Chương 55: Job Offer

The village gate was only a few meters in front of Adolin. He walked with a permanent frown on his face, moving slowly and carefully. The little kitten had nearly fallen from his shoulder several times already, forcing him to keep a steady pace so it wouldn't slip off again. It had fallen asleep only a few minutes after settling onto his shoulder, and it showed no signs of waking up anytime soon. He was still questioning his sanity for picking it up in the first place. He needed to find the kitten's mother.

Or at the very least, someone willing to take care of it. There was no chance he was keeping the cat. The gate stood open as Adolin entered the village. The guards gave him a few odd looks, mostly directed at the sleeping kitten on his shoulder, but he ignored them. The village had mostly returned to normal. Or at least as normal as it could be after everything that had happened. It was just as busy as the day he had first arrived.

Only now, instead of carrying wood and bundles of arrows, the villagers moved through the streets with buckets of water and sacks of grain. The palisade walls had been patched up with fresh wood, and the repairs were obvious to anyone who looked at them. There were even children running through the streets again, though the adults still carried exhaustion and tension on their faces. The village was recovering, but the fear hadn't fully disappeared yet. Village folk were tough.

It would take time, but eventually everything would return to normal. Or at least as normal as it had been before the attacks. Adolin was familiar with it. He had visited far too many villages like this in his old world. Villages that had survived disasters, monster attacks, wars, and somehow still kept moving forward afterward. He spent some time walking through the village, hoping someone would recognize the kitten and take it off his shoulders. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side.

Even after more than half an hour, nobody claimed the kitten. Asking a few villagers directly didn't help either. Which probably meant the kitten—and likely its mother as well—hadn't come from the village. He had seen a few cats wandering around the streets, but none looked anything like the little creature sleeping on his shoulder. The kitten woke up while Adolin was returning to the inn. The little creature yawned before digging its tiny claws into his shoulder as it stood up. It hurt.

Afterward, the kitten stretched its small body lazily before settling down again. Then it looked at him and let out a soft meow.

"What do you want?" Adolin asked. The kitten ignored him completely, looking around the village instead as if admiring the scenery. Adolin grumbled and entered the tavern. The innkeeper was still behind the counter, so he walked over to him.

"Is Lord Ashvale's party back yet?" Adolin asked. The innkeeper looked at him, then at the kitten resting on his shoulder.

"No. A scout came by earlier. They should return within the hour." Adolin nodded.

"What about the kitten? Do you know who it belongs to?" The man simply shook his head.

"No idea. But I do have dried meat and fish." At the mention of food, the kitten immediately let out a loud meow. The innkeeper chuckled and reached over to pet its head.

"On the house." Adolin's frown deepened. Still, he accepted the few pieces of dried meat from the innkeeper and stored them inside his inventory before sitting down at a nearby table to wait for breakfast. For now, he would wait for Revel's group to return. After that, he planned to Teleport back to the capital and spend a day or two by himself before heading to the Count's estate. Though that depended entirely on how long the caravan was willing to wait for him.

The kitten climbed down from his shoulder and started meowing at him until Adolin finally gave it a piece of dried meat. Satisfied, the little creature wandered off to explore the inn while Adolin did his best to ignore it. Two hours later, Adolin sat on the bed inside his room while the kitten slept on his lap. The little creature had followed him all the way there before apparently deciding it was time for another nap.

Revel and the others had already returned, and now he was waiting for her so they could speak privately at her request. He didn't really want to. Yet despite that, he had still waited for her return before teleporting back to the capital. He really had been acting strangely ever since waking up in this new world. Even for him. A knock came a while later before the door slowly opened. Revel stepped inside. She was still wearing her mage robes.

Mud stained the lower parts of them, and several small tears were visible across the fabric. It seemed she hadn't even taken the time to clean herself up before coming here. Revel's eyes drifted toward his lap and stayed there for a few moments.

"…A cat?" Adolin just shrugged. Revel stepped closer, her attention still fixed on the sleeping kitten.

"Where did you find it?" Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"It found me," Adolin replied.

"And now it refuses to leave." A small smile appeared on Revel's face.

"It seems it found the person it was looking for."

"Whatever," Adolin grumbled. Revel didn't respond. She simply continued staring at the kitten sleeping on his lap. The silence slowly became awkward.

"What exactly did you want to talk about?" Adolin finally asked. Revel absentmindedly played with a strand of her hair before straightening slightly.

"There was another reason Professor Lissandra sent you with my party."

"And what was that?"

"To offer you a job," Revel said. Adolin just nodded. Revel pulled a chair closer and sat down across from him. Her eyes still occasionally drifted toward the kitten sleeping peacefully on his lap.

"Your main job would be teaching our mages healing magic and how to use it properly." Revel's expression turned serious.

"That's the most important part. And if we do this, it will put a target on your back."

"The church?" Revel nodded.

"You would become their enemy." Adolin leaned back slightly.

"And what do I get in return?"

"A generous salary. An estate beside my family's land. Guards assigned to your protection wherever you go. Servants for the estate." She paused briefly.

"And anything else within our means that you might need." Well, the offer sounded great to Adolin. Maybe a little troublesome, but aside from that, almost perfect. Honestly, it was even better than he had expected. Gold and privacy, a whole estate. Those were hard things to refuse. Maybe the guards were a bit excessive, but that was a problem for the future. He would deal with it when the time came. Adolin raised an eyebrow.

"That's quite a lot for an instructor." Well, he still needed to make sure he understood everything before accepting the offer. And if things went well, maybe he could squeeze even more out of it.

"For a normal instructor, maybe." Revel shook her head.

"But for healing magic that mages can use? That's the bare minimum."

"Makes sense." He stayed quiet for a moment before asking, "What about freedom?" Revel frowned slightly.

"Freedom?"

"If I take the job, I don't want my movement restricted."

"Only—""No," Adolin interrupted calmly.

"Not 'only.' No restrictions. I go where I want and do what I want." The room fell silent for a few moments. Finally, Revel nodded.

"Alright. I can agree to that." A small smile appeared on Adolin's face.

"Glad we managed to work it out." Then his expression turned more serious.

"What about the church? What are they actually going to do?" Revel went quiet for a few moments before answering.

"I'm not completely sure. They can be unpredictable." She crossed her arms.

"At first, probably threats. Warnings. Pressure." Her gaze hardened slightly.

"Afterward… assassination attempts aren't impossible. Maybe even involvement from an Archbishop." The kitten shifted slightly on Adolin's lap, and his hand instinctively moved down to pet it. A second later, he caught himself. The little creature immediately started purring.

"But we can protect you," Revel continued.

"Once we start producing mages capable of healing, most of the political influence the church holds will begin shifting toward us instead. You just need to keep everything secret until then." Adolin nodded slowly. It sounded like an actual plan. Not a perfect one, but a realistic one. He wasn't exactly afraid of the church, but dealing with them certainly didn't sound enjoyable. Especially when all he wanted from this second life was peace, comfort, and enough freedom to enjoy it. And gold.

What still confused him most was the goddess herself. The blessing clearly knew he could heal people. It even knew he could teach healing magic to other mages. Yet it had done nothing against him. If anything, the blessing had actively helped him during Class Selection. He wasn't sure what he might have done if he had been forced to relive the past again. The past he wasn't particularly proud of.

"Does anyone else know about your abilities?" Revel asked.

"I don't think so." He paused.

"Though the Count will probably find out soon enough." Revel blinked.

"The Count?" Adolin scratched the back of his head.

"I forgot his name. The noble with the son named Eduard. Big estate. White marble everywhere. Too many gardens." Revel stared at him.

"Count Velmuth?" That was the Count's name. Lissandra had mentioned it when he visited them.

"Yeah," Adolin said.

"What do you mean he'll find out?"

"He's cursed, isn't he?" Adolin said casually.

"I promised I'd heal him." Revel went silent again.

"When?"

"Tomorrow. Maybe the day after."

"And where exactly are you meeting him?"

"At his estate. I'll be returning to the capital today anyway." He paused before continuing.

"Actually, that's something I wanted to ask. How many days can you give me? I need some time to finish the promise."

"I'm not completely sure. Probably three or four days. The merchant made a deal with the village to lend some of his men behind for the repairs." Revel said.

"Can I come with you?" Adolin immediately frowned.

"If the Count wakes up," Revel continued, "I'll need to speak with him about an alliance. The church already abandoned him. If we secure his support, it would strengthen our position immensely. And you'd gain his protection as well." There was absolutely no chance Adolin was letting someone accompany him while he spent a few peaceful days in the capital. The reason didn't matter.

"No," he said flatly. Revel blinked.

"No?"

"You can visit his estate if you want." Adolin shrugged.

"But I'm going to the capital alone. We can meet there afterward." The conversation continued for a while longer after that, eventually ending with Adolin officially accepting his first real job in this world. Helping establish an alliance between Revel's family and the Count. How exactly he was supposed to accomplish that, Adolin wasn't entirely sure. Still, Revel seemed confident it would be easy enough.

The Count desperately needed healers, and according to her, using that as leverage during negotiations would work well enough. It wasn't something he particularly wanted to do, but it was the practical choice. The more support he gained from nobles, the easier his life would become in the future. Revel stopped near the door before suddenly speaking again.

"Oh. I almost forgot." A large pouch appeared in her hand, coins clinking loudly inside.

"This is from Edrin. Your share from the quest." She tossed the pouch toward him, and Adolin caught it easily.

"The rest of the reward will be deposited into your guild account." Adolin frowned.

"Guild account?" Revel stared at him for a moment.

"The Adventurer's Guild also works as a bank." She tilted her head slightly.

"How do you not know that?"