’s Manage an Adventurer’s Guild
Genre: Training, Management, Revenge, Politics
Though I didn’t become a guild staff member, my player knowledge remains.
The receptionist was stunned as I pinpointed the exact paperwork needed for the request.
“Wait a moment, please.”
“Okay.”
After rifling through regulations and documents, she found the relevant rules and forms.
“It’s real. This exists.”
“What’s up?”
“Oh, senior. One of our adventurers got an unfair bounty from another city’s guild, and this kid’s request helped me find a way to protest.”
Even the veteran receptionist was baffled.
“It’s natural a first-year newbie wouldn’t know, but how does a five-year veteran like me miss this rule?”
Mother’s gaze was sharp.
There’s only one thing to say in times like this.
“An alley lady told me.”
“What, is there a retired twenty-year guild veteran living in the alleys? With that experience, they’d struggle to stay there.”
“…”
“Senior, the kid didn’t do anything wrong. It’s a bit scary.”
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean it like that. Since it’s come to this, shall we help a bit?”
The veteran receptionist, alongside ours, finished the paperwork and got the guild leader and deputy’s approval stamps within an hour.
“Congrats. Thanks to my senior, we can cover the mailing cost with a loan.”
“Typical first-year newbie, can’t even eat the meal served. This is when you brag a bit.”
“Hehe, thanks, senior. Oh, the mailing fee can be charged to the party’s funds as a loan or to Gorgo personally.”
“How much?”
“One gold coin. It’s for the risk of our guild engaging in a dispute with another.”
Mother opened her pouch.
Two gleaming gold coins and several silvers.
Enough for an iron sword.
More jobs.
Tougher jobs.
More lucrative jobs.
As Mother hesitated, visions of possibilities flickering, the staff didn’t pressure her.
Paying directly.
Taking a loan in the guild’s name for the party.
Or for Gorgo personally.
The choice was up to the party leader, Mother.
“Ian.”
“Yeah.”
“Do that thing.”
“That thing?”
“The annoying thing you keep yapping about.”
I was genuinely shocked that Mother, who’d always hated it, was asking for it herself.
But if this is what she truly wants, I have no intention of running away.
I am a mind controller.
A deceiver who twists and manipulates people’s hearts.
With this wicked power, I…
[Brainwash Activated]
[Target – Mother]
[Command – You love your children more than anyone.]
I whipped her conscience.
“Yes, I’m a mother who loves her children more than anyone. To protect my kids, I won’t hesitate to spend one more gold coin for a nanny who risked his life.”
Mother boldly paid one gold coin on the spot.
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause came from somewhere.
“What a woman.”
“Honestly, respectable.”
“Is that what a real party is?”
“Cool, Teresa of Motherhood!”
“Teresa, I want to join your party too!”
Feeling belated embarrassment?
Mother pushed the crowding onlookers, making them tumble with startled cries, then shook her ponytail and turned to us.
“Let’s go. Follow.”
“Okay.”
Today, I wanted to brag proudly.
This is our mother.
Teresa of Motherhood, worthy of pride anywhere.
Gorgo, barely recovered, prostrated himself in gratitude.
“I’ll repay this kindness with my life for the Teresa family!”
“Head up. Your life’s worth nothing.”
“Ugh.”
“Live and protect Ian and Anna.”
“T-Teresa…!”
Tears streaming, Gorgo clung to her pant leg, only to be kicked away with an annoyed look from Mother.
As she swung her leg, Gorgo rolled this way and that, then sprang up, dazed.
“As expected of Teresa! Strength as boundless as her maternal love. This is the power of motherhood!”
“Stop shouting in the street, it’s embarrassing. I’ll kick you.”
“Sorry!”
There’s a reason Mother’s especially shy.
“There’s Teresa of Motherhood.”
“For real. Family outing?”
“That’s the party member brought back with three gold coins.”
“If the leader spent three golds, he’d roll on the floor too.”
“Not clinging to a man but making him roll like a dog… Total alpha female. So cool.”
Guild adventurers acknowledged her, and passersby stopped to glance at us.
“Famous adventurer?”
“She’s kinda hot.”
“The kids are something else too.”
“The boy’s a gem.”
“Legally raising a pretty boy, for real?”
“Makes me wanna get pregnant.”
It’s dizzying.
I get why Mother was rolling Gorgo so hard.
Quickening our pace to leave finally shook off the unwanted attention.
Still, Mother’s popularity hit home.
Even if they didn’t whisper openly, occasional glances were noticeable.
“Sorry. My shortsightedness caused trouble…”
“Enough. Work comes first.”
Having only roamed outside the village, we were stuck for a week.
“Quest failure penalty. No guild quests for a week. We need substitute work.”
“I heard at checkpoints, winning matches earns plaques for honor or gold instead. With your skills, Teresa, it’s doable.”
Gorgo, seeing Mother’s fixation on the iron sword, suggested something sensible.
Sadly, it was a bust.
Anna once picked up a tournament flyer, shouting “Take it!” and shoving it at Mother.
Mother froze for a while.
Her eyes, staring at the flyer, swirled with emotions.
Nostalgia for a hometown trace in a foreign land.
Sorrow for a past she couldn’t return to.
Deep, viscous hatred with unknown roots.
That day, Mother threw the flyer away.
Shocked, Anna stopped her “Take it!” game for a while.
A job tied to swordsmanship saddened both.
As expected, Mother and Anna’s faces hardened.
“No interest in checkpoints.”
“Then the only decent job I know is short-term work at the mana waste facility.”
“No way.”
I stopped Mother before she could show interest.
“People at the mana waste facility get tainted by waste mana. Mana poisoning rates are high, and it attracts dangerous monsters.”
No wonder the nearby city dumped the mana waste facility on our village, making the forest a monster-filled workplace.
I didn’t plan to flaunt player knowledge, but if we’re not careful, the Teresa family could be wiped out by mana poisoning.
I had to unpack one of my saved knowledge bundles.
“How about an illegal street stall hustle?”
Every weekend during free time, a special event you can tackle with adventurers persuaded by brainwashing or diligent work.
A fighter to kill monsters, an adventurer with butchering skills or a butchering manual, a lookout or analyst to monitor or evade guards, and someone with cooking experience or a cooking manual—meet these, and you can rake in cash illegally!
Crime syndicates.
Guards.
Village merchants.
Brainwashing may be needed, and enemies or situations arise, but with proper party composition and player knowledge, they’re manageable variables.
“One good hustle, and we can buy an iron sword.”
“Is that so?”
Mother nodded and called Gorgo.
“Gorgo.”
“Yes.”
“Grab a switch and whip Ian’s calves.”
The one variable I, a skilled player, didn’t foresee was Mother’s shift from money-making to child discipline.
“I’m a mother who loves her children more than anyone.”
“…”
“If my child strays, they need a lesson.”
The wicked mind controller got five lashes on the calves and swore never to mention illegal street stall hustles again before being freed.