Maddy spent the rest of the week grinding. She didn’t go back to the merchant’s district; instead, she threw herself into F-rank quests, treating them with a cold, mechanical efficiency.

She helped with mundane personal errands, handled small-scale disputes, and gathered information from every corner of the city. In doing so, she quietly collected something more valuable than coin: the hearts and trust of the common people. She listened to their gossip, learned the inner workings of the nation, and mapped out the power structures that ran this world. By the time the week was up, she was fully packed and prepared, possessing a deeper understanding of the land than most seasoned adventurers.

Now, she stood before the guild’s quest board, her eyes scanning the pinned parchments. She went to the section usually cluttered with low-level tasks, but her hand paused.

The F rank section was empty.

There were no missing pets to find, no basements to clear, and no deliveries to make. She had done them all. Every single one. She had effectively exhausted the entry-level tier of the guild’s economy.

Maddy let out a short, dry breath, her eyes lingering on the bare wood of the board.

"Damn... I actually finished it all," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "But at least I’ve learned enough about how these Prometheans live."

Around her, the morning bustle of the guild hall hummed with a different energy than when she had first arrived. Groups of adventurers leaned against the pillars, their hushed voices drifting toward her.

"That’s her," one whispered, nudging his partner. "The one the locals are calling ’The Adventuring Mother.’ My baker says she saved his shop from a grease fire and didn’t even ask for extra coin."

"Yeah, the kids in the lower district love her," another added. "They say she’s the kindest F rank to ever walk through those doors. She truly is..."

Both of them joined in a hushed, reverent chorus:

"The Mother!"

In the back of Maddy’s mind, a familiar chime rang out. Lucy’s voice echoed with a hint of satisfaction.

[Your goal to blend in as a resident adventurer is working perfectly. The social credit you’ve built has effectively neutralized any suspicion regarding your origin. They truly believe you are one of them.]

Lucy added with a dry, digital wit,

[Though, technically, you are still just an F rank.]

Maddy groaned, her hand slapping her forehead.

"I know, Lucy. You don’t have to rub it in... but the people calling me ’The Adventuring Mother’... it was heart fulfilling."

She let out a soft, tired exhale, her memory drifting toward the commoners and lower district children she had helped. For a brief moment, the predator within, the Mother of the Colony, was quieted by a warmth she hadn’t expected to find in this world. It wasn’t just a tactical success or a layer of camouflage; it was a connection.

"It’s strange... They look at me and see a protector. They don’t see the monster. For the first time since my rebirth, I don’t feel like a monster trying to act human. I just feel like... me."

A new realization blossomed within her—one that settled deeper than any programmed instinct. She wasn’t just a mother by biological necessity or because she birthed a colony. She was a mother in her heart. Even toward those she hadn’t given life to, she felt that same fierce, unconditional pull to protect and provide. It was a kindness that didn’t require a price, a warmth that was simply... maternal.

But the moment of peace shattered.

She felt a weight on her back—a gaze so sharp it practically burned through her cloak. Turning her head slightly, Maddy saw the guild receptionist.

The woman wasn’t busy with paperwork; instead, she was leaning back with her arms crossed, a clear, mocking smirk playing on her lips. She gestured with a lazy tilt of her chin toward the empty board, her expression screaming:

"Congratulations, you’re officially jobless."

Maddy’s eye twitched. She stepped away from the board, adjusting her cloak with a sharp tug.

"This... B*TCH!"

Maddy turned back to the board, pointedly ignoring the receptionist’s smug face. She scanned the D and C rank notices, but the requirements were clear: these tiers required a registered party or at least a partner for -rank soloists to even apply.

"Hard to believe I’m being roadblocked by bureaucracy!"

She muttered, her fingers tapping rhythmically against her thigh.

She closed her eyes, centering her weight to let her senses bleed into the room. The chaos of the guild hall transformed into a tapestry of sound. She filtered out the clinking of armor and the smell of stale ale, focusing on the threads of conversation drifting from the tables.

"...best harvest we’ve had in years," an old merchant chuckled.

"...and the guild is more livelier than before! We are really in a good age right now," a young girl added.

But the recurring theme, the one that made her breath hitch, was the talk of the legends.

"It’s a miracle," a veteran adventurer sighed, the metal of his worn pauldrons clinking as he leaned back in his chair. "To live in an era where two Heroes appear at once. First was our golden paladin from ten years ago: Gilberto. Now, with the new Hero, Johnn, making his debut, the world feels a little less dark, doesn’t it?"

Maddy opened her eyes, a strange, grim smile touching her lips. The pieces finally clicked.

"So that’s it," she thought. "Johnn really did me a favor, didn’t he?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The disappearance of the S rank party—the one she had decimated when they invaded her home, should have sparked an international crisis. A squad of that caliber vanishing without a trace was the kind of event that brought inquisitions and armies. But it had never been brought up. Not a single whisper of a search party or a memorial.

The appearance of John, the "new Hero," had sucked all the air out of the room. His rise was so meteoric, so blindingly bright, that the world had simply stopped looking into the shadows where an S rank party had once stood. He was the perfect distraction, a golden shield that allowed her to hide in plain sight.