Chastity-Reversed Hard Mode: Surviving as a Steel-Minded Adventurer in Another World - Chapter 14: Medical Collapse → Riots Combo (with Bonus)

Chapter 14: Medical Collapse → Riots Combo (with Bonus)

For half a year, Yuji had clung to adventuring like his life depended on it. Then, out of nowhere, he shocked everyone with his sudden decision to retire.

Deabolica was overjoyed, already imagining the bright future that awaited.

But that bliss lasted less than a single day.

“B-Big news! A mysterious gathering has suddenly erupted in the city, centered around someone calling himself an angel! Rumors are spreading that anyone who goes to him will be healed of any sickness, and people from every district are rushing in droves!”

“Follow-up report! The so-called angel at the center of this frenzy has been identified as none other than Yuji—one of our own guild members! The craze is so intense it could spark the birth of an entirely new religion!”

“It gets worse! Yuji is using the Adventurers’ Guild’s banner to draw people in! At this rate, the lord might think this whole incident is a coup orchestrated by us! What should we do!?”

“Emergency! The crowd rallying around Yuji has stormed the lord’s manor! The lord has reportedly fled, and there are rumors Yuji’s group has declared the foundation of a new city government!”

“…Hah?”

In her office, Deabolica sat frozen, dumbfounded, as her subordinates burst in one after another with increasingly insane reports.

There was no way this could be real. It had to be confusion, hysteria, or flat-out false alarms.

“How… how did this happen!? Why is Yuji at the center of a rebellion!?”

Of course, Deabolica wasn’t incompetent.

She immediately ordered a full review of the reports, demanding accurate information about what was actually happening in the city.

The truth soon became clear: the gathering wasn’t a rebellion at all. It was just crowds flocking to Yuji’s new business. He’d simply used the Adventurers’ Guild banner as his storefront sign.

As for those subordinates who’d come in screaming nonsense about “storming the manor,” “the lord escaping,” and “a new government being formed”—yeah, they were severely punished.

Her mother, the current lord, was alive and well, still sitting in the manor like nothing had happened.

That said, as long as Yuji was parading around under the Guild’s flag, it wasn’t unreasonable for outsiders to suspect the Guild of stirring up the people. 

Deabolica quickly compiled the confirmed facts and sent an urgent messenger to her mother, making it crystal clear she had no intention of rebellion. She had no plans to overthrow her mother. At least… not for now.

“Well, that was quite a shock. Who would’ve thought Yuji had that much charisma?”

“…Wes. You were the one who granted him the privilege of using the Guild’s banner for his business, weren’t you? Tell me—did you know this would happen?”

Deabolica’s sharp gaze cut into him, but Wes just shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course not—how could anyone predict something like this? My only thought was that Yuji might at least learn a little about proper market values by running a business. After all, for half a year he’s done nothing but clean ditches and hunt rabbits—living in utter poverty. There’s no way he’s picked up any real sense of pricing. …Look here.”

Wes tapped the report in his hand with a sharp smack, speaking in an amused tone.

“According to this, he’s been charging just five silver coins—about a thousand yen in his sense of value—for a treatment. Meanwhile, the doctors our family employs demand three whole gold coins for a single bloodletting. And Yuji? He cures people in an instant. Naturally, everyone’s going to throw themselves at him for salvation.”

Bloodletting, by the way, was a common practice among Naroppa-region doctors—bleeding out the so-called “bad blood” to drive away illness. It was believed to be a universal cure, and for any patient feeling sick, the go-to solution was always to bleed them first.

Of course, it didn’t actually cure anything. Wes himself quietly thought the city’s doctors were little more than scam artists. Still, even if only a placebo, their treatments at least gave people some peace of mind—so perhaps they had value.

…That is, until a certain “angel” showed up, who could heal any disease instantly and reliably for the price of pocket change.

“Well, to be fair, the real problem lies with the Guild itself. You all took advantage of his silence, dumped nothing but grunt work on him, and basically kept him penned up like livestock. If you’d given him proper jobs—say, delivery runs to other towns, or selling off monster materials on commission—he wouldn’t have gotten it into his head to heal people for pocket change. You deliberately kept him ignorant, restricting what information he could access, all so you could control him. That was your doing.”

“…You’ve got some nerve saying that.”

Deabolica ground her teeth, glaring daggers at her cousin, who tossed out his barbs with relish.

Her carefully crafted plans were already crumbling. After all the chaos Yuji had caused, there was no way she could just brush it aside and quietly marry him off to some adventurer. She had to wrap this mess up with an ending convincing enough to satisfy the lord herself—otherwise she wouldn’t be able to keep her position in the Guild’s office.

A chilling thought crept into her mind: could her cousin have engineered this whole fiasco just to ruin her scheme? People with shady secrets often assume everyone else is plotting too.

Well, whatever. In the end, it all came down to capturing Yuji. She had to pull him out of the people’s hands.

Fortunately, he’d shown an unexpected kind of value. Whether she decided to make use of it—or erase it completely—all depended on securing his custody first.

“Seize Yuji at once! Mobilize the guards and have him captured! Do not lay a single scratch on him! As for the civilians—if they get caught in the crossfire, so be it!”

“Deabolica, calm yourself. You don’t have authority over the guards, remember? They’re under your elder sister’s command. If you go over her head and start barking orders, that’ll only make it look like you’re plotting a coup.”

At Wes’s cool reminder, Deabolica bit down hard on her lip. Clearly, she was shaken—her usual cold, calculating demeanor was cracking at the edges. Then again, anyone would lose their composure with whispers of treason hanging over their head.

She took a sharp breath, steadied herself, and reissued her orders.

“Fine. Post a special request to any adventurers who are free. Capture Yuji without so much as a scratch on him. Reward: ten gold coins. If he’s injured even slightly, a fine will be imposed. Now move!”

“Actually, that won’t be necessary.”

“What!?”

“Yuji’s already been taken into custody. The guards picked him up just a little while ago and brought him to the Guild’s first floor. Apparently, he begged them for protection himself.”

“…Would you care to mention such details a little sooner!?”

Deabolica exploded, practically blowing a vein as she screamed at him, before storming out of the office at full speed. Normally, she never ran inside the Guildhouse, always maintaining an aura of calm authority—but now she was bolting like her life depended on it.

Watching her retreating back, Wes chuckled quietly in his throat.

“Aah, that eased a bit of my usual frustration. Truly, Yuji, you are quite the fascinating one.”

With that, Wes strolled out of the office after Deabolica, leaving his coworkers behind with frozen, twitching smiles.

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Meanwhile, I was curled up in a blanket in the corner of the Adventurers’ Guild’s first floor, trembling like a leaf.

“Crowds scary, crowds scary, crowds scary…”

After finishing my treatments in the slums, I thought, Alright, time to head to the next district.

But then—what followed behind me was a horde of slum residents. Not dozens. Not even a hundred. We were talking several hundred people.

Apparently, they all wanted to join the “angel’s march” out of admiration for me. But at that size, it was way past the point of being controllable.

Not that I had any intention of leading them in the first place! And let’s be real—these were slum-dwellers. Even if they admired me, it wasn’t hard to imagine some of them slipping into looting mode the second they got the chance.

…Actually, it did happen. Once they marched out of the slums, a few of them, high on festival vibes, tried to snatch goods from the street stalls.

Thankfully, the tough older sisters from that slum grandpa’s crew stopped them. But by then, I’d already realized: there was no way I could keep this “procession” together while trying to heal people.

I stopped in my tracks and tried to convince them to disperse, but it was useless. Whether it was mob psychology or just the boost of having me as their “banner,” the slum-dwellers had suddenly gotten way too bold.

They started shouting about parading through the whole city to spread the glory of the “angel.” That alone would’ve been bad enough. But then some idiots went further, yelling, Let’s storm the lord’s manor and form our own city government!

Yeah, I was pretty sure there were political agitators hiding in the slum crowd, just waiting for a chance like this to piggyback off me and kickstart a coup.

That was the moment I realized I was done for. If I stayed with them any longer, I’d 100% be framed as the mastermind of a rebellion.

I tried to sneak away, but the hyped-up mob quickly surrounded me, refusing to let me go. Some even tried to strip my clothes in the chaos—so yeah, I was feeling both mortal danger and chastity danger at the same time.

Thankfully, that’s when the city guards showed up, responding to reports of an unauthorized gathering. Desperate, I begged them—Please, save me!!—and they pulled me out and got me safely back to the Adventurers’ Guild.

The slum residents—plus the political offenders hiding among them—had no weapons. None of them were ready to fight fully armed guards. One guard grabbed me, charged straight through the angry crowd, and whisked me away to safety at the guild.

Now, sitting beside me, the guard who saved me—Amithia—was staring at me with a look somewhere between exasperation and disbelief.

“You’ve really gone and done it this time. An attempted coup? That’s not the kind of thing a guy on his second day as a citizen is supposed to be mixed up in.”

“I was just about to be paraded around as some figurehead! I’m innocent here. What would I even gain from staging a coup?”

“Well, I know you’re not the type to cook up a scheme like that. But the people up top, the ones who make the decisions? They don’t know you at all. …Then again, when I think about it, I don’t really know what goes on in your head either. Heh.”

“Ami, please, this isn’t funny…”

Amithia chuckled, her cool smile making it look like she was genuinely enjoying my misery.

She was actually the very first guard I’d spoken to when I got isekai’d into this world. Back then, she secretly let me through the city gates with a promise that I’d repay her later.

And I did repay her—by borrowing a tavern kitchen and whipping up sandwiches to hand over. She gave this sigh that was half relief, half disappointment—like she’d been expecting something fancier.

Still, when I explained it was a homemade bento, she beamed, proudly showed it off to her fellow guards, and looked way happier than she’d first let on.

Ever since then, whenever I spotted her on gate duty, we’d chat a little. Honestly, thank god I at least knew how to cook.

I actually cooked pretty often back in Japan. I used to make my own meals to go with my workout routine. My family enjoyed it too, so I even made desserts from time to time.

Since coming here, though, I haven’t cooked much at all. My inn room doesn’t even have a kitchen, and apparently home cooking isn’t really a common thing in this city. Still, if I ever got the chance, I’d love to cook for myself again.

…Though, being stuck under guard protection after barely escaping a mob, that dream feels very far away right now.

≪Explanation Time!

For Brishav women, a man who can cook is considered extremely valuable! Having a home with a kitchen already marks you as middle-class or better, and a man with actual cooking skills? Rare as gold.

Just seeing a guy cook is enough to make single Brishav women swoon, fantasizing about happy married life—and yes, even get a little wet.

And being given a homemade bento? That’s the ultimate dream, practically equivalent to a marriage proposal. In Japan, it’s like saying: “Make me miso soup every day.”

So when Amithia showed off her Yuji-made lunchbox to her single coworkers, it was pure “winner’s flex.” The others wept blood in frustration. And once again, Yuji had unknowingly dug his own grave!≫

“Still… incredible, isn’t it? I never thought things would blow up this much.”

Amithia said it like it was someone else’s problem, her gaze fixed on the window.

Outside, the guildhouse was surrounded on all sides by a massive crowd, buzzing with tension, shouting and roaring like they were ready to riot.

“Give us back the angel!”

“Is the Adventurers’ Guild trying to monopolize his miracles!?”

“Down with the corrupt guards! Down with the corrupt guards!”

“The angel belongs to all the citizens! Release him at once!”

“My child still hasn’t been seen yet! Please, let him heal my baby!”

“The angel will be protected by us, the slum district! There’s no way we’ll hand him over to lackeys of the nobles!”

“Don’t get cocky, paupers! In the commercial district, we can guarantee him a life of comfort!”

“What was that!? The angel preached equality—people like you classist snobs have no right to ‘protect’ him! You just want to use him for your business, don’t you!? Admit it—you plan to drown him in debt and force him into a meat-pole festival, you pervy merchants!”

“Excuse me!? You’re the pervs here! You’d probably call it ‘hospitality’ while gang-pressuring him into a meat-pole festival! Typical filthy peasants!”

“Lord Angel! Show us your face!”

“Grant us your holy seed! Let us bear you!”

“Angel! Angel! Angel!”

…Wow. Pure hellscape.

They’d already started fighting among themselves—supporters turning on each other in the world’s dumbest turf war. And the subject? A dick-swinging contest over who’d get to mount me first.

I’d never seen such lowbrow class conflict in my life.

Also… what the hell is a meat-pole festival supposed to be? Did my translation skill just glitch out!?

“…You understand, right? Absolutely do not show your face out there. That would just throw oil on the fire.”

“Trust me, Ami, there’s no way I’d want to go outside in this situation…”

I let out a gloomy sigh at her warning.

How the hell had things ended up like this?

All I’d done was treat everyone equally—five silver coins a pop.

…Yeah, maybe that was too cheap. Basically the price of a casual meal out.

So what was the going rate supposed to be, anyway?

As I was pondering that…

“SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

A shriek like some giant bird of prey tore through the Adventurers’ Guild, rattling the walls.

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※ The following has nothing to do with the main story.

To balance out the serious stuff, here’s a dumb little bonus.

“A Guard’s Journal”

〇 March 12

Same as always, I’m stuck on gate duty.

Check merchants’ trade permits, collect tolls, verify adventurers’ guild cards, and chase off the drifters trying to sneak in—rinse and repeat. A simple, boring job.

Sometimes I wish one of those merchants who “forgot” their paperwork would slip me a little something extra under the table… but no, they all use the back gate for that. Us gate guards never get the perks.

According to Ami, who works a different shift, “Guarding the city gates is the highest honor for a soldier.”

Man, she’s such a straight-laced stick-in-the-mud.

Sure, being a gate guard is considered prestigious—it’s the flashy post that makes it look like you’re protecting the whole city. But when you boil it down, it’s basically immigration control. Bureaucratic grunt work. Boring as hell. Still, Ami throws herself into it every day with ridiculous enthusiasm. I’ll give her that.

Not that her seriousness has done her any favors with men… She’s pushing twenty-five and hasn’t even gone so far as to hire a gigolo from the brothel. That’s just unhealthy. Yeah, I get it—her family situation means she can’t risk having a kid with the wrong guy. But still.

Me? Even if I end up marrying late, I’m sure I’ll tie the knot before Ami ever does. I’ve already got a favorite boyfriend (well… gigolo). Heh, lucky me.

Sorry, Ami. Next time I’ll “accidentally” leave some dirty prints on your desk to make up for it. You’re such a closet perv under that prim-and-proper act—it’s always fun to watch you squirm.

〇 March 15

Ami was acting weird when she came back to the guard post today.

She seemed kind of spaced out, like her mind was somewhere else whenever we talked.

Then out of nowhere she’d suddenly grin like an idiot, only to shake her head furiously right after.

Her partner was off-duty today, out on a date with her husband, so Ami was working the shift alone. Something must’ve happened while she was on duty.

Maybe some shady guild slipped her a little “white powder” as a gift? …Nah, no way. Not Ami.

Or maybe some drifter tried seducing her and she actually let him through? …Yeah right. The day someone manages to seduce that iron-willed woman is the day a guy shows up so insanely hot he’s basically sex incarnate. Honestly, I’d want to see him myself.

Anyway, if I keep writing about another woman it’ll start sounding like I’m into her, so let’s switch gears and talk about a man.

The day after tomorrow marks one year with my boyfriend—party horns and fanfare!

Heehee, I’m planning to propose! Then I’ll buy out his contract, marry him for real, and boom—free baby-making sex every single day! What a dream! I’ll probably have to take maternity leave next year. But I’ve saved up plenty, so bring it on, baby!

〇 March 17

Got dumped.

〇 March 18

I’ll be fine. Because I’ve still got Ami.

I’m not dead last—Ami’s holding up the rear, so I can keep moving forward.

Time to find a new love. Hang in there, me.

〇 March 20

Ami showed off a handmade sandwich from her boyfriend today.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHY WHY WHY!?

Why a sandwich!?

And not just any sandwich—it came neatly packed in a cute little basket. An open-faced sandwich with peanut butter, sausage, and mashed potatoes, the surface toasted to a golden crisp. On the side were thin-cut fries of potato and onion, with a touch of watercress for color. It looked absolutely delicious.

“No way, that’s store-bought,” I tried to convince myself. But it was impossible.

There isn’t a single shop in all of Greater Brishav capable of making something so refined and appetizing!

A real Brishav restaurant meal is just a pile of mashed potatoes drowned in sloppy green parsley sauce. That’s it. That’s their cuisine.

So how!? Since when did Ami get a boyfriend!? I thought for sure she’d be the last one of us left single! She betrayed me! Betrayed my feelings! Waaaaaah!!

Trying to act calm, I asked, “You’re kidding, right? Does a guy like that even exist?”

And she just smiled shyly and said, “It’s that man,” before secretly pointing him out from the shadows.

It was a young, exotic-looking East Asian guy, working shirtless under the blazing sun, sweat pouring down his body… while, for some reason, dredging out a sewer.

He was lean but built, solid muscle around the shoulders, abs carved into a perfect six-pack—a ridiculously sexy physique.

The stench of filth, sewage, and even shit hung in the air, yet somehow he alone seemed to shine with a radiant glow, like he smelled amazing despite it all. Black hair, youthful skin, brimming with vitality. Just the idea of him was erotic.

He wasn’t just hot—he was pure fap material incarnate.

God’s own masterpiece of eros.

And the fact that this divine creature was Ami’s younger boyfriend… my brain practically melted on the spot. A-Ah… ahhh…

…Honestly, I don’t even remember how I managed to stumble back home. One moment I was staring, the next I was sitting here gripping a pen.

Even now, thinking back on it, he was so impossibly erotic it almost didn’t feel real. What kind of saintly deeds did Ami pull off in a past life to deserve bento lunches from a guy like that?

Because when a man makes you a homemade lunchbox, that’s basically a declaration of marriage, right?

And right now, as I sit here, Ami’s probably all lovey-dovey with that gorgeous man. Getting spoiled every single day with his love-filled cooking.

Just imagining it makes me so frustrated, so jealous… my lower belly feels hotter than ever before! Incredible—I can fap from sheer frustration! I can jealous-fap! Wait, I had this ability all along!?

Tonight, I’m gonna use this very journal entry as my material and finger myself to this before bed.

Thanks, Ami—you’ve given me the ultimate fap-fuel.

Now explode.

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※ In this world, cooking oil was considered a luxury item, but Yuji cut a deal with the tavern’s landlady—he handed over the recipe, and in return she let him use the ingredients for free.

And that’s how a combo of sandwiches, fries, and onion rings ended up being praised as “a delicate, love-filled gourmet meal.”

Yep, that was the proud culinary standard of the so-called mighty Brishav Empire.