Path to Recovery II

Inside Benedict's office, Carolyn and Benedict sat on the same side facing Fred. Benedict kept a serene face while Carolyn made no effort to hide her distrust, so Fred felt like he was being double-teamed, but he was still adamant about getting what he came for.

Unlike usual, there was only one cup of tea prepared, proving that even Benedict had not foreseen this incident. One would think that this cup should be given to the guest, but Benedict showed not a hint of hesitation in taking it for himself.

"Why don't we start by introducing ourselves? I go by Benedict, and I'm the priest in charge of this church. You can just call me Benedict or Priest. To my right is Ms. Carol. You can consider her a volunteer here at the church. My apologies for her rash actions earlier; she cares about the children very much, so she overreacted to the scene. Isn't that right, Ms. Carol?"

"...That's right. I'm sorry for attacking you without thinking."

Although Carolyn felt some reluctance, she followed Benedict's lead to apologise. Recent incidents had led her to react more violently to suspicious events, but she still didn't like hurting people.

"Hmph, if 'sorry' could fix anything, why would we have jail? I'm not here for any long talking; I just want my daughter."

"Of course, Mr. Fred. Just let me confirm a few things first. You claim to be Rei's father, so where have you been these past few weeks?"

"I got caught by those government people some time after that big fire broke out. I followed them because I thought they would have more of that medicine that the doctor gave me, but instead they locked me up and put me through some weird tests. I was worried they would keep me locked up forever, but they finally let me out yesterday."

"I see. I believe I heard about the government testing out means to treat the drug addicts. You must have been one of the lucky few."

"How could that be lucky?! All they gave me was bland porridge and soup, and I didn't even get any money out of it! Anyway, I got expenses to pay, so I'll be needing my daughter back."

"What does your daughter have to do with you paying your expenses?" Carolyn interjected.

By listening to the conversation, Carolyn more or less understood the situation, but that didn't resolve the core issue.

"Of course a kid's gotta take care of their parent. I've already done my best to raise her for this long; it's high time she started paying me back."

Carolyn grimaced in response, but she found it difficult to directly refute him. Although she doubted he had taken good care of his daughter, she did believe that children should repay their parents for raising them. That was a responsibility she wished she still had the chance to complete. Nevertheless, she didn't forget about whose happiness she wanted to protect.

"According to the regional laws of the Amber territory, for a missing parent to collect their child from an orphanage, they must be able to describe the child in detail and when they last saw them. There's also the family registry certificate, but we can put that aside. If you want to take your daughter back, then what's her full name and age?"

"Hah? What's this crap you're going on about? I'm gonna take my kid, and you can't stop me!"

Fred tried to stand up, but Benedict grabbed him by the wrist before his body fully left the chair.

"Now now, Mr. Fred, it's just standard procedure. You wouldn't like it if some stranger tried to take your daughter away, right?"

Carolyn was surprised to see Benedict support her, but she quickly returned her focus to Fred. His expression turned ugly as he found that he couldn't escape Benedict's grip, but then a thought flashed into his mind that gave him the confidence to smirk.

"Her name's Rei, and she's 7. Now hurry up and let go of me!"

"Sure, I'll let go. But you can't take that child away."

"Don't play games with me! I already answered your damn question!"

As soon as Benedict's grip loosened, Fred punched at him, but Benedict evaded the attack by leaning back.

"You got her age correct, but not her name."

"What? But you—"

"Me? Oh, I must have used the wrong name. How careless of me."

Carolyn could hardly hold back a smile as she saw Fred's face turn red once he realised he was caught in Benedict's trap. She had noticed Benedict's slip of the tongue from the start and was certain that he knew the girl's actual name, but she didn't know with what intention he lied. She wondered if this was all part of his plan, but that discussion would have to wait. Even though Fred had been defeated with words, she knew he wasn't the type to be graceful about his loss.

"Dang you! Fine! Since you won't hand her over to me, I'll ask someone who will!"

After that declaration, Fred stormed out of the office. Carolyn kept an eye on him to ensure he didn't touch his supposed daughter, Mei, and though he paused to glare at her, Fred didn't make any other moves. Carolyn breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew the situation wasn't settled yet.

"Was he really her father?"

"I believe so. At the very least, he was the one she lived with before she came here."

"I see. So there really are parents like him."

Although she had grown more familiar with the children of the slums district, this was the first time she had contact with one of their parents. Given the poor circumstances of Vernum City, she could understand if some parents simply weren't able to provide for their children, but she couldn't forgive any who tried to sell or exploit them. People like that didn't deserve to be called parents like her mother and father or Miss Margaret.

"Yes. In the end, parents are human too. Naturally, there are good and bad ones. But there is one thing I should make clear. The reason why I sided with you isn't because he wasn't a good parent. If you hadn't brought up that child protection law, or if he had managed to get her name and age right, I was ready to let him leave with her."

"But—"

"As I've said before, my presence here is only temporary. I have no authority or interest in forcibly separating a parent and child. If they can't agree to separate, then the problem will just resurface once I'm gone. I've helped you this time, but if you wish to find a permanent solution to this issue, then you'll have to do it yourself."

As usual, Benedict spoke logically, and once again, Carolyn couldn't agree with his logical stance.

"Fine. Thank you for your assistance this time. I'll handle the rest from here."

Carolyn then left the office with fresh resolve. However, in her passion she had forgotten to ask why Benedict had lent his aid when he didn't agree with separating a parent and child.

After leaving Benedict's office, Carolyn went to see Mei. The children inside the church all had their own depressing parental stories, so they gave her some sympathetic support, but that was all they did. They were far too busy managing their own issues to find the energy to lend their hand to someone else. They would stop any adult who tried to barge into the church, but if they saw her being dragged away on the outside, she would have to fend for herself.

"Hey, Mei. Are you alright?"

Mei slowly nodded. She was a small child with short black hair that nearly covered her eyes. Her body showed clear signs of historical abuse, and after meeting her father, it was no wonder. Carolyn only knew a few basic details about the new children who started staying at the church, but she could tell from her physique that Mei couldn't be called athletic by any means. For someone like this to survive in the slums would require special means.

"Lety, could you look after Mei for me?"

Derrick grimaced at Carolyn's request, but Lety simply sighed in exasperation.

"Sure. Let's go."

Mei and Lety were about the same age, but despite being even smaller and frailer than Mei was, Lety seemed to be the older one as she grabbed Mei's hand and pulled her towards her usual spot inside the church. After watching them off with a smile, Carolyn went towards where Mike was resting and found both Bryan and Lena nearby.

"Good evening, Bryan, Lena. How is he?"

"Evening. According to Priest, he's made it through the worst of it, so he should be getting back to normal soon," Bryan answered.

"That's good to hear."

"Carol, what do you plan on doing with him after he's healed?" asked Lena.

Although neither Carolyn nor Benedict had divulged Carolyn's plans to the kids, it wasn't challenging to figure out that there was more than benevolence behind why she kept checking up on Mike.

"That depends on him. I won't ask that you let him stay at the church. After all, his mistake is one that can't be easily forgiven. However, I don't think children like you should be condemned to death because of one mistake. You all have long lives ahead of you. There's still plenty of time for you to learn from your errors and make up for them."

"Hmm, well, as long as he leaves the church, I don't mind. Still, you're really strange, Carol."

"Is that so?"

Carol could only show a wry smile when Bryan and Lena firmly nodded in response.