Chapter 74: What Was Accomplished
By the time Jin and the others finished reporting to Greg and left the guild, it was already close to evening.
He had wanted, at the very least, to report their return to both Clark and Bean before the day was over, but there simply wasn’t enough time to visit two places. Left with no choice, they decided to split up for the time being and take care of their errands separately.
Jin would go to see Bean the alchemist, Rachel would report to Clark at the temple, and Erza would head back ahead of them to clean the house they’d been away from for over two weeks. A full cleaning could be done together tomorrow, so Erza would only handle the main shared areas for now.
Erza ended up drawing the short straw, but even so, she accepted the task without complaint. That small kindness made Jin happy. Because of that, he decided that tonight’s dinner would be hamburger steaks—Erza’s favorite.
Jin’s carefree thoughts weren’t just due to his naturally easygoing nature; the sense of relief from being back home probably played a part as well.
After parting ways with Erza and the others, Jin headed toward Bean’s apothecary in a noticeably good mood.
“Well, well—welcome back, Jin-san.”
When Jin arrived at the shop, he was warmly greeted by Maggie, Bean’s wife. While the Bean family’s own child hadn’t been directly affected by Mana Fever, there were plenty of small children among their friends and neighbors. Their gratitude toward Jin and the others for discovering a treatment ran deep.
Jin was shown to the same room as before, and Bean, having been called, arrived shortly afterward.
“Welcome back, Jin-san! You really did it! Thank you!”
Bean spoke with a beaming smile the moment he entered the room. This time, Jin hadn’t brought back the forbidden Demonbande Elixir, but instead a fundamental cure for Mana Fever. Not only did this save children’s lives—it also meant that one forbidden recipe could be erased from the world.
For Bean, the inheritor of such taboo recipes, that was a joy beyond measure.
“No, Bean-san, you worked hard too. The fact that there were no child casualties this time is thanks to you as well.”
Jin praised Bean in return. Along with the temple priests who ran themselves ragged providing magical treatment, Jin believed that the antipyretic medicines Bean produced were indispensable to achieving the best possible outcome. While Bean’s shop wasn’t the only pharmacy in town, there was no doubt he’d been the most dedicated.
Although they never ended up using the planned Demonbande Elixir, there was still a sense of camaraderie and triumph shared between men who had faced hardship together and overcome it.
After talking a while longer, Jin decided to leave the shop. Of course, he didn’t mention the truth about the Demonbande Elixir. That was something he still couldn’t talk about.
It wasn’t that Jin didn’t want to raise a celebratory drink with Bean, but thinking of Erza hard at work cleaning their house made him unwilling to stay long.
Still, he looked forward to a day when he could drink together with Clark and everyone else. With that thought in mind, Jin said his goodbyes to Bean.
Rather than heading straight home, Jin made his way to the district lined with butcher shops, greengrocers, and other stores.
It lay along the route back from the Adventurers’ Guild and was fairly close to his house, so he used it often. His purpose was obvious—to buy ingredients for tonight’s hamburger steaks.
It had been a while since he’d cooked at home, and his mood naturally lifted as a result.
“Good evening!”
Though it had only been a little over two weeks, Jin was surprised to feel a hint of nostalgia as he greeted the butcher.
“Today I’d like some beef—”
“Oh! Hey, you’re Jin, right?!”
The shopkeeper cut him off mid-order and leaned in excitedly. Jin had never told him his name, but he often stopped by the shop with Erza and the others on the way back from the guild. The man must have heard it called out then.
The shopkeeper was a burly, muscular man with an intimidating face—his presence alone was overwhelming.
“Y-Yes, that’s right… Is something wrong?”
Jin was caught off guard by the man’s aggressive tone, but when the shopkeeper heard his answer, his expression instantly broke into a grin.
“Knew it! You’re the one who cured the kids’ illness, right?! Seriously, thank you so much!”
As he spoke, the shopkeeper started slapping Jin on the shoulder repeatedly. Strictly speaking, Jin hadn’t cured anyone—he’d just passed along the treatment method—but that distinction didn’t seem to matter. The fact remained that children had been saved thanks to him.
“I-It’s really not that big of a—”
Jin’s reply came out in fragments as he was patted around, and before he knew it, people from the neighboring greengrocer and nearby shops began gathering.
Here’s the English translation:
“What?! That guy’s Jin?”
“Hey, thanks a lot, man! Because of you, my kid pulled through.”
“Thank you so much, young man. We really didn’t know what was going to happen for a while there…”
Surrounded by people all thanking him at once, Jin couldn’t hide his surprise at just how widely the rumor had spread. Because he’d reflexively confirmed it, the story kept growing and spreading on its own.
“What’s going on? Who is he?”
“They say he’s the one who cured the children’s illness.”
“What?! Then I’ve got to thank him!”
“Me too!”
“So do I!”
It was already late afternoon, so the busiest hours were past, but there were still plenty of people around. The circle surrounding Jin kept growing larger and larger, and just as it seemed like things were about to turn into chaos—
“Stooop!!” (ストーップ/Sutoppu)
Jin raised his voice and stopped the crowd.
His shout, filled with sheer force of will, carried clearly. Even though he wasn’t using Intimidation, it was more than enough to quiet everyone down.
That said, just because it had gone quiet didn’t mean the stares disappeared. Dozens of eyes were still fixed on him, and the intensity almost made Jin falter. But instead of panicking, a strangely pointless thought popped into his head—probably an instinctive form of escapism.
(Huh… so what came out just now wasn’t Japanese, but English.)
The fact that what slipped out of his mouth wasn’t “quiet down” or “stop (止まって/Tomatte),” but the English word stop, struck him as funny. The system that automatically translated that English into this world’s language was funny too. And more than anything, the fact that he was thinking about something like this at a time like this was ridiculous.
Before he realized it, Jin’s tension vanished as if it had never been there, and the stares around him stopped bothering him. Seizing the moment, he began to speak.
“It’s true that I played a small part in the treatment. But it was only by chance. If anything, this was possible because of the people at the temple who ran around treating patients, the pharmacists who kept supplying fever medicine, and the Adventurers’ Guild members who worked to solve the problem. I just happened to have an idea while on another job. I’m grateful for your thanks, truly—but I didn’t do anything special. So please direct your gratitude to all the others who worked so hard.”
His voice wasn’t particularly loud, but it carried well enough to reach even those standing farther away.
Some of what he said included the cover story decided earlier with Greg, but for the most part, Jin was speaking honestly.
“Besides, with this many people gathered, it’s dangerous, and it’s blocking traffic. It’s already evening. You’ve probably got hungry kids waiting at home, and for shop owners, this is prime business time. You should be working.”
He said it with a smile, half joking, and as if drawn along by it, a bit of laughter rippled through the crowd.
“I’ve received your feelings, and I’m really happy. Thank you. But let’s call it here and disperse.”
With that final wrap-up, people gradually calmed down. One by one, they returned to their shopping or their work, and the street finally went back to normal.
“Phew…”
Jin let out a breath. By his side, only the butcher remained, staring at him with an impressed look.
“That was something else. You could’ve bragged a bit more, you know.”
“No, really—I didn’t do anything that special.”
He did feel proud of what he’d done, but it was something he could never have accomplished alone. Without Greg, Bean, Clark, Gantz, Pelgrune, and so many others, including Sacred Beast, it wouldn’t have happened. If Jin were to boast about anything, it would be about everyone involved, not just himself.
“Hahaha. Sorry about the commotion. So, what’ll you have?”
Chuckling at Jin’s unwavering attitude, the butcher finally got down to business.
Jin told him he wanted a solid chunk of beef—probably over three kilograms. He planned to make several batches of hamburg steaks, and any extra meat could go into Infinite Storage, where it wouldn’t spoil. He still had plenty of boar meat stocked away, so beef was all he needed this time.
“Here you go. And—this one’s on the house.”
The butcher handed over meat wrapped in large antibacterial leaves used instead of paper, but for some reason, there were two bundles.
“You’re an adventurer, right? You’ll eat it. Gotta keep your strength up if you’re gonna keep doing good work.”
He laughed heartily. Despite his muscular, intimidating build, the look in his eyes as he watched Jin was incredibly gentle.
“…Thank you. I’ll gratefully accept it.”
Jin had almost refused, but thought better of it and accepted the kindness. Sometimes, accepting goodwill was the best way to make the other person happy.
He received it with gratitude.
“Name’s Todd. Come by again.”
“Yes.”
“And one more thing…”
Todd accepted Jin’s reply with a smile, then bowed deeply.
“Thank you. Truly.”
Both of Todd’s sons had been saved from the suffering of Mana Fever thanks to Jin. Understanding everything Jin had said earlier, Todd now expressed his gratitude sincerely.
“Yes!”
This time, Jin didn’t deny it. The joy in his voice came naturally as he replied.
“I’m hooome! Sorry, can you open up?”
After finishing his shopping, Jin announced his return. But instead of opening the front door and going inside, for some reason, he was calling out from outside.
“Welcome home.”
“Welcome home.”
In response, Erza and Rachel, who had already returned, came out to greet him and opened the front door. The moment they saw Jin standing there, they both cried out in surprise.
““Huh? What’s with that getup?””
Jin was standing in the doorway, his arms overflowing with meat, vegetables, fish, alcohol, sweets, and more. There was so much piled up that it was a wonder none of it was falling.
“I’ll explain later—just help me hold this for now.”
There was a hint of exhaustion in Jin’s voice. Stat-wise, the weight wasn’t a problem at all, but mentally, he was clearly worn out.
After that earlier incident, Jin had stopped by the greengrocer to buy vegetables, only to be loaded down with more freebies along with words of thanks. At that point, his hands were already full, and he had no intention of shopping any further, but shop after shop along the street called out to him, telling him to take things with him.
Since he hadn’t even bought anything, Jin tried to refuse, but they insisted, and in the end, he found himself carrying everything anyway. Thanks to Body Control, his balance was unusually good, which only made it easier for people to pile more and more on him. The result was the mountain of gifts he’d brought home.
“I’ll tell you all about it during dinner.”
Finally able to catch his breath thanks to Erza and the others, Jin immediately got to work preparing dinner—hamburg steaks. He’d originally planned to make enough for two or three meals at once, but he was mentally exhausted, so he decided to make just tonight’s portion.
By the time everything was prepped, and all that was left was grilling, Aria arrived after finishing her reports at the guild. Her move wasn’t happening just yet, but she was supposed to have dinner with them tonight.
““Welcome home.””
“Welcome home.”
There really wasn’t any other phrase more fitting to say to companions they’d soon be living with together.
“…I’m home.”
Aria answered with a slightly embarrassed, but clearly happy, smile.
That evening, as planned, hamburg steaks took center stage on the table. There were two sauces: one was an aurora sauce made by mixing mayonnaise and ketchup, and the other was grated daikon mixed with soy sauce and a squeeze of tart citrus juice. The sides were French fries and salad, and the drinks included a special bottle of red wine.
As they enjoyed the food and drinks, Jin told everyone about what had happened in the shopping district.
The reactions he described from the townspeople gave the same sense of accomplishment the girls had felt earlier when they saw children playing outside again after returning to the city.
It was true that for Jin and the others—who hadn’t planned on standing out yet—it was a bit troublesome. Still, the joy far outweighed the inconvenience. Jin spoke in a lighthearted way, and Aria and the others listening all wore smiles.
The way Jin had handled things in the shopping district, never boasting, and praising others instead of himself, spread throughout the city through the words of those who had seen and heard him directly. Most people took it positively, especially families whose children had suffered from Mana Fever.
Since their party didn’t yet have an official name, only Jin’s name spread, but that name quickly gained solid recognition throughout the city of Lienz.
And it wasn’t just the townspeople who responded positively. The temple and the apothecaries Jin had praised by name, of course, but even many adventurers, who normally might have wanted to nitpick at a newly famous name, reacted favorably.
Up until now, only a small portion of people—those who submitted requests to the guild—had any real contact with adventurers. This time, though, it could be said that the majority of Lienz’s citizens, including parents with children and those around them, had directly benefited from Jin, the adventurer.
Because of that lack of contact, adventurers had often been misunderstood, seen as rough and unreliable. This incident forced a major reevaluation.
Originally, Lienz’s adventurers already had high moral standards thanks to Greg and the guild’s guidance, and troublemakers were rare. And if one did appear, they were quickly “educated.”
Now that the townspeople were reassessing them and finally giving them fair recognition, there was no way the adventurers wouldn’t feel happy. This change in attitude gave Lienz’s adventurers a sense of confidence and pride, and would later lead to positive developments that clearly set them apart from adventurers in other cities.
“““Cheers!”””
Jin and the others didn’t know any of that yet—but as they raised their glasses, their faces were filled with the same confidence and pride.
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