Chastity-Reversed Hard Mode: Surviving as a Steel-Minded Adventurer in Another World - Chapter 27: Traveling Home with a Steel Mentality

Chapter 27: Traveling Home with a Steel Mentality

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

The carriage rattled along as we made our way back to Thousand Leaves.

On my left and right sat Irene and Ursna. After spending every night sharing the same bed, it already felt natural to have them beside me like this. Back at the Longfield estate, I had been tied up during the day with Boot Camp drills and helping Janis compile his research papers, so the only time I really saw them was when we crawled into bed at night.

Speaking of bedtime—on the first night, the bed had ended up smelling strangely fishy, but from the second night onward, that problem mysteriously disappeared. Sure, the sheets were still soaked with sweat, but there was no odd stench anymore. Guess that bath really did the trick. Irene and Ursna did look a little unsettled the next morning, but since they were right back at my side again now, maybe I was just imagining things.

By the way, the adventurer girls told me before bed that they had spent their days guarding Deabolica. Apparently, they never knew when soldiers from the Count’s house might attack, so they hadn’t been able to let their guard down for even a moment. Honestly, it was a miracle they didn’t get killed. If the Count hadn’t turned out to be such a good-natured woman, things could have ended very, very badly. Well, I suppose all the favors I did for the Longfield family probably helped smooth things over too.

And as for Deabolica herself—she was sitting across from me right now, clutching the cloth pouch that held the Springwater Orb. Every so often, she would peek inside and grin to herself, her lips curling into this slimy little smile. Seriously… it was creepy as hell.

“…You’re looking pretty giddy.”

I let the sarcasm slip out, but it just bounced right off Deabolica in her current euphoric state.

“Of course I am! We’re talking about the Springwater Orb—the so-called infinite water source! Thousand Leaves has its rivers choked with mud, the water too polluted to spare for farming. But with this, our city’s food self-sufficiency will skyrocket!”

Food self-sufficiency, huh. Now that she mentioned it, the people in that city really did eat nothing but rabbit meat and bread. Honestly, I had half-worried my muscles would shrivel away on such a diet… but for some reason, my body hadn’t changed a bit since I first got isekai’d half a year ago.

…Right, there was that cheat skill I picked at transfer: [Inheritance]—You won’t lose your personality or abilities in this life. Maybe that included keeping my body frozen in place too? No way it meant I’d never age, right? Immortality would’ve cost way more coins. Still, if my body didn’t weaken, and I never got food poisoning no matter what I ate, then I could pretty much live off junk without issue.

That said, coming from modern Japan, I’d much rather enjoy good food whenever I could. In that sense, Deabolica tackling the food problem wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

“So you do care about making your hometown a better place, huh, Deabolica.”

If her love for her hometown went so far that she wanted to plunder wealth from other cities, well… I could kinda understand that. The economy was basically a zero-sum game—if you wanted to profit, someone else had to lose.

But if the deal was just to “sell” me as a Saint in exchange for money or items, while the other side got their diseases cured in return… well, that was a straight-up win–win. I could get behind that kind of plan.

“Make my hometown better? Well, as a side effect, yes. But that’s not the real goal.”

Uh oh. That tone didn’t sound good.

“You’ve been quietly working behind the scenes for me on this trip, so I suppose I can let you in on part of my plan. I have no intention of rotting away in some countryside backwater. My aim is to step into the Central Parliament.”

“Parliament? What’s that?”

“You really know nothing, do you? The monarch may be king in name, but the ones who actually steer the nation’s politics are the members of Parliament. No matter what the king wants, without their approval he can’t do a damn thing. In other words, it’s the Parliament that truly governs this country.”

Huh. So it was kinda like Japan. The monarch was like the Emperor—reigning but not ruling. And the real executive power rested with the prime minister, just like under the Diet.

“Oh? Struggling to grasp the Great Brishav Empire’s cutting-edge political system, my poor primitive Easterner?”

“Nope, I get it. Go on.”

Irene, sitting beside me, looked bored and let out a yawn, while Ursna sat bristling, glaring daggers at Deabolica.

What’s her deal? Why was she in such a foul mood?

“My goal is to become a member of the Central Parliament. To build that foundation, I must develop and take control of Thousand Leaves. Selling favors to the Longfield family to establish regular caravans, gathering valuable items—everything is to build a track record and secure the seat of Thousand Leaves’ next successor. Every move I make is a step toward that grand ambition. And you, Saint—you’ll continue to work for me in pursuit of it.”

Huh. So that was the whole scheme.

Well, whatever. I didn’t really care whether Deabolica climbed the ranks or not. As long as she kept dragging me around to different cities, I was satisfied. Think of it like joining one of those cross-country bus tours—whether the travel company was shady, skimming money, or full of corrupt staff didn’t matter to me.

…Still, the one thing that pissed me off was her swiping the orb from the Longfield family.

But hey, there was one thing I just had to ask.

“Deabolica, once you become a parliament member… what do you actually want to do?”

“What do I want to…?”

Deabolica frowned at me, like I had just said something completely incomprehensible.

“I’m asking why you even want to be a parliament member. Like—do you want to reform the system, root out corruption, close the gap between rich and poor, save the common folk? You don’t have any kind of policy like that?”

“Ha! And here I wondered what nonsense you’d spout. Weren’t you listening? Parliament members are the very top of this nation. Even the king can’t move without their approval. To hold the highest power in the country—what greater goal could there be? Policies are nothing but a convenient excuse to wave around power and gorge on personal gain.”

“So basically, just becoming a parliament member is the goal.”

“Exactly.”

I see. Classic power-hungry politician vibes.

“Deabolica, I honestly think you’re not cut out to be a politician. You should quit while you’re ahead.”

“You insolent brat! Want me to settle this with you right here and now!?”

Well, I still believed a politician without a guiding principle only ended up making people miserable.

Then again, maybe they were all like that. Not many politicians seriously chased ideals like “let’s make society better.” Maybe that was just modern Japan’s rotten politics bleeding into my view, but still.

If anything, I’d rather see someone like Janis go into politics—push for state-led agricultural reform, pass laws to improve food production. I’d gladly help him with that.

As for Deabolica? At best, her talent was suited to being a bureaucrat making Thousand Leaves richer. Honestly, that alone would probably make the citizens happier, and everyone wins.

“By the way, even if it’s ‘for the good of the city,’ I’m never helping with a honeytrap scheme like last time again. I don’t have enough lives to keep up with that. And I’m not wearing skimpy outfits either.”

“You’re my subordinate, aren’t you? You don’t get veto rights—”

“If you’re gonna talk like that, I could always just move to Longfield instead. Janis already asked me to be his right-hand man, after all.”

I said it casually, and Deabolica shot to her feet, eyes bulging.

“W-What!? Don’t joke about that! Why would he ever…? Wait—so that’s it! You plan to replace me and start selling yourself as the Saint across the land, don’t you!?”

“Why else? Probably because I gave them free advice on farming techniques and cooking recipes.”

Of course, the bigger reason was simple friendship, but Deabolica would never understand that.

“…Why didn’t you take money for that!? And more importantly—since when did you even have that kind of knowledge!?”

“Because I wanted to give it for free. And you never asked.”

Deabolica whipped around toward the back of the carriage, stomping her feet in a full-blown tantrum.

“Arghhh, damn it! If that’s the case, I should’ve demanded way more! Is it too late to turn back now and renegotiate!?”

“Don’t. You’ll just embarrass yourself.”

“You! Don’t you dare say that!! Fine then—teach me too! Spill every bit of knowledge you’ve got, no holding back!!”

“Oh? But isn’t the great Brishav Empire supposed to have the most advanced technology in the world? Surely you wouldn’t bow your head to the primitive wisdom of the East, right?”

“Bwahahahahahaha!!”

The jab hit home, and Ursna burst out laughing, unable to hold it in. She slapped her knees again and again, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.

“Eugene, you’re the best! Ahh, that killed me!”

Still chuckling, she threw an arm around my shoulder—only for Irene, sitting on the other side, to puff out her cheeks and smack her hand away.

“No touching!”

“What’s your problem, Irene? If you’re jealous, then go grab his other shoulder.”

“I’m not jealous at all!”

Irene turned her head away with a huff after Ursna teased her.

…Weird. Did these two actually get a little closer?

Considering they were literally throwing punches at each other just a week ago, this was a big improvement. Still, it didn’t feel like “friends” so much as “temporary ceasefire.” More like that goofy camaraderie boys get when they’re co-conspirators in some dumb prank. Well, my empathy’s dead anyway, so maybe I’m not the best judge.

Irene’s stiff back screamed pay attention to me, so I absentmindedly reached over and patted her head. She resisted with a little shake, but soon gave up and let it happen. At first I thought she was cat-like, but honestly, she was more of a dog. She reminded me of Pero, my old mutt back in heaven. Good girl, good girl, good girl.

“Grrrrrrr…!!”

Meanwhile, Deabolica—who had lost her chance to throw a punch thanks to Ursna cutting in—was grinding her teeth so hard it looked like sparks might fly.

Modern-world knowledge, huh. Even if she ordered me to “spill everything,” where would I even start? And honestly, dumping knowledge into Deabolica’s lap sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. She was already running wild just from having a Saint on her leash.

I’d need to keep her on a short rein. After all, the reason I turned down Janis’s invitation and stuck with Deabolica was because I wanted her to drag me off to places I’d never seen. She was basically my adventure tour guide. If she started running completely off the rails, that would ruin everything.

Still, compared to the trip out, it was nice to see the ride back buzzing with actual conversation.

On the way to Longfield, Ursna and Irene had been at each other’s throats, and I had mostly just chatted with the leader.

That leader, by the way, was now perched on the top seat of the carriage, keeping watch. This wagon had a built-in seat on the roof so guards could scout and even snipe from above. If anything happened, he’d signal us by popping open the skylight and shouting down—but so far, everything was quiet.

Apparently, adventurer guild patrols and city guards kept watch along the main roads, and the monsters knew better than to cross the stone-paved routes. They had learned that area’s human turf—go there and get attacked. Which meant they not only had the intelligence to understand the rule, but also the ability to communicate it to their own kind. Definitely not just dumb animals. Pretty scary when you thought about it.

For now, humans and monsters were keeping to their own turf. But someday, as civilization advanced and cities sprawled out, what if the land between towns filled with buildings like in our world? Would that spark a massive war over territory between humans and monsters? I didn’t want to dwell on it. At least it wasn’t something I’d have to live to see—that was a small comfort.

As far as current threats went, the real danger on the road wasn’t monsters but bandits.

They lurked around specifically to ambush travelers, which made them even worse. That was actually why Deabolica had hired the adventurers in the first place—to guard against bandits, not beasts.

In my head, bandits were just scrawny thugs waving daggers around, but in reality? They were often out-of-work mercenaries, shady adventurers hiding their crimes behind guild membership, or even members of full-blown crime syndicates called “dark guilds.”

They came at you flinging spells like pros, or swinging swords with battlefield training. If I got caught in that crossfire, I’d be toast. Knock on wood.

That said, bandits usually targeted merchant caravans. It was rare for anyone dumb enough to attack a wagon flying the adventurer guild’s banner. Just posting a lookout on top was basically saying, Come at us—we’re ready to send you home in pieces.

So yeah, the trip was supposed to be safe from both monsters and bandits. A smooth, worry-free ride back to Thousand Leaves.

…Or so I thought.

Just as I was starting to doze off, swaying with the carriage, a heavy thumping suddenly pounded through the skylight above.

In that instant, Ursna and Irene—who had both been leaning against me half-asleep—snapped upright and grabbed their weapons. The other adventurers tensed up the same way. Naturally, so did Deabolica, our ever-vigilant guild master.

“Report!”

At her command, the skylight popped open. The leader, face pale, shouted down the incoming threat.

“A herd of rabbit monsters—giant-horned rabbits and more—are charging this way! Over thirty of them! It’s a stampede!!”

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

[Explanation]

The only reason Yuji is still tagging along under Deabolica is because he figures she’ll keep dragging him off to places he’s never seen before.

As for being belittled by her? Thanks to his [Mental Resistance], other people’s malice just bounces right off—zero damage. He literally doesn’t care. To outsiders, though, it looks like he’s enduring some ridiculous, unfair treatment, so in that sense you could call it a downside of the skill.

The one thing that actually ticked him off was her shaking down the Count’s family for their orb.

Meanwhile, Deabolica couldn’t care less about what Yuji did for the Count’s household. She has no clue how highly they valued him. In her eyes, if she hadn’t “picked him up,” he’d still be scraping muck out of ditches, just a glorified medical robot. Her bad habit of looking down on people means her evaluation of him never updates.

Even though, by now, the power dynamic has already flipped.

Poor girl doesn’t even realize it.