Chapter 46: After the Battle
After celebrating their victory for a while, the three of them got to work. Once they’d finished healing their HP, they immediately began harvesting materials from the mutated Mad Boar. Meanwhile, Jin, after briefly excusing himself, kept an eye on their surroundings while checking the MP recovery potion he had used earlier.
[MP Recovery Potion (Small)… Restores 20 MP (State Preservation / Indestructible)]
It looked exactly the same as before. He had used one just a while ago, so two full bottles remained.
"‘State Preservation,’ huh? I guess that’s what it means?"
Jin focused on that particular phrase. He speculated it might mean "preserves or resets to its original state when brought into this world." That was the only explanation he could think of for how a completely used potion could somehow be full again. Remembering that his HP potions had also been used up, he checked them too—and, just as he suspected, all five were there, completely full.
"Let’s not overthink this."
He had no idea how it worked or how often it reset, but one thing was certain—it had saved their lives in the fight against that mutant. Jin decided to think of it as one more divine blessing and simply be grateful for it.
By the time he finished checking, Erza and Rachel were done with the harvesting.
"Good work, and sorry for making you do it."
Jin said apologetically to the two who had finished skinning the creature.
"It’s fine. We all have our roles, right? Look—these are pretty good drops."
Erza replied. True enough, though Jin couldn’t help but feel bad—he could’ve finished the whole process in an instant just by touching it. Before their battle earlier, he had revealed a few of his secrets to them: the existence of his MAP that let him sense enemy positions, his unconventional use of basic magic, and a bit about his non-attribute spells.
But even then, he’d only explained a small part of what the MAP could actually do. He wanted to tell them everything someday—but there were still too many secrets he wasn’t ready to share.
Unaware of Jin’s internal conflict, Erza and Rachel smiled and showed off the loot. In addition to the usual magic stone and pelt from a normal Mad Boar, they’d also obtained two tusks—a rare drop that didn’t usually appear. Mutant drops were known for their high quality and excellent performance. In particular, its hide, once tanned, could make top-tier armor with impressive defense. The pelt was more than twice the usual size—enough for armor for both women.
"You two should keep that hide and have armor made from it. I’ve got new armor coming soon, so I don’t need it."
He would’ve preferred to take a break, but thinking of the villagers still waiting in fear back at the settlement, he knew they couldn’t afford to rest. As they began their walk back to the village, their conversation continued.
"That’s generous, but are you sure? It’d fetch a good price, you know?"
"Your safety’s worth more than money. We probably won’t run into something like that again anytime soon—but I’m not gonna lie, that fight scared the hell out of me."
Unlike Jin, whose body couldn’t be harmed, the two of them were ordinary people. The thought of Erza or Rachel taking one of those attacks in his place sent a chill down his spine.
"Thank you, Jin-san. Then we’ll gladly take you up on that. But in that case, please take the magic stones and tusks as your share."
Erza nodded in agreement at Rachel's words.
"Yeah, that sounds fair to me."
But Jin shook his head.
"No, let’s sell those and split the profits three ways. Custom armor costs a lot, you know."
"Wait a minute. I’ve got enough savings to cover that."
"Me too—"
Rachel began, but then faltered. When she thought about it, the only way she could afford something like that was by borrowing money from her grandfather, Clark. The realization made her feel embarrassed, and she looked down.
Jin chuckled softly and gave her a gentle pat on the head. When they’d first met, Rachel had seemed so serious and stiff—but lately, she’d softened up a lot. Almost like she’d gotten younger, in a way.
Then, with a bright smile, Jin looked at both Rachel, who had raised her head, and Erza, who was looking at him.
"I’m doing this because I want to. So let me have my way this time. Well, consider it a leader’s order."
He added a playful wink at the end.
"…Heh, fine. But if it’s a leader’s order, does that mean we have to obey everything you say?"
Erza teased with a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Hm? Then how about next time I’m the one who has to obey?"
Jin shot back, grinning, though internally he was screaming at himself for the wink and the flirtatious tone. Their eyes met for a moment—and both burst out laughing.
"Jin-san being the one who obeys… that might actually be nice."
Rachel murmured softly, her words lost beneath their laughter.
Whether that was fortunate—or unfortunate—for Jin, no one would ever know.
Still riding the afterglow of their hard-fought victory—and maybe a bit of weird post-battle energy—the three of them made their way back to Kitan Village.
As soon as they arrived back at the village, Jin and the others were greeted by the soldiers who had been standing by in case the mutant returned. Jin asked them to spread the word throughout the village that the threat had been eliminated. Then, without delay, the three of them headed to the village chief’s house to report in.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
When they showed the hide and tusks they’d taken as proof of the mutant’s defeat, the village chief bowed deeply, expressing heartfelt gratitude. In truth, without their efforts, Kitan Village might very well have suffered devastating losses. That was how dangerous the mutant had been.
The chief then went outside and addressed the gathered villagers, announcing that the danger had passed. When Jin and the others followed him out, they were introduced as the adventurers who had slain the creature, and the villagers showered them with thanks and praise.
Moments like this were what made adventuring worth it. Jin and his companions smiled as they responded to the villagers’ gratitude.
A messenger on horseback had already been sent out earlier to warn of the mutant attack, and now another was dispatched to deliver the news of its defeat. With that, Jin’s group had completed everything that needed to be done in Kitan Village. After bidding farewell to the grateful townsfolk, they set off.
Their return route, like before, cut straight through the wilderness instead of following the main road. Along the way, they gathered various medicinal herbs—Chiril Grass, Mel Grass, and several other useful plants. It was just an ordinary stretch of land to most travelers, but to Jin, it was a treasure trove. Though he didn’t plan to use all the herbs himself, he intended to learn more about Alchemy from Bean using what they’d collected.
"Usually, it’s not this easy to find so many."
Erza muttered, glancing over at Jin as he effortlessly picked herb after herb. The memory of her own struggling days as a rookie clearly came to mind.
"Haha, well, I do have a gathering skill. And… a few other tricks. Oh, Rachel—there are two Mel Grass plants a bit to your right. Try looking carefully over there."
Following his guidance, Rachel crouched to gather the herbs. Jin’s plan was to collect enough for at least two quest requests’ worth for her.
They continued traveling like that, gathering herbs when possible and fending off the occasional monster attack. By now, their coordination and communication had improved enough that they could chat comfortably while staying alert.
"When we get back to town, let’s report everything to the guild and also talk to them about the mutant problem. Running into two of them in such a short time—it feels like something’s brewing."
Although the messenger would reach the guild first with news of the mutant’s defeat, Jin wanted to personally consult with Instructor Greg and the others.
"Now that you mention it, you might be right. I’ve been an adventurer for nearly two years, and before that beginner training session, I’d never even seen a mutant before."
Elza agreed with Jin's statement.
"Also, I might just be imagining it, but… doesn’t it feel like we’ve been running into more monsters today than usual?"
Indeed, they’d already fought twice on the way there and twice on the way back. The enemies were weak ones, like Mad Wolves, but her observation wasn’t wrong.
"What do you think, Erza?"
Jin asked, deferring to her greater experience.
"For the area between Lientz and the village, yeah, it’s on the higher side. Though, to be fair, it’s not unheard of."
Seeing Rachel lowered her head, thinking she’d been mistaken, Erza quickly softened her tone.
"Don’t get discouraged, Rachel. I didn’t mean it like that. It is unusual—so your intuition was right."
"She’s right. Because you spoke up, we can compare notes like this. Keep it up, Rachel."
"Yes. Thank you."
Following Erza, Jin also reassured her, and Rachel, having recovered, replied brightly.
With that, they continued chatting as they traveled, and this time, no more monsters crossed their path. Before long, they reached the gates of Lientz.
"I see… You’ve done well to return safely—and more than that, thank you for protecting Kitan Village."
In a room on the second floor of the guild, Greg bowed his head deeply to Jin’s group.
They had reported straight to the guild upon arrival and were immediately shown to Greg’s office, where they had now finished giving their full account of the events.
"No need to thank us. We only did what any adventurers should do."
Erza and Rachel nodded in agreement. Greg looked up, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he took in their calm, confident expressions.
"Oh, yeah. Everything you did after encountering that mutant was the right call. Pulling back to reinforce the village defenses, and contacting the guild for help — all sound decisions. Though I’ll admit, the part where the three of you decided to face the mutant on your own… I’m not sure what to make of that. Still, I’m guessing you only did it to minimize the village’s damage, right? Or maybe Jin did something he can’t really explain again?"
Greg grinned meaningfully as he said that, and Jin could only laugh awkwardly to dodge the jab. Then Greg’s expression sobered as he continued.
"But in truth, by the time you contacted the guild, your responsibility should’ve ended there. Even so, you chose to face that powerful enemy on your own accord — and you won. That’s something to be proud of as a fellow adventurer. That’s why I wanted to thank you."
With that, Greg gave them a broad, genuine smile.
It was the first time Jin and the others had ever been praised so openly by him, and it left them feeling oddly restless. Even so, they accepted his words with pride swelling in their chests.
"I’ll look into the mutant incident and the increased number of beasts. You’re right — it could be a sign of something."
That was the last thing Greg said before the three left his office and headed to the reception desk to process their quest reports.
"...Yes, the ‘Mad Boar Subjugation Request’ has been confirmed as complete. The mutant subjugation will also be processed separately, and the guild will provide additional rewards for that. As for Rachel-san’s individual submissions, the ongoing requests for Chiril Grass and Mel Grass, we’ll process those as four completed requests in total. With this, Rachel-san is promoted to Rank E, and Jin-san is promoted to Rank D. Congratulations."
"Thank you very much."
Hearing Aria announce their rank-ups, Jin felt a deep sense of accomplishment. Just one more rank to go before reaching his original goal — Rank C.
Having Rachel submit the ongoing herb collection requests was Jin’s idea, meant to help close the rank gap between them. One of their shared party goals was for all three of them to reach Rank C together.
Now their party consisted of two D-Ranks and one E-Rank. Their plan was to steadily take on more quests and gradually raise both their rank and level.
"Then, as usual, please take these papers to the treasurer’s desk."
The documents Aria handed them didn’t include the payment for the mutant Mad Boar’s pelt — Jin had specifically asked for that to be appraised separately.
"Thank you. Oh, and Aria-san, we’ll handle the formalities later, but the three of us have decided to officially form a party."
Since it was already getting close to evening, when the guild was busiest, they decided to handle the formal registration another day. Still, Jin wanted to at least tell Aria first, since she had been concerned about Erza.
Aria froze for a moment, then turned to look at Erza and Rachel, and then a gentle smile bloomed on her face.
"Congratulations. Erza-san, Rachel-san, please take good care of Jin-san."
Her smile was warm and sincere. Neither of the two had expected Aria to smile at them like that, especially Erza, who found herself momentarily flustered.
"O-of course. I’ll do my part properly."
"Yes, I’ll do my best."
Jin’s words from before echoed in their minds, "Aria’s the type who really looks after people." Once they regained their composure, Erza and Rachel both smiled back at Aria.
After parting with her, the three went to the treasurer’s desk, split their earnings evenly, and then immediately headed out to celebrate the formation of their new party. It was a chance to deepen their camaraderie.
It goes without saying that they all drank responsibly this time. From now on, their party would start setting down its own set of rules, and the very first one they agreed upon was this:
"Drink, but don’t let the drink control you."
Jin’s proposal was unanimously approved — not just as a saying, but as a lesson they’d all learned firsthand.
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