My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 31: Let it be for love and peace.

"Rhodes, do you know?"

"There was a time when the place I lived was just like that child's, filled with darkness, dampness, and hunger..."

Garen took a breath and sighed, "That child is just like my younger brother and sister, young but sensible."

His gaze fell on the potholed road ahead, as if he could see his poor but warm home from more than a decade ago.

"Yeah?"

Rod paused for a moment, then turned to look at him with a slightly surprised expression.

Having known Garen for so long, I've always found him to be a gentle and reliable person. Every time I see him, he's busy distributing bread to the poor, treating the wounded, and officiating at funerals for the deceased.

He never mentioned his past, let alone that he used to have a family.

Rhodes once thought that Garen was born into a sun-drenched church, never imagining that he had other family members.

"I watched them die one by one from hunger. In the end, out of the family of six, only my eldest brother and I were left to depend on each other."

"I watched as the place where I used to live became a mass grave, and after being cleared out, it was hastily renovated into the cemetery of Misty City."

"Cemetery..." Upon hearing this keyword, a thought suddenly popped into Rhodes's mind, "Could the place I'm living in now be...?"

"Yes, this is my old house. Of course, no one has lived there for a long time."

Garen nodded, as if anticipating Rhodes's worries, and spoke first:

"So don't worry about staying here. That place is just sitting empty anyway. Before you came, I only went there occasionally to clean it."

"Don't you have a younger brother?" Rod asked, puzzled. "Does he live with you in the church?"

"...We did survive that famine. I was lucky enough to be chosen by the church to be a servant there," Garen said with a bitter smile, "but I wasn't able to take him with me at the time."

The wages for menial tasks were meager, barely enough for him to survive.

As for bringing family members to live in the church...

The priests of that time were not like Galen; they would not do anything out of line or unnecessary to cause trouble for themselves.

"So not long after, he became a corpse collector, just like you, barely making ends meet..."

At this point, he suddenly chuckled and teased Rhodes:

"My brother is nowhere near as good as you. He doesn't have your big heart, and he can still eat without batting an eye when he sees a corpse."

"In my memory, he didn't like collecting corpses at all. Every time he came to see me, he would go to the river to bathe. Even though I was doing odd jobs and smelled bad, he always felt that he smelled bad and didn't dare to get too close to me."

"He always told me that once he saved enough money, he would register with the Adventurers' Guild and buy equipment. He wanted to be a world-renowned adventurer, not a hyena tearing apart other people's corpses."

"He also said that once he became famous, he would let me live a good life and I wouldn't have to do chores like chopping wood and carrying water in the church anymore. He would let me become a priest in Misty City and enjoy the worship of others."

As Garen spoke, he laughed for a moment, then suddenly let out a long sigh.

"call……"

The wind whipped up the withered leaves on the ground, swirling them around their feet. Garen stopped and stared at the hazy sky in the distance, remaining silent for a long time.

"And then?" Rod asked softly.

"And then he died." Garen's tone was unusually calm, as calm as a stagnant pool:

"Eighteen years ago, in the winter, he went with Old Jack, who was still young Jack at the time, to collect corpses, and was then killed by hungry wolves."

"At that time, I was just like that mother and daughter. I didn't even get to see him one last time... Only old Jack brought me the news of his death and some of his belongings."

Garen let out a long sigh.

"Rhodes, what's the point of all this I've done?"

"Back then, I couldn't save my parents, my sister, or my brother."

"I have served the Holy Light for over a decade, but it has never answered my prayers."

"I treat people's injuries every day, but they still die tomorrow or the day after."

He lowered his head, his back slightly hunched, as if bent over by an invisible burden.

"I no longer know where to place my hopes..."

Rod walked beside him, his brow furrowed, and he thought about it seriously for a long time.

He's not good at comforting people.

"If you don't know what you're doing all this for," Rhodes said, looking at him and enunciating each word clearly.

"Then let it be for love and peace."

"For a better tomorrow."

"What?" Garen stopped abruptly.

He turned his head and looked at Rhodes with a look of astonishment, as if he were seeing this person for the first time.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then said nothing.

The two of them stood at the alley entrance, staring at each other for a few seconds.

Garen suddenly laughed.

It wasn't the usual gentle, distant smile; it was a truly relaxed smile, with the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out.

"You, you..." He shook his head and didn't say anything else, but just reached out and patted Rod's shoulder.

The hand trembled slightly, bearing the thin calluses left from years of hard work.

"Let's go, there are still a few deliveries to make."

He walked forward again, his voice as heavy as before.

Garen remained silent for the rest of the journey.

But Rod could sense that the lingering pessimism and confusion about him had faded considerably.

Although the remaining families each had their own misfortunes, the source of their tragedies was similar.

Faced with the news of losing loved ones and the breadwinner of their families, they could not help but cry and sob.

Garen patiently comforted them, left his donation on Weibo, and then departed.

Garen looked up at a cluster of low wooden houses not far away and paused.

"What's wrong?" Rod turned his head to look at him.

"Old Jack's house is just ahead... He was the one who brought back my brother's belongings and took care of his funeral arrangements." Garen hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Rhodes beside him.

"Then let's go." Rhodes strode over.

As a body collector, Old Jack's house was on the edge of the shantytown, with several empty wine barrels piled up in front of his door, along with a pile of rags and garbage.

"I wonder if he's home yet." Garen glanced at the sky, walked over, and patted the broken door.

He knocked a few more times, his voice a little louder: "Old Jack, it's Garen! Look what delicious treats I brought you!"

Before the person inside could respond, the wooden door next to it creaked open, and an old woman wearing a gray headscarf peeked out. When she saw Garen and Rhodes, her face showed confusion and worry.

"Stop knocking, Father, old Jack isn't home."

"Where did he go?" Garen asked.

"I don't know, he hasn't come back for several days," the old woman said. "He might have died in the sewers."

"Where is his daughter?"

"She's probably still at work, or maybe she's gone to look for Old Jack," the old woman sighed. "Even if she could earn money to commission adventurers to search for her, how many would be willing to go?"