I Need Money to Level Up

Chapter 7: Family

"I am a healer, and while I never saw anyone suffering from amnesia, maybe I can help you," The redhead woman said.

"... As long as you don't touch my head and use any magic, you can check my head," Raiden said after realizing that he would only look suspicious if he kept rejecting medical attention.

"By the way, she is my wife; her name is Lenore," Harth said. "Aside from being the best healer here, she is also the current leader of the village."

Now Raiden felt like he had even more reasons to avoid that family... he didn't want to be at the center of the attention, and he would interact with them. He had nothing against them, but he wanted to keep a low profile at all times.

In any case, Lenore went to check the back of Raiden' head, and she didn't do anything, but she asked him to move his hair. There was no wound there, no scar either... Still, she kept staring at it for a while.

"It seems fine... if you got hit there, the damage wouldn't be only some amnesia that sealed many years of your life," Lenore said while holding her chin. "Can I check your body?"

"I will have to skip that; there is nothing wrong with my body," Raiden replied while turning around.

"There is no need to be shy, Raiden; you have a lot of room for growth," Harth said. "Besides, I am the most impressive man naked in the village; my wife can confirm that."

Raiden stared at him while feeling like rolling his eyes... as if he would care about that. He just didn't want to be the test subject of anyone. Also, he knew what Lenore was looking for: other signs of mental trauma. She was probably thinking that something happened that forced him to seal his memories. He was absolutely sure that it wasn't the case... something else was keeping his memories sealed. At first, he didn't know what it was, but he could tell that it was related to magic and the gods that he heard about. If they brought him to that world, they didn't want him using his knowledge to change things too much.

"I am a healer; I just want to confirm every single possibility; you don't have to," Lenore said, and then Raiden interrupted her.

"I already made my choice; if you want to insist on it, you will have to force me," Raiden declared.

"What a stubborn kid... fine, I will give up on this," Lenore said and then shrugged. "Don't complain to me later if you don't manage to recover your memories."

As if Raiden would. His memories probably were sealed, and human hands wouldn't be able to seal them. At least that was what his instinct was telling him... based on the knowledge and experience that he also couldn't recall because of the same.

"Putting that aside, we came to talk with you about something else as well," Harth said and then sat down since the table was empty. "You must have realized by now that you are a bit different than the other kids, and this might cause you some problems."

"Because of my black hair?" Raiden asked. "Something like this won't bother me in the slightest."

"The people of the village will be more understanding, but people from other places, like the kids, won't; that is why you will have a hard time outside now," Harth said. "We have allies, but we can't say that they will be with us no matter what. Alliances are only useful for as long both signs are getting something out of it."

"You can go to the point already," Raiden said while feeling like rolling his eyes.

"We want to adopt you," Harth said.

That was a bit unexpected... Raiden assumed that only families that didn't have kids would try to adopt other kids. Besides, he was far from being a normal kid... Harth saw that he killed two men despite his age, and adding his amnesia, Raiden would probably be the last kid to be adopted.

"... I am really thankful for your... thoughts, but I don't think that I would fit in your family or in anyone else's," Raiden said after hesitating for a bit since it might cause a misunderstanding. "Besides, I don't think that I would be able to treat you all properly like family. I want to look for a place to work and then make sure that I won't end up in the same situation."

"You shouldn't misunderstand us; we aren't pitying you. We are aware of the type of kid that you are, and I knew that you would say something like this. Still, I think that this would benefit us." Harth said. "We talked with Javier and Ruth, and we already have an idea what kind of kid you are. Reserved, but not apathetic and someone who doesn't give up easily."

"... Who are Javier and Ruth?" Raiden furrowed his eyebrows.

"You helped them without knowing their names?" Harth furrowed his eyebrows as well. "They are the boy that you protected and the girl who was almost whipped."

"Ah, those two kids..." Raiden said.

"Aren't you a kid as well?" Iri asked while frowning. "I am pretty sure that they are older than you are."

"Back to the topic, you are someone who endured the mistreatment while the others didn't, and you also made them feel like exploring the city; they look up to you to a certain extent," Harth added. "Usually, few kids stay here since they don't have any connections to this place, but things will change if you show them that you will. We think that this time, all the kids should stay here. It is better for them to interact with the other villagers when they have people that they know to make them take the first step."

"That is fine and all, but I can't make my choices just because it will benefit someone else," Raiden said.

"That is fair, but like I said, this will benefit you as well," Raiden added. "While it is a bit late for you to start your training, I think you would become pretty strong if you were to train under us. Aside from the fact that you surprised those guards, I can feel that you have some potential in you."

Some potential... Raiden wondered if Harth could feel the effects of the system on Raiden's body. While he wanted to learn how to fight, Raiden wasn't sure if he wanted to lay his roots in that village.

Raiden wondered why he was so against that as well; having allies was never a bad thing... Was he that self-centered and antisocial before? He couldn't tell.

"Aside from all that, we always wanted a boy as well, but Lenore is too busy with her work, and most likely, she will keep her position for a while, so she won't have the chance to bear another child for a while," Harth added. "Iri always said that she wanted a little brother."

"Don't put me into this; it is fine either way," Iri said while looking away and snorting.

Raiden thought that her actions were weird, but it seemed that she just wanted to act like an older sister to the first person she could. The other kids were too closed off when she met them for her to try, but Raiden was another matter. Despite her words... she indeed seemed like she still wanted one. Raiden felt that adopting a younger kid would be better for them, but... wait a minute. He said that Lenore wouldn't be able to bear children for a while. How old was she, considering that she had a fifteen-year-old daughter?

"Anyway, you don't have to decide now. Can we return one week to talk about this again?" Harth asked.

"Sure," Raiden replied.

After that, those three said their goodbyes to Raiden and then left. He could understand their thoughts and decisions better now, and they weren't egoistic; they were calculative, but they also had good reasons behind them, and none of them would cause problems to others.

"Receiving training here and then building a business alongside here is probably the best option, but..." Raiden said and then sighed.

Raiden had all the reasons to stay; if it would be more beneficial for the other kids, then it was for the better. However, he wasn't an actual kid per se... acting like one made him feel a bit odd like he was trying to fool everyone. That didn't sit well with him...

"Well, I have one week to decide... I guess I can't have any more than that since my actions are also supposed to influence others," Raiden thought.

After finishing his dinner, Raiden noticed that some of the kids were interacting with each other already. It was a bit too soon to call them friends, but at least they had better relationships with each other than with Raiden. Speaking about outliers, Raiden noticed that those two kids were alone as well.