Chapter 41: Invitations and Being Invited
"Alright, I’ll come by your room around six to pick you up."
It was still a bit early to start drinking, so Jin parted ways with Erza, who returned to her room to rest until then, and went back to the guild.
At the guild, it was already lunchtime for the shifts, but fortunately, Aria was still at the reception desk. Jin made a beeline for her.
"Sorry, Aria-san. Excuse me for leaving earlier."
"No, don’t worry about it. How did it go with Erza-san and her partner?"
Aria accepted Jin’s apology and, naturally, asked about the reason he had left earlier.
"Yes, they were able to talk things through properly."
"That’s good to hear. And Shirin-san—?"
Aria likely already had an idea of what had caused the conflict between the two.
"Yes."
"I see…"
Though Jin had seen and heard everything firsthand, he knew it wasn’t his place as an outsider to speak. He simply gave a confirming answer. Aria understood that too and didn’t press further, only letting out a quiet, wistful sigh.
In this world, where leveling up can drastically change stats, there’s almost no difference between male and female adventurers. Men tend to have slightly higher STR and VIT, while women lean a bit higher in INT and DEX. But adventuring is a harsh profession, and women make up less than thirty percent of adventurers. Naturally, female adventurers tend to form strong bonds with each other.
Aria had likely been watching over Erza and her partner since their early days, whether directly or indirectly. Seeing them struggle, even just from a distance, must have stirred feelings in her.
"They’ll be fine, Aria-san. I’m sure of it."
Jin repeated this, reassuring her that there was no problem. The reasons Erza and Shirin diverged weren’t entirely negative, but Jin couldn’t go into details as an outsider. Still, he wanted to ease Aria’s heart as much as he could.
"Yes, Erza-san has you with her too, Jin-san."
Perhaps sensing Jin’s concern, Aria smiled. Though she likely didn’t mean to, her words stung Jin a little, reminding him that he had been meddling.
"We’re friends, after all."
Jin responded with a wry smile.
"So, does that mean you’ll officially form a party with Erza?"
"Ah… not yet. We’re planning to take a quest together tomorrow, but nothing’s decided officially."
Aria looked slightly disappointed that a formal party wasn’t confirmed, but then remembered she hadn’t yet handed over the quest completion documents to Jin. She hurriedly did so.
"Thank you. Since I’m meeting Erza for drinks later, I’ll try to talk with her then if I get the chance."
Jin, having left earlier, didn’t feel bad at all and simply thanked her in return. Seeing Aria’s disappointed look at the lack of an official party, Jin guessed she was genuinely concerned about Erza’s future. To reassure her, he casually mentioned his plans for that evening.
"…Just the two of you?"
Aria’s voice was calm, betraying no emotion, as she asked. Jin’s assumption had been reasonable, but Aria’s tone had another reason behind it.
"Uh, yes, that’s the plan… Would you like to join, Aria-san?"
Though surprised, Jin extended the invitation. Aria paused, thought for a moment, then lightly shook her head.
"No, I think it’s better if it’s just the two of you. Erza-san will probably be more open that way. I’ll refrain, unfortunately. Jin-san, please make sure to really listen to her."
Though clearly disappointed, Aria’s words carried genuine concern for Erza. Jin smiled and accepted the task.
"Understood. I’ll make sure to listen carefully, even on your behalf."
"Alright…"
This time, Aria’s reply sounded a little shy, as if embarrassed. She had realized she had felt a strange twinge of jealousy and was quietly ashamed of it.
"Then, Aria-san, how about we go out for a meal together sometime as a thank-you?"
Thinking about it, Jin had only ever met Aria at the guild. This time it hadn’t worked out since Aria had politely declined, but Jin figured it wouldn’t hurt to invite her to dinner on another occasion, especially since she had always been helpful.
"Huh!?"
Aria was so surprised by the sudden proposal that she could only manage a single word.
"Well… that said, I’m planning to take on more subjugation quests soon, so it might have to be a little later. If you'd like, consider it. I’ll also look for a good place for us to go."
Feeling a little embarrassed by her reaction, Jin backpedaled slightly to give himself an out.
Come to think of it, it was the same with his drinking plans with Erza—going out for a one-on-one meal with a woman could easily be misunderstood as a romantic advance. And this woman was stunningly beautiful. Jin hadn’t had any ulterior motives in decades, but now that he was aware of it, his youthful, flustered side peeked out, making him feel embarrassed all over again.
"Yes. I’ll look forward to it."
Ignoring Jin’s inner turmoil, Aria, having sorted out her feelings, accepted with a smile. Jin, relieved, let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"I’ll send a proper invitation later."
Jin had occasionally gone out to eat with female friends before, though not often. He was happy that, at the very least, Aria considered him a friend.
Of course, Aria’s feelings for him went beyond friendship. But for Jin, who had spent most of his life ending up "just a good person," he assumed there was no more than friendship here—a sad, defensive instinct born from repeated misunderstandings and disappointments.
Still, persistent feelings are eventually noticed. It wouldn’t be long before Aria realized the kind of affection Jin felt for her.
With their dinner plans made, Jin parted ways with Aria and left the guild. After lunch, he headed to the temple—more precisely, the clinic adjacent to the temple.
His goal was to meet Rachel and to see how medical care worked in this world.
Just as he approached the clinic gate, a voice called out behind him.
"Onii-chan!"
At the same moment, Jin sensed a small child running toward him. Turning around, he saw Airis clinging to his leg—the same girl who had gotten lost previously. As Jin patted her head, her parents arrived shortly afterward.
"Thank you so much for your help the other day."
"No, please, it was nothing. Everyone around helped out too."
Her parents thanked him again for helping when Airis had gone missing, and Jin gave a wry smile at his own awkwardness. Still, he was a little happy to see Airis attached to him again.
Her parents were in charge of the Lientz branch of a merchant company with its main store in the royal capital. After brief introductions, they all entered the clinic together.
The clinic was larger and cleaner than Jin had imagined. Inside, priests were attending to patients. As Jin and the others entered, one consultation had just ended, and they were guided to the next available priest—Rachel.
Noticing Jin, Rachel raised a hand in greeting.
"My business isn’t a consultation, so please go ahead first."
"Nope. Onii-chan is coming too!"
Though Jin had intended to let Airis and her parents go ahead while he observed, he ended up going along with Airis, leading the way.
"Are they acquaintances of yours, Jin-san?"
Rachel asked, looking at Airis and her parents. The group seemed a little surprised that Rachel and Jin knew each other.
"Yeah, something like that. But first, take a look here."
Encouraged by Jin, Rachel began examining Airis. During the questioning, both Airis and her parents answered Rachel’s questions.
It seemed that Airis occasionally had fevers, which usually resolved after a night’s rest, but they had come for a precautionary check.
Rachel measured Airis’s temperature with her tools, much like in the world Jin had known, checking her health. Some checks could even be done with magical tools.
There was a reason she didn’t just use magic right away. Magic seemed versatile but wasn’t omnipotent. For injuries, healing magic worked fairly well, but for illnesses, it was a different matter. The cause of the disease needed to be understood to maximize the magic’s effect. In some cases, medicine was also required. However, the temple had extensive experience recorded, so combining magic with medicine made the chance of curing illness comparable to Jin’s original world.
"There’s nothing abnormal. She seems healthy."
After finishing the check, Rachel reported the results.
"It’s better not to need it, but if she feels unwell again, please come back. You need to be seen when symptoms occur to understand the cause."
Relieved that Airis was healthy, the group left the clinic. Jin went along, unable to refuse Airis’s insistence that he come to their house and her parents’ polite invitation. He especially couldn’t resist her teary-eyed face.
Jin informed Rachel about the subjugation quest for tomorrow and arranged to meet at the guild in the morning. With Rachel’s smile seeing them off, he left the clinic, hand-in-hand with Airis.
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