Chapter 42 - Involuntary Expert
"Did you bring me to this guild so that I could be its mother figure?"
I had thought about this long and hard (by which I mean for 30 seconds), and this was the only logical conclusion I could arrive at.
First of all, I was given an executive position which allowed me to exercise my authority. What this meant was that the guild members would now see me as one of the guys they could go to if they wanted their problems to be resolved.
Secondly was the case of Clementine, where he had literally left her to me by making me her older brother.
And now he has brought me this girl named Lecia (if I remember correctly).
When looked objectively and collectively, it all pointed to one conclusion; that I was here to take care of this Guild's problem children.
Why he chose another child like me is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps he saw my cynical maturity and decided I would be able to handle these little malakas, or maybe he considered these children as a way to make me appreciate my life a bit more.
"What if I did?"
Wow, he's literally making me do the one thing I hate the most. The nerve of this motherfucker.
I swear to God if he hadn't saved my life, I would have shoved a shotgun deep down his throat and pulled the trigger 17 times.
But that's not the most tactical decision (for the time being), so let's handle this like mature adults.
"Then I want a twofold increase in my salary."
He'll either back off because that is a large amount of money, or I'll be paid enough to hate my new job of babysitting children.
Hmm, wait a minute.
"Done."
This motherfucker, but that's beside the point at the moment.
The girl he brought with him, Lecia, is as thin as a stick. Her face is pale and while the new clothes (and Azell) hide most of her body, I can still see some scars on the parts poking out of her clothes.
Her face was still slightly bruised.
Was this girl abused?
Wow, so Azell is not just bringing in children for me to handle; he's taking in broken children with traumatic pasts. Does he want me to fix and make them functioning members of society or what?
Take them to a professional psychiatrist, dumbass.
"Done?"
Now let's go back to the important point; Azell has accepted my proposal.
"Yes. From now on, you'll get 5000 Golds per year."
"5-5000?!" Antonio exclaimed. "G-Guild Master, isn't that a bit too much?"
"Well, you're free to take his place. I'll double your salary instead." Azell replied with a smile.
Antonio's gaze alternated between me and Lecia for some moments.
"No thanks, I'll pass." He stepped back. "Taking care of children is something I'm really bad at."
"So there you have it." Azell turned back to me.
This fucking piece of shit, he's enjoying this.
"Well, alright then." I turned to Lecia who was curiously looking at me. "Welcome to the Guild. From today onwards, I'll be your mother."
"Pfft!" Vafferan once again failed to hold back.
"No." Lecia frowned.
"Why not?"
"You're younger than me, and you're a boy." Lecia replied in a hard to hear voice. "Why should I call you mom?"
Fair enough.
However, there was a certain apprehensiveness in her eyes when I mentioned the term 'mother'.
Most probably, she either lost or was abandoned by her mother, so she didn't seem too keen to get a new one.
"That makes sense. Then because I'm younger than you, you can call me Samur."
"Samur…" She finally came out of her hiding place, though she still held on to Azell's clothes.
"Yup. You are Lecia, right?"
"Yes." She nodded.
"Okay, Lecia. Do you know what this place is and who we are?"
"Yes." She nodded again. "Mr. Azell told me this is a guild, and that from today onwards, I will live here."
'Will' live here? Did Azell not give her a choice?
"Exactly. From today onwards, you will live with us, and we will protect you."
"You will protect me?" She frowned.
Also, she had stressed the 'you' part.
The nerve of this little wanker.
"I may not look like it, but I'm very strong."
"Yeah, sure." She scoffed.
"Don't worry, I'll show you. Is there anyone you want me to protect you from?"
Let's see who she fears.
"T-that…" Her voice and body trembled.
Looks like I brought up some bad memories, as evident by her clutching her body.
Hmm, what should I do? Pressuring her may not be the best strategic play as that may activate her self-defence mechanism, which will make her push me away.
That wouldn't be ideal, now would it?
Let's try nudging her a bit.
"Go on. There is no need to be scared. We are here for you."
"…" But that only made her hide behind Azell.
I guess I'll have to try something else later.
"You don't have to force yourself to tell us if you don't want to. It's completely fine."
She wordlessly nodded.
"Also, my room is just across yours. If you need anything, just call me."
Though I doubt she would.
"O-okay."
"For now, why don't you go ahead and rest? I'm sure you're tired after all that."
"B-but-"
"Don't worry. I'll stay awake and protect you."
"Y-you can't protect me!" She suddenly lashed out. "No one can protect me!"
Hmm, looks like the scars inflicted by the abuser run pretty deep. It'll take some time for her to open up.
Time to finesse this situation.
"Don't worry." I exuded just a tiny bit of bloodlust, which immediately shut her up.
As if taking my cue, the others also did the same until the room was full of domineering aura. However, we released it in a way that Lecia could feel it, but would not be oppressed by it.
Instead, she would feel it wrapping around her like a protective shield.
"As long as we're here, nothing will happen to you." I smiled.
"!!" She stiffly nodded.
"For now, go to sleep, alright?"
"Yes." She nodded again.
?????
"What do you think about her?" Azell asked.
We were currently in my room (only god knows why) after putting Lecia to sleep.
Wait, that sounded like we ended her life or something.
"Well, it'll take her time before she can open up to us. Until then, we'll have to treat her with love, care and patience."
"I think the same." Noelle supported me.
"I see." Azell nodded. "I'll leave it to the experts then."
How the fuck did he arrive at that conclusion?
"I'm no expert. I can just relate to what she's feeling."
Not really, actually. But I can see where she's coming from and understand what she's feeling.
"Ah… Do you also feel the same as her?"
"Hmm? Nah. I graduated from them a long time ago."
Besides, I don't have the memories of that time because I deleted them because I considered memes to be more important.
"Heh, I see." He smiled. "Anyway, please take care of her. She has suffered a lot. I'll help too, but right now, she needs someone like who has gone through the same situation as her. Only you can help her."
That's an over exaggeration, but oh well, I did accept the pay.
"I'll try my best."
Though I can't guarantee anything.
?????
The next day.
"Hey Samur, your instruments have arrived." Noelle barged into my room..
Her clear lack of respect for my privacy aside, that sure is some good news, as that means I can finally harvest some new organs for myself.
"Let's go and check them."
"I'm about to go out with Azell for something, so I can't come. Why don't you go ahead and do it yourself?"
Oh my, is it a date? It would be boorish of me to disturb them then.
"Alright."
So I left my room and went downstairs. At the main door, a burly man was unloading boxes upon boxes from his carriage, until the 3 metre wide entrance was almost blocked.
Just what the fuck did they order for me?
"Please sign this." The man handed me a receipt listing all the items they had ordered.
"Can I check all the items first?"
Some of them are delicate equipment, so it's better to check them now.
"Sure. Yours was the last delivery of the day."
Nice.
I took the list and started opening the boxes while mentally crossing off the items from the list.
"Do you need help, Mr. Samur?" I looked back and found the receptionist.
Yupp, this guild had a receptionist. With brown hair, brown eyes and donned in a woman's suit, she looked just like a corporate slave.
"Sure. Please check the boxes over there."
"Okay."
And so, I resumed my work.
"Woah, this is a lot of stuff…" She muttered under her breath.
"Right?"
"Ah, my apologies!" She gasped.
"No need to be so formal with me. I'm just a child."
People treating me like some sort of big deal feels so weird after all.
"Oh no, I could not possibly do that. You are the Head of the R&D department."
Hmm, looks like the word of my joining has spread across the entire guild.
"Please, I insist."
"I-I'll try my best." She nodded and went back to her work.
"Oh, it's here?" Someone asked from behind.
It was Neia. She was with Arteria. Azell and Noelle were behind them.
Is this a double-date?
"Yup. Are you two going somewhere?"
"Yea, we have some stuff we need to buy." Arteria replied.
"I see."
She then looked at her wristwatch.
"Anyway, have fun." She said as she left with Neia.
"Okay, bye bye." I waved at them.
"Make sure to check everything. If something is missing or broken, tell me after I return." Noelle reminded me.
"Alright."
Then she also left with Azell.
So, with the help of the receptionist, I resumed my work of checking my exciting instruments.
It was going along smoothly, until.
"LECIA! Where are you?!" A man appeared.
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