Chapter 186: Ch 186: Choosing a team
It did not take long for a meeting to be called to discuss this task. Most people arrived on time and even the old boss was here with Serena as her guard.
Serena’s expression looked bad which made Rin worried. He wanted to call out to her, but Teressa distracted him.
Teressa walked in and sat in front of him. She looked equally pale as Serena and was also much quieter compared to any other time. She did not even look at Rin while she waited for the meeting to start.
[Oh my! There are two people facing corruption here. Things seem to be going a little badly for you. So listen to this senior’s advice and keep your distance from them all. That is the safest way for you to survive.]
The system told Rin and he decided to pretend he did not hear it.
"Teressa-"
Rin tried to call out but his voice was buried by Shelly banging the door open.
She wasted no time in sitting beside him and tugging at his sleeve to get his attention.
"How are you feeling, Rin? Remember, if you feel sick, then you have to go and visit Reina or Amelia. It would also be for the best if you sit this task out. You can leave it all up to me."
Shelly boasted as she invaded his personal space. But Rin did not feel comfortable and even allowed her to rest her hand on his shoulder.
But he noticed that Teressa looked even tenser than before and her eyes looked at where Shelly was clutching his arm.
She was not the only one looking but Rin could not bring himself to feel embarrassed at Shelly’s actions. After all, she had always been like this.
"Let’s get to business now. You all read the details for the next task? We need to select 6 people, so let’s take volunteers for now."
Collin coughed and decided to start the meeting. He looked at the current leaders and they presented a lot of names.
Most of them were good candidates, but Rin already had some permanent members in his mind to form a team.
"I will be participating in this task. I also want Shelly and Albus to come with me. That makes it three already. We need 3 more volunteers. Does anyone want to come?"
Rin asked as he looked around but no one said anything at first.
But then, Teressa raised her hand to show that she was interested.
"I want to volunteer as well. My powers can come in handy during this mission."
Rin tensed as he looked at her. He initially wanted to tell Teressa that she should stay back and rest since she looked sick, but the determination on her face made him pause and reconsider his decision.
He decided to nod at her and allow her to participate.
But she was not the only one who gained the courage to volunteer for this task. There was another person in the room who decided to help out.
"Count me in as well. I know I am an outsider, but I have a feeling I will be able to help you out."
Serena threw her name into the mix and everyone froze.
The executives looked at her with suspicious eyes before objecting to her volunteering.
"Young master, we cannot let an outsider participate at the moment. It can be dangerous and we have no way to know what their intentions are."
"That’s right. We would all feel much more comfortable if you take someone from our settlement whom we can ’trust’ than an outsider."
It was rude to say all this to Serena. Especially when she was sitting in front of them and not even defending herself.
But Serena took all their complaints with a calm look on her face that told them that she was not bothered by their words.
Rin had to admire her determination and her calm nature. But he also felt like he had to protect her and clear up this misunderstanding.
So he shook his head as he looked at his people and decided to show his disappointment clearly on his face.
Most of the people in front of him flinched and looked away as soon as they realized that he was disappointed in them. But not all of them backed down.
"I will take Serena with me. She is strong so her help will come in handy. And I would also appreciate it if you all stopped discriminating toward their settlement. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but we should give them a chance to become one of our people."
Rin told his people but the unhappy look on their faces told him that it was a tall order.
Still, since it was his request, they stopped picking on Serena for now.
"That makes 5 people. We are still missing a sixth one. Maybe I should-"
"The last spot should either go to me or Amelia. You will likely need a healer during this task and don’t say you can do it with potions alone."
Reina spoke up with confidence and everyone turned to look at her.
Rin could spot a lot of unhappy faces in the crowd. People who wanted to prove themselves no longer had the chance to volunteer because Reina spoke up and ruined their chances.
But the reason they did not say anything was because they knew Reina was right. A healer was always the correct choice for such situations.
Reina was likely the correct choice to take during this task. But Rin did not want to push her too hard after the last task.
After all, Reina might not show it on her face, but the after-effects of using her powers for a long time were taking a toll on her health. She would need some more time to recover.
That was very different from Rin’s recovery speed.
[You are a freak of nature, Rookie. Not only are you a hard-worker but you also recover fast and take on any challenge we throw at you. Maybe that’s why you are climbing this social ladder so fast.]
[(ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧]
[This senior is looking forward to seeing more from you. Make sure you continue making the system proud by achieving even more.]
The system decided to speak up and Rin felt a surge of pride at the praise.
Not that he had time to deal with this. He had a team to finalize for now.
"I will take Amelia this time. It would be better for you to rest while Amelia gains more field experience."
And with that, the final team for the next task was chosen.
