Chapter 13: Decision

"C-Children have better gifts you say? On what basis does that make sense?" exclaimed Teresa, stuttering from observable shock

 

"I know that it seems like I'm just bullshitting here, but we of course have a basis for this belief." (Ken)

 

"Oh yeah, let me hear it then."

 

Seeing as he grabbed the nun's attention, Kendrick continued

 

"Then let me ask you a simple question. Between an adult who has a realist mindset that was forcefully tempered from childhood, and a child full of untapped hopes and dreams... Which do you think will be more favored by that strange panel?" (Ken)

 

"!?"

 

"We adults are educated from a young age to think and act rationally. Our every move must have logic as that is the only way we can earn a living and survive. Because of this, we are sometimes forced to abandon our hopes and dreams to pursue more… realistic careers." (Ken)

 

"But what if instead of a brighter future our logic ends up tying us down? Do you remember the first message we got when we received our gifts? What were the factors that influenced the gift that we received?"

 

"...Nature, Ambition, and Mindset..." replied Teresa

 

"Nature, it is either something innate or something that solidifies when you are young so when it comes to this factor unless a very rare traumatic situation occurs, the difference between a child and an adult is not that much. But what about the other two then?"

 

"If an adult's dream is to become rich or get a promotion, his/her child counterpart would want to become a superhero with cool powers. If an adult's mindset is to work tirelessly to get a chance at a better life, his/her child counterpart's mindset would be to gain something that would make life easier. Effort vs Delusion, Fantasy vs Reality, Children are simpler when it comes to their desires but they are also greedier."

 

"… and it is that greed of theirs that resulted in so-called "better gifts" … am I right?"

 

Hearing her words, a small smile formed on Kendrick’s lips.

 

"When you mention 'better', we of course took into consideration utility along with combat so you don't have to worry about discrimination in our organization."

 

"What makes you so confident that I'll allow them to join you?"

 

"Well, although I'm not certain about the others, the little guy beside you seems to be eager enough."

 

"Hm, Eager?" confused by the man’s words Teresa looked over at her side... and there she saw young Jericho, wearing a contemplating look, seemingly considering the decision.

 

"Hey! You’re not seriously planning on jo-!"

 

"If I decided to join you along with the others… would you grant us a favor?"

 

“You-!” but before Teresa could further interfere, an answer immediately came from Kendrick

 

"Favor? Although I can't say so for the other kids as I've never seen them in action yet if it's you I'll consider it."

 

Ken said with a gentle smile, his eyepatch had been taken off for the entirety of the conversation so he was able to see what gift the boy in front of him possesses.

 

{[Physical Breaker], ohoh, what an amazing gift! I don’t exactly know what type of person he is for receiving such a gift, but I’ve taken a liking to how he fearlessly stood up for us... Bravery and Potential. Good, let's hear what he has to say.}

 

"Ahem!… but something too excessive is not allowed, ok?"

 

"Don't worry, all I ask for is that while we go with you to your organization, please make sure that the people of this orphanage and town are safe and well-fed."

 

“...you seem quite confident in your peers, are they all really that exceptional?”

 

“Yes.” A concise and confident answer, that pleased Kendrick even more. {Heh, the more I’m with him the more I grow fond of him. Not only does he have a great gift but he is also extremely smart and flexible... training him must be a blast.}

 

"Jer…. But how can you trust these guys!? We don't even know whether or not they're really telling us the truth!"

 

"Miss, it's impossible that you got this strong while living as a nun all your life, so I have reason to believe that you must have been in the past a person who was in the underworld. A super infamous one at that, kind of like the bloodied a-"

 

"W-w-what?! I don't know what you're talking about, u-underworld? what is that?" (Teresa)

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"…" (Jer)

 

"…" (Ken)

 

"A-ahem… anyway, since you should have at least some connection to the-

 

"I do not!"

 

"-… The Colorless Joker. That’s what we call ourse- guck!”

 

"What!? you're a part of THAT organization!?" Maybe because she didn’t expect the answer at all, but Teresa lunged towards the man before he could even finish and clenched Kendrick’s collar tightly, forcing the latter to gasp for air.

 

“Guk...guk...he-help.”

 

"S-sister?! Stop stop stop!" “Miss, please! You’re gonna kill him!” and so passed 5 minutes of 2 men and a child trying to stop a nun from choking out Kendrick,

 

“pant...pant... sorry, I didn’t expect such an answer to come from your mouth at all.”

 

“...Sister...” It was also at this moment that Jericho swore to never go against her... the way she easily shook off the strength of 2 trained men and a teenager (Jericho’s current strength) burned itself in the boy’s memory.

 

"Uh…do you have something that could prove your words?" (Teresa)

 

"Cough! cough! ..., I was hoping you'd ask that, would this be enough?" as expected of a professional, Kendrick immediately went on to give evidence, never mentioning the fact that he almost lost his life twice in just a single day.

 

He took out something from his suit's pocket and showed Teresa a card with a dancing colorless joker on it. There seemed to be something special about this card as rather than paper or plastic, it seemed to be made out of some sort of thin flexible metal.

 

The ink on the card was also quite special since if you look at it real closely it seemed to glisten under the sun. This is because rather than ink it was a thin black jewel that was flattened to the point where it was almost unrecognizable from ink.

 

Being presented with the card, Teresa’s expression visibly softened as she finally realized that they weren't lying.

 

"… yes, it's enough… the black jewel used for the card and that irritating looking joker… it is a legit 'Jokers Card'."

 

"Phew… now that you've realized who we are, how about it? Will you allow us the opportunity to raise your children?" As if to show their sincerity, the trio kneeled on one knee and lowered their heads. 

 

Asked the question and shown that the men before her were taking this seriously, Teresa was extremely troubled. She couldn't make haste as her decision here will soon affect the lives of the children she swore to protect, either for the better or for the worse.

 

As if knowing of her troubles, Des, who never spoke to her until now, decided to join in to give one last push of persuasion.

 

"The world is in a phase where we can no longer know what will happen from now on. This place is quite barren so it is understandable why the after-effects haven’t reached here yet but do know that Gaining powers all of a sudden has made those who have ill ambitions finally move. The world has already become a battleground where those who have superior gifts will rule, while those who don't will suffer.

 

 I know that you don't fully trust us, and that's understandable, but at the very least, for the sake of the children, whether it be now or in the future, having ties with us would be the most beneficial for them. As that is the only way the children you care about so much, can be taken under ‘his’ wing."

 

"…him, huh." Said Teresa with a solemn look. She rarely made such faces in front of others so Jericho couldn’t help to look at her with a questioning gaze. {Him?} noticing the boy, Teresa continued.

 

"...The head of the Jokers, one of the most powerful men in the world even before the advent of gifts, Cruel Judge, their lord 'Asher Lou Villard'."

 

Ping! *

 

Just as sister Teresa finished the introduction and I heard his name; my entire body suddenly felt a cold and powerful shiver. But even though my body shook, and my breathing stagnated, there was one thing that remained constant throughout.

 

{...sigh*... fine... I’ve always trusted this feeling up until now... so why not trust it one more time. And besides... 0 ambition... I want to know why I got such an evaluation.} Even for the young Jericho, being told that he had no ambition at all, such a thing...

 

“Sister.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“...I want to go with them.”

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