Erik had to admit, the children were hard workers.

They were absolutely terrible and unskilled, but he had to give credit to their determination. Throughout the morning, he had them cleaning the burger shack, peeling potatoes, and fetching ingredients. It was foreign to them, but they threw themselves into the work with a surprising enthusiasm.

"You know," Erik said to Rat as they took a break, "You guys are doing pretty good. Better than I expected."

One of the children knocked over a pot in the kitchen, causing the hot water to splash onto the workers. They screamed in pain, which startled the nearby Lambwolves into a panicked run, knocking down several customers.

Erik simply sighed and rubbed his temples, watching the chaos unfold before his eyes. He should've known by now not to say things like that. It was as if Murphy's Law was his personal stalker, eagerly waiting for the moment he'd let his guard down.

"Hey boss," Alyssa came up to Erik, her voice strained and her smile a little too tight. "Anything else these kids can... help with other than the burger shack?"

Erik sympathized with the villager, noting that even someone as kind and patient as she was had her limits. "Well... how about we try something else?" He turned to Rat and the other children, their eyes wide and slightly terrified of the sizzling hot oil and the fiery temperament of the adults. "What do you guys like to do?"

"Steal." One of them immediately replied.

Erik sighed again. "Well, we can work on your people skills, but maybe not today." He looked around the chaotic shack, noticing that despite their ineptitude, the children had managed to clean up the mess they had made. "Alright, how about we take a break?"

The children looked at him with a mix of hope and wariness, unsure if this was a trick. "You're not going to kick us out, are you?" Rat asked, his voice tentative.

"Of course not," Erik said gently, kneeling to his level. He could feel Alyssa's eyes on him. "It's my fault for putting you guys in such a high-stress environment. How about I take you on my rounds and tour my businesses? Give you guys an idea of what's what and maybe we'll find something you're more... naturally suited to."

The children exchanged glances, then nodded eagerly.

"Good," Erik smiled wryly as he stood up. "Come on, I'll show you around."

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Myrese was at the village's medical center, where she finally had a chance to graduate from her apprenticeship and start helping patients by herself. Dr. Castellanos had praised the former elf assassin, stating that she was incredibly adept with her fingers and perceptive, quickly learning everything he had to teach her.

Despite this, Myrese felt nervous as she put on her white medical coat and made her way to the reception area. The villagers looked at her with a mix of curiosity and skepticism, whispering to each other as she passed by. She knew that she had a reputation to live down, but she was determined to prove that she had changed.

"Isn't that the demon healer elf?"

"Yeah, I heard she makes you feel better through torture..."

"Not my preference, but hey, I'll try anything once..."

Perhaps it wasn't her past as an assassin that Myrese had to live down, but rather her newfound reputation as a healer with peculiar methods. It wasn't her fault that her every attempt at murder ended up aiding or completely healing her targets. The universe had a twisted sense of humor, it seemed.

"Hey, Trudicana," Myrese greeted the receptionist, her voice shaky yet hopeful. She approached the desk with a forced smile, ready to face the day. "Any patients that Dr. Castellanos assigned to me?"

Trudicana, a middle-aged human woman with a stern expression, handed her a clipboard with a list of patients. "Good luck," she said, her tone lacking enthusiasm. "You're going to need it."

Myrese grimaced as she took the clipboard from her. Before she had gotten used to life in Restia Village, her biggest worry was how the villagers would take to an elf, especially one who was a former assassin. Instead, as Myrese walked into the patient's room, she realized that that was the least of her worries.

"Oh, thank god you're here. I've been having pains for a while and haven't had the chance to make an appointment until now," the man in the room seemed relieved to see Myrese.

She, on the other hand, despite feeling at ease at how the man was unfazed to see a non-human working in the medical field, was a bit nervous upon seeing his condition. He was a large man with a complexion that suggested he'd spent years working under the hot sun. His eyes were closed tightly, and his face contorted in pain. She glanced at his medical file, noting that he had been suffering from severe stomach cramps.

Myrese took a deep breath, reminding herself of what she had learned. She had seen Dr. Castellanos perform various procedures, but this was her first time doing one on her own. The man looked up at her, his eyes filled with hope. "Could you, uh, check me out?" He asked, his voice strained.

Frankly, she could've done what she normally did and attempt to harm the man, inadvertently healing him by some miracle. But, she felt the need to try things the right way for once. She approached the man, her stomach in knots, and took a deep breath.

"Alright, let's see what's going on here," she said, trying to mimic the calm tone of Dr. Castellanos. She began to probe the man's abdomen, feeling the tension in his muscles and the tightness of his stomach. The man winced, but she didn't detect any signs of immediate danger.

"It seems like a common case of indigestion," Myrese murmured, trying to keep the doubt out of her voice. "Let's start with some simple questions, shall we?"

For the next few minutes, Myrese grew increasingly confused and irritated as they made no progress, the man's pain not subsiding. Sweat beaded on her forehead, not from the exertion but from the pressure of not wanting to disappoint him or Dr. Castellanos.

Eventually, Myrese came to terms with the situation and forced a smile.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Alright, would you mind facing the wall and holding your breath?" she asked the man, devoid of all emotions.

The man, surprised by her sudden request, did as he was told. Myrese took the opportunity to quickly smack the man's back with as much force as she could.

The man let out a guttural roar as his body convulsed, but when he turned back around, his face had gone from one of pain to one of absolute shock.

"Oh... oh! The pain is gone! Thank you so much, doctor!" The burly man's relief and gratitude washed over Myrese like a cool breeze.

"Yep. Happy to help," she replied, deadpan. She couldn't help but feel utterly disappointed that she had to resort to her old ways of 'healing'. She was about to leave when the man reached out and took her hand.

"Thank you," he said with sincerity in his eyes. "I can't believe it."

Myrese nodded, feeling a strange mix of emotions. On one hand, she was relieved that the man was no longer in pain. On the other, she was frustrated that she hadn't been able to heal him using the proper medical techniques she had learned. But as she looked into his eyes, she realized that she had made a difference in his life, even if it wasn't in the way she had planned.

"You're... also very beautiful... would you happen to be single?"

Myrese didn't know whether to scowl or laugh. Here she was, a former assassin turned healer, and she had just been hit on by a patient she'd just smacked in the back. She took a deep breath, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I'm flattered, but let's keep things professional, shall we?" she replied, her voice steady despite the awkwardness.

The man didn't seem embarrassed at all. He just chuckled and nodded, his hand reaching up to gently rub his now pain-free stomach. "Fair enough, fair enough," he said with a wink. "But if you ever decide to take a break from saving the world, I know a good tavern that could use someone like you."

Giving a strained smile and an awkward chuckle, Myrese simply guided the man to the exit. She hoped that the rest of her patients wouldn’t be quite so... forward. The next few hours were a blur of strange ailments and peculiar treatments. The villagers had clearly heard the rumors about her unique healing abilities and had come in droves, hoping for a miracle.

By the end of the day, Myrese felt as if she had done martial arts training with how much she'd had to smack and jab patients, but she couldn't deny the satisfaction of seeing their pain dissipate. As she sat in her office, surrounded by the scent of antiseptic and the faint whiff of burnt flesh from her earlier misadventures with the dragon fire salve, she reflected on her newfound calling.

During her career as an assassin, she had never really bothered to get to know the people she fulfilled contracts for- or attempted to eliminate. They were tools, assets, or inconveniences to be dealt with. But here, in this quaint village medical center, she finally had more than one name and face to remember, and they all had stories. It was strange, but comforting. Myrese still wasn't exactly sure why she accepted Erik's help, but perhaps it was because she was getting tired of being alone. That, and the fact that he had never shown fear in front of her, even before it was realized that Myrese couldn't really kill anyone.

The last patient of the day was a young girl with a nasty-looking bruise on her leg. "What happened here?" Myrese asked gently, kneeling beside the girl.

"A bad mister did that to me," the girl whispered, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Myrese's eyes narrowed. "Where is this 'mister' now?" she asked, her tone dangerously calm. Though she was the newest addition to Restia Village, except for possibly Rat and his gang, she was familiar with the inhabitants enough to know that this sort of action wasn't normal. The worst act she had seen since coming here was a dispute between farmers and their livestock, which ended in an actual full-blown three-round regulated wrestling match.

The young girl looked down, her voice quieter than a whisper. "I... don't know. I think he followed me here..."

Myrese's eyes widened. "What do you mean, 'followed you here'? Did he do something to you?" She didn't know why, but some protective instinct arose within her, a strange new feeling she hadn't experienced before.

The girl looked up at her, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "No... not yet. But-" she stiffened. "...he's right behind you."

Myrese spun around, her instincts kicking in faster than her thoughts. There he was, a hulking brute of a man with a smug smile on his face. His eyes raked over her in a way that made her skin crawl, and she knew in that moment that she had to protect not just the little girl but herself as well.

"You must be the new healer," he said, his voice slithering like a serpent. "I've heard a lot about you."

Myrese took in his disheveled appearance, his leering gaze, and the way he leaned against the doorframe as if he owned the place. Her hand instinctively went to the knife hidden in her sleeve, the same one she had used to threaten Erik in the past. She had promised herself that she would leave her old life behind, but it seemed that the world had other plans.

"What are you doing here?" Myrese demanded, her hand tightening around the handle of her concealed knife. The man's smile grew wider, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.

"Aww, Mr. Vales did say you'd forget all about them once you went off the grid."

Myrese's blood ran cold. She had been so lax that she let her guard down. Her previous employers knew where she was now. And they had sent someone to collect what was "owed."

"I'm... not sure what you mean... I'm simply a doctor here, trying to tend to my patient," Myrese lied through gritted teeth, hoping to deflect the man's suspicion.

The man snorted derisively, pushing off against the doorframe. "Yeah? If there were other elves that looked like you here, maybe I would've fallen for that," he said, stepping closer. "But since you're the only one, I think you know exactly why I'm here."

Without a word, Myrese moved into action, her reflexes honed from years of training. She spun around, the knife now in her hand, and pointed it at the intruder's throat. But the man simply laughed.

"Ah, I wouldn't be so hasty. You didn't think I came alone, did you?"

He pushed the door open wider, and Myrese had to stifle her gasp as she saw more intruders in the waiting room, pointing their swords at the patients. Trudicana had her hands up, glaring at her captor, though there was a hint of fear beneath the façade.

"Let them go," Myrese said calmly, though her voice trembled slightly. "They have nothing to do with this."

She cursed herself for not being on guard. These people lacked magic, which was probably why she couldn't sense them until now. Still, Myrese felt as though this never should've happened in the first place.

"Oh, we'll let them go. But only if you come with us. Mr. Vales would like a word with you," the leader said, his smile never wavering. "We know about your little... vacation from your usual work."

"It's not a- fine, but have your men take a step back. Then I'll come along," Myrese bargained, her eyes flicking to the terrified patients and the defiant Trudicana.

The leader chuckled, gesturing to his men. They lowered their weapons slightly, though not enough to be reassuring. "Good girl," he said, stepping aside to let Myrese pass.

Her heart racing, Myrese walked out into the waiting room, her eyes scanning the area for any signs of a quick escape. But she knew better than to try anything hasty; she had seen the way these men operated. They were ruthless and efficient.

Instead, Myrese hoped that the men weren't trained in magic as she performed a simple spell: writing a note on the blade of her knife and teleporting it on Trudicana's lap. She hoped that it would be enough to warn the others.

"Don't even think about it," the leader said, noticing the brief flicker of magic. His grip on her arm tightened, and she winced. Still, it was enough; Trudicana flinched slightly, but otherwise kept her composure so as to not alert the other men.

As her wrists were bound with magic-dampening rope, Myrese desperately prayed that the message would reach the right people. The leader of the men escorted her outside, the cool evening air a stark contrast to the tension inside the medical center. She glanced back, watching the door close behind her with a thud that seemed to echo in the quiet night.

There was nothing left to do except hope. Hope that the message would reach Erik and the others, hope that she could find a way out of this mess, hope that she wouldn't be forced back into the life she had left behind.