Chastity-Reversed Hard Mode: Surviving as a Steel-Minded Adventurer in Another World - Chapter 12: Earning Big with My Steel-Mentality New Business

Chapter 12: Earning Big with My Steel-Mentality New Business

“Step right up! Cures for sickness, cures for poison—wipe ’em all out! Any ailment, any curse, I’ll heal the lot~!”

The day after my drinking contest with Ursna, I was out on the streets, parading around with a homemade banner strapped to my back.

On it, I’d drawn the Adventurers’ Guild crest alongside a picture of the Grim Reaper holding a scythe—with a big red X slashed across him.

“Sickness and poison~! Virus begone, toxins be gone! Everything healed in no time flat~!”

My brilliant new business model? A good old-fashioned healer-for-hire.

With [Influencer], I could transfer [Disease Resistance] and [Poison Resistance] to others. Which basically meant… any illness, any poison—I could cure it.

This city had healing clerics who could patch up even nasty injuries with magic, but their spells didn’t work on sickness or toxins. That left a gap in the market, and I was going to fill it.

And the startup cost? Practically zero.

The only money I’d spent was on some scrap cloth from the guild to make this banner.

No way I couldn’t turn a profit here, right?

…Or so I thought.

“Hmm… no customers yet…”

Nearly two hours had passed, and while plenty of townsfolk were staring at me from a distance, not a single one had approached.

Oh, sure, I was drawing attention—but no one was biting.

What was I doing wrong? If I could cure literally anything, people should’ve been swarming me by now. Was it just lack of name recognition? Maybe I’d been too optimistic, expecting to rake in cash right from day one.

No, no. Can’t lose heart. Gotta stick it out with patience.

“Sickness and poison~! Step right up, I’ll cure anything~!”

I had just raised my voice louder than ever when—

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

A group of women blocked my path—faces I vaguely remembered seeing before.

Leading them was a big, buff warrior woman with a nasty scar across her cheek. Beside her stood a mage hidden under an oversized pointy hat, and a quiet thief who kept her mouth shut.

Now, where had I seen them again? Uh… oh, right.

“You’re from the Adventurers’ Guild, yeah? My seniors?”

“Seniors…? Well, sure. We’re this term’s number two party. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite make it in time. Just a few more jobs and we might’ve snatched first place…”

Ah, that’s it. Half a year ago, I floored them in a drinking contest. Thanks again for the free meal back then.

But wait—what didn’t they “make it in time” for? Ursna had been sulking too, so maybe there was some kind of competition going on inside the guild. As a bottom-tier adventurer, stuff like that was way above my head, so I’d never paid attention.

“So, what exactly are you doing out here?”

“I’ve started a new business—curing sickness. And as you can see, I’m working right now, so don’t interrupt.”

“…Curing sickness? What, like… you’re a doctor now?”

“Doctor? Please. Do I look like someone who knows the first thing about medicine?”

When I said that, the warrior woman burst into loud, roaring laughter like I’d just cracked the funniest joke in the world.

“Of course not! Like hell you could cure sickness! Wahahaha!”

“Well, I’m not a doctor, sure—but I can cure sickness. I can detox poisons too.”

“Hah! You were already a walking joke, hunting rabbits instead of real monsters, but now it looks like you’ve gone completely off the deep end. Who’s gonna believe some ditch-cleaning loser when he suddenly claims he can heal anything? Look around you! Every single face out there is screaming, ‘Yeah, right.’”

At her words, I glanced around at the townsfolk watching.

…Though, thanks to my busted empathy stat, it wasn’t like I could really read their emotions.

Still, she had a point. If some poor slob who spent every day scooping sewage suddenly announced, “Actually, I can cure all diseases!”—would I trust him enough to book an appointment? Hell no. The image gap was just too big.

Ahh, I see now.

My problem wasn’t lack of recognition—it was too much recognition. Everyone knew me as the broke ditch-cleaner guy. That reputation alone was enough to scare customers off.

So what then? Move to a part of town where no one knew me? Problem was, I’d already spent half a year wandering through every district—including the slums—so most people recognized my face by now.

And then there was my outfit. Just my plain old everyday clothes. Maybe if I’d worn something fancier, I’d look more convincing. But I didn’t exactly have the money for that.

Damn it… totally boxed in. I really thought this was a good idea too.

The warrior woman, grinning smugly at my frustration, leaned in and kept talking.

“So tell me, why’d you even start a scam like this? If you’re gonna lie, at least make it a good one.”

“It’s not a lie. Look, I’ve even got the Adventurers’ Guild emblem on my banner.”

I pointed at the guild crest painted on my flag. The warrior woman’s face twitched.

“Y-You serious…? You’re really dragging the guild’s name into such a cheap scam? If this blows up, you’ve got no idea what kind of punishment you’ll be facing…”

“I told you, it’s not a scam. I can really cure any illness or detox any poison—and I swear that on the Adventurers’ Guild itself. So if you’re just here to heckle, step aside.”

I brushed her off, and she let out a long sigh.

“Fine, guess I’ll play along. You might end up being my husband someday, so maybe it’s my duty to stop you before you embarrass yourself. Alright then, cure my hangover. Drank way too much last night—my head’s been pounding since morning. Even the alchemist I usually go to couldn’t whip up anything that worked. So if you’re seriously swearing on the guild’s name, then go on—prove it. But if you fail, you’re marching straight back to the guild to grovel on your knees.”

“Sure, no problem. By the way, how much are you paying me for this treatment? I don’t really know the going rate for medical fees in this world.”

“Pfft! Listen to this guy—our little scammer’s talking like a pro. Fine then. Let’s say… five silver coins. That’s about what your so-called treatment’s worth, if it works at all!”

Five silver coins, huh. By my rough sense, that was maybe… 700 to 1000 yen back in Japan?

Honestly, that was cheaper than I expected. I hadn’t been sick a single time since coming to this world, so I never really knew the going rate. Maybe healing was cheap because recovery magic and potions existed here? Even though they couldn’t cure diseases, the fact that they made injury treatment so affordable probably dragged the price of everything else down too.

Not that I’d know—my life so far had been nothing but bottom-rung labor. World economics wasn’t exactly my specialty.

Still, five silver felt too cheap. But hey, even if the profit margin per person was low, I could just make up for it in bulk sales. That’s business.

“[Influencer]—[Poison Resistance].”

I held my hand out in front of the warrior woman and activated the skill.

Technically, I didn’t need the gesture—I could trigger it just by looking. But adding some flair made it easier for people to recognize, oh, he’s healing me right now.

Her eyes blinked wide as she touched her forehead.

The thief standing beside her spoke up.

“What’s wrong, Ambasa?”

“…No way. The pounding in my head—the nausea in my chest—it’s all gone.”

“See? Told you I was the real deal. Now, cough up the fee. Five silver coins.”

I held my hand out before she had the chance to dodge payment.

Instead of handing me coins, the warrior woman suddenly grabbed my hand tight and leaned in close.

“Y-You’re the real thing!? You really can cure any disease!?”

“I told you already—I swear on the guild’s name, I can heal anything. You still don’t believe me?”

“Then please! Heal her!”

The warrior woman wrapped an arm around the hooded mage and shoved her toward me.

“Leader… I don’t want some shady kid like him treating me…”

“Quiet! Come on, Yuji—I’m begging you. Every healer, every doctor has said she’s incurable!”

The mage resisted at first, but the warrior woman yanked off her pointed hat. With a resigned sigh, the mage closed her eyes.

Her face was covered in red, blotchy sores. The corners of her lips were raw and dark, split open so badly it looked like her mouth had torn.

“Take off the gloves too. Let him see properly.”

“…”

Obediently, the mage slipped off her gloves.

Her palms were completely covered in yellowish, wart-like growths.

…Wait, was this measles?

No, I’d seen something like this in the university halls back home. There’d been a notice on the bulletin board warning that a disease with these symptoms was spreading around campus. If I remembered right, it was…

“Syphilis?”

“! Yes—that’s it! The doctors said the same! See, you are a real doctor!”

“No, no—I just happened to know the name. I’m definitely not a doctor…”

“Please, Yuji. If nothing’s done, in ten years she’ll lose her mind and die. I know it’s an incurable disease, but… even if you can just ease her symptoms, I’m begging you…”

Syphilis… yeah, that was definitely an STD.

In the modern world, antibiotics could clear it right up, but back in the day, it was a death sentence. Pretty sure missionaries brought it into Japan during the Warring States era, and it spread like wildfire through the red-light districts.

“Alright, leave it to me. Something like this? I’ll fix it with a quick abracadabra.”

“Uh… abra… what now? Whatever, just do it…”

I pressed my hand gently against the mage’s forehead.

Okay, time for [Influencer]—[Disease Resistance].

“Wha… whaaaat!? A-An actual miracle! Anorl, your face—it’s back to normal!”

“R-Really!? For real!? Ah… my hands, they’re smooth again! These are my hands… my real hands! I can’t believe it…!!”

The warrior and the thief immediately tackled her from both sides in a hug. The mage looked down at her palms, then clutched them to her chest as tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

“Oh… the pain is gone! The sickness has truly left me! Thank you… thank you so much!”

Yeah, yeah, good for her. Getting thanked like this didn’t feel bad at all.

Sure, all I did was use a cheat skill and fix it instantly, so being treated like some saint felt a little awkward… but hey.

Still, more important than gratitude—time to get paid.

“Alright, treatment fee. That’s ten silver coins for the two of you.”

The warrior and the mage exchanged looks like I’d just sprouted a second head.

“Uh… about that price I mentioned earlier, that was, um… just a figure of speech…”

“I-I’m sorry. Our leader kind of got aggressive there…”

…Huh? Wait. Were they seriously trying to haggle me down now?

“Nope, nope, not a single coin less. The price is already cheap as it is. Five silver per person! Not a coin more, not a coin less—that’s the flat rate!”

“…F-Fine. If you’re that insistent…”

Clink, clink.

Yes! First payday, baby!

Twenty percent went to the guild, so my profit came out to eight silver coins. Still, that was enough to cover tonight’s dinner. If I could keep this up, business would be looking good.

“By the way, you really need to be more careful. Catching syphilis like that…”

Not that I cared much about anyone else’s love life, but since I’d been paid, a little warning felt fair.

The mage lowered her gaze in embarrassment, while the warrior gave a sheepish grin.

“Well, don’t blame her too much. Normally we go to the fancier brothels. But one day, our favorite boy-toy was already booked, so we ended up at a cheaper joint instead. Looks like that’s where she caught it. What can I say—women can’t exactly hold back their lust forever. Especially after coming back from a rough adventure! Gahahaha!”

…Wait. Did I just hear something I couldn’t ignore?

“…So, uh, do all adventurers… go to brothels?”

“Of course! No man in his right mind wants to marry into an adventurer’s life, so if we want to blow off steam—or make kids—brothels are the only option. Well… unless some guy’s crazy enough to actually want to marry us.”

The three women of the number-two adventurer party gave me this sticky, lingering look that sent a shiver down my spine.

Yeah, no thanks. Hard pass.

Even if my [Disease Resistance] meant I’d never catch an STD, the thought of messing around with women who spent their free time at brothels crawling with infections just… didn’t sit right. I wouldn’t call it “dirty,” exactly, but it was enough to make me want to keep my distance.

≪Explanation Time!

This was the same feeling a normal girl gets when some middle-aged guy brags, “Real men hit the red-light district, hah hah hah!”—and she stares at him with dead, disgusted eyes.≫

Yeah, if I ever dated, I’d definitely want a girl with a clean reputation. Not that I was confident such girls even existed in this world. Which meant… was I destined to stay a virgin here too?

Well, if dying a virgin meant I got another “virgin bonus” coin in the next life, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

“Thanks, Yuji! We’ll come find you again if anything else comes up!”

“Yeah, yeah. And seriously—stop going to places where you catch diseases, alright?”

The warrior slapped me on the shoulder a few times, the mage bowed deeply, and the silent thief gave me a cool little nod. With that, my first and second customers disappeared down the street.

At least I’d made enough for dinner today. Time for a break, maybe…

Just as I started walking away, a commotion stirred in the crowd. From the onlookers, a girl in her late teens rushed toward me, coughing into her hand. Her patched-up clothes were shabby, and her face looked pale as she wheezed with each breath.

“Cough, cough! E-Excuse me! Um, is it true you can really cure illnesses? My cold just won’t go away… could you please take a look at me too…?”

“Hm? Sure, I don’t mind.”

“A-And, um… the treatment fee… Those people earlier, they were guild members, right? That’s why it was so cheap, wasn’t it? I… I don’t have much money with me…”

“Don’t worry. Five silver coins is fine.”

“R-Really!? T-Then please, I beg you!”

As we spoke, the townsfolk around us suddenly erupted into murmurs. Before long, several more rushed straight toward me.

“C-Can you see me too!?”

“Please, I need your help as well!”

“Hey, don’t push! I was here first!”

“Please, heal this child! He’s only just been born, and he’s already sick—he won’t even cry anymore…”

“I’ll pay double, double! Ten silver coins—just treat me first! My rheumatism hurts so badly I can’t stand it!”

“What’s ten measly coins! I’ll pay three times—no, ten times that! Please, treat me first! My hangover’s killing me!”

“Oh, shut up! Don’t you cut in line just ‘cause you drank too much! What if he runs out of magic before he gets to me!?”

More and more people rushed over, and in no time at all, a crowd had completely surrounded me.

Voices shouted over one another, people shoved and elbowed their way forward—some even started outright brawling just to get to me first.

Oh ho? Well, well.

Could it be… my time had finally come?

I cleared my throat with a deliberate ahem, and instantly, every eye snapped toward me.

Smiling brightly, I launched into my sales pitch.

“Alright, alright! If you want to be healed, line up in an orderly fashion. Anyone who cuts in will be sent straight to the back of the line. I can heal as many as needed, so there’s no need to panic. Just wait your turn. The price is set in stone—five silver coins, sworn on the Adventurers’ Guild flag! Doesn’t matter if it’s a sniffle or a deadly plague, whether you’re rich or poor, young or old, man or woman. Everyone pays exactly five coins, no exceptions!”

Yes! Time to heal a ton of people and rake in the profits!

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

[For those thinking Yuji is acting way too reckless]

Yuji’s tendency to charge ahead without thinking through the consequences is actually the downside of his [Mental Resistance] skill.

Normally, people hesitate before acting because they fear the fallout—damaged relationships, personal loss, that kind of thing. But [Mental Resistance] dulls empathy, so Yuji doesn’t feel the same dread about straining human relationships. His mindset becomes, “Eh, if there’s trouble, I’ll just endure it,” which makes him far more likely to act on impulse.

That’s why he can so easily think, “They’re happy because their sickness is cured, I’m happy because I earned money—everyone wins!” and just dive right in without hesitation.

…That’s the serious explanation, anyway. But hey, remember—this story’s a comedy! No need to overthink it. Just kick back and enjoy the ride.