Chastity-Reversed Hard Mode: Surviving as a Steel-Minded Adventurer in Another World - Chapter 15: Clearing My Name with a Steel Mentality

Chapter 15: Clearing My Name with a Steel Mentality

“SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

A piercing cry—like some monstrous bird of prey—echoed through the entire guildhouse.

Eh? What!? What’s happening!?

While I was still panicking, a human-sized shadow suddenly launched itself at me, slamming me flat against the floor.

The figure seized me by the collar, eyes bloodshot, face twisted in rage, glaring straight into my very soul.

S-Scary…!

“Yuuuuuuujiiiiiiiiiiiii! You bastard!!!”

“…Uh, wait. Guildmaster? That’s you? What’s wrong?”

The voice was low and venomous. And that was when I finally realized—the “monster” pinning me down was none other than Guildmaster Deabolica herself.

I almost greeted her with, “Wow, your eyes look especially sharp today,” but quickly swallowed the thought. The vibe right now was less casual chat and more murder me without hesitation.

Sometimes, even I knew when to read the room.

“What’s wrong, you ask!? What the hell were you thinking!? Why did you rile up the masses!? You even waved the guild’s emblem as your banner—are you trying to drag me down with you!?”

“No, no, this is a huge misunderstanding. I didn’t stir anyone up—the crowd just got carried away on their own. As for the guild banner, you’re the one who gave me permission to use it for business, remember? All I did was heal people and take a fee. That’s it.”

Honestly, I thought my explanation just now was pretty solid—nice.

Moments like this really made me grateful for my [Mental Resistance].

If you’re aiming to adventure in Hard Mode Isekai, I can’t recommend it enough. Sure, your human relationships will probably crumble, but hey—survival comes first.

…Oh wait. My human relationships did crumble, and that’s exactly why I was in this mess. Damn.

Anyway—side note—Deabolica’s body was surprisingly soft and squishy. Her hair even smelled nice.

Guess nobles really did eat better food… or maybe they just bathed more often?

Yeah, I still had enough brain space to think about that kind of nonsense, even while being pinned down.

Right now, Deabolica was glaring down at me with eyes like a mob boss about to pull the trigger.

Scary enough to make me want to wet myself. Seriously, bless you, [Mental Resistance].

“How much?”

“…How much what?”

“How much did you charge, and who did you treat?”

“Five silver coins. Didn’t matter who they were—I treated anyone. At least three hundred people, I think. Oh—do you want me to hand over the 20% guild cut right now? Honestly, carrying around this mountain of silver is heavy as hell.”

“Only answer the questions I ask, or I’ll kill you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I shut my mouth right there.

But hey—if she was threatening to kill me later, that meant she wasn’t planning to kill me right now.

Good enough.

“You… you… Do you even realize how much money our lord’s family spends to lure doctors here!? Did it never occur to you how they’d react if you pulled a stunt like this!?”

“That’s news to me. I mean, healing mages can only fix injuries, right? So I figured curing disease and poison was fair game. Besides, poor folks were always complaining that doctors wouldn’t treat them. Isn’t there a shortage of doctors here? If that’s the case, then what’s wrong with me stepping in to cover the gap and earn a little money?”

“It’s not a shortage—we deliberately keep it limited! By restricting medical services for the poor, we give the wealthy a sense of superiority! That’s just basic logic! And besides, slum-dwellers aren’t even recognized citizens! Why should doctors—whom we nobles paid a fortune to bring here—be obligated to treat trash like them!?”

“Well, if that’s how it is, then I don’t see why I should give a damn about protecting those doctors’ pride either.”

“You fool! This isn’t just about their pride—it’s about our family’s pride! And you conducted your little business under the Adventurers’ Guild banner, didn’t you!? The guildmaster is me—the third daughter of the ruling family! If you disgrace the guild’s name, you disgrace mine as well! Do you understand now!?”

“…Ahh, I see. So that’s what this is really about. Got it.”

Honestly, she could’ve just said that from the start.

Then again, maybe I was at fault too—I had started this whole thing without ever explaining my “business plan” beforehand.

“Alright, fine. This one’s on me. Let’s just go with that.”

“…Do you seriously think there will be a next time for you?”

“There isn’t? You’d really throw away someone who can cure any disease? You’re saying you’d kill off that kind of talent instead of using it? Come on—that’s just wasteful. No sane ruler would ever pick that option.”

I flashed her a bright smile, and Deabolica clicked her tongue, face twisted like she’d just swallowed something bitter.

“…I get it now. I finally see what kind of man you are. You’re a highly intelligent lunatic—the single most troublesome kind of person for anyone in power. How dare you pretend to be an idiot all this time.”

“Aw, thanks for the generous review.”

Well, I honestly do think of myself as an idiot. I mean, working out just because I admired isekai reincarnation? That’s insane. Add in my [Mental Resistance], and I’m definitely more unhinged now than I ever was back in Japan. I’d gotten duller to other people’s reactions, and if something didn’t interest me, it just wouldn’t stick in my head.

Still, if someone wants to overrate me, I’d be stupid not to play along—my life was on the line here.

And when you rack up fifteen hundred silver coins in no time flat, then get paraded around as the figurehead of a rebellion, even a dense guy like me has to admit—yeah, I might actually be a valuable asset.

“So please, do your best to make good use of me.”

“…Damn it. You’re friends with my cousin, right? Feels like he’s multiplied into two now. Worst-case scenario.”

Cheerful, out-of-place laughter rang out. Turning my head, I spotted Wes at the front desk, doubled over and clutching his stomach.

He looked like he was having the time of his life. Honestly, if I weren’t the poor sap stuck in the middle of this mess, I’d love to just sit beside him and enjoy the show too.

“So then, how exactly are we dealing with this situation?”

I glanced out the window. The crowd outside had the guild completely surrounded, pressing closer and closer—like they were ready to smash down the gates any second. If this kept up, bloodshed was inevitable.

Deabolica crossed her slender arms and let out a sharp sigh.

“Before we discuss that, answer me one thing. Did you… claim to be an angel?”

“Nope. Not at all. That’s just something everyone decided to call me on their own.”

Well—technically, I did tell that old man in the slums that my power came from God. But I also made it clear I wasn’t a divine messenger, so that should still be safe… right?

…Yeah, definitely safe. Probably.

“I see. Then rejoice—your life has just been spared.”

“…Wait, so if I had called myself an angel, that would’ve been bad?”

“In that case, you’d already be dead. No matter how useful you might be, keeping you alive wouldn’t have been an option.”

Oh. So that was a near-death flag. Close call.

Well, not like I’d ever be dumb enough to go around declaring, ‘I am an angel!’ anyway.

As I sat there wondering what the next move would be, Deabolica tilted her chin at me, signaling for me to follow her lead.

“Alright then, Yuji. Step outside and tell them this: ‘Sorry, it was all a scam. The people who got cured were just actors I hired. I’ll return the money, so please forgive me.’”

“…Hah?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me. That fake angel image they built up around you—only you can tear it down. If we step in and say, ‘He’s a fraud,’ it won’t work. They’ll just think we’re insulting their object of worship and cling even harder. But if you yourself admit you’re a fake, that’ll hit the hardest.”

I glanced back and forth between Deabolica’s cool, commanding face and the furious mob outside.

“…You want me to stand in front of them? Seriously? That’s suicide. I’ll die. One hundred percent dead.”

“Take responsibility, Yuji. You’re the one who used the Adventurers’ Guild banner to run your business.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who gave me permission to use the guild banner in the first place…”

“Didn’t you just say, ‘Alright, fine. This one’s on me. Let’s go with that’?”

“…Tch.”

I must’ve been making the sourest face imaginable right then.

Just you wait, Deabolica. Someday, I’ll wipe that smug grin off your face and have you bawling instead.

And just as I expected, when I stood before the crowd and went, “It was all a scam! Sorryyy ☆”—yeah, nobody bought it.

Of course they didn’t. I mean, people really had been cured.

Those who were already healed shouted that I was just being forced by Deabolica to say it was a fraud.

Meanwhile, the ones who hadn’t been treated yet were furious, yelling, “Unfair! Why only them!? Heal me too!”

Yeah… about what I figured.

So, I picked out a few people in the mob with nothing too serious—like a light cold or just a hangover—and quietly disabled their [Disease Resistance] and [Poison Resistance].

Sure enough, they immediately doubled over, groaning as their symptoms came rushing back, then started screaming, “Fraud! It’s all a fraud!!”

Which made perfect sense. My skill hadn’t actually removed the virus or the alcohol byproducts—it just granted resistance so the symptoms disappeared. Once I took that away, the pathogens were still inside, ready to kick back in full force.

If I really wanted to completely cure someone, I’d have to leave the resistance on until their body fully expelled the disease or toxins, then remove it afterward.

I did feel bad for those folks who’d been so happy about feeling better. But at least it wasn’t life-threatening. Hopefully they’d forgive me… because honestly, my life was on the line here too.

And sure enough, just as planned, the crowd split into two camps:

One side yelling, “Fraud! Give us our money back!”

The other shouting, “No way! Lord Angel is only being forced to say that!”

The air was crackling, ready to explode any second.

Damn it… If I stripped everyone’s resistances, the whole mob would instantly swing over to the “fraud” side. But I couldn’t do that.

The people who’d cried tears of joy after being cured of serious illnesses—I couldn’t just take that away and throw them back into suffering.

And in the slums, I’d seen plenty of people with what looked suspiciously like tuberculosis. If I undid their healing, there was a real chance of sparking a full-on pandemic.

I shot a glance at Deabolica, but judging from her expression, she didn’t have any winning cards left either.

What do we do now…?

That’s when it happened.

“Everyone, that is enough. The messenger of heaven himself has declared he possesses no such power. Those of you who received his grace—let us trust his words and quietly withdraw.”

The voice rang out from within the crowd—clear, commanding, dignified.

It carried a strange weight that made you instinctively want to obey. Authority like that couldn’t be faked. It was the kind of presence only someone who’d lived a long, hard life could possess.

An elderly man was speaking to the restless mob.

“Shut the hell up, old man! Get lost! Nobody cares what you have to say!”

A heckle rose from somewhere in the crowd.

The old man turned his gaze in that direction, sharp and steady—but the heckler stayed hidden, refusing to step forward.

“Enough. You have already received more than enough mercy. To keep demanding, to greedily devour everything offered without cost—that is shameless beyond words. You may be poor, but that does not mean you should let your hearts turn into beasts. Did the messenger of heaven not say that even the lowly are still watched over by the Lord? That alone should be enough—you must learn the meaning of being satisfied.”

“You old bastard! Your legs got healed, didn’t they!? Easy for you to preach now that you’ve had your fill! And you expect the rest of us to just put up with it!? Wasn’t the angel’s blessing supposed to be equal for all!? Then fairness means every last person in this city should live free of disease, right!? And since he raised our hopes only to betray us, the Adventurers’ Guild and the nobles deserve payback! Isn’t that right!?”

A heavy silence fell.

Then, one by one, the people turned their eyes—not toward the hidden agitator—but toward the old man. Not a single soul stepped up to support the rabble-rouser. Of course they didn’t. He was a coward, too afraid to show his face, content only to spit poison from the safety of the crowd. A spineless agitator screaming “betrayal” carried no weight in anyone’s heart.

The old man spoke again, his voice now tinged with sorrow.

“What was it you saw in the messenger of heaven? Surely it was not just release from sickness. What he brought to this city was more than that—it was love freely given to those in pain. Did you feel nothing from his actions? Did you not think to yourself, I want to be kind to others, as he was to me? If you cannot feel even that spark of compassion, then it is not only your living that is poor—your very heart is impoverished as well.”

Everyone was captivated by the old man’s words.

The agitator never spoke up again—and even if he had, no one would’ve listened anymore.

Spreading his hands wide, the old man finished with this:

“Come now, let us all go home. Even if the messenger of heaven no longer heals our sickness, there is no need for sorrow. From him, we have learned to care for our neighbors. That is our greatest treasure. If you see a neighbor in need, help them for five silver coins. And when you are the one in need, let your neighbor give you five silver coins in return. From this day forth, let us live proudly by supporting and helping each other.”

…And just like that, the frenzied mob that had been on the brink of riot moments ago quietly dispersed and drifted home, as if nothing had ever happened.

I bowed my head to the old man who had pulled it off, and he shot me a quick wink before slipping away. That playful little gesture caught me off guard—I couldn’t help but grin.

Turning his speech over in my mind, I suddenly clapped my hands in realization.

“So that’s why everyone kept following me around…”

They hadn’t been chasing after some miracle worker. They’d simply wanted to be kind to others, just as he had inspired them to.

That’s why the chaos ended without bloodshed.

The irony? My real motive had just been to make money.

Honestly, it made me feel embarrassed. And realizing that my [Mental Resistance] had dulled me enough to miss something so simple? That was even more humiliating.

“Yuji, what’s with you? You’ve been grinning nonstop.”

…Huh. So I was actually smiling for real, not just faking it.

Wes came up behind me, and I answered,

“I was just thinking… glad I treated that old man kindly.”