Chapter 77: A New Housemate and an Unexpected Truth
A few days after the drinking party with Greg and Gantz, Aria resigned from the Adventurers’ Guild, much to everyone’s regret.
Many single male staff members shed tears over the departure of the capable and beautiful Aria, but at the same time, the longer-serving employees were more often heard offering words of blessing for her new start.
All the guild staff knew that Aria would be returning to life as an adventurer, and they understood that this was not a final farewell. Also, because Aria herself did not want it, no farewell party was held, making it a relatively simple and understated parting.
However, if information about which party Aria would be joining had spread at this point, there might have been quite a commotion. Fortunately for both Aria and Jin, not only were there many single male guild staff members, but even the general adventurers were unaware of that fact.
Of course, those who knew the reason behind Aria’s change (most of whom were women or married) were able to make their own guesses, but out of a desire to send Aria off peacefully, they kept their mouths shut.
Many could probably imagine how those people would react once they learned the truth in the near future.
Unaware of the stir that was likely to occur in the near future, Jin had been busy since early morning preparing to welcome Aria.
From the morning, Erza and Rachel headed to the guild dormitory to help Aria move, while Jin was preparing for Aria’s welcome party to be held that evening. At first, Jin had planned to go help with the move at the guild dormitory where Aria had been living, but since it was women-only housing, that wasn’t possible.
In addition, today’s welcome party also doubled as a celebration for the resolution of “Mana Fever,” so people involved in the matter, such as Greg and Bean, were also scheduled to attend. Because of that, Jin—the one providing the food—was the busiest of all. Even though he wasn’t helping with the move, he was by no means idle.
“Alright, the salad’s done. Next up…”
Jin was cooking anything and everything that came to mind. Fried foods in particular—like fries, tempura, and karaage—were a hassle, so he deep-fried an almost absurd amount of them. Normally, these kinds of dishes would lose a lot of flavor once they cooled, but since he stored them in Infinite Storage, they could be eaten as if freshly made at any time.
“Tempura should be fine with just salt and tentsuyu. Oh, and I should make a lot of grated daikon too. After that…”
As he cooked, Jin bustled about with a bright smile on his face. Tonight wouldn’t just feature Jin’s cooking—Melinda would be bringing hors d’oeuvres from a restaurant called “Pukka,” Greg would bring alcohol and meat pies, and Clark would also be bringing his homemade beef stew. Looking forward to all of that aside, Jin simply enjoyed cooking for others.
There was still much Jin didn’t know about the cuisine of this world, but he took pleasure in finding ingredients with flavors similar to those from his original world and recreating tastes he remembered fondly.
“Oh, right, maybe I’ll make something sweet today too.”
Now that he had a healthy body, Jin could eat whatever he wanted, but back when he was an old man, illness had forced him to restrict his intake of sweets in particular. Even so, wanting to eat sweets was only natural, and at times like that, Jin would make cakes, puddings, and other desserts himself. By doing so, he could see just how much sugar went into ordinary sweets and restrain himself accordingly, and he could also make desserts for himself with the sugar reduced to the absolute minimum.
It had been a luxury allowed only on rare occasions when his body was unhealthy, but now he could eat as much as he wanted without any problems. In any case, thanks to those experiences, Jin wasn’t particularly skilled, but he was able to make simple sweets.
“Whipped cream probably needs richer milk, huh? I don’t really know, so I’ll skip that this time. But custard I can do. Yeah, pudding should work.”
Imagining everyone’s happy faces—and grinning himself—Jin started making desserts.
Naturally, the faces that came to mind were those of Aria and the other women; the faces of Greg and the rest of the old-guy group didn’t appear at all, which was only to be expected.
As he continued cooking various dishes, Jin sensed presences on the property. He immediately stopped what he was doing, moved to the front entrance, and opened the door. There, just about to open it themselves, were Aria and the other two.
“Welcome home, everyone!”
Ignoring the three, who were startled by the suddenly opening door, Jin greeted all of them—including Aria—with a beaming smile. There were no other words he could have used to welcome them.
The three women glanced at one another for a moment, then their faces softened into smiles.
“““We’re home!”””
Those words they returned marked the beginning of a new life with Aria added as a new companion.
“Welcome, Clark-san.”
With Aria’s move finished and the time having just passed 6:00 p.m., the first guest arrived. Appearing alongside Rachel was Chief Priest Clark. In Rachel’s hands was a pot containing the beef stew Clark himself had prepared, just as he had promised right before they departed for the Dazure Mountain Range.
“Jin-san, this is really delicious, you know~! Please look forward to it!”
“Rachel.”
Clark gently scolded the excited Rachel, but there was no way he felt bad about being praised, and his cheeks loosened just a little.
“Hahaha. Well, I was actually looking forward to it myself. I’ll savor it properly.”
The sight of the friendly grandfather and granddaughter-like pair stirred a sense of nostalgia in Jin. Of course, Jin himself had never married, so it was more like his siblings’ grandchildren, but even so, children who grew attached to you were always adorable.
Recalling the past filled Jin with a warm, nostalgic happiness, but the reason he didn’t feel lonely now was probably because his present life was so fulfilling. In any case, these days Jin rarely felt loneliness even when thinking back on the past.
By the time Jin put the pot he’d been handed over a low flame, Gantz and the Bean couple also arrived. Since Burke and Iris weren’t invited today, the only ones left were Instructor Melinda and the Greg couple.
While continuing the final food preparations and waiting for Greg and the others to arrive, it wasn’t long before Melinda and the Greg married couple appeared together.
“Wel …come.”
Jin had been about to greet Greg’s wife with a smile, but the words faded away halfway through, before he could even get to the “nice to meet you.”
Standing beside Greg, who had appeared with his wife in tow, was a woman Jin recognized.
“Thank you for inviting us. I’m Samantha, Greg’s wife.”
The woman there was Samantha, who, like Aria, worked at the reception desk. Jin had been helped by her before whenever Aria wasn’t around, and they’d even chatted on occasion. His impression of her at the time had been that she was a charming woman in her late twenties. On the other hand, although he’d never actually asked Greg’s age, Jin had assumed he was at least over fifty. That was why the existence of such a young wife had caught him completely off guard—especially since it was someone he already knew.
“Pfft… fufufu.”
Unable to hold it in any longer at the look on Jin’s face, Melinda burst out laughing, while Greg scratched his head awkwardly. Erza and Rachel, like Jin, were staring wide-eyed, but Aria, who of course already knew, showed no surprise at all and calmly accepted the meat pie Samantha had brought as a gift.
“My apologies. I just never imagined you had such a young wife, Greg-san,” Jin said hurriedly, finally rebooting and offering his greeting properly.
The age gap alone had surprised him, but what shocked Jin even more was that rugged, no-nonsense Greg was married to someone as charming as Samantha.
(Just what kind of face did he make when he wooed her, anyway?)
Having regained a bit of composure, Jin found himself idly thinking that this would make for some excellent drinking talk later.
Samantha replied to Jin’s greeting with a warm smile, then turned to Melinda, who was still laughing.
“Come on, Nee-san, you should say something properly too.”
“(Huh?!)”
The way Samantha addressed Melinda left Jin confused. Seeing his reaction, Melinda greeted him with a mischievous grin.
“I’m also Greg’s wife—Melinda. Nice to meet you again.”
“““…Wait, whaaaat?!”””
“Ahahahahah!”
After a brief pause, Jin, Erza, and Rachel all cried out in unison. Melinda burst into laughter again at their reactions, while Aria and Samantha chuckled softly. Greg, meanwhile, once again turned his face away awkwardly and scratched his head.
“Man, that really surprised me. I never would’ve guessed that Melinda-san and Samantha-san were Greg-san’s wives,” Jin said.
With Greg and the others having arrived, everyone was now present, and the feast had begun. About thirty minutes had already passed. Enjoying Samantha’s homemade meat pie, Jin spoke to Melinda, who was sitting across from him.
“Fufufu. It’s not like I was hiding it. We just never really had a chance to talk about it,” Melinda replied with a playful smile.
Even so, considering that even Erza—who had been closest to her—hadn’t known, Jin couldn’t help but think she’d done it on purpose. That said, when he thought back to how casually Melinda had treated Greg during the beginner training sessions, it did start to make sense.
Still, Jin had been genuinely shocked. He’d never once imagined that that Greg would have two wives.
In this world, most marriages were monogamous. However, polygamy—or polyandry—was permitted among royalty, nobility, and those who had reached high levels (most of whom were adventurers). For royalty and nobles, this was to ensure their bloodlines continued. For high-level individuals, it was about leaving behind as much exceptional blood as possible.
In the case of high-level individuals especially, having a high level also meant an extended lifespan. But if their partner were an ordinary person, that partner would age far more quickly. From that perspective, even though a high-level individual retained the ability to conceive and reproduce, losing that possibility simply because their partner aged was seen as a loss.
Of course, even among those permitted to have multiple spouses, there were plenty of couples who deliberately chose to remain monogamous. The system merely allowed for multiple spouses; it didn’t require it.
In reality, Greg, Melinda, Gantz, and Clark could all be considered high-level individuals, but among them, Greg was the only one with multiple partners. Neither Gantz nor Clark had ever had more than one wife at the same time, and even after losing their spouses, neither had taken a new wife.
While there were many high-level individuals with multiple partners, this was generally how things stood among the couples Jin knew.
“Kukuku, I was pretty shocked myself when Greg here took young Miss Samantha as his bride,” Gantz said with a laugh.
“Hey, Gantz! Don’t go saying unnecessary crap!” Greg snapped, panicking as he tried to stop him.
Grinning slyly, Melinda pressed the attack.
“Oooh, I wanna hear this too~.”
“Y-you—!”
Greg panicked again, but Jin felt bad about putting him on display any further. So he decided to step in and smooth things over.
“Now, now. That kind of story is better saved for people who really want to hear it in private, right? Besides, I’m also curious about how you and Greg-san met, Melinda-san.”
“W-wait—well, you’re right. Things like that are better kept secret. Oh wow, this beef stew is delicious~.”
“Fufufu.” “Ahahaha!” “Ufufufu.”
Realizing that continuing the conversation would only bring the spotlight back onto herself, Melinda hurriedly changed the subject. Everyone laughed at her reaction.
At the same time, Greg shot Jin a grateful look. Jin returned it with a smile, silently adding, You know what this means, right? Greg responded with a stiff nod, shoulders slumping in defeat. Jin hadn’t pressed him in front of everyone—but he fully intended to dig into the details privately some other time.
Humming to himself, Jin lifted a glass filled with Greg’s prized bottle of liquor, savoring its aroma before slowly draining it.
(Ahh… this really is good.)
Good food, good drink, and enjoyable company, he could truly relax around—along with some excellent conversational fuel. Jin was in a great mood once again today.
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