Chapter 49: Misunderstanding Spiral
Two days after Jin signed the rental contract for his new house.
After finishing a subjugation request together, Jin was walking down the highway toward town with Erza and Rachel.
"So, you decided to rent a house, huh?"
Erza said, sounding a little envious. On the way back, Jin had brought up the topic of his new home.
He’d been working solo until yesterday, so this was the first time he’d told Erza and Rachel about it. For reference, the first person he mentioned his move to was Bean—during his alchemy training the previous day.
"Yeah. There are four rooms upstairs, so it’s a bit too big for just me. But it’s got a bath, and I really liked that."
"Wow, a bath! That’s so nice!"
Rachel said, sounding openly jealous.
"Haha, yeah, honestly, the bath was kind of the deciding factor. I’m planning to move on the day after tomorrow."
If all went smoothly, the cleaning and maintenance should be done today, but to be safe, he’d scheduled his move for two days later.
"If I remember right, Jin, you can cook and do laundry and all that, yeah? I’m hopeless at cooking."
Erza said, scratching her head. Rachel agreed, saying:
"I’ve never cooked before either, so I'm the same as Erza-san. I’ve always wanted to try sometimes, though."
Rachel admitted, smiling wryly.
"Hehe, well, now that I’ve got my own place, you can cook too, right? I’m not that great at it myself, but I can teach you if you want."
Jin said it casually, without any special intent. It was true that his phrasing was a little vague—but he didn’t mean anything by it. If we were to add the missing nuance, it would’ve sounded like this:
'Now that I’ve got my own place, you’ll be able to cook too. The kitchen’s open for use, after all. I’m not great at it, but I can show you the basics.'
However, that’s not how Erza and Rachel interpreted it.
What they heard was more like:
'Now that we’ve got a place, you’ll be able to cook anytime you want since we’ll be living together. I’m not great at it, but I can show you the basics.'
Their understanding was slightly different, but overall, that’s how they took it—and the misunderstanding would only grow from there.
"So… it’s okay if we come to that house too?" (Meaning: Is it okay if we live there too?)
"Yeah, of course. There are extra rooms on the second floor, so feel free to use one." (Meaning: You can use one as a storage room if you want.)
"Wow, thank you! I’m so happy, now that I’m an adventurer!" (Meaning: Since I became an adventurer, I’ll have to move out of the temple, so I’m really glad!)
And so the misunderstanding carried on without being cleared up. If anyone was at fault here, it was probably Jin for saying things in such an ambiguous way at the start.
"But the day after tomorrow, huh? That’s a bit rushed…" (for getting furniture ready) "Would it be possible to take a look at the house today?" (so I can see what kind of rooms there are)
"I’d like to see it today too," Rachel said. "If I don’t get a feel for the rooms, it’ll be hard to know…" (which furniture I can bring or what I’ll need to buy.)
Hearing their enthusiastic tone, Jin thought it was odd how fired up they seemed, but figured it made sense—they were going to use the rooms as storage, after all.
In places like America or Europe, men and women sharing a house under one roof wasn’t that unusual. But for Jin—a born-and-raised Japanese man—it wasn’t something that came naturally. Even if he knew such arrangements existed, it was just a vague bit of knowledge, not something that felt real. So, operating under his own cultural sense of "normal," he didn’t notice the misunderstanding at all.
But in this world, mixed-gender party members living together was perfectly acceptable.
And from the start, Erza and Rachel had been secretly hoping that Jin’s decision to rent such a large house meant he intended to let them live there too. The only reason they hadn’t asked outright was that they were a bit too conscious of Jin as a man.
In other words, both sides had the perfect setup for a misunderstanding spiral.
"Well, the cleaning should be done by evening, so we can drop by after we stop at the guild. I’ve got the key, so we can go in anytime."
"I’m in!"
"I’d love to go!"
Overwhelmed by their enthusiasm but smiling nonetheless, Jin agreed. Watching the two of them cheer and bounce in excitement, he couldn’t help but think how cute they looked.
…Perhaps ignorance really is bliss sometimes.
Later that day, after picking up a few pairs of slippers, Jin brought the two of them to his new house. Fortunately, the cleaning and maintenance had already been completed—the place was spotless and gleaming.
Before entering the house, the two girls looked a little confused when Jin explained one of the household rules—"Take off your shoes and change into slippers at the entrance." But when Jin reasoned that there was no need to wear such heavy, sturdy boots indoors, they agreed and complied.
After Jin gave them a full tour of the house, Erza and Rachel spent plenty of time carefully checking the measurements of the rooms they each picked out. Normally, if they were just going to use the rooms as simple storage spaces, there’d be no need to measure so precisely.
Watching the two of them seriously but cheerfully take measurements, Jin suddenly realized something—and immediately acted on it.
What he did was measure the size of his own bed. At least now he wouldn’t have to worry about not knowing what size bedding to buy at the shop.
But of course, that wasn’t the part he should have realized.
And so, with everyone still holding on to their respective misunderstandings, the day came to an end.
The next day, Erza and Rachel both had errands to run, so the planned subjugation quest was switched to a solo activity.
Since Jin kept most of his belongings in his Item Bag, the move itself was simple. Still, bulky items like a futon or sofa were too conspicuous to carry in or out of it. So, deciding to at least get something to sleep on, Jin headed to a bedding shop.
Naturally, things like spring mattresses didn’t exist here, so he bought a set of bedding that matched his bed’s size—mattress pad, comforter, sheets, and covers. When the shop offered to deliver them, Jin politely declined, rolled everything into a neat bundle, slung it over his shoulder with ease, and left the store. He planned to drop the bedding off at the new house first since it was in the way.
As he walked for a while, someone suddenly called out to him from the side.
"Jin-san, what are you doing?"
The voice belonged to Aria, who looked curiously at him. Unlike her usual guild uniform, she wore something light and easy to move in—like an adventurer before putting on armor.
"Hello, Aria-san. I’m just moving some things to my new place. The actual move is planned for tomorrow, though."
Smiling, Jin answered, finding her casual outfit refreshing. He hadn’t had the chance to tell her about the move yesterday since the guild reception had been so busy, so this was the first time she’d heard about it. Aria nodded in understanding, and Jin apologized for not mentioning it sooner. Then the topic shifted to her outfit.
"By the way, Aria-san, what’s with the change of clothes?"
Her usual uniform always made her look a bit stiff, so seeing her like this felt new to him.
"I have the day off today, so I thought I’d stop by the orphanage."
Aria said, looking slightly embarrassed under Jin’s gaze. In truth, she also planned to do some training afterward, but she didn’t intend to tell him that.
"I see. In that case, since we’ve run into each other, I was thinking of showing you my new place… though maybe I shouldn’t—"
"I’ll go!"
She replied before Jin could even finish his sentence.
"I don’t mind at all, but are you sure it won’t interfere with your plans?"
"Yes, it’s fine. I hadn’t actually told anyone I was coming, so being a little late won’t be a problem."
That was true enough. Even when she did visit, all Aria usually did was hand over sweets for the children—she knew she wasn’t good at interacting with them because of her stoic nature.
"I see. Then let me show you the place."
With that, Jin led Aria toward his rental house. It was the first time he’d walked side by side with her like this—though he was still carrying a large bundle over his shoulder.
"Hehe, it feels kind of refreshing to walk next to you like this, Aria-san."
Jin said, unable to hide his cheerful tone.
"Fufu, it really does. The weather’s nice too, so it feels good."
Aria replied, looking very happy.
"Yes, it really does."
"Hehehe."
"Fufufu."
And so, the two of them continued walking side by side, smiling all the way.
"What a big house."
Aria murmured when she finally saw Jin’s new home, surprised by its size. Adventurers’ houses usually fell into two categories: small ones for one or two people, or large ones like this, meant for four or five and typically shared by an entire party. Knowing that, Aria naturally assumed Jin had rented this place to live together with Erza and the others. That thought left her with a faint, uneasy feeling she couldn’t quite shake.
"When a house comes with a bath, it naturally ends up being about this size. Still, I really like the layout—it’s got some character."
Completely unaware of what was going through Aria’s mind, Jin smiled as he honestly explained why he chose this place. His carefree attitude made Aria’s frustration fade, and she couldn’t help but let out a small, wry smile.
Jin opened the front door, set his bundle down in the entry hall, and handed Aria a pair of slippers. They were red—one of the four pairs he had bought the day before. Jin’s own were black, Erza’s blue, and Rachel’s green. Each of them had picked their own color. As for why Jin had bought a fourth pair, even he didn’t really know—it had just been something he did without thinking.
"Please change into slippers here. I want you to be able to relax once you’re inside, so that’s one of the house rules."
Aria had worn slippers in her own room before, but never in someone else’s house. Still, she figured this was Jin being considerate, so she obediently slipped them on. They felt a little flimsy, but at the same time, surprisingly freeing.
Jin then gave her a tour of the house, and as she listened to his explanation that it had once belonged to an adventurer, a lot of things made sense.
The building was solidly built—very sturdy. Breaking through a wall would take a lot of noise and effort, making it impractical for intruders. Every window had something like an interior shutter that could be closed from inside, serving as extra protection. The front door had three locks, one of which, amazingly, was a decoy. From the outside, it was impossible to tell which was which, which alone would be enough to make an ordinary thief think twice. All of these were practical measures for adventurers, who were often away from home for long periods.
There were also several smaller security features scattered throughout, and Aria started to understand why Jin had chosen this particular house.
"What a wonderful home."
Aria said, her words carrying more than one meaning. Jin’s smile softened even more.
"A friend of mine introduced me to it. I’m really grateful."
After finishing the first-floor tour, Jin carried his bedding upstairs and showed her the four rooms on the second floor. He placed the futon set in the master bedroom before continuing.
"This one and the one you saw earlier will be used by Rachel and Erza as storage rooms for their equipment. The remaining room is for a male party member, if we ever get one. Splitting rent and chores would really make things easier. I can’t exactly charge Erza and Rachel for using the rooms just as storage, after all."
Jin said it all with a bright, innocent smile.
"Um… aren’t Erza-san and Rachel-san going to live here?"
Aria asked, picking the most pressing question from the many that came to mind. From her perspective, it was obvious that Erza and Rachel intended to move in. After all, when an adventurer rented a big place like this, it was normal for the entire party, men and women alike, to live together.
"Of course not. No woman would live with a man she’s not dating."
Still smiling, Jin revealed his stunning lack of common sense.
Aria, oddly reassured by his sincerity, hesitated over whether to correct him. If Jin wasn’t expecting it, letting things continue as they were would probably lead to trouble for him. But on the other hand, thinking of how happy Erza and Rachel must be about it made her reluctant to spoil it for them. Besides, from a party standpoint, living together was clearly the better option.
"…I see."
After some thought, Aria decided to pretend she hadn’t heard any of that. She still felt a small pang of unease about the idea of Erza and Rachel living with Jin—but when she thought about their future as a team, she couldn’t help but agree that it was the right move.
In her heart, Aria silently cheered for the two girls, already predicting the commotion that would no doubt erupt the very next day.
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