Chapter 736
Jin’s day is quite busy as he is evaluated as a kind-hearted outsider by Eldmia.
First, he wakes up early in the morning from the bed in the inn where he has been staying for a long time, visits Milena’s grocery store to get breakfast and help with work, and stops by Tex’s clothing store, which starts its day later than Milena, to receive deliveries.
Although it was called a delivery job, it was a good customer for Jin, enough to account for most of his morning income. It was called a clothing store, but as the city grew, Tex’s store, which now also served as a lumber store, received a lot of delivery requests from inns and repair shops catering to adventurers.
Tex, who had firmly established the idea of helping homeless children by helping Eldmia in the past, chose to give work to children by setting a unit price for each delivery distance instead of hiring deliverymen, but in the end, he had no choice but to ask for the help of a trustworthy adult for items that were too burdensome to entrust to children, so it goes without saying that the interests of the two naturally aligned.
After finishing a few tasks along the street, he would head to Alicia’s daycare to get lunch and help out with some simple chores. Alicia would always scold him and make him do a lot of work, but she would never forget to pack him dinner when he returned home after finishing his work.
On the way back to the inn to put the food that seemed to increase in quantity every time, I chatted with Jans, who always smoked a cigarette in the same spot, and watched the street scenery change every day. After returning to the inn room full of life, that was roughly the routine until lunch.
After that, if he felt like it, he would go to the Adventurer’s Guild in the afternoon to do another chore or take care of personal business. Recently, the entire country was in a festive mood due to the legendary victory in Levien, but that didn’t change Jin’s routine.
In the past, it was a routine that continued for a purpose, but now even that has faded away, so there is no particular reason to it. I just work, earn money, eat, and sleep like ordinary people.
One day, when he suddenly realized that he was no longer a stranger to Ogwen, but an Ogwen, Jin was eating lunch at Alicia’s nursery as usual, and he muttered to himself while chewing his bread without thinking.
“I guess I should buy a house soon.”
Now, it might not be a bad idea to start a normal family. As soon as I had that thought, the monologue that came out of my mouth accidentally reached Alicia’s ears, who was carrying freshly made soup.
“Do you finally have the courage to let go of the past?”
Of course, I thought there would be a lot of swearing along with comments about a grown man being mean, but Alicia surprisingly showed a normal(?) reaction. Before Jin could say anything, she sat down across the table and patted him on the shoulder.
“You open your eyes and say nothing. How could I know about your past? I just knew that you were a fool with a lot of foolish thoughts.”
“How about that···”
“Why don’t you know? I know very well. Do you think there were one or two such people among the adventurers?”
Now, she is living as the director of a daycare center, which was not in her fortune, but Alicia has been an adventurer for quite some time. Naturally, she has met many people and survived them, so she is now able to see people to some extent.
In fact, even if you didn’t have that kind of experience, Jin wasn’t that hard to get to know.
Even if he saved up money to go somewhere else, Jin, who lived without any trouble 365 days a year, accumulated a considerable amount of wealth. He did not choose his work, did not fail to do it, and did not enjoy entertainment, so it was even more so.
Those who sought out gins that had proven both sincerity and ability were widespread in Ogwen. If they had set their minds to it and set up a service office, they could have run a viable business in Ogwen.
But Jin refused all of those possibilities and lived as a handyman in Ogwen for years, paying the inn fee every week. It would be natural for someone without ability to do that, but most people who live that way despite their overflowing abilities have something to lose.
“I thought you’d be gone soon.”
“Ogwen isn’t such a bad place, is it?”
“I thought he would kill himself instead of having someone kill him.”
Unlike her body, which was getting weaker day by day, Alicia’s memory was still vivid, so she clearly remembered the day when a foreigner from Ladan first set foot in Ogwen.
It was definitely a guy with fire in his eyes when he first appeared. But somehow, the fire didn’t even last a week and only ashes remained.
It didn’t even take five days for his already pitiful appearance, except for his haggard eyes, to become even more haggard and ugly. Alicia had seen how easily adventurers with eyes like hers threw their lives away, and she thought Jin would die as one of the city’s beggars.
Eldmia picked up that guy and introduced him to the whole village as a worker, extending his lifeline. And that continued until now, when a corpse that was as good as dead finally began to think about how to live his life properly.
Alicia’s eyes almost watered as she thought that this was the time to use the expression, “It’s brave not to die,” but she skillfully shook off her emotions and straightened her back.
“Anyway, seeing you acting like a normal person and worrying about the house like other people makes me realize how old you are. You must have saved a lot of money. If you’re going to do that, you should open a store too. I heard that the building there is empty because an old woman who ran a junk shop recently passed away. If you live on the second floor and have some kids run errands on the first floor, you’ll grow up quickly.”
“Aren’t you talking about the warrior?”
“Are you a brave man, you stone-headed bastard?”
“This is Ogwen, you idiots. You mean the guillotine. But damn, she operates in the capital.”
Brother, what on earth are you doing that keeps us from unifying?
Jin instinctively knew that all of those were referring to one person, but they weren’t thugs.
“Hey kid, why don’t you just put all the famous people on it? Do you want me to believe that?”
“You have to believe it. You say that everything you say is just one person. Do you know why Ogwen is so festive about the news of the warrior’s victory this time? It’s because the warrior is from here, you fools.
I didn’t look back to avoid provoking her unnecessarily, so I couldn’t see her reaction, but I could make some inferences based on Alicia’s reaction and silence alone.
“···Poohahaha! That was so damn plausible! If you’re going to open your mouth, you should open it at least to this extent. But if you’re going to fall for such nonsense, you shouldn’t be able to play in this world.
That it was a huge failure.
So, at that moment, I was about to sigh again, thinking that even if I tell you the truth, if you don’t understand, it’s meaningless.
“That’s what I said. History education must be done properly.”
“What the heck, you little punk? You’re not even touching me... Huh?”
A voice that could not be heard was heard here. At this, the thugs holding the swords, Jin and I, turned our heads almost simultaneously.
“What kind of crazy power is this...!”
Then, there stood Eldmia, who had her shoulders pressed down on the shoulders of two thugs to the height of her thighs, accompanied by a girl with pure white hair and a girl with her platinum hair tied back.
For a moment, the thought crossed my mind, ‘Where did Ashili go...?’, but I was still happy.
“But these guys are amazing. What kind of nerve do they have when they have the support of the Holy Light Cross Society?”
“···The Holy Light Cross Society has withdrawn, brother.”
“What? Why?”
“Now that the daycare is self-sufficient, Mrs. Alicia asked me to ask others to help.”
“Anyway, I like that person too much, I’m going crazy···”
“What the hell are you, you little punk?!”
Wearing the kind of splendid armor that a bard would describe, he was calmly holding down two men with one hand, and he was a threat. Not only were the others able to escape his grasp because of their good positions, but even the one holding his sword to Jin’s side hesitated and retreated.
“me?”
And when they feel threatened, their voices usually get louder, like a man with a knife.
Of course, the one who threatens is the opposite.
“Eldmia Ega·”
Just like Eldmia right now
“What do you dare to do with Mrs. Alisha’s nursery school.”
···But it seems like the swearing is a separate thing.·